As Giju Wishes Chapter 6.5

“But it’d be nice to see her sooner, mmph!”

Choi Geon, who got up from the sofa, forcefully shoved a large green grape from the dining table into Giju’s mouth and brought over a booklet that was next to it. The booklet lavishly introduced famous restaurants.

“Hey, how about this one?”

Giju, who was unknowingly savoring the juice, looked at the picture in the booklet held out in front of him. The picture of sizzling meat was something anyone would have to focus on.

“Um… it looks delicious.”

“This is dinner tonight.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Choi Geon called and made a reservation at the ‘White Pig Restaurant’ from the picture, then looked through the booklet with Giju. Giju, who found himself looking at other meat pictures, felt his mouth watering. It was strange since it was still a little early for dinner.

“What’s this?”

Giju asked, pointing to the red fish meat.

“Salmon.”

“You eat it raw?”

“Yeah. You, who’s only ever had pan-fried pollock, will probably cry with emotion after eating this.”

“I’ve had croaker, too.”

At the word “croaker,” Choi Geon’s gaze landed on the barley-dried corvina that appeared on the next page.

“You’ll just die if you eat this.”

With barley-dried corvina and rice in green tea, Choi Geon could eat five bowls of rice.

“What’s this green water?”

“Green tea water. If you mix rice in there and put barley-dried corvina on top, it’s just killer. From what I’ve seen, even a ghost would be so moved after eating it that it would ascend to heaven.”

“Wow… is it that good?”

“This is for lunch tomorrow.”

The two of them lost track of time talking about food. Giju’s curiosity, which had suppressed his anxiety, grew higher than ever before.

Bzzzt-

Just then, Choi Geon’s phone vibrated, signaling that the call taxi had arrived.

“Ooh.”

“Let’s go, for now.”

Giju, who had been listening to the mysteries of pork belly fat, followed Choi Geon into the taxi like a child mesmerized by candy.

“So the pork belly has to be thick, then?”

“Of course. Put some kimchi on top of that and kya, you eat and die.”

“I’ve never had pork belly with kimchi. It sounds delicious.”

“They say White Pig Restaurant’s is super thick.”

The taxi driver, who was listening to the chatter from the backseat full of anticipation, glanced at the hungry-looking Giju in the rearview mirror.

“Ahem, young men.”

Giju and Choi Geon, who were talking, stopped and simultaneously looked at the taxi driver.

“I’m telling you this ’cause I’ve been listening, but you see, the real must-try place isn’t White Pig Restaurant. That place is just for tourists. The real gem that only those in the know go to is somewhere else. It’s a place frequented by the locals, so, anyway, if you go there once, you’ll know why it’s the real deal.”

“Oh, really?”

At the secret and clandestine whisper, Giju leaned forward, showing his interest.

“That’s the kind of taste that’ll make you eat and die. So… shall we change course a bit?”

Won over by the “eat and die” flavor, Giju’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Choi Geon.

“Hoo, let’s change course.”

Choi Geon, as if he too was won over by the “eat and die” flavor, easily changed their destination. The two of them headed not to the White Pig Restaurant, but to a nameless local restaurant.

Choi Geon, who got out of the taxi after giving the driver a tip on top of the fare as thanks for the recommendation, had a satisfied look on his face at the dilapidated exterior of the restaurant. Usually, a restaurant like this was either a hit or a miss, but seeing the crowd of people inside, it was a certified hot spot.

“Looks like the driver was right.”

“Hey, let’s go tear it up.”

The two who entered the restaurant were guided by a staff member further inside. The place, despite being outdoors, was filled with incredible smells and sounds. There was a campfire-like wood fire at each table, and on top of it was a cauldron lid placed upside down, where pork belly was sizzling away. Giju, who sat down, couldn’t take his eyes off this unfamiliar yet spectacular scene.

“Is it fascinating?”

“Yeah… I’ve never thought of grilling something on a cauldron lid. I’ve only ever used a wood fire for rituals… Come to think of it, my grandmother was really good at starting fires-”

“Kya, look at that fire show.”

At the ever-present existence of his grandmother, Choi Geon cut him off and pointed to the high-soaring flames. Seeing that, Giju’s eyes sparkled brightly.

Chiiik-

Just then, a staff member who looked like a bandit came over and placed a thick piece of meat on the cauldron lid. The man, holding tongs and scissors, began to grill the meat with concentration. Giju watched his every move with the same concentration.

“Have a taste, student.”

After a short while, as if it was all cooked, the man offered a piece of meat to Giju, who had been staring intently. Giju, who naturally accepted and ate it, chewed it carefully and thoroughly, with even more devotion than he had for the jajangmyeon, at the melt-in-your-mouth taste.

“Aigoo, he eats well.”

“It’s his first time eating something like this. Show him what he’s been missing.”

At Choi Geon’s words, the man began to put on a divine fire show. Giju’s eyes, which were already completely mesmerized, went wide. After the spectacular, ascending fire show ended, the man neatly arranged the flame-kissed pieces of meat along the outer edge of the cauldron lid. Only after putting water parsley and kimchi into the oil that had collected in the middle did he leave.

“Hey, eat till you burst.”

Drool looked like it would drip from Giju’s open mouth at any moment.

“You’re supposed to eat that meat with the water parsley and kimchi, right…?”

“You know a thing or two. Look at that, when we finish this, we’re moving on to pork belly kimchi stew ramen.”

Lest his grandmother be mentioned again, Choi Geon pointed to the cauldron lid at the next table with his chopsticks and said.

“Wow, this is amazing…”

It was a feast of dizzyingly violent foods. Giju, who swallowed hard, asked soullessly, his eyes still fixed on the kimchi boiling in the oil.

“We’re definitely going to Baegyangsa tomorrow, right, Geon…?”

“After we hit up some salmon sushi for lunch and digest a bit? Oh, we should have mango ice cream for dessert, too. That taxi driver introduced us to a great place. Hey, hey, it’s getting cold. Just eat for now. This salted hairtail entrails is the cheat code, so hurry up and try it.”

Choi Geon shoved a piece of pork belly dipped in salted hairtail entrails into Giju’s mouth.

“How is it? The ‘eat and die’ flavor, right?”

“Yeah.”

In this moment, Giju, who had become a slave to pork belly, nodded his head enthusiastically. This was the beginning of an unplanned gastronomic journey.

“Ah, this is killer.”

Slurp-

Choi Geon, who drained his mango juice with a straw, pushed the sunglasses he was wearing up onto his head.

“Look at that color.”

Then he speared a large chunk of apple mango with a fork and lifted it.

“Hurry up and try it. This is also an ‘eat and die’ flavor.”

Giju, who was lying on a sunbed wearing the same Hawaiian shirt as Choi Geon, ate the apple mango and marveled. Three days had passed since the cauldron lid pork belly. Giju couldn’t get his head straight from the onslaught of Jeolla Province’s food feast.

Just today, they had eaten a 15-dish set meal for lunch and were now enjoying dessert by the hotel pool. As the ‘eat and die’ flavor continued for every single meal without exception, Giju was a little out of his mind, not knowing if this place was a paradise or the secular world.

“Let’s have some Jangseong Hanwoo for dinner later.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t know what it was, but it looked delicious, so he answered for now.

“How about Gwangyang-style tteokgalbi for tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.”

This was the same.

“Isn’t it nice to eat and enjoy like this every day?”

Choi Geon asked, staring fixedly at Giju.

“It’s nice.”

“It’s fucking no big deal. Eating, drinking, and sleeping.”

“Um… yeah.”

In this paradise, there were no worries or concerns.

“I feel better just from eating an apple mango. People are originally this simple, right?”

“Right.”

His head nodded of its own accord in perfect agreement.

“How is it, do you feel like an adult now?”

“It’s goo-”

Giju, who had been answering simply like a parrot, sat up and looked at Choi Geon. At the word “adult,” he felt as if he had been dragged back to reality from paradise.