NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5 - 005.
005.
Kim Sunjoo packed stir-fried dried shrimp and garlic scapes for him.
It was a side dish she often made — one he liked reasonably well.
‘The smell, at least…’
A familiar aroma.
With a bit of expectation, Minseo picked up a piece of well-fried garlic scape with wooden chopsticks and put it in his mouth.
The distinctive flavor of dried shrimp and the rich scent of sesame oil filled his mouth.
[Trait “Pursuit of Gastronomy” is activated!]
[Gourmet!! You are a gourmet.]
[You feel the flavors and richness of the ingredients much more sharply and vividly!]
Crunch—
As he bit into it, the juicy flavor of the garlic scape, the savory taste of the dried shrimp fried in oil, and the salty flavor of soy sauce all rushed together in harmony.
Minseo tilted his head.
‘The taste…’
The flavor was incredibly vivid.
From the raw tastes of the ingredients to the seasonings, he could feel them so sharply it was almost dizzying.
Was it the effect of the trait?
The garlic scape stir-fry his mom always made, which had never seemed unusual, now had each ingredient’s distinct taste swirling in his mouth.
He had never been called dull-tongued before, but compared to now, he might as well have been taste-blind.
However…
‘There’s too much shrimp.’
Perhaps out of love, his mom had overloaded it with dried shrimp, and the strong flavor threw off the balance.
It was fascinating to experience this delicate symphony of tastes, but he still wondered — what did this have to do with health?
When he looked at Saemi with a puzzled expression, Saemi looked frustrated.
[Saemi says you should think about what “gastronomy” means.]
[She explains: it’s about “delicious food,” food you personally find tasty.]
‘Pursuit of gastronomy, huh?’
It felt like he’d picked up a rather bothersome trait.
Food that he would have previously found tasty now tasted completely different.
Minseo tried the other side dishes his mom packed, tilting his head thoughtfully.
They weren’t bad, but they weren’t particularly delicious either.
So… what exactly is “delicious food”?
He wasn’t reacting even to dishes he would normally enjoy, meaning he needed something beyond his previous standard of “delicious.”
A slow question mark floated up in Minseo’s mind.
The next day.
After another restless night, Minseo sat blankly in his camping chair.
It seemed he needed more time to understand the “Pursuit of Gastronomy” trait…
But it wasn’t urgent.
He figured he’d realize it eventually.
More importantly…
After inspecting the inside and outside of the house, he had a sense of what he needed to do.
‘There’s a limit to living in a tent.’
He was now officially a resident of Nabigol, after all.
First order of business: simple repairs and cleaning.
Both the house and yard needed a lot of work.
‘I’ll just do it slowly. If it gets too hard, I’ll stop.’
He didn’t feel any pressing obligation — just a casual plan to do things when he wanted.
Stretching with a lazy yawn under the warm sunlight, even though he hadn’t slept well, he felt pretty good.
It might look funny to others.
Probably like he was camping in the middle of a haunted house.
The thought made him chuckle, and he got up with a grunt.
He opened the old house’s doors and windows wide and brought out the cleaning supplies he’d packed.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed, he hesitated — then bravely put on rubber gloves and charged in.
“Cough, cough.”
He was probably inhaling half the dust in the house.
His throat felt raw.
While he was sweating bullets and wondering about it…
“Whoa? You back? Are you inside cleaning?”
A strange voice called from outside.
Minseo’s heart started pounding. Who? There was no one supposed to come.
Peeking out nervously…
It was the old man he’d greeted before — Grandpa Heo Sangchul — peeking over the wall.
“I got a call from Sunjoo. She said you decided to live here. She was so worried.”
Grandpa Heo laughed kindly.
Feeling awkward, Minseo bowed his head and greeted him.
Without hesitation, the old man stepped into the yard.
“Cleaning, huh? Hm…”
With hands behind his back, he silently inspected the house.
Minseo felt uneasy but had nothing to say, so he just followed the old man with his eyes.
“How about water and electricity?”
“Uh, yesterday…”
“Alright then. It’ll probably be connected tomorrow… But you’ll also need to replace the boiler.”
Oh, he hadn’t even thought of that.
Seeing Minseo’s troubled face, Grandpa Heo grinned and pulled out a cell phone.
“Don’t worry. That’s why I’m here. Hey, President Park! Come over here. The blue-roof house at the foot of the mountain.”
Grandpa Heo winked reassuringly.
Soon, a man called President Park appeared, and together they bustled around the house, discussing things.
About the roof, the boiler, the broken veranda, the ripped wallpaper, and the flooring…
They decided to repair everything.
“The work’s not too heavy. It’ll be done in a day.”
President Park smiled kindly.
Minseo nodded slightly, avoiding his eyes.
He thought he saw Grandpa Heo sighing lightly.
“Do it fast. He needs to move in quickly. Oh, and give him cleaning service too. Service, got it? Then let’s hurry up. You’ll be busy getting ready.”
“…Uh, Chairman Heo, sir…”
“Minseo, you too — back to cleaning! Finish what you were doing.”
Before Minseo could say anything, the shrewd Grandpa Heo cut him off and patted him back toward the house.
“You’re a good kid, deciding to come live here. This house was built solid, so with a little work, it’ll be good to live in.”
Patting his shoulder, Grandpa Heo’s rough hand felt strangely warm.
It was hard to describe, but it made Minseo’s chest tighten.
Without saying more, Grandpa Heo gave his shoulder a few more friendly pats, then left, shouting, “Good luck!”
As Grandpa Heo left, silence fell over the noisy house.
Saemi seemed too exhausted to move, almost asleep.
Suddenly, Minseo had nothing to do.
‘Once they start construction, I’ll have to clean again anyway.’
He put away the scattered cleaning tools and sat back in the camping chair, staring up at the sky.
Feeling bored, he opened his grandmother’s old notebook.
Inside were detailed notes on seasonal crops, wild herbs, mushrooms, and traditional recipes.
Reading it carefully, Minseo could clearly picture his grandmother.
Smiling faintly, he turned the pages with concentration.
Then, he stumbled upon a note:
“Minseo, that rascal. He sucked honey from every flower I planted by the spring. Should I plant bitter flowers instead?”
Pffft.
A scribble about him in the corner.
He remembered — Grandma had been really mad then.
He gently brushed the letters with a longing heart.
‘I miss you.’
“Food is the best medicine. Healthy meals for my darling.”
Those were the last words recorded.
‘Food is medicine…’
Minseo’s eyes stopped.
“I liked Grandma’s food the best!”
He remembered the happy times eating his grandmother’s food and her smiling face.
[Saemi says food made with good ingredients and love is like medicine.]
Even Saemi had said something similar.
‘Maybe I should try cooking?’
He set up the portable burner and poured oil into a small camping pot.
Not that he had much in the way of ingredients or tools — just basic camping gear.
‘Not many dishes I can make anyway.’
[Trait “Pursuit of Gastronomy” is activated!]
[Ingredient Selection! Analyzing “napa cabbage kimchi.”]
[Conditions not met. Cannot analyze “napa cabbage kimchi”!]
‘Huh? If I can’t, don’t pop up then.’
As he pulled out the well-fermented kimchi his mom packed, a message floated up.
It seemed like a different activation than when he was just eating…
‘It only activates when cooking?’
Weird.
[Amateur Chef activated! Your cooking quality greatly increases!]
[Golden Hands activated! You can cook faster and plate dishes more beautifully!]
‘…Some random talents, huh.’
He quickly cut the kimchi into the pot with scissors.
Then, scooped some canned ham with a spoon and added it.
Strangely, there was no special information about the canned ham.
Maybe mass-produced goods didn’t count for anything.
Kind of realistic, really.
While stir-frying, the sizzling sound and the smell of kimchi and ham filled the yard.
Gulp.
Was this the Amateur Chef’s ability? It sounded silly, but it seemed to work.
It smelled really good despite how little he did.
Made him hungry.
He dumped in some instant rice and sprinkled a little pepper from his bag.
Cooking was never a hobby or something he liked, but his body just moved naturally now.
It would’ve been nice to have sugar, syrup, sesame oil, even some seaweed flakes…
He wasn’t sure how he knew all that, but he just did.
‘Must be because of the Pursuit of Gastronomy trait.’
While moving instinctively, he regretted the missing ingredients.
But oh well.
‘The kimchi should take care of the seasoning.’
Mixing the rice and ingredients with a spoon, the rice soon turned a delicious shade of red.
[Saemi chatters excitedly that it smells good.]
[Saemi says it’ll be delicious because you made it yourself.]
Saemi, now awake, was splashing around in excitement.
“If only you could eat too.”
[Saemi giggles.]
[Someday…? Saemi whispers softly.]
He left the mysterious comment alone, placing the steaming pot on the small table.
‘Will I be able to finish it this time?’
After his retirement, even finishing a bowl of rice or a cup of noodles had been tough.
It wasn’t about taste — his body just rejected food.
As he stared at the completed kimchi fried rice…
[Trait “Pursuit of Gastronomy” is activated!]
========== [Kimchi Fried Rice]
Description: A simple kimchi fried rice made by stir-frying homemade kimchi and canned ham. Only minimal ingredients, but guaranteed flavor!
Quality: E-grade
[E-grade dish completed!]
‘E-grade?’
Well, there weren’t many ingredients.
Anyway, time to taste it.