060

"Little Fool… I mean, Jin Yuha."

"Yes?"

Kang Do-hee, with a serious expression, called out to me.

"How about ordering delivery instead? Cooking for five people will require a lot of ingredients and take a long time."

"Oh, is that what you're worried about?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry. I'm good at cooking. And I'm quick, too."

"…"

"And these days, the 24-hour markets deliver all the ingredients, so there's no need to go shopping."

Kang Do-hee, who had been staring at me intently, seemed to find my reasoning convincing and nodded.

'She used to be so prickly all the time, but now that we're getting closer, she's even worried about these things. I like it.'

I guess feeding her those snacks, the Sol's Eye and Daize, was a good idea. I should buy her a box each next time.

As we headed to the dormitory, I opened the grocery delivery app on my phone and started browsing through the list.

'Hmm, I need to decide what to cook this time. It should feel like homemade food.'

In this world where gender roles are reversed, and it's common for men to cook, they've probably been relying on delivery or eating out all the time.

The first dish that came to mind was a stew. When it comes to homemade meals, stew is a must!

'Kimchi stew is better than soybean paste stew, right?'

I usually make a kimchi stew with soft tofu instead of regular tofu, making it easy to eat.

However, the kimchi from the store lacks the tanginess needed to bring out the deep flavor of homemade stew. To compensate for the lack of sourness, I usually add vinegar. But I also have a personal recipe I discovered.

'Since I've invited them to my place, I can't just serve an ordinary kimchi stew.'

I should prepare something a bit special to make it a memorable experience.

Tap. Tap.

I started adding the ingredients I had in mind to the shopping cart on my phone.

'Hmm, and since there will be leftover kimchi… Ah, I'll make tofu kimchi with the ingredients for the stew.'

I also bought pre-cooked rice and various side dishes. Finally, I added eggs to the list.

"Alright. Done."

After finishing the grocery order, we arrived in front of the dormitory.

"Welcome. This is my place."

I turned to my party members and proudly announced.

.

.

.

'This is Jin Yuha's room.'

Kang Do-hee couldn't help but be a little taken aback by the starkness of the room. Of course, since it was provided by Velvet Academy, the room itself was clean and spacious.

But aside from a large moving box in the corner and a few old clothes hanging on the wall, there was nothing that seemed to belong to Jin Yuha himself. It didn't look like a man's room at all.

'…There's nothing here.'

Even she, who had no interest in decorating, wasn't this minimal.

'I see. Given the effort it took to achieve his skills in a man's body, he probably had no time for hobbies or decorations.'

Kang Do-hee stared blankly at Jin Yuha.

Come to think of it, Jin Yuha didn't seem to have any hobbies or invest in himself at all.

He always seemed to give up and share what he could have for himself with his party members.

Even with the recent demon subjugation, where he prevented a major disaster, he requested the director's help for the safety of his party members instead of asking for any monetary support.

'Perhaps his bizarre food preferences are because he doesn't care about taste and just wants to meet his nutritional needs.'

Indeed, Jin Yuha had admirable qualities even as a men. No matter what he cooked, she could probably endure it.

Kang Do-hee thought as she looked at the others.

"Wow… This room is spacious!"

Lee Yoo-ri said, looking a bit flustered.

"Uh, yes! Really! Wow─ I've never been in a man's room before, it's really clean! It definitely feels like a man's room!"

Shin Se-hee, usually adept at maintaining a poker face, stammered, unable to hide her surprised expression.

Luckily, Jin Yuha didn't seem to notice their awkwardness. He turned and said proudly.

"Right? Before coming here, I was living in a three-pyeong (1 pyeong=3.3 m^2) one-room apartment, but seeing such a spacious room makes me feel like I've made it."

He genuinely seemed proud as he introduced his room, making the atmosphere even heavier.

"Come on, are you all feeling awkward because it's a guy's room? Don't worry about it. Just come in!"

"…Excuse me."

"Alright. I'll come in."

"Excuse us."

"Three-pyeong room…? Why did he give me the magic stone then…"

Thus, the party members stepped into Jin Yuha's dormitory. With no proper seating, they had to sit on the floor.

After a while, the doorbell rang.

Ding dong─♬

"Oh, the food ingredients must be here."

Jin Yuha got up from his seat. Lee Yoo-ri tried to stand up as well, but he pressed her shoulder, making her sit back down.

"Hey, just stay put. Guests should just relax."

Jin Yuha opened the door and came back with a box of ingredients.

"…Is there anything I can help with?"

Lee Yoo-ri asked, looking at him.

"No, there's nothing. Just wait a bit, I'll cook and serve it quickly. There are people you haven't had a chance to talk to yet, right? You've only talked to Do-hee on the phone, right?"

"…Yeah, that's right."

"So take this time to get to know each other."

With that, Jin Yuha carried the box into the kitchen by himself.

.

.

.

An awkward silence settled among the women sitting in a circle in the living room.

'Where am I? Why am I…?'

Lim Ga-eul was bewildered. She hadn't even officially agreed to join the party yet, but somehow she found herself with a top-tier magic stone, involved in a demon subjugation, equipped with a spatial tattoo, and now sitting in Jin Yuha's room with other juniors.

All of this had happened in just one day!

She cursed her own inability to refuse favors or offers that came from a place of goodwill.

'But why on earth did that junior give me a magic stone…?'

Lim Ga-eul's mind was a whirlwind of confusion.

Judging by his living conditions before arriving here, Jin Yuha didn't seem to be in a financially comfortable situation. The state of his room and the worn clothes hanging on the wall didn't suggest someone who could afford to hoard magic stones.

'No, more importantly… Why is no one saying anything…?'

Lim Ga-eul glanced around, her expression stiffening.

Cheonhwa was biting her nails, lost in deep thought. Fighting Dog was staring intently at Jin Yuha as he cooked. Lee Yoo-ri looked around the room with a somewhat emotional expression.

"…"

"…"

"…"

To Lim Ga-eul, the time without Jin Yuha felt agonizingly long.

Even trying to pass the time by counting the patterns on the ceiling was futile—the ceiling was just plain white wallpaper.

Then, Jin Yuha returned, carrying a large pot.

"Food's ready! Hmm, there's no table. Well, it can't be helped. Lee Yoo-ri, could you pull that moving box over here?"

"…The moving box?"

"Yeah, the contents are what's important, not the box itself. Let's put it on top and eat."

"No, we can't do that!"

Lee Yuri stood up and pulled a shield from the spatial tattoo on her wrist. She placed the shield on the floor.

Thud.

"Here, use this!" "…Huh? Oh, alright."

Jin Yuha, a bit taken aback, placed the pot on the shield as Lee Yoo-ri insisted. He then set bowls of steaming white rice in front of each person.

'Huh? This looks better than I expected…'

Lim Ga-eul thought as she looked at the kimchi stew in the pot.

Given Fighting Dog and Lee Yoo-ri's grim expressions, she hadn't expected much, but it actually looked quite decent.

Of course, the fact that the tofu was silken was a bit unconventional but still within acceptable bounds.

'Hmm? But what's that…?'

Lim Ga-eul squinted her eyes.

"Hey."

She called out to Jin Yuha, unsure if what she was seeing was real.

"Yes, senior?"

"What is this…?"

Jin Yuha responded as if she were asking something obvious.

"It's pineapple."

"…?"

Lim Ga-eul, Shin Se-hee, Kang Do-hee, and Lee Yoo-ri all turned their gazes towards Jin Yuha.

"Oh, is it unfamiliar to you all?"

Jin Yuha nodded and began to explain.

"You know how store-bought kimchi often lacks sourness, so people add vinegar?"

"…Yes, and?"

"And you know that a lot of sugar goes into commercially sold kimchi stew?"

"…"

"But instead of that, if you add pineapple, it gives a natural sweetness along with some sourness. Kimchi stew is supposed to be tangy with a subtle sweetness, so it matches well."

As everyone looked at him like he was crazy, Jin Yuha protested.

"It's actually pretty good! If you search online, there's a proper recipe for pineapple kimchi stew!"

.

.

.

Even pineapple on pizza divides opinions. And now, Hawaiian kimchi stew…? (Pineapple on Pizza, what blasphemy)

Everyone's faces darkened at the thought of this unheard-of dish.

"Then, what's this?"

Kang Do-hee pointed at the white stuff mixed with kimchi next to the pot.

"It's tofu kimchi. I used silken tofu for a smoother texture."

"…"

"Why do you all look like that? It's a delicacy! Really!"

"…A delicacy, huh… you are crazy…"

Kang Do-hee muttered angrily, almost without realizing it.

No one disagreed with her.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

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