The Villain’s Recipe - Chapter 16.2
I shouldn’t have asked. I shouldn’t have thought Ma Jin-cheol would gossip along with him about the leader. Chae Ji-won shook his head and headed toward the sink to soothe the stinging in his eyes that he had been holding back the entire time.
“What about the cucumber kimchi?”
Sui looked at the still-substantial amount of oisobagi filling the bowl with a serious expression.
“The two of us won’t be able to handle this.”
“Then shall we get more help?”
At that, Sui’s gaze shifted toward Ma Jin-cheol. Before he knew it, he was casually unbuttoning his shirt cuffs and rolling up his sleeves.
“I am a fast learner at whatever I do. Explain the method, Sui. Today’s cucumber kimchi will be completed to absolute perfection.”
“I’ll trust you.”
Sui nodded with a resolute face.
Being carried by Baek Seok-gyol, Min-ha belatedly remembered the state of the kitchen.
“I haven’t finished the oisobagi seasoning yet, will it be alright?”
“It’s fine.”
He had already heard every sound coming from the kitchen. Therefore, Baek Seok-gyol firmly cut off Min-ha’s worries. For right now, he wanted Min-ha to focus on him instead of anything else.
With that, the two entered Baek Seok-gyol’s room. The time they had spent together wasn’t even that long, but the atmosphere of the room had changed in the meantime. A table and sofa had been brought into the desolate room that previously only contained a bed. And on top of the table, various items were scattered about.
A mysterious deep purple flower stuck in a vase, snacks and chocolates that seemed to have been brought from somewhere, and even a hat that looked like it was half-finished could be seen. It seemed he had been making it by cutting up leftover clothes.
As soon as Baek Seok-gyol set him down on the floor, Min-ha hurried over to the table and hid the hat first.
“Why are you hiding that?”
When asked, Min-ha replied with a reddened face.
“Because it came out really badly. I was originally making it to give to you, Baek Seok-gyol. I guess I just don’t have any talent for sewing.”
Judging by what he usually did, it seemed he had no talent for anything except cooking. Still, hearing that it was made for him, Baek Seok-gyol reached out his hand to Min-ha.
“No, you can’t! It really turned out terribly!”
He had tried to make a beanie, but it just became something with a square and ragged shape. Even the front part was messed up, so he couldn’t possibly give this to him to wear.
“This is just for practice, so I’ll give it to you once I finish it properly.”
Min-ha asserted several times and tucked the unfinished hat into the corner drawer. Well, there would be plenty of time to check it later anyway. Deciding to take care of something much more urgent than that right now, Baek Seok-gyol spoke.
“Come here.”
Baek Seok-gyol called Min-ha with an affectionate-looking smile. Min-ha approached him as if spellbound, then suddenly realized something was smeared on his hand. Could it be a leftover trace from cooking? As he examined his palm, the color was reddish. Yet the hue was quite subtle. It was a color that looked as though he had seen it somewhere before.
Unconsciously sniffing his palm, he caught a familiar scent. Among the animals that sometimes came to play in the yard, there were those that arrived carrying injuries. Such animals often give off this kind of scent.
‘But why?’
Today, Min-ha didn’t hurt himself anywhere. And there was only one person he had directly touched. Baek Seok-gyol! Min-ha raised his head and looked at him, who was still smiling.
“D-did you get hurt?”
When Min-ha asked in a panic, Baek Seok-gyol tilted his head as if he didn’t understand what that meant. Even though his bangs were a mess, he was such a natural beauty that even that felt like a fashion statement.
Instead of saying more, Min-ha approached Baek Seok-gyol and patted down his body.
“Min-ha?”
“Where is it? Where are you hurt?”
However, Min-ha’s eyes couldn’t find any wounds at all. Perhaps it was even more so because his clothes were black. Since any stains wouldn’t show up. Biting his lip out of anxiety, Min-ha dared to lift the hem of Baek Seok-gyol’s clothes despite it being rude. His abdomen was partially exposed, but Baek Seok-gyol didn’t even show a hint of embarrassment.
He only seemed to wonder why Min-ha was acting like this.
“Why?”
“Aren’t you in pain anywhere?”
“In pain? Are you worrying about me right now?”
“Doesn’t anyone worry if someone else gets hurt?”
At Min-ha’s words, Baek Seok-gyol curved his lips crookedly.
