Ingredient
We made it to Chapter 5 in the end…
[ After a few minutes of running all the way down from the 4th floor of the apartment, Vaccine and ■ were rushing toward
Unlike the beautiful sky at the end of Chapter 2, the lampposts on the side of the road were pretty much on. Mixing with the dimming light behind those heavy clouds, it might create one of the worst backgrounds to ever imagine in some of the reader's minds.
That said, what was more important right now was which dishes they were going to make. Since this is the last year of the infamous 19th century, there's still nothing much to choose from other than meat and potatoes.
However, Vaccine kept getting distracted from their main task… ]
"We what?" [ He innocently turned around and tried to catch up on what ■ was saying earlier. ]
I said, "We have more urgent things to take care of… now."
[ In return, ■ replied with something else and successfully dodged Vaccine's prying for more information on his end. This back and forth from the two of them kept on going regardless of their current situation. It was getting out of hand to the point where it was so obvious that even a blind man could tell.
When did this happen, you may ask? Let us recap all of the recent events in this novel.
It all started with Vaccine getting dropped from
In the progress of figuring out where he was, he found ■, who he thought was his creator at the time, was standing on the top of a modern building from the 21st century, where he couldn't go through because of the invisible wall, also known as
After saving ■, they had a little conversation full of questions on Vaccine's side. On the last one, he received the news of his creator's death. This news was so shocking to him that he fainted at the end of Chapter 3.
Then, he woke up after that, but he still couldn't get over the loss of 'him' and ■ was planning to leave after knowing his circumstances. Between mourning for the death and ■'s departure, Vaccine decided to invite ■ over for dinner with no plans in mind whatsoever.
That is where we were in Chapter 4.
Although there are a few skipping scenes between the chapters, Vaccine has become extremely attached to ■, who's now the only memo of 'him,' with only half of this volume. He has already paid extra attention to whatever ■ was talking about, even if it was some random gibberish that ■ spoke out due to boredom.
Normally, getting
It could be a new advancement in your own story, plus there are many benefits along with potential relationships and further widened connections. But once you've considered his motives, you can see why.
Back to their current situation, to summarize, ■ ran out of breath before they could even reach the market, so Vaccine had to carry him once again ( in a different posture, of course ). The two of them hadn't concluded which food they should have made in their previous discussion, which led them to talk about it in the midst of running. ]
But first, what do you have in mind?
[ ■ asked for Vaccine's opinion before his. ]
"Eggs and bacon. What do you think?"
[ Starting with a common dish that usually appears in Europe and America, it's easy to make one at any time in a day. With the main ingredients stated in the name, it could have more than a million recipes depending on the consumer.
Because of that, Vaccine brought it up as such. It's certainly a perfect meal, but… ]
Isn't that a normal breakfast? You're seriously serving this to a guest without thinking of getting slashed…
[ ■ poked at Vaccine for his stupid response. It's true that this food is not healthy at all at first glance ( talking from an Asian's perspective ), although they said it's good energy food you need for a day, they can't deny the fact that these all fired with butter or oils on an iron pan. ]
"That's the best I could think of!" [ He argued. ] "If you're so confident in your knowledge, tell me then."
[ As they passed by a commoner's restaurant, ■ hopped off from Vaccine's hand and took a quick look at the food they served there, like meats and beers; in which he found it was preferable, compared to "eggs and bacon".
The dishes were swiftly brought out by the waiters. It's a simple white plate that anyone can find and buy, unlike those that cost thousands of euros in a five-star restaurant.
What captivated him was how the chicken was marinated with herbs and salts, which added a layer of essence-flavoured above it. And the golden skin shined brightly because of the sauce, making it even more delicious.
On the other hand, the beef was carefully fired in a suitable heat, creating a crispy layer on the outside and flaccid from the inside. Not to mention the garlic flavour added to the beef, making the layer of that beef more glittering under the golden light.
Such dishes can't exist without the workers' laughter. After a hard working day, they sat together and called for the most suitable and cheapest meal on the menu. Before the food came, they enjoyed their conversations with friends and co-workers. Around this era, it's a common sight in this kind of restaurant.
Knowing the workers were here, the chefs at the back had put extra effort into the meal they ordered. When the plates were served, their mood was elevated. Even a small joy in life could create this cheerful atmosphere and bring the lively to this place.
Anyone can tell that these are the perfect meals for tonight. ]
Well, we could have grilled chicken with potato stews or maybe cooked beef and garlic. Especially boiled pork and rice with fish sauce, it wouldn't be so bad…
[ Although the last part is a bit out of the question… ]
"…Hey, you know this is European, right?"
I just missed it.
[ ■ shooked his shoulders. It seemed that he couldn't help but bring it up; about the foreign feeling he had yet to tell us. Eventually, he discarded such emotion right away without a hint of remorse.
Seeing how disappointed ■ is, Vaccine tried to lift the mood by suggesting something else. He pointed at one of the bakeries from across the road. ]
"We could switch it with bread if you want. They're all starch, though."
[ The smell of the brand new loaves of bread taken from the old stove was found all across this town. They have a dark, well-fined crust on the top and bottom; the crumb is soft and can be seen from the side after they separate the unbaked one from the batches. Nevertheless, this bread has become a traditional food in Scotland for its unique form, a regular food that you could find anywhere around here.
Vaccine turned back at ■ to see his reaction, since bread is one of the most common foods throughout the history of humankind, no matter how far the gap in culture is, it must be eaten once in their lifetime. So, are they going to have bread for dinner? ]
Not the bread… I'm sick of eating those with stew, except for sandwiches. They are innocent. Should we have those?
[ It was unexpected how ■ wasn't keen on bread, yet he preferred sandwiches. The difference between bread and a sandwich isn't that big, to begin with. However, the preparation time is. ]
"No, we aren't gonna have those! Even if it's convenient."
[ Vaccine shaked his head and continued walking forward. Leaving those bakeries behind their back, yet his eyebrows twisted as a hint of conflict. ]
That's too bad… [ ■ shooked his shoulders once again. ] We could have made this easier, don't you think?
"A feast is a must for a guest's meal. Change my mind."
[ Without saying, ■ stopped their walking immediately after hearing his unreasonable demand. He then put out his hand towards the market with a sear amount of annoying and unbelievable could be heard in his voice. ]
What do you expect to buy in this hour, huh?
[ He is shocked to see how stupid Vaccine can be, trying to make this chapter, in particular, longer than expected; yet achieving literally nothing in return other than their late arrival at the closing market. Soon, Vaccine would realize what ■ was saying. ]
"Oh… sh*t."
[ Long story short, they came to a conclusion on simple
***
"Hm…"
[ Vaccine turned to the left. ]
"Hmmmm…"
[ Then he turned to the right. ]
"Hm?"
What is it?
[ ■ asked. He has been seeing Vaccine doing something weird again. Apart from his extremely attaching, he's been looking around since they left the building. ]
"Is it just me, or are they closing off their house a bit too early today…"
[ Vaccine pondered. In his memory, humans are usually slower than this. Even if it's May and the day is longer than the night, they don't always lock up around 5 pm. What's more, they also pulled the curtain, taking their hanging clothes, and some went as far as bringing their plants to the window inside. This early closing has piqued his interest since then. They were trying to hide from something… ]
Maybe it's past their working hours? Well, no surprise since we have to buy some stuff at this hour because of someone.
"Ugh…"
[ Even in this situation, ■ could calmly remind him of whose fault it was.
"How can you even say that… Aren't we into this together?"
[ He tried to find some sympathy from ■, but we all know what's going to happen. ]
You're on your own for this, Vaccine.
You've offered it.
[ Vaccine dropped his shoulders and sighed. He, too, caught up with the idea that he couldn't prepare anything beforehand. But is it even possible to get anything with everything that happened previously? Guess not. It would have driven him nuts if he had not taken a rest before. ]
"Why did I get myself into this…"
You seemed distressed, Vaccine.
[ Even if the world falls, ■ can tease him till the very end. ]
"Then at least help me out! You're also gonna eat too, you know?"
Fine.
[ ■ pointed at a small family grocery store in between two other houses, just a few steps ahead of them. ]
"That's fast?!"
[ At the entrance, the store displayed some household goods for purchase on two sides. With many barrels and boxes stuffed in, the way in was exceedingly narrow that only one person could move around. To pay the bill, the cashier was right at the end of the store, which can be seen through the blurry glass door. Behind the counter, a variety of spices and herbs were put on the shelves.
Upon entering, they encountered an old man who had an unlit cigarette in his mouth while reading today's newspaper. Seeing its brand, Vaccine was startled.
The newspaper was from the
Does that mean… we're in Glasgow now? How did he —]
Since we are going to make steak frites, the first thing we need would be that.
[ ■'s sudden speech interrupted Vaccine's thoughts. That's right. That matter is not important right now. They needed to get those ingredients fast.
"Let's see…" ]
*
"Excuse me, sir!"
"Woah! Did my perspective just shift?"
[ Vaccine called out to the old man. Hearing his call, he peeked up from the newspaper, eyeing Vaccine up and down before asking about his intention.
"What is it, young lad? Trying to buy some
"This is new… As if my thoughts and actions didn't line up at all. It felt like I was watching and moving myself simultaneously —
[ "You hear me, lad?" The old man waved his hand in front of him. ]
"Yes… And I've already quit smoking, sir."
[ Vaccine shaked his head, which surprised the old man back. He then handed him a paper with a smile. ]
"I'm here for the salts and oil. Can't cook without those, can I?"
[ "Haha… You're funny." The old man took his joke half-heartedly, which Vaccine relieved for. Before he went further in for the oil in the paper list of ingredients, the old man told him a few things that Vaccine was curious about previously.
"Are you living in the countryside by chance, young lad? People are always going home before 6 pm since the working hours have reduced significantly this year."]
"Is that so?"
[ "Yes." He nodded, "Another thing was because it's truly dangerous after 6 pm. It could be stealing or something but there's been a few attempts to break in recently!"
"You better be careful, young lad." ]
Not bad for an act.
"Wai–what are you doing?!"
[ When the old man came back with all the spices on the list and a large bottle of oil, he found a black cat on the counter, staring at his newspaper intensely. Its tail unintentionally slammed on his newspaper, leaving some fur behind. Although he's not allergic to cat fur, he quickly shooed it away before asking Vaccine about it, which he utterly denied in embarrassment.
After giving those salts and oil to Vaccine for £2.89 in total, he took his time to hold Vaccine back for his concern.
"How old are you again?"
There it is. ]
"Um…"
[ The question was a bit sudden but that's not all. Vaccine was hesitant, or rather, he didn't know how old he actually was.
The time in the 4th wall has completely messed up with his sense of time. Furthermore, JD had never told him about his age. He was already a young man from birth. Without any other choice, Vaccine looked at the cat, hoping to find his answer to this question. ]
27.
"27?" [ 27? ]
[ Everyone fell into silence for a while, and the old man was the first one to speak.
"Bloody hell! You have gotta be nuts! Hey, mind if you could share with me some tips on how to quit smoking?" He pointed at his wife in the back of the store, "I got her watching me behind my back you see."
His voice was half joking, half serious. It's rare to see such a man exist around here, in this era. Vaccine wants to wish him the best, however… ]
"I'm sorry but I have nothing to share…"
[ "Is that so… that's a bit sad. I guess my journey won't end soon." He sighed.
Poor the old man, a small enjoyment is too far for him to reach at this point. For his family, his health, and himself, he was determined to give up on this hobby once and for all. ]
What a good man.
"Yeah…"
[ Seeing such a determination from an old man like him, even the cat felt respect for this man, who's ready to sacrifice himself for his family. Vaccine bid his farewell to the old man and continued his journey to the next store. ]
***
"There really is a store here like the advertisement…"
[ Following ■'s guidance, they stumbled upon a big store where there's a mentioned sale on potatoes in the old man's newspaper from earlier. The store was quite big compared to others, with a half-glass entrance and bright light. If we were to call it a
Judging from the current state of the store, their sales seemed to backfire enormously. And now they are closing sooner than usual.
"Hmm—Oh look. A worker!"
Let's see if they could let us in.
[ As they stood before the store trying to get a male worker's attention, the male worker who was shutting the door did not even bat an eye on them.
He was having a bad day and tired of working here for 15 hours straight. Because the time he spent here was not worth it, he wanted to quit. All he wanted was a day off and hitting girls from the bars, but as a part-time worker at a normal vegetable store, even the ugliest would ignore him.
Thinking about it made him close the door faster despite Vaccine standing right outside the store, he doesn't give a thought about it much as today he will do whatever he wants. He had already decided that he was going to quit the job anyway, which left Vaccine in awe by his audacity. ]
"What do we do now? They won't open for late customers like us."
[ While Vaccine was playing dumb with the situation, ■ focused on their goal, the potatoes, and several other things. He thought a little bit before walking toward an alley next to the store. ]
Since they can't keep reselling potatoes over and over again, they're probably going to throw them in the back…
"They put sales on old potatoes?"
[ Vaccine curiously asked but ■ didn't say anything and kept entering the alley with him behind.
Like a kid who has just learned something new, he couldn't hide his excitement for the new update since the last time JD came.
As the world before didn't have such a concept of business, he wanted to learn more about this while he could. Maybe the life of his in this new script wouldn't be so bad at all.
In the alley, where it's about one truck wide, they narrowed it down to the back of the store and found a backdoor there. As rundown as the alley can be, unfortunately, this is the place where they get those vegetables from the farmer's truck.
Fresh from harvesting, no pesticide whatsoever. However, those poor vegetables had gone unnoticed and left for days, making the workers have to consider throwing them out.
Before getting any closer, ■ stopped Vaccine from one step away to the side of the backdoor and continued to explain the situation. ]
In this period, they can't keep the old vegetables forever without putting a sale on them, if they can't sell it at the end of the day, they will lose their profit instead.
[ This has indeed been quite a problem in the 19th-century market and now in the current modern-day developing countries as well. To finish their quotation, one of which is putting sales on those items that are not being bought for days. Either sell it cheaper or waste all the products that they have on their end. ]
With that in mind, we can get some leftover vegetables from them at a cheaper price. ( Oh a cockroach ) Well… I'm not recommending you do this every time. Since cheaper means lower quality products and those ain't good for your health.
"Oh…"
[ Did he just step on–Anyway, ■ is nicer than he thought.
He even worked out the plan to ask for those potatoes by lying a little bit about him losing his job. Wait, did I say "a little bit"? ]
Speaking of which. Here they are.
"Wait! I'm not–"
*
Right then, a small lady walked out from that door, struggling with a sack of nearly grown potatoes on her back. If one were seeing her right now, she would be called a constructor and be made fun of.
Yet today is a bad day for these poor potatoes as those sales did not even help them, but she kept losing more budget. At this rate, she can't afford to keep these worthless than a penny any longer.
So the lady decided to close the store early to clean up all the reselling vegetables for the upcoming restock from other farmers that she has cooperated with.
However, it did take longer than she anticipated, as the only worker at this hour and the male worker before had already ditched his job for some girls. She was alone with thousands of old vegetables for half an hour.
In the late evening, when the small lady was carrying the last sack of potatoes, she saw a young man "ran" over from the side and almost fell to the ground, which surprised her.
Not once in her life, she would think of meeting a young man out of nowhere, especially a fairly good-looking one.
Everything around her up to this point was fruits and a lot of vegetables. Although there were some male part-timers like the guy she mentioned before, they were just co-workers to her.
Nothing more, nothing less.
While the young man was cursing toward something in his direction, she took her time looking at him.
He was quite young compared to his middle-aged voice. He wore a simple shirt and vest pants with a thin cravat black tie she had never seen before and a trench coat that was quite famous recently. His brown hair was swiped neatly on one side and a curtain wavy on the other side, which appealed to his young tired face.
After admiring that young man's face, she took a step back as she reminded herself about her safety. She had never known or met this guy previously, his whereabouts or reason he was here was a mystery to her. It's suspicious the more she thinks about it, but she hoped for the least worse scenario she was thinking of.
The young man then stood up properly, completely ignoring his dusty appearance, he adjusted his round glasses before immediately asking her right off the bat.
"Are you going to throw these away?"
"Um… yes?" She took another step back before answering him. Her hands still grabbed on the sack securely.
"Can I have it?"
Starting with a weird question, the young man failed to impress her as she frowned her eyebrows, "Are you a beggar? Y–you don't look like one to me…"
Yes, no matter how many times you looked at it, this man did not look like a beggar. He seemed like a law-abiding citizen who's having a well-paid job than she does! Why is he asking for throwing potatoes anyway, is he trying to rob her? Wait. there's no robber asking nicely to the victim. Or does he try to get free stuff?
While the small lady fell into her assumptions, the young man awkwardly waved his hands in denial, he added.
"Ah… no not really. I just… lost my job and even my wallet recently so now I am trying to find whatever I could feed myself…"
After the young man said that. A silence broke between the two as they couldn't find a word to say. It was so awkward that she wanted to throw those potatoes at him and shut the door behind her. But she can't do that, as a manager, whatever the case is, you should not feed the beggar, because they might come back to you more!
They could exploit you till you run out of money, following you around and begging for more, which is uncomfortable, and even worse, your business could be destroyed when the customers see them around the store.
Life is hard, she knew that clearly, as she too tried to make a living by selling vegetables as her parents did. But seeing a true jobless one who couldn't even pay attention to his own clothes because he was too hungry made her feel the stabbing pain in her good-natured heart.
This is what the current society is. Even though the economy has improved rapidly in recent years. The poor remain poorer and the rich keep getting richer. Like the cockroaches remained in the slum, getting stepped on by the harsh life, once they became one, they could never escape from where they were tarnished.
"Please… just one time and I'll leave." His voice was quieter, but each one he spoke like a cold rusty needle, reflecting on his soon miserable life.
However, even if it is rusty, it's still a needle. He might attack her if he didn't have what he wanted, maybe, he could go even further as killing her for her money!
That scary thought made her goosebumps over her body, she grabbed the sack even harder, and took a step back against the door, ready for any worse scenarios to happen.
The young man quickly noticed this, as he understood her assignment as he also distanced themselves. When they finally settled on their location, she spoke up first.
"I'm very sorry but–"
Moew.
In the corner, a small noise, coming from a messy furball, cut her off suddenly.
It's a black, skinny cat, walking toward them with its wet paws and sitting on the dirty floor of the alley. It then looked at her with its sparkling eyes as if it was asking for some spare food while knowing that it could be kicked out at any time.
What made her more surprised was that the young man seemed to be shocked at its action at first, but soon he picked the cat up and said.
"I guess we won't have anything tonight…"
This news has struck her like a thunderbolt, now she fully understands his current circumstances.
He was trying to feed his cat!
They were just both hungry and might be nowhere home, with how the young man just lost his wallet recently, he and the cat had nothing to eat. But to feed his cat and himself, he was prepared to take any criticism for them, even though he might never come back to be a normal civilian.
The young man turned around and left before she knew it. His shoulders dropped in disgrace, bringing alone his only family on his arm and leaving. His lonely back made her feel sympathy for the young man and the black cat as she was the only one they could ask her to.
"Well, these things were going to be thrown anyway. So take as much as you want, but don't say that it was me!"
In the end, her good deed won over her.
She handed over the sack of potatoes with others that she was about to throw out as well to the young man and an apple to the cat.
Receiving the food she giving free, they looked extremely grateful to her.
"Ah yes! Thank you so much malady."
She looked at the two leaving and waved back at them happily. Knowing that she has done something good today…
***
[ Somewhere not that far away… ]
See. Free food am I right?
[ ■ was satisfied with their current progress. It's not exaggerated to say that they have successfully gotten most of the list done in just a few hours. With only one thing left on the list, the ribeyes, they can go home and start cooking right away ( after cleaning the house first, though ). But the other one had an opposite reaction from him. ]
"I'm not on board with this kind of action anymore," [ Vaccine complained. ] "How can we straight up lie for some food that is meant to be bought with money!"
It's a "were meant", Vaccine.
[ Looking at the stuff on Vaccine's hand, ■ shook his head and corrected him. ]
We've just been volunteering to eat those wasted potatoes for them. How charitable we are.
"Ugh–"
[ He knows he can't deny that. At the same time, he held the bags tighter to keep himself from the pitfall of guilt. There is no need to think any further. They got what they needed in the end, and that's it. ]
"…this is bad."
Your face said differently, though. [ ■ sighed and gave him the side-eye. ]
"Heheh–I guess– Pfft it's not THAT bad."
[ The acting is so dramatic that he almost laughs out loud. Just looking at the results made him want to grin to his ears, how can such poor acting bring so much in return… Though the guilt is indeed real, his current situation doesn't allow that to hinder him.
Talking about guilt, Vaccine turned to ■ and asked him. ]
"Do you feel guilty… by any chance?"
[ It's a simple question that he thought ■ won't take it too seriously since he seemed to be somewhat in the same position as 'him'.
But nothing can be told.
JD could be repeatedly apologized for something that already happened in the past, like a sinner drowning in his own sea, unable to escape once he took a dive.
Then what about him?
What makes him different from 'him'? ]
If I say no, I will be lying to myself. [ A small laughter let out under his throat. ]
I'm no heartless monster who ignores others' emotions, but to be fair, I'm a bit dull to everything else. [ ■ added. ] Too dull that even others are concerned…
[ He paused his speech and let the silence fill the gaps of him organizing his thoughts and their walking.
At that specific moment, Vaccine took a look at ■'s face once again, knowing there would be nothing on his. Slowly but steadily, he now knew there was a bitter smile on that. ]
The world of fiction could truly blind one if not careful, do not underestimate it.
[ After a while, instead of continuing what he had, ■ left him a short reminder as the end of this topic here. ]
"Alright…"
[ With a small amount of answers from him, it has finally concluded one of his questions about ■. Any more asking would make their later atmosphere worsen. So Vaccine decided to leave him alone for now. Since it's not the end ye—]
You…
[ !—]
"What's wrong?" [ Vaccine turned back on his call. ]
It was nothing.