Food also has a culture and there are unwritten rules that must be followed.
For example, you should eat Samgye-tang on a Hot summer day, and you should make Patjuk on Cold winter day.
‘So what do you eat on moving day?’
Everyone in the Republic of Korea knows.
That’s right. It’s Jajangmyeon.
Today is a moving day, and moving trucks are lined up in Sangwon-dong. They were to be Jong-sik’s neighbors.
Pyeong-ari, Kang Chang-soo, Jason, and Jang Mi-ae.
That’s not all.
Hearing it from somewhere, Jong-sik’s cell phone rang like crazy on the contract day. The genders, ages, and guilds they joined were different, but the purpose of their calls was the same.
“Master Dok. It’s not much, but…”
The request was to give them some of the items as well. Jong-sik didn’t stop those who said they would come. After all, he had secured a lot of items.
He gave them the items as well and offered the same conditions. The result is shown by the moving vehicles that are coming in one after another.
For that reason, the menu for Dok’s restaurant today was Jajangmyeon. And a delivery service was offered specially today. The delivery person is none other than Dok Jong-sik.
“Jajangmyeon delivery is here. Eat and clean up.”
While Jong-sik was taking out the Jajangmyeon from the iron bag.
Pyeong-ari quickly spread out the newspaper.
The Jajangmyeon bowl and the Tangsuyuk bowl are placed on the spread newspaper.
“What? I only ordered one bowl…”
“You’re Team Leader Pyeong-ari last delivery destination. So I just brought mine too. It’s okay to eat together, right? I missed my meal time because there were too many orders.”
“Whatever.”
Pyeong-ari’s honest feelings are that she wants to eat dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast together.
Suddenly, an embarrassing feeling rushes in.
Pyeong-ari turns her head to hide the flushed face and says.
“Of course it’s okay. It’s not good to eat delicious food alone. It’s the best to eat with food.”
“Hmm. It’s more delicious to eat together. Then shall we just join forces at this point?”
Pyeong-ari’s face turned red, not to mention flushed, at Jong-sik’s answer.
What do you mean by joining forces? Are you suggesting living together? Or…
‘…Oh my. I must be crazy!’
Fireworks exploded in my head.
At the same time, my mouth moves without my knowledge.
“Th-that’s too sudden. I, I’ll do it later….”
It didn’t matter what it was.
“What did you say? I can’t hear you well.”
“I, I said let’s combine it later.”
“Ah. Then let’s combine it a little later. Well, I’d rather do that.”
“Later? I said let’s combine it later! I mean I need some time!”
“Hmm. When do you mean by later?”
“Not today!”
“I can’t help it. Let’s just dip it and eat it today.”
“Yes. Let’s just dip it and eat… huh?”
‘Dip what and eat? ‘
Pyeong-ari raised her lowered head. Jong-sik was holding the Tangsuyuk sauce bowl. Pyeong-ari blinked her eyes and asked again.
“Are you saying we should combine that Tangsuyuk and the sauce?”
“Yes. But you said you didn’t like it.”
Jong-sik nodded. Pyeong-ari felt like she wanted to hide in a mouse hole.
“Who said anything about combining Tangsuyuk sauce? I asked if you were going to pour it or dip it!”
“Is that so? I haven’t had Tangsuyuk in a while, since my return, no. Anyway, you understood, didn’t you? You even answered well.”
“That’s…!”
“Isn’t it? Then what did you think we were combining?”
She couldn’t say it.
She couldn’t show her face that was about to explode.
Pyeong-ari kicked the seat she was sitting on.
“T-Tangsuyuk! I thought you meant the Tangsuyuk sauce! Oh, I don’t have time for this. Just a moment. I’ll go get some chili powder and sauce.”
“Team Leader Pyeong.”
“Yes?”
“The place you’re about to go into, that’s the bedroom.”
“I know! I, I was just going to open the door to ventilate it a bit.”
Pyeong-ari hurriedly walked towards the kitchen. Jong-sik shook his head and stirred the Jajangmyeon. He also stirred Pyeong-ari’s while he was at it.
The black luster flowed down. It was a visual that made your mouth water. However, he couldn’t eat it yet. It was one step short.
A little later.
Pyeong-ari sprinkled the chili powder she had brought on the well-stirred Jajangmyeon. Now it was ready to eat. Jong-sik took a big bite of the Jajangmyeon. He couldn’t stop eating it thanks to the spicy chili powder.
“As expected, Jajangmyeon needs chili powder. It’s a bit bland if you just eat it, but this one makes it a lot different.”
“Now I see that Team Leader Pyeong is a real foodie.”
“Ahem. You know how to say such things.”
Pyeong-ari coughed in vain.
“I learned it from Trigo. It means that a foodie knows a lot about the food they eat, right?”
“Yes. Do you happen to know about the Foodie Ability Test?”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard of it. Is there such a thing?”
“Yes. It shows the results in grades, and it’s quite interesting. Try it sometime.”
“What grade did Team Leader Pyeong-ari get?”
“I’m a Jjajjang Doctor!”
“Jjajjang Doctor, huh. That’s quite intuitive.”
Jong-sik snickered.
Pyeong-ari also curled the corners of her eyes and continued.
“Then shall I show you the side of Jjajjang Doctor?”
“?”
“If I’m a Jjajjang Doctor, I should be prepared for this much.”
It was the sauce she had just made in the kitchen.
A sauce made with soy sauce, chili powder, and vinegar.
Pyeong-ari held out the sauce.
Jong-sik said with a bewildered expression.
“I’ve already taken out all the food I brought.”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t that the soy sauce you made to dip the dumplings? I’m afraid to tell you that there’s no such thing as dumpling delivery.”
“Oh, this isn’t a sauce I made for dumplings! This is a soy sauce I made to dip the Tangsuyuk!”
“You dip Tangsuyuk in soy sauce?”
Nod nod.
Pyeong-ari picked up a piece of Tangsuyuk. She dipped the well-fried Tangsuyuk into the Tangsuyuk sauce. Then she dipped the Tangsuyuk, which was now coated in sauce, into the soy sauce again.
“You dip it twice in Tangsuyuk sauce and soy sauce. And then waaaang!”
Pyeong-ari’s eyes widened. It wasn’t Chapssal Tangsuyuk. It was the crispy Tangsuyuk she loved.
The crispy and nutty batter, the thickly sliced meat, the sweet and sour Tangsuyuk sauce and the spicy and savory soy sauce combined to create a symphony of flavors.
“It’s really delicious when you eat it like this.”
It was incredibly delicious.
I want to describe this taste in words, but it’s hard.
So Pyeong-ari just said it was delicious.
“Mr. Dok, please try it too. This is a taste you can only know if you try it yourself.”
At Pyeong-ari’s urging, Jong-sik hurriedly picked up a piece of Tangsuyuk. He was about to dip it in the Tangsuyuk sauce first and then in the soy sauce.
Bang, bang bang!
A loud noise came.
‘Why now of all times?’
“No one is coming. Just a moment.”
Pyeong-ari got up from her seat.
The loud noise continued even as she did.
Kwa ka ka bang!
Jong-sik’s eyebrows furrowed.
He wanted to chew, tear, taste, and enjoy the new combination he had discovered.
“Everyone inside, come out! Or I’ll come in!”
Kwa kwa bang!
It was a situation that couldn’t be helped.
In the end, Jong-sik got up from his seat.
***
“I think I finally understand why Mr. Dok made such a condition.”
The condition that Jong-sik had set was this.
– You must act as a member of the neighborhood watch. You must take turns patrolling the neighborhood and help maintain order. Of course, I will also participate.
And Pyeong-ari realized the true meaning of the condition only when she saw the sight before her eyes.
‘With those guys running around, I see why he talked about patrolling. He must be worried about Yeona too….’
The leader of the Poison Dart Frog gang, Kim Dae-chun, was kneeling on the ground. His brothers who had come with him were already unconscious. It was hard to tell if they were alive or dead.
“So you came to collect protection money?”
Kim Dae-chun’s eyes caught the glinting powder. It had been an axe just a moment ago. But it had turned to powder at Jong-sik’s gesture.
He didn’t want to end up like that. Kim Dae-chun opened his mouth, trembling.
“Yes. The resident who used to pay the protection money….”
“Bastard?”
“Ah, no! I mean, the resident left without a word, so I was going to collect protection money from the new resident. But I really didn’t know you would be here, Mr. Dok! If I had known, I wouldn’t have come.”
The secret to surviving for a long time as an organization is simple. Don’t overdo it. You have to know when to back down in front of a stronger entity.
For that reason, Kim Dae-chun had made every effort to avoid crossing paths with Dok Jong-sik. He had never even gone near Dok’s restaurant.
But he had to face them here.
Kim Dae-chun regretted coming here.
Just then.
Pyeong-ari glared and said.
“Mr. Dok. We don’t need to hear any more. We need to feed these guys some beans. I’ll contact the civil servant Hunter I know right away. He’ll take care of it cleanly.”
“Ha, can’t you just give me a break this time? I really don’t know when I’ll be able to get out if I go in this time.”
“That’s good.”
“Please, just show me some mercy this time. If you do that, I’ll leave this neighborhood with my kids right away. I really mean it!”
“Oh, hey, stop! Can’t you let go?”
Kim Dae-chun grabbed Pyeong-ari’s ankle.
At that sight, Jong-sik quietly chanted a mantra.
In an instant, Kim Dae-chun’s wrist was bent in a strange way.
“Ugh, aaargh! I’ll let go. I’ll let go! I’ll eat the beans. I’ll do whatever you say!”
Jong-sik shook his head at his screams.
“Team Leader Pyeong. Hang up the phone. We need to get the full value of the protection money these guys have been collecting.”
“Don’t worry about that. If we investigate this gang, we’ll even confiscate their bank accounts. And I’ll ask them to take off even the panties they’re wearing.”
“No. That’s not enough.”
‘So he’s not going to send me to jail now?’
Should I be happy about this or not….
Kim Dae-chun rolled his eyes and thought as he listened to the two of them talk. Jong-sik looked at him and whispered.
“You said you’d do whatever we say, so you’d better keep your word.”
***
Poison Toad office.
The gang members who had gone out to collect protection money are coming in one by one.
But they look different from when they left.
Their faces are covered in bruises, and the extensions they took out are all in a mess.
“You too?”
“Ugh. I really thought I was going to die.”
“Who were you?”
“I was Hunter Jason.”
“What the hell….”
They were terrified.
And they all made the same argument.
“Boss. Let’s get out of here. This isn’t the place for us.”
“Brother Kang-yeol is right. We have to leave right away. Sangwon-dong has become a tiger’s den. Protection money or not, our lives are more important.”
“Boss-!”
Kim Dae-chun remained silent despite the cries of his subordinates.
He turned his back and focused on something.
Then his right-hand man, Oh Kang-ryeol, shouted in frustration.
“What the hell are you doing, boss? I told you we have to leave! Do you know who the new guy who moved into the neighborhood is? He’s Hunter Kang Chang-soo. Kang Chang-soo! And that’s not all. The building in front of Jokja Alley is now occupied by Jason! Boss-!”
Oh Kang-ryeol, who had been beaten to a pulp while collecting protection money, had miraculously survived.
“…Kang-ryeol.”
“Can you hear me now? Hurry up and pack your bags and let’s get out of here.”
“We were wrong.”
“No! We still have a chance. We can find another district and start over. Boss. So hurry up and get ready. I don’t know why that monster let me go, but he might change his mind….”
“He got a call, right? That’s why he let me live. Right?”
That’s right.
‘How does the boss know that?’
Oh Kang-ryeol’s eyes widened.
The same goes for the younger brothers below him.
“How do you know that, boss?”
“Because I was with the person who made that call. Damn it, I went to Dok Jong-sik’s place. And we can’t go anywhere, you little shits. So unpack your bags.”
“We can’t go anywhere…?”
“That guy said so. He said if we leave without permission, we’ll live a life worse than death.”
“…Boss. Please tell me that’s not true.”
Kim Dae-chun shook his head. Then he threw the finished t-shirts and bandanas to his subordinates.
“We’re just screwed. Just put these on for now. We have to go out today.”
Oh Kang-yeol spread out the t-shirt that had fallen to the floor.
[Volunteer Group]
The words were written in black magic.
It’s the boss’s handwriting.
“Volunteer group? Boss. What is this?”
Kim Dae-chun had a saying he used to say.
A thug should only cry three times in his life.
When he was born, when his parents died, and when he lost the boss of the organization.
He had kept his word so far.
But today, it was all about to break.
“This is our uniform. Keuheuk. We’ll die if we run away, and we’ll die if we don’t wear it. Everyone put it on and follow me. Put on your bandanas too, you little shits. Keuheuk.”
Kim Dae-chun was crying like a child.
