The private room in the Korean BBQ restaurant was already thick with the mouthwatering scent of sizzling beef and charcoal smoke. A copper vent hung low above the table, pulling up the haze as Joon-ho flipped slices of marbled hanwoo sirloin on the grill. The meat hissed, fat dripping and sparking against the flame.
Beside him, Harin poured out three small green shot glasses of soju, her cheeks already pink from the heat of the grill. Madam Seo sat opposite, her blazer folded neatly on the seat beside her, her silk blouse undone at the collar. The weariness she carried into the room had begun to melt, replaced by the faint flush of drink.
"Eat before it burns," Joon-ho said calmly, sliding a perfectly seared piece onto each of their plates.
Harin scooped it up with her chopsticks, dipped it lightly in sesame oil, and moaned around her first bite. "Mmm—oh my god, oppa, this is heaven. I swear you were a chef in another life."
