Each of the four seasons has its own scent. Spring has a fresh scent, summer a deep grassy scent, and autumn the scent of fallen leaves carried by the chilly breeze...

Seo-jun especially liked the scents of spring and autumn. For some reason, the scents of those two seasons made people feel uplifted.

Especially during the early morning hours, the faint scent of dew-soaked grass drifting through the silence gave a feeling of washing away all worries.

To enjoy that feeling, Seo-jun had recently been leaving the house at the break of dawn.

He walked down the road while gazing at the dim sky.

He took a deep breath. The grassy scent drifting in from faraway Namsan mountain gently poked at his lungs.

Seo-jun arrived at the market, fully enjoying the pleasant grassy scent.

Originally, the market started around 9 a.m. when the police began their patrols, and typically closed around sunset.

But these days, the market opened even at dawn. It was thanks to the slight improvement in public safety.

Come to think of it, gunshots were rarely heard nowadays. It wasn't that they were completely gone, but unlike before, when you’d hear them two or three times a day, they had become much less frequent.

"Ah, come on, lower the price a little more."

"Hey, if I lower it more than this, what do you expect me to do?"

"Everyone knows the wholesale price already."

"Then go buy it at the wholesale market."

"Kimchi made just yesterday, 200,000 won per kg. It’s cheap! I’ve also got green onion kimchi!"

"Come on, 200,000 won per kg is too much. Give me a 10,000 won discount."

The market was already bustling with people.

Seo-jun naturally blended into the crowd. He browsed the goods.

Pacific saury so fresh they could bring back a runaway daughter-in-law.

Mackerels with plump flesh.

Crabs blowing bubbles with popping sounds.

All were autumn seasonal seafood. But Seo-jun was looking for something else.

"Welcome! Looking for something?"

It was a middle-aged woman with a warm impression who looked like she had just opened her fish stall.

"Do you have large shrimp?"

"Large shrimp? Of course we do. Come on over."

The woman lifted the lid of a red rubber basin. Inside were plump large shrimp.

"How is it? Looks fresh, right?"

"It does."

"They’re so fresh you could eat them raw! They came in just yesterday, yesterday."

"How much per kg?"

"You know fall is the season for large shrimp, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"As you probably know, seasonal foods are always a bit pricey."

The woman subtly checked Seo-jun's reaction.

She had been working the market since before the upheaval. That’s why she could usually tell just by a customer’s expression whether they were an easy mark or not.

But…

'I really can’t tell.'

Just by looking at his expression, she couldn’t read him at all.

He seemed to know his seafood, but also looked a bit clueless?

After a moment of thought, she spoke.

"350,000 won per kg."

"That’s expensive."

"Come on, of course it’s expensive. Look at that napa cabbage kimchi. Even that sells for 200,000 won per kg. So 350,000 for large shrimp is practically a steal!"

When Seo-jun hesitated, the woman added,

"Alright, I’ll be generous. If you buy now, I’ll throw in an extra 100g. How about it?"

"Sounds good."

The woman began placing the shrimp on the scale. The needle gradually tipped until it slightly passed 1 kg.

"That’s about right, yeah?"

Seo-jun let out a small chuckle.

It was indeed over 1 kg. However, the basket holding the shrimp looked to weigh about 300g on its own.

Though it looked light since it was plastic, it wasn’t actually made of plastic.

Even so—

"Looks right."

Seo-jun readily accepted being ripped off. In fact, for him, being ripped off felt like a refreshing shock.

Except for the early days in the Demon Realm, when survival was uncertain, Seo-jun had reigned above the ten thousand demons (萬魔).

No one dared speak his name recklessly, and no one disobeyed his command.

Even the arch-demon Pelialzo, infamous among demons for deceit and lies, couldn’t utter a falsehood in front of him.

But look at this woman.

She was blatantly ripping him off without a hint of shame.

Excessive reverence always brings fatigue. And Seo-jun had been revered for thousands of years.

It might sound laughable, but to Seo-jun, being ripped off was an act that reaffirmed his humanity.

An act proving that he was the same kind of human being as others, not some absolute existence.

"Here you go. Come again next time."

Seo-jun smiled in return at the woman’s warm send-off.

Of course, he had no intention of coming back. Once was enough for being ripped off.

One of the foods Seo-jun had most wanted to eat while in the Demon Realm was grilled large shrimp.

In the Demon Realm, pork had been substituted with Krekseg, and chicken and eggs with Dekanto and Arutus, but there was no substitute for large shrimp.

More importantly, salt didn’t exist there.

Of course, there was something called the Bureuel tree, which provided a seasoning that could mimic salt’s saltiness. But that was extracted from the fruit juice of the Bureuel tree.

There was absolutely nothing in the Demon Realm that could replace the coarse salt used for grilling large shrimp.

After returning to Earth, he had indulged in all the foods he had craved, and so had forgotten about it—but now that autumn was fast approaching, grilled large shrimp came to mind.

That’s why he had bought large shrimp at the market.

Grilled large shrimp is surprisingly simple to make. If they’re fresh, there’s no need to prep them. Just rinse them thoroughly under running water.

Ah, if you plan to stir-fry the heads in butter separately, that’s a different case. Then you’ll need to remove the horn on the head in advance.

Thwack! Thwack!

Alright, the prep work is done. Now just rinse them thoroughly under running water and drain them in a sieve to remove the moisture.

In the meantime, prepare the frying pan and coarse salt.

Now, if preparation is complete, lay down parchment paper or foil. If you don’t have it, it’s fine to skip it.

Even though he had parchment paper, Lee Seo-jun purposely didn’t use it. He preferred the salty and savory flavor that soaked into the shrimp from the scorched salt.

If you’ve laid down the salt, the next step is to neatly layer the shrimp closely together.

Once it’s all laid out, close the lid of the frying pan and grill it over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Lee Seo-jun set the timer to 20 minutes. He preferred the shrimp to be slightly charred.

Now, all that’s left is to wait.

Tick-tock, tick-tock—!

Somehow, time seemed to pass slowly. Was it because he was about to eat shrimp for the first time in thousands of years?

While the shrimp was cooking, Lee Seo-jun swept the front of the shop. Fallen leaves carried by the wind were scattered everywhere.

“Hello!”

At the cheerful greeting, Lee Seo-jun turned his head. Ki Sun-hye, smiling brightly, came into view.

“You're going to school early?”

“I usually go at this time.”

“It’s only seven o’clock, though?”

“I’m on duty today. I have to be there by eight. But you came out early too, oppa? I don’t think I saw the store open on my way to school before…”

“Ah, I went to the early morning market.”

“You're making something tasty again, aren’t you?”

Lee Seo-jun smiled and nodded.

“Ah! Sun-hye, did you eat breakfast?”

“I was going to grab a triangle kimbap on the way.”

“Perfect timing. If you like grilled shrimp, want to eat before you go?”

“I’d never turn that down! Hehe.”

“Come in.”

Entering the shop, Ki Sun-hye sniffed the air.

“Wow, shrimp smell!”

“Should be almost done. Hang on.”

Lee Seo-jun headed to the kitchen. The shrimp had just turned a nice reddish color, perfectly cooked.

No grilled shrimp is complete without chojang (vinegared red pepper paste).

Lee Seo-jun brought out the grilled shrimp along with some chojang.

“It looks amazing!”

“Your hands might smell. Do you want plastic gloves?”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll wash up later.”

Just as Lee Seo-jun nodded and reached for a shrimp—

“Ah, wait a second!”

“Hmm?”

Looking a bit embarrassed, Ki Sun-hye stuck her tongue out slightly and said,

“Sorry. Is it okay if I take a picture first?”

“Go ahead.”

Ki Sun-hye took pictures from various angles.

‘Come to think of it, she takes pictures every time she visits.’

She had often come by the shop with her friends. They usually ate tteokbokki, and even though it was the same dish each time, she always took photos.

“All done.”

Only then did Lee Seo-jun pick up a shrimp. The salty aroma soaked into the shrimp hinted at how it would taste.

Of course, it would taste even better in his mouth.

‘Just the shrimp first.’

With practiced hands, Lee Seo-jun peeled the shrimp and popped the flesh into his mouth without the chojang, chewing gently.

It tasted just as expected. And because it was expected, it tasted even better.

After the initial salty flavor came a clean, savory taste that truly qualified as a delicacy.

The more he chewed, the more sweetness filled his mouth.

This time, with chojang. He dipped the peeled shrimp meat into the sauce and popped it into his mouth.

“Amazing! Muk-dwi-muk!”

The exclamation was Sun-hye’s. Her already large eyes widened even more in awe.

“Muk-dwi-muk?”

“Oppa, you don’t know ‘muk-dwi-muk’?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means it was so good that when you looked back after eating, you wanted to eat more.”

“Ah… I know ‘jonmattaeng’ though.”

“Gasp, that’s such an old word—it’s practically extinct since Gojoseon!”

Lee Seo-jun chuckled and replied,

“Then Sun-hye, do you know ‘jul’?”

“Jul? What’s that? A short form of ‘julg-geopge’ (joyfully)?”

Lee Seo-jun looked slightly surprised.

‘That actually is the original meaning.’

It had gradually changed over time, but that was indeed its root.

“Then it’s my turn. What do you think ‘Tokdi’ means?”

“Tokdi?”

“Short for ‘Tokki-ddi’ (Year of the Rabbit)?”

Sun-hye burst out laughing with a loud “Puhat!” It was more delighted than mocking.

“It’s short for ‘Talk ID’.”

“Ah.”

“Now oppa, give me one. I’ll guess it.”

Lee Seo-jun tried recalling slang from his school days. Honestly, even back then, he hadn’t been good with trendy lingo.

“Jimotmi.”

“Jimotmi? Ah, I don’t know that one.”

“It means ‘Sorry I couldn’t protect you’.”

“Oh, that’s how it works?”

From there, they kept exchanging slang quizzes while peeling and eating shrimp.

How much time had passed?

Clatter!

“Who dares? Who has disturbed my sweet slumber?”

“Oh, Park Yeon oppa!”

“Ah, what a pity it is! I was sleeping so well, and yet you dare make noise, you high schooler!”

Sun-hye turned to Lee Seo-jun.

“What drama is that from?”

“It’s from a drama called ‘Wang Geon’. I’m surprised he even found that.”

“It actually has lines like that?”

As Lee Seo-jun nodded, Park Yeon pointed and shouted,

“I see now that your mind is full of demons. Guards, seize them!”

“Stop and just drink some cola.”

Park Yeon nodded cheerfully and headed to the fridge.

Unintentionally, the leftovers were taken care of by Park Yeon. As he ate the remaining shrimp, Lee Seo-jun turned on the TV.

Unable to find a channel he liked, he kept flipping when Park Yeon asked,

“Demon King, what is this thing that tastes so good?”

“Was it not on the continent?”

“There were smaller ones. Nothing this big.”

“It’s called ‘daehwa’.”

“Daehwa? It’s actually called daehwa?”

“Yeah.”

As he stared at the peeled shrimp meat, Park Yeon suddenly burst out in laughter.

For a moment, Lee Seo-jun wondered if he had finally gone mad, but then Park Yeon mumbled with a chuckle,

“Then does a historical drama called ‘daehwa sageuk’ mean it’s made from daehwa shrimp? Kekekekeke.”

At Park Yeon’s comment, Lee Seo-jun felt somewhat relieved. The true middle-aged man was right there.