LIGHTNOVELSTORY chapter 36
36 – Jibbap Jang Sunsaeng
1.
“………….”
“………….”
Hanarin’s house. There was silence all around.
There were six people in the small house with only three rooms. Why was there no sound at all?
The answer lies in the events earlier.
Nanggung-yeonha, Pangya-hwa, and Hanarin needed time to calm Eun-ho down. They made a life-threatening bet with Ryu Cheon-hee to reduce the time he took Eun-ho away.
They succeeded in pulling Cheon-hee, hanging hundreds of meters in the sky, down to the ground. However, seeing Eun-ho, who was completely unbuckled, it was not comforting.
Perhaps Eun-ho thought we had all sneakily watched. I wanted to tell him it was a misunderstanding…
Eunho’s silence was extremely heavy.
Approaching him, they blushed and avoided eye contact. It was different from the feeling of Eunho deliberately keeping his distance until then.
Before, if it felt like he intentionally kept his distance, it would have pricked their conscience. But this time, it seemed like he was embarrassed to even meet their gaze. Those who knew that they were the cause of it felt a sharp pang of guilt.
When they saw Eunho with reddened ears, the girls instinctively averted their eyes as well.
Ryeocheonghee, waiting for two weeks like she had descended from the sky, began tending to the theatrical day, feeling disheartened.
In the midst of that, a slight sound could be heard.
Sensitive to sounds, Eunho looked surprised as he stared.
“Uh…”
The owner of the sound was Namgoongyeonha.
“…Dungshin, do you have to make noise right now?”
“Well, what can I do? Didn’t we all just have an aerial battle until a while ago? Pangyahwa or Ahreen, aren’t you hungry?”
“Well, yes, I am hungry…”
They whispered to each other, exchanging words.
In this situation, leaving Eunho behind and going to eat is the worst option, but also it’s not appropriate to tell Eunho, “Let’s go eat.” Then, Eunho stood up.
“…Just wait a little.”
“..Eunho! Let’s go together.”
“What’s up?”
Eunho asked, and Yeonha hesitated in her response.
“W-weren’t you… going to buy food?”
Finally, Yeonha realized her own mistake.
If Eunho wasn’t actually going to buy food but just wanted to leave… The thought alone made the situation embarrassing, so she tried to remedy it.
“I’ll make food, so wait.”
An unexpected bombshell was dropped.
“Food? Eunho’s going to make it?”
Ryeocheonghee’s eyes sparkled.
Pangyahwa and Hanarin were also glimmering but remained silent.
But…
“…Just wait obediently.”
Eunho still seemed partially irritated.
But still, she made food for me… Could she be an angel from heaven?
As Eunho went outside, the girls muttered.
“Our teacher complained so much about her husband not making food for three days when he’s angry… Confucius is too considerate and thoughtful.”
“Eunho’s food… I’m trying it for the first time. It’s nerve-racking.”
. . .
“This is not it.”
I kept saying prickly things. I felt embarrassed.
Well, my important parts were exposed to four women.
It was unexpectedly embarrassing.
I suppressed my nervousness and heightened my senses a little, then started cooking with the ingredients in the bag.
“Confucius, if there are any ingredients or tools you want to use, feel free to use them at any time.”
“….Thank you.”
“Uh… about the hot spring incident earlier…”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“hehehe. I was worried because Confucius entered the bathhouse without hesitation. But I think it’s lucky that there was a line of decency.”
Eunho glanced at Hana, feeling uncomfortable.
“………..”
A moment of light silence passed.
“How long are you going to call me Confucius? I’m not Confucius.”
“It just came out of my mouth.”
“Call me by my name once.”
“Yes?”
Hana hesitated for a moment before trying to say the name.
But somehow… the name didn’t come out easily. When she tried to say it, she felt embarrassed.
“Uh…ho.”
“Yes. Arin.”
“I feel… ashamed. It’s better to call you Confucius after all.”
Without saying anything, Eunho started cooking.
“You’re still sulking,” she thought.
Tap, tap, tap.
She watched Eunho’s back as he skillfully wielded the kitchen knife thanks to his athletic blood.
Eunho, who noticed her approaching by her sharp gaze, spoke coldly.
“Why?”
“Did…did you catch me staring at you?”
“I can feel your gaze.”
“Well…is there anything I can help you with?”
“Wait.”
“Still…”
“Then, try this.”
Eunho showed her the sizzling egg stew from the pot and spoke.
“Can I… eat it?”
“It’s soft. Why are you watching me like that today?”
Eunho scooped up the egg slowly with a spoon and was about to feed her, but he realized it was too hot.
“Uh…oh.”
“…”
He blew on it before giving it to her.
“Here. Aah~”
She opened her mouth, looking like a little bird, and ate the warm egg stew.
“…Hic…sob…”
“Yeonha, why are you crying?”
After abruptly starting to cry, Eunho tried to console her.
“Why are you doing this? Does something hurt? Is it not tasty?”
“I thought I had done something to make you hate me…sob… I thought we would be separated forever without even having this egg stew…”
Upon hearing her words, Eunho turned indignant, but his mouth slightly turned upward.
“I said not to touch you, but still…”
Eunho began to tightly embrace Yeonha and console her.
“Don’t cry. There, there. When I first met you, you weren’t someone who cried a lot, but why do you cry so much these days?”
“Because of Eunho…”
“I’m not angry, so just let it out. Okay? The food is almost ready, so please wait. How did it taste?”
“It was perfect. Where did you learn to cook?”
“Just like that, I learned from my grandmother.”
“Hmm, your mother-in-law cooks really well. Surprised by this unexpected fact, she nodded and went inside.”
“Phew, cooking after a long time is exhausting.”
Especially because the prolonged stimulation of the Nerves of Steel caused unbearable pain.
“Ugh… Phew.”
After setting the prepared dishes on the table, Eunho brought the soup as well.
“…I’ll help.”
“Thank you.”
Yeonha carelessly lifted the tableware. Even trusting a blind person with something like this pricked her conscience as a human being.
“…Do you feel a little better now?”
“I wasn’t actually angry to begin with. I was just pretending to be.”
“…If you pretend to be angry twice, we might end up dead.”
“I wasn’t at ease either.”
“…I got angry because you didn’t touch me. I’m sorry.”
“Pff. You’re quite temperamental too, Yahwa. Let’s have a meal together separately sometime.”
“…Will we be able to meet again later? You, with that Yak-cha…”
“I told you before, I won’t be kidnapped. It’s fine for you to come see me. And, well, it seems like we won’t be separated for a long time.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
2.
“Wow…”
“The dish made by Kongja, it looks delicious.”
“It’s a human dish. I can’t remember when I had it last.”
Eunho made soybean soup, steamed eggs, and several simple side dishes.
“…Surprisingly, you’re good at cooking.”
“That’s what it means. I knew Eunho would do well.”
“Come on, let’s eat without arguing.”
“The meat is delicious!”
“So this is what home-cooked meals are like. It feels amazing. This soup has an especially intriguing taste.”
“Pang Yahwa! Don’t eat only the meat in the Japchae!”
Ryu Chun-hee, who had hardly tasted human food before, seemed to enjoy the deep and flavorful soybean paste stew, while Pang Yahwa had become a villain who only picked out the meat from the Japchae.
Yeon-ha focused intently on the steamed egg while eating, and Hana-rin devoured the meat.
The atmosphere was somewhat noisy due to the large number of people, but Eunho liked that atmosphere.
In both past and present lives, there were rarely times when two or more people ate together at home.
With a gentle smile, Eunho looked at them.
He wished he could see them a lot more.
…
Two weeks flew by in no time. Ryu Chun-hee could feel that the house was cramped, but it was surprisingly comfortable.
“You guys, say your final goodbyes to Eunho.”
“…What? There’s still a week left.”
“That was just something I said because I thought you wouldn’t end things with Eunho on good terms. Now that your relationship has improved, can’t you take him away?”
“Well, Confucius didn’t refuse in the first place, so we’re not particularly pleased with you taking Confucius away as you please.”
“I feel the same way.”
The subtle mental battle resumed.
Ryu Chun-hee laid down her conditions.
“Even if I lose in that bet, what can you do if I force it? Can you snatch Eunho away from me?”
“………….”
“No, you can’t. And think about it again. Are you willing to let Eunho die because of your petty feelings? The Heavenly Demon is after Eunho and heading to Chungwon. Avoiding the Heavenly Demon is what’s best for Eunho.”
Her words briefly shook their gaze, but Yeon-ha stepped forward and spoke heavily.
“Even though others may not know, our thoughts concerning Eunho are not petty. Didn’t we show that? Even if you’re so strong, can you protect Eunho from the Heavenly Demon?”
“……..My feelings are not petty either, and my thoughts are the same. I would rather fight the Heavenly Demon alongside other strong martial artists.”
Hana-rin also chimed in.
“Moreover, you may not know, but in Chungwon, there is Confucius’ grandmother, Jang Myung-soon, known as the strongest. Do you have confidence that you can turn both her and the Heavenly Demon into enemies and still survive?”
Ryu Chun-hee thought for a moment and said, “Instead, if the Heavenly Horse takes some action before seizing Eun-ho, Jang Myeong-soon will be defeated instead.” The three of them looked at her as if they couldn’t believe what she was saying. She continued, “Nevertheless, assuming affection has developed over two weeks, I will tell you the information I was going to share after taking Eun-ho away.” Ryu Chun-hee spoke with determination in her crimson eyes, “If the Blood Devil tries to acquire the corpse of the Black Dragon Pill, and the Heavenly Horse steals it and absorbs it, the Heavenly Horse will enter the hands of Cheonma Kang Cheon-ah.”