“Would you like samgyeopsal and tteokbokki?”

“Of course.”

“Then we’ll have that, please.”

Seo-jun rolled up his sleeves as he took the order.

Ki Seok-Tae was the first customer of the day. And he had even brought his children along.

He would have been attentive regardless, but today, he planned to be extra mindful.

Samgyeopsal and tteokbokki.

‘Let’s start with the tteokbokki first.’

And for tteokbokki, the broth had to come first.

Whoosh!

He added the cracked bones of Krekseg into the pot and simmered them. As the broth boiled vigorously, a rich, savory aroma spread throughout the shop.

“That smells amazing.”

Ignoring Ki Sun-hye’s murmuring, Seo-jun began preparing the ingredients.

Chop chop chop!

He sliced the fish cakes and thoroughly washed the rice cakes.

Now, onto the sauce.

Gochujang, sugar, and corn syrup.

After mixing them well, he tossed in the rice cakes.

As the tteokbokki began to boil, he lowered the heat. Now, it just needed to simmer.

Next up was the samgyeopsal. Fortunately, he had some that had already been marinated—he just needed to grill it. As always, he covered the frying pan with a shield and began cooking.

Sizzle!

Hiss!

The smell of gochujang-marinated pork sizzling was always intoxicating.

Seo-jun smirked as he cut the samgyeopsal into bite-sized pieces.

He plated them beautifully and served them alongside the tteokbokki.

As the samgyeopsal and tteokbokki were placed on the table, Ki Sun-hye, who had had no expectations, widened her eyes in surprise.

‘The quality of this… Is this really worth just 25,000 won?’

The 25,000-won samgyeopsal was even garnished with parsley powder. But what truly caught Ki Sun-hye’s attention was the tteokbokki.

‘That looks delicious.’

It was the kind of original tteokbokki rarely seen these days. Nowadays, nearly every place served soup-style tteokbokki instead.

Compared to the soup version, original tteokbokki required much more effort to make.

“Let’s eat.”

At Ki Seok-Tae’s words, Ki Sun-hye picked up a fork. Though she loved samgyeopsal, she wanted to taste the tteokbokki first.

‘I’ll try the rice cake first.’

The sauce was thickly coated on the rice cake. The bright red sauce looked incredibly appetizing.

And the moment she took a bite—

“It’s delicious!”

Without realizing it, Ki Sun-hye exclaimed. Then, as if embarrassed, she blushed.

“Haha. Is it that good?”

“Yes, it’s amazing. Dad, you should try it too.”

“Shall I?”

Ki Seok-Tae preferred fish cakes over rice cakes when it came to tteokbokki. He picked up a neatly cut fish cake and put it into his mouth.

Ki Sun-hye watched him expectantly and asked,

“How is it? It’s really good, right?”

“It is.”

“Then why do you look like that? You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s delicious. It tastes exactly like the tteokbokki your mom used to make.”

“Mom’s tteokbokki?”

“Yeah. When your mom and I were dating, she used to make tteokbokki for me sometimes. This tastes just like that.”

“Mom made tteokbokki this good for you?”

“She made it so often that I eventually surrendered and told her I couldn’t eat any more. She probably kept making it until you were about three years old.”

Lost in nostalgia, Ki Seok-Tae looked at Seo-jun and asked,

“Chef, I’m curious—did you use bone broth for this?”

“How did you know?”

“Haha, just a hunch. My wife always insisted on using pork bone broth when she made tteokbokki.”

“Your wife?”

“Yes. I used to complain about how much trouble she went through just for tteokbokki, but she always said the simpler the dish, the more important the broth was.”

“She must have been an excellent cook.”

A smile formed on Ki Seok-Tae’s lips.

“It’s embarrassing to say in front of my kids, but I actually fell in love with her cooking. Even neighborhood ladies would come to learn from her.”

Seo-jun smiled faintly. Food often served as a bridge to memories.

For Ki Seok-Tae, tteokbokki seemed to do just that. It allowed him to reminisce about someone precious.

“She really used bone broth every time?”

Ki Sun-hye turned to her father.

“Yep. Even in the middle of summer, if she was making tteokbokki, she would always prepare the broth first, sweating like crazy.”

“Mom must’ve had a hard time.”

“That’s why I stopped asking her to make it. I didn’t want her to struggle.”

“Ugh, that’s so cheesy.”

As Ki Sun-hye shuddered, rubbing her arms, Ki Seok-Tae chuckled and continued teasing her.

“Do you know how much I loved your mom? When we were dating—”

From a distance, Seo-jun and Yeon-jun watched the scene. Yeon-jun murmured,

“I’m envious.”

“Of those three?”

“Them, too… but also Mr. Ki.”

“Mr. Ki?”

“The way he looks when reminiscing about his wife.”

Ki Seok-Tae’s expression was radiant. No, more than radiant—it was as if he had traveled back to that time, completely immersed in happiness.

“I only ever made Minjin suffer.”

“So it was Minjin.”

“Huh?”

“Your wife’s name.”

“Ah… Sorry. I never told you, did I? I was too caught up in everything.”

“No need to apologize.”

“Her name was Kyung Minjin.”

“Kyung Minjin… That’s a beautiful name.”

“Right? She was as beautiful as her name.”

“I don’t even have to see her to know that. You always had high standards.”

“Very high standards. But Minjin had a heart just as beautiful as her looks. No matter how much hardship we faced, she never complained.”

“Really?”

“We were so broke that we’d share a single can of beer in front of a convenience store during dates.”

“As long as you two were happy, that’s all that matters.”

“We were happy. But…”

“…”

“Looking back, all I can think of is what I couldn’t do for her. All the hardships she endured… especially right before she died—”

“…”

“Never mind.”

Watching Ki Seok-Tae happily reminiscing about his wife with his daughter, Yeon-jun suddenly suggested,

“Hey, how about we eat out tomorrow?”

“Eat out? Is there something you want to eat?”

“Jjajangmyeon. I suddenly really want jjajangmyeon.”

“Now that you mention it, we haven’t had jjajangmyeon since returning. Alright, let’s do it.”

Yeon-jun chuckled softly and walked away from the kitchen.

* * *

Jajangmyeon 25,000￦

- Jjamppong 25,000￦

- Bokkeumbap 20,000￦

- Tangsuyuk 80,000￦

- Extra Side Dishes 5,000￦

Seo-jun went to a nearby Chinese restaurant with his family. The brutal cost of living really hit him when he saw the prices at a different restaurant.

A single bowl of jajangmyeon cost 25,000 won, and there was an additional 5,000 won charge for extra side dishes.

The only thing that was still free was water.

‘Is this our first time eating out?’

They had eaten samgyeopsal together after returning, but this was probably the first time they were dining at another restaurant as a family.

“Jajangmyeon!”

Just hearing that they were going to eat jajangmyeon had made Seo-woo excited since morning.

Normally, waking him up at 8 AM was an impossible task, but today, he had woken up on his own, washed up, and was even rushing them to leave.

“Would you like to order?”

As soon as they settled into their seats, a staff member came to take their order.

“Four bowls of jajangmyeon, please.”

“Four bowls of jajangmyeon. Anything else?”

“Just an extra serving of danmuji.”

“One extra serving of danmuji. Got it.”

There was a common stereotype that Chinese restaurants were shabby and had hygiene issues, but this place was different.

The kitchen was open, and they could clearly see the chef making hand-pulled noodles behind the counter.

At the same time, he was skillfully tossing a wok in the air.

“Jajangmyeon is ready!”

Steam rose from the freshly served jajangmyeon. Seo-woo let out a gasp of admiration, while Park Yeon frowned slightly and whispered.

“Demon King, is this really jajangmyeon?”

“Yeah.”

“It looks just like the food of demons.”

Lately, he hadn’t been saying things like this as often… but Seo-jun could kind of understand why Park Yeon had reacted this way.

“You think it looks like demon food because it’s black?”

“Yeah. What other food is black besides the food of demons?”

“Well, it’s true that there aren’t many foods this color.”

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but there’s an old saying on the continent.”

“An old saying?”

“The demon dwells in darkness and grows by consuming the darkness. In the end, that darkness will seek to swallow the light… Heirs of the future, do not feed the demon the darkness.”

“A quote from a sage?”

“From Saint Tron.”

“Saint Tron… That name sounds familiar.”

He was a figure known for having descended to the mortal realm thousands of years ago, vanquishing demon lords, and leaving behind a few prophecies.

There were so many bards who recited his epics that it was impossible for Seo-jun not to have heard of him.

“Saint Tron said the demon grows by consuming darkness, but he never said it grows by eating black food.”

“That’s true, but… Hmm.”

“If you don’t want to eat it, you don’t have to. I’ll eat it.”

“I never said I wouldn’t eat it. I just… had some doubts. So, just to be sure, this isn’t actually demon food, right?”

“It’s not.”

Only after hearing a firm confirmation did Park Yeon lick his lips.

“So, how do you eat this?”

“You mix it. Like this.”

“Earth’s food really is full of strange things.”

Recalling the bibimbap he had eaten recently, Park Yeon followed Seo-jun’s example and mixed the jajangmyeon.

The thick, sticky sound of the sauce being mixed somehow strengthened his suspicion that this really was demon food…

‘It must be my imagination.’

At last, the jajangmyeon was fully mixed.

By now, he had gotten somewhat used to using chopsticks, so he picked up some noodles and put them in his mouth. As the sweet flavor spread across his tongue, he couldn’t help but smile.

‘It has a different charm than ramen.’

If ramen and danmuji were a heavenly combination, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration. How would jajangmyeon compare?

First, he stuffed his mouth full of jajangmyeon, then—

Crunch!

—he bit into a piece of danmuji.

“Ohhh!”

It was even more delightful than the combination of ramen and danmuji.

Whereas danmuji simply neutralized the spiciness of ramen while adding texture, with jajangmyeon, it created an even greater synergy.

The danmuji cut through the rich, slightly greasy jajangmyeon, enhancing both the flavor and the texture.

Seo-jun watched as Park Yeon happily ate his jajangmyeon. Seeing that he was satisfied, Seo-jun finally picked up his chopsticks as well.

“It’s too bad Yeoksam can’t eat this… Uncle, can’t Yeoksam eat jajangmyeon?”

By now, Seo-woo was also happily eating his jajangmyeon. He was enjoying it so much that his mouth was covered in black soybean paste.

“He can.”

Yeoksam wasn’t an ordinary dog. He could digest foods that would normally be toxic to dogs, like milk and chocolate.

“Then I’ll save some for him! Hehe.”

Seo-jun smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Yeon-jun. He was just staring blankly at his bowl of jajangmyeon.

“If you keep staring at it, do you think it’ll mix itself?”

“Huh?”

“It’s going to get soggy. Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Oh, yeah, I should.”

Yeon-jun hurriedly mixed his jajangmyeon. As Seo-jun had pointed out, it had already started to get soggy.

After taking only a few bites, Yeon-jun suddenly stood up.

“Where are you going in the middle of a meal?”

“Just to the restroom. Don’t mind me, keep eating.”

But instead of heading to the restroom, Yeon-jun went looking for a staff member.

“Do you need anything?”

“Do you offer takeout for jajangmyeon?”

“Of course, we do.”

“Then I’d like to order one to-go, please.”

After placing his order, he returned to the table, where everyone else had already finished eating.

“I’m so full.”

“That was delicious!”

“This would be perfect with rice.”

Yeon-jun spoke.

“Shall we head out?”

“Yeon-jun, didn’t you barely eat?”

“I must’ve eaten something bad yesterday. My stomach feels a little off, so I can’t eat much.”

With that, the four of them left the restaurant. Of course, in Yeon-jun’s hand was a takeout container of jajangmyeon.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“I need to stop by somewhere. Can you take Park Yeon and Seo-woo home first? I’ll be back soon.”

“Where are you going?”

“To meet someone.”

Seo-jun nodded.

As the three of them walked away, Yeon-jun, still holding the takeout jajangmyeon, headed somewhere.

Soon, he arrived at the old Yongsan District Office.