Chapter 51: Kitchen Duties and Lingering Thoughts

Unlike serving, kitchen duty demanded constant presence at the grill, managing food preparation. It was hardly a task just anyone could volunteer for. Even Yoonwoo, despite his occasional cooking for the clumsy Seowoo and his younger siblings while living independently, lacked the confidence to skillfully handle large-scale culinary tasks like those required for a pub.

An awkward silence settled over the table.

As Yoonwoo observed Jungseo’s troubled expression, his gaze suddenly shifted to Yeon-chae. Yeon-chae, who had been idly staring into space, offered a sweet, innocent smile the moment their eyes met. Yoonwoo immediately felt a sense of opportune timing.

Yoonwoo leaned his head towards Yeon-chae. Yeon-chae’s eyes widened in surprise, then they offered a bashful smile, sidling closer to Yoonwoo.

“What is it, hyung?”

Their whispered question was endearingly tender. It seemed Yeon-chae believed Yoonwoo was inviting them out to play. However, Yoonwoo gently poured cold water on that assumption.

“You’re quite skilled in the kitchen. How about you take the lead, with one assistant to help?”

“Me? Are you serious?”

Yeon-chae’s face creased into an instant frown, only for them to hastily smooth their brow, casting a quick glance at Yoonwoo. Yoonwoo feigned ignorance. Having received such an unexpected proposal, Yeon-chae’s eyes widened momentarily before they sank into contemplation.

Although they had whispered discreetly, it seemed the surrounding club members had still overheard their conversation. Jungseo, even more taken aback than Yeon-chae, simply blinked. A low murmur rippled through the other club members. ‘Yeon-chae? Cooking? And *well*?’

Unable to directly contradict their senior, Yoonwoo, Jungseo stammered out their question.

“Does… Yeon-chae… truly cook well?”

“Yes. Yeon-chae cooked for me when I visited their home. They truly excel at everything.”

Yoonwoo boasted with a tone implying, ‘My kid is truly exceptional.’ Swallowing the unspoken plea, ‘So don’t dislike Yeon-chae,’ Yoonwoo offered a slightly nervous smile.

“Wait, Yeon-chae’s home…? What?”

With a bewildered expression, Jungseo’s gaze darted between Yeon-chae and Yoonwoo. The other club members, too, stole furtive glances at Yeon-chae’s slender profile. The room fell into an expectant silence, yet Yeon-chae, the recipient of all this attention, merely offered a shrug.

“Did Yoonwoo hyung visit your home?”

Seowon, seated to Yeon-chae’s right, asked in a hushed voice. Yeon-chae merely nodded, their expression unperturbed.

“I wish I could go too… Could I visit sometime?”

As Seowon continued their inquiries, Joohyun, seated beside them, chimed in.

“Me too. I’d love to go. May I?”

The club room buzzed with chatter as the topic abruptly pivoted to visiting Yeon-chae’s officetel. This sudden turn of conversation left Yoonwoo flustered. He couldn’t fathom why the discussion had veered so sharply in that direction.

Lately, Yoonwoo had been practically residing at Yeon-chae’s officetel. For quite some time now, under the guise of pheromone necessity, he had been enjoying Yeon-chae’s delicious cooking and the comfort of their spacious apartment. He felt a distinct reluctance at the thought of other club members intruding upon that personal space.

‘Though it’s hardly my place to interfere…’

Yoonwoo mused, a touch glumly. ‘Didn’t everyone dislike Yeon-chae?’ Just moments earlier, he had wished for them not to resent Yeon-chae, yet the human heart proved so fickle. Yeon-chae, meanwhile, remained utterly silent.

Amidst the unfolding scene, Jungseo, recalling that the club meeting was still in session, carefully posed another question.

“Yeon-chae. The kitchen duties… would you be willing to take them on?”

“Hmm. But there’s also a kitchen assistant, you say?”

Yeon-chae, who had seemed rather indifferent, suddenly whipped their head around. Their eyes, fixed on Jungseo, held a peculiar sparkle as they questioned. Jungseo flinched in surprise, then nodded, affirming, ‘Yes, it would be too difficult to manage everything alone.’ Just as Yeon-chae was about to speak, their face brightening, Jooyoung, whose eyes had been sparkling with interest nearby, suddenly interjected.

“I’ll be the kitchen assistant!”

“Hey, I’ll do it! You just said you’d handle serving.”

“You were supposed to do accounting.”

“I haven’t volunteered for anything yet, so can I do it?”

Jooyoung was not the sole volunteer for the kitchen assistant role. A sudden, unexpected scramble for the position erupted among Yeon-chae’s peers.

Yeon-chae wore a speechless expression. Yoonwoo, too, was somewhat taken aback by this unexpected reaction from the club members. Perhaps Yeon-chae got along far better with their peers than Yoonwoo had ever imagined. While a sense of relief washed over him, a small corner of his heart felt strangely empty. Yeon-chae would undoubtedly thrive even after Yoonwoo graduated. He had worried needlessly all this time, it seemed.

Just then, Yeon-chae, besieged by their insistent peers, suddenly whipped their head around, sending an earnest, pleading gaze towards Yoonwoo. It seemed they desperately wished Yoonwoo would step down from serving and take on the kitchen assistant role instead. Their light brown eyes clearly reflected Yoonwoo’s image.

Yoonwoo instinctively parted his lips.

“That, I’d…”

The club members’ gazes instantly converged on him. Layers of surprised and disappointed expressions enveloped Yoonwoo. Suddenly, he found himself unable to utter a single word. Everyone so ardently desired to assist Yeon-chae. He felt a pang of conscience about abruptly stepping forward and interfering; Yoonwoo had no right to do so.

Yoonwoo forced a smile, then shook his head. Yeon-chae’s face instantly clouded over, but there was nothing Yoonwoo could do.

“Do it with your friends. I’ve already committed to serving.”

“Oh, really? Is that allowed?”

Seowon immediately chimed in, their face brightening with a smile. Joohyun, who had been quietly observing their surroundings, tapped their peers on the shoulder and spoke.

“Let’s play rock-paper-scissors.”

“Okay.”

“Alright, understood.”

A solemn game of rock-paper-scissors commenced.

As their peers engaged in rock-paper-scissors, Yeon-chae leaned in, whispering to Yoonwoo in a voice too low for others to overhear.

“It’s still better if we’re together, isn’t it?”

“It’ll be fine. The kitchen and serving area are probably less than a meter apart, you know.”

“But it might be a large space. What if you start feeling unwell, hyung…?”

“It’s not a massive restaurant, is it? You’ll be alright.”

As Yoonwoo barely managed to pacify Yeon-chae, who, citing alpha pheromones, was once again attempting to cling to his side, one of Yeon-chae’s peers was confirmed as the kitchen assistant. Yeon-chae’s friends liked them; this was a fact Yoonwoo hadn’t known. Watching them excitedly barrage Yeon-chae with questions, Yoonwoo found himself feeling a little complicated.

While a part of him thought, ‘Thank you for playing with my kid,’ another persistent thought kept resurfacing: ‘I could play with Yeon-chae too.’

Leaving the festival meeting, Yeon-chae shook their head vigorously. Their still-puffed cheeks were so adorable that Yoonwoo chuckled, abandoning his intention to scold them. At the sound of his laughter, Yeon-chae shot him a sidelong glance, as if gauging whether they were allowed to assert their opinion.

Yoonwoo crossed his arms and nodded.

“Go on, tell me.”

“Hyung, you shouldn’t do it. It’s too hard.”

Given the opening, Yeon-chae promptly jumped in to interfere.

“But it’s my first festival since joining, you know. I want to participate. I really like festivals.”

Yoonwoo, on the contrary, felt fortunate that he, a fourth-year student, was even included. In most clubs, students of his year would voluntarily step back. Woojin, last year’s class representative, no longer participated in student council activities either.

He had resigned himself to the idea that he was probably meant to regretfully focus on job hunting, yet the club’s younger members constantly sought him out whenever they had a chance. Thus, Yoonwoo, who enjoyed such group activities, was looking forward to preparing for this festival. Since they weren’t selling alcohol and kitchen duties were handled separately, it wouldn’t be much harder than his usual cafe part-time job.

However, Yeon-chae shook their head even more vehemently than before. Their eyes narrowed sharply, making their face appear angry. Yoonwoo, taken aback, laughed and asked,

“Are you angry right now?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

“If you really want to do it, it would be great if you worked in the kitchen with me. I could do everything, and you wouldn’t have to do anything, just relax.”

“Then let Jooyoung relax.”

As Yoonwoo mentioned Jooyoung, who had been chosen as the kitchen assistant, Yeon-chae’s cheeks puffed out even further than before.

“I’m going to make them work themselves to the bone.”

“If you act so mean, your peers will dislike you. You should get along better with your friends than with me. I’m graduating soon…”

Yoonwoo responded without turning to face the sulking Yeon-chae. His voice slowed at the end, then faded away. Lately, Yoonwoo had been inseparable from Yeon-chae, except when sleeping. It was the same in classrooms, during meals, and even at the cafe where Yoonwoo worked. All their free time was spent studying or lounging around Yeon-chae’s home.

This was because Yoonwoo was carrying Yeon-chae’s baby. If he wasn’t close to Yeon-chae’s scent, his body would quickly grow weary. There were the doctor’s warnings, and Yeon-chae, aware of this, went to extraordinary lengths to look after Yoonwoo.

However, after the baby was born, there would be no need to spend so much time together. Although they hadn’t discussed it in detail, they would likely divide their time, each taking turns to care for the baby. Moreover, Yoonwoo was graduating next year. Many things would change once he left school.

The thought that things couldn’t go on like this forever left him feeling a touch bitter.

“…Your friends seem to like you too. It would be nice if you sometimes invited them over and cooked delicious things for them. Like the pork belly aged kimchi gimbap you made last time.”

Words he didn’t truly mean spilled out.

Just then, Yeon-chae’s subdued voice reached his ear.

“Do you wish I wouldn’t follow you around and only hung out with other people?”

“Huh…?”

Yoonwoo, lost in his own thoughts, suddenly snapped back to reality and turned around. Yeon-chae, who had been walking beside him, had stopped and was standing still in their tracks.

The sun set behind Yeon-chae’s back. The reddened sunlight struck their light brown hair, scattering into golden fragments. Yeon-chae’s face was hidden in shadow. Only the fluttering of their long eyelashes was visible each time they blinked.

“…You really don’t feel anything, do you?”