“Hehehe…”
I couldn’t help but smile victoriously. Because today, something huge was going to happen. I sneakily checked my mobile phone. Seeing that Bora had sent an “ok” sign, I grinned mischievously.
Back when I was in school, they used to confiscate mobile phones, and we couldn’t use them. If you got caught using one by the teacher, it was normal for it to be taken away. But nowadays, they don’t confiscate phones, and even if you’re seen using one, you don’t get punished.
And honestly, it made sense. Nothing bad happened just because you used a mobile phone.
“Hana, what are you doing?”
Jiyu and Yumi looked at me and asked. I awkwardly laughed.
“Oh, it’s nothing!”
And just like that, class ended smoothly. The children were getting ready to rush outside for lunch. But today was different. The teacher clapped her hands to get our attention.
“Everyone, focus!”
The teacher silenced the chattering voices of the kids and said, “Today, we’re going to have a special lunch~ Everyone, get ready to board the bus waiting outside.”
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, the kids started murmuring in confusion. We were no different.
“Lunch? I was so excited to eat!”
Jiyu grumbled, expressing her dissatisfaction. I couldn’t help but smirk at her reaction. The place we were going to was known for its incredibly delicious meat. I had heard that Bora had arranged for us to rent out the entire place for lunch.
“Right? It feels like it’s just our class.”
Yumi looked at the kids from other classes running around outside and voiced her doubts. Honestly, I wanted to take the entire third grade for a special meal, but it didn’t work out. So, it was decided that only our class would go to a different place for lunch.
Under the teacher’s guidance, we all successfully boarded the bus. As always, I sat in the very back, sandwiched between Jiyu and Yumi. They leaned on my shoulders from both sides. It was a bit overwhelming.
—
“Wow…! It’s beef!”
Yes, today’s lunch was beef. And not just any beef—it was from cows raised at Starlight Farm. I had told Bora that I wanted to repay the class for the Pepero they gave me. Hearing this, Bora patted my head and said I was kind, then went ahead to arrange everything.
Starlight Elementary School was already under the boss’s control, so organizing something like this didn’t take much effort. All I had to do was go to the boss and say, “I want to have a delicious lunch with the kids!” and that was it.
Of course, I had to endure the boss’s intense head pats in return, but it was worth it.
Sizzle sizzle—
The kids were all seated, waiting for the beef. No matter how good school lunches were, they couldn’t compare to the beef sold at a place like this. Even the kids who had been grumbling about skipping lunch and going somewhere strange were now quietly waiting for the beef to cook.
Since there were fewer than 20 kids, the employees were personally grilling the meat for us. It felt a bit awkward being the only class in such a large restaurant. I thought these places usually opened around 3 or 4 PM. Restaurants typically rest while people are working and open when people are off work.
“Hana, look at the beef! It looks so delicious.”
Jiyu said with chopsticks in her mouth. Even I could tell that the marbling on this beef was excellent. While marbling isn’t everything, seeing it so perfectly done made it impossible not to get excited.
“It looks delicious…”
Even Yumi, who wasn’t great at expressing her feelings about food, was staring at the sizzling beef with sparkling eyes.
I was glad I didn’t tell the kids that I had prepared this as a gift. It was easier to say the school had arranged it. If I had said I paid for it, they might have felt awkward and hesitated to eat. That kind of pressure was a no-go. Spending money and still feeling burdened—what a hassle.
“Oh my god, I’m dying…!”
Oh Ye-rin was a new mom who had just given birth not long ago. To manage the aftereffects of childbirth, she had checked into a postnatal care center that her husband had arranged for her.
Of course, it wasn’t one of those insanely expensive postnatal care centers. It was just a decent, run-of-the-mill place. She also felt a bit hesitant about investing a lot of money in such a place. After all, it wasn’t like she’d be staying there for more than a month, and spending millions of won felt like a waste.
She thought it’d be better to save that money for clothes or food for the baby. Since it was a 4-person room, she was happily chatting with the other moms. But even as she talked, she couldn’t help but notice something strange.
She had heard that the aftereffects of childbirth could be pretty severe, but the moms here didn’t seem to show any signs of that. Of course, considering that Oh Ye-rin was the last to join the room, it was possible they had already recovered, but the time difference wasn’t that big.
The person who had entered the room before her had only been there for a week. A week’s difference shouldn’t have made such a huge recovery gap. They looked so lively, it was almost as if they hadn’t even given birth. They were even running around!
Oh Ye-rin clutched her stomach and lay back down on the bed. She had just given birth the day before, so her stomach was still sore.
She thought of it as the pain of bringing a cute child into the world, so she endured it, waiting for the pain to subside. Compared to the pain of childbirth, this was nothing. Back then, she really thought her pelvis was going to split in half.
Just then, a woman working at the center came in pushing a cart and started handing out food. It was already dinnertime. Oh Ye-rin was slightly excited. She hadn’t eaten anything since lunch and was starving. The food here was simple: meat side dishes, vegetables, and seaweed soup. Perfect for digestion and replenishing the nutrients of moms who had just given birth.
“Ye-rin’s mom! Don’t you dare leave any of this seaweed soup behind!”
“The seaweed soup here is famous for being amazing, you know?”
“Huh?”
Oh Ye-rin paused with her spoon in hand, confused by the other moms’ comments. It wasn’t that she disliked seaweed soup. In fact, she liked it. Most Koreans do. It’s a tradition to eat seaweed soup on birthdays, after all.
The soup was packed with beef. So much so that you could almost call it beef soup instead of seaweed soup. Seeing Oh Ye-rin sitting there with a blank expression, the other moms chimed in.
“I didn’t believe it at first either, but after eating the seaweed soup, I felt so much better!”
“And it’s so delicious! The broth is so rich, and the beef in it has a flavor you won’t find anywhere else!”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
Though they did mention that the seaweed itself was pretty ordinary.
Oh Ye-rin was curious about how good it could be to warrant such praise. So, she picked up her spoon and tried a bite of the seaweed. It was… normal. Just like any other seaweed you’d find anywhere. Then she tried the broth.
“!!!”
Now she understood why the moms were raving about it. The broth was incredibly savory and delicious. It wasn’t the seaweed that made it special—it was the beef. Oh Ye-rin’s trembling hand picked up a piece of beef floating in the soup and popped it into her mouth.
Now she *really* understood why they were so enthusiastic. Even with her appetite ruined by pain, she managed to finish the entire bowl of seaweed soup. She even thought about asking for a refill.
