Chapter 9 …
“Not spicy?”
“Uuuh! No! Choa is six years old now! Totally different from five-year-olds!”
Choa shook her head vigorously, even with her red face, glaring with intensity and sticking her chin out.
“Five-year-olds would say, ‘Ouch, it’s spicy!’ but six-year-olds say, ‘Wow~ this is delicious!’”
As soon as she finished speaking, a hiccup escaped from her mouth.
Quickly, Choa daintily covered her mouth with the back of her hand and held her head high.
“It’s not because it’s spicy! It’s because I was breathing! Strong breathing! Since I’m six, my breath is strong too!”
“Hahaha!”
The innkeeper couldn’t help but clutch her stomach and burst out laughing.
“See, Choa is really different from five-year-olds!”
“Yes! Of course! It’s so much better because it’s spicy—it really tastes amazing!”
“I’m grateful that you’re enjoying it. Makes all the effort in cooking worth it.”
But suddenly, the innkeeper frowned as if in pain and lowered her head.
“Of course, after today… I probably won’t be able to cook again…”
“…?”
Choa tilted her head, puzzled, and the innkeeper gave a bittersweet smile as she spoke again.
“Some important people from the capital are staying nearby.”
With a sigh and in a muttering tone, the innkeeper continued quietly.
“The lady of the house is pregnant and suffering from severe morning sickness, and the young master and young lady don’t seem to like my cooking. They said that if tonight’s dinner isn’t good, I won’t be allowed to run this inn anymore.”
Choa’s eyes widened in shock.
The child, frowning in thought a moment ago, suddenly brightened as if she’d come up with a brilliant idea.
“Hmm, it’s already tasty, but—if we make it even more delicious! Should I help?”
There was a curious determination in Choa’s tone.
But the innkeeper, thinking it was just childish talk, shook her head slowly with a helpless smile.
“No, that won’t work. They… are extremely picky. I’ve been cooking all my life, and this inn is the most famous in the area. It’s a place full of my pride and effort. But no matter how much care you put in, you can’t satisfy everyone’s taste…”
She spoke calmly, but a tinge of bitterness and deep loss lingered in her words.
“Eep!”
Suddenly, the innkeeper snapped back to reality, lifting her head in surprise.
“Oh dear, what am I even saying to a child?!”
Flustered, she waved her hands toward Choa and spoke quickly.
“Child, don’t pay attention to what I said. It’s nothing important, alright?”
“Master! The lady and her children have arrived!”
At that moment, a voice called urgently from outside, and the innkeeper whipped her head around.
“Yes! Coming! Child, wait a moment. Don’t touch anything.”
Leaving those words behind, she quickly tied her apron and rushed outside.
“……”
In the kitchen, only silence remained after she left.
Choa stared at the empty space left by the innkeeper, then suddenly stood up and approached the counter.
There were vegetables cut by the innkeeper and a brass bowl containing the remaining seasoning.
‘The vegetables look so fresh and delicious.’
Choa thought to herself.
Perhaps because they were grown in the fields behind the inn, the vegetables were of excellent quality.
Especially the carrots and cucumbers—they had a texture and even a subtle, sweet fragrance.
Still, Choa felt that there was a slight flaw in the innkeeper’s bibimbap.
The seasoning was a bit too strong.
‘Is there a seasoning that can enhance the vegetables’ natural flavor while still stimulating the taste?’
Choa carefully moved toward a low wooden shelf with her small feet.
She peeked inside.
The shelf contained all the ingredients the innkeeper normally used.
Squatting, Choa sniffed them one by one and even tasted a bit. Then, her eyes lit up.
‘This is it!’
A sudden idea struck her like lightning.
With a determined expression, she picked up the ingredients she had in mind.
“If I add a bit like this, and a bit like that, it’ll taste amazing.”
She whispered to herself, moving her little hands busily.
Under Choa’s careful touch, something special with a unique aroma began to take shape.
“Ugh, brother! I told you yesterday! This tastes bad.”
“This is the best we’ve got here. Anywhere else is even worse.”
“Mother, are you sure you’re okay?”
“I have to take at least one bite. What choice do I have?”
The woman, with a stomach as large as a mountain, entered the inn with two children—members of a noble family who had come down from the capital for health reasons.
Particularly, Im Hyesook was suffering greatly from morning sickness during her pregnancy.
“Oh, welcome.”
“Bring the most expensive and delicious food here. If you serve anything like yesterday, Mother won’t eat a single bite, and I won’t forgive you.”
The children, seated and impatient, spoke to the innkeeper with a commanding tone.
“Yes, yes. Understood.”
The innkeeper could do nothing but bow tremblingly.
Even though their demands were outrageous, she could not protest—they were blood relatives of the powerful Gohun-do Left Minister.
And who was Gohun-do Left Minister?
A man whose single words could sway high officials, a notorious figure whose glance could freeze anyone in place, a real powerhouse in the capital.
And he had exactly two children.
The first, an eight-year-old boy with neat features, Go Haechan.
The second, a seven-year-old girl with a proud gaze, Go Serin.
Both were born into luxury, accustomed to refined tastes, and famously picky.
Recently, because their mother was suffering from morning sickness, they had become even more sensitive to food flavors.
Especially Go Serin, who would become furious at even a hint of an unpleasant smell to her mother and could go so far as to ruin the inn with her tantrums.
They had visited the inn the day before, and the innkeeper had already received a warning.
“Mother doesn’t want anything spicy today, so bring her something mild!”
“If you’re slow, you’re finished!”
As the innkeeper turned to head into the kitchen, the children shouted from behind.
“……!”
At that moment, she felt her mind go completely blank.
‘What should I do? Something not spicy… but I’ve already prepared the bibimbap…’
Making a new dish now would take too long.
‘Should I make a milder version of the sauce? But if it’s not flavorful enough, the young master and young lady will be angry.’
The innkeeper felt like crying.
Swoosh.
Having no way to refuse their visit or stop their tyranny, she could only return to the kitchen to prepare the meal.
And then…
“Huh? Child, where are you?!”
Returning to the kitchen, Choa had vanished.
On the table, aside from the bibimbap sauce she had made, there was something else.
‘What’s this?’
Frowning, the innkeeper inspected it.
In the previously empty brass bowl was a new sauce, made by someone unknown.
‘Soy sauce… a new seasoning? Who made this?’
She tilted her head in curiosity.
‘But if it’s soy sauce, it shouldn’t be spicy.’
Compelled, she picked up a spoon and tasted a bit of the new sauce.
“Ooooh?”
At that moment, the innkeeper’s eyes went wide in shock.
She was so surprised that the spoon slipped from her hand with a clatter.
“Innkeeper, hurry!”
The voice calling from outside made her bite her lip.
Then, as if making a firm decision, she began to move.
