This World is too Cruel to Men

“So, we need to go grocery shopping now…”

As soon as I spoke, two freshly retrieved shopping carts were shoved in front of me.

“Before we do that, put one of those back.”

“Why?!”

“Do you have a complaint? Then pay more.”

“Tch…”

I have six mouths to feed, but it’s only a 2-night, 3-day trip.

Two carts, really?

Do they plan on doing nothing but eating the entire time?

‘Well… when you think about it, that ‘is’ camping…’

The romance of camping?

Sure, there’s romance.

Setting up a tent, building a bonfire in front of it, a blanket on your lap, a mug of hot chocolate in your hand… that would be perfect.

But honestly, how long would that feeling last?

Especially on a day like today, with the cold wind biting, it would be even shorter-lived.

If we don’t get inside soon, we’ll freeze to death.

Who has time to worry about romance?

So, that feeling wouldn’t last long, and once the romance fades?

At a rural campground, where there’s likely nothing much around, the only pleasure left is eating.

Thinking about it that way, since we’re already at the mart, it might be right to buy a ton of food and head back to the campground… but just in case, I decided to buy a reasonable amount for now.

It felt a little excessive to burn through the remaining budget on food before we even started camping.

“So, what’s on the menu?!”

“You’re asking that now?”

“Come on… you have that veteran vibe. I figured you’d have it all sorted out.”

“Hmm… we’re definitely having barbecue at least once, right?”

I casually asked, and the kids gathered around the cart nodded simultaneously, as if they had planned it in advance.

And not just a simple nod, but with expressions so resolute, as if they wouldn’t compromise on anything but this.

Looking at them, I knew barbecue was a must.

“So, barbecue for dinner?”

“Okay.”

“Sounds good.”

“But for barbecue, don’t we need to buy a grill and stuff?”

“Nope. It should be among the equipment we’re renting.”

“Are you sure? It’d suck to get all the way to the campground and end up cooking meat in a frying pan.”

“What’s wrong with a frying pan?”

Well, grilling meat in a frying pan isn’t bad, but since we’re camping, we have to go with the charcoal grill combo.

“Speaking of which, call your Aunt and double-check.”

“Yeah, and we can decide on the pickup spot while we’re at it.”

“Ugh… so annoying…”

“Just do it.”

So, after directly calling and confirming, it seemed we wouldn’t need to buy a grill.

“What about charcoal?”

“She said she has some leftover charcoal we can use.”

So, all we need is the meat.

“So, dinner’s barbecue. What about lunch?”

“Lunch?”

“Yeah, are we eating in? Or should we stop by a snack bar or something before we head in?”

Honestly, eating out would be better for me, but… apparently not for them.

They vehemently protested against going to a snack bar when we’re camping, so I had to give in.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about the menu…”

“Come on… you think I’d do that?”

These guys?

“Lunch is Spicy Braised Chicken.”

“Can’t we have something else?”

“Nope. No changes. If you don’t like it, you cook.”

“Then what about breakfast tomorrow?”

Already thinking about breakfast tomorrow?

What a needlessly meticulous guy.

“Breakfast tomorrow is curry.”

“And you’re not planning on just whipping up something instant, are you?”

“Jinho’s doing the dishes, so that’s a bit…”

“Bringing instant food to a camping trip is basically saying you want all the pleasure with none of the responsibility.”

“What’s wrong with instant food? Those things are created by the combined efforts of brilliant minds, you know?”

“Yeah, not my problem.”

“If it’s curry, it better be restaurant-quality, made with tons of love, or I’m not having it.”

“Agreed.”

Restaurant-quality my foot… They’re all puffed up just because they’re camping…

Well, honestly, if I wanted to, I could make it.

Curry was a dish I made often in my previous life, so I know the secrets to making it taste like restaurant-quality at home.

‘But that means we need to buy more ingredients…’

Butter, especially, is essential.

Coffee mix… there’s bound to be some at the campground.

The problem is, buying butter just for one curry meal seems wasteful…

“Okay. Then we’ll have ramen for one meal instead.”

“One meal of ramen is… acceptable.”

“Ramen in the outdoors is a delicacy.”

“Ramen while camping? I can’t resist.”

Having one ramen meal would save a lot of money, so it’s practically a win-win.

As for the leftover butter… we can buy some sweet corn and make corn cheese.

Just like a nutritionist, I was planning out the meals for the next three days when…

“Um… can I try too?”

While the others were excitedly chattering, as if this wasn’t something they should be involved in, Yun-Seo, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

“Huh? Try what?”

Try what, exactly?

Intrigued, I blurted out a response, and Yun-Seo added in a cautious voice,

“I mean… cooking. I want to… try.”

Honestly, I wondered what had gotten into her.

Yun-Seo had always been happy to eat what I made, but she’d never shown any interest in cooking.

But now, all of a sudden… did she watch a cooking show before going to bed last night?

Or did she want to try something new since we’re camping?

Of course, from my perspective, there was no reason to refuse.

Just thinking about cooking two meals today, three tomorrow, and breakfast on the last day—a total of six meals—made me feel suffocated.

Even reducing it by one meal would be a huge help.

However, there was one problem… it was a risky offer to accept.

I couldn’t just accept it for my own convenience because I didn’t trust Yun-Seo’s cooking skills.

Actually, did she even ‘have’ any cooking skills?

We’d known each other for almost ten years, and I’d never seen her cook once.

‘Seeing how confidently she offered…’

She must have a menu in mind, and probably even looked up recipes or videos… which made it even harder to refuse.

‘What should I do…’

If I let her do it, some unidentified monstrous dish might end up on the table, but refusing her was also tricky.

As I hesitated, unable to decide, the others jumped in and made the decision for me.

“Ooh… Oh Yun-Seo…”

“We can look forward to it, right, Yun-Seo?”

So, it was decided that Yun-Seo would be in charge of one meal.

‘Well…’

At least she’s trying.

It wouldn’t be a bad experience for her to try.

She must be really excited about camping.

Seeing her wanting to cook, something she never does, must mean she’s really excited.

Dokgun interpreted Yun-Seo’s actions as impulsive, driven by the excitement of camping, but that wasn’t the case at all.

The timing of her offer was perfect, making it seem impulsive, but it was a carefully planned action.

***

‘I can do this, right…?’

I had taken the initiative as planned, but honestly, I was anxious.

This was my first time attempting to cook something properly, besides boiling ramen.

Of course, I’d helped Dokgun here and there while we were together, picking up bits and pieces along the way, but… I was just in charge of miscellaneous tasks.

‘It would have been better if I had thought of this earlier…’

Then I could have practiced with Mom or Dad.

I only decided to cook for Dokgun last night, so practicing beforehand was physically impossible.

‘But… I studied hard…’

It’ll probably be fine.

It’s not like I have to do it right away.

I have some time, so I can rewatch the videos and memorize the recipe.

It’ll work out somehow.

If I knew this would happen, I would have… practiced cooking something by myself.

‘No…’

Because I’ve never done it before, it’ll be even more novel for Dokgun.

If this novelty makes him see me differently, as more than just a friend, that would be perfect.

Lost in my thoughts…

“…Seo! Oh Yun-Seo!”

“…Huh?”

A voice snapped me back to reality.

I quickly lifted my head to see Dokgun looking at me with a puzzled expression.

“The ingredients. Aren’t you going to buy them?”

“Oh… right, right.”

“What do you need?”

“Um, first, pork…”

“Pork? What cut?”

“Boston butt or pork neck. Oh! Samgyeopsal would work too.”

I remember reading that the cut of meat affects the taste, but samgyeopsal is the tastiest of the three, so it shouldn’t matter, right?

“Then we can just buy a bit extra when we get the barbecue meat and ask them to pack it separately. And?”

“Um, and… green onions, onions, sesame seeds, soy sauce… uh… and…”

“We’re buying green onions and onions anyway, and I brought sesame seeds and soy sauce… but I don’t know if it’ll be enough for two meals… Do you need a lot of soy sauce?”

No wonder his bag looked so heavy. It wasn’t filled with clothes, but basic cooking ingredients.

If we run out of soy sauce, it’ll be a problem…

“Um… a little?”

“Hmm, then maybe we should just buy a small bottle… Anyway, what else? Is that all?”

“Ah! Pepper too!”

“I brought pepper, so we can use that.”

As we were deciding what to buy and what not to buy…

“Are you two a married couple or something? Anyone would think you’re newlyweds grocery shopping.”

A voice, dripping with amusement, pierced through our conversation, catching us off guard.

I could practically see the teasing grin on the speaker’s face.

‘M…married couple…’