Chapter 62: Kimjang Day

A moonlit night.

The moon was unusually close, such that the moon rabbit pounding rice cakes could faintly be seen with the naked eye on such a night.

The Floating Island was now fully imbued with the essence of autumn. The fields were abundant with crops grown on dragon fertilizer.

Today, especially, there was not a single breeze, calm and peaceful.

At this time when everyone was quietly asleep.

Wiggle, wiggle.

One carrot moves. Shaking back and forth like a reed swaying in the wind.

Soon, it disappeared underground.

“Hmm.”

I looked at the field and let out a sigh.

“Why so serious from the morning?”

Elenia flew over to my side.

“Elenia, look here.”

Where I pointed with my finger, there was a hole drilled into the ground.

“What’s with this?”

“Until yesterday, the field was packed with carrots? But look at this. A carrot is missing right in the middle.”

“Did the carrot grow legs? You didn’t harvest it and forget?”

“No, I harvest from the outside. This must be someone secretly stealing and eating the carrots.”

“Who here would steal and eat carrots? Dorori and I eat strawberries if anything, not steal carrots.”

That’s true. And a dragon wouldn’t steal just one carrot.

“I wasn’t suspecting you guys anyway. It’s just that I don’t get it.”

Elenia rubbed her chin with a puzzled expression.

“It is strange. If an intruder came to the Floating Island, I wouldn’t have missed it.”

What on earth happened? Unless the carrot flew up to the sky or sank into the ground by itself.

For now, I thought it might be passing birds and let it go.

If it happens again, I’ll have to take measures.

Scratch, scratch.

“Why is my ear so itchy lately….”

Lately, my ear has been itching a lot.

Someone must be talking about me.

Anyway.

Before I knew it, sturdy cabbages were growing lushly in the field.

“Shall we start then.”

I rolled up my sleeves.

I planned to do kimjang before winter came, and I had learned how from Yujin’s mother in advance.

She said if needed, she’d do it and share, but I felt bad always receiving, so I declined.

And I wanted to try making it myself anyway.

How delicious would kimchi made from cabbages grown right here on the Floating Island be? I’m already excited.

“Alright.”

The cabbage feels heavy, so it must be well-ripened all the way inside.

I stacked the harvested cabbages neatly on one side of the field, and soon a large cabbage tower reached eye level.

“This much should last a year easily and then some?”

“Isn’t it a bit much?”

“How many mouths are there? To eat all year, we need this much. And kimchi tastes better as it ferments.”

After stacking the last cabbage, I stretched my back straight.

“Harvesting cabbages is no easy task.”

Next, I pulled out the radishes.

Preparing the ingredients is no small feat.

For kimjang, you need radish, along with garlic, red pepper powder, onions, and so on—a whole bunch of ingredients for the seasoning.

After preparing all the necessary ingredients one by one.

“First, I need to salt the cabbages.”

Snap.

I split a large cabbage in half. The layered cabbage leaves are tightly packed.

“The leaves are fresh and firm, it would taste good even raw?”

I tore off a cabbage leaf and put it in my mouth.

Crunch, crunch.

Very fresh, with a subtle sweetness circulating with each chew. It tastes like I could finish a bowl of rice just wrapping it in ssamjang and eating it as ssam.

How delicious would kimchi from such cabbages be?

“Where did I put the pink salt.”

I took out the bowl containing the rock salt mined from the mine. I made a suitable concentration of saltwater, soaked it well between the cabbage leaves, and sprinkled salt.

While the cabbages are salting, I need to prepare the filling ingredients.

“The radish is really sturdy.”

I washed the radish thicker than my calf clean at the well and started julienning it.

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

The julienne cuts come out rhythmically. My knife-handling skills are improving day by day. I handle the knife much better than chopsticks.

Elenia flew over to me.

“You’re working hard. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Then, can you grate the onions and apples?”

“Onions?”

Elenia asked in surprise, seeing the basket piled high with onions and apples.

“A bit much? Please.”

“Uh, okay.”

A slightly regretful expression flashed across Elenia’s face. But she had already offered to help, so no backing out.

After finishing julienning the radish, I checked the cabbages.

“This should be salted well enough.”

I took out the cabbages and stacked them neatly on a net. I need to drain the water well before applying the seasoning.

Now, time to make the seasoning.

“Elenia, how are the onions and garlic coming along?”

Sniff, sniff.

Elenia was a mess with tears and snot, looking tearful.

“Sob, the tears won’t stop.”

The onions must be spicy, as she sniffs her nose every time she grates.

Grate, grate.

“Sob.”

“What’s with your face?”

I wiped Elenia’s face with a towel.

“Sniff, blow.”

“Kuhung!”

She looked refreshed only after blowing her nose.

“Thanks for the hard work. I’ll handle the rest.”

I gathered all the prepared ingredients together and made the seasoning paste. Maybe because I used home-grown and dried red pepper powder, but the color was exceptional.

“Whew.”

I wiped the sweat beads from my forehead.

I started in the morning, and the sun is already high in the sky.

“Now, just mix it in and it’s done.”

I rubbed the seasoning paste thoroughly between the salted cabbage leaves so it soaked in well.

“Sniff. It looks so delicious. Sniff.”

Elenia’s nose bridge is still red, as if the spiciness hasn’t faded yet.

“Want to try some?”

“Yes! I’ll try it.”

Elenia nodded vigorously.

I tore off a cabbage leaf neatly and rolled it up.

“Here, open wide.”

“Ah—”

I popped the kimchi into her mouth.

Crunch, crunch.

A refreshing sound comes each time Elenia’s jaw moves.

“How is it?”

Elenia widened her eyes and shouted.

“It’s so delicious! Among all the foods I’ve eaten so far, nothing was this fresh and tangy!”

“Really that good?”

Unable to contain my curiosity, I brought a kimchi leaf straight to my mouth.

Boom!

—A lightning bolt struck in my head.

“…D-delicious.”

A tingling thrill ran through my whole body. It was so delicious that even I was shocked at how excellent the taste was.

If freshly made kimchi is this good, I can’t even imagine how much better it will be after putting it in jars and letting it ferment.

Not to mention, how delicious dozens of dishes like kimchi jjigae, kimchi jjim, kimchi jeon, and more would be!

Gulp.

Saliva surged in an instant.

To think I made such an amazing food with my own hands. If this were art, it would be nothing short of a masterpiece.

I stacked the cabbages neatly in the jars and stored them well in the ice cave. Stored in earthen jars made of clay, the kimchi will breathe and ferment nicely.

Bubble, bubble.

The pot was boiling on the stove.

“Let’s see.”

When I opened the pot lid, white steam rose up in clouds. Inside, the pork belly was cooking appetizingly.

“Is lunch boiled pork today?”

“Yujin’s mom said that on kimjang day, you absolutely have to eat su yuk.”

“Is that so? I want to eat it quickly!”

I took the su yuk out of the pot, sliced it into easy-to-eat pieces, and set the table with the freshly made kimchi.

“Guys, time to eat!”

We sat around the table.

“Wow! The table legs might break!”

Elenia, who had tasted the kimchi first, smacked her lips with excitement.

Indeed, a familiar taste is a scary thing.

“Peep!”

Dorori’s eyes were sparkling with full expectation.

“Eat well, everyone.”

“I’ll eat well!”

“Peep!”

Rush.

Without hesitation, we all dove into the plates.

Put kimchi on the su yuk and stuff a big bite in.

Munch, munch.

The fresh and clean charm unique to fresh kimchi stands out.

The chewy meat and crisp kimchi meet, making it a perfect match.

My tongue dances with joy, wondering if there’s a better food pairing.

“So, so, so delicious!”

Elenia emphasized three times, looking satisfied. She shakes her clenched fist up and down, dancing.

“…Peep!”

Dorori caught his breath for a moment and let out a peep filled with admiration.

Translated, it means ‘This insane taste!’

“It feels like all the hard work is melting away like snow.”

Kimjang is tough, but it’s rewarding because the worthwhile compensation follows.

After eating our fill, I portioned the kimchi into containers.

“Why are you portioning it separately?”

“To share a bit with the people around. Yujin’s mom said that sharing kimjang is like exchanging jeong.”

“I heard they use that word in the east. It seems like a really nice word.”

At first, the word ‘jeong’ felt unfamiliar.

Invisible feelings being exchanged—how could I understand that?

But then, thinking of Yujin’s mom, I suddenly understood its meaning.

Her kindness was pure and friendly, without any purpose. She was the perfect example of someone you could say is a good person.

“I want to become a generous person who spreads jeong too.”

I packed the containers with care.

“But how am I going to deliver all this.”

As I made it, there ended up being too many places to deliver to.

“Peep!”

“You’re going alone? Will you be okay?”

“Peep!”

Dorori said to just leave it to him.

How reliable he is.

I plan to express my thanks to Uncle Gail, who always eats my cooking so deliciously, and to Mr. Aire, who teaches me various things at the elf workshop.

And I can’t leave out my teachers, Yujin’s mother and Mr. Kadu.

Come to think of it, there are so many people around me to be thankful for.

I tied them firmly so the packing wouldn’t come loose on the way. And I added a note with a simple greeting.

“Thanks. I’m counting on you.”

Flap, flap.

Dorori picked up the basket full of cabbages and flew leisurely toward the east.

I watched Dorori’s figure flying between the rays of the now setting sun for a long while, feeling content.