The Villain’s Recipe - Chapter 24.2
Min-ha picked up a still-steaming sweet potato, peeled the skin around in a spiral, and wrapped the bottom in newspaper. Then, he had Baek Seok-gyol hold that, and next took care of his own share. Baek Seok-gyol was about to eat what Min-ha gave him just as it was, but at the words to let it cool down and eat, he simply held it quietly.
“Still, he listens well.”
The magical words Baek Seok-gyol had spoken earlier softened the grandmother’s tone of voice once more. After placing even some kimchi on top of the sweet potato Baek Seok-gyol was holding, Min-ha asked the grandmother.
“Weren’t there any particular incidents while I was gone?”
“Why wouldn’t there be? There were. That place, where it was. The Management Bureau, they came out and turned the surroundings completely upside down. At that time, I saw Mr. Kang Sa-hyeok too. Min-ha, you might not know. Since you had no interest in anything other than dramas.”
To be precise, it wasn’t that he had no interest in anything other than dramas, but rather that he had been controlled by his grandfather. His grandfather did not want Min-ha to know about the world, and Min-ha matched his pace because he knew the sorrow that grandfather carried. Since watching TV wouldn’t change anything in particular anyway.
It wasn’t a difficult thing.
“Why, one of the few S-rank espers in our country. That person said you were friends. Is that right?”
Min-ha slowly retraced his childhood memories. Back when there was nothing, the friend he had promised to meet again later was doing well, it seemed.
“That’s right.”
“He even showed me the bracelet tied around his wrist. A thread bracelet, he said you made it?”
“Yes, I heard that if you keep wearing a thread bracelet, your wish comes true.”
He had hoped that Kang Sa-hyeok would do well.
“His wish really did come true, then.”
“Well, if he’s an S-rank esper, he’d live well in high style. Still, he wanted to see you so badly.”
“We’ll meet someday. That’s what friends are for.”
“That is true.”
The grandmother nodded.
“Oh, and go look up Mr. Jang before you leave.”
“Elder Grandfather?”
“Yes, he probably has something important to say.”
“Yes, I was planning to stop by every house anyway.”
He didn’t know when he would ever come back to this Gamheung-ri. So before leaving, he intended to go around every single place to offer greetings and tidy up the courtyard as well. He wasn’t sure if he could call this a date, but he definitely wanted to do it.
Min-ha handed the next sweet potato to Baek Seok-gyol, who had finished off a whole sweet potato.
“Anyway, everything is fine, but the flaw is that you’re skinny as a rail.”
“Right? I wish he would gain more weight, too.”
Baek Seok-gyol had already reached a normal weight because Min-ha diligently fed him. Yet in the eyes of both Min-ha and the grandmother, he still only looked thin.
“Feed him well. That’s the only way he’ll look good.”
“Yes!”
Min-ha giggled and picked up a new sweet potato. After filling their stomachs to the brim with sweet potatoes, they wandered around the village just as originally planned. Unlike before, it was not an easy process.
“What is that fellow?”
“What is that dark-looking fellow?”
“What on earth is that?”
Because every single one of them looked at Baek Seok-gyol with doubt. But after going through the grandmother, he had acquired a bit of know-how. Min-ha smoothed things over by explaining that Baek Seok-gyol was the person who rescued him when he was kidnapped, and that they were currently on a date. Because sometimes white lies were necessary, too. Then the elderly folk would look suspicious yet still offer blessings to the two of them.
“Live happily.”
“For young people, going to live in the city is best.”
“That’s wonderful. Since you won’t be alone anymore.”
It was something to be thankful for.
“As if I was ever alone.”
Min-ha had never felt alone even after his grandfather passed away. That was because every single villager looked after Min-ha and cherished him like a grandson.
“Still, true family is a different matter. They say even men can marry each other these days, so you should just hurry up and do it.”
There were many cases where the genders of espers and guides matched, so the laws had changed. Most espers harbored a strong obsession toward their guide, making it out of the question for them to marry separately. With the laws changing like that, same-sex marriages had now become quite common. Though older people sometimes still found it awkward, every single villager understood.
