A three-story building in Myeong-dong, Chuncheon.
The first floor housed shops, while the second and third floors were being used as exhibition halls.
The third floor was Yu Sunjae’s private gallery, and the second floor was currently hosting other artists.
And the owner of this entire building was Yu Sunjae himself.
10:30 a.m.
Yu Sunjae, having arrived at the building with his granddaughter Yu Mirae, went up to the third floor and took a moment to admire his own works.
He was a painter.
Ever since he picked up the brush late in life, for the past twenty years he had painted nothing but food.
Fruits, vegetables, fish, meat… and every dish that could be made from them.
He himself didn’t know why he was so obsessed with food.
Perhaps he thought that if he kept painting, he might one day remember the taste of the meals his late wife used to make.
But it hadn’t worked.
Yesterday, however, thanks to the perilla-oil makguksu Irim had made, he had finally found his wife’s taste again.
Even so, the desire to paint food still grew vigorously inside his chest.
No, it had actually become even stronger.
Gulp!
Yu Mirae, standing beside him admiring the paintings, spoke in a puzzled tone.
“Grandpa, you have no appetite at all, yet how can you paint food so well?”
A food painter with no greed for food.
That was why Yu Sunjae was called an eccentric artist.
Yu Sunjae smiled and asked.
“Do you really think I paint them that well?”
“They don’t look like paintings, they look like photographs.”
“Then do the foods look appetizing?”
“Hmm……
Well… I do think they’re incredibly well-painted, but… ah, sorry. Hehe.”
Yu Mirae stuck out her tongue a little.
Yu Sunjae laughed heartily at how cute she was.
“You’re right. Technically, they’ve reached a considerable level, but that’s all. There’s skill, but no soul.”
It was the first time Yu Mirae had heard Yu Sunjae speak of his own paintings like this.
He was a man with strong pride, so she was a bit surprised.
“You said earlier that Grandpa has no food cravings, right?”
“Yes.”
“I think from now on I might develop some.”
Even now, the aroma and texture of that perilla-oil makguksu kept coming back to him, making him desperately want to eat it again.
The way a dish he had eaten only once kept circling in his mind, appeared even when he closed his eyes, and made his stomach growl in the middle of the night as he wondered how he could eat it again; only after experiencing that kind of craving did Yu Sunjae realize his paintings had been dead all along.
If a person with no appetite painted food, of course it wouldn’t look delicious.
After slowly appreciating the paintings, it was 11 o’clock.
The buffet company they had booked should be arriving with the food any minute now.
Whenever Yu Sunjae held a new exhibition, he always prepared food for the gallery visitors.
Since the theme of his works was food, it was a fun concept.
That’s why people who knew him always came to his exhibitions on an empty stomach.
He didn’t always set up a buffet, though.
If you opened the inner door of the exhibition hall, there was a fairly spacious kitchen.
Sometimes he invited a few chefs to cook and serve fresh dishes right there as guests arrived.
Yet right now, when the buffet company should be busily setting up, everything was strangely quiet.
“Why hasn’t even the tip of their nose shown up yet?”
While Yu Sunjae was wondering, his secretary and bodyguard Jung Dooho hurriedly entered the hall.
He gave Yu Sunjae a light bow and delivered the news.
“Chairman, it seems Bomnae Garden won’t be able to prepare the food today.”
“Bomnae Garden” was the name of the catering buffet company Yu Sunjae had contracted.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Hearing this on the very day they were supposed to provide food was so absurd that he didn’t even feel angry.
“They received a suspension of business this morning.”
“How did that happen?”
“Two days ago they catered a company’s opening ceremony, and many employees who ate the food provided by Bomnae Garden suffered mass food poisoning. During the investigation, the same bacteria found in the patients were detected in Bomnae Garden’s food.”
“Good heavens. We should consider ourselves lucky. If things had gone wrong, we might have served that food to my guests.”
Yu Mirae, who had been listening, asked.
“Grandpa, then what about the food?”
Instead of answering, Yu Sunjae let out a groan.
He didn’t want to serve his precious gallery visitors something like delivery food.
But with only thirty minutes until opening, calling another buffet company was impossible.
Hiring private chefs was also out of the question at this point.
“What am I going to do?”
While he was worrying, his smartphone rang.
The caller was Im Jeongmyeong.
“Hello.”
– Hello, it’s me.
“Haha. If it isn’t my friend Im Jeongmyeong.”
– Right. Today’s your new exhibition, isn’t it?
“You remembered.”
– Of course I didn’t forget. Don’t be upset, why would you say that. Hehe. Anyway, I was thinking of stopping by to admire the works and fill my stomach at the same time. There’s always food at your exhibitions, right?
“Sigh… actually, there’s been a slight problem with that.”
…What?
Yu Sunjae explained the situation to Im Jeongmyeong.
After listening, Im Jeongmyeong’s voice grew heavy.
– Oh, really? Hold on a second.
After a brief hesitation, Im Jeongmyeong spoke again.
– I’ll call you right back.
The call ended, and Yu Sunjae felt a spark of hope that his friend might have a solution.
A few moments later, the phone rang again.
“So, did you think of something?”
– How about this? Our head chef comes over and makes noodles for the guests.
Yu Sunjae’s eyes grew as wide as lanterns.
“That young chef you mean?”
– Who else could it be? Our head chef says it’s a good opportunity. It’ll be publicity for the restaurant, and he can get a feel for serving guests. He said if possible he’d love to serve everyone the perilla-oil makguksu you ate. What do you think?
The moment he heard Irim was coming, Yu Sunjae’s heart started pounding.
He had been dying to eat that perilla-oil makguksu again anyway.
And that taste was something he absolutely wanted to recommend to others.
Moreover, sharing a flavor filled with his own memories with the gallery visitors sounded wonderful.
Yu Sunjae gladly accepted.
“If you do that for me, I’ll give you everything I was going to pay the buffet company.”
– Why give it to me? The chef’s the one working hard. Give it to our Irim.
“Ah, is that how it works? Anyway, come quickly.”
– We’re on our way now, so please assign two kitchen assistants.
After ending the call, Yu Sunjae’s face brightened.
Yu Mirae, curious, asked.
“What happened?”
“Mirae-ya, do you remember the young chef I told you about yesterday?”
“The one who said food is eaten with the eyes, with aroma and texture, and with memories, right?”
“Yes. The very chef who taught me that is coming here.”
“Really?”
“You’ll get to taste the same dish Grandpa ate yesterday.”
“Jackpot!”
Yu Mirae was genuinely thrilled.
She had been extremely curious about what kind of food could earn such high praise from her grandfather who had lost his sense of taste.
And now she was getting the chance to try it so soon.
Yu Sunjae looked fondly at his excited granddaughter, then suddenly frowned.
“Ah… but he said he needs a couple of kitchen assistants.”
He stroked his chin and looked at his secretary Jung Dooho.
Jung Dooho shook his head in horror.
“Chairman, I only know how to eat food, I’ve never cooked in my entire life.”
At that moment Yu Mirae stepped forward.
“Grandpa, I’ll assist.”
“You? Do you think you can manage?”
“Hey, even if I can’t season properly, I can definitely help as an assistant. Did you think I only ever did serving part-time? I’ve done plenty of kitchen work too.”
“That would be a great help. Hehe. Wait, then who’s going to serve?”
Yu Sunjae’s gaze turned back to Jung Dooho.
In the end, Jung Dooho had no choice but to nod.
“I’ll take care of the serving.”
“Perfect. Now we just need one more kitchen assistant. Dooho, can you find someone?”
“Well… I’ll try, but there’s really no time…”
Jung Dooho answered without confidence.
At that moment Yu Mirae made a call.
“Hello~ Soonyoung unnie. Are you busy today? Really? Then there’s a one-day part-time spot here, want to come? 15,000 won per hour. You can be here in twenty minutes? Okay, I’ll send the address by message~”
After hanging up, Yu Mirae looked at Yu Sunjae and asked.
“I called a sister from the same restaurant I work at. 15,000 won per hour. That’s okay, right?”
At his granddaughter’s question, Yu Sunjae burst into laughter.
When every minute and second counts, sometimes you just have to charge ahead like that.
Come to think of it, that boldness resembled her father.
Yu Sunjae stroked Yu Mirae’s head.
“If you bring the person, I’ll even pay 20,000 won per hour!”
“Then we just need the head chef to arrive?”
“Yes. I’m really looking forward to this.”
***
Vrooom.
A luxury sedan was speeding toward Myeong-dong.
It was Im Jeongmyeong’s car.
Irim sat in the passenger seat, while the trunk was packed full of ingredients for the noodles.
The ingredients for the perilla-oil makguksu Yu Sunjae had eaten were simple: buckwheat noodles, perilla oil, sesame seeds, seaweed, soy sauce, and sugar.
Today they were adding cucumber.
Of course, they would serve it without cucumber for those who didn’t like it.
Im Jeongmyeong had brought all the perilla oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, sugar, and cucumbers from the restaurant.
Anything else they lacked, they had bought enough for 100 servings while stopping at nearby markets.
Im Jeongmyeong’s driving skills were top-class.
He wasn’t driving slowly, yet the ride felt completely stable.
“Unexpected.”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Irim hadn’t even known Im Jeongmyeong owned such an expensive car.
He couldn’t picture the man driving at all.
“He said he wasn’t running the restaurant to make money… so it wasn’t an empty boast.”
No wonder Im Jeongmyeong always carried an air of leisure; there had been a reason all along.
As the car entered Myeong-dong, Im Jeongmyeong asked Irim.
“Irim-ah, are you nervous?”
Irim nodded.
“Yes, a little.”
“You’ll do fine. More importantly, I’m sorry for dragging you into my friend’s affairs.”
“I already told you, the restaurant reopens in three days anyway, so this is a good chance to get back in the groove and do some publicity. It’s really fine… Since we’re on the topic, if I feel good today, what do you think about opening tomorrow right away?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Honestly, I’m dying to start business again. Is it too much?”
Im Jeongmyeong shook his head.
“If the head chef wants it, then that’s what we’ll do. Alright, we’re almost there.”
Im Jeongmyeong’s car pulled into the underground parking lot of a certain building.
Three men in black suits were waiting for Im Jeongmyeong; upon recognizing him, they spoke.
“Hello, sir. The chairman told us to carry the ingredients.”
“Ah, I’ll open the trunk.”
Irim and Im Jeongmyeong rode up to the third floor together with the men carrying the ingredients.
***
“They should be arriving any minute now.”
Yu Sunjae muttered while staring at the exhibition hall entrance.
Yu Mirae, standing beside him, was also staring intently at the door.
She was incredibly excited to finally meet this young, amazing chef her grandfather kept talking about.
At that moment, the door opened and three men carrying luggage entered.
Next came Im Jeongmyeong.
And when the last person stepped in, Yu Sunjae greeted him with a delighted voice.
“Well, well~ Good to see you, Chef!”
“Hello, sir.”
The young chef bowed politely.
The moment Yu Mirae saw him, her mouth fell wide open.
“I-Irim oppa?!”