Clatter! Thump!
At that moment.
In an elegant room overlooking a Japanese-style garden, Tojo Karen’s father, Tojo Naoto, was conversing with Boris, a member of Ivan the Destroyer’s personal guard and a chief security officer of EE Corporation.
Since Captain Boris did not speak Japanese, Sento Osamu, the organization’s brain and an elite yakuza, was present to interpret.
“Captain Boris, how is Ivan Noya doing?”
“He is in the hospital now.”
Sento Osamu, serving as an interpreter, pushed his glasses up with his middle finger and translated in real time.
“Ivan Noya is currently in the hospital.” 1
“What? Why?”
“His wrist broke during a fight.”“His wrist was shattered in combat.”
“Huh…”
Tojo Naoto let out an involuntary sigh.
It was beyond his imagination that someone could break the wrist of Ivan the Destroyer.
“Who did it? Was it one of the Seven Powers?”
Upon hearing Naoto’s words, Boris shook his head and then spoke with a grave expression.
“Kim Yu-seong.”
“Kim Yu-seong.”
After speaking, Boris gestured to the bandage wrapped around his own head.
“This wound was also inflicted by him.”
“This wound was also made by him… he says.”
Tojo Naoto’s eyes widened in surprise at this revelation.
Who was Captain Boris?
He was a veteran agent of the now-defunct Soviet Union’s KGB, having survived countless battlefields over the years.
After retiring, he joined forces with Ivan the Destroyer and was acknowledged for his skill, eventually becoming his ‘personal guard’, wasn’t he?
Not only had someone injured such a man, but they had also broken the wrist of Ivan, one of the world’s strongest fighters, and sent him to the hospital?
Naoto’s perception of Kim Yu-seong, whom he secretly viewed as a potential son-in-law, surged dramatically.
If he could somehow make him his son-in-law and infuse fresh blood into the gradually declining organization, the East Star Association might regain its former glory.
Boris, sensing Naoto’s excitement, said with calm eyes,
“He is a man wanted by the Czar. Do not touch.”
“He is a person wanted by the Czar. Do not interfere… he says.”
Hearing that, Tojo Naoto touched the scar on his face and laughed fiercely.
“Ha, interesting. So adults are planning to interfere in young people’s love affairs? We’ll have to wait and see who Yu-seong ends up dating.”
“Miss Sasha is perfect.”
“He says Miss Sasha is perfect.”
Hearing this, Naoto felt irritated and wanted to boast about Karen, but due to her usual behavior, he shouted a beat too late.
“Our Karen is also pretty when she dresses up!”
This implied that she usually didn’t dress up.
“Miss Sasha also has a large chest.”
“Cough, he says Miss Sasha also has a large chest.”
“Our Karen will grow bigger too; she takes after her mother!”
This implied that Karen’s chest was still small.
“Cough! I didn’t want to bring this out, but…”
Naoto murmured as he pulled out a thick album from under the cushion.
“Look! Here’s a photo album of our Karen’s cute moments!”
Not wanting to be outdone, Boris also showed his photo list, manipulating his smartphone with his thick fingers.
“I have them too.”
“…He says he has them too.”
As the two men started to bicker childishly, showing their overprotective fatherly sides, Sento Osamu, watching this, shook his head tiredly.
“This is what it’s like to have daughters.”
In truth, Boris had been single for 47 years.
The dish I made in Karen’s kitchen was Korean-style patbingsu.
In Japan, the typical shaved ice known as Kakigōri was just finely crushed ice with syrup, but Korean-style Patbingsu was characterized by various fancy toppings on the ice.
I saw on the news that in Japan, the culture of adding toppings other than syrup to shaved ice was unfamiliar, so when a Korean-style patbingsu franchise opened in Harajuku, it drew long lines.
Karen’s home kitchen, equipped with a wider variety of ingredients and equipment than an average hotel kitchen, was like a dream for anyone who cooked.
Using luxurious ingredients and equipment that you wouldn’t normally find at home, I made patbingsu.
I piled up finely ground ice in the shaved ice bowl and then topped it with sweet red beans, cookies, vanilla ice cream, syrup, condensed milk, cereal, and so on.
Actually, grinding frozen milk instead of just ice was tastier, but I skipped it due to time constraints.
After carefully making the original Patbingsu, I made my favorite mango bingsu.
I cut fully ripened mango into square cubes, placed them on the ground ice, and finished by generously drizzling condensed milk and mango syrup over them.
Similarly, I made melon and strawberry bingsu, quickly completing a total of four types of bingsu.
When I returned to the study with the completed bingsu, the three people who had been relaxing and rolling around in the tatami room suddenly sat up.
“Wow, it’s patbingsu!”
“Is this that Korean-style bingsu? It’s unique.”
“Красиво (Beautiful)…”
Rika, the most updated on trends among them, seemed to already know about Korean-style bingsu as she lit up with excitement.
Perhaps because of the distinctive and colorful appearance of the Korean-style patbingsu, Karen and Sasha also showed interest.
All three of them took out their smartphones and started taking pictures.
It was a proud moment for the person who had made them.
It meant they were worth being photographed.
“Eat what you like. I made a variety so you could choose.”
Rika was the first to reach out.
She chose the original bingsu.
Following her, Karen chose the strawberry bingsu, and Sasha chose the mango bingsu.
Naturally, I ended up with the melon bingsu, but I felt a bit disappointed.
Melon was delicious, but I actually preferred mango.
Perhaps my regret showed in my eyes because Sasha tilted her head and then offered me her mango bingsu.
“It looks like you want this one. How about we swap?”
“…Thank you.”
I traded my bingsu, despite feeling shy.
With each of our bingsus decided, we set out to enjoy our snack time.
“Bon appétit.”
I stirred the mango, syrup, and ice thoroughly with a long parfait spoon and took a bite.
“Mmm.”
The familiar sweetness filled my mouth. As always, mango bingsu never disappointed.
Seeing how I ate, the others seemed to grasp the technique and mix their toppings, syrup, and ice thoroughly before taking a bite.
Their eyes lit up instantly.
“It’s delicious!”
“The fresh fruits make it more refreshing than ordinary bingsu.”
While Rika and Karen bubbled with excitement, Sasha quietly began digging into her melon bingsu.
Fortunately, it appeared to suit her taste.
Relieved and enjoying the sweetness of the mango bingsu after a while, Sasha suddenly asked me,
“Yu-seong, wouldn’t you like to trade?”
Hearing that, I nodded without giving it much thought.
“Sure.”
The mango bingsu was originally for Sasha.
Since it had been traded to me, I saw no reason to refuse.
As I extended my bingsu bowl, Sasha shook her head and pointed at the spoon in my hand.
“Feed me yourself.”
“…Me?”
“You.”
Saying that, Sasha scooped up some of her melon bingsu and offered it to me.
Feeding each other was a common act among couples.
With a twinkle in her eye, Sasha held out a spoonful of her bingsu to me.
It seemed she was teasing me.
Reluctantly, I ate the melon bingsu she offered and then extended a spoonful of the mango bingsu to her.
“Ahh~”
Sasha deliberately made a cute sound as she accepted and ate the mango bingsu I held out.
She seemed to be playing a joke to embarrass me, but I wasn’t the type of guy to be easily flustered by such acts.
As I maintained a poker face, waiting for Sasha’s next move, she licked the mango syrup from around her mouth and nodded in satisfaction.
“Mmm, the mango bingsu is delicious. I see why Yu-seong likes it.”
Huh? That was it? She just really wanted to try the mango bingsu?
Blinking in surprise at this unexpected outcome, Rika and Karen, who had been watching, rushed over, each holding their own bingsu bowls.
“Ryu-chan! Let’s trade and eat next!”
“No! You should trade and eat with me first, Ryu-chan!”
I seriously wondered if I should have unified the menu to only mango bingsu from the start, given its sudden popularity.
ED/N: This and the other following lines are the translations. ️
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter