NOVEL NEXT chapter 39
39. My mother had a plan
“Yes! I want to eat!”
Was my answer that I wanted to try pork rice bowl too sudden?
Her mother, who had been raising her voice until now, suddenly fell silent and she just stared at me.
Her mother’s expression is like,
How should I take this… She
She had a look on her face.
Did I act too carelessly?
Should I have grasped the atmosphere….
But the reason for wanting to eat was great,
Looking at the head chef, I felt the need to eat.
I honestly don’t know why.
For some reason, I felt that I had to do this.
Like that, my mother had been silently looking at me for a while. It’s like you’re in trouble.
Maybe because of my answer and my mother’s image,
The eyes of the others in the hall turned to us.
In particular, the manager was looking at my mother and me alternately with very uneasy eyes.
When you made eye contact with me, you sent me a small smile as if you were saying thank you.
Umm, I didn’t do anything.
Maybe it’s because of my mood?
Other employees were looking at me with pleading eyes. It was as if her eyes were crying out for me to say more.
What am I…
And the head chef,
He was staring at me with a tear-stained face.
What is the head chef’s gaze like that…
Shall I say very peculiar?
Just by looking at his eyes, I could feel his emotions fluctuating.
And he had a confused expression of despair and joy, sadness and joy.
Because it was the first time I had seen those eyes and expressions, I felt scared at first.
Just as I was having such a hard time concentrating my gaze, I heard my mother’s sigh.
“Whoa.”
At the sound of that sigh, everyone’s eyes, including mine, turned to my mother.
My mother shook her head slightly and asked me what she had to say.
With an expression as if there was nothing special.
“Son, do you really want to eat?”
“Yes! I want to eat!”
“If my son wants to eat, my mother won’t stop me… instead of one thing.”
My mother held out her hand in front of my eyes, with only the index finger covered. It’s like making a promise. She said
She said with a stern expression she had never seen before.
“Give up desserts that will come out later.
Will this be okay?”
“…… To?”
Dessert?
Dessert… Give up?
Could it be because of the total amount of calories you mentioned earlier?
… Big.
To be honest,
Wouldn’t it be a waste to give up the dessert that adorns the end of a high-end restaurant?
It’s a handmade dessert that doesn’t spare high-quality ingredients!
What a waste!
My signature hot chocolate!
Ah! If you eat it deliciously, it’s 0 calories!
However, because of the nuisance it has caused,
I couldn’t express it in words because I felt too shameless to be spoiled anymore.
Therefore, as a last resort,
Can’t we just eat it?
I just sent it to my mother with an intense appeal in my eyes.
Seeing my eyes like that, my mother flinched, threw her body away, and wriggled her mouth.
She explained to me as she told me she had a stern expression on her back as she soon caught her heart.
“Son, even if you look at it like that, you can never do it.
Besides, you ate a lot of chicken yesterday, didn’t you? I’m in a state where I’ve exceeded the calories I’ve eaten so far.”
… ….
My mother’s words were too straightforward.
Nothing came to my mind other than the absurd saying that if it was delicious, it would be 0 calories.
I couldn’t find words to persuade my mother, so I could only let out a sound of regret.
“Heeing… ….”
“Aww.”
My mother’s stern expression collapsed in an instant as I felt sorry for her, but it was literally an instant.
Her mother kept her mouth shut, and she kept a stern expression on her face.
“Yeah, but absolutely not.”
My mother couldn’t bear to look at me, she said while avoiding my eyes.
Haa, in the end one of them has to give up.
Dessert~ Meat rice bowl~
That’s the problem~
Placed at such a crossroads, I pondered for a while and then decided on the answer right away.
What I chose was,
It was pork rice bowl.
This is the first meat bowl I’ve seen!
Never give up!
Besides!
That pork rice bowl!
It’s topped with seaweed powder and fried eggs!
If I was missing either one, I would have chosen dessert.
Having made that decision, I nodded my head and answered boldly.
“Yes. I will not eat dessert.”
“…… Whoa, yes.”
Only then did my mother look at me and she replied with a light nod.
I don’t know why, but she had a very tired expression.
My mother made eye contact with me for a moment, then turned her head to where the manager was standing. She
And she was looking at me as if she was sending a silent signal with just her eyes.
Until then, the manager, who had been watching us with a nervous expression, was startled as if she had come to her senses at her mother’s gaze.
She then waved her hand and signaled to the staff in the back to come forward.
When the manager’s signal went off, the staff standing behind began to move busily.
The staff came to the table and first started removing the tableware we used.
Then he took out the new tableware from the cart and set it on the table.
She also collected the napkins that my mother had removed and put new napkins on the table.
My mother silently picked up a new napkin and laid it out on my lap as before.
Finally, after filling the glass with water, the staff bowed politely to us and went back to their seats.
When the staff returned to their places,
The manager approached the serving cart with a nervous expression.
Then,
The executive chef, who had been sitting down, jumped up.
The head chef approached the manager as it was.
Then, the two of them were exchanging conversations with just their eyes without saying anything.
After exchanging glances like that, the manager nodded once as if he understood.
Then he stepped back as if giving up his seat.
Her mother was looking at the two of them with a puzzled expression.
She then opened her mouth once and then closed it again, as if she was about to pour out a word and then withheld it.
She was very displeased with something, but for now, she was swallowing it as if she was going to watch it.
No matter how much I pamper myself,
Her mother still seemed very dissatisfied with the situation.
Umm, I’m so sorry.
I have to release it somehow.
When the manager stepped back, the head chef, who was left alone in front of the serving cart, bent over and reached under the cart.
He then took a wet towel from under the cart and wiped his hands, then took a dry towel and wiped his hands dry.
I wondered why he was washing his hands all of a sudden.
It must have been because his hand had been on the floor until just now.
After all, when it comes to cooking, it means cleanliness.
And mother’s expression softened a little when she saw the head chef like that.
… No way…
Have you ever been bothered by the head chef’s hand that was on the floor?
… ….
Eh, you must not be that strict.
The chef seems to have finished all the preparations,
He took a short deep breath and lifted the tray containing the meat bowl.
And slowly come to us,
He put down the bowl of pork rice bowl in front of us.
Wow.
It looks more delicious up close.
When I was admiring the meat bowl,
My mother was starting a conversation with the head chef.
“Which cut of meat did you use?”
“Choi, I used the highest grade 1A+ Jeju black pork tenderloin.”
“Hmm, isn’t the cut too soft to be used as meat for stir-fry?”
“Specially cooked with attention to texture.”
“Really? Then, how about the seasoning—”
“The seasoning is——”
The two of them suddenly started a discussion on the topic of pork rice bowl.
When the mother asked a question about cooking, the conversation proceeded in the form of the head chef answering.
… ….
Mother, you are a person who knows a lot more about cooking than I thought.
Oh, of course, she didn’t think her mother couldn’t cook.
It was just that I was surprised that there was more depth than I thought.
By the way.
Discussion is good,
Can we eat quickly?
It’s torture to just watch with food in front of you like this!
Ah! This is more painful than when I gave up dessert earlier!
“How to cook rice–“
“The finest rice——”
However, the conversation between the two showed no signs of ending.
Ah! How long should I wait?
I want to eat quickly.
Since we’ve been waiting like that, swallowing our saliva,
The spoon placed in front of me caught my eye.
And when I saw the spoon, this thought came to my mind.
Come to think of it, why am I waiting?
Are you waiting for your mother to feed you?
No, I’m not even a baby….
Has infant regression already progressed?
It can’t be like this. I’m all grown up
I just want the two of you to talk and it won’t matter if we eat first, right?
Did you give permission to eat it anyway?
Having concluded that, I gently lifted the spoon in front of me.
Then, he quietly checked his surroundings.
The two of them were still engrossed in the conversation and didn’t notice my actions at all.
And the manager was looking at me with a very ambiguous smile.
The staff behind me were looking at me as if they were cheering me on.
Looking at me like that, I leaned down slightly and placed my spoon on the bowl containing the pork rice bowl.
By the way.
Dalgrak. Ding.
Maybe it’s because of the sloppy posture,
Or maybe it’s because of my clumsy spooning,
An unfortunate accident occurred when a spoon hit a plate.
Then, the clear sound of the bell resonated throughout the hall.
How expensive tableware is it that makes such a nice sound?
It was my own voice, but I was startled by the strangely clear and beautiful sound.
And maybe because of the sound of the tableware I made,
The sound of their conversation cut off abruptly.
When the conversation cut off, I slowly turned my head with a stabbed expression on my face, like a petty thief caught stealing.
As expected,
Two people were looking at me.
Embarrassed by their gaze, I smiled awkwardly.
My mother looked at me with warm eyes and then smiled and said.
“I think the talk will be a bit long, would you like to eat first?”
“Yes!”
Well then thank you!
When I answered lively, my mother stroked my hair once.
Then he slightly lifted my body and pulled the chair toward the table and brought it closer.
Thanks to that, I was able to open the spoon in a comfortable posture rather than a sloppy posture.
Moved greatly by my mother’s sincerity, I expressed my gratitude in a small voice.
At my greeting, my mother just let out a small smile and stroked her hair.
Well, since her mother’s permission was also dropped~
Shall we start eating now?
How long has this been for meat bowls~♬
I’m all over the pork rice bowl. Kkeukkeuk.
◈◈◈
Yoonhee and Bora, who had stopped talking for a moment, immediately looked at Jinhyo who was lifting the spoon.
In particular, Bora calmed her trembling heart and looked at Jinhyo holding her breath.
Jinhyo worked diligently with the spoon with her small hands to make bite-sized pieces of pork rice bowl,
She was trying to open her little mouth wide and was carrying the spoon into her mouth.
Aang.
Jinhyo’s cheeks swelled up cutely as the meat bowl went into his mouth.
Scramble.
Jinhyo’s small chin began to move vigorously.
Yoon-hee, her manager, and the waiters were looking at Jin-hyo with a hearty smile.
It was because Jinhyo, who was concentrating on her eating, was so cute.
Jinhyo, who had been chewing on the pork rice bowl for a long time, munching her mouth hard, swallowed the food with a gulp.
Jinhyo, who swallowed the food, was laughing with a very happy smile.
Moreover, as if infatuated with her taste, her hand holding the spoon unconsciously trembled.
The pork rice bowl looked really good.
Yoon-hee, her manager, and the waiters were looking at them with even more hearty smiles.
Thanks to Jinhyo’s smile, the frozen air in the hall slowly melted.
Although the atmosphere was warming up like that,
Only one person.
Only Executive Chef Seong Bora had a different reaction.
She was staring at her jinhyo with her eyes wide open as if she was very surprised and her mouth not shut.
As if this situation was unbelievable.
Yoon-hee, who noticed her condition first, just looked at her in silence for a while.
Soon after, she noticed Yoonhee’s gaze, and she was startled by her, and withdrew her gaze from Jinhyo and lowered her head.
Just like a person who has committed a sin.
That’s how Yoon-hee looked at her for a while without saying a word.
As if lost in thought.
Just like that, only unknown tension and heavy silence flowed between them.
When Jinhyo’s spoon went back and forth twice,
Finally, Yunhee opened her mouth first.
“I have a question.”
“Yes, yes?! What are you curious about?!”
“Are you… “
Yoonhee opened her mouth while looking at Jinhyo who was eagerly enjoying the meat bowl.
“Do you have a nutritionist license?”
Bora didn’t know at the time.
Why did Yoonhee ask herself such a question?
Knowing the meaning and intention of the question,
It was a long time ago.