Chapter 5: Jangjorim that you can’t buy even with money

“…”
“…”

A heavy silence settled over my tiny studio apartment.
In the suffocating stillness, my old friend Seo Jihoon spoke first.

“Um, excuse me… Are you Yuhyun’s girlfriend?”

He was visibly flustered, using polite speech with every word.

“Uh, well… I mean…”

I was just as flustered, stumbling over my words.

Okay, no matter how I think about it, I can’t come up with a good answer.
Do I just say I woke up as a woman?

If I tell him I desperately wanted to be a frail, tragic beauty but ended up as a perpetually hungry girl… would he even believe me?

‘I’d be lucky if he doesn’t think I’m crazy.’

Whatever.
I’ll make something up and get him out of here.

“Yuhyun’s… cousin, same age! Uh, but we’re not that close… He, uh, probably didn’t mention me… maybe…”

Is my ability to speak this bad now?

I was always introverted, but I didn’t used to stutter this much.
It’s like my social skills tanked along with my body’s changes.

Gaming skills gone, social skills gone, constant hunger.
No matter how I look at it, I’ve gained nothing but penalties.

“Ahem…”

My behavior just now was obviously suspicious, so I cautiously glanced at Jihoon.

To my surprise, his tense expression softened, and his face lit up.

“…Oh, really?”

‘What? He actually bought that?’

“So… not a girlfriend, but Yuhyun’s family, sharing the same blood?”

He seemed relieved, though his expression was kind of gross.

“But why hasn’t he come home when he invited a guest? Oh, cousin, please wait a moment! I’ll give him a call.”

Suddenly, Jihoon started acting erratically.

“What? No, you don’t need to call! He’s running late today…!”

My tongue tripped over itself as I tried to stop him, but Jihoon’s finger already hit the green call button.

Bzzz—

‘Phew… thank god…’

A vibration buzzed in my oversized hoodie pocket. Lucky me.
I curled up, trying to muffle the sound with my body.

Buzz… buzz…

Perfect.

He called about five times, and when I didn’t answer, he gave up and pocketed his phone.

“Yuhyun must be running late. Hmm, it’d be boring to wait alone. Should I keep you company?”

Jihoon flashed a sleazy grin as he spoke.
And was his voice lower than usual? No way. It can’t be.

…

‘Gotta get out of here.’

This studio, my perfect sanctuary until yesterday, now felt like a place I desperately needed to escape.

“Sorry, I just remembered something urgent.”

Instinctively sensing danger, I backed toward the door.
But then—

Growl. Growl—

‘…What?’

A sudden, intense hunger hit my stomach.

‘I ate two bowls of ramen with rice—where’d it all go?’

I checked my phone in the hoodie pocket. It hadn’t even been an hour since I ate at the PC bang.

‘This makes no sense.’

After eating that much, I shouldn’t even want to look at food, right?

‘Must be my imagination.’

I tried to act casual and head for the door, but—

GROOOWL!!

This time, my stomach roared so loudly it’d be weirder to ignore it.

Worse, Jihoon heard it too.
His gaze slid from my face to my stomach.

‘Ugh…’

I’d never felt hunger like this before, so I’d never let anyone hear my stomach growl.

‘So… embarrassing…’

Heat rushed from my neck to my earlobes.

‘Whatever. Just get out.’

I hurriedly put on my shoes to flee, but Jihoon stopped me, shouting,

“Hey, wait a sec!”

He suddenly opened a bag on the table and started unloading its contents.

“I brought some side dishes for Yuhyun. Wanna try some?”

“My mom made these herself… Oh, you wouldn’t know her. Anyway, they’re super delicious…!”

The bag was filled with neatly portioned side dish containers.

Spicy kimchi, savory anchovies, salty soy sauce aromas.
Precious side dishes for a broke student like me, wafting dizzying scents.

I wiped drool from my mouth and swallowed hard.

‘Damn, that looks good…’

I was starving, but Jihoon’s mom, who runs a big Korean restaurant, is a top-tier cook.

Whenever Jihoon invited me for dinner, even a food ignoramus like me would bow and eagerly tag along.

Slurp.

Recently, his mom appeared on a famous chef’s YouTube channel.
The jangjorim she made looked insanely delicious.

‘…I should say no.’

I need to get out of here.
Look at his eyes. So suspicious.

Right now, Jihoon’s pulling his signature move: ‘Shrugging shoulders with a smirk.’ Aka, ‘Killer charming smile!’

‘What do I do? Taste it and run?’

While my two selves argued, unable to decide, Jihoon’s swift hands opened all the containers and set them on the table.

Tap. Tap.
Tap.

And the last dish, with its shimmering glow…

“…Jangjorim?”

Did he read my mind?
It’s that jangjorim, right in front of me.

I instantly recalled a few days ago, lying on my studio floor, watching YouTube.

– Even if it’s quail eggs, how can they be this moist?
– Wow, the meat’s so tender it melts in your mouth.
– The seasoning’s perfect. Not too sweet or salty, bursting with umami. It can’t not taste good…

It was from a recent hit cooking show where Jihoon’s mom appeared.

Her chic banter and stunning food visuals made the video go viral, and her already-popular restaurant became so packed you needed a week’s reservation to eat there.

That precious jangjorim…
I could eat it for free just because I’m Jihoon’s friend.

Growl.
GROOOWL.

My stomach, previously raging, now growled as if desperately craving the jangjorim.

As I stood there swallowing drool, quick-witted Jihoon pulled out a chair and carefully sat me down.

He then grabbed a plate from the shelf, portioning out the side dishes.
He added an unsolicited explanation.

“Just so you know, I don’t do this for just anyone. Since you’re Yuhyun’s precious family, I can’t help but be sincere. Haha.”

“…Oh. Uh, …yeah.”

…

What is this feeling?

Is it because he’s emphasizing how close he is to me while placing a tissue under the spoon?

Or because he’s flashing that smile he practiced endlessly in the mirror, claiming ‘it works so well on girls’?

I had to close my eyes tightly to calm my nausea.

I’m grateful for the rare jangjorim you can’t buy anywhere,
but Jihoon’s behavior is too much for a friend to stomach.

‘So… so gross…’

I miss the guy who messaged me, ‘What do you want me to do, you b*stard?’

‘No way.’

He hasn’t actually fallen for me, has he?

No way.
Nah…

“Oh, and after you eat, maybe we could grab dessert at the café nearby… The weather’s nice… Oh, there’s a new movie out with great reviews…”

I tried to tune out Jihoon’s words, pushing my consciousness as far from Earth as possible.
I might actually throw up otherwise.

And I decided.

‘I have to tell him.’

I need to come clean before this gets worse.
It’s for the best.

“…”

But maybe because that jangjorim was right there, my mouth wouldn’t open.

The hesitation didn’t last long.

‘…Before I tell him. Just one bite. Just one bite of jangjorim…’

Put some tender beef and a quail egg, soaked in seasoning, on fluffy rice and pop it in my mouth.

If the rice is too hot, I’ll scoop some cold jangjorim sauce to cool it down.

The quail egg yolk will meld with the savory soy sauce, becoming moist,
and the finely chopped beef will be salty and savory, delighting my taste buds…

‘Ugh.’

Imagining the taste makes it worse.

Fine.
Just one bite, savoring Jihoon’s mom’s cooking, then I’ll tell him.

If he finds out I deceived him, he might snatch this precious jangjorim away.

So, just one bite, then I’ll tell him.

You can’t even buy this with money…