This World is too Cruel to Men

“Yeah, that’s it. Keep doing it with that ‘swoosh’ feeling.”

“…Like this?”

As expected, she’s good at it once she gets the hang of it, even though she’s not used to it.

“You’re doing well.”

“R-Really…?”

“Of course. Who’s your teacher?”

It’s not like I was some famous chef in my previous life, but I’ve chopped enough vegetables to last a lifetime.

Anyway, now that I’ve taught her the proper method, there’s no need to worry.

I quickly snatched a whole onion, my original goal, and moved away from Yun-Seo.

The first thing that caught my eye was—

‘Tremble…’

Yun-Seo’s fingertips were trembling slightly, as if she was nervous.

“What’s wrong? Why are your hands shaking? Are you scared of cutting yourself?”

“Huh? Uh?!”

Was she so nervous that she didn’t even realize her hands were shaking?

The way she flinched and trembled after hearing my words was like she’d been caught red-handed stealing something.

“Or, wait…”

“Wait, what?!”

Was she worried that I’d tease her relentlessly if I found out she was nervous about something like this?

She snapped at me, but it was so obvious she’d been hit where it hurt that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Are you hungry?”

“…What?”

“Well… it’s about time you were. You’d be getting hungry anyway, but you used up so much energy moving the luggage from the storage room…”

“Th-That’s not it! Do you think I’m some kind of glutton…?”

“Of course not.”

“I’m not…”

“Alright, alright. I’ll get it ready quickly.”

With that, I grabbed the onion Yun-Seo had secured and diligently grated it against the grater I’d brought from home.

Then, I mixed the slushy result with other ingredients I’d brought, creating a thick, spicy sauce that emitted a pungent aroma.

Once the ‘dakbokkeumtangeu’ sauce was ready, the chicken in the pot was perfectly parboiled.

First, I took out the now-pale chicken and poured out the water, which was filled with impurities and foam.

“What? You can cook it that much already? Won’t it get tough?”

“Tsk, tsk… You really don’t know anything.”

“…What.”

“You have to parboil it like this before you braise it. That’s how you get delicious ‘dakbokkeumtangeu’ without any weird smells. This is a really great tip, you know? Why aren’t you writing this down?”

“Oh, really? You’re so amazing.”

“I’m giving you tips and teaching you, but you have no attitude. ‘Sigh’… Tsk, tsk…”

I teased and taught Yun-Seo, who would soon be making a different kind of chicken dish than me, while rinsing the parboiled chicken under cold water.

Then, I was about to start braising it properly, but…

“Ah, no.”

I put the bowl, which I had tilted towards the pot, back down.

I realized it would be a shame to just braise it like this.

After all, we came all this way.

So, the ‘dakbokkeumtangeu’ should be special, fitting for the occasion.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“We brought firewood from the storage room, right?”

I asked Yun-Seo to confirm, but I was pretty sure we had.

I still vividly remembered us huffing and puffing as we moved the bundles of firewood to the handcart.

The problem was that my plan required a ‘sottukkeong’ (‘sottukkeong’ – a traditional Korean cast iron lid used as a cooking surface), which we didn’t have… But there was something similar among the things we brought from the storage room, so I could use that as a substitute.

“Hey, hey, are you done chopping?”

“Why? Are you going to inspect my chopping skills?”

“No, just bring it and follow me.”

She seemed puzzled that I was asking her to go outside when the dish wasn’t even finished, just prepped.

After furrowing her brows in confusion for a moment, Yun-Seo nodded as if she understood.

“Are you going to make it outside?”

“Yeah, we went through all the trouble of bringing camping gear, so we might as well use it.”

Honestly, when else would we use it?

So, I gathered all the ingredients and left the pension with Yun-Seo.

As soon as we stepped outside, we saw…

“Hey! Lee Jin-ho! Are you sure you’re setting this up right? It doesn’t look right at all!”

“I-I think so?”

My friends were huddled around a tent that looked not just disastrous but also grotesque, as if it had crawled out of a horror movie.

What?

What happened while we were inside?

How did the tent evolve into some kind of monstrous creature?

“I followed the instructions…”

I couldn’t help but interrupt.

“If you followed the instructions, it wouldn’t look like that.”

Jin-ho’s words were an insult to the people who painstakingly wrote those instructions, even though I knew most people wouldn’t even glance at them.

“What?! You’re already done?”

“No.”

“Then why are you out here bothering us?”

“I’m not bothering you. I’m just stating facts.”

“Ugh…! If you’re in charge of cooking, just go make the food instead of annoying us. We’re hungry, so our brains aren’t working. Okay?”

“I’ve already finished prepping the ingredients inside. All I have to do is cook it.”

“What? Are you going to make it here?”

“Yes.”

“What about the fire?”

“We’ll just make a fire.”

“Are you crazy? Don’t you see the grass everywhere?”

“And do ‘you’ not see the brazier on the handcart, Teacher?”

I put down the pot I was holding and pointedly took out the brazier from the handcart.

“What? That’s a brazier?”

“What did you think it was?”

“Just… a trash can or something.”

“’Sigh’… This is why camping newbies…”

How could anyone mistake this magnificent thing for a trash can?

Shaking my head, implying he was beyond help, I set the brazier down.

Of course, I chose a spot where the grass was relatively sparse, just in case.

The chances of something dangerous happening were slim since Yun-Seo would be right next to me while I cooked, but sparks could still fly.

It would be rude to scorch the grass after Jin-ho’s aunt not only let us use the place for free but also provided meat and side dishes.

Setting up the brazier wasn’t difficult.

I just stacked the firewood inside and filled the gaps with shredded pieces of tissue paper.

Now, the problem was fire…

“Anyone have a lighter?”

“…”

“Like that’s going to happen.”

I asked just in case, but no one had one.

I went back inside the pension, grabbed some matches, lit one, and dropped it into the brazier.

Soon, a fire of suitable intensity blazed up.

“Ooh… This is… kinda cool?”

“Shut up. Give me your gloves.”

“Yes, sir.”

Thanks to the diligently stacked firewood, the contents of the griddle I placed on top of the brazier quickly started to bubble.

“When do we add the vegetables?”

“The vegetables? Now!”

Yun-Seo poured the mountain of vegetables that had filled a cutting board onto the griddle.

The aroma that soon filled the air was fantastic.

The clean, rich chicken broth, free of any unpleasant smell thanks to the parboiling, mixed with the juices released by the vegetables, creating a mouthwatering fragrance.

“Whoa…”

“The smell is insane…”

“We bought curry powder. Can’t we just eat curry? We just need to add curry powder to this and we’re done.”

“No.”

Well, the broth was so good that it would probably taste delicious even with just curry powder, but that would be a waste of the special sauce I made with the grater I brought all the way from home.

So, I firmly told them to stop with the nonsense and just eat what I made.

Then, I didn’t just dump the sauce into the griddle, but gently stirred it in with a spoon.

The pale broth gradually turned red, and the effect of the spicy aroma that began to rise was tremendous.

All talk of curry instantly vanished.

“Haa…”

“Me! Me! Me!”

“What do you want?”

“I was just wondering if you needed someone to taste test.”

“It hasn’t even been a minute since I added the sauce. What taste test?”

“Tch…”

As the ‘dakbokkeumtangeu’ bubbled away in the griddle, it started to look incredibly appetizing.

The broth, which initially seemed a bit too watery, began to reduce, thickening the sauce.

Just the sight of it made me gulp.

“Now then…”

Time to taste it, right?

I scooped up some broth with the spoon I used for the sauce—

“Here.”

I offered it to Yun-Seo, who hadn’t taken her eyes off the ‘dakbokkeumtangeu’ since it started bubbling.

I heard a smacking sound from behind, but… I must have misheard.

Perhaps she didn’t expect to be the first to taste it.

She just stared blankly with a dazed expression, so I wiggled the spoon slightly, urging her to take a sip.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh?”

“My hand’s going to fall off.”

At my words, she seemed to snap back to reality.

After a moment of flustered fidgeting, Yun-Seo tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and slowly leaned towards the proffered spoon.

And how much time passed?

“Hot…!”

A slurping sound was followed by a near shriek.

“Right? It’s hot, isn’t it? Phew… I almost burned my tongue.”

“You…”

“I’ll eat mine after it cools down a bit.”

Ignoring the sharp glare directed at me, I scooped up another spoonful, blew on it, and carefully tasted it.

“Hmm… It’s still a little bland, but it’ll thicken more, so it’s okay—”

‘Cough… cough…’

What’s with her now?