Seoul Kitchen: Side Dish 7 Part 3

It's Cheaper Than Whey 3

After the meeting with the animals, things went back to normal. Sure there were a few odd Animals, but they were die hard fans, those who wanted something good to eat rather than those who wanted to bulk up. "The regular?" Chef grinned as his muscle bound regular came next in line.

"Nah, I'm good," The man laughed, taking the joke in stride before he pulled up a small tumbler and gestured towards the kettle, "But mind if I get some of that preem oolong you got brewing in the back? Just something for the road."

"Sure thing," Chef replied, smiling as he took the tumbler and poured them a generous helping of the fragrant tea before slipping them a few mooncakes for their patronage as a silent thanks for their restrain. After all, It wasn't all too long ago that they nearly ran him ragged with their insatiable appetite.

With a cheerful smile and generous tip, the man left, leaving the Chef sometime to think as he tended to the master stock. Things were certainly slower now that the rowdy pack of party animals, pun intended, were gone. It was now far calmer, quieter, and just a little bit less wild, but maybe that was for the better.

He'd rather have days where nothing happened rather than figuring out what it'd be like getting caught between a fire fight involving two of the biggest gangs in the city. He already had enough headaches in the kitchen as is. He'd rather not get people involved in the mess that he unintentionally made.

"They do know how to throw a party," He chuckled before perking up as he heard a customer rang up him.

"Just give me a minute," He called out as he grabbed one of the roasts hanging over head and chopped them up for the noodles. "I wonder how they're doing right now," He mused out loud as he grabbed a bowl.

"Why not ask them then?" A voice called out, making him pause. Slowly, he gazed up the wall of muscle before the familiar toothy grin of Sasquatch and a couple of his boys greeted him. "And here I thought you wanted us gone," The woman chuckled as he grinned ear to ear.

"Sasquatch!" He greeted them with open arms, pulling the woman in for a hug, "You look absolutely radiant."

"And you looked like you lost some weight," The woman laughed as he patted him on the back. Pulling away, she asked, "So, got a minute to spare?" Pulling up a case of beer, she added, "We never did thank you for putting up with us."

Glancing at the relatively slow day he was having and considering it, he shrugged, "Sure why not. I could use a cold one right now."

-x-x-x-

Popping one of the bottles opened, he cheered before downing the cold refreshing drink. It was a bit early, with the sun just setting, but it beats having to deal with the heat inside the kitchen. "Thanks for the drink." He said he turned to the woman.

Taking a sip from her own, Sasquatch replied, "Don't mention it. It's the least we could do."

Chuckling, he shook his head. For such a terrifying woman who could break him in half if she wanted to, she could be surprisingly jolly and cheerful. The same could be said with the rest of the animals as well, but that's probably because they liked him.

Speaking off, he leaned back before he asked, "So, what brings you over? I hope there wasn't a problem with the shipment." If there were, he'd have some choice words with the shipping company!

He bribed them fair and square and he even made sure the warehouse staff had something to snack on. They better have a damn good explanation why they can't ship a package inside the city. Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case as Sasquatch shook her head.

"As if they had the balls to mess with what's ours," Sasquatch grinned as he took another sip, "We just wanted to drop by and say thanks, for everything."

"Hey, it's just the right thing to do," He replied as he glanced at the Animals hyping up the crowd as Old Johnny ripped and shredded, "Everyone deserves a good meal and it's not like it cost me much hooking you up to my supplier." All he needed was a couple of minutes to pack everything up each week.

"The right thing huh…" Sasquatch whispered before smiling, "You know, now that we have your supplier, we could easily open up another shop and run you out of town."

"How much would you be charging?" He asked with a wry grin.

"An eddie," She answered without missing a beat.

"Good," He answered, "Because I'm looking forward to a vacation." It might have just been a few months, but he definitely earned a break. Having another shop just like his sounded like a dream come true, something he was eager to support.

"Need me to advertise for you?" He asked, making the Animal Matriarch laugh.

"You're a good man, Chef," She sighed out, "I wish we had more of you out here." Shifting in her seat, she reached behind her before pulling out a card, "By the way, that shop we told you about. We opened it up all thanks to you."

"Wait, seriously?" He asked, genuinely surprised as he took the card and read it. "Roadkill, huh?" He smiled, amused at the sudden turn of things, "Never expected that you guys would open one up." He honestly expected them to just take the food, not this.

"Hey, your supplier's pretty generous so we thought why not give out to the community," Sasquatch replied as she playfully ribbed him, "You know, to do the right thing."

"Plus it helps that we get to rub it all over Whole Foods' face," She added before turning towads the whole foods adverts flashing across the sky. "Yeah that's right you fuckers! We ain't ever gonna buy shit from you ever again! You hear me? Never!"

Letting out a satisfied sigh, she chuckled, "Man that felt good."

"I can only imagine," He answered as he stared at the advert. "Speaking of whole foods, they've been jacking up their prices lately?"

"Yeah," She grunted, "It's crazy how hard they've been squeezing lately." Now this certainly caught his attention as he turned to women. "Like they're already assholes, but man, it's like they wanted everyone to starve!"

"Thankfully, there's people like you and your suppliers for us folks like us who are shit out of luck," She added, "At least all I have to worry about for my baby is not getting shot."

"Wait, you're pregnant?" He asked in surprise, before hastily raising his hands at the dirty look sent his way, "I-it's just that came out of nowhere!" He explained before he paused as the woman started laughing.

"Oh man, you should have seen your face," She chuckled as she wiped the tear from the corner of her eyes. "But yeah, I'm expecting and she needs all the care she could get," She whispered as she gazed lovingly at her stomach.

"Wait, but if you're expecting…" He asked as he gestured at her bottle.

"It's non alcoholic," She answered as she turned and showed the label. "Can't risk the baby you know. It's just a shame that I can't drink for the whole term."

"Don't worry," He grinned, "It just makes the next time you drink all the more special because you're celebrating not just for yourself, but someone else."

"...Yeah," She nodded, cheering up slightly, "What's a few months to a lifetime?"

"To good health," He cheered, raising his bottle.

"And to a better future," Sasquatch cheered back as she clinked her bottle with his before they down their drinks before chatting away, dreaming of a better day where food would be plentiful and for everyone to enjoy.