28 – Graduation Ceremony (3)
-Are they celebrities?
-I don’t know. But their visuals are amazing…
Pushing through the crowd’s gazes, Yeo-ul and his group walked towards the car they had parked.
“But oppa, how did we get here?”
In response to Ryeowun’s question, Yeo-ul simply pointed to one side of the parking lot.
“Take that.”
Ryeowun followed his gaze along his hand. And there, a luxurious limousine was standing.
Wow, someone who rides such a car is also at our school… Ryeowun naturally didn’t think that Yeo-ul and his group would have come in that.
That car? Or that? But where did the car come from? Did one of those sisters come on it?
However, Yeo-ul’s footsteps were clearly heading towards the limousine.
Ryeowun followed him, surprised, and the driver who had been waiting opened the backseat door to greet them.
And then, naturally, Yeo-ul, Ulrike, and Soyoung climbed onto the seats that the driver opened.
“Huh… We came in this…?”
“Yeah. Hurry up and get in.”
“…?”
As a commoner by birth, Ryeowun, like Soyoung before her, wondered if it was really okay to get in without knowing English.
“When did you earn this much money…?”
“It’s not mine. It’s hers.”
Yeo-ul pointed to Ulrike. She sheepishly placed her hand on the back of her head and laughed.
I just thought she was a pretty sister, but she’s even rich… Ryeowun, for some reason, felt a sense of caution towards her.
“Where shall we take you?”
A voice from the front seat reached them. Yeo-ul looked around at his companions.
“Have you all eaten?”
(Return to original text)
Everyone nodded at his question. In that case.
“Then, how about going to eat Jajangmyeon?”
Since it was a graduation ceremony, he naturally thought that they should eat Jajangmyeon after it was over. But everyone seemed to have some kind of reluctant reaction.
So Young and Ulrike didn’t know about Korean graduation ceremony culture because they were from another world. And Lyoun…
“When was the last time we had Jajangmyeon for a graduation ceremony, Oppa?”
She just didn’t feel like eating Jajangmyeon.
While looking at her younger sister, who expressed her denial without a moment’s hesitation, Yeo Wool felt a slight pang in her chest.
Why is this happening?
Rubbing her own chest, which unexpectedly expressed pain, Yeo Wool asked her sister.
“Well, what kind of food do you think would be good?”
“Hmm, I…”.
Various foods that she liked flashed through her mind.
This one, and this one, this one would be delicious too…
After a moment of thought, she could easily decide on a menu.
Considering Lyoun’s age, the food she liked the most was Tteokbokki…
“I want to eat Mala Tang. There’s a really delicious place near the school. Oh… Mala Tang is Chinese cuisine, isn’t it? It’s similar to Jajangmyeon.”
Saying that it’s her graduation ceremony, Lyoun suggested catering to her preferences.
Yeo Wool agreed without hesitation.
Soon after the lunch menu was decided, So Young was shocked, and Ulrike was perplexed.
So Young had a bad experience with Mala Tang in the past. The strong spices of Mala Tang were really difficult for her to adapt to, despite her keen sense of smell.
On the other hand, Ulrike was thinking about what kind of food Mala Tang was. It was understandable since she had always had meals prepared by a dedicated chef in her original world, regardless of whether it was in the original world or on Earth.
But they didn’t oppose Lyoun’s decision.
Both of them didn’t want to oppose Yeo Wool, even though their reasons might be different.
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Even so, since it’s a graduation ceremony, wouldn’t it be better to cater to Lyoun’s wishes… I can endure it a little bit… thought So Young.
And Ulrike thought, if she opposed Yeo Wool’s decision…
Fed up with being the only one excited to eat Mala Tang out of the four of them, Lyoun was feeling restless.
With their own thoughts in mind, they headed to a Mala Tang restaurant nearby.
* * *
Are we really having a meal in a place like this? Putting aside the knight’s thoughts. They entered the Mala Tang restaurant that Lyoun strongly recommended.
The interior was filled with students wearing uniforms, regardless of their race.
As soon as she entered, Soyoung wrinkled her nose at the pungent, savory smell.
What on earth is this place that there are so many students here? Urike wondered.
They quickly took their seats and started gathering ingredients.
“This one, this one, this one….”
Lyoun took the lead and haphazardly filled her plate with various ingredients.
Recalling her experience with ma la tang ten years ago, Yeoul followed behind her.
As Soyoung tried to follow her siblings, Urike stood there absentmindedly.
“Is this your first time here?”
“Oh, yes….”
Urike felt like she was in a different world.
The strong aroma of spices and the assortment of randomly piled vegetables and ingredients overwhelmed her.
She couldn’t even figure out where to start or how to touch anything.
“I’ll help you.”
Although Soyoung couldn’t be called an expert, she had some knowledge that could help Urike.
“Now, put what you want to eat in here….”
A moment later.
They handed their bowls of ingredients to the kitchen.
After Urike naturally completed the payment, she returned to her seat.
Looking at the majority of customers being students, mostly female, Yeoul felt slightly interested that ma la tang was still popular even after ten years.
Ten years ago, when asking female students about their favorite food, dukbokki and ma la tang would compete for the top choice, and it still seemed to be the same now.
Although the taste was memorable, Yeoul started to wonder if this product could really attract so much popularity…. She began to worry about something that wasn’t quite fitting the moment.
Yeoun slightly held a rebellious attitude towards the girls who seemed close to her brother, Soyoung still found it difficult to interact with people, and Urike was aware of Yeoul’s silent gaze.
In the end, there was only silence at the table.
Soyoung felt like she was suffocating in this frustrating atmosphere, and just when she thought she should say something.
Fortunately, the food arrived.
“Enjoy your meal─!”
Urike was surprised when she looked at the dish in front of her. It was filled with something that looked like vegetable soup from hell.
A stimulating smell that she had never smelled before.
She wondered if this was really edible, so she quietly looked around at her companions.
Yeoul ate nonchalantly, and Lyoun devoured the food with a blissful expression, even exclaiming with delight.
Taste, does it exist…?
She hesitated for a moment, then picked up the spoon with determination.
Alright. Since I enjoyed traditional Korean cuisine, this should be alright too. Thinking that way, she took a spoonful of the bright red broth into her mouth…
An explosion of stimulation erupted in her mouth.
Salty, spicy, flavorful, and sweet… It was a completely different type of food, one that surpassed the healthy foods she had been eating without any stimulation.
She was taken aback and almost spit out the spoon, but she remembered that it was a dish recommended by Yeoul’s younger sibling and managed to force herself to swallow it.
Am I the only one… She glanced at Soyoung sitting beside her.
Surprisingly, even Soyoung had tears in her eyes as she swallowed bite after bite, as if she couldn’t let go.
Still, she thought that she was better than that person, and she challenged the Hell Soup again.
But…
Somehow, the more she ate, the better it felt.
In short…
Yes, it was a taste that kept coming to mind. An addictive taste.
Spicy, salty, undoubtedly painful every time she ate it… but now even that pain felt sweet.
That was enough.
Suddenly, Lyoun looked around at her companions, wondering if they were all enjoying their meal.
Then, she spotted Ulika, devouring her food hurriedly, and smiled.
She might be a better person than she seemed…
Seeing her enjoying the food she liked made Lyoun feel good.
Meanwhile, Soyoung was trying to hold back tears that seemed ready to fall at any moment while eating.
The taste was there, but the fragrance was too painful.
But she couldn’t just leave behind the food that Yeoul’s sibling had recommended… Soyoung discreetly wiped away a tear.
* * *
After finishing their meal, at Lyoun’s suggestion that it would be a shame to part ways like this, they went to the cinema to watch a movie.
The cinema was crowded with students wearing school uniforms, perhaps because it was graduation day at a nearby school.
“Um…how about watching this?”
Even though she had come to the movies without a specific movie in mind, Lyoun immediately chose one without much hesitation, as if she had already thought about it.
Yeoul silently agreed with her choice. And Soyoung and Ulika, being their first time at a cinema, had no choice but to follow Lyoun’s words.
With its high ceiling and crowded people, and even the pleasant smell of popcorn filling the air, they realized what a cinema was like. Soyoung wagged her tail happily, feeling a good atmosphere in this place.
They were fortunate that there were plenty of seats available despite the large number of people, so they were able to easily book their tickets.
They passed the remaining time before the screening inside the movie theater building, buying popcorn and cola before entering the theater. The ticket price and popcorn were naturally expensive.