Chapter 2

"Now, then..."

The tidy kitchen of the forest cabin was filled with warm air.

"Time for dinner."

Jio was preparing a meal.

"Who knew life could be this happy when you don't have a job and just eat and sleep on repeat?"

It was the so-called happiness of unemployment.

"Only now that I'm unemployed can I finally fulfill my duty as a gluttonous couch potato... I should sit at the table for three whole hours."

Seo Jio was a gourmet and a big eater.

The life of a teacher, where he had to maintain a regular, inconspicuous, appropriately smooth, competent, and sensible social life, had been far too cruel for a cultured pig like him.

"I always wanted to enjoy whatever menu I liked, by myself, whenever it was convenient for me."

With his usual blunt expression, Seo Jio looked extremely satisfied.

Even when he had gone up to Seoul and then come back to Gangwon Province, he had never dreamed of owning such a luxurious home in the countryside.

"To think I'd only achieve my dream of country living after losing my job and becoming a portrait. Life really is a hurricane."

It was unpredictable, and even entertaining.

Though an actual hurricane would not be entertaining.

"Then for today, I'll keep it simple..."

With a lantern hung above him, its candle flame flickering without ever going out in the wind, Jio took out the ingredients.

Sweet potatoes.

"..."

Large sweet potatoes.

Jio blinked twice, as if planning out his daily bread for the day, then soon reached a conclusion.

"... Maybe I'll make honey-fried sweet potatoes."

It was something he often made when elders occasionally sent him sweet potatoes, and the only things he needed were a little honey, salt, sweet potatoes, and butter.

Nothing else was required.

Fortunately, the cabin had all of those ingredients.

Just like the tree spring that had existed despite him never having thought of it at all, the furniture and food supplies inside the cabin had also been piled up along with everything else.

In particular, perhaps because it was a feature of the painted world, the ingredients always remained in their best condition even after several days, which deeply moved Seo Jio.

"Hmm..."

CLINK.

Jio took a ceramic jar of honey from a cupboard that smelled of cypress wood.

"... The dairy products were downstairs, weren't they?"

Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and butter, as well as foods that generally needed refrigeration, were all gathered in the cabin's underground storage.

The storage room, enclosed on all sides by clear ice and maintaining a cool chill, served excellently as a refrigerator.

It was cold enough for his breath to come out white when he went inside, but perhaps because he had evolved into a haunted portrait, he did not feel cold.

'Just pleasantly cool.'

Considering the other ingredients did not particularly freeze either, he did wonder why his breath came out white at all.

"It's a phenomenon that completely ignores the laws of physics... but it's funny, so whatever."

Holding a small bowl and a knife, he went down the stairs leading to the underground storage, and a storage door made of wood as cool and heavy as metal appeared before him.

Soon, when he opened the door, he saw a few small jars roughly arranged inside an ice cave, along with a large shelf.

'When I checked last time, there seemed to be quite a variety.'

He rummaged through the butter displayed on the shelf.

"I hope there's one with a mild aroma."

Among sweetening ingredients, honey was especially strong in scent.

Sweet potato and honey were enough on their own, but if the aroma of butter was too rich on top of that, it could become a little overwhelming.

Among the various types, Seo Jio found pale yellow butter and cut off a small piece.

"If I add too much, it'll get greasy..."

Jio separated out only as much butter as he would use for this dish, neatly wrapped the packaging back up, carefully closed the storage door, and went back up to the kitchen.

Seo Jio was quite a good cook.

Otherwise, as a gourmet, he would never have even thought of cooking for himself.

"Ah, how fresh."

Jio cleaned the sweet potatoes with practiced hands.

He considered how to cut them.

"... First..."

After blinking twice, he cut the sweet potatoes into long rectangular pieces.

They were stick-shaped and of a suitable length.

"... It's not that much."

Jio cleaned seventeen large sweet potatoes.

The iron plate with the cut sweet potatoes on it went straight into the oven.

The oven, already preheated, quickly cooked the outsides of the sweet potatoes.

When the fierce heat made the outsides crisp while leaving the insides completely uncooked, Jio took them out of the oven.

Those sweet potatoes, cooked only on the outside and raw within, slid in a row onto a large wok.

"Now butter and salt."

He kept the heat low so the butter would not burn, then sprinkled a little salt over them.

The sweet potatoes, slowly cooking over the gentle flame, became coated in butter and gave off a sweet, savory aroma.

"And a little honey..."

SIZZLE.

"In it goes."

After gently drizzling in the honey he had scooped out with a spoon, Jio spun the wok quickly.

Like Chinese restaurant fried rice being made, the honey and butter mixed together with powerful motion and settled over the sweet potatoes.

"..."

By the time it looked about done.

"Good."

Jio turned off the heat and spun the pan a few more times.

It was to help the butter and honey blend together without floating apart.

If he skipped this process, the butter would separate into oil and run down, while the honey would turn unpleasantly sticky, resulting in a bizarre dish.

'Though that would still taste good...'

Still, when it came to cooking, texture was something one had to care about.

Even with the same flavor, a single difference in texture could make it a completely different dish.

"... Done."

Jio plated the finished honey-fried sweet potatoes in a bowl and immediately soaked the dirty wok in water.

'No matter how foolish humans may be, I will not repeat the same mistake.'

Honey mixed with butter, once dried and stuck to a pan, was possessed by the spirit of a demon and often tested the patience of a good person like Seo Jio.

In any case, this was his dinner menu for the day.

"Nice."

Honey-fried sweet potatoes were not difficult to cook, and they made an excellent snack or meal.

Sitting at the wooden table, Jio speared a sweet potato stick with his fork.

The outside gleamed like candied sweet potatoes, but the honey coating, far more delicate than that, had a fairly complex aroma thanks to the added butter.

"..."

Seeing the fork sink softly into the sweet potato, it seemed to have cooked very well.

Jio put the sweet potato straight into his mouth.

"..."

Chew...

He reached a conclusion.

"Ish good."

It was normally delicious.

'I like this better than candied sweet potatoes. Grandma did too...'

Unlike candied sweet potatoes, which could sometimes jab the roof of his mouth while he ate, these honey-fried sweet potatoes had a delicate exterior.

The honey and butter had merely mixed together, adding a sleek and soft texture.

It was a dish that offered a different kind of pleasure from candied sweet potatoes, which had a somewhat crisp texture.

'Sweet potatoes and honey really do go well together.'

And butter and salt suited them nicely as a set as well.

The butter added a distinctive savoriness to the honey's scent, which could have become a little simple, while a bit of salt balanced a dish that might otherwise have turned too greasy or too sweet.

"It might have been nice to add a little herb on top."

If it were a commonly used spice like pepper, parsley, or rosemary, he thought it would probably be fine to add some.

"But then the aroma would get a bit stronger. Would it be hard to enjoy lightly?"

Jio liked it as it was.

'The texture is exactly what I wanted too.'

Even after rolling between the honey and butter, the surface of the sweet potato, whose moisture had been stripped away by the oven, still retained its crispness.

By contrast, the inside of the sweet potato, which had not cooked at all before, seemed to have become moist thanks to being coated in honey and butter.

'The moisture inside must have been sealed in by the oven's intense heat. Good thing I crisped the outside first.'

Cutting them into long pieces made them fun to eat, and the textures felt varied as well.

Eating too much would make it greasy, but this amount was enough for a pleasant meal.

Jio was a person who ate a great deal, after all.

"..."

Looking at the bowl with only faint traces of honey-butter sauce left, Jio thought.

'What a potato I am. A magnificent potato.'

Since he was about to sleep, he had not wanted to eat that much, and it had been just the right menu.

"I like it."

The lantern light on the table glowed softly.

It had an extremely analog sort of mood to it, and if he gazed at it quietly, he felt nostalgic despite this not being his childhood home.

"It'd be perfect for camping."

In that peaceful fullness that seemed to urge him toward sleep, Jio remained there for a long while.

Feeling the idleness of the empty bowl, vacant but not lacking, and the quiet voice of the lantern that softened the air even further...

Soon, Jio's gaze turned toward the window outside, where the spring breeze shyly offered its greeting.

"..."

After staring out at the darkness that had fallen long ago, Jio eventually rose from his seat.

"... I should prepare the medicinal ingredients in advance."

It was for making the medicine related to bleeding that the system had told him about.

For some reason, he did not think the day he would use it would come easily, but making things one by one and piling up his works was also a kind of pleasure for an artist.

It was a type of collection.

"First, I'll wash the Mangdung fruit and set it out. It'll take quite a while to dry it enough to grind it into powder. Since they're fairly large, it might take even longer than making raisins..."

He had nearly fallen asleep for a moment, but perhaps thanks to the sugar, his mind was working quickly.

"Should I start with about fifty berries for later? Even if there are only three flowers and not much juice comes out, if I make a lot of powder, I can use it later anyway."

Having reached a conclusion, Jio moved.

He thoroughly washed the fruit with drinking water he had drawn in advance from the stream.

Mangdung fruit was a fairly elastic fruit, and once it entered the water, the inside became faintly visible.

"... It sort of looks like a gooseberry."

Of course, Mangdung fruit, whose interior was completely filled with flesh, had a clear difference.

Jio continued his idle thoughts as he washed all the fruit.

"..."

SQUEAK.

"Nice."

Bright red bead-shaped fruits soaked in clear, clean stream water.

The fact that they made a refreshing sound as Jio scrubbed them clean with his hands was more satisfying than he had expected.

After washing all the fruit, he placed the Mangdung fruit on a wooden tray.

"My mouth might get bored, so I'll set some aside for snacks."

It was evening now, so that was one thing, but the fruit would dry better if placed outside where it was well ventilated and the sun was blazing.

Jio set the tray with the spread-out fruit right in front of the cabin.

"And..."

After coming back inside, he approached the hearth where firewood had been piled.

'Now I need fire.'

CRACKLE, SNAP.

Jio shook a plant with a round sphere attached.

Then, from inside the fruit, a small, dull noise rang out, and flames flared up.

Perhaps because the fire was small but quite strong, its color was blue.

A faint fragrance slowly rose from it.

It was simply pleasant to look at, like a bonfire burning in winter.

"..."

Jio tossed it onto the firewood in the hearth to light it.

In other words, it was a substitute for a lighter or matches.

"... It's light and even pretty, so if they sold this on Earth, it would have been a huge hit as an aesthetic camping item..."

With a blunt expression, Jio muttered a worldly desire and rummaged through the basket.

Then he took out ten Baivamnil flowers, which looked similar to orchids.

He washed those lightly as well and placed them on a small tray, then set a pot over the hearth and poured water into it.

Then he waited until it boiled.

"... This should do."

After confirming that the water was bubbling at a suitable level, Jio threw in the Baivamnil.

It gave off vanilla's distinctive deep, sweet aroma.

PLOP, BLOOP!

"Hmm..."

If he were eating it the same way as blanched greens, it would be best to dip it briefly and take it out, but this flower was not a green.

It even retained toxicity if not cooked properly.

'The total time it takes for the toxicity to leave is ten minutes.'

Jio faithfully followed the system's words.

He ate some of the Mangdung fruit he had set aside and waited for the poison to leave the flowers.

"Is it done?"

After checking the time with the system, Seo Jio stood in front of the pot again ten minutes later.

Using long chopsticks, he lifted the limp flowers onto the tray.

Despite having been boiled for quite a long time, their shapes remained intact.

He rinsed the cooked flowers once in clean water and left them alone for a while.

Jio changed only the pot over the hearth without putting out the weakened fire.

The water left over from boiling the Baivamnil likely still contained poison.

"I should dry this too."

Jio picked up the tray with the flowers on it and went outside again.

Then, when he opened the door...

"..."

WHOOOSH...

A tender spring breeze blew in.

"... It's cool."

It had the texture and temperature of lukewarm clouds softly cupping his face.

It was a pleasant wind.

'Soft and cool.'

The drowsy, hazy wind, somehow making his heart beat faster, made Jio blink slowly.

'It would be perfect to fall asleep like this.'

The wind, neither hot nor cold, was as soft as fine traditional paper or silk, making his fingertips tingle.

"..."

After savoring the small happiness that had come without warning, Jio soon moved his feet.

"... I hope they dry well."

After placing the Mangdung fruit and flower trays side by side, Jio returned to the house.

There were already two baskets in front of the house, but he still had more to prepare.

What Jio picked up this time was a transparent flower called Lulufu.

"..."

What was he supposed to do with this again?

Perhaps because drowsiness was pressing in, he could not think clearly, so after pondering for a moment, Jio asked the system for help.

"Elixir Refining Method."

"Thank you."

After thanking the system, Jio poured water into the newly swapped pot.

Cold water entered the heated pot and changed to a lukewarm temperature.

When he held his hand just above the water, gentle steam rose up, making it look fairly warm.

'It said warm water, not hot water, so wouldn't this temperature be just right?'

Thinking that, Jio held the flower he had brought from the spring.

The Lulufu flower, which seemed to be made of water yet was woven like silk and sturdy, had a clear, sweet fragrance like a drop of dew made of honey.

When he carefully put it into the pot...

"..."

A Milky Way-like sparkle from the petals spread through all the water in the pot.

"... The Lulufu's sparkle is definitely because it scatters sunlight or lamplight."

Had it been holding bright sunlight or clear lamplight inside its body?

It felt just like watching ice made with glitter melt in warm water.

"... Oh."

Soon the sparkling subsided, and the water in the pot gave off a clearer fragrance.

A capitalist thought suddenly occurred to him that it would sell well as a perfume, but Jio scooped out the contents before the water boiled completely.

'That was close.'

The flower water he had scooped out went into the glass bottle he had prepared in advance.

"At first glance, it doesn't really hit me, but this means I can make medicine with it."

Although the Lulufu juice had merely been dissolved in water, it had an enchanting glow like paint made by an artist who had ground his soul into it.

He wondered whether he really could make medicine with this.

"..."

Then again, there was no reason he could not try.

That was how life was.

"If a perfectly living human can become a haunted portrait, there's no reason I can't make medicine with a strange color."

After finishing all the preparation, Jio went up to the second floor of the cabin.

The drowsiness that had been tickling his eyelids for a while now urged him toward sleep.

The wooden stairs touching the soles of his feet felt somehow warmly heated.

Although they were clearly made of solid wood, they had a texture that felt strangely soft, and perhaps because they were made from good wood, a comforting fragrance came from here and there.

The bed in the bedroom he reached was as soft as if it were made of water.

"Haa..."

FWOOMP.

He sank straight into the bed.

"..."

His eyes blinked a couple of times as though organizing the events of the day, then soon closed quietly like a child being stroked in a parent's arms.

Through the wide-open window, a breeze carrying the scent of the forest flowed in, and that delicate wind passed cautiously over his whole body as if shy.

Once over his forehead, once over his fingertips, once over his knees...

His vision was utterly dark.

Amid it, the cries of birds that had awakened in the evening faded faintly into the distance.

"..."

With the gentle song of grass insects as his lullaby.

Jio fell asleep.