Whoosh-!
Plop!
The float made a cute sound as it hit the surface of the lake.
The red fluorescent float sank quietly, finding its place.
“Heehee!”
“Come here!”
While I was preparing my fishing gear next to my father, I saw Ara and Seon-ah playing tag on the grassy field.
Gomgom was chasing them around, not knowing what they were doing.
“This is nice.”
“Except for the noise.”
“Haha. There’s nothing better than the sound of children laughing. Wait until you’re my age.”
“I like hearing Ara’s laughter too.”
“Don’t be too hard on your sister.”
Soon, I finished preparing my gear and cast my fishing rod into the lake.
Plop!
With the sound of the sinker dropping, the float slowly entered the water. Meanwhile, my father’s float began to move slightly, as if something was nibbling at the bait.
“You’re already getting a bite.”
“Yes. I was a bit worried, but fortunately, it’s biting.”
Considering that this wasn’t Earth’s environment, I wondered if the fish would take to the usual bait, but it seemed my worries were unfounded.
Soon, my father’s float sprang up high.
“Got it!”
As he swiftly pulled the fishing rod, the surface of the lake splashed, starting a battle of strength.
“It looks like a big catch.”
“Hm!”
My father raised his hand, gripping the fishing rod with a tense look. Despite thinking the fish would be caught quickly, it turned out to be quite a fighter.
“Did you catch it? Did you catch it?!”
Ara, who had stopped playing tag and approached my father, stared at the splashing lake surface with bright, curious eyes.
Wanting to show a good performance to his expectant granddaughter, my father gathered his strength again.
“Ugh-cha.”
“Ara, here’s the net.”
I watched from the side and handed the net to Ara as the fish finally started to show itself. The fish was bigger than expected, so the net was essential.
Ara, with a serious expression, received the net and carefully extended her arm. Finally, the fish slipped into the net.
“Got it!”
Ara’s face lit up as she pulled the fish out of the water. The fish still flopped energetically, dancing as if in protest.
“Wow! It’s a big one. The feel was perfect. Haha!”
My father examined the caught fish with a satisfied look.
Then, he patted Ara’s head, who was watching with excitement.
“Thanks to Ara, we caught it. I couldn’t have managed such a big one alone.”
“Hehe.”
Ara smiled brightly and then looked at me.
“Can we eat it?”
“Let’s grill it.”
Unlike the fish Ara caught when we visited with Young-seong, this one was a different species. It was bigger than the fish caught back then.
At that moment, my mother, who was watching with Bokkeum in her arms near the tent, spoke up.
“We need to light a fire. Is that a fire?”
“Yes. I’ll light it, just a moment.”
I prepared the frying pan and cooking utensils.
Meanwhile, Ara and my father were taking pictures with the fish.
“Great. Our Ara is brave.”
“Wow! It’s big!”
Ara proudly held up the fish, while my father and Seon-ah took pictures non-stop. My father focused on the fish, while Seon-ah focused on Ara, each with their own details.
“Mom, you can rest. I’ll handle it.”
“Can you do it?”
“I can grill a fish.”
I had been living on my own for a few years.
But in my parents’ eyes, I still seemed like a child.
“Hmmm…”
“It’s okay, just relax.”
Ignoring my mother’s doubtful gaze, I continued preparing.
‘Just grilling the fish seems a bit plain.’
I roughly pulled out the ingredients I had prepared beforehand.
Ember grill, and tomatoes.
This should be enough for the fish.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if tomatoes would go well with it, but I thought of it spontaneously.
I also took out the salad I had saved from earlier. By the way, I had never told anyone about the benefits of the cucumbers in the salad.
‘…It could be dangerous.’
It’s an officially certified skincare food product by the system.
The moment this fact becomes known, there’s bound to be a commotion.
Better be cautious.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong !”
Ara came running to me, holding a fish as big as her face. Meanwhile, my fishing rod seemed to have gotten a signal, as my father quickly grabbed it.
“Nice!”
He was completely absorbed in the fishing.
“I’ll call you when the food’s ready. Ara, you can go play.”
“Okay!”
Ara answered brightly and started to go back, but then she turned around and came back to me.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong .”
“Hm?”
“I want to fish too.”
“Oh! Ara can do it too. Ask Dad to teach you.”
“Okay!”
I watched Ara’s excited footsteps as she ran to my father, and then I started to prepare the fish.
-Grr.
“Gomgom, you’re here?”
Gomgom approached me, sniffing the fish. As expected of a bear, he seemed to like fish. I remembered seeing bears hunting salmon in documentaries, so the thought came to mind.
-Grr?
“Gomgom, are you curious about this?”
Seeing his curious face, it seemed like it was his first time seeing a fish. Given his small size, it was probably dangerous for him to go into the water, so he might not have seen fish before. When we found Gomgom last time, the fish feast was already over.
I finished preparing the fish and stuffed its mouth with tomatoes. Since I had removed all the innards, I put more ember grill and a few tomatoes into the cut.
‘Is this right?’
Well, it shouldn’t fail. The ingredients were so good that even this improvised dish should be delicious. I had seen something like this before and was vaguely following it, though I felt it originally used lemons to remove the fishy smell.
Sizzle-
As soon as the pan heated up, I put the fish on it. Soon, a delicious smell wafted through the air.
“Yes!”
“Wow! Ara caught it! Our Ara caught a fish!”
“Oh, where? Wow, our Ara is amazing. It’s a big one!”
While I was cooking, my parents were excited about Ara’s fishing success. Seon-ah was busy recording a video of the scene.
“Why don’t you enjoy it too?”
“Shh.”
When I said that to Seon-ah, she put her index finger to her lips with a serious face. Well, that’s her way of enjoying it. I decided to just ignore it.
Sizzle!
Soon, the fish was perfectly cooked through. The fragrant aroma of the fish rose, surrounded by the smells of the ember grill and tomatoes.
“Smells good.”
-Roar!
Gomgom drooled as he watched the fish.
Meanwhile, Ara waddled over to me and put something beside me.
Thud!
A heavy sound.
When I glanced to the side, I saw a big fish, almost reaching my waist, lying on the ground.
“It’s a big one!”
Ara put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.
I glanced at proud Ara and then back at the fish on the ground.
“…What is this?”
“No way, you caught something like this with a freshwater fishing rod? Doesn’t it usually break?”
“Hehehe! Kyu-seong! This is a real big catch, a big one!”
“The rod didn’t break?”
“I thought it would, but Ara picked up a rock from the ground and hit the fish with it. Then she just pulled up the unconscious fish.”
“……”
Her judgment is impressive.
Thanks to Ara, the fishing rod’s lifespan has been extended. Next time, I should bring a rod specifically for big catches instead of a freshwater one.
By the way, that thing looked really ferocious.
Can we eat this?
“Fish are usually more delicious the uglier and bigger they are.”
As if reading my thoughts, my father licked his lips while looking at the big fish Ara had caught.
“Let’s eat it as sashimi.”
“Sashimi is dangerous. It’s a freshwater fish.”
“That’s true. Unfortunately, we’ll have to save sashimi for another time.”
It might be fine, but it’s safer to cook it. Of course, Ara can digest anything, but we can’t.
-Rooar!
“Yes! It’s edible!”
Near the fish Ara caught, Gomgom was stomping his feet. Ara nodded in approval.
-Rooar!
“Wait. Wait.”
I stopped Gomgom from immediately putting it in his mouth.
Of course, as a bear, he could eat the fish raw, but…
“Let’s drain the blood first.”
I wanted to preserve Gomgom’s image.
I started preparing the fish while everyone else began to eat.
Wait, why do I suddenly feel like there’s so much to do?!
“Brother, can I eat this first?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Ara, do you want to eat with me?”
“Sure!”
Seeing my family so happy made me feel good. I watched them enjoying the fish while I prepared more.
“Yum! This is delicious!”
“The herbal aroma is amazing.”
“The fish is so tasty! The juices are just like meat.”
Watching them enjoy the food made me want to try it too…
At that moment, Ara, smiling widely, ran over with a big piece of fish on her special fork.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong! Open up!”
“Ahhh~!”
Thud!
The fish entered my mouth a bit roughly, but I patted Ara’s head without showing it. Ara is the best.
“Mmm!”
It was good. No, it was much better than expected.
Just like Seon-ah said, the juices flowed out like it was meat, and it felt like the fish absorbed the moisture from the tomatoes.
‘Tomatoes weren’t a bad choice after all?’
If it were my mom or Jae-seong, they could have cooked it more elegantly, but this was quite a successful dish.
“This is going to take a while.”
The fish Ara caught was so large that draining the blood took a long time.
Meanwhile, Ara, who had already finished all the fish on her plate, shouted with fire in her eyes.
“I want to eat more fish!”
She held up the fishing rod like a weapon, looking like a warrior going to battle.
“Hehe. How about a contest to see who catches more fish, Ara?”
“Oh! I will win!”
Seeing Ara so excited made everyone smile.
And so, the fishing contest and cooking continued for a while until my tired father finally declared defeat.
“Ara, you beat your grandpa.”
“Oh! I won! I beat the Great Lord!”
-Roar!
Ara raised both arms in a cheer, and beside her, Gomgom mimicked her without knowing why.
“It’s been a while since I overexerted myself out of excitement.”
“The fish were big and biting well, so it was exhausting.”
“Still, I think I’ve experienced enough fishing excitement for a lifetime. I’ll probably get addicted to this feeling and want to come back.”
“Come anytime you want. You’re always welcome to fish here.”
“Then who will earn the money?”
“I will.”
As I spoke confidently, Seon-ah, who was listening, chimed in.
“Dad! Kyu-seong will earn a lot of money. With the Ara Hongryeon Guild, money will practically pour in even if he just sits still.”
“It’s not that extreme, but I do earn enough to support the family, Father.”
“Is that so? Then I might as well benefit from my son.”
Father spoke jokingly, but it was something I had been thinking about for a while.
“Father. You can really retire now if you want.”
“Sure, sure. I’ll think about it.”
“I’m not joking. I’m serious.”
“I’m not joking either. I’m seriously considering it.”
Oh, he wasn’t joking?
“Actually, coming here has changed my perspective. If I can enjoy my retirement in a place like this, it’s worth considering.”
It seems he likes this place even more than I thought.
Of course, it’s a very charming place.
“In that case, we’ll need to build a house first.”
Hmm. A house, a house…
Should I ask the Alfheims for some advice?
Cliche Novel 