“You want to sleep more?”
Da-woon gently rubbed the cheek of the cat that lay against his thigh with its eyes closed.
“Just a little, then. You need a good sleep tonight.”
He kept murmuring to the cat, even though it couldn't understand a word. Is this what happens when you keep a pet? Catching himself talking to no one, he let out a small laugh and stroked the cat, which had already drifted back to sleep.
“...Is it running a fever?”
As his hand rested on the cat's warm body, Da-woon's head slowly tilted to one side. He'd assumed it felt warmer because it had been bundled under the blankets, but the heat lingered no matter how much time passed.
He couldn't tell whether it ran especially warm because it was a kitten, or whether it was sick and feverish.
“Are you hurting somewhere?”
Worried that maybe it slept so much because it was sick enough to have a fever, Da-woon carefully lifted the cat up.
He pressed his forehead and cheek against it to check its temperature more closely. At that, the cat cracked its eyes open and nestled into him, purring again.
“I thought you were sick.”
Only then, reassured by the lively rumble of its purr, did Da-woon stand up with it in his arms.
“Let's eat.”
He supported the cat steadily as it tried to fall asleep yet again against his chest, and headed for the door. Fussing over the cat, he'd already completely forgotten about that strange dream.
“Today let's eat a sensible amount, and have a treat too. I'll give you a churu.”
Even at the mention of a snack, the cat showed no particular reaction. It simply stayed tucked snugly against Da-woon's chest.
He figured the cat would wake up once there was food right in front of it, and was just opening the bedroom door when,
“Hm...?”
A savory smell wafted through the gap in the open door.
It was the smell of freshly cooked rice, the kind any Korean would love.
And that wasn't all. Mingled into the savory scent was a spicy aroma that set his mouth watering. This was definitely...
Kimchi stew.
Da-woon swallowed and hurried down the stairs. His legs picked up speed on their own at the delicious smell that rarely filled the Sawoo Guild dorm.
Someone was cooking in the kitchen. One thing was certain: it wasn't Go Yeo-ul, who had a gift for scorching cookware.
And if that was the case, there was only one person who could be cooking.
“Sleep well?”
Pulling a green onion out of the fridge, Ryu Tae-ha smiled at Da-woon.
“I was just about to wake you. Good timing. Sit down, food's almost ready.”
He used telekinesis to pull out a chair at the long dining table and nodded toward it.
“Or do you want to eat later?”
As he lightly rinsed the green onion and asked, Da-woon shook his head right away.
“No, I'll eat now.”
Who would turn down kimchi stew with white rice? It was his second-favorite combination after pork belly and soju, so as if spellbound, he sat down at the table.
“I stocked the fridge a bit. Don't bother with the convenience store, just take something out when you're hungry.”
Ryu Tae-ha deftly sliced the green onion and lifted the lid off the pot that was sending out a mouthwatering smell. Along with the bubbling sound of the stew, the spicy aroma grew even richer.
“You made all of this, Leader...?”
Da-woon marveled at the array of side dishes already laid out on the table. He'd assumed the side dishes were store-bought, but Ryu Tae-ha gave an unexpected answer.
“Of course, I made it all. I said I'd cook for you, didn't I?”
“Really? You made all of this?”
There were more than five kinds of side dishes, and he'd done it all alone. On top of that, every single one used a variety of ingredients and took a lot of effort.
“Has it really been that long since I cooked for you?”
Apparently taking Da-woon's reaction as teasing, Ryu Tae-ha laughed it off and dropped the thinly sliced green onion into the pot. Just watching the way he handled the cutting board and knife, you could tell he was used to cooking.
“Go ahead and eat. Don't force yourself, though.”
“Thanks for the food.”
Da-woon, who had been about to snatch up his chopsticks, suddenly rose from the chair again.
“What is it, you want something?”
“I'm going to feed him first.”
He'd nearly forgotten to take care of the cat's food.
Switching off the induction stove, Ryu Tae-ha looked down at the white bundle nestled in Da-woon's arms.
“So that's the cat you said you picked up?”
“Yeah.”
So there really was a cat.
Ladling the stew into bowls, Tae-ha watched with an intrigued look as Da-woon saw to the cat's food.
“Stop sleeping and eat, come on.”
It was a curious thing for Da-woon, who'd had as little interest in animals as he did in people, to suddenly bring home a cat. What's gotten into him this time? He wondered, but didn't press for details.
“You're not going to eat?”
Da-woon gazed worriedly at the cat, which only kept nodding off even with the bowl of kibble in front of it.
“Is it sick somewhere...”
He picked up a piece of kibble himself, held it to the cat's mouth and let it sniff. Only then did the cat open its eyes and slowly part its jaws.
Crunch.
The sound of a kibble pellet breaking came slowly. Tasting it seemed to wake the cat a little, and the limp, listless creature began to eat on its own. As if to let him know it was fine, it tapped Da-woon's worried arm with its tail.
“You going to keep it?”
Ryu Tae-ha came over to Da-woon, who was filling the cat's belly before his own. Setting the stew and rice bowl down in front of Da-woon's seat, he asked a practical question.
“It'll be alone in the dorm the whole time. Will that be okay?”
Da-woon, who had been putting the kibble the cat dropped back into the bowl, parted his lips.
“...”
The answer didn't come easily. He wanted to keep it, but just as Ryu Tae-ha said, Da-woon was away from home often.
The Sawoo Guild dorm, which handled the most gates, was nearly always empty. There was plenty of space for this tiny thing to run and play, but no one to play with it.
When Da-woon, who hadn't had time to think deeply about this, couldn't answer, Ryu Tae-ha spoke first.
“Eat for now. It'll get cold.”
“Okay.”
Da-woon immediately returned to his seat and picked up his spoon. Just as Ryu Tae-ha said, he'd think about it after eating first.
“Am I the only one eating?”
“Yeah, I'll head out after I watch you eat. I've still got work left.”
There's really no need to watch. The gaze of the man sitting across from him felt like a burden, but since Da-woon was the one being fed, he said nothing and focused on the stew steaming in front of him.
“...”
After quietly tasting the stew, Da-woon scooped up a big spoonful of fluffy rice, soaked it in the broth, and put it in his mouth.
Tae-ha pushed the side-dish plates toward him and watched closely as he ate.
“Well? Does it taste all right?”
It had been a while since he'd cooked for him. Ever since Ryu Jin had joined the guild, he'd been busy seeing to Jin's meals first, and had never cooked for Da-woon.
To begin with, he didn't cook often. He could make most dishes, but only showed off his skills now and then.
Da-woon, who had next to no appetite, would ask only for a light salad even when food was made for him. Korean food like this stew, he'd eat in bird-sized portions, complaining that it made him bloated.
“I was going to make what you usually eat, but lately you seem to be after stronger flavors.”
The stew, which the usual Da-woon would have eaten only a bite or two of, was vanishing fast.
Da-woon thoroughly mixed the stew into his rice and, before anything else, stuck up a thumb. His mouth was too busy eating. He couldn't spare the time to say it was delicious.
“You really... eat well.”
Watching Da-woon mix white rice into the red stew, Tae-ha's eyes, which had been relaxed and curved, gradually widened.
You'd think there was nothing surprising about a Korean mixing rice into kimchi stew, but for Jung Da-woon it was about as likely as the sun rising from all four directions at once.
Assuming he wouldn't eat it anyway, Tae-ha had chopped the pork into rough chunks just for flavor, and now those pieces went into Da-woon's mouth, packed full alongside the rice.
Crunch. The cat, which had been leisurely chewing its kibble, also ate a little more eagerly after seeing Da-woon eat so heartily. Watching him seemed to stir an appetite it hadn't had.
In no time Da-woon polished off a whole bowl of rice. The stew and rice tasted so perfect he didn't even have a chance to glance at the side dishes.
“Be honest.”
“Hm?”
Tae-ha, who had been watching Da-woon eat in a daze, blinked.
Setting his spoon down beside the cleanly emptied rice bowl, Da-woon asked seriously,
“You bought this, didn't you?”
He even threw in a request that resembled a threat, telling Tae-ha to give up the restaurant's name while he was asking nicely. It wasn't idle talk; he meant it.
“I really did make it. It's the thing I make best, after all.”
It was an ordinary dish, but whenever someone asked what food he made best, Tae-ha always answered pork kimchi stew.
He'd said as much in an interview, so every citizen of South Korea knew it. The familiar dish name from the mouth of someone so perfect had sent the public's fondness for him soaring.
And now, as Da-woon sat at the table wolfing down his food, a cat's-tear's worth of fondness sprouted in his heart too. The cooking was good enough to take the edge off his aversion to the man.
“Wow... no, this, wow...”
Unable even to finish his sentence, Da-woon pressed a hand to his forehead and savored the lingering taste in his mouth. It was good enough to put decades-old Korean restaurant institutions out of business. It didn't even seem to have simmered long, so how did it have such deep flavor?
“Want more rice?”
“Lots, please.”
“There's meat left, too.”
“Give me some. Will you grill it?”
“If you'd like.”
Da-woon nodded his head furiously up and down and picked at the side dishes. Tae-ha couldn't take his eyes off Da-woon, who chewed with his lips shut tight and his plump cheeks working.
It wasn't simply because he was pretty; a faint suspicion had suddenly surfaced.
Is this... not Da-woon?
He'd insisted on convenience-store food he'd never so much as touched before, shown enthusiasm for the very work he'd always avoided, and now he'd developed a gluttonous streak on top of it all.
A reasonable doubt bloomed over this unfamiliar side of him, one Tae-ha had never seen in all their years together. It was a suspicion anyone might have.
But it made no sense. There was no way he wasn't Da-woon.
There were ability users who could mimic another person's outward appearance, but none could perfectly replicate pheromones and scent. Above all, there was no ability user in this world capable of fooling Ryu Tae-ha, who was beyond S-rank.
Still, for the Da-woon he knew, this was different. Far too different.
At first he'd simply assumed it was a protest. Whenever his resentment toward Tae-ha built to its limit, Da-woon would often start doing things he normally wouldn't.
He'd thought it was the same this time. A sulk that would pass with a little time.
He'd figured Da-woon would come around on his own once he got tired of it. As long as Tae-ha soothed him properly, he always went back to smiling so prettily.
But this was a bit much.
The way he spoke and carried himself, fine. But for his very tastes in food to change entirely was strange. Even if a person changed suddenly, there were limits, he was thinking, when,
“Leader.”
Da-woon, gripping his spoon preciously, suddenly called out to him. At the bright voice that followed, Tae-ha surfaced from his deep brooding.
“It's really delicious. I feel like I could eat ten bowls.”
A trace of laughter seeped into the voice brimming with sincerity. Da-woon smiled, looking genuinely happy.
With his stomach filled warm by good food, all his worries and cares seemed to melt away.
He'd let his guard down so completely that, not even imagining Ryu Tae-ha might be suspicious of him, he ate to his heart's content.
“That's a relief.”
Watching Da-woon laugh so brightly, Tae-ha kept his eyes on him as he opened the rice cooker.
Definitely... suspicious.
“Could I have a bit more rice? Heaped high, please. I'll do the dishes.”
That is absolutely not the Jung Da-woon I know...
“But why are you a guild leader instead of a chef? When you cook this well.”
The sight of him eating so well was too good to make a serious issue of it. Before he realized it, Tae-ha was pointing at the fridge and asking,
“There's fish too. Want me to grill it?”
“I'd love that.”
His luck with food finally striking, Da-woon clapped his hands in delight. And his applause set Tae-ha's mood dancing.
Well, a person can change a little.
His doubts about Da-woon got sucked up into the range hood along with the smell of the food. With Da-woon this happy, he no longer wanted to make an issue of anything.
There was no way it wasn't him to begin with.
