Chapter 127

Kang Jin was cleaning up the hall. Just moments ago, his team members had left after enjoying some makgeolli with fried tofu kimchi.

After disposing of the food waste and finishing the cleanup, Kang Jin stretched his neck.

“I’m tired.”

Between working, driving, and managing the store, he felt exhausted. As Kang Jin continued to stretch, Bae Yongsoo approached him.

“It seems like those kids will be arriving soon?”

“Those kids?”

“The high schoolers.”

“High schoolers?”

At this mention, Kang Jin looked at Bae Yongsoo curiously.

“You mean Yeongsoo?”

Bae Yongsoo glanced towards the entrance and replied softly,

“I’ve noticed before… The combination of Maiden and Bachelor ghosts is truly terrifying.” With that, he hurriedly headed towards the door.

“Leaving already?”

“Yeah, these days, high school students can be quite scary.”

Of course, it wasn’t the high school students themselves that scared him but rather the Virgin and Eligible Bachelor Ghosts accompanying them. Nonetheless, Bae Yongsoo left the store while cracking jokes.

Kang Jin checked the time as Yongsoo departed. “Ten twenty… Today’s ghost business is ruined thanks to these kids.”

Despite his words, Kang Jin exited the store with a contented expression on his face. The thought of treating the hardworking youngsters to something delicious already lifted his mood.

Typically, this hour would be bustling with ghost activity, creating a peak period for the establishment. However, just as Bae Yongsoo had sensed, other ghosts avoided the area due to the presence of the high school ghost duo.

Outside the shop, Kang Jin scanned his surroundings and noticed people parting like waves from one direction.

It’s similar to how the virgin ghosts made their entrance.

Whenever the virgin ghosts appeared, people similarly dispersed, resembling waves breaking apart.

As expected, three high school ghosts, including Kim Sohee, emerged from the parted crowd.

“Hello.” Kang Jin bowed his head and greeted them. Kim Sohee nodded back while observing the ghosts behind her.

“You should greet him,” said Kim Sohee.

Upon hearing this, the three ghosts promptly bowed their heads and greeted Kang Jin.

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

Kang Jin smiled at their greetings. Initially, apart from Yeongsoo, none of the ghosts had behaved like this. It seemed that under Kim Sohee’s guidance, they now greeted others with proper etiquette, reminiscent of students trained in a traditional academy. Observing this transformation, Kang Jin turned to Kim Sohee.

“Have you been together all this time?”

“No other ghost was willing to teach these kids because a virgin ghost and an eligible bachelor were always together.”

Even ghosts need to learn how to behave properly. However, these children were either Eligible Bachelors or virgin ghosts, and since they stuck together, there was no other ghost around to teach them manners. Virgin ghosts disliked Eligible Bachelor ghosts, and vice versa.

Thus, Kim Sohee had taken it upon herself to educate them. She had already surpassed their level, after all.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it; I didn’t do this for your gratitude.” Kang Jin smiled and nodded at Kim Sohee’s words before turning his attention to Yeongsoo.

Yeongsoo appeared terrified, trembling visibly. While even the virgin ghosts feared Kim Sohee’s energy, as her opposite, the Eligible Bachelor Ghost felt even more intimidated by her presence.

“How have you been?”

In response to Kang Jin’s question, Yeongsoo cautiously glanced at Kim Sohee before replying.

“Yes.”

“Did you go home?”

At the mention of ‘home’, Yeongsoo and the other female ghosts’ faces turned somber.

“It seems like you went home.”

“Yes.” Yeongsoo sighed as he replied softly.

“My mom called me.”

“To you? How is that possible?”

“She said she kept my cell phone alive.”

Yeongsoo let out another small sigh, his lips trembling slightly. It appeared thinking about it brought back painful memories. After a moment, Yeongsoo opened his mouth again.

Recently, Yeongsoo arrived home to find his mother sitting at his desk, staring blankly at the computer monitor. His room looked exactly as it had when he was alive. It was slightly cleaner than before, but everything from his books and notebooks to his computer and figurines remained untouched.

“The house is small enough… I should’ve thrown away all these things.”

However, Kyunghye didn’t hear Yeongsoo’s outburst. She was engrossed in the screen of the monitor. On display were icons representing the games Yeongsoo used to play, school assignments, and various video files.

Click! Click!

Kyunghye’s actions of moving the mouse and opening folders one by one flustered Yeongsoo.

“Mom, let’s go. Don’t do this… Huh?”

Initially, it pained him to see his mother touching his belongings that remained untouched since his death. However, he became alarmed when she started casually browsing through the computer folders.

“Why are you messing with my computer!”

Yeongsoo instinctively yelled out as usual but soon sighed in relief. Kyunghye turned off the computer. Then, she took out her phone and made a call somewhere.

“I should have told you I loved you〜 That was…about you…”

The familiar sound of music caught Yeongsoo’s attention, and he looked towards its source.

-“This is…my phone ringing?”

As Yeongsoo wondered about his ringtone, Kyunghye retrieved a cellphone from where it was sounding.

-Huh? It’s my phone?

Kyunghye smiled at Yeongsoo’s puzzled expression while looking at her phone.

On the screen, both her name and picture appeared. She gently touched her own image on the display before answering the call. Kyunghye put down Yeongsoo’s phone onto the desk, placed hers to her ear, and started speaking:

-Son, now that it’s winter, the weather is getting colder here. How about there? Is the weather okay? Make sure you dress warmly, and if it gets too cold, ask for help from those around you…

Kyunghye’s conversation was quite lengthy. She talked about her day, stories about Yeongsoo’s father, and various other trivial matters. Although she knew her son couldn’t hear her, Kyunghye continued speaking as if conversing with him on his phone.

Into…her deceased son’s phone.

“Mom…”

Yeongsoo bit his lip, calling out to his mother with a trembling voice.

“My dear, I want to see you right away, but…if I come too soon, it wouldn’t be good for our son. So, Mom will wait for a very, very long time before coming to visit you. And my dear…even if you miss me, please don’t cry and take care of yourself. Son…I love you.”

As Yeongsoo watched his mother tearfully whispering “I love you,” he couldn’t help but bite his lip.

Kang Jin felt frustrated and teary-eyed upon hearing that Kyunghye would call Yeongsoo’s phone.

“Phew!” Kang Jin let out a long breath and gently patted Yeongsoo on the shoulder. Without saying anything, Kang Jin conveyed his support through this gesture, prompting Yeongsoo to wipe away his tears with his hand. Kang Jin then turned to observe Choi Ga-eun.

“It’s good to see you here.”

“Thank you.”

Kang Jin also made eye contact with Lee Yerim before asking:

“So, what do you want to eat?”

“I heard they start serving at 11 pm.”

“You can order now, even though food will be served from 11 pm onwards.”

Upon Kang Jin’s words, Lee Yerim and Choi Ga-eun exchanged glances and responded:

“Tteok-bokki and spicy chicken feet for me.”

“And I’ll have egg rolls and japchae.”

Upon hearing their conversation, Kang Jin turned to Yeongsoo.

“What would you like?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Eating food isn’t just about thoughts. The dishes here will be tastier than what I served at the training center.”

Yeongsoo licked his lips as he recalled how delicious the meals had been at the training center. Moreover, Lee Yerim had praised the food from Kang Jin’s restaurant too.

“It doesn’t matter,” Yeongsoo replied half-heartedly.

Kang Jin suggested, “Is there any dish your mother used to make that you’d like?”

“My mom’s cooking?”

“While it won’t match your mother’s, I can try recreating it for you.”

Yeongsoo looked thoughtful before responding, “Egg custard.”

“Egg casserole? With what inside?”

“Chopped green onions,” Yeongsoo replied.

Kang Jin nodded at Yeongsoo’s suggestion and turned to Kim Sohee. “And for you, ma’am?”

Kim Sohee glanced at the children before responding. “Let’s have spicy chicken feet with egg casserole.”

It seemed she chose dishes already on their menu rather than trying something new.

She does love spicy food.

With a nod, Kang Jin headed into the kitchen. Once there, he began gathering ingredients. He soaked noodles and rice cakes in lukewarm water while giving fish cakes a warm-water rinse. The purpose was to wash away excess oil from the fish cakes. For the chicken feet, he blanched them briefly, rinsed them under cold water, massaged them gently, then started stir-frying them with seasoning.

On one side, he trimmed vegetables for japchae and stir-fried meat.

Sizzle! Fssshhh!

The spicy seasoning of chicken feet sizzled, releasing its aroma. Kang Jin let out a small sigh as the scent filled his nostrils, recalling Yeongsoo’s words echoing in his mind:

“They say that when your child dies, it’s like burying them deep within your heart… What utter bullshit.”

Kyunghye calling her son’s cell phone number to hear his voice… Thinking about how much pain Yeongsoo must have felt brought tears to Kang Jin’s eyes. Whether they were due to the spicy peppers’ aroma or thoughts of Yeongsoo, he wasn’t sure.

Fssshhh!

With a swift motion, Kang Jin began rapidly sautéing the spicy chicken feet.

As Kang Jin prepared the food, the door opened, and Kim Sohee along with other high school ghost students entered. Yeongsoo and Choi Ga-eun, who followed them inside, were taken aback as they stared at each other’s physical forms.

Upon entering the store, their bodies had reappeared, which surprised both of them.

“Yeongsoo, your body…”

“Ga-eun…”

Kang Jin chuckled seeing their astonished reactions.

“Didn’t Yerim tell you?”

The two looked towards Lee Yerim, who smiled sheepishly under their gaze.

“I didn’t say anything to surprise you… Here, our bodies appear just like when we were alive. Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yerim, your body… It looks perfectly fine.”

Lee Yerim couldn’t help but smile at Yeongsoo’s face, which conveyed surprise, relief, and gratitude all at once.

“You too.”

Yeongsoo looked down at his body again upon hearing Lee Yerim’s words.

“This is…”

His body was perfectly fine, resembling how he had appeared when alive. Kang Jin grinned as he observed Yeongsoo.

Now that I see him like this, he’s quite handsome.

With no blood dripping from him anymore and appearing more human-like, Yeongsoo simply looked like a student with masculine features and physique.

“Don’t just stand there; sit down.” Kim Sohee, who had already taken her seat, prompted them to do the same.

Did she get scolded heavily?

As they pondered this, Kim Sohee spoke up:

“Give me some soju.”

Kang Jin glanced at her.

“Do you prefer makgeolli?”

“You mean juice?”

“Juice? Oh! Yes.”

At Kang Jin’s words, Kim So-hee’s eyes softened with nostalgia.

“I’ve had it several times at the fortress walls.”

“The fortress walls?”

“While standing guard during winter, Bokshili somehow procured some for us.”

“Isn’t drinking on duty against military law?”

“Better than freezing to death, isn’t it?”

“That…you’re right. And if I recall correctly, this was during the Japanese invasion of Joseon…it must have been quite challenging to obtain alcohol amidst war.”

Although not well-versed in history, she knew that securing food supplies during wartime in the Joseon Dynasty would have been extremely difficult. With limited grains available for consumption, producing alcohol from them would have been even harder.

“Bokshili was skilled at finding ways. Whatever I needed, she’d manage to get it for me.”

“Who is Bokshili?”

“I…”

Kim Sohee seemed to want to say something but shook her head instead.

“Sis.”

Kang Jin looked at Kim Sohee curiously.

Is she referring to a servant girl?

By calling someone ‘Sis,’ it couldn’t be a blood relation. Given that Kim Sohee was raised with etiquette from a noble family, addressing a superior as ‘Bokshili’ wouldn’t make sense. Moreover, nobles wouldn’t name their servants “Bokshili.”

With these thoughts, Kang Jin retrieved a pitcher of makgeolli from the refrigerator.

Glug-glug-glug!

As he poured the rice wine into a ceramic bowl, Kim Sohee eagerly took it and drank.

Gulp! Gulp!

After two sips, Kim Sohee smiled.

“It tastes delicious.”

“I’m glad you enjoy it. I’ll bring out the food now.” With those words, Kang Jin turned and headed towards the kitchen.