For Sale: Male Lead, Obsession Included - Chapter 104
“O God. How could this be…”
Ariel shut his eyes tightly, as if he couldn’t bear to watch any longer.
Feyden, meanwhile, looked back and forth between Taolti and the villagers zealously praying around him with an expression of interest.
“Hey, Potato. Should we do it too?”
“Do what?”
“This clown show, I mean.”
“…Why would we do that?”
“Look. At the money piled up over there. If we lived here for just a year, we could probably buy a palace.”
Just as he said, the altar was piled high with the villagers’ hard-earned money. All that money would end up in Taolti’s pocket.
‘So he wasn’t just a fraud—he’s a money-hungry, corrupt priest too?’
I stopped Okhee, who was about to take out some money from her pouch, and clicked my tongue softly.
「 That man’s a scammer. 」
「 What? 」
Okhee wailed in disbelief, saying I had no idea how much money and effort had been spent to bring that priest here.
‘Didn’t they say the village chief personally selected and sent him?’
It seemed rot had set in at the top.
「 Ariel said he’s never seen a prayer like that in his whole life. And it’s obviously a cult, so why don’t people realize it? 」
Dragging Okhee away back to the marketplace, I bought some savory scorched rice and handed one to Feyden and Ariel each.
Unlike Feyden, who eyed any new food with suspicion, Ariel’s eyes went wide as he quickly took a small bite.
“What is this?”
“It’s rice. Made crispy.”
“Rice?”
Crunch.
As he took a bite and chewed, the savory flavor filled his mouth.
“What is this, it tastes like nothing.”
“I like it because it’s nutty.”
Feyden handed his scorched rice to Ariel, telling him to just eat both.
“You don’t know the value of nurungji, do you, young Feyden?”
“How should I know. It’s just hard and crunchy.”
“But Ariel says it’s good.”
“Maybe he’s just an old man in a young body.”
Pouting, Feyden walked ahead. Meanwhile, I continued explaining nurungji to Ariel.
He nodded enthusiastically, his eyes bright. The way he kept taking small, curious bites out of the nurungji was even kind of cute.
“Estira, how do you know Dongguk so well? Your fluency in the Dongguk language is almost perfect too.”
“I wanted to come so much, I even dreamed about it every night.”
As I chattered to Ariel about the marketplace, I saw Feyden in the distance stop and stand dazed in front of a shop.
“Feyden?”
When I approached him, I realized that what had mesmerized him was none other than gukbap.
The gukbap sold by “jumos” that always appears at least once in a historical drama. Feyden couldn’t take his eyes off the people sitting on benches, slurping hot soup.
“Do you want to try it?”
“What is it?”
“It’s called gukbap. You put rice in broth made from meat and eat it together.”
“Is it good?”
Feyden’s throat bobbed in a big gulp. I could practically hear him swallow, and I was about to go into the tavern with him.
That’s when Okhee’s urgent voice called from behind.
「 Miss! Miss! 」
「 Yes? 」
「 Come here for a second! 」
「 Huh? 」
Without knowing what was going on, I was dragged by Okhee into a side alley. There, she looked at me, nearly in tears.
「 If you want gukbap, you have to eat it at our place! That tavern over there—Soyi stole our family’s secret recipe and opened it! 」
Ah, so it was a recipe thief?
Okhee pounded her chest and went on.
「 Our tavern was the only one around, and business was booming. But now, thanks to Soyi, we’re about to go under! Every night my stomach just turns with anger… 」
「 Is theirs really that much better? 」
「 No, no! They can’t beat my cooking! 」
Well, having eaten her samgyetang and all kinds of side dishes, I already knew Okhee’s cooking skills were top-notch.
I gently patted Okhee’s trembling hand.
It seemed like the time had come to repay her for room and board.
「 Would you like some help? 」
「 Huh? What could you possibly do, Miss? 」
「 I’ll bring all the customers to your place, of course. 」
「 Oh dear. That’s easier said than done. If it were possible, I’d have done it already… 」
Nari, standing behind Okhee, also looked wronged. That Soyi must be a real talent at business, seeing as she managed to lure customers away even with inferior food.
「 When you have a monopoly, you don’t need to improve, but now things have changed. You need to adapt. 」
「 Change…? 」
「 The fastest thing that works… is publicity. We spread the word that your tavern is the original, and the food is better. 」
「 Publicity? You mean putting up flyers? 」
「 There’s something even more effective than flyers. 」
I turned to look at Ariel, who was still crunching on nurungji, and Feyden, who couldn’t take his eyes off the gukbap shop.
Those two men, whose superior looks could turn even a shabby alleyway between straw-roofed cottages into a fashion runway.
