The Villain’s Recipe - Chapter 24.1
Remembering the photographs inside, Min-ha felt a pointless sense of awkwardness. They weren’t particularly well-taken photos, either. Mr. Jang handled machinery the best in this village, and he would often bring back unusual things. The Polaroid camera was one of them. A few pictures taken back then. Those were what had been inside the snack tin.
“What’s wrong?”
Before he knew it, Baek Seok-gyol, who had finished packing his clothes, stood by Min-ha’s side.
“It’s nothing. I don’t think there’s anything more to pack here. Let’s go look for kimchi now.”
Part of the kimchi was in the kitchen, while the rest was buried in the ground in the backyard. Saying this briskly as he tried to move, a human figure flickered just outside the bush clover gate.
‘Could it be?’
When Min-ha cautiously poked his head out, the next-door grandmother holding a broom was peeking around.
“Grandmother!”
When he called out in delight, the grandmother wore a startled expression.
“Good goodness? Min-ha?”
“Yes, it’s me, Min-ha.”
Min-ha smiled and greeted her just as usual, then came out of the room.
“You, you child! They said you were kidnapped!”
The grandmother hurried over in quick steps as if to hug Min-ha, but she hesitated upon seeing Baek Seok-gyol standing behind him.
“By the way, who is the person in the back?”
“The back?”
Only then did Min-ha think, ‘Ah.’ How should he explain Baek Seok-gyol to his grandmother? In truth, saying ‘He is the leader of a villain organization’ was hardly a workable option. So, after mumbling and stammering for a moment, he blurted out the immediate facts first.
“Uh, we’re currently on a date together.”
“A date?”
The grandmother’s eyes widened. Then, she looked back and forth between Min-ha and Baek Seok-gyol once more before letting out a strange groan.
“A date? Our baby?”
“Oh come on, I told you I’m not a baby. I’m a full-grown adult now, too.”
“Oh my. An adult. Well, I suppose that’s true.”
The grandmother nodded up and down. Then she stared intently at Baek Seok-gyol. Min-ha interpreted that as the grandmother being curious about Baek Seok-gyol’s age. Just how old was he, really?
Min-ha turned around to look at Baek Seok-gyol with an awkward attitude.
“Twenty-six years old.”
At the words coming out of Baek Seok-gyol’s mouth, the grandmother grabbed the back of her neck.
“Oh dear me!”
“Grandmother! Why are you like this? Are you hurting anywhere?”
“Will you look at that thieving rascal!”
Clutching the back of her neck, the grandmother raised her voice in a fierce burst of anger. Witnessing that, Min-ha felt as though his heart dropped with a thud.
Has everything been found out by the grandmother? What would he do if Baek Seok-gyol tried to harm his grandmother?
Though he worried about various things, no grand disaster took place.
“He’s a full five years older than you!”
“Ah, right?”
“Then he’s a thief! Snatching away a child younger, cuter, and more lovable than himself! I…I cannot accept this! Just look at that sleek, pretty mug! He must have seduced this innocent child with his face!”
It seemed the grandmother had watched far too many dramas. Pointing her finger at Baek Seok-gyol, Min-ha soothed the trembling grandmother.
“No. It’s not like that.”
“Not like that, my foot! Why are you going on a date then! Isn’t that something people who are going out do!”
The grandmother spat out the words in fury, but Baek Seok-gyol seemed quite pleased with those remarks. Suddenly his expression turned gentle as he began listing his own merits in a calm, measured voice.
“I have a lot of money, too.”
For some reason, he was even using formal speech. He was the kind of person who would probably use informal speech even if the other party were an octogenarian.
“So what if you have a lot of money!”
“I truly have a lot.”
“Just how much is that?”
The grandmother stepped closer to Baek Seok-gyol and leaned her ear in. He told her the scale of the assets he possessed right then and there.
“Hmm. That much is acceptable, I suppose.”
Whatever conversation had passed between the two of them, before long the grandmother had returned to her usual self.
“Alright, let’s at least hear what kind of things happened in the meantime. I just happened to steam some sweet potatoes.”
With that, she invited both of them into her house. Swept along by the circumstances, Min-ha and Baek Seok-gyol stepped into the grandmother’s room to be greeted by a basket overflowing with sweet potatoes and kimchi.
“Grandmother’s kimchi is delicious, you know!”
