Chapter 05
2,400P.
Still…
At least this was different from before.
“I can finally buy frozen pork belly.”
Before she even realized it, her hand had already moved.
The space distorted for just a moment, and a vacuum-packed chunk of meat dropped into her hand.
There was no mistaking it. It was frozen.
“Wow…”
The wolf reacted to the sound.
Its ears perked up, and it stared intently at what Sehee was holding.
“Ah.”
She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly and skimmed through the list once more.
• [Ssamjang (200g)] … 300P
• [Bundle of Lettuce (10 leaves)] … 120P
“This is insane.”
Adding ssamjang and lettuce to the pork belly would eat up quite a few points.
Am I going to run out in no time at this rate?
Even so, her hands were already moving.
Just then, Cassian’s gaze turned toward the meat.
“What is that?”
Cassian asked, looking at the meat Sehee was holding.
“Food.”
“I know that without you telling me.”
“Hmm…”
Sehee thought for a moment at his response.
“Have you… never seen meat before?”
Cassian’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
“No.”
“Then why are you looking at it like that?”
Cassian stared at the meat for a moment before answering.
“It smells unusual.”
Unusual?
There didn’t seem to be anything particularly strange about it.
Watching Sehee’s reaction, Cassian spoke again.
“Monster meat has a strong, distinctive smell.”
“This is pork.”
“Pork?”
“Do you… not eat pork?”
Cassian looked at the meat for a moment before shaking his head.
“It’s not that. I simply don’t seek it out.”
Cassian jerked his chin toward the forest.
“There is more than enough monster meat in this forest alone.”
He paused briefly before adding,
“There is no reason to hunt ordinary beasts like pigs.”
“Ah…”
Sehee casually changed the subject, keeping a straight face.
“Just so you know, if you’re going to eat with me, this is prepaid. It’s not a favor—it’s a transaction.”
“Prepaid?”
“Yes. The cost of the food, plus the fee for using the space.”
The points she was spending were money she could earn back anyway.
“So don’t feel pressured.”
“How much?”
“I said it’s prepaid, but I can’t be too heartless about it.”
He glanced at Sehee, then at the meat.
Then he took out some gold coins and handed them to Sehee.
Seven.
“I’ll settle the rest afterward.”
“What? No, that’s already way too much.”
She couldn’t even return the coins.
The system had already exchanged them.
Feeling awkward for no particular reason, Sehee handed Cassian a pair of chopsticks.
“You don’t have to give me any more.”
Cassian didn’t answer. Instead, he watched Sehee as she bustled around preparing everything.
Sehee tidied up the area and, instead of a grill, took out a suitably flat stone and placed it over the fire.
Finally, the moment she put the meat on.
Sizzle—
The sound spread through the forest.
The meat began to hiss and crackle over the fire.
“Wow… The smell.”
That was when it happened.
[Environmental Effect Activated: Spread of Meat Aroma]
“What the heck? Again? It’s starting again.”
Sehee raised her head.
It was smoke, but it was slightly different from before.
Cassian, who had been sitting across from her, was already gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.
“What’s wrong?”
When Sehee asked, he answered without taking his eyes off it.
“Flames.”
“Huh?”
“It sounds like a manifestation of fire magic.”
Sehee looked at the meat for a moment, then nodded solemnly.
“Yes. It’s a high-level magic spell made from pigs.”
“I see.”
At that answer, Sehee stopped in the middle of flipping the meat and looked at him.
I was joking.
There wasn’t a trace of humor on Cassian’s face. He was completely serious.
Instead, the tension in the hand gripping his sword hilt relaxed ever so slightly.
At the same time, Cassian’s throat moved in a tiny swallow.
At the time, Cassian still didn’t know.
He had no idea that this meal would not end as a simple act of kindness.
Gulp—
As the pork belly cooked, smoke rose once more.
When the sizzling gradually died down, Sehee took the meat off the fire and placed it on a flat leaf instead of a plate.
Sehee naturally made her own portion first. She placed a piece of meat on a lettuce leaf, added some ssamjang without thinking, and popped it into her mouth.
Crunch.
The rich, savory aroma of the meat’s fat spread through her mouth with the sound of her chewing.
“……”
At the same time, she could feel a gaze coming from across from her. It was Cassian.
He silently watched the scene, alternating his gaze between the meat, the lettuce, and Sehee’s hands.
As if he had no idea where or how he was supposed to eat it.
Ah.
Only then did Sehee realize.
He doesn’t know about ssam.
It felt awkward to simply leave someone who had casually handed over seven gold coins sitting there.
“Just a moment.”
Cassian instinctively stiffened.
Because Sehee was approaching him.
And she was doing so quite naturally.
Without realizing what state Cassian was in, Sehee placed a piece of meat on a lettuce leaf and spread a little ssamjang over it.
This should be okay, right?
Her hands moved more naturally than she’d expected.
She never thought her six years of living alone would come in handy at a time like this.
Sehee folded the lettuce tightly into a generously sized wrap and, without a second thought, held it out toward Cassian.
“Here.”
“……?”
Cassian stared at the hand for a moment.
Meat wrapped in lettuce.
His gaze shifted from the wrap to Sehee’s face.
A brief silence passed, impossible to tell whether it was caution or hesitation.
“This… like this?”
“Yes. Eat it in one bite.”
She said it with such a natural expression, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Cassian stared at the lettuce wrap for a moment.
Ever since the curse had been placed on him, food had been nothing more than something to chew.
Moreover, having someone put food into his mouth in this manner was unfamiliar to him.
As far as Cassian knew, such an act could only happen on the premise of intimacy.
“……”
Cassian briefly looked away before returning his gaze to the lettuce wrap.
Steam was rising from the meat.
The smell had become impossible to ignore.
If he stayed like this any longer, it felt as though his reason would break down first.
Cassian carefully lowered his head.
Without thinking anything of it, Sehee simply put the wrap into his mouth.
“Ah, open wider. Yes, like that.”
The moment her fingertips touched him, Cassian’s shoulders stiffened ever so slightly.
The fattiness of the meat and the salty flavor of the ssamjang spread throughout his mouth at the same time.
It was the first time since he had been cursed.
“……!”
Cassian’s eyes widened.
This wasn’t merely a matter of something being delicious.
What is this…?
With every chew, the flavor seemed to grow deeper.
Cassian unconsciously murmured,
“There is a taste like this?”
Only after saying it aloud did Cassian feel his face grow hot.
The realization only made him more flustered.
Even though his mouth was full and he couldn’t speak properly, his heart was beating unnecessarily fast.
It felt as though his sense of taste, which had been numbed by the curse, was coming back to life.
A strange warmth spread through his body.
Cassian’s gaze naturally turned toward Sehee.
The hand that had just offered him the wrap without a moment’s hesitation.
…Could it be?
Cassian couldn’t tell whether this sensation had returned because of the food or because of Sehee, who had given it to him.
Sehee, meanwhile, was thinking about something completely different.
His reaction is a little excessive, isn’t it?
She glanced at the empty container of ssamjang.
Was there not enough ssamjang?
She wondered if perhaps the piece of meat had been too big.
Or maybe the lettuce was too large, making it overwhelming for someone eating it for the first time.
“Are you okay?”
Sehee asked, her face genuinely concerned.
“Is the ssamjang too strong?”
“I don’t know what that is, but it was delicious.”
Cassian somehow swallowed the remaining wrap in his mouth.
After catching his breath for a moment, Cassian raised his head.
“……This food.”
“Yes?”
“Is it normally supposed to affect the senses this strongly?”
Sehee tilted her head.
“Strongly?”
Cassian hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I… can barely taste anything.”
“What?”
“Because of the curse.”
Sehee was momentarily taken aback, but she quickly composed herself and spoke as calmly as she could.
“Ah… So that’s why you reacted like that earlier.”
Cassian silently nodded.
“Was it like that even before you came here?”
“Yes. I collapsed earlier because of the curse, too.”
“Ah…”
Unable to think of anything else to say, Sehee offered him more pork belly.
“Then try some more.”
“What?”
At that, Cassian’s face turned red, and he couldn’t take his eyes off Sehee.
Sehee watched him for a moment and narrowed her eyes.
…Is that a symptom of the curse?
After observing him briefly, she casually picked up another piece of meat.
“If you eat more, you might be able to taste it again.”
At that moment.
A familiar window appeared in the very center of Sehee’s vision without warning.
[Congratulations!]
Sehee blinked.
She checked the position of the window again. Right in the middle of her vision, sitting there shamelessly.
She rubbed her eyes once, then shook her head slightly, but it didn’t disappear.
Why… is the timing like this?
It was hard to say that nothing had happened, considering how strangely suggestive the situation just now had been.
For a moment, Sehee couldn’t tell whether this notification was a joke or whether the system had once again made its own arbitrary judgment.
You have fallen into a misunderstanding equivalent to a romantic interest after just one lettuce wrap.
