The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

How many people remembered their favorite character’s food preferences?

When I was really into fandom, I remembered characters’ birthdays. High-quality images flooded social media on those special days. But how many recall their favorite character’s food preferences?

If a character often talked about their favorite foods, you’d likely know them.

Think of a pilot who detested carrots or a troublemaker who couldn’t stand bell peppers.

If you adored the character, their food preferences might be common knowledge. But what if they’re not?

What about a character’s food preference mentioned just once on their character sheet? How many would remember that?

Fandom, of course, was endless. Some fans prepared the character’s favorite dishes on their birthdays, treating the occasion like a family ancestral rite.

While some may indulge in this, few would remember the food preferences of a villain they found uninteresting.

I was no different.

I might skim through my favorite character’s profile and note their favorite food, thinking, “Oh, they like or dislike this,” but then I forget it.

Yet, it’s funny; I clearly recalled the food preference of Heavenly Death Star, who wasn’t even the heroine.

Why?

Because it made me so mad, I mentioned it in my feedback.

The Heavenly Death Star’s favorite food.

A dish out of place in martial arts novels.

That was…

“Your Rosé Tteokbokki is ready!”

Rosé Tteokbokki.

“Eat it while it’s hot. It’s delicious!”

Jeom So-i set the steaming Rosé Tteokbokki before us.

Rosé Tteokbokki actually existed.

I struggled to maintain my composure before this absurd dish. As I had written in the feedback, was it really necessary?

Martial arts novels were rife with delectable foods. Why choose something like this? There were exquisite dishes like gyeongjangyuksa, eohyangyuksa, and gungbo gyejeong.

If those were too common, there were unique dishes like namjeon gyecheoi, which could secure you a spot in the core line-up just by sampling them.

If not those, then perhaps Korean dishes like pajeon or gukbap.

Rosé Tteokbokki, of all things.

That Heavenly Death Star had a fondness for Rosé Tteokbokki.

I couldn’t resist mentioning it in the feedback.

“So, uh, Okbun, let’s savor this.”

“What is this?”

The Heavenly Death Star looked puzzled at the Rosé Tteokbokki and questioned me.

“Huh? It’s Rosé Tteokbokki.”

How could she not recognize it? The information clearly stated that the Heavenly Death Star liked Rosé Tteokbokki.

“I’ve never tasted it before.”

She had never tried it before? So, at this point, it wasn’t a dish that the Heavenly Death Star normally enjoyed, but rather something she would grow fond of after experiencing it in the future.

Some foods were beloved from childhood, while others captivated you with just one bite.

“How can that be? You used to come to my house when you were young and eat, remember?”

I seized the opportunity.

“I ate this?”

“Yes. When you were young, you would come over to play and often have a meal at my place. The first dish I served you was this Rosé Tteokbokki. You enjoyed it so much that whenever you played indoors, you seemed to crave it again. Naturally, I was pleased to see you happy while eating it, so I made sure you had some before you left.”

I feigned a nostalgic expression as I reminisced about the past.

Rosé Tteokbokki, a traditional dish of Joseon? Tomato sauce with a spoonful of curry, a dash of cream, and tteokbokki. Where did they find such ingredients?

“I don’t recall it.”

“That’s alright. The memories will return in time. No need to hurry. And Okbun…”

It would pose a real issue if she actually began to recollect.

“Huh?”

“You haven’t forgotten the Joseon language, have you?”

It had been ages since I last spoke in the Joseon language.

“I haven’t forgotten.”

The Heavenly Death Star replied fluently in the Joseon language. To my relief.

“Shall we converse in Joseon language for the time being?”

“Why in Joseon language?”

“I’m worried I might accidentally call you Sohee instead of Okbun. I almost slipped up just now. If we speak in Joseon language, people here won’t understand us, and we won’t have to worry about such mistakes.”

As I said this, I glanced at the guests who had come to the inn while I ordered the Rosé Tteokbokki.

There was a risk of me making a mistake in such a crowded place. I made it seem like a plausible concern, one that should convince Heavenly Death Star.

But my real reason was different.

The name Okbun was an alias that Heavenly Death Star used when she joined the acrobatics troupe.

The name Okbun itself was an assassin’s alias, which they probably realized, but there was no need to cause a disturbance by calling it out.

‘There are ways to handle disturbances, though.’

It wasn’t that there were no solutions for such situations. Just the possibility of disturbances was enough.

More importantly, the name Okbun was fake. An alias. A false identity. Continuously using a name that signified a fake relationship formed a psychological barrier. In my current situation, it wasn’t a favorable action.

The more I called her Sohee, the more I could melt the psychological barrier in Heavenly Death Star’s heart. That way, she would feel closer to me.

And we would speak in Joseon language.

A language of our homeland that we wouldn’t normally use here, a language shared between us.

Calling Heavenly Death Star by her name and maintaining a relationship that shared secrets, I could feel the weight of being Heavenly Death Star’s childhood friend and brother grow heavier.

“Alright. Then.”

“Let’s use Central Plains language only when we need to be cautious of others. Then, Sohee, let’s eat.”

“Okay.”

Cheon Sohee picked up a piece of tteokbokki with her chopsticks but didn’t eat it, just staring at it. Maybe she was pondering if it held a clue to her past.

“Sohee?”

Just looking at it wouldn’t bring back memories, memories that shouldn’t even exist.

“I’ll eat.”

Cheon Sohee popped the Rosé Tteokbokki into her mouth. She chewed carefully, as if testing for poison. One should use litmus paper for that kind of testing.

The moment Cheon Sohee swallowed the tteokbokki, her eyes widened slightly. She covered her mouth with her palm and stared at the tteokbokki with wide eyes.

“Sohee, how is it? Does it taste like the old days?”

How about that? Surprised, right? Delicious? It’s totally like the taste of home, isn’t it? Just your style.

“I don’t remember.”

Not likely. But it was important to maintain the pretense that she had eaten it in the past.

Cheon Sohee’s hand started moving faster, eating quickly, then looking at the tteokbokki, and repeating the process. She was eating deliciously while searching for old memories.

“Sohee, try the fenmaozi (粉耗子) as well. They’ve added more Central Plains food here, and this is said to be tasty too.”

I took some fenmaozi with my chopsticks and placed it on Cheon Sohee’s plate. Fenmaozi was popular among high school girls these days.

“……”

Cheon Sohee alternated her gaze between the fenmaozi on her plate and me. Why? She hadn’t touched the food yet. It wasn’t even wet. Was I being too meddlesome in trying to be considerate?

Cheon Sohee glanced at me briefly, then ate the fenmaozi and seemed slightly surprised. Unusual texture, right? Kids these days love it.

Cheon Sohee seemed to like the fenmaozi, as she quickly picked out more from the tteokbokki and started eating them.

No, the Rosé Tteokbokki in front of her was disappearing quickly. Wasn’t that too much?

I hadn’t even taken a bite yet.

“Maybe I’ll try some too.”

I wondered what Rosé Tteokbokki tasted like in a martial arts visual novel. I moved my chopsticks towards the rapidly disappearing Rosé Tteokbokki.

In the end, I hardly ate anything.

For Cheon Sohee, it must have felt like she had discovered the food of her life. At first, she seemed to ponder her memory as she ate a few bites, but later, she went into vacuum cleaner mode.

“Sohee, how was it, eating it after such a long time? Did you like it?”

“It was delicious.”

Yesterday, she had kept denying everything I said, but now she agreed quickly. People do indeed become honest in front of food. If she had said it was not tasty after eating so much, I would have had a word with Heavenly Death Star, regardless of who she is.

Cheon Sohee looked at the empty Rosé Tteokbokki bowl with a somewhat regretful expression. She was totally hooked on it now.

Rosé Tteokbokki was definitely to the Heavenly Death Star’s taste. Knowing the Heavenly Death Star’s food preference was sufficient proof that I was her childhood friend and brother.

Originally, I had planned to say that Rosé Tteokbokki was her favorite food even in the past.

If I were a fraud, I wouldn’t have known Heavenly Death Star’s food preference. It added credibility to my words. But now the situation was even more in my favor.

Kang Yun-ho, the brother who knew the food she liked in the past. A food she’s trying for the first time in her life. Yet, it became Heavenly Death Star’s favorite food after just one taste.

The weight of being her brother would grow heavier in Heavenly Death Star’s heart.

It was supposed to be a strategy just to build some common ground, but this was a complete win.

“Sohee, turn your head this way for a moment.”

I gestured for Heavenly Death Star to turn her head towards me.

“Huh?”

The Heavenly Death Star looked puzzled but still brought her head towards me. Wow, she even follows my instructions after having delicious food. Rosé Tteokbokki is the key for any bad mood in the future.

“If you’ve eaten tteokbokki, you should clean around your mouth.”

I casually wiped Cheon Sohee’s mouth with my white sleeve.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Death Star didn’t smack my hand away or give me a look like ‘why is this trash touching my lips.’ Maybe she was less prickly after eating well. It was the time for nostalgic talk.

“Sohee, when you were young, I used to wipe your mouth like this and then take your happy self home. I miss those days.”

I reminisced about the girl next door, whom I brought home when she was alone, to eat and watch cartoons together.

When we played house, I always played the husband, and my childhood friend was the wife. I had been someone’s husband before my features got all smashed up. The more I thought about it, the more I missed those memories.

I looked at the Heavenly Death Star with a nostalgic expression.

“Stop it.”

She seemed to have a hard time enduring my cheesy gaze and brushed off my hand as I wiped her mouth.

Ouch.

“Sorry about that. I was thoughtless. Now that you’ve grown up, there’s no need to wipe your mouth like when you were little.”

I smiled as if I felt bittersweet that Cheon Sohee, now grown-up, rejected my touch.

I shook the hand that Heavenly Death Star had brushed off, pretending it hurt a little, and deliberately glanced at my sleeve stained with tteokbokki sauce to make her aware of the sleeve.

Hey. Do you know how much this costs?

It was an old piece of clothing I got for free from Mr. Wang.

Ever imagined how hard it is to remove Rosé Tteokbokki stains?

You hit my hand, and you’re not even going to wash it.

“Sorry.”

Huh?

What?

Did the Heavenly Death Star just apologize to me?

“Sohee, what did you just say……”

Receiving an apology from the Heavenly Death Star was unexpected.

Bang!

Just as I was about to ask in surprise, the door of the inn was violently opened.

“Here! It’s here!”

Entering were a group of martial artists and a fat bald man who clearly seemed unrelated to martial arts.

What’s going on?

Five sword-carrying martial artists and a pathetic-looking bald man surveyed the inn.

“It’s definitely here.”

The leader among the martial artists addressed the fat man.

“Absolutely. I saw it with my own two eyes yesterday.”

“But you reek of alcohol.”

“Ah~ I didn’t drink that much! If I were drunk, would I be able to recognize the guy I saw last night and the one in the wanted poster?”

The situation seemed to be taking a grim turn. It smelled like a martial arts inn event.

“You might have been mistaken because you were drunk.”

“No! I can point him out for sure.”

The fat man entered the inn alone, looked around, and upon discovering us in the corner, he was startled.

Uh, could it be…

The fat man pointed at us and shouted loudly.

“Here! The murderer of the Gapsu Trading Company’s head is here!”

As expected.