Chapter 82
Sizzle-sizzle-.
Over the past few days, Dad had been learning to cook from Mom, and he put his whole heart into it as he took hold of the frying pan.
And finally.
Dad's dish appeared on the dining table.
A plate with steam curling up from it.
With its promising appearance, Arin and I swallowed hard.
“Well, go ahead and give it a taste.”
Dad waited for our evaluation with both hands politely clasped together.
Wearing an apron and looking completely tense, he was the very picture of a rookie chef.
Nom-nom-smack-.
Mom, Arin, and I each took a bite of Dad's cooking.
Mom chewed thoughtfully without saying a word.
“Hmm…”
I tilted my head as I ate.
How should I put it? It was kind of... subtle~?
Still, I tend to value the effort behind an attempt.
That's right, if he keeps challenging himself, he'll get better someday!
“Aja aja, fighting!”
But.
Our most exacting critic, Arin, was still waiting.
“Hmm….”
Arin chewed and savored one bite.
“About... 0.4 Mom?”
Arin's uniquely merciless score.
Taking Mom's cooking as a perfect score, that meant it tasted like two stars out of five.
“Krrrgh.”
Dad clutched his chest at the scathing evaluation.
It seemed a sharp crack had split Dad's pride.
But our dad wasn't someone who would simply back down.
“All right. I'll try again.”
Dad began memorizing the recipe Mom had carefully written down for him.
After tightening his apron strings as much as possible.
With the grim expression of Guan Yu heading into battle.
He took hold of the frying pan once more.
Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle-sizzle-.
He poured oil into the pan, then tossed in the ingredients he'd prepared in advance.
Then Arin quietly approached Dad from behind.
Maybe she'd learned by watching Mom over her shoulder, because she began giving Dad advice nonstop.
“Dad, turn up the heat here!”
“Uh, uh-huh.”
Fwoosh-!
“And half a spoonful of tuna liquid seasoning here! Half a spoonful of oyster sauce!”
Ooh, for something she'd learned just by watching over someone's shoulder, that was a surprisingly accurate recipe.
Our Arin, when did she learn all this?
She was at an age where she could become interested in anything, so it made sense that she'd take an interest in Mom's cooking too.
“Oyster sauce has lots of monosodium glutamate, and tuna liquid seasoning has lots of disodium inosinate! So when they meet, the savory flavor goes kaboom-boom-boom- and explodes!”
“Uh, uh-huh. Our daughter is smart, huh?”
“Uheheh.”
...No, I didn't teach her that.
Please don't misunderstand.
She probably tugged on Mom's sleeve while she was cooking and asked, “What's this-? What's that-?”
That aside, Arin teaching Dad was something you hardly ever got to see.
It was a truly rare sight.
Arin nagged Dad relentlessly.
And Dad, unable to withstand the pressure, stir-fried the dish with all his might.
A new plate was complete.
Plunk-.
“Please give it a taste.”
Nom-nom-smack-.
“Oh! It's yummy!”
The moment I took a bite, an exclamation escaped me.
Honestly, I hadn't expected much, but I was a little surprised by how tasty it was.
They say dopamine is released in proportion to the gap between expectations and reality, right?
Dad's cooking, which I'd expected to be mediocre, had turned out to be far tastier than anticipated.
I could feel dopamine shooting through my brain-.
It's more fun to set your expectations low and then be surprised when reality exceeds them, you know.
Then Mom, who had been silent, finally began clapping her hands-
“Honey, it's really delicious this time. You've improved a lot.”
“Really?!”
Dad's face lit up brightly.
But the most important final evaluation still remained.
The most exacting critic in our household: Yoo Arin.
She was even stricter than the critics on Rock 'n' Roll Tomato who handed out nothing but rotten tomatoes.
“Hmm….”
Arin seriously savored one bite.
Then.
“At this level... I can give you 0.8 Mom! I'll praise you lots, Dad!”
“Oh, yes!”
The moment Chef Dad received Critic Yoo Arin's praise, he thrust his fist high into the air and cheered.
“If you went from 0.4 to 0.8, that's twice as high! Isn't Dad a genius? Huh?”
Dad was wearing an apron and waving his hand in the air, thrilled.
Once again, I confirmed that our dad also had the gene that made him beam with joy whenever he received praise.
“I've realized it... the essence of cooking!”
Dad seemed to have awakened to the truth of the world like an ordinary man who had just reached enlightenment.
To think he was already making such a fuss over receiving one compliment.
“Honestly, you're impossible.”
Mom chuckled.
“Dad, come eat too. You must be really hungry.”
“That's right. Dad's the exclusive chef tonight!”
Dad plopped down in his chair.
I picked up another bite of Dad's cooking and nom-nommed it-.
✒️✒️✒️
Click-clack-clack-.
I wrote an email on Mom's laptop.
“Hel... lo... I... am... mathematician... Yoo A-yeon... First, thank you very much for offering me the opportunity to give a lecture—”
—Hello, this is mathematician Yoo A-yeon. First of all, thank you very much for offering me the opportunity to give a lecture. I would also be delighted to share my mathematical insights with the older students at Solsol High School. I will prepare the lecture wholeheartedly. Please arrange the detailed schedule. Thank you. Sincerely, Yoo A-yeon.
After the EBC interview.
I decided to give a lecture at Solsol High School next.
There were several reasons I specifically chose this school from among the countless lecture requests.
I thought giving a lecture to high school students who were just beginning to decide on their career paths would have the greatest impact.
And, simply put, Solsol High School was close to our house.
And.
The biggest reason was that someone close to me attended this school.
✒️✒️✒️
At the chess club I often went to, I announced that I would probably be giving a lecture at Solsol High School.
“It looks like I'm going to give a lecture at Solsol High School this time.”
“What, really! That's my school!”
The person who reacted most strongly was Eun-chae, who hugged me tightly and absolutely refused to let go.
Rub-rub-!
“Um, but Eun-chae... could you let me go now...?”
“Eeh! It hasn't even been five minutes yet!”
Eun-chae reluctantly released me.
But that wasn't enough to satisfy her.
Like a predator on the savanna, she glanced around as if searching for another target to hunt.
“Then I guess I'll have to replenish my cuteness intake with Arin.”
“Eeeek!”
Arin, who had been quietly solving chess puzzles beside us, reacted instantly.
Scurry-scurry!
A little chase broke out between Eun-chae and Arin as a bonus.
✒️✒️✒️
For reference, Arin and I had been promoted from the intermediate class to the advanced class after just three months at this chess club.
So we were currently spending a lot of time with the older students in the advanced class.
Of course, we also got along and chatted comfortably with the intermediate-class members who shared the same space.
“Phew-.”
After finishing her chase, Eun-chae sat back down in front of the chessboard with a smug grin.
Pant-pant-.
Looking over, I saw Arin collapsed onto the sofa with sweat pouring down her face, taking a break.
As expected, Eun-chae was perfect for getting Arin some exercise.
“When A-yeon comes to give a lecture at our high school, I have to brag to everyone that we're close. Heehee-.”
Eun-chae was excited at the thought of showing me off to her school friends.
I didn't miss the opening created by her distraction.
“Sis, you're wide open!”
Tap-!
I drove my queen straight into the middle of enemy territory and attacked Eun-chae's king.
No matter what Eun-chae did after that, a forced mating sequence that would finish the game within five moves was waiting for her.
A truly magnificent queen sacrifice!
“Eek! I tried to suck up A-yeon's cuteness, but I got robbed instead!”
Eun-chae shrieked and tipped her king over toward me with a tap-.
“Heheh.”
I savored the joy of victory for a moment.
I had just beaten Eun-chae, who was training to make the national team.
Even if I had taken advantage of her momentary lapse in concentration, I had still managed to win like this.
Compared to when I'd first joined this club last year, it was truly remarkable growth.
Of course, Arin's growth had been much steeper than mine.
“A-yeon, you're really good….”
Eun-chae blinked repeatedly as she stared blankly at the chessboard.
“Heheheh.”
Hearing the compliment made the corners of my mouth creep upward again.
Then Eun-chae pulled a Peroro chocolate from her pocket and munched on it before suddenly asking a question.
“A-yeon, do you want to go to the national team with me? I'm going to try out for the national team selection tournament too.”
“Huh, the selection tournament? Hmm…”
I thought it over for a moment before cautiously opening my mouth.
“I'm really grateful for the offer, but I'll be busy becoming a professor next year... I don't think I could prepare for an international tournament at the same time.”
I politely declined with an apologetic expression.
“Oh, right! A-yeon's going to be a professor at Seoul National University! You're such an amazing person!”
Eun-chae belatedly smacked her knee.
“That's too bad... It means I'll have fewer chances to play with A-yeon….”
Genuine disappointment showed on her face.
“What about Arin? She's much better than me.”
Our gazes turned to the side at the same time.
Toward Arin, who was huffing and puffing on the sofa.
Then Arin, perhaps because she had been listening to us, suddenly raised her hand and shouted.
“Hek… huff… A tournament? Tournaments are fun! I wanna enter one!”
Arin's eyes were sparkling-.
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