“Giant sweet potato!?”
Siyeon’s eyes light up at the mention of sweet potatoes.
Right, Siyeon liked sweet potatoes.
I was wondering why she suddenly wanted to buy sweet potatoes that she hardly ever ate…
Anyway, inside the air fryer that you couldn’t even see through, the sweet potatoes were spinning away.
Then, a loud
Cleaning the hardened insides of the exploded sweet potatoes was a hassle, but it’s charming how the burst parts would turn hard like dried fruit if left a bit longer.
Ding! The air fryer timer went off.
“Sun.”
Transforming into a body that couldn’t feel heat, I opened the air fryer to check on the sweet potatoes.
There were six perfectly baked sweet potatoes.
They weren’t steaming, but that was because they were all holding moisture inside their skins.
I took a small bowl and placed one sweet potato in it with my bare hands, then slowly pinched the skin away from the flesh to create enough space.
I left the end part of the skin on for Siyeon’s ease, and peeled the skin until the golden yellow flesh seemed to sag with gravity.
Before I knew it, Siyeon had wobbled over to the bowl.
It’s good that she’s eating, but if she doesn’t take her time, her palate is definitely going to get wrecked.
“Do you want to eat it after cooling a bit?”
I placed three particularly large and robust-looking sweet potatoes in the bowl for her, and Siyeon grabbed the bowl without answering, chirping excitedly.
After peeling the skins off the remaining sweet potatoes, I transformed back and sat at the small table with the bowl in hand.
I also prepared a cup of cold water, the bare minimum to avoid sacrificing my palate.
You could say that having only six sweet potatoes was nothing, but how much can kids really eat?
There was no need to throw in an entire basket and bake them all.
‘Oh, one is already gone…’
I lifted the bowl and looked at Siyeon’s bowl, where she had already devoured one.
Following suit, I picked up the remaining skin from the end and popped it into my mouth.
With a soft and textured feel, the unique sticky sweetness of sweet potato spread.
Although the flesh had cooled almost completely since I had peeled it, the heat remained and warmed my mouth as my teeth sank into it.
As I feared, my palate was on the verge of being roasted, so I took a sip of the cold water I had prepared and swallowed the remnants down with my saliva.
With a half sweet potato in my small mouth, I glanced over and saw Siyeon hastily shoving her third sweet potato into her mouth.
You’d think we hadn’t fed her in days.
‘She’s really putting it away.’
Like a squirrel storing food, Siyeon was cheeks full of sweet potatoes.
Isn’t it hot? I wondered, only to see her bring the cup I had just used to her mouth.
Maybe it was still hot, so I extended the bowl that still had two sweet potatoes left.
I’m not really crazy about sweet potatoes. If I had to choose, I prefer steamed ones.
When they’re warm and split open, topped with butter, salt, or sugar…
‘Mmm.’
Imagining the white, fluffy texture that crumbles under my fingers, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of admiration inside.
Tomorrow’s snack will be steamed sweet potatoes; I’ve just decided that.
‘Chuseok is coming soon.’
I glanced at the calendar, checking it as I idly peeled off one page at a time.
Now that I’m back to my student days, I can’t help but be sensitive to holidays and weekends.
With autumn arriving, Chuseok, the great holiday of our nation, is coming up.
A whopping five-day weekend from Saturday to Wednesday.
Dongtaejeon, skewered mountain delicacies, galbijjim, jellyfish salad, donggeurangtteong, cockle salad, crab marinated in soy sauce, grilled fish, and more.
These days, refrigerated and frozen products are reliable, so I’m determined to prepare a proper holiday feast unlike during the chaotic kindergarten days.
…Though most will be frozen.
‘What should I order?’
The first thing that comes to mind is all kinds of jeon and galbijjim.
Since galbijjim is a hallmark of festive foods, there are plenty of varieties available without any special holiday offerings.
Anyway, things like side dishes or marinated crab wouldn’t even catch Siyeon’s interest at her age.
But I’m not particularly fond of them myself, so I’ll just decide based on what the kids will eat.
There’s no one around to strictly say what should or shouldn’t be done, so we can enjoy Chuseok our way without any issues.
[Caller ID Restricted]
‘Huh?’
If someone calls from this number, it’s pretty obvious who it is.
Thinking they were just mumbling nonsense again, I shoved the cold sweet potato into my mouth in one bite and made my way up to the second floor of the bed.
After pushing the green button to answer, I spoke through a mouth full of sweet potatoes, my pronunciation slightly distorted.
“Yeohohayoh.”
“Hey… what are you eating?”
“Sweet potatoes. Why did you call?”
Even while mumbling, I fully answered the question that came in.
When I asked why they called, this time they went straight to the point without rambling.
“It’s almost Chuseok, right? I’ve taken on a new project related to magical girls.”
There was a certain twisted black intention seeping through that excited voice, making it feel like I could uncover their hidden agenda just by listening to the tone.
I swallowed the sweet potato in my mouth and continued.
“Oh… how much have you prepared?”
“Prepared? This project’s all for your benefit!”
Like a smooth-talking insurance salesperson, the minister recounted the details of the plan.
With words about wholesome interactions between magical girls during the holidays, experiencing various regional delicacies and cooking exercises, etc…
Listening to all the good things being said felt fine.
But just like the terms of an insurance policy with all the nice words on the surface, there’s bound to be a catch in what’s not explained.
“What about the money?”
“Oh, we’ll have everything prepared! The magical girls just need to show up~”
“No, not that. I mean the usual payment we receive.”
“……”
The words of the minister that had previously flowed smoothly came to an abrupt halt.
Seems like that’s the part they were hiding?
On the other end of my phone, I heard a slightly flustered voice break the silence.
“It’s a casual outing, so…”
“Cost-cutting is the goal, then?”
“To put it bluntly, yes. Are you coming or not?”
Now that the obvious intentions were laid bare over the phone, the minister didn’t even try to hide it anymore.
If they were just looking for money, I would’ve rejected it outright and stayed home while enjoying a hearty sum without any cooking, but…
Looking over to Siyeon on the first floor from my bed,
I didn’t mind, but it didn’t seem right to keep this elementary schooler cooped up at home during the holidays.
“How many people are coming?”
“A decent number. How many was it again? Twelve? Oh, twelve.”
If too few were coming, it wouldn’t be worth it, but surprisingly, there would be quite a few magical girls participating.
Twelve people; that’s enough for Siyeon to have someone to play with.
Once my internal calculations concluded, I arrived at a conclusion after a long silence.
“…We’ll both go.”
“Oh my, what a surprise! You better not back out later!”
The minister’s voice was bright with surprise at my statement about both of us going, and we set a date for the Saturday after next.
As I felt the call was about to drop, I asked the minister one last time for confirmation.
“By the way, there’s really nothing extra to prepare, right?”
“Oh, of course! Just come as you are!”
Even without a video call, I could almost see the minister’s beaming smile and gestures.
Was the saving of fourteen magical girls’ five-day salaries that joyful for them?
Certainly, from the minister’s perspective, this could be a cost-effective arrangement.
Let’s roughly calculate, splitting salaries over a day… so let’s say 20 to 30 per day.
‘Just with fourteen people gathered right now…’
Just considering those fourteen, the daily wage ranges from two hundred to four hundred million for the magical girls.
Even if we take the minimum of 280 for a day, getting a buffet for the holiday would obviously result in substantial savings.
However, when attached to the name of a department under the government, it’s expected that service would be handled poorly.
The famed government department rented a location that fits the cost-effectiveness goal, a nearby cafeteria.
The cooks were not chefs and looked like government officials who had given up on thoughts of resting over the holidays.
They were a bunch of middle-aged men who looked like they had little connection with cooking.
What a dreary and mood-killing holiday this would be.
“Oh no! How can you prepare food like this?”
“Isn’t this how it’s supposed to be done?”
“I told you to blanch the spinach, and here you are, cooking it completely! This is driving me nuts!”
The one managing the chaotic kitchen was the minister.
Staying true to what a superior should be, they didn’t just assign tasks and run away.
It seemed they took some pride in the food, bustling around and physically expressing their frustration with skillful backhand smashes at a few people.
At least the people lounging around in the cafeteria were just plugging their chargers into wall sockets, passing the time in boredom.
The smell of holiday food wafted through the restaurant, but along with it, the minister’s yelling grew louder.
“Whoa?! Oh no, they’re making galbitang instead of galbijjim! Move aside!”
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