Chapter 172

“It’s on the house.”

The middle-aged man smiled at Kang Jin’s words and glanced down at his plate.

“The same dish?”

“Yes, it seems to have cooled off quite a bit. I’ll reheat this for you while you enjoy these.”

As soon as the aunt removed her plate from the table, Kang Jin replaced it with a warm serving of bean sprouts and grilled pork belly stew. He then took the cold plate to the kitchen.

Inside, he faced the elderly ghost grandmother.

“Please look.”

“No!”

Kang Jin forcefully pushed the steaming dish towards the screaming ghost. As the aroma wafted close to her nose, she squinted her eyes.

“Let go!”

Ignoring her shouts, Kang Jin glanced back towards the dining area.

“I don’t know what kind of life you envisioned for your son… But isn’t having a son who pours soju for you and a wife by his side enough to make him happy?”

The elderly ghost glared at Kang Jin’s words.

“No! My son could have achieved greater things!”

Kang Jin looked at her, surprised that she seemed coherent despite appearing mentally unstable earlier.

“Why is achieving greatness important?”

“That child was destined for more than this ordinary life. He was meant to be…”

“Have you been happy, Grandma?”

Pause!

The elderly ghost’s vengeful gaze locked onto Kang Jin, but it faltered slightly.

“I don’t know what kind of person you were when you were alive…but at least right now, you don’t seem very happy.”

Shhhk!

Kang Jin glanced around the room and said, “Look, she’s smiling.”

Following Kang Jin’s words, the grandmother looked towards her son’s family. She saw her son enjoying his meal with bean sprouts and pork belly.

“Have another drink.”

“You’re drinking quite a lot today.”

“The food is delicious.”

“Yes, it really is.”

The grandmother watched her son happily taking a shot glass of soju before closing her eyes and whispering softly:

“Let me go.”

Kang Jin looked at her and asked, “Where will you go?”

“It doesn’t matter where I go!”

The grandmother’s outburst made Kang Jin grimace and glance at his watch. It was already past ten o’clock.

Kang Jin looked between her and the bean sprouts with pork belly simmering in the pot.

“You mentioned this dish is good for hangovers when your son drinks too much, right?”

“How do you know that?”

“My manager told me. He said whenever he drank heavily, you would make him this soup to help with his hangover.”

Although it was a family conversation, Kang Jin overheard due to the quiet atmosphere of the restaurant.

At Kang Jin’s words, the grandmother turned to look at her son. Kang Jin gestured towards the pot, urging her to eat.

The grandmother hesitated, then glanced back at Choi Hocheol standing behind them.

“Let him.”

At her words, Choi Ho-cheol looked at Kang Jin, who responded:

“You won’t bother your granddaughter and daughter-in-law anymore?”

The grandmother’s eyes filled with resentment once more upon hearing Kang Jin’s question. Although she had regained some clarity, a lifetime of bitterness toward these two could not be erased instantly.

Kang Jin observed this exchange before turning to Choi Ho-cheol.

“Please let them go. But if Grandma tries to leave, stop her.”

Choi Ho-cheol nodded and positioned himself between the hall and kitchen. Seeing this, Kang Jin checked the time again before addressing the grandmother.

“What does your son enjoy eating?”

“Huh?”

“Doesn’t he have any favorite food from the past? Even though you dislike Sonju and his wife, surely you care for your own child?”

Seeing that the grandmother remained silent, Kang Jin continued, “Wouldn’t you like to cook something delicious for your beloved son?”

The grandmother looked at Kang Jin and then her son. She hadn’t seen him since he started living with this woman after their marriage. However, it wasn’t because she didn’t love or want to see him. Her husband had been frequently imprisoned during the democratization movement, leaving his seat as the family’s breadwinner vacant due to illness. Their son became more dependable and comforting than her husband.

Whenever she wanted to see her son, she secretly observed him from nearby when he returned home from work or visited his workplace area. The only significant interaction they had was during holidays when she would yell at him to leave if he dared visit their house.

“Mom, please stop this now. Youngmin is starting school soon; how long will you keep doing this?”

“Stop what?! Who told you to come here? Get out!”

“Youngmin went inside Dr. Lee’s clinic.”

“So what? Leave already!”

“Let’s live together from now on. It’s been years since Dad passed away, and you’ve been alone all this time.”

“What business is it of yours?! Out!”

Despite being told not to visit, her son, daughter-in-law…and even their grandson would show up during holidays or birthdays only to be turned away at the door. The grandmother’s last words to them were always “Get out.”

After hesitating for a moment, she opened her mouth.

“Do we have any octopus?”

Kang Jin retrieved some octopus from the refrigerator as per her request.

“And?”

“Sugar, chili paste, soy sauce, and garlic…”

Having gathered all the ingredients, Kang Jin took out disposable vinyl gloves.

“Please put these on.”

The grandmother looked at Kang Jin with curiosity. Sensing her gaze, Kang Jin quickly changed the subject and helped put on plastic gloves for her hands.

“It’s been decades since you last made this dish… Please do it yourself.”

The grandmother hesitated momentarily before glancing down at her gloved hands. After flexing them several times, she cautiously reached out to touch the octopus. As soon as she felt its texture beneath her fingers, surprise flickered across her face.

“We don’t have much time,” Kang Jin gently reminded her.

With his words, the grandmother focused and began working. She grasped a knife, sliced open the bottom of the octopus, and tried pulling off the skin with her hand. However, the plastic gloves hindered her efforts.

“Coarse salt.”

Kang Jin handed her a container of coarse salt, and she sprinkled some onto the edge of the skin before tugging again.

Shhhk!

As she peeled off the skin to reveal the white flesh underneath, Grandma quickly got to work cleaning it. After preparing both octopuses, she sprinkled sugar on them and rubbed it with her hands.

“You sprinkle sugar directly onto the octopus?”

“Octopus doesn’t absorb seasoning well.”

Kang Jin nodded after observing this explanation from Grandma. Between salt and sugar, one should add sugar first for better sweetness penetration. However, he didn’t expect her to sprinkle sugar directly onto the octopus and rub it in.

*I wonder if that makes it too sweet? Or is it just right?’

As Grandma had said, octopus doesn’t absorb seasoning easily. As she was having these thoughts, her grandmother finished trimming the vegetables and placed a frying pan on the stove. While waiting for it to heat up, she quickly prepared the sauce. Once satisfied with the temperature, she added the octopus.

Sizzle! Sssshhh!

Grandma shook the pan, pushing the octopus to one side before pouring some soy sauce into the empty space.

Shhhk!

As the soy sauce started boiling, she shook the pan again, coating the octopus evenly with the sauce before adding the vegetables.

The middle-aged man, his face flushed from drinking soju, glanced towards the kitchen as he raised another shot glass to his lips. The spicy aroma wafting from there brought a smile to his face.

It smells delicious.

The aroma was enticing. It smelled spicy yet sweet…

“The stir-fried octopus will be tasty.” The man’s mumbling caught the attention of his wife.

“You can tell just by smelling it?”

“It reminds me of what my mother used to make…” Junghoon glanced towards the kitchen as he spoke. “…the same way she cooked her stir-fried octopus?”

“Your mother?”

“Yes, the smell is exactly like when my mother made it.”

His wife smiled and briefly looked toward the kitchen at his words.

“I guess today brought back many memories of your mother?”

“Indeed…” Junghoon chuckled softly while wiping away tears from his face.

Seeing this exchange, she subtly gestured towards Doyoung. He got up and approached the kitchen.

“Sir.”

Hearing Doyoung’s voice, Kang Jin slightly lifted the curtain to look at him.

“What can I do for you?”

“Can we have some of whatever you’re cooking now?”

“Certainly.”

“And is it stir-fried octopus by any chance?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I would appreciate it.”

As Doyoung returned to his seat, Kang Jin glanced at Grandma. She had stopped her hands mid-stir, staring through the curtain. The moment Junghoon mentioned smelling his mother’s cooking while only detecting the scent of stir-fried octopus, Grandma froze. Observing her stillness, Kang Jin turned off the stove and set down the plate nearby.

“You should finish it.”

Kang Jin’s words prompted the grandmother to scoop some stir-fried octopus onto a plate. As she attempted to hand it over, Kang Jin shook his head.

“That’s enough.”

The grandmother hesitated at Kang Jin’s response. Seeing her reaction, Kang Jin shook his head once more and quietly said:

“Please follow me.”

With this, Kang Jin exchanged glances with Choi Hocheol, who then stepped aside from his guarding position.

“Well done.”

“Don’t do anything strange, or you’ll be out immediately.”

“I won’t, sir.” Kang Jin reassured him while looking at the grandmother.

“You promise not to, right?” he asked her firmly.

After a brief moment, the grandmother nodded slightly under Kang Jin’s gaze. With that, Kang Jin led them past Choi Hocheul towards the hall.

“Your food is ready.”

Kang Jin placed down a plate of stir-fried octopus.

Slurp!

As Kang Jin smoothly set down the dish, Junghoon stared blankly at the stir-fried octopus.

Seeing his gaze, the aunt smiled and said,

“The stir-fried octopus looks very appetizing.”

“It tastes even better once you try it.”

Kang Jin turned around and slightly pulled out a chair from a nearby table. He then nodded towards the grandmother before heading back to the kitchen.

Once inside, he noticed the grandfather staring blankly at his family before sitting on the chair Kang Jin had pulled out for him.

The grandfather continued to stare blankly at the stir-fried octopus before opening his mouth.

“It has sukju leaves?”

At her husband’s words, she glanced at the stir-fried octopus dish. It contained slightly wilted sukju leaves.

“Yes, I don’t usually add them.”

The man nodded and picked up some octopus and sukju leaves with his chopsticks before placing them in his mouth.

Crunch! Crunch!

Despite being lightly cooked, the sukju leaves still retained their crispiness. After one bite, he stared blankly at the stir-fried octopus before taking another generous portion.

Crunch! Crunch!

“Are you enjoying it that much?”

In response to her question, Junghoon silently continued chewing. Observing this, the aunt turned to Doyoung.

“It must be tasty. You should try it too, son.”

Doyoung nodded at her words and placed some stir-fried octopus in his mouth. He raised an eyebrow as he tasted it.

“Isn’t this a bit sweet?”

At Doyoung’s comment, the aunt also tried the octopus, grimacing slightly.

“It is quite sweet.”

The uncle responded to their comments by taking a shot of soju.

“It tastes better with sukju leaves.”

Following Junghoon’s advice, Doyoung combined the sukju leaves with the octopus before nodding in agreement.

“The sweetness complements them well. The texture is nice too.”

His comment made Junghoon stare blankly at the stir-fried octopus for a moment before speaking again.

“It reminds me of my grandmother’s cooking.”

“Your grandmother?”

“My grandmother liked her food on the sweeter side.”

With that, Junghoon silently ate some stir-fried octopus before smiling and taking his wife’s hand.

“I’m sorry to say this, dear…”

He smiled as he looked at the bean sprout grilled pork belly stew and sukju leaf stir-fried octopus.

“My mother’s food is truly delicious.”

Seeing Junghoon’s radiant smile brought forth an unfamiliar warmth on the elderly ghost’s face.

“Yes, my son. Eat lots.”

The vengeful expression of the ghost transformed into one resembling a mother watching her child enjoy delicious food.

And then…

Whoooosh!

A cool breeze emanating from the grandmother gradually dissipated.

“Huh?” Choi Hocheol appeared puzzled by this sight.

“What’s happening? Is she ascending?”

Kang Jin asked, sensing it felt similar to ascension. However, Choi Hocheol shook his head.

“She became a guardian spirit.”

“A guardian spirit?”

Confused about the transformation, Kang Jin sought clarification from Choi Hocheol.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. A ghost turning into a guardian spirit.”