Chapter 41: A Chilling Encounter

While conversing with Choi Mina, Kang Jin interjected, “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

Choi Mina nodded, feeling a slight shiver at Kang Jin’s words.

“Well then, see you tomorrow.”

Smiling, Choi Mina waved her hand, and Kang Jin reciprocated with a small gesture before hastily speaking up.

“Just a moment.”

“Why?”

Kang Jin asked Choi Mina to wait briefly as he entered the kitchen. He filled a small disposable container with omija sauce. Observing its beautiful red color reminiscent of rose petals, Kang Jin closed the lid, placed it in a bag, and returned.

“I noticed you enjoyed this sauce earlier, so I packed some for you.”

“Oh wow! Thank you very much.” Choi Mina smiled as she took out the container from the bag.

“The color is stunning.”

“My apologies; these were the only containers available.”

“No worries, thank you!”

“You can use it as a dipping sauce or dissolve it in water like tea.”

One of the women looked at Kang Jin and asked, “What about us?”

Kang Jin turned to her. Despite her words, she didn’t seem genuinely disappointed; it was just a light-hearted tease.

He smiled and replied, “These are gifts for my boss, hoping they’ll see me favorably.”

“Gifts?”

“I’m just an intern, after all.”

Seeing Kang Jin’s grin, the other women laughed along with him.

“Lucky you, Mina! You have an intern who gives gifts.”

“Yeah, unlike our department where interns only cause trouble instead of giving presents.”

Hearing their laughter, Choi Mina also chuckled and glanced at Kang Jin.

“This will make our work life much smoother from now on.” Choi Mina’s comment was half-joking but also genuine.

“You should get going,” Kang Jin replied.

With that, Choi Mina and her colleagues turned to leave. As Kang Jin watched them walk away, he felt puzzled by something. One of the ghosts gathered nearby had followed after the women.

What’s up with that?

As Kang Jin observed the ghost, Choi Ho-cheol discreetly peeked inside the restaurant.

“Wow, impressive! How many bottles did they have?”

“They drank eight bottles of soju and six beers.”

“That’s quite a lot for just three ladies!”

“It doesn’t seem like it affected them too much though.” Kang Jin pointed towards the women as he spoke.

“So what’s with that ghost following them? I’ve never seen it before.”

The ghost trailing behind the women looked like a middle schooler.

“It’s attached to the one in yellow.”

“Is it some kind of evil spirit or something?”

“She’s her older brother.”

“Her brother?”

“We were discussing how we’d never seen this particular ghost before…but it seems he’s just worried about his sister and is sticking close by.”

“Oh… So he isn’t a bad ghost, then?”

“Uh… What was the term again?” Choi Hocheol racked his brain.

Heo Yeonwook clicked his tongue at him. “Guardian spirit.”

“Yes! That’s right, guardian spirit.” Choi Hocheul nodded.

Kang Jin, who had been listening quietly, interrupted.

“What’s a guardian spirit?”

Heo Yeonwook responded to Kang Jin’s question. “Does it remind you of the ghost ajumma from the market?”

Kang Jin nodded as he recalled the ghostly woman who had wept and sought help for her convulsing husband.

“Yes.”

“That kind of ghost is called a guardian spirit. They usually linger around their children, parents, or loved ones… This particular one was attached to its sister.”

“But it looked so young.”

“It died prematurely. Ghosts don’t age after death.”

“So does that mean guardian spirits remain due to unresolved resentment?”

“You could say that. Leaving behind someone they love before passing away…”

“Then how do guardian spirits ascend?”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure about that. Just because I’m a ghost doesn’t mean I know everything about them.”

Kang Jin nodded at Heo Yeonwook’s words.

‘Indeed, humans don’t fully understand each other either.’

With this thought, Kang Jin glanced at the ghosts standing outside the shop. There were only about ten minutes left until 11 PM, but he didn’t call them in; instead, he entered alone.

Between 11 PM and midnight was the sole time when ghosts could possess physical bodies. Consequently, even if they were inside the store before 11 PM, they would step out momentarily just to re-enter precisely at 11 PM. They enjoyed opening the door themselves, so Kang Jin let them have their moment by entering ahead of them.

In any case, they wouldn’t enter until after 11 PM even if he asked them to do so earlier.

By 11 o’clock, Kang Jin was already cooking in the kitchen. He had learned the preferences of his ghost customers by now, and thus, prepared their usual orders beforehand.

Click!

As he was preparing ingredients, the door opened.

“Welcome!” Kang Jin cheerfully greeted the ghosts entering the hall, who smiled and waved back at him.

“I’ll have yukhoe.”

“Egg soufflé!”

Kang Jin chuckled as the ghosts placed their orders.

“Just wait a moment!”

Following Kang Jin’s instructions, the ghosts took their seats and started drinking soju while waiting for their food.

Once all the orders were in, Kang Jin swiftly began cooking.

‘Yongsoo, that bastard, when will you be here?’

Normally Bae Yongsoo would be cooking alongside Kang Jin, but today Kang Jin was alone and busy. Of course, he wasn’t overwhelmed despite making multiple dishes simultaneously, as they were all recipes from the Cooking Practice Room. However, his hands were still occupied.

Chak-chak-chak!

He quickly sliced some scallions for yukhoe (marinated raw beef) and stir-fried them.

Sizzle! Frrshhh!

Creak!

The sudden sound of the door opening made Kang Jin consider:

‘Should I fix the door?’

It wasn’t that the creaking bothered him; it actually helped alert him to incoming customers. However, the thought crossed his mind that fixing the door might improve its functionality.

‘After fixing the door, should I add some background sounds?’

With such thoughts swirling in his mind, Kang Jin served up the yukhoe beef tartare onto plates.

“Here’s your yukhoe! And for those who need some side dishes, please take these.”

As he generously filled multiple plates with yukhoe, ghosts approached and carried them away. While observing this, Kang Jin noticed Bae Yongsoo entering the kitchen.

“You’re late.”

“Not too late though.”

Bae Yongsoo immediately washed his hands. It didn’t matter when he was a ghost, but now that he had manifested physically, washing hands before cooking was essential. As he cleaned his hands, Bae Yongsoo spoke:

“I’ll handle things here. Why don’t you go out to the hall?”

“Why?”

“I brought Grandmother Oh Soon-young.”

“Oh Soon-young?”

Kang Jin initially wondered who that was before hastily looking towards the hall. At one of the tables sat a ghostly grandmother. She wore a delicate peach-colored hanbok, and upon seeing her, Kang Jin turned back to Bae Yongsoo.

“You came here for Grandmother Oh Soon-young?”

“Yes, she just popped into my mind. Go greet her.”

Nodding at Bae Yongsoo’s words, Kang Jin dried his hands and entered the hall.

Grandmother Oh Soon-young appeared slightly nervous as she observed the ghosts drinking around her.

“Hello, I am Lee Kang-jin, the president of One Meal Restaurant.” Kang Jin greeted her warmly.

Oh Soon-young looked at him curiously and tilted her head. “By any chance, did you visit our restaurant for lunch today?”

“Do you remember me?”

“I don’t forget faces easily. I’m sorry. I should have treated you with better food…”

Seeing Oh Soon-young sigh, Kang Jin spoke with a smile on his face.

“The meal was delicious. Ah! I didn’t leave any food behind, did you notice?”

Kang Jin’s words brought a small smile to Oh Soon-young’s face.

“Yes, I remember that you finished everything. Watching you eat made me feel full too.”

“What would you like to eat today?”

In response to Kang Jin’s question, Oh Soon-young hesitated before softly speaking.

“Well…”

“Please tell me what you desire.”

“These people here… Are they all ghosts?”

Kang Jin looked at her quizzically before replying.

“Is this your first time visiting our restaurant?”

“Oh… Yes.”

“Yes, everyone here…like you, they have all passed away.” Kang Jin emphasized that Oh Soon-young was like them, indicating she too was a ghost. Just because someone is a ghost doesn’t mean they can perceive other ghosts effortlessly. Choi Ho-chul had also been initially surprised and frightened upon seeing his first ghost. It seemed likely that Mrs. Oh’s unease and tension were due to the presence of these spirits around her.

“Is this your first time seeing ghosts?”

“No, I’ve seen a few before, but…never this many at once.”

“There’s no need to be anxious; despite being ghosts, they live peacefully here just like humans. And they’re all good people.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin noticed a slight relaxation on Oh Soon-young’s face as he continued speaking.

“How about some food?”

In response to Kang Jin’s question, Oh Soon-young scanned the store and smiled as she spotted the menu board.

“It says they’ll make whatever I want… Seems like this young chef is quite confident.”

“A little bit,” Kang Jin replied modestly.

“Then… could I request Sunji hangover soup?”

Kang Jin chuckled at her request.

“You spent your life making Sunji hangover soup, and now you’d like it here too?”

“Yes, because it’s my favorite… That’s why I made it throughout my life.”

“I would love to prepare it for you since it’s your first visit, but unfortunately, I don’t have any jeon on hand. Additionally, making authentic Sunji hangover soup requires simmering beef bones for ten hours… It’s not feasible right now. Ah! How about tomorrow…”

Kang Jin was about to offer her something else but shook his head instead. Tomorrow was Thursday, and he couldn’t boil broth for ten hours during a weekday because he had work.

”…I can’t today… But if you come by Saturday, I’ll prepare it for you.”

Oh Soon-young looked at Kang Jin and sighed.

“I didn’t expect someone so young to know…”

“Huh?”

“To make Sunji hangover soup, you need to boil the stock first. It took me twelve hours.”

“That’s quite a long time.”

“Even the owner of this restaurant knows… My son inherited the Sunji hangover soup shop, yet he doesn’t understand.”

Seeing Oh Soon-young sigh, Kang Jin responded:

“We have many other dishes available at our restaurant. Not bragging, but they’re quite delicious.”

At Kang Jin’s words, Oh Soon-young looked at him thoughtfully.

“You’ll do well in your business.”

“Pardon?”

“In food service, taste is important, but making people feel comfortable matters too. If you can make even a ghost like me feel this relaxed… imagine how much more at ease humans will be.”

“Thank you.”

Nodding at Kang Jin’s response, Oh Soon-young gently asked, “May I request something from you?”

“Please go ahead.”

“It might not be proper to ask this of someone running a dining establishment, but… could you pack a bowl of Sunji hangover soup for our store?”

“Oh…”

“I’ll pay for it.” As she spoke, Oh Soon-young retrieved a card from inside her hanbok.

The card was jet-black with silver lettering that read “JS Finance,” and Oh Soon-young’s name was embossed on one side.

I guess this is a VVIP card.

Kang Jin nodded after examining it closely. “Of course not! I’ll go pack some for you.”

“Thank you.”

With a smile, Kang Jin replied, “I’ll be right back.”

“Please take the card with you.”

However, Kang Jin shook his head at Oh Soon-young’s suggestion. “This card is only valid at our restaurant, so they likely won’t accept it there. No worries, I’ll handle it.”

He turned towards the kitchen, calling out, “I’m going to get Sunji hangover soup.”

“You still want to try it?”

“But it won’t taste like your old favorite,” Kang Jin glanced at Oh Soon-young as he spoke to Bae Yongsoo, who shook his head.

“That’s why I want to try it.” Sung Yongsoo’s reply prompted Kang Jin to turn back towards him.

“I’ll be right back.”