Chapter 4
Hyangsuk’s Side-Dish Shop (4)
I blinked at the tutorial window.
“So… wash the chili peppers, dry them… Don’t tell me it wants me to make the chili powder myself?”
Haetae lazily cracked one eye open.
“What? Don’t want to, meow?”
“No, it’s not that. I’d love to have homemade chili powder. It’s just… doing everything from scratch feels overwhelming.”
“Chili powder made from peppers you harvested with your own hands tastes completely different, meow.”
Having said his piece, Haetae simply closed his eyes again.
“Must be nice,” I muttered, turning my attention to the freshly harvested pile of peppers.
Scratching just beneath my nose, I examined them one by one.
Chili Pepper Filled with the Sun’s Energy (S)
Delicious Chili Pepper (A)
Ordinary Chili Pepper (B)
Looks like I can see all the grades now.
After clearing the first tutorial, the ingredient grades and status—which had only appeared randomly before—were now visible all the time.
Memories surfaced of wandering dawn markets while searching for the finest ingredients for the restaurant, even tracking down farms all over the country.
Smiling with satisfaction, I stretched my aching back.
“Alright.”
“Let’s do this.”
*
I found several burlap sacks in the shop’s storage room and sorted the peppers according to grade.
After carrying everything into the courtyard, I filled a large red basin with water and took a short break.
Wiping the sweat from my forehead with my forearm, I looked up at the sky.
It’s been a long time since I worked up a sweat like this.
I used to sweat constantly in the restaurant kitchen too.
But no one had ever appreciated the effort.
The bitter memories began creeping back…
I shook my head.
That’s all in the past.
I soaked my hands in the cool water and gently rubbed the dirt from the peppers’ skins.
When I lifted them into a strainer, they sparkled beneath the sunlight.
Nowadays people used food dehydrators.
But there was no way Grandma’s little side-dish shop had one of those.
So…
I’d dry them the same way she always had.
“Jigu.
After washing the peppers, dry them thoroughly so mold won’t grow.
Then split them open so they’ll dry evenly in the sun.”
It felt as though Grandma’s voice whispered in my ear.
*
For nearly an hour I remained bent over, carefully wiping every one of the five hundred peppers dry.
Seeing them lined up, glossy and gleaming, filled me with pride.
“Whew.”
“Done!”
Stretching, I rolled my sore shoulders.
Now only the drying remained.
I spread a large waterproof tarp across the courtyard.
Then carefully arranged the peppers so none of them touched.
Otherwise the moisture trapped underneath would prevent them from drying properly.
The moment I finished…
A translucent window appeared.
Wash the Chili Peppers and Dry Them in the Courtyard (40%)
Only forty percent?
Right… I still have to cut them open.
I went into the kitchen, grabbed a pair of scissors, and began removing the stems before slicing each pepper open.
My fingers were going to hate me for this.
“Hyangsuk taught you well, meow.”
Haetae had apparently woken up.
He wandered over, his tail lazily swaying.
“She did.”
“When I was little, Grandma taught me all kinds of things.”
Even though I must’ve been a troublesome child…
She had patiently taught me everything.
“I was the one who taught her, meow.”
“…Wait.”
“Grandma learned all of this from you?”
“Exactly!”
“I was Hyangsuk’s teacher, meow.”
I stared at him with wide eyes.
“Seriously?”
“Of course.”
“Where else do you think she learned it, meow?”
“…I always thought my grandma was simply a genius.”
“Huh, meow?”
Smiling softly, I continued.
“To me…”
“Grandma was always a genius.”
“She was my whole world.”
“Whatever it was, she’d somehow make it happen.”
“She was like a magician.”
“I never imagined she had such an amazing teacher behind her.”
The moment I called him teacher…
Haetae’s ears shot straight up.
His tail pointed proudly toward the sky.
“Was… that a compliment, meow?”
“It was.”
“Want me to take it back?”
“You can’t take compliments back, meow!”
“Haha.”
“I’m kidding.”
As I chatted with the suddenly puffed-up divine beast…
I eventually found myself holding the last chili pepper.
Carefully, I split it open and laid it on the tarp.
“Ah… achoo!”
“Achoo!”
Even while sneezing repeatedly from the peppers, I couldn’t stop smiling.
Now all that remained…
Was collapsing onto a bed.
But Haetae kept hovering in front of me.
“What?”
“Aren’t you making lunch, meow?”
“My stomach’s sticking to my back!”
…Right.
Food.
I’d completely forgotten.
“Sorry.”
“I’m exhausted.”
“Can I sleep first and cook afterward?”
My eyelids felt impossibly heavy.
But Haetae flattened his ears and hissed in protest.
“If you woke me up…”
“Then you’re responsible for feeding me, meow.”
“Alright, alright.”
“I’ll cook now.”
“Hurry, meow!”
Turning away dramatically, Haetae walked over to the shop’s back door and tapped it twice with his paw.
“Open it, meow!”
His meaning couldn’t have been clearer.
Stop standing there and cook.
Laughing, I forced myself to stand.
“I’m coming.”
“I’m coming!”
*
“Wake up! Wake up! You’re the hero of Korea!”
The blaring smartphone alarm dragged me awake.
Right… I’m Korea’s pride…
Blink.
Blink.
Rubbing my dry eyes, I looked around.
I’d fallen asleep in the kitchen.
I hadn’t even made it to my room.
After feeding Haetae…
I’d passed out.
My eyes started closing again.
I’d only slept for two hours.
No wonder I was still exhausted.
“Not getting up, meow?”
Something soft poked me squarely in the cheek.
Opening my eyes…
I found Haetae’s pink paw pads pressing against my face.
“You didn’t go back into the hidden garden?”
“You locked the door, meow!”
Oh.
I’d fed him…
Then, half asleep, locked the back door.
I’d accidentally trapped him inside the shop.
“Sorry.”
“Hmph, meow.”
Trying to wake myself up, I gently stroked his back.
His silky fur slipped between my fingers.
It was surprisingly comforting.
Ding.
The tutorial notification appeared.
Wash the Chili Peppers and Dry Them in the Courtyard (60%)
As I slowly came to my senses, something struck me.
“…Why is it so dark?”
I’d fallen asleep while the sun was still high.
Now outside looked almost like evening.
“Wake up already, meow!”
“Storm clouds are coming.”
“That’s why I woke you.”
“What?”
“Storm clouds?!”
I shot upright.
If rain soaked the peppers after all this work…
Everything would be ruined.
“Thanks, Haetae!”
Without thinking, I scooped him into my arms and sprinted for the back door.
“Put me down, meow!”
“Just bear with it!”
Having him beside me somehow made me feel less anxious.
Reaching the courtyard, I looked skyward.
Clouds gathered rapidly.
Within moments…
The entire sky had turned black.
Rain was coming.
“Oh no!”
Dark clouds swallowed the sky at frightening speed.
Cold, damp wind whipped through the courtyard.
It would start pouring any second.
I set Haetae down and rolled up my sleeves.
Move them!
The only safe place was inside the shop.
I grabbed both ends of the tarp, wrapped the peppers inside, and began dragging the heavy bundle indoors.
At that moment…
Raindrops began tapping against the awning overhead.
Tap.
Tap-tap.
“Eek!”
An icy drop struck the top of my head.
That instantly woke me up.
Grinding my teeth, I hauled the final load inside.
Only after the last pepper was safely sheltered did I collapse onto the floor.
Sweat and rainwater poured from my body.
I couldn’t move a single finger.
“Haa…”
“Well done, meow.”
Haetae walked over and gently tapped my thigh with one paw.
I couldn’t help laughing.
“If it weren’t for you…”
“This would’ve been a disaster.”
“Farming really isn’t something just anyone can do.”
“Working against nature is always the hardest job, meow.”
Only now did I truly understand why vegetable prices constantly rose and fell.
“Still…”
“The chili powder made after all this effort will definitely taste better, meow.”
Haetae nudged one of the rain-speckled peppers with his paw.
His golden eyes carried an oddly proud look.
“These little ones know how much effort you’ve given them, meow.”
“Vegetables are honest.”
“They reward the care they’re given with better flavor.”
“My effort…”
Do they really?
“I hope so.”
Aside from Grandma…
No one had ever said something like that to me.
I quietly picked up one of the peppers dampened by the rain.
The droplets clinging to its bright red skin felt strangely alive.
“Vegetables never lie, meow.”
“They don’t?”
“They don’t, meow.”
Just then…
I looked at the quest window and let out a helpless laugh.
Wash the Chili Peppers and Dry Them in the Courtyard (55%)
Because the peppers had gotten wet…
My progress had actually dropped by 5%.
*
Exactly one week passed.
Every morning I spread the peppers out beneath the sun.
Every evening I carried them back into the shop.
During the spare moments in between, I swept and cleaned every corner of the store.
The tools Grandma had used for years slowly regained their shine.
The peppers survived several close calls with the weather and eventually dried into crisp perfection beneath the summer sun.
Wash the Chili Peppers and Dry Them in the Courtyard (99%)
Only one percent remained.
Facing the entrance to the hidden garden, I shouted,
“Haetae!”
“Final inspection, please!”
“They’re all dry, meow?”
“Yeah!”
“Come check!”
Yawning, Haetae wandered over.
I held up a handful of perfectly dried peppers.
“Meeeow!”
His eyes suddenly went wide.
Standing on his hind legs, he swiped at the peppers with both front paws like a predator pouncing on prey.
“Oh?”
Grinning mischievously, I moved the peppers to my left.
“Meow!”
Haetae lunged left after them, batting wildly.
Watching the dignified divine beast completely lose himself to his feline instincts made me burst into laughter.
“Oh?”
“So even a divine beast can’t escape being a cat.”
I’d assumed a divine beast wouldn’t behave like an ordinary cat.
Apparently…
A cat was still a cat.
Realizing I was teasing him, Haetae narrowed his eyes.
“…Are you making fun of me, meow?”
“Not at all.”
“I was just shaking them so you could see whether they were dry.”
With a huff, Haetae carefully inspected each pepper one by one.
“Ahem.”
“They’re perfectly dried.”
“You pass, meow.”
The moment those words left his mouth…
The translucent window exploded with brilliant light like fireworks.
Tutorial Complete!
Wash the Chili Peppers and Dry Them in the Courtyard
But…
The tutorial wasn’t over.
A new quest immediately appeared.
Tutorial 3: Make Kimchi Using Your Homemade Chili Powder (0/1)
“…Now you want me to make kimchi too?”
