Chapter 56. Changes (4)

Translator: Aura

As she rode up the elevator, Minkyung blamed herself for her insensitivity. Stress, overwork and corporate dinners where people drink alcohol until late…

‘I didn’t take into account Lee-Seob’s stomach condition.’

As soon as she entered his studio apartment, she apologized,

“I’m sorry, Mr. Representative. I was inconsiderate. Tomorrow I’ll make you a healthy bowl of porridge for breakfast. But today…”

“Sandwich and coffee, right?”

Lee-Seob frowned as he rubbed his stomach with his palm.

“My stomach hurts a lot.”

Minkyung set the sandwich and coffee down on the kitchen island, then walked over to Lee-Seob.

“Did you drink too much?”

Despite his excellent outward appearance, Lee-Seob had always been a hardy drinker. The kind of person who, no matter how much he drank, showed no signs of drunkenness.

“I’ll pour you some honey water.”

“Ugh, I hate it. The smell of honey on an empty stomach makes me nauseous.”

Lee-Seob’s expression, who was sitting on the island, stiffened.

“Well, then what do you want?”

“There is Sungnyung in that pot.”

N/T: Sungnyung is a traditional korean infusion made from boiled scorched rice.

Lee-Seob pointed at the induction stove with his chin.

‘Come to think of it, I had a faint smell of rice from the moment I entered, so it was because of this Sungnyung.’

When she lifted the lid of the pot, the hot steam came out of the Sungnyung.

It looked like a real Sungnyung, thick and with a delicious aroma, not a simple imitation sold commercially. There was no wrapper in the kitchen to indicate which brand it was. Minkyung took a ladle and poured the Sungnyung into a bowl. There was no side dish, so she just served it with a glass of water.

Once he got ready for work, Lee-Seob stirred the Sungnyung she had served him with the spoon and asked her to sit down.

“Have a seat, Senior Manager Kang. Eat the sandwich and drink the coffee.”

“Don’t worry.”

“You must be hungry.”

Lee-Seob looked into Minkyung’s eyes.

“Don’t you want to keep me company?”

“Yes…”

The studio apartment’s island was so small that she had to sit very close to him. Sitting in a slightly awkward position, she took a sip of coffee and took a bite of the sandwich.

Lee-Seob then asked,

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes. As usual.”

“I’d like to eat it.”

At this point, the Sungnyung had cooled down quite a bit just by stirring it with the spoon, but he hadn’t eaten a bit of it.

‘He’ll feel worse if he has an empty stomach… Besides, he has a general meeting scheduled for today as soon as he arrives at work.’

After she remembered how much Lee-Seob hated morning meetings, to the point of feeling nauseous, Minkyung gently advised him,

“Eat some. The Sungnyung looks delicious. It smells tasty from here.”

With an expression of, ‘Is that so?’, Lee-Seob took a spoonful of Sungnyung and offered it to Minkyung.

However, he then quietly said,

“Oh, wait a second.”

He brought the spoon to his lips, made a circle with his mouth, and blew on it to cool it. Then he extended it to her again.

“You try it first.”

Minkyung just stared at the spoon, so he brought it closer to her mouth, as if urging her to try it. Once she hesitantly grabbed the spoon, he placed his hand over hers.

‘Ah.’

Minkyung stuffed the spoon into her mouth as she made eye contact with Lee-Seob. Then her eyes widened,

“Oh, it’s so delicious. It’s unique. The rice grains are as soft as porridge. Where did you order it from? I’ll order it next time.”

Lee-Seob didn’t answer Minkyung’s question, but instead stared at the spoon.

‘This spoon went into Minkyung’s mouth.’

She was about to take a sip of coffee when she panicked and said,

“Mr. Representative, I’ll change the spoon for you.”

However, it was too late.

“It doesn’t matter, you’ve already fed me directly with your saliva.”

Lee-Seob’s words almost made her choke. As Minkyung covered her mouth with her hand, Lee-Seob let out a chuckle,

“To be precise, we’ve fed each other.”

Minkyung ate the sandwich as if he hadn’t heard such a remark. Lee-Seob smiled occasionally while he ate. After he emptied Sungnyung’s bowl, he said as Minkyung drank the half-finished coffee,

“Do you want to order this Sungnyung?”

“Yes.”

“It will cost you dearly. You won’t be able to order it.”

When Minkyung looked into his eyes, Lee-Seob smiled mischievously,

“Who do you think sells it?”

Minkyung pondered his words as she helped Lee-Seob put on his jacket comfortably.

“It can’t be, did you make the Sungnyung?”

“I can’t believe I made Sungnyung either.”

Lee-Seob quipped, in her own words.

“You, Mr. Representative?”

“Yes. Lee-Seob.”

“Pfft.”

A stifled laugh came from Minkyung’s mouth.

“How do you make Sungnyung?”

“It’s made with cooked rice, sesame oil, and salt. It takes about ten minutes to prepare.”

“Oh…”

Lee-Seob tilted his head as he stared at Minkyung, who opened her mouth in surprise.

“Don’t open your mouth like that.”

“Huh?”

“It makes me want to kiss you.”

“…”

Minkyung closed her mouth and headed for the door. As she hurriedly put on her shoes to leave, Lee-Seob stopped her. She lost her balance and staggered. Lee-Seob then wrapped his arm around her waist to support her. His lips landed on hers in an instant.