Reboot the heyday

The shop that Ahn Yu-jin mentioned is indeed not far away.

After a ten-minute drive, I turned into a small alley. Both sides were residential areas with dim streetlights and various rental advertisements posted on the walls.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ahn Yoo-jin looked out the window at the increasingly desolate street scene and felt a little uneasy.

"Um, I didn't know this shop was located here. I'm sorry."

Wang Taika was somewhat surprised: "Why apologize?"

Ahn Yoo-jin said awkwardly, "This kind of small shop shouldn't be a very high-end place."

Wang Taika was also amused. It's likely that in Ahn Yu-jin's eyes, someone like Wang Taika is the kind of person with an elite air, someone who would only go to Michelin-starred restaurants and would never go to those small street-side shops.

It's understandable. She's a young girl who hasn't even debuted yet. It's reasonable for her to have some stereotypes about people and things she doesn't know.

“Yeah, the better the food is in places like this.” Wang Taika parked the car in front of an old residential building and turned off the engine. “The nicely decorated shops cater to tourists; these hidden gems in alleys are the real gems. But isn’t this the shop you chose? Why are you asking me?”

"Yeah, I only read the reviews, I haven't actually been here. Um, thank you." After saying that, Ahn Yoo-jin wanted to slap herself twice. Why was she thanking him for nothing?!

Wang Taika laughed: "Alright, let's get out of the car."

Ahn Yoo-jin got out of the car. The night wind was cooler than before, making her hunch her shoulders. Her hoodie's hood was blown off several times, but she was too lazy to put it back on.

Wang Taika walked ahead and found a shop based on its name. Pushing open the door, a wave of heat mixed with the aroma of sauces wafted out.

This is a typical Korean-style small shop. It's not big, with only seven or eight tables, and there aren't many customers at this time.

The boss was a man in his fifties who was sitting in the corner watching TV. When he saw Wang Taika come in, he stood up with a smile and greeted him.

"Two of your signature braised pork trotters and rice cake set meals," Wang Taika said.

"Okay." The boss nodded and turned to go into the kitchen.

Ahn Yoo-jin found a seat against the wall and looked around. The menu on the wall was yellowed, the table was clean but showed signs of age, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of meat.

Surprisingly good. It's not a fancy upscale restaurant, but it has a comforting, down-to-earth atmosphere.

Ahn Yoo-jin breathed a sigh of relief. She was genuinely afraid that Wang Tai-ka would look down on her because of her strange taste. After all, the image of a girl eating pig's trotters was truly unimaginable.

Wang Taika sat down opposite her, took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair: "Is there anything else you want to eat? You can order it. It's on me today. But how you lose weight afterwards is your own problem to worry about."

Ahn Yoo-jin smiled: "I will try my best."

"You're like a puppet!" Wang Taika said helplessly. "I ask a question, you answer 'thank you,' I ask another question, and you answer 'keep trying.' Be real, we've known each other for a long time."

Ahn Yoo-jin lowered her head; she didn't really want to pretend. But the difference in their social status was indeed enormous. This wasn't something that could be smoothed over with just a few words of comfort.

What's more, she was just scared to tears. These are all psychological traumas!

Wang Taika didn't dwell on it. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and said, "You have good taste. When it comes to this kind of food, you have to come to an old, established restaurant like this. Chain stores are all standardized production. The sauces are factory-made, and the pig's trotters are stewed in a central kitchen. They always taste the same and have no soul."

Hearing these words, Ahn Yoo-jin felt a pang of grievance. Before this, she had always eaten at chain restaurants. Only this time, she had gone all out and ordered from a different, particularly expensive place. And Wang Tai-ka ate it all.

In the very end, Wang Taika still complained about the chain store. What's wrong with it? What's wrong with the chain store? Chain stores are convenient, fast, and have transparent reviews, making them the best choice for trainees like Ahn Yu-jin who don't have a car and can't travel too far.

Ahn Yu-jin glanced at Wang Tai-ka, imagining a fist in her mind that she could knock him down with one punch. "Yes, but I still need to eat less." Ahn Yu-jin rubbed her flat stomach. She was already too hungry to feel hungry anymore.

Perhaps she was too lazy to talk to Wang Taika because she was hungry.

Before long, the pig's trotters and rice cakes were served.

But it wasn't one of those small, takeout-packaged portions; it was a whole, large pig's trotter, stewed until it was a deep, glossy red, with a thick sauce clinging to it, surrounded by rice cakes and fish cakes. Steam rose from it, and the aroma was irresistible.

Ahn Yoo-jin was stunned: "How are you supposed to eat this?"

Wang Taika looked at the owner: "Is there a difference between ordering takeout and eating in the store?"

The owner explained, "It's always been like this. Our store only offers small and medium portions for takeout. The large portion signs are only available for dine-in."

Wang Taika looked at the sign hanging on the wall and found that the boss was not lying; there was only one type of sign in the shop.

"Oh, right, I did ask the boss to put that on the signboard just now." Wang Taika laughed, not caring about the details. He hadn't eaten enough, so he figured he could have some more.

Besides, what's the point of Ahn Yoo-jin gnawing on a small pig's trotter? Give me a big one!
The shop owner said, "I can help you take it apart."

"No, no!" Wang Taika, who was secretly plotting something, refused, "I think this is fine, thank you."

Ahn Yoo-jin then spoke up: "I might need it."

Wang Taika interrupted, "She needs a few more plastic gloves. That's all. I'll call you if she needs anything else."

The boss then stepped back.

Ahn Yoo-jin stared at Wang Tai-ka in disbelief: "Mr. Wang, what do you mean by this?"

I was truly speechless. Ahn Yoo-jin's speech even sounded a bit like her hometown Daejeon dialect.

“The best way to eat it is to eat it directly,” Wang Taika said. “If you take it apart and eat it bit by bit, what’s the point? The essence of pig’s trotters is to gnaw on them! No, you haven’t even debuted yet, why are you so concerned about your image? If you can’t finish it, you can take it home, I’m not forcing you to eat it. But you need to learn to respect food when it comes to how you eat it!”

After spouting a bunch of nonsense, Ahn Yoo-jin hesitated for a moment before putting on her gloves.

Wang Taika took out his phone, considering how to capture the iconic scene of Ahn Yu-jin eating a pig's trotter. Oh my god, this embarrassing moment will definitely be useful later!

Ahn Yoo-jin probably sensed Wang Tai-ka's sincerity towards the food, so she stopped being coy. She also had a somewhat tomboyish side, so she put down her chopsticks and reached straight for the large pig's trotter with her right hand.

"Oh, it's so hot!" Ahn Yoo-jin shook her hand.

Wang Taika couldn't help but laugh when he saw Ahn Yoo-jin's clumsy movements.

Ahn Yoo-jin continued, "I definitely can't finish all of this, but Mr. Wang said we could pack it up, so I won't be polite. I didn't expect we'd have such a tacit understanding when it comes to food."

Wang Taika pulled out a pair of serving chopsticks from the chopstick holder, one in each hand, and inserted them into the bone crevices of the pig's trotter. With a forceful pry, the pig's trotter was split in two.

"Eat up," Wang Taika said with a smile, his hand reaching for his phone. Taking photos secretly was really wrong; Wang Taika wouldn't do something like that. But taking a candid photo should be fine.

Ahn Yoo-jin looked at the pig's trotter in the bowl and swallowed hard.

"Thank you, then I won't be polite!" (End of Chapter)