“Well, then ....”
A well-organized kitchen in a cabin in the forest was filled with warm air.
“It's time for dinner.”
Gio was preparing a meal.
“Not having to work and just eating and sleeping, can life get any happier than this?”
This was the so-called happiness of being unemployed.
“Only now that I've become unemployed can I finally fulfil my role as a pig potato .... I'll have to sit at the dining table for three hours.”
Seo Gio was a gourmet and a glutton. The life of a teacher, who had to lead a regular, unobtrusive, proper and well-balanced social life, was too harsh for a cultured pig like him.
“I've always wanted to enjoy my favourite menu alone at a time personally convenient for me.”
Seo Gio nodded his head with his characteristic blunt expression.
“This is exactly the life of returning to the countryside...”
Not sure if this really falls under the category of returning to the countryside, but anyway, it is what it is.
Contrary to his appearance, which seemed as if he had been carved out of Arctic ice, Seo Gio, who hailed from a mountain village in Gangwon Province, had been waiting for the right moment to return to the countryside ever since he moved to the city.
“To think that I would achieve my dream of a rural life only after losing my job and becoming a portrait, life really is a hurricane, isn't it?”
It was unpredictable and even fun. Though of course, an actual hurricane wouldn't be fun.
“So, for today, let's keep it simple....”
With a lantern that wouldn't go out even in the wind hung above, Gio took out the ingredients.
Sweet potatoes.
“....”
Large sweet potatoes.
Gio blinked twice as if planning the day's meal and soon came to a conclusion.
“... Maybe I'll try making honey sweet potato stir-fry.”
It was a dish he often made when the elders occasionally sent him sweet potatoes, requiring only a bit of honey and salt, sweet potatoes, and butter. Nothing else was needed.
Fortunately, all these ingredients were in the cabin. Like a tree well that existed even though he hadn't thought of it at all, the furniture and food ingredients inside the cabin were also piled up together.
In particular, the food ingredients that always maintained their best condition even after several days, perhaps due to characteristics of the painting world, greatly impressed Seo Gio.
“Hmm...”
Rattle.
Gio took out a jar of honey stored in the cypress-scented cupboard.
“... Are the dairy products in the basement?”
Dairy products like milk, cheese, and butter, as well as basically all food items that required refrigeration, were all gathered in the cabin's underground storage.
The storage, blocked on all sides by transparent ice, maintained a cool chill and served as an excellent refrigerator. Although one's breath could be seen upon entering, perhaps due to him evolving into a haunted portrait, he did not feel the cold.
'Just cool enough.'
Seeing that other ingredients did not freeze either, he wondered why breath would come out in the first place.
“It's a phenomenon that completely ignores the laws of physics... but it's funny, so it's alright.”
As he descended the stairs toward the underground storage with a small bowl and knife, the door made of cold heavy wood-like metal appeared before him.
Soon after opening the door, he saw a few small, clumsily arranged jars and a large shelf inside the ice cave.
'Last time I checked, there seemed to be a variety of types.'
He rummaged through the butter displayed on the shelf.
“I wish there was butter with a milder scent.”
Among ingredients that provide sweetness, honey was particularly strong in flavour. It would have been enough with just sweet potatoes and honey, but if the scent of the butter was too strong, it might be a bit overwhelming.
Seo Gio found a pale yellow butter among the various kinds and cut it into small pieces.
“Too much would make it greasy...”
Gio took only as much butter as needed for this dish, wrapped it up neatly, closed the storage door carefully, and went back up to the kitchen.
Seo Gio's cooking skills were excellent. Otherwise, he, a gourmet, would not have even thought of cooking for himself.
“Ah, so fresh.”
Gio skillfully cleaned the sweet potatoes. Then he pondered how to divide them.
“... Fo
After blinking twice, he divided the sweet potatoes into long rectangular shapes. They were the right length for sticks.
“... Since there aren't that many.”
Gio prepared the seventeen large sweet potatoes.
The small pieces of sweet potatoes on the iron plate went straight into the wood-fired oven. The preheated wood-fired oven quickly cooked the surface of the sweet potatoes.
When the strong heat made the surface crispy but the inside was still raw, Gio took them out of the wood-fired oven.
And those sweet potatoes with the outside cooked and the inside still raw went onto the large wok.
“Here are the butter and salt.”
He maintained a low heat to prevent the butter from burning and sprinkled a little salt over it. The sweet potatoes, cooked slowly over the gentle fire, were coated with butter and emitted a sweet and savoury scent.
“And put in ....”
Sizzle―
“... A little honey.”
Gio drizzled the spooned honey gently and quickly flipped the wok. The honey and butter, mixed with the strength as if making fried rice in a Chinese restaurant, settled right on top of the sweet potatoes.
“....”
It seemed about right.
“Nice.”
Gio turned off the fire and flipped the pan a few more times. It was to help the butter and honey blend together without being out of place.
If this process was not done, the butter would separate and drip, and the honey would taste unpleasantly sticky.
'It might be delicious, but... .'
Obviously, when it comes to cooking, one must pay attention to the texture as well. Even with the same taste, the texture alone can make it a completely different dish.
“... Done.”
“... It's light and pretty, so if this were sold on Earth, it would have been a huge hit as a trendy camping item ....”
With his blunt face, Gio muttered about worldly greed as he rummaged through the basket. Then he took out ten stems of Vaivamnil, which resembled orchids.
He also lightly washed them and placed them on a small tray, then hung a pot over the fire in the wood-fired oven and poured water into it. Then, he waited for it to boil.
“...This should be about right.”
After confirming that the water was bubbling appropriately, Gio added the Vaivamnil. The unique deep and sweet scent of vanilla wafted through the air.
Splash, splash—!
“Hmm...”
It would be good if it could be eaten the same way as vegetables, soaking it briefly and then taking it out, but these flowers are not vegetables. Moreover, if not blanched properly, it can remain poisonous.
'It takes a total of ten minutes for the poison to disappear.'
Gio faithfully followed the system's instructions. He ate the Goby fruits he had set aside earlier while waiting for the poison to drain from the flowers.
“Is it done?”
After checking the time with the system, Seo Gio stood in front of the pot again ten minutes later.
He placed the wilted flowers onto the tray with long chopsticks. Despite having been boiled for quite some time, their shape remained intact. He washed the blanched flowers with clean water and left them as they were for a while.
Gio did not extinguish the weakened fire in the wood-fired oven but only changed the pot on top. The water left after boiling Vaivamnil would still contain poison.
“I should dry this too.”
Gio carried the tray with the flowers outside again.
And as he opened the door.
Whoosh ....
A gentle spring breeze blew.
“... It's refreshing.”
The texture and temperature felt as if lukewarm clouds are gently enveloping his face.
It was a pleasant breeze.
'Soft and cool.'
Gio blinked his eyes slowly in the hazy wind that strangely heart-fluttering and made him slightly drowsy.
'It would be perfect to fall asleep like this.'
The wind, neither hot nor cold, was as soft as fine Korean paper or silk, tickling the tips of his fingers.
Gio, having savoured the unexpected small happiness, soon moved his feet.
“... I hope they dry well.”
Gio, who had placed the Goby fruit and flower trays side by side, returned to the cabin. There were already two trays in front of the cabin, but there were still more to be prepared.
This time, Gio had caught a transparent flower named Lulupu.
What should he do with this? As drowsiness crept in, his thoughts were not clear, so after pondering for a while, Gio asked the system for help.
“Refinement method.”
Refinement Method: Place the petals in warm, edible water and wait until they dissolve and the juice comes out. One must never interfere during the process. The produced juice can be used with various medicinal herbs.
Available Refinement Method: Excellent Blood Recovery Rice Ball Cake made with Goby Fruit and Lulupu Juice.
“Thank you.”
After expressing gratitude to the system, Gio poured water into the newly replaced pot.
The cold water entered the preheated pot, changing it to a lukewarm temperature. When he placed his hand just above the water, the gentle steam rising seemed quite warm.
'If it's not hot water but warm water, this temperature should be about right.'
Thinking so, Gio held the flowers he had brought from the spring in his hand.
The Lulupu flowers, seemingly made of water yet woven like silk and sturdy, emitted a clear and sweet fragrance, like dewdrops made of honey.
As he carefully placed it into the pot ....
The galaxy-like sparkle of the flower petals spread throughout the water in the pot.
“... Surely Lulupu's sparkle must be due to scattering the light from sunlight or lamps.”
Was it trapping the bright sunlight or the clear light of the lamps within itself? It felt like watching ice made of glitter melting in warm water.
“... Oh.”
Soon the sparkle subsided, and the water in the pot emitted a clearer fragrance.
The capitalist thought that it would sell well even if made into perfumes suddenly crossed his mind, but Gio scooped out the contents before the water completely boiled away.
'I was almost late.'
The scooped-out flower water went into a glass bottle he had prepared in advance.
“It doesn't look like much at first glance, but this can be used to make medicine.”
The Lulupu juice, though only dissolved in water, emitted a mesmerizing light as if it was a paint crafted by an artist who poured his soul into it. He wondered if it could really be made into medicine.
Well, there's nothing that can't be done if you try. That's just how life is.
“Even a perfectly living human can become a haunted portrait, so why couldn't I make a medicine with a strange colour?”
Having finished all the preparations, Gio went up to the second floor of the cabin. The drowsiness that had been tickling his eyelids for a while now encouraged him to sleep.
The wooden stairs that touched the soles of his feet felt warm. Despite being clearly made of hardwood, it strangely had a soft texture, and with how comforting the scent wafted from various places, seemed like it was made of good-quality wood.
The bed in the bedroom he climbed up to felt as soft as if it was made of water.
“Haa ....”
Thump—
He dove into the bed.
His eyes blinked a couple of times as if summarizing the day's events, before soon quietly closing, like a child being caressed in their parent's embrace.
Through the wide-open window, the wind carrying the forest's fragrance flowed in, and a delicate breeze passed cautiously over his body as if shy. Once across his forehead, once on his fingertips, once on his knees ....
In the pitch-dark view, the evening cries of birds faintly receded.
And with the soft singing of grass bugs as a lullaby.
Gio fell asleep.
1: he was saying 'delicious' while chewing so idk how to say it (마히따).
2: sweet potato candy looks like this ig, I think what he meant could stibby stabby mouth because it seems coated with sugar a little like tanghulu? not sure though never eat one.