Chapter 32: The Spicy Predicament

“Is that mille-feuille nabe, Dohwa?”

“Oh, uh… would you like to share?”

Before I could even attempt to sway Dohwa, Woo Sori had already noticed their dish.

“Hmm. I’m craving something spicy.”

“Me too! Should we make tteokbokki?”

Unfortunately, my offer was rejected.

I watched Chaeyeon-woo, one of today’s designated chefs, shaking a tteokbokki meal kit, my gaze filled with apprehension.

As the conversation shifted in that direction, I felt a pang of disappointment, my eyes repeatedly flicking back to the mille-feuille nabe.

Next to it, I noticed a distinct collection of meal kits—budae jjigae and tteokbokki among them—whose packaging was conspicuously red.

‘It must be spicy.’

For Dohwa, who had a low tolerance for spice, this presented an insurmountable obstacle.

While I could always moderate the spice when cooking for myself, these pre-packaged kits were invariably fiery. Yet, I felt too apologetic to ask anyone to accommodate my palate.

“It’s labeled ‘spicy,’ they say. Shall we find out just how hot it truly is?”

As I observed Woo Sori’s face, alight with anticipation, I subtly rolled my eyes.

With Chaeyeon-woo and Woo Sori already in perfect sync, it appeared tteokbokki was all but confirmed as one of our dinner options.

“Still, it’s dinner; we should have rice.”

Fortunately, Jae-hyun seemed to favor rice-based dishes, as he began perusing the other meal kits.

Given that my preferred dish felt somewhat ambiguous as a rice accompaniment, I remained silent, refraining from advocating for it.

“Mille-feuille nabe is good too.”

At Ma Won-ho’s sudden, casual remark, I snapped my head up, my gaze fixed on him.

Our eyes met instantly, and I found myself glancing between the meal kit and him, my gaze darting back and forth.

Discovering a flicker of hope, Dohwa subtly nudged the mille-feuille nabe meal kit, which had been resting before him, toward Ma Won-ho.

‘Take a look.’

Unable to resist Dohwa’s sparkling gaze, a bewildered Ma Won-ho briefly scrutinized the back of the meal kit before passing it to Kang Hae-il, who sat beside him.

“Here, what do you think?”

“Looks good.”

“How can you say it’s good when you haven’t even looked at it?”

I offered a small nod to Ma Won-ho, who wore an incredulous expression.

Yet, perhaps because he had offered a positive inclination, Dohwa felt a quiet sense of relief as he gazed at the meal kit before him.

‘He did look.’

Only for about three seconds, a fleeting glimpse at best.

With such a diverse array of options, selecting dinner for six naturally led to a flurry of differing opinions. Yet, Dohwa remained steadfast, championing the mille-feuille nabe until the very end.

“Since we have them anyway, wouldn’t it be nice to try a few different ones?”

“It’s a meal kit, so the instructions are all written on the back; it won’t be difficult.”

Tteokbokki, Jjimdak, Seafood Soft Tofu Stew, Mille-feuille Nabe.

The combination felt utterly bizarre, prompting me to wonder what on earth we were making, but there was simply no avoiding it.

‘At least it’s a relief that mille-feuille nabe is included.’

While the side support ensured its selection for the menu, an inexplicable sense of apprehension washed over me at the thought of Chaeyeon-woo and Kang Hae-il actually preparing it.

“Should I help?”

“No, you can’t help. We’ll handle this, so go and relax, hyung.”

As if he’d overheard my soft murmur, Chaeyeon-woo tied his apron and flatly refused. He then puffed out his chest, declaring,

“Just trust us!”

That image, eerily reminiscent of the first week, inexplicably grated on my nerves.

Since the directive explicitly named them as the cooking duo, I held my tongue, refraining from any further comments.

“We’ll just be putting together puzzles.”

“When it’s all ready, we’ll set the table, so call us then~”

Unlike the three who departed without a backward glance, Dohwa, even as he followed, repeatedly turned his head to survey the kitchen.

His eyes briefly met Kang Hae-il’s, who was casually retrieving a pot.

He then glanced at Chaeyeon-woo, who was diligently scrutinizing the back of the meal kit right beside Kang Hae-il, and mouthed a word.

Good luck.

He wasn’t sure if they had understood, but he simply turned and retreated to the living room.

“Wow, that delicious smell has been lingering for a while now.”

“Shall we start tidying up now?”

Contrary to my initial worries, a tantalizing aroma began wafting into the living room at some point, gradually eroding my concentration.

Except for one person.

Jae-hyun observed Dohwa, still tight-lipped, diligently sifting through puzzle pieces and fitting them together, and a faint smile touched his lips.

It was amusing to see him, who had initially displayed such worry, now seated like a steadfast sentinel.

‘So like Dohwa.’

While direct assistance was out of the question, everyone else had made at least one trip to the kitchen to survey the progress.

Each time, he remained steadfastly in his seat, absorbed in his silent task of assembling the puzzle, oblivious to the trio’s chatter.

Even when Ma Won-ho or Woo Sori playfully attempted to distract Dohwa with conversation, he remained utterly unaware of the preceding dialogue.

After this sequence of events repeated a few times, they ceased attempting to disrupt his focus.

“It looks like we can start setting the table now.”

Once again, Jae-hyun’s words failed to penetrate his singular focus.

He observed Dohwa as he moved. During their conversations, the trio often found themselves watching him as if he were some curious specimen.

With only a slight exaggeration, roughly half of the puzzle now completed was attributable to Dohwa’s efforts.

It was hard to reconcile this rapid pace with the person who had once held a single puzzle piece, deliberating for ages where to place it.

‘In any case, it wasn’t a task that required many hands.’

Leaving but one person solitary in the living room, the other three moved to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

As the finished dishes were being transferred to the dining table, Jae-hyun alone made his way back to the living room.

“Dohwa, let’s eat.”

“Huh?”

“Give me your hand.”

Approaching Dohwa, who was hunched over the puzzle in an awkward posture, he gently tapped his shoulder.

Dohwa’s body gave a slight start, and with a bewildered expression, he meekly placed his hand into Jae-hyun’s.

“Let’s leave these here.”

Jae-hyun, stifling a laugh as Dohwa belatedly glanced around, extracted the two puzzle pieces from his hand and set them on the table.

Grasping the situation, Dohwa rose, his gaze drawn to the dining room beyond.

“You should be careful.”

“…Thank you.”

Having sat for a prolonged period, Dohwa stumbled upon rising; Jae-hyun, in turn, wrapped an arm around his shoulder, providing a steadying anchor.

Once Dohwa regained his footing, Jae-hyun eased the pressure from his supporting hand.

“Hungry?”

“Yeah, hyung must be hungry too, let’s go quickly.”

Jae-hyun, who had spoken without meeting his gaze, then watched Dohwa’s brisk steps towards the dining room before following behind him.

Is it because he’s young?

Cute.

It was a thousand-piece puzzle, and the journey to completion still stretched far ahead.

He squeezed his eyes shut, stiff from prolonged concentration on the puzzle, then slowly reopened them.

The dishes arranged on the table came into sharp focus, eliciting an involuntary gasp of admiration. The mille-feuille nabe, his first point of inspection, was precisely as he had envisioned.

‘Not bad?’

The other dishes also looked appetizing.

“You worked hard.”

“Hyung Hae-il and I worked hard to make it, I hope everyone enjoys it.”

As Chaeyeon-woo spoke, a bright smile on his face despite the clear effort, everyone clapped, offering their words of thanks for their hard work.

“We’ll eat well.”

With synchronized movements, everyone busied themselves serving portions onto their plates.

Dohwa, however, found himself staring speechlessly at the mountain of rice piled in the bowl beside his plate.

‘This is… a huge bowl of rice.’

While the others’ rice bowls were no different, Dohwa, in particular, preferred to eat less rice, especially when enjoying mille-feuille nabe.

He quietly rose from his seat, clutching the untouched rice bowl, prompting Ma Won-ho, who sat opposite him, to look up.

“Dohwa, are you getting alcohol?”

“No.”

His plan to slip away unnoticed was thwarted.

Woo Sori, having misinterpreted his movements from behind, excitedly drew everyone’s attention with his loud voice.

“Are you taking less rice?”

“Yeah…”

He turned, revealing the rice bowl in his hand, and the fact that he was going to lighten his portion became publicly known.

Since the cat was already out of the bag, he proceeded directly to the rice cooker, deposited all the rice, set the bowl aside, and returned to his seat empty-handed.

The mille-feuille nabe remained perfectly intact, seemingly untouched by anyone.

As Dohwa, his heart swelling with anticipation, ladled a generous portion onto his plate, a chorus of praise erupted from those who had already tasted it beside him.

“Is it good?”

“Totally, try the jjimdak.”

“You’re quite good at cooking, aren’t you?”

“I just did as I was told.”

He carefully took a bite, and the taste was so genuinely delicious, just like a store-bought meal, that his eyes sparkled.

“Awesome.”

As he gave a satisfied thumbs-up, Jae-hyun pointed forward and said,

“Hae-il made the mille-feuille nabe.”

Kang Hae-il, whose name had been called, stared back, and Dohwa, not knowing what to say, found himself in an unintentional staring contest before subtly raising his thumb again.

Kang Hae-il then glanced at Dohwa’s plate and chuckled softly, causing Dohwa to sheepishly lower his hand.

Afterward, Dohwa, having focused on his meal and eaten his fill, watched the others dine.

Contrary to his expectation that there would be leftovers, the pots and dishes were already scraped clean.

They ate it all.

He wasn’t sure who it was, but there was definitely one glutton among them.

“I can’t move. I feel like my stomach’s going to burst.”

“Digest that by the time we have round two.”

“…Round two?”

“Everyone’s perfectly fine now, aren’t they?”

Of course they were fine.

He stared at Woo Sori’s placid face, an invisible question mark hovering above his head, before belatedly realizing,

‘We haven’t had any alcohol.’

He had been so focused on eating that he hadn’t noticed.

It seemed the reason their previous meals had stretched on was due to the alcohol.

With only empty dishes remaining, talk soon turned to cleaning up.

“For washing dishes, let’s play rock-paper-scissors among us, excluding the cooks.”

“I wanted to try the puzzle! Hyung Hae-il, are you good at puzzles?”

“So-so.”

Chaeyeon-woo, who was sitting next to Kang Hae-il, chattered away, as if they had grown closer while cooking.

Dohwa, having arrived last, took an empty seat. Ma Won-ho was beside him, just like last time, but the other four had shuffled their positions.

“If you don’t show, you lose! Rock-paper-scissors!”

My mind was elsewhere, but I instinctively threw out my hand.

“Alright!”

“So that’s how it is.”

The results were decided in one go, a mix of joy and disappointment.

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