Chapter 22 : Chapter 22

What exactly is the social class referred to as "commoners"?

First of all, Ye Sara is definitely not a commoner.

In fact, not only Ye Sara but most of the kids attending schools under the Hwayoung Foundation weren't commoners.

The problem is that there is no clear economic standard to define this term "commoners".

If there were such a standard, not everyone would call themselves commoners.

Some think it refers to everyone except the privileged, including those above the middle class, while others believe it refers to the bottom 50% in terms of economic power.

In Chinese characters, it is written as '庶(서)' meaning 'many' and '民(민)' meaning 'people'.

In English, it translates to "commoner".

So, whether in Chinese characters or English, it refers to the "ordinary majority", yet because of this vague term, people who are clearly not commoners also claim to be commoners.

As I mentioned earlier, excluding the Eugene Group family members, who are clearly not commoners, the rest of the people consider themselves "commoners" when they look at those wealthier or higher than them.

I've seen people in my life seriously claim they're commoners, insisting they aren't rich and that there are far wealthier people out there.

Of course, there are truly ambiguous cases.

Many people categorized as middle class live without any particular privileges, just ordinary lives.

Since people's wealth rankings are often based on taxes paid, someone living in a villa with one car may appear wealthier than a slightly wealthier person who evades taxes like crazy.

If you consider the meaning of "ordinary people", you could say Shin So-hee falls somewhere along the vague boundary between middle class and commoner.

But aside from such statistical considerations, it was clear that Shin So-hee definitely saw herself as a commoner.

"Um… It's okay now. Everything I've tried today was delicious…"

Shin So-hee had diligently taken me around to places like sandwich franchises, street toast vendors, and snacks like fish-shaped pastries and hotteok, which were just coming into season, though none of these foods moved me.

"No, it's not over yet."

But she spoke, looking deeply offended, even after hearing my words.

There's a saying, "Money isn't everything in life."

Just because you have money doesn't mean you're completely happy, and just because you lack money doesn't mean you're completely unhappy either.

Well, I never had been rich in the world I originally came from, so I can't say for sure whether rich people force themselves to live unhappy lives despite their wealth, but at least from my experiences in Ye Sara's world, that saying seemed true.

If I were the old Ye Sara, before I entered her life, she would have probably envied these small indulgences immensely.

She might have been genuinely shocked to try street food.

But I'm a commoner at heart!

Besides, I wasn't even a high school girl.

I had been an adult male who went through military service.

Honestly, I could easily gulp down a bowl of pork soup or blood sausage stew with no hesitation.

I might not be able to finish it all, considering the size of my stomach, but still.

Honestly, the street food I'm eating right now is delicious.

I'm grateful to Shin So-hee for buying it for me, thinking about me.

However, the foods that strike me as 'novel' are the dishes made with luxurious ingredients in my mansion.

Not to mention, the steak I had at the hotel was incredible.

I even managed to keep my appetite in front of Yoon Da-ho.

Still, considering that Ye Sara is probably at the top of the world's richest teens in this world, let's set her aside.

Just look at Yoo Ha-neul, who's an actual commoner, though Shin So-hee has misunderstood her.

Her eyes are still shaking.

It's the look of someone who missed the right moment to say something.

But what can I do if I have no way to explain it?

At least one good thing is that out of the three of us, one person is genuinely amazed every time Shin So-hee introduces new food.

That person is Lee Soo-ah, a child from a truly wealthy family.

It seems she knew a few street foods.

Since she walked to school, she must have tried them a few times.

However, she didn't look disappointed even though she was eating food she already knew, likely because she enjoys eating.

Still, her reaction didn't seem to satisfy Shin So-hee.

Of course, it's only natural, since her main target had always been me.

Every time I wasn't surprised by the food, Shin So-hee would snatch away what I was eating.

If I ate too much, I wouldn't be able to try the next food.

Honestly, I thought, "Is it really necessary to go that far?"

But looking at the expression Shin So-hee made, I couldn't bring myself to say anything.

…Was that meal really so shocking?

"…Fine."

While walking determinedly, Shin So-hee suddenly stopped in front of a shabby shop and declared.

"This is really the last one. If you're not satisfied here, I'll admit defeat."

No, I told you I'm satisfied.

Besides, didn't you say at first, "I'll treat you since I've been treated"?

When did this turn into a competition?

…In the end, we walked and walked until we crossed the entire downtown area.

It felt like we'd been walking for almost an hour.

Honestly, since I had already worked out earlier, I was reaching my physical limit, and my stomach was almost full, so I was quite happy to hear Shin So-hee say that.

"I had been saving this for the finale… but it can't be helped now."

Shin So-hee's face was filled with determination, as if she was about to pull out her secret weapon.

No, seriously, why does this have to be a competition?

As I mentioned earlier, the place where Shin So-hee had stopped was an old, shabby shop.

There wasn't even a light on the sign, and the only word displayed as the store name was "Snack".

"This is where I used to come with my friends when I was in middle school. It was on the way home, so it was easy to stop by."

Shin So-hee explained.

As typical of snack shops in front of schools, this one seemed to specialize in selling tteokbokki to passing students.

There was also some fish cake beside it, but not as much as the tteokbokki on the griddle.

A small amount of tteokbokki remained on the hot griddle, steaming away.

Between the griddle and the fish cake container, slightly soggy-looking fried foods were stacked up.

"Oh."

Do places like this still exist these days?

All the snack shops in front of my old school had gone out of business.

The tteokbokki didn't have the bright red color that's popular these days but was instead a soft orange hue.

Thin, small flour rice cakes and thin fish cakes lay on the griddle, coated in sauce.

Whole peeled boiled eggs were scattered throughout.

Ah, this is definitely going to taste good.

That's the kind of thought I had just from looking at it.

"What do you think? You've never had this, right?"

Of course, Ye Sara wouldn't have tried this.

But I have.

In my younger days.

"Come on, come on, let's go in. If we're too late, they'll run out of ingredients."

Shin So-hee, seeing my slightly dazed expression, seemed pleased and lightly pushed me into the shop.

"Grandma! Four servings of tteokbokki, please! Oh, and add some ramen!"

Ramen?

Did she say ramen?

You might think, "What's the big deal about adding ramen to tteokbokki?"

But the taste of tteokbokki with ramen at a "school snack shop" is something special.

Yes, tteokbokki should definitely have ramen noodles in it.

I almost nodded to myself but managed to stop just in time.

The shop had only two tables.

We took one table and squeezed in to sit.

"So, what do you think? Do you even know what kind of food this is? Or maybe you've only seen it online?"

No, I know it too well.

That's the problem.

While I half-listened to Shin So-hee's chatter, my eyes followed the shop owner, the elderly lady, as she moved around leisurely.

Holding spatulas in both hands, she gathered the tteokbokki in the center of the griddle.

After stirring it a few times to make sure it was heating well on the hot plate, she split two packs of ramen noodles in half and placed them on top of the thick, sauce-covered tteokbokki.

The thick sauce didn't seep into the ramen noodles right away.

Unlike when boiled in water, the noodles slowly cooked from the outside, breaking apart.

Pouring the hot sauce over the noodles repeatedly, the sauce forced the semi-raw noodles to spread and soften.

Then, she lifted those softened noodles with tongs.

Still undercooked, the noodles didn't break apart and were lifted whole.

As if to show off their springiness, the noodles twitched as they were laid on the tray.

On top of that, she placed slightly soggy rice cakes and thin fish cakes, as well as boiled eggs, one for each of us.

That completed the preparation.

Without a word, the elderly lady brought the food to our table, placing it down somewhat gruffly.

The cups and water were entirely self-service.

Chopsticks, forks, and spoons were already in a container on the table.

Everything felt so familiar, almost like déjà vu.

…Of course, not because

I had actually eaten here before.

As I stared intently at the tteokbokki, a fork suddenly appeared before me.

"Alright, try it. It's really delicious!"

I nodded and grabbed the fork that Shin So-hee had extended to me.

Without hesitation, I stabbed the center of the steaming ramen.

When I twirled the fork, the still-stiff fried noodles wrapped around it without breaking.

I lifted a decent amount and put it into my mouth.

Ah, it's still undercooked.

But that's fine.

Actually, it's perfect.

Ramen in tteokbokki is best eaten when it's still chewy, just barely cooked.

Unlike today's tteokbokki, which is increasingly spicy, the sauce in this one was sweet, generously filled with starch syrup, and only slightly spicy.

The slightly grainy texture and the sweet but mildly spicy sauce perfectly complemented the undercooked flour noodles.

After swallowing the noodles, I reached for the boiled egg next.

Bringing it close to me, I cut the egg with my fork.

Fully cooked, the egg still retained some warmth, likely from being on the hot griddle.

As I sliced the egg, the yolk crumbled slightly, mixing with the sauce, turning the already orange tteokbokki sauce an even paler shade.

Rolling the egg in the sauce with the fork,

I rubbed the cut side into the sauce.

The previously white interior turned tteokbokki-colored, and even the dry yolk absorbed some of the sauce, softening a little.

I speared the halved egg with my fork and put it whole into my mouth.

The firm egg white, the dry yolk, and the tteokbokki sauce broke apart and combined in my mouth.

Each complemented the others' weaknesses perfectly.

Delicious.

This was simply a flavor that couldn't be anything but delicious.

It tasted just like the snack I used to eat with friends after school when I was young.

If I had found a shop like this in my original world, I would've called up my old friends and excitedly said, "I found a place just like the ones we used to go to!"

…Friends I might never meet again, who shared joys and sorrows with me throughout life.

"…It's delicious."

"Right!?"

When I mumbled, Shin So-hee was overjoyed.

Without needing any grand explanation, she seemed to sense my genuine feelings just from my expression.

Although it wasn't quite in the direction she had intended—

Well, yes, she definitely achieved her goal of "impressing" me, so I had no choice but to acknowledge it.

I simply nodded at Shin So-hee, who was beaming with joy.