Chapter 4: Korea’s top 3 delicacies, PC room ramen (3)
One of Korea’s three legendary delicacies, PC bang ramen.
It’s right in front of me now.
Two bowls of it.
“Wow…”
Growl—
Growl!
My stomach is throwing a fit, demanding I fill it with ramen.
Okay, just hold on, I muttered to myself, patting my stomach, then quickly grabbed a big bunch of noodles with my chopsticks.
Steaming noodles, soaked in spicy broth.
Gulp.
I wanted to admire the ramen’s beauty longer, but unable to wait, I shoved the hot noodles into my mouth without even blowing on them.
“Phew, ha…”
The burning sensation mixed with the spicy broth’s flavor.
‘So good…!’
I recalled something I heard once.
It’s not just a feeling—there’s scientific proof that ramen cooked by someone else tastes better.
“…Nom…”
“They were… nom… right…”
True to the saying, this rare ‘ramen cooked by someone else’ was absolutely delicious.
I could live off this forever.
Slurp, slurp—
Each chopstick of noodles brought chewy, bouncy texture swimming in spicy broth.
Having to blow on them mid-bite was a hassle, but the happiness made my eyes close.
“So… so good…”
Delicious.
Enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Afraid someone might see, I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes.
I stirred the bowl to grab more noodles, but—
‘Gone.’
It’s gone.
I already ate all the noodles.
No problem. I ordered two bowls for a reason.
First, I decided to finish the broth from the empty bowl.
Gulp, gulp—
Cleared the first bowl, broth and all.
Next, the second bowl.
I ate the first so fast that the noodles in this one were still perfectly firm.
Slurp, slurp—
Chomp, chomp…
The flow didn’t stop as I moved to the next bowl.
My eating speed picked up, and I finished the noodles in three big bites.
Now for the rice I ordered.
“…Huh?”
Then, I felt piercing stares from both sides.
No, from behind my head too.
‘What? Why are they staring?’
I stopped eating and turned to look, only to see nearby people had stopped gaming and were staring blankly at me eating.
As soon as our eyes met, they hurriedly looked away.
‘…What’s their deal? Was I eating too loudly?’
Given my earlier blunder with the game sound blasting through the speakers, maybe my eating was too loud too.
Once you’re an eyesore, everything you do annoys people.
I understood, but a wave of sadness welled up.
‘It’s just eating, cut me some slack.’
Even so, my spoon was busy scooping rice into the remaining broth.
– New order received
Kim Suho, the night-shift worker at Iron PC Bang, felt it instinctively.
“I’m f*cked.”
Really f*cked.
The biggest perk of the night shift was fewer customers and fewer orders compared to the afternoon.
‘Once the orders start pouring in, there’s no stopping them…’
But that perk came with a fatal penalty.
Since the night shift attracts adults with some money, once they realize they’re hungry, they order massive amounts.
Luckily, this PC bang was filled with hardcore gamers too absorbed to notice hunger.
They’d jokingly say five orders a day was a lot.
‘…Except that one time.’
A few months ago, just once in his six months working here, he experienced a night-order frenzy.
– Ugh! Dishes!
– Ugh! Card! Wrong charge!
– Ugh! No rice! Instant rice!
A hellish snack party he never wanted to relive.
‘It’s fine. Probably just iced tea or coffee.’
Trying to quell his anxiety, Kim Suho cautiously clicked the order alert.
Click.
What he saw was pure despair.
– Tteok ramen (1) + Large iced tea + Rice (1)
– Regular ramen (3) + Rice (2) + Iced Americano
– Dumpling ramen (2) + Rice (1) + Welch’s Grape
– Regular ramen (1) + Rice (1)
Ramen. Ramen. Ramen.
Nothing but ramen.
Kim Suho held his forehead.
‘Closing’s gonna be rough tonight.’
Wait a second.
Now that he thought about it…
All the orders had one thing in common.
Rice, which barely sold twice a month, was included in every order.
‘I can’t help but suspect.’
The orders came from seats near Jin Yuna, who just finished her delivery.
Did seeing her eat make them hungry?
‘How the hell did she eat to cause this?’
It was his first time seeing a girl eat two bowls of ramen, so he’d put effort into cooking them, and she ate so eagerly.
To think it’d cause this butterfly effect.
– New order received
– New order received
The order alerts kept coming.
He was losing his mind.
No time to dwell.
He had to churn through the orders.
While delivering the first batch of orders, Kim Suho overheard someone muttering like they were chanting.
“…So…”
“…So… good…”
There was Jin Yuna, mask off, mixing rice into her ramen bowl.
Her eyes were red, maybe from crying over her bad gaming.
‘Wow…’
Jin Yuna’s face didn’t belong in this dingy basement PC bang.
He thought she was a doll for a second.
‘F*cking gorgeous.’
Kim Suho forgot he’d been annoyed with her.
Eating a mere 1,000-won instant ramen like it was the greatest thing in the world, she looked so beautiful.
“Hey… boss!”
While he was serving ramen and staring at her face, Jin Yuna noticed him and called out.
“Thanks for the ramen!”
No informal speech or stuttering this time.
She seemed like a different person.
“Uh… yeah…”
Now it was Kim Suho’s turn to fumble his words.
“Oh, did I startle you? Sorry… it was so delicious, I just had to say thanks…”
…What?
Six months working here, and this was the first time a customer thanked him for ramen.
‘It’s just instant noodles and soup mix.’
Do I even deserve thanks?
Well, he did put in some effort, but still…
“Hmph.”
Her round eyes met his, and he felt he had to say something.
“It’s just, uh, machine-made.”
Feeling embarrassed about his earlier grumbling, Kim Suho replied curtly.
Jin Yuna, unfazed, kept talking.
“Still, thanks to you, I filled my stomach on the cheap. Really, thank you!”
“Oh, yeah. Sure…”
Who knew the sh*tty half-price ramen event would feel this rewarding?
‘What was the boss’s number again?’
***
“That was so good!”
I was reminded why PC bang ramen is one of the three legendary ramens.
‘There’s time until January, so I should come often for this 1,000-won happiness.’
Maybe this is the first step toward an easy life.
“Phew!”
My stomach was full.
No need to stay at the PC bang anymore, I got up to leave.
All I had to do was fix my loose shoes.
“Uh… lari…”
The sight as I stood was spectacular.
Slurp, slurp—
Chomp, chomp.
Slurp—
Everyone I’d made eye contact with earlier was now eating ramen and rice, just like me.
Come to think of it, when I briefly worked at a PC bang, the owner told me:
– When serving ramen, take a lap around. The smell makes customers order more.
‘…No way. Really?’
Creak, creak.
I forced my stiff neck to turn toward the counter.
There, the worker was slumped in his chair, exhausted.
‘Wait a second. Now that I think about it…’
– It’s just, uh, machine-made.
– Oh, yeah. Sure…
Was his curt response when I thanked him because of this?
What happens to my happy 1,000-won feast plan until January 1st?
The fantastic ramen he cooked…
I have a sad feeling today might be the first and last time.
‘Nothing’s going right today…’
***
I trudged out of the PC bang and reached my sanctuary, my cradle of happiness, my fortress of safety—my home.
I punched in the four-digit code as usual.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, ding.
Kicking off my shoes as usual, I stepped inside.
“Hey, you’re back?”
A deep male voice came from my supposedly empty sanctuary.
Realizing I was screwed, I froze mid-shoe removal.
Only one person knew my house code and acted this familiar.
“My mom sent some jangjorim, so I came to check if you’re alive.”
Sprawled on the floor in front of the TV, scratching his stomach like he owned the place, was my only friend and family-like figure, Seo Jihoon.
“Answer your phone sometime…”
The door was open, but I wasn’t making a sound, so Jihoon naturally glanced my way.
“…”
“…”
Our eyes met, and I froze.
“Huh…?”
As soon as our eyes locked, Jihoon jumped up, startled, scanning me up and down.
“W-Who… who are you?”
I’m the homeowner, but I feel like the intruder.
‘Come to think of it… I never changed the house code…’