I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 63



Only Noblemtl

World Study Abroad Fair (3)

dripping

“Come in.”

“Hello, professor.”

Joohee enters the professor’s office and greets the professor in charge.

“Welcome. I called you today to ask you a favor.”

“What’s going on?”

“There is a World Study Abroad Fair at the Javits Center, and the organizers asked our school to send a student.”

“Yes? So can I go?”

“I heard there are quite a few Koreans among the participants in the expo. Wouldn’t it be good if you could go and answer some questions?”

“Do we have a booth too?”

“They said they’d arrange it there. You don’t have to go there and do anything else. The staff will be there, so you just have to answer any questions they may have.”

“All right.”

“You’re a graduate of NYU, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then it would be nice to go and meet friends after a long time.”

The professor looks at Joo-hee with a kind smile.

“thank you.”

I never thought I would end up in New York like this. Joohee hid the corners of her lips as she came out of the office and shouted.

“Oh my god!”

When I heard from Jehee that he was going to cook at the expo, I really wanted to go there. However, I had a busy schedule this week and it was hard to make time, but as the saying goes, heaven helps those who help themselves, and the opportunity came.

Joo-hee packed the necessary documents for the convention and went to her dorm room to take a shower. Suddenly, she saw her face reflected in the mirror. She went closer and examined her face closely. The freshness of her early 20s had disappeared, but her 26-year-old self still looked attractive enough.

“This is all the power of management.”

Joohee smirked as she looked in the mirror. Even though she was studying so hard that she almost died, she never stopped doing Pilates. She runs every day and is always careful not to be directly exposed to sunlight.

“I wonder if my brother knows about my efforts.”

But it might not matter if you don’t know. Even though time has passed, Jehee still only looks at you.

The next morning, Joohee finished preparing for the expo and headed to the airport.

There are regular flights from Boston to New York, almost like city buses. She arrives at the airport, buys a ticket, and walks to the first-class boarding gate. The school only provides her with money for economy class flights, but that is a very small thing to her.

I arrived in New York and took a taxi home. It was actually Jehee’s house, but now it felt like my home.

When she’s here, Jehee always cooks, but when she’s alone, she often eats instant food. As expected, there are hamburger wrappers and lunch boxes on the table.

“Should I get married quickly and take care of myself?”

I feel sorry for Jehee, who is so skinny because she can’t eat well while feeding others delicious food. Today, Jehee said she will go out to the Javits Center early in the morning to open a booth. She will just go in the morning when the expo starts.

When we arrived at the Javits Center, there were already food booths set up in the open space on the right.

There were more than ten booths, and many people were busily working, such as setting up signs or moving food supplies.

Joo-hee looks for Je-hee. He catches her eye right away, perhaps because of his relatively tall height and outstanding proportions, even for an American. He is wearing a chef’s uniform and is giving various instructions to people who appear to be students.

Joohee leaves the food booth that is not open yet and enters the center. She thinks she should make a surprise appearance later.

There was little to do at the center. Harvard rarely participates in conventions like this in the first place. There is no reason to advertise to recruit students. However, they were advised to participate in education fairs and study abroad fairs, so there was nothing they could do.

When it was lunchtime, Joohee headed to the food booth to eat.

Food booths are lined up in a circle around a large lawn. Each booth sells food with a sign that has the name of their country written on it.

At the very front was a Thai booth. They were selling Somtam, Pad Thai, and Yam Nuea, a Thai salad. The Pad Thai, which was fried right on the hot plate, looked delicious. There was a long line of people. Joohee was tempted to eat here for a moment, but she shook her head and headed to the next booth.

The Japanese booth was selling okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and yakisoba. It was an understandable choice since they couldn’t use raw fish. Likewise, they had an iron plate out and were tempting people with a delicious smell.

The British booth was selling fish and chips and Yorkshire pudding.

“Yeah. If you tell me to sell normal food, I can do it.”

As I walked, a familiar smell wafted through the air. I looked around and saw that the smell was coming from a Mexican booth selling tacos and burritos.

“Wow! This is no joke.”

A delicious-looking salad and beef are piled high on a tortilla. The waiter sprinkles a generous amount of cheese on top, making it hard to resist the temptation.

“excuse me.”

While I was drooling, someone suddenly spoke to me.

“Yes. Who are you?”

“We are running a food booth at this study abroad fair. If you don’t mind, after you eat, could you please put this ballot in the ballot box in the back? You can mark the food you enjoyed the most. We are currently conducting a survey to see if we can invite the countries that received a good response again next time.”

“all right.”

Joohee holds out her hand and receives a red ballot.

[Please vote for the most delicious food.]

The name of each country is written on the ballot paper. It looks like you just need to check it and put it in the ballot box.

Joohee then looks at the remaining booths. The German booth was selling sausages and mashed potatoes, while the French booth was selling cassoulet, a stew made with sausage and beans, and oven-baked brioche sandwiches filled with bacon, eggs, and cheese.

“Actually, France’s street food scene is a bit weak compared to its reputation.”

As I walk, I see a booth with a huge line.

“What is this place?”

My curiosity was piqued and I looked ahead and surprisingly, it was a Korean booth.

Looking closely, I saw that on one side of the booth, they were grilling pork belly on a barbecue grill, and on the other side, they had brought out a hot plate and were grilling bulgogi over an open fire.

“Ah! This is foul play.”

The smell of pork belly and grilled bulgogi unexpectedly encountered in a foreign country stimulates her appetite to an unbearable degree. She goes to the booth and looks at the menu, and sees that it says Grilled Pork Belly Ssam and Bulgogi Bibimbap.

“I have to eat this.”

Joohee waited for a full 30 minutes before she was able to move to the front of the line.

“Soyoung, when will the hot plate come out?”

I can hear Jaehee’s voice.

“It’ll be out in two minutes, Chef.”

“Set up the bibimbap over there quickly.”

“Yes, chef.”

“What are you doing, Director? Quickly organize the customers in line, and call all the foundation staff to help pack the food.”

“Yes?..Huh?..Okay, I understand.”

A middle-aged man with a fierce expression is seen calling out to his employees with a bewildered look. Then, people dressed in suits and giving off the air of civil servants come out and start helping to pack the food.

“Don’t all gather there. One of you go to the car and get more charcoal, and another one of you go over there and wash the dishes. The woman over there speaks English well, right? Go over there and help me pay the bill.”

Jehee is constantly giving instructions. He looks absent-minded. People are moving busily, constantly communicating in Korean and English.

“Are the vegetables and cabbage all cooked?”

“Yes, Chef. I’m in now. I’ll be out shortly.”

People who look like students in their early 20s are gathered in groups of three or four, peeling vegetables and blanching greens. On another side, they are smoking whole pork belly on a barbecue grill, and on another side, they are grilling cut pork belly over charcoal. You can also see them putting bulgogi that was once stir-fried in a wok on a grill and giving it a smoky flavor again.

“Joohee, what’s going on?”

Je-hee speaks to Joo-hee as if he has just seen her.

“What is all this about?”

“Ah. This? The best way to attract customers is with a smell. So I gathered customers at the beginning with samgyeopsal and bulgogi, but before I knew it, the line was long. Did you eat lunch?”

“No, not yet.”

“Wait a minute.”

Jehee left for a moment and then brought food.

“This is samgyeopsal ssam and this is bibimbap. Can I eat both?”

“No? I can barely eat a bowl of rice.”

I lost my temper without even realizing it.

“Then can I take one back?”

I wanted to tell Jehee to take it, as if she was teasing me, but I ended up giving in to temptation.

“No. I’ll take it all so we can eat it later. But did you vote on this?”

“Yeah. I heard there’s a prize for first place?”

“How much is it?”

“Five thousand dollars.”

“To? Just that?”

“I guess I can use it for a kids’ dinner.”

“Does it sound like you’re going to get first place?”

“Of course we have to win first place. Thailand is not easy, but I think we can beat the rest.”

“Okay, I’m busy. Go ahead. I’ll eat lunch.”

“Oh. Do you see the table over there? You can sit down and eat. Or there’s a bench.”

Looking around, people were sitting anywhere and eating. It’s a common sight in New York, where there are many food trucks. Joohee, who has lived in New York for several years, is also familiar with this culture. She sat down on a nearby flower bed and unwrapped a package of samgyeopsal ssam.

“Wow! The visuals are crazy.”

When I opened the lid, the rectangular plastic lunch box was filled to the brim with nicely rolled cabbage wraps. There were three separate compartments underneath for side dishes, and they contained bulgogi, stir-fried mushrooms, and kimchi.

Joohee picks up the ssam with chopsticks and brings it to her mouth. She puts it in her mouth and chews, and a subtle turmeric flavor comes out. Then there is the thick pork belly and ssamjang. The more she chews, the more new flavors come out. The mushrooms and burdock in the rice, and even the crunchy nuts. The chili peppers and garlic add a savory flavor, completing a fantastic harmony of flavors.

“As expected of you, oppa. You don’t make food carelessly.”

I was hungry, so it was a good thing I brought both. Joohee ate all the pork belly wraps and drank the soybean paste stew as if she was closing her eyes. Then she opened the lid of the bibimbap.

“Is this really bibimbap?”

It is definitely a generous topping that is hard to find in Korea. It is harmoniously filled with colorful toppings such as carrots, burdock, spinach, bean sprouts, and mushrooms. And it also has generous bulgogi and pork belly toppings.

Joohee remembered the sesame oil on the counter. She went over and saw that there was sesame oil and gochujang under a sign that said, “Help yourself.” She poured sesame oil over the bibimbap and began eating the toppings carefully. For some reason, she didn’t want to ruin the pretty dish. When she took out the vegetables, golden rice caught her eye. She tasted the rice alone and it was delicious enough.

“Isn’t this really a hit with Americans?”

He finished half of the bibimbap by mixing it up in a Korean-style way. Only then did he realize that he had eaten two servings and started to cry.

“I need to exercise.”

Looking at the booth, the women around me kept looking at Jehee. I became curious and went closer to listen.

“Isn’t that guy cooking really sexy?”

A woman who looks Latina speaks to her friend next to her.

“Right. He’s handsome. How about giving me your number?”

“I saw a girl ask for your number earlier. She said she had a girlfriend.”

“So what if you have it? Just give it to me.”

“I wonder?”

‘These are real!’

As I listened, I became increasingly angrier. However, I didn’t have the courage to go and confront him directly, so I quietly went next to Jehee and watched him work.

He is working in front of a charcoal fire, sweating in this chilly weather. He is grilling meat, rolling cabbage, and making toppings for bibimbap.

It’s impossible not to fall in love with a man with that kind of appearance who cooks passionately.

Joohee decided to forgive them. After all, no matter what they did, he was her man.

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