Peninsula: I run a bed and breakfast on Jeju Island

"So, what are we having for lunch?" Lee Ji-eun asked.

Li Ran glanced at the time; it was almost 12:30.

"What time were you planning to go to film?"

"Around 2 PM."

"That's enough time." He nodded.

"Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"Can I cook for myself?" she asked, looking eager to try.

"Uh, of course. What do you want to do?"

This stumped Lee Ji-eun.

She paused slightly and thought for a moment.

"Seaweed soup?"

This is the dish she's most confident about.

She even made this dish for Choi Jin-ri at home last year.

Choi Jin-ri had a very good opinion of her, which gave her a lot of confidence.

Li Ran scratched her brow. "The guesthouse didn't have any seaweed. I don't usually eat it, so I didn't buy any."

Kelp soup is considered a classic dish in the peninsula.

They almost always drink this stuff on their birthdays. New mothers also often drink it after giving birth.

There are two theories about the origin of this custom.

One account states that, according to the Tang Dynasty text "Chuxue Ji," whales would eat kelp to heal their wounds after giving birth, and the Koreans at the time began to imitate this practice.

Another theory suggests that in ancient times, kelp was a precious ingredient enjoyed only by royalty and nobility, and commoners could only afford to eat it on important occasions such as childbirth or family birthdays.

Although seaweed soup is common on the peninsula, the problem is that Li Ran is not from the peninsula.

He usually cooks according to his own taste, so he doesn't keep seaweed at home.

"Oh, I see." She pouted.

For a moment, she really didn't know what she could do.

"Next time," he glanced at Lee Ji-eun. "Let me finish cooking this time. I'll let you show off your skills next time."

Upon hearing this, Lee Ji-eun nodded.

That's all we can do.

"I'm going out this afternoon anyway. What groceries do you want to buy? I can bring them back on my way," Li Ran asked.

"Are you going out again?" She blinked. "Didn't you just get back?"

He shrugged. "What can I do? I forgot to claim the prize. What if it expires if I don't claim it now? It's better to claim it sooner rather than later."

"Claim the prize?" Lee Ji-eun was even more puzzled.

Li Ran explained, "I won some money from a scratch-off lottery a few days ago."

"You're lucky. I remember you only need to go to the bank to claim your prize if it's over 50,000 won, right?" She nodded.

"It wasn't just me who was lucky. I bought it on a whim while shopping at a convenience store with Mari."

"I can only say that we were lucky together."

Upon hearing this, Lee Ji-eun blinked.

"So what are you going to bring?" Li Ran continued to ask.

Lee Ji-eun gently stroked her chin and said, "Then just buy more fruit and bring some ingredients for the seaweed soup."

"I want to try it myself tonight."

"Okay." He nodded. "By the way, what time will you be back tonight?"

"It shouldn't be too late, right? Today's filming schedule isn't too heavy," she said after thinking for a moment.

"OK. I'll wait for you to come back before I cook dinner tonight."

Li Ran walked towards the kitchen.

Lee Ji-eun looked down at the last orange on the coffee table, picked it up, peeled it, and put the segments into her mouth one by one.

After finishing the orange, she threw the peel into the trash can and clapped her hands.

Feeling a bit bored, she glanced at the sleeping Brin, then at Xiao Hei who had just disappeared, and finally opened her phone to read Li Ran's novel again.

After all, machine translation will definitely differ from the original meaning. Maybe she will understand a little more if she reads it again?

Inside the kitchen.

Li Ran didn't plan to cook any complicated dishes.

Stir-fried eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried bean sprouts, shredded pork with garlic sauce, and Kung Pao chicken.

Two and a half meat dishes and one vegetable dish.

All alive.

As for why it's 2.5?

Because he didn't know whether scrambled eggs with tomatoes counted as a meat dish, he felt it was somewhere between half meat and half vegetables.

With the ingredients prepared, he first mixed the sauce for the shredded pork with garlic sauce, chopped the scallions, ginger, and garlic and piled them aside, then turned on the heat to heat the pan.

As the kitchen filled with cooking fumes, he turned the range hood up to its highest setting, the noise drowning out the sounds coming from the living room.

After cooking two dishes, he peeked into the living room and saw that Lee Ji-eun was still sitting on the sofa staring at her phone.

Brin woke up, moved over, climbed out of the cat bed, and nestled on her lap.

He pulled his head back and continued cooking.

When the Kung Pao Chicken is ready, its aroma immediately fills the air and wafts out of the kitchen.

A short while later, a commotion was heard from the living room.

"Is it ready?"

"Almost done," he tapped the spatula on the side of the pan, "just one more tomato and egg stir-fry to finish."

Lee Ji-eun put Brin down from her arms and walked towards the kitchen. "Let me help you serve the dishes."

"Okay, take those two plates over first. The chopsticks are in the drawer."

She took the dishes out, set out the bowls and chopsticks, and then came back just as Li Ran finished serving the last dish.

The two sat down at the dining table.

Lee Ji-eun picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of Kung Pao Chicken. She chewed it and asked, "What's in this? It's a little sweet."

"I added a little sugar. This dish is naturally sweet and sour."

"I thought it would be spicy." She picked up another piece of chicken.

"That's spicy diced chicken, it's different."

Lee Ji-eun nodded, picked up another bean sprout with her chopsticks, and ate a couple of bites with her rice.

The table was quiet for a while, with only the soft sound of chopsticks touching bowls.

Xiao Hei circled the dining table twice before finally sitting down next to Lee Ji-eun, looking up at her.

"Have you fed it?" She glanced down at it.

"I fed it, along with Brin." Li Ran glanced at Xiao Hei. "No matter how much I feed it, it always comes over during mealtimes. This guy is just greedy."

"Don't feed it anymore. It'll get as fat as a ball."

Xiao Hei rested his chin on her knee, his eyes looking innocent.

Lee Ji-eun pinched a piece of chicken and quietly passed it down to him.

"I saw it," Li Ran said.

"I didn't," she withdrew her hand, picked up a piece of food with a serious expression, and said, "You're seeing things."

Li Ran lowered her head and ate her meal, then shook her head.

Xiao Hei circled around under the table twice, then picked up its food bowl and sat back down next to Lee Ji-eun.

It puts its food bowl on the ground and waits patiently to be fed.

Lee Ji-eun ate her rice, occasionally picking up a couple of bites of vegetables with her chopsticks.

Occasionally, she would see the little black cat looking at her pitifully, and she would quietly pinch off a few pieces and throw them into its food bowl.

Li Ran selectively became blind, but this sped up the process of making the rice.

Don't turn around, the food will be gone.

The meal was finished quickly.

It might be because Li Ran was secretly competing with Xiao Hei in eating speed.

He leaned back in his chair, rubbed his stomach, and then drank a glass of water.

"What time is it?"

Lee Ji-eun glanced at it; it was 1:20.

"What time do banks usually open in the afternoon? Two o'clock?" Li Ran blinked.

"We open at nine in the morning and close at four in the afternoon," Lee Ji-eun said after thinking for a moment.

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't you take a lunch break?"

She shook her head. "It's on a shift. There are people working all the time during opening hours."

"I see!" He nodded.

"That's good, I'll be there in a bit."