Dual System: Ascension of A Nameless Nobody

Chapter 34 Reprieve Between Moments

After a long day, they all disabled their [Equips], returning to their casual clothes. Hyun wore a beige, comfortable sweatshirt with a white t-shirt beneath, and some loose, gray pants. On the other hand, his sister was wearing jeans and a baggy, white sweater with a cloud design on the back.

"Alright, what should I prepare…?" He mumbled to himself, rubbing his hands together.

There were a variety of options for him to choose: bibimbap, utilizing the variety of vegetables he picked up, bulgogi to create something savory and filling after a long, exhausting day, or perhaps stir-fried noodles to make something easy, yet filling as well.

"Hmm…" He pondered.

It was a difficult choice; in honesty, he wanted to make a lot of dishes.

Then, with that thought, the choice was easy as a smile came over his lips, prompting him to snap his fingers as if making a life-changing discovery.

Retrieving the necessary ingredients from the fridge and cabinets, he began to prepare his decided dinner for the group, hearing them talk and laugh in the main room while he smiled.

Things are beginning to look up…He thought.

Preparing the variety of colorful vegetables, he set the rice in the rice cooker while he also began to cut the succulent beef into small, thin slices before beginning to cook them as well, choosing to grill them.

It wasn't often he had the privilege of using beef to prepare meals, but if there was one advantage of the apocalyptic world, it was that ingredients weren't too difficult to come by with the existence of Angel Shops.

There might be a few bumps, here and there, but compared to just recently, where I was alone and weak–? This is it. "Ma-Ri", I haven't forgotten your name. It might not be today, or even a week from now, but eventually–I'll reach you, he thought.

It wasn't long before the kitchen became steamy with the assortment of ingredients being prepared–though he was focused, and excited to be returning to the kitchen to make proper, presentable meals that could be enjoyed.

Ever since I was a kid, I've always had some sort of affinity with cooking. I think it came from watching my dad; he was a professional chef, though he didn't pursue it as a career after I was born. Still, I watched him so many times in the kitchen at our house, he was always smiling with a glow to his eyes while he prepared breakfast, and dinner, he thought.

"Phew…" He let out as he wiped the sweat away from his forehead with a rag.

He found there was no point in wearing his glasses as they quickly became blurred by steam every few seconds, prompting him to set them down as he waited for the beef to finish grilling.

It was a thirty-minute process, though it was worth it by the end once he prepared each of the five bowls, satisfied with what he managed to create.

"I'd say I did a pretty darn good job," he muttered to himself with a smile.

As he walked out to the main room with a tray holding all of the bowls, he placed each of the piping hot, steaming bowls in front of each person before sitting down with his own serving.

"It's bibimbap with barbeque beef, and some stir-fried noodles," he said, "I couldn't decide, so I went with a bit of a few different dishes."

"It looks great!" Hyun said, almost salivating, "I didn't know that you knew how to cook, dude!"

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to–we just met," he chuckled, rubbing his own head.

"That's right! He's a full-fledged chef!" Myung-Hee added.

"Not exactly…" He laughed a bit.

Kamou looked down at the bowl, lifting her chopsticks as she took in the fragrance rising from the enticing steam of the dish, "...It smells amazing, too."

"Really! The smell alone is driving my stomach nuts!" Myung-Hee laughed.

He waited until they all tried it before taking a bite for himself, scoping their reactions–though he was positive he did everything right, and was even confident he made a great dish, it all came down to the consumer perception, at the end of the day.

"Tasty!" Hyun said, still chewing his food.

"Brother…" Ara looked at him.

"Right, right, sorry…" Hyun swallowed before continuing, patting his own chest to help the food go down easier, "Really though, this is great, man!"

"...Thanks," he bashfully nodded.

"No, really, I should be thanking you…" Hyun quieted down a bit, still smiling though there were clear tears at the corners of his pale-gray eyes, "...It's been so long since we've had a meal like this."

Ara seemed to hold the same feelings as she looked down a bit, nodding with a small smile as her brother spoke.

"Staying in broken, rundown buildings…living off of canned foods…I won't say it's the worst of the worst, but when you think about how things were–it really hurt," Hyun said, "so, being able to sit down like this…not worrying constantly about something or someone trying to hurt us–it's nice."

The honestly spoken words from the ginger-haired, pale young man were of genuine gratitude as he smiled directly at him.

"Well, you're fine now," he assured the two, "both of you. Strength in numbers is no joke, you know? I'd say in this world, it's something I should've learned much sooner, myself."

"Yeah, I hear you, man," Hyun said.

In good spirits, the group filled their yearning stomachs with the hot, fulfilling dinner in their bowls before the veil of night completely settled in.

The two siblings insisted on handling the dishes, as they felt accommodated enough–he couldn't refuse their kind offer, knowing it'd likely make them feel better.

We really lucked out. These two are kind. I was right–this world still has hope–don't let go of that, he thought.

There was barely enough room, and somehow barely enough futons, though he had to visit one of the abandoned, neighboring apartments to find a couple, but they all managed to fit into his now lively, filled apartment.

"This brings me back," Kamou said with a smile, sitting on her light-green futon with her knees tucked close to her chest, "It's like a slumber party."

"It kinda is, isn't it?" Myung-Hee laughed.

He scratched his head, "I can't say the circumstances are exactly how I like them, but…yeah, it's sort of nostalgic."

Truthfully, I haven't stayed with friends since I was in primary school. It's been that long, he thought.

"Oh! You have manhwa?" Hyun asked out of excitement, noticing the shelf stocked full of comics in the corner of the room.

He was a bit embarrassed for it to be pointed out so blatantly, but it seemed the girls were at least distracted by their own conversation, and the DVDs they were watching on the television.