Cheat day

Buckwheat Soba and Blueberries (1)

After finishing the set meal, we ordered ice cream for dessert.

The vanilla ice cream, drizzled with chocolate syrup, was absolutely delicious.

“I enjoyed that.”

“Me too.”

“What should we eat now?”

“Let’s have cold soba.”

The three of us turned our heads.

“What kind of cold soba in the middle of winter?”

“Seems like we’ve run out of side dishes.”

Baek Woo-jin and Cha Ji-chan took turns teasing me, despite being the culprits for stealing my shrimp tempura.

“We just had a meal, and you want to eat again?”

This time, everyone looked at Ju Ji-seung.

“Hyung, we only eat regular meals today, just once a week. Are you still stuck on the old notion that you should only eat once for lunch?”

Baek Woo-jin presented a reasonable argument, leaving Ju Ji-seung chuckling but speechless.

“So what are we eating?”

Cha Ji-chan asked me.

“I said let’s have cold soba!”

“In this cold weather, what cold soba?”

“Listen. We just ate something very greasy. So what should we do? Don’t hesitate. We need something cold and refreshing to cleanse our palates. Just follow me. I’ll get the side dishes.”

Cha Ji-chan and Baek Woo-jin, who were frowning with their heads tilted, eventually nodded.

It seemed they realized who I was.

We hopped onto Casper and headed to Pyeongryung-dong in Donghae City.

This area, newly developed, has surprisingly many good eateries, and there’s a soba place here famous for its buckwheat noodles.

It opens at 11 AM and closes at 3 PM, making it hard to have both lunch and dinner like usual if you want to eat here.

When we arrived, there were three or four people waiting in front of the restaurant.

It’s usually a waiting place, but since it was cold, it seems like it was relatively easy to access in winter.

That’s actually a good thing.

After a short wait, we were able to enter right away.

The menu consisted of shrimp soba, eel soba, and shrimp tempura.

“What’s good?”

“The shrimp is okay, but I prefer the eel soba.”

“Then I’ll have that too.”

“Me too.”

“I want shrimp.”

“Should we order shrimp tempura separately?”

“Sounds good.”

“Oh, then I’ll also have the eel.”

“Boss, we’ll have four eel sobas and one shrimp tempura, please.”

“Yes.”

After placing the order, Baek Woo-jin lowered his voice.

“It’s pretty expensive for soba.”

The shrimp soba costs 12,000 won, and the eel soba costs 16,000 won.

It is indeed pricey for cold soba.

“If you just look at the price, but when you taste it, your thoughts will change. It’s really good.”

“Hm.”

“It’s amazing that they do well even in winter, right?”

“Right? In summer, this place is packed. They open at 11 AM, but even if you come before that, it might be hard to get in.”

“Hmm.”

Ju Ji-seung, who is currently preparing to open a restaurant, was looking around and gathering information.

“By the way, Hyung Sang-cheol, aren’t we inviting a guest?”

Cha Ji-chan asked PD Park Sang-cheol.

“Guest?”

“Park Ha-im. Didn’t he just start working with side dishes and meal plans recently?”

“Oh.”

“He looks really thin. If we take him along, he could gain some weight, right?”

“I’m okay with that.”

“Me too.”

Having Park Ha-im on the show would not only help the ratings but also allow him to learn the joy of eating.

I agreed, and Ju Ji-seung threw in his support as well.

“What about Woo-jin?”

PD Park Sang-cheol asked Baek Woo-jin.

“Eh, do you really need to ask?”

“I don’t want him.”

That was quite an unexpected response, and as I turned my head, I saw Baek Woo-jin glaring at PD Park Sang-cheol with a fierce expression.

“Our characters overlap.”

“Uh-huh.”

Ju Ji-seung, who was drinking water, cleared his throat.

“I think he’s really lost it.”

Cha Ji-chan also got serious.

“I’m cute, and Park Ha-im is cute too. But I’m already here. Why should we invite Park Ha-im?”

“Right. You could just leave and have Park Ha-im come instead.”

“Don’t joke! Why is it called ‘Baekban Dada’ if I’m not there? I started this show!”

“Honestly, it got popular because of the side dishes, right? Isn’t that true?”

“Recently, it seems like Chan-yong is doing better than Woo-jin.”

“Geez!”

Ju Ji-seung, Cha Ji-chan, and I began to tease Baek Woo-jin again.

It was fun.

“But have you talked to Park Ha-im? You’re not just throwing this around without any discussion, right?”

PD Park Sang-cheol brought up an important point.

“Ask him.”

“Yeah. Ask him. You’re close, right?”

“Hmm. Should I give it a try?”

I took out my smartphone and called Park Ha-im, and one of the writers asked,

“Is that really Park Ha-im’s number?”

I was so taken aback that I hung up.

“No, writer. What are you talking about? Is it real?”

“Hahaha! I was just curious.”

“Are you really close?”

“Wow!”

Feeling unfair, I exclaimed “Wow!” just as Park Ha-im called back.

“Hey, Ha-im.”

I’m hungry.

His voice sounded almost like he was dying.

He had been on a very strict diet for a long time, and I had told him sternly that he needed to control his eating for the time being.

Because of that, he couldn’t eat what he wanted freely.

He used to be like that before, but nowadays, he frequently says he’s hungry.

“Is the only thing you know how to say is that you’re hungry? Anyway, I’m currently filming ‘Baekban Dada.’ Is that okay?”

-…….

“Hello?”

Yes! Why?

Suddenly, my voice comes alive.

I’m impressed by the diligent work ethic.

“By the way, it was still recording.”

Ah, what? Don’t you know any manners? You should have told me beforehand.

“I didn’t have time to tell you. Anyway, do you want to come on ‘Baek Bansara’ later?”

Um…

“Why? Is it weird?”

Hmm.

“You’re good at talking. Sangcheol is here. You know how scary he is, right?”

Yeah. They say if you get on the PD’s bad side, you’ll have to quit the entertainment industry.

“Excuse me! Park Ha-im! What are you talking about?”

Sangcheol jumped at my and Park Ha-im’s joke.

“Anyway, do you dislike it?”

It’s not that; Woo-jin is coming on, right?

“Yeah. So what? Is Woo-jin a bit uncomfortable for you?”

At my question, everyone turned to look at Baek Woo-jin.

Caught off guard by the sudden looks of resentment, Woo-jin shook his head.

It’s not that. The concepts overlap. Woo-jin is cute too.

“See! I’m not the only one thinking that, right?”

Baek Woo-jin, agitated, raised his voice.

I was left speechless, completely dumbfounded. Joo Ji-seung, Cha Ji-chan, and even the production team couldn’t say a word.

“Ha-im! I’m Baek Woo-jin! Let’s have a meal sometime!”

But I’m cuter, so I feel bad for Woo-jin.

“……”

“Pwahaha!”

“Ha-im? What did you just say?”

Ah!

With that half-hearted remark, the call ended.

Park Ha-im does have a sense of humor.

Woo-jin had picked up on the fact that he was the cute youngest member and the punching bag between us.

It seems that since he has been watching ‘Baek Bansara,’ it might actually be okay for him to guest on the show someday.

“Wow! This person is funny! What? Saying he’s cuter, so he feels sorry for me? Come on! My nickname is Dongdaemun Joraengi Tteok! Just being thin isn’t everything! Cuteness starts from being plump!”

Cha Ji-chan was laughing so hard he was in tears.

I sometimes wonder how he survives these days without Baek Woo-jin.

“Food is here.”

“Wow.”

“What is this?”

“Are they giving us the whole eel?”

As expected, everyone gasped in amazement.

Even though eel soba is 16,000 won, considering that it comes with a whole fried eel, it’s not that expensive.

Most importantly, the clear and refreshing broth, with a hint of umami, and the aroma of buckwheat noodles fill the air.

You could say this place has perfected soba in the most ideal form.

“How do you eat this?”

“You can cut it or just eat it whole like me. Dipping it lightly in the broth is even tastier. It stays crispy but tastes better because it absorbs the broth.”

I took a bite of the fried eel and raised the bowl to gulp down the broth.

The warmth I had felt from the western-style food transformed into a refreshing and clean sensation.

“This fried food is no joke.”

Cha Ji-chan exclaimed in admiration.

“Right? How can it stay crispy even after touching water?”

“Yeah.”

When Woo-jin and I looked at Joo Ji-seung inquiringly, he tilted his head and spoke.

“To keep the fried food crispy, you have to avoid forming gluten in the batter.”

“That sounds complicated.”

“Just beat an egg, add some water, and stir it carelessly, then add weak flour. If you stir too hard because the powder hasn’t mixed well, the more you mix, the soggier it gets.”

“Oh.”

“The batter should be thinner. That way, like here, it can fry thinly and beautifully.”

“Hmm.”

The scent of buckwheat is rich.

The white buckwheat flowers grown in the mountain breeze of Yeongwol, Gangwon-do flicker before my eyes.

Just as writer Lee Hyo-seok described in his novel, it’s ‘as if the moonlight sprinkled salt on the mountain slopes, making it hard to breathe.’

I’m almost intoxicated by the rich aroma of buckwheat that fills my mouth and even threatens to spill over into my nostrils.

“Are you all listening to me?”

“Uh?”

“No.”

“Why is the broth so refreshing here?”

Woo-jin admired the broth.

The cold soba at this place feels different from just being cold due to the temperature.

It feels even cooler because of something else added, making it feel even colder than its actual temperature.

With warm and rich fried eel on top, the contrast in temperature enhances the coolness.

This truly is the best cold soba.

“Yum! Yum!”

“Wow.”

Watching everyone enjoy their food makes me feel even better.

“Sometimes people ask me for Netflix recommendations, right? I heard one recently from a friend.”

Everyone looked at him with expressions of, “What nonsense is he going to say now?”

I’m used to this.

“He was telling me about all the fun things he watched, but he made all sorts of excuses.”

“In the meantime, he said he’d already seen what matched his taste, right?”

“Yeah. So while talking about this and that, I remembered a movie I really enjoyed.”

“What is it?”

“Forrest Gump.”

“That’s an old movie.”

“I just watched it recently. It was on Netflix, so I watched it, and it was really fun. But when I told him, he made excuses like it’s too long and doesn’t sound interesting.”

“Is it really necessary to push him to watch it when he said he doesn’t want to?”

“It’s not like you made it yourself.”

“Right. But I genuinely lost track of time while watching it. So I told him to watch it for sure, and he reluctantly said okay. The next day he called to talk about that movie for an hour.”

“So what do you want to say?”

“My mood is like that right now. You asked me why I’m eating cold soba in the middle of winter.”

Cha Ji-chan looked back and forth between me and the eel soba.

“Is it good?”

Cha Ji-chan picked up a shrimp tempura and placed it on my bowl.

This place is closed on Mondays.

Why?