Cheat day

After the Rain (1)

We unpacked at a hot spring hotel in Haeundae.

“…Why is it so big?”

The bathtub is large enough for four people, even for someone as big as me. The interior of the room felt old, but if the bathroom is like this, I can understand.

As I turned on the water and was taking a shower, Mukun-ji came in and put something in the bathtub.

Bubbles started to rise.

“What is this?”

“It’s bath salt. I heard there’s a family bath here, so I brought it. You should try it.”

A bubble bath—something I had only seen in movies.

As I immersed myself in the warm spring water, it felt like my body was melting away, and the bubbles gave a slippery, strange sensation.

“Ahhhh.”

“How does it feel?”

“It’s so nice.”

We held hands underwater.

***

I was so tired that after the bath, I nearly passed out from exhaustion. If I hadn’t forgotten to turn off my phone alarm, I might have slept until the afternoon.

When I heard the alarm, I woke up to find it was 7:30 AM.

I sat up, but I felt a yawn coming on and my eyelids were heavy.

“Well, I should eat something.”

After washing up quickly, I asked Mukun-ji if she wanted to eat, but she shook her head with her eyes closed.

With no other choice, I threw on some clothes and went down to the lobby, where I saw Cha Ji-chan buying bath products from a vending machine.

“You woke up early?”

“I didn’t turn off my alarm.”

“Good. Let’s have breakfast.”

“Something delicious.”

We had been eating poorly to keep up with our schedule, but at least today, I planned to eat my fill.

Following Cha Ji-chan, we went out to the back of the hotel, and he immediately entered a restaurant. I was skeptical about how good a place directly behind the hotel could be, especially since the menu was for bokguk (a soup made with pufferfish).

It felt so unfamiliar that I wondered if I had ever eaten it before.

“Two kkachi-bokguk, please.”

“Okay.”

“You didn’t even listen to me and just ordered.”

“If you don’t know, just eat what they serve.”

Looking around, I noticed that despite the early hour, the restaurant was bustling with customers. There were hardly any empty tables.

“It’s busy for breakfast.”

“It’s a popular place.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, and the staff brought out our food.

No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem appetizing.

The clear broth was filled with minari (water parsley) and bean sprouts, with chunks of pufferfish at the bottom.

“Here.”

“Huh?”

Cha Ji-chan was about to add vinegar to my soup.

“Wait, wait. What are you doing?”

“You need to do this for it to taste good.”

“What?”

Cha Ji-chan insisted on putting a spoonful of vinegar in my bowl.

Vinegar in soup?

I had a feeling that this breakfast was going to be unusual.

“Mmm. Nice.”

Reluctantly hungry, I took a sip of the broth, and my heavy eyelids flew open.

“Huh?”

“How is it? Tasty?”

“Yeah.”

This was the first time I had tasted such a clear and refreshing broth. Despite that, it had an unexpectedly strong umami flavor, and I couldn’t stop spooning it up.

After drinking the broth for a while, I lifted my head and felt full and refreshed.

“This is insane.”

“Right?”

As I picked up the minari and bean sprouts, the crunchy texture awakened my taste buds.

I wondered what the pufferfish would taste like and took a bite; the slippery skin and the firm flesh combined perfectly.

The contrast between the textures of the minari and bean sprouts and the gradually coming umami from the broth created a perfect harmony.

It’s incredible how ingredients that don’t seem to go together can create such a wonderful combination.

This must be the reason why the restaurant could fill up even in the early morning.

“Why didn’t I know about this before?”

“What have you been eating to gain weight?”

“True.”

I scanned the menu.

I hadn’t realized there were so many kinds of pufferfish dishes beyond just bokguk, including kkopchil-muchim (pufferfish sashimi salad), hoe (sliced raw fish), fried dishes, steamed dishes, and boiled pork.

And now I understood why I hadn’t tasted bokguk before.

“It’s expensive.”

The base price for bokguk is between 14,000 and 17,000 won, but the kakchi-bokguk we were eating was sold for between 22,000 and 26,000 won.

I used to not have the means to spend over 20,000 won on food that I wasn’t sure would taste good, and it’s not a dish I commonly encounter.

“I think I’ll crave this when I go back to Seoul.”

“There are places in Seoul too. It’s famous, so there are many branches.”

“Really?”

I definitely need to take my mother and Mukun-ji here sometime.

I can’t enjoy something this delicious all by myself.

“If bokguk is this tasty, how good is dwaeji-gukbap (pork soup)?”

“Hey, obviously this is tastier.”

“Isn’t dwaeji-gukbap what Busan is known for?”

“You know that saying, right?”

“What?”

“That expensive things taste better.”

After taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I nodded.

There’s a reason expensive food sells well.

***

For lunch, we were supposed to have mil-myeon (wheat noodles), but Kim Ki-tae offered to buy us beef, so our group visited a restaurant near the hotel.

“I heard the wait here is no joke,” said Baek Woo-jin. WH staff had lined up for us, so we got in relatively quickly, but the place was packed, both inside and out.

It seemed like there were many good restaurants near the hotel.

With so many customers, they must have been attentive to the turnover rate, as the side dishes and meat were prepared quickly.

The side dishes included pickled radish, zucchini, buckwheat jelly, dongchimi (a type of radish water kimchi), and seasoned vegetables, each served neatly.

The meat had a perfect blend of fat and lean meat, making my mouth water before I even started eating.

With high expectations, I placed the meat on the grill, and Kim Ki-tae spoke up.

“Thank you.”

I wondered how to grill this meat to make it taste the best.

“I was worried about your health because the weather hasn’t been great, but I sincerely thank you all for completing this journey safely.”

It seemed like he cared about our well-being as we arrived safely, giving me a glimpse of his character.

He seemed like a good person.

While waiting for the meat to cook, I popped a piece of buckwheat jelly into my mouth. The dipping sauce wasn’t too salty and was just right; the texture was chewy, and the surface had a pleasant roughness. It was good-quality buckwheat jelly.

“Here.”

Ju Ji-seung served each of us a piece of meat.

To savor the meat’s flavor, I ate it without dipping it in anything, and it was surprisingly tender.

The fat that melted on the grill boasted a savory richness, while the texture of the meat was soft, reminiscent of Baek Woo-jin’s chubby cheeks.

When I glanced at the table next to us, Mukun-ji was wide-eyed, covering her mouth.

She had said she didn’t prefer meat, but fortunately, it seemed to suit her taste.

“And while this isn’t something I should say here, I think you’ll all be pleased to hear this in advance.”

Kim Ki-tae started speaking.

I was curious as to what was taking him so long to get to the point.

“Internally, we believe that WH’s image has improved because of this event.”

There had been significant news coverage and a lot of responses on social media.

“So, the chairman has instructed for additional support to be provided.”

“Really?”

I was taken aback and asked again, and Kim Ki-tae nodded.

“Yes. An additional 90 million won will be added to the 10 million previously promised to the local party, bringing the total to 100 million won, which will be deposited today.”

I was so surprised that I dropped my chopsticks while eating the meat.

“Excuse me?”

“I also understand that additional lunch boxes and side dishes will be provided to areas outside of your visit.”

According to Kim Ki-tae, there were plans to donate to other regions as well.

Honestly, it felt embarrassing to call walking from Seoul to Busan a nationwide trek, especially since Gangwon-do, Jeollado, and Jeju-do were excluded.

However, even without directly visiting those places, they were planning to provide lunch boxes and side dishes to vulnerable groups in Gangwon-do, Jeollado, and Jeju-do.

“The same amount will be allocated for those areas.”

In addition to the 14 regions we had visited, we had promised to donate to a total of six regions.

Since Seoul and Busan are so large, we decided to support both, which meant that WH would provide a total of 2.2 billion won to 22 facilities in 20 regions.

Baek Woo-jin raised his hands in excitement.

“Wow, the chairman is amazing!”

Ju Ji-seung was startled and covered Baek Woo-jin’s mouth, while Kim Ki-tae chuckled softly.

Hearing that this was a direct instruction from Chairman Yoo Jang-hyuk made me understand why he is respected as a global entrepreneur. He knows how to take advantage of a good opportunity.

“And we have prepared gifts for all of you,” Kim Ki-tae said, handing out envelopes one by one.

“This is a token of encouragement for your hard work, so please accept it without worry.”

“Can I open it?” Baek Woo-jin asked.

“It would be better to wait until you’re back at your accommodation since this is a public place,” Kim Ki-tae replied.

Since this was a gift prepared by a large corporate chairman, I assumed it must be something good, but first, I needed to enjoy the delicious beef in front of me.

I couldn’t let such wonderful meat go to waste.

***

After lunch, I returned to my room and opened the envelope.

In that moment, my mind went blank, and I froze, prompting Mukun-ji to ask, “Are you happy with it?”

Words failed me.

I lifted my head and opened my mouth, but Mukun-ji approached me with a puzzled expression.

Slowly, I showed her the contents of the envelope. I confirmed twice that Mukun-ji’s eyes were incredibly wide.

“You’re really generous.”

It was my first time seeing a check for 100 million won.

I knew such things existed, but they felt entirely unrelated to my life, like something from a distant reality.

“Is it really okay for me to accept this?” I wondered aloud.

“Chairman Yoo Jang-hyuk is a businessman. He doesn’t engage in losing transactions. Given the brand image WH gained from this event, he likely considered it an appropriate reward,” she explained.

Thinking back, that made sense.

“…Is this a huge profit?”

“Yes. You walked for 17 days and earned 100 million won, so it’s a huge profit.”

“Pwahaha!”

I never imagined I would hear the phrase “huge profit” come out of Mukun-ji’s mouth.