Chapter 50. The Taste of Sadism and Pleasure (2)
“I’ve been incredibly stressed about this ever since I was a kid.”
The man weakly explained his problem.
“I’m much worse with spicy food than other people. And I don’t mean I’m just bad at handling it. Even a tiny amount makes my body unable to endure it. You have no idea how much trouble that caused me in the military and at work.”
Yukgap looked confused.
“There’s white kimchi without chili seasoning, isn’t there?”
“I can’t even handle the spiciness of the garlic used in white kimchi broth.”
The man answered gloomily.
At this point, even Yukgap was dumbfounded.
“I can’t believe someone like this actually exists.”
The man continued weakly.
“Fortunately, I met a woman who loves me despite all this. The problem is... her family runs a kimchi factory.”
“...Good heavens.”
What kind of ridiculous fate was this?
A man who could not tolerate spicy food had fallen in love with a woman whose family ran a kimchi factory.
Apparently aware of how hopeless his situation was, the man clutched his head and wailed.
“Our families are meeting soon! If they find out their future son-in-law is such a weakling that he can’t even eat kimchi, they’ll definitely call off the wedding! Please! Make my body capable of eating kimchi!”
“Even if you suddenly ask us like that, it’s not like we have some obvious solution...”
What was Yukgap supposed to do?
Showing up out of nowhere and asking someone to make him resistant to spicy food was absurd.
“I’ll do it! I’ll help you!”
Victoria suddenly jumped between them.
Yukgap stared at her.
“Victoria? When did you recover?”
“The moment he mentioned meeting his girlfriend’s parents. You know I’m weak to love stories.”
Victoria’s eyes were sparkling again.
She looked exactly like her usual self.
Yukgap sighed quietly.
“You’ve gotten obsessed with something weird again.”
The man, however, looked at Victoria with newfound hope.
“Really? You’ll actually help me become able to eat kimchi?”
Victoria answered proudly.
“Hehehe. Of course. Restaurant Shelley’s management philosophy is love and peace. Don’t worry. For the sake of your lifelong union with the woman you love, I’ll find a way.”
Yukgap tilted his head.
“Since when did our restaurant have a philosophy like that?”
“I just made it up. The owner’s word is law.”
It was an impressively self-centered management policy.
Ignoring Yukgap, Victoria grabbed the man’s hand and spoke with confidence.
“Anyway, just wait a little. I’ll find a way for even the weakest person alive to eat kimchi!”
“Strictly speaking, the spiciness of kimchi isn’t a ‘taste.’ It’s pain sensed by the tongue.”
Victoria spoke while looking through a microscope.
“The problem is that when the tongue feels pain, the brain releases endorphins, which create pleasure, and adrenaline, which causes excitement. That’s why eating spicy food can temporarily make you feel good.”
Yukgap nodded.
“So that’s why people say spicy food helps relieve stress.”
From time to time, customers would storm into Restaurant Shelley looking furious and order something spicy.
One thing they all had in common was that they left afterward looking refreshed.
“And Korea is almost fanatical about spicy food. So people who can’t handle it can end up feeling excluded in all kinds of situations.”
“I don’t know about anything else, but finding out there’s a Korean who can’t eat kimchi was honestly shocking.”
Even excluding kimchi, Korean cuisine had countless spicy dishes.
This was a country where chili peppers and garlic were used as basic seasonings in everyday food.
The man had probably suffered plenty of inconvenience in daily life, not just because of the upcoming family meeting.
“Hmm. Just as I thought.”
Victoria seemed to discover something under the microscope.
Yukgap glanced over.
“What is it?”
Victoria continued examining it closely.
“I performed an electronic analysis on the epithelial cells we collected from that customer. His capsaicin receptors are nearly twice as sensitive as those of an ordinary person. That means the same food feels overwhelmingly spicier to him.”
“So he’s genetically incapable of eating kimchi.”
“With numbers like these, the only real solution would be for him to be reborn.”
“Then there’s nothing we can do. That’s unfortunate.”
Yukgap answered casually.
If Victoria was right, there really was no obvious solution.
They could hardly make the man be born again.
“Fortunately, the beautiful genius alchemist Victoria Frankenstein happens to be here!”
For some reason, Victoria suddenly began burning with enthusiasm.
Whenever she called herself a “beautiful genius alchemist,” it meant she had already decided to do something reckless.
“What are you planning?”
Yukgap immediately felt uneasy.
Victoria gave him her usual bright smile.
“Trust me. With a little application of alchemy, something like this is easy.”
“Can I really become able to eat kimchi?”
After hearing Victoria had found a solution, the man returned to the restaurant with a doubtful expression.
Victoria confidently held out a suspicious-looking pair of chopsticks.
“Yes. As long as you use these!”
“What are these?”
The man accepted them suspiciously.
Victoria spoke proudly.
“Hehehehe. You could call them my masterpiece for all weaklings who can’t handle spicy food. Try eating kimchi with them.”
