Thump thump.
It had been a while since I last went out to eat. I was rummaging through my closet for the best outfit to wear outside. Of course, skirts were out of the question—they’d make my legs freeze in this cold weather, and I’d have to deal with the hassle of wearing stockings too.
A yellow hoodie that reminded me of a chick, paired with jeans! I couldn’t help but admire my perfect outfit in the mirror. I looked like an adorable little chick. Anyone who saw me would probably want to playfully tease me.
As I twisted and turned, admiring myself in the mirror, Haru and Bora were already ready to go.
“Ah!”
Haru and Bora exuded the aura of mature women. Compared to them, I felt like a total kid. Sure, I wasn’t at the age where I could fully radiate a woman’s charm yet, but standing next to them, I looked like a little girl tagging along with her older cousins.
“Hana~ You dressed up better than I expected!”
Haru clapped her hands, genuinely happy for me as if it were her own achievement. She even took out her phone to snap a picture of me. I struck a V-sign with both hands and played the role of her model. Photos were like memories, little snapshots I could look back on later, so I figured I should let her take as many as she wanted while she could.
Of course, it depended on my mood. Some days I felt like taking pictures, and other days I didn’t. But today was a good day—we were going out for ribs—so I obediently let her take the photos.
“It should take about 10 minutes by car from here.”
Bora showed Haru something on her phone, probably pointing out our destination. I wanted to see too, but I wasn’t tall enough.
“Bora! I wanna see too~!”
Bora smirked at my whining and said, “It’s a secret for Hana!”
“Ughhh!”
I puffed out my cheeks in protest, and Bora patted my head in response.
“It’s better to go with some anticipation. I’ve heard this place is really good.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really~”
I held onto that anticipation, trying to calm my thumping heart. How good could it be? If it wasn’t delicious, I’d be so disappointed. But Bora had pretty refined taste, so the chances of disappointment were low.
“Let’s go~”
Haru and Bora each took one of my hands and headed toward the elevator. It was evening, so employees were leaving work. I wanted to say goodbye, but my arms were too busy being held by Haru and Bora.
Waving goodbye was part of my routine, but…
Once we reached the lobby, we headed to the parking lot. The research institute’s parking lot was under construction too. It seemed like they were expanding it to accommodate more employees. Honestly, the institute was in a full-on boom. Construction was happening everywhere.
Maybe they were making a lot of money? The institute had been around for a while, so some areas had become outdated. They probably didn’t have the funds to fix things before and had been patching things up, but now that they had money, they were finally making proper renovations.
I got into Bora’s car. The back seat was mine, while Bora took the passenger seat. My eyes sparkled as I looked around the car. Bora must’ve been making good money—she had a mid-sized car at such a young age. I’d been walking everywhere until my mid-20s, so the comparison was stark.
Cars were money-sucking ghosts. You had to pay annual taxes, insurance, and even after all that, it wasn’t like you could drive for free. You had to stop by gas stations whenever the fuel ran low. All in all, it probably cost about one or two months’ salary for an average office worker.
Still, I wanted to drive a car at least once. I had a so-called “closet license”—I’d gotten my driver’s license right after high school, like so many other kids. Driving a car just seemed cool.
And there was this fantasy of driving an expensive imported car, picking up girls, and showing off on the road. But now that I’d turned into a girl myself, that dream was out of reach.
Vroom vroom.
The car roared to life and glided forward. I pressed my face against the window, taking in the surroundings. When I went to school, I usually slept in the car, so I never really looked around. Kids are natural sleepers, after all.
Plus, the commute to school was a bit long, so I had to wake up early, which meant I was always a little sleep-deprived. Back then, my school was so close I could practically run there in five minutes. I could even see it from my house through the window.
“Hana, you’re gonna eat a lot today, right?”
Bora was driving and talking to me. I nodded and said.
“Yeah! I’m gonna eat until I burst!”
“Are you gonna get a stomachache?”
“Hmph!”
Then I thought I should eat until my stomach is full. As I chatted with Bora and Haru, we arrived at the rib restaurant. It had a traditional design. And it was so popular that there was only one spot left in the large parking lot. If we had been even a little later, we would have had trouble parking.
The car parked smoothly, and I tried to dash into the store as soon as I got out of the car. But Haru, who knows my behavior too well, grabbed my side. I felt my rocket-like momentum come to a halt.
Then my body floated in the air. Eventually, I ended up in Haru’s arms. Probably because I was being too lively, she was trying to stop me. Even so, I’m a proper adult, and I don’t make mistakes like a child.
Still, being held in her arms felt nice, so I decided to forgive her with a merciful heart. When we entered the store, there were so many people. And the building was so huge that you could play hide and seek here.
We arrived at a room with a traditional hanok design. Opening the paper door, we found a perfectly set table. Various side dishes were neatly arranged, and on a large plate, there were mouth-watering ribs piled up.
“Wow!”
I couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight. I was so happy to be at such a rib restaurant! Haru gently looked down at me. I sat down faster than anyone else. Haru and Bora were hanging their coats on the hangers in the room.
Once everyone sat down, Haru turned on the grill and started cooking the ribs with tongs. I quickly set up chopsticks and spoons from the utensil holder. Then I poured water into cups and shared them with Haru and Bora.
“Hana, you really seem like someone who’s lived in Korea for a long time, huh?”
“Right. Where did you learn to set up like this? Did you learn it online?”
Oops! I had only been in Korea for less than half a year. I had learned some Korean culture, but there was still a lot I hadn’t learned. Even now, I was doing things that Haru and Bora hadn’t taught me.
“Yeah! The internet said it’s good to do it like this!”
“Really? Good job, Hana!”
I was relieved they didn’t press further. I sighed in relief internally, then picked up my chopsticks and stared at the sizzling ribs. My stomach was screaming for the ribs.
“Hana, aren’t you going to study hard and go to a Korean university?”
“Come on, Bora, Hana is still in elementary school.”
“But she’s so smart, right? I never even made it to the top of my class like Hana.”
“Hana should do what she loves. She has a bright future ahead! Hana, how about becoming a building owner later?”
Haru seemed to have a lot of ambition for buildings. I just nodded absentmindedly, focusing on the ribs. It wasn’t a very important conversation. I could make money anytime. Right now, the ribs in front of me were much more important.
Seeing the juices bubbling up, I picked up my chopsticks and tried to grab a piece. But Haru used the tongs to block my chopstick move.
“Not yet, Hana. Eating undercooked meat will give you a stomachache.”
“Hmph… I wanna eat it now!”
I pouted with the chopsticks in my mouth. The rib sauce on the chopsticks tasted good. If the sauce was this delicious, the meat must be amazing too. They said the ribs were made from A5 Hanwoo beef, so I was really looking forward to it.
This single rib must be worth a day’s wage from a part-time job.
“Hana, let’s eat!”
Haru, seeing that everything was ready, picked up the ribs with the tongs, cut them into bite-sized pieces with scissors, and said.
