Bok Taejin sat in the hall, slowly eating his stead buns.
This ti, no one was snatching food from him, so he could take his ti savoring it.
Inside the basket, a divider separated the buns into two types.
One portion was pure at-filled, with both lean and fatty cuts.
With each bite, the fat lted, releasing a rich aroma, while the finely minced lean at blended with the bun's soft dough, the flavors intertwining until they beca one.
The other type was vegetable buns, made with pickled greens.
Bok Taejin couldn't tell exactly what kind of vegetable had been used for the pickling.
There were tiny bits of at mixed into the filling, but they were added so sparingly that one had to taste carefully to notice them.
Since Hwayang Village had never lacked at, this was likely intentional—to keep the at flavor from overpowering the fragrance of the greens.
Both types of buns were delicious, but the vegetable ones, in particular, provided Bok Taejin's stomach a much-needed break from all the at he had eaten.
As he ate, he couldn't help but crave chili peppers.
He had always enjoyed pickled vegetable buns, especially the ones with a bit of spice.
Thinking back to last night's feast, he realized he hadn't tasted anything spicy.
He wondered if Hwayang Village simply didn't use chili in their cooking or if chili peppers didn't exist here at all.
After finishing his al and resting briefly, Bok Taejin started looking for water.
Im Beomhyeon's house had a dedicated kitchen, complete with a built-in stove, a rice jar, a water jar, and several hanging cured ats.
However, the stove's surface was still spotless, showing that it had barely been used.
Bok Taejin only wanted a drink, so he lifted the lid off the water jar.
There was only a little water left, with a ladle floating on the surface.
In a hurry, he couldn't find any tools to boil water, so he simply scooped so with a bowl and drank to his heart's content.
The water, drawn from an unpolluted well, tasted sweet and refreshing.
Bok Taejin recalled that there was a well beside the house.
Since he had nothing else to do while waiting for Im Beomhyeon to wake up, he decided to fetch more water.
Making several trips back and forth, he eventually filled the water jar to the brim.
Standing in the kitchen and looking at the full jar, he couldn't help but smile.
The joy of labor, the simple focus on a single task without any other worries—this feeling was truly wonderful.
He felt a little bit tired, but it was the kind of fatigue that brought deep satisfaction.
A lazy-sounding voice suddenly ca from behind him. "Yo, kid, you're pretty diligent."
Bok Taejin turned around in surprise and delight.
Sure enough, Im Beomhyeon stood there, his hair ssy, looking at him with drowsy eyes.
"Brother Im, you're up?"
"No kidding," Im Beomhyeon replied, clicking his tongue twice before going for a drink.
Unlike Bok Taejin, he scooped up a ladle full of water and gulped most of it down in one go.
Then, following the open window beside the water jar, he dumped the remaining water outside before placing the ladle back on top of the jar's lid—a necessity since the jar was now full, making it impossible to close the lid with the ladle inside.
Bok Taejin twitched at the sight, he pressing his hands to his face with a silent sigh.
He had a bad feeling about the trouble ahead!
He would have to fix so of Im Beomhyeon's living habits!
Otherwise, if they were going to share a house, how would he survive?
Of course, by the ti he succeeded in changing Im Beomhyeon's habits, Hwayang Village itself would probably have changed as well...
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