Absinthe

Chapter 17: He's An Asshole After All

I was already exactly two blocks away from Chef Maxwell's restaurant when I realized that I had left my

phone in the locker where I had stored my belongings during the finals. I was both exhausted and

excited about winning that I had forgotten to grab it after I had changed my clothes.

I did a U-turn, parked, and went back inside. The restaurant manager greeted me as I entered and I

discreetly explained the situation to her. She smiled and told me to let myself into the locker room. The

door was ajar, and I could hear Jiwoo talking.

"Yeah, it sucks. I don't really know where to get that additional two hundred thousand."

I didn't want to eavesdrop, but I didn't think that now was the best time for me to enter and retrieve my

phone. I decided to let him finish and wait outside for a bit.

"I just feel really bad. You know how hard it was for me to save that much. I had nosebleeds from

juggling three jobs at the same time, remember? No. I think I'm forfeiting. I can't really pay for the class

anymore. There's no way I'd be able to get a loan, and—"

Just then, my phone rang.

"Gimme a sec. Someone left their phone here."

I heard Jiwoo's footsteps as he walked inside the locker room. "Gold Digging MoFu?" Jiwoo said as he

read the name flashing on my phone screen.

Shit! It was JM.

"Hello, Gold Digging MoFu? Yeah, that's how your name's saved on this phone. Somebody left it. Can

you let me know who? No, I'm not joking! Your name's saved as Gold Digging MoFu."

There was a sound that told me Jiwoo had leaned on one of the lockers. "It's an emergency? I don't

care what that emergency is. I told you: someone left this phone here. Now, if you're not going to tell

me the name of the person you're trying to call, then I can't help you."

There was a pause.

"What did you say? You fuc—"

I couldn't take it anymore, so I barged in at that very second and grabbed my phone from Jiwoo's

hands, which, to my surprise, were shaking. For a brief moment, I looked at Jiwoo's shocked face and

unintentionally grinned.

Grinned very stupidly.

I then mouthed an apology before running from the place like my life depended on it.

What could JM possibly want from me now? And in what universe would I have the courage to talk to

him again, especially now that he knew I had changed his name on my phone to Gold Digging MoFu? I

stayed in my car for minutes on end, unable to move. I hadn't expected a call from JM to have such an

effect on me.

Fuck! I screamed internally.

There came a knock on my window. It was Jiwoo. In all honestly, he still looked exceptionally Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

handsome in a plain white shirt and jeans.

"This might be overstepping my boundaries a little," he started. "But whoever that guy was, he's a total

asshole."

I gave Jiwoo a smile—or so I thought. The rear view mirror revealed that I looked like I was showing my

gums to the dentist or something.

"You should ignore him," he said. "Block his number if possible."

I nodded.

"You deserve someone better. Anyway, I'll be going now." He withdrew from the window and started to

back away from my car. "Take care, and see you whenever!"

See you whenever!

Did that mean he was really giving up Chef Maxwell's classes?

Without hesitation, I called Chef Maxwell and told him that I was forfeiting the scholarship. He refused

at first, but I explained that I was continuing the apprenticeship without taking the fee waiver. I told him

that I was going to pay for it in full and that he should give the scholarship to Jiwoo instead.

"Please just make sure he doesn't find out," I begged Chef Maxwell.

"Certainly. I'll see you in two weeks."

As soon as I ended the call, my phone got bombarded with a thousand notifications from IG. I opened

the app, and not surprisingly, I had been tagged in another post on Gossip Gurl's page. What was

surprising, however, was the photo.

It was one of Jiwoo leaning against my car, smiling. That had been just a few minutes ago, when Jiwoo

had been telling me to ignore JM. My face was partly visible on the windshield. Who the hell had taken

the photo? I looked around to see if there was anyone nearby, but the parking lot was empty.

I looked at the picture again and read the caption: Looks like @bjmesoftly is getting all the hot guys in

town!

Ugh! Why was Gossip Gurl painting me as some sort of a—

Scarlet woman, that BJ is! It was a comment from Faye.

See! I told you so! There's nothing going on between @bjmesoftly and our beloved @dr.derrick was a

comment from a random netizen.

OMG these two look like they came straight out of a Thai BL Novel!!! was another comment.

Three crying emojis was the reply of @robertanderson. His comment generated a thousand more

notifications as people started tagging my username in the comments.

I turned off the notifications in annoyance and checked the previously posted pictures.

There was one picture of Faye and Henry in some fancy dinner ball. The next photo was of Trish A.

and her German footballer hubby coming out of the airport, probably after their honeymoon.

Then, I saw another one of me on the phone during the preliminary round. I could see Jiwoo in the

background, but his face was blurred due to his movement. I remembered his usual white shirt and

jeans, though. There was no mistaking it was Jiwoo. That was the time he had called me out for

passing the prelims without actually joining it.

Gossip Gurl was a mystery. And so was Jiwoo. I knew she was getting photos from people all over the

metro, but who was she, and why was she making all this buzz about me? And Jiwoo's acting all

confusing as fuck, too! One moment he's acting like a total asshole, and the next he's this charming

boy next door. I was beyond confused.

***

The following morning, I woke up to Derrick telling me that the gang was coming over to congratulate

me on my win. And that I had to cook for them.

"I thought you guys were congratulating me?" I asked accusingly. "Why am I doing the cooking then?"

"Because you're the chef, you idiot," answered Derrick. "Hurry up because they'll be here soon."

"What time is it anyway? And who's coming?"

"It's already 10. You overslept. And everyone's coming. Literally everyone."

I reluctantly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. I wondered if Robert was

coming as well. After what he had done and what I had told him, it was possible that he didn't want to

see my face. I dressed up in a simple shirt and a loose pair of koi fish-themed trousers.

"What do you guys want to eat?" I asked Derrick over the sound of the TV. "Pizza? Steak? Fish?"

"Korean," Derrick replied.

"Korean food?" I asked, unsure if I had heard him correctly.

"Look at the dish here," he called, pointing at the TV. "I don't know what it's called, but it's what Koreans

eat for hangovers."

I looked at what Derrick was pointing at—it was haejangguk.

"Challenge accepted!" I exclaimed as I started prepping.

"Whoa. That thing was there this entire time?" Derrick asked as he watched me open the kimchi

refrigerator. "I've never seen it 'till now. I thought it was a simple kitchen counter!"

"Props to Faye," I said. "She had it custom-made to fit the space underneath the counter top."

"Why would you need that big ass freezer, though?"

"It's not really a freezer," I explained. "It's what we call a specialty fridge. Its temperature is optimal for

storing specific items."

"Right," Derrick said sarcastically, elongating the vowel. "I'll leave you be."

Actually, my kimchi fridge was not just for storing kimchi. Koreans would normally have the entire fridge

set up for storing kimchi and other types of fermented food, but since I don't eat as much kimchi as

they do, Faye had my specialty fridge customized. The left side was for storing smaller amounts of

kimchi and fermented products, and the right side was for storing the bulk of my produce, with a

compartment for chilled meats like ham as well as cheese. There was also a small vertical storage

space for wine, further subdivided into two for separating reds and whites.

I started the haejangguk by marinating pork backbones with the tendons intact. I had been thinking of

using them to make some good pork broth for a ramen dish I was developing a recipe for, but I thought

they would be perfect for haejangguk too.

After that, I proceeded to make gyeran mari or egg rolls, sautéed anchovies in corn syrup and rice

wine, braised beef and chili, and sautéed odeng or fish cakes. Then, I prepared several vegetable-

based side dishes: pan-fried kimchi, crispy tofu in sweetened soy sauce, braised potatoes in soy

sauce, sautéed mushrooms and aubergines, and four other variations of kimchi.

I glanced at the clock and saw that it was already noon. My pork had been marinating for about two

hours now. I only had about an hour left to finish everything.

I rushed to prepare the haejangguk in the pressure cooker, this time without adding the vegetables. I

had it set for 45 minutes. I also started cooking the rice—Korean rice, of course. So far, it's the best

tasting variant I've ever had. No offense to Filipino and Thai rice, but Korean rice is just way more

delicious.

It was time to move on to dessert. None of the ones visiting really deserved a good dessert from me—I

was the more deserving one given that I had won the scholarship. But then again, I needed to save

face.

I decided on making Paris-Brest, but instead of going for the typical wheel-shaped pastry, I decided to

form the ring using individual cream puffs. Instead of the usual cream puffs, though, I baked my choux

topped with craquelin to achieve a crispy, sugary flavor. For the filling, I baked some hazelnuts and

made a praline out of it. Afterward, I blended it until I got a smooth paste. It was not your typical choux

filling, but something told me it would work.

The gang was used to eating crème puffs with pastry crème filling and they might not like the texture of

my hazelnut praline paste. So I decided to make a mousseline to add to the filling later on. I also

tempered some chocolate and cut them into discs.

The pressure cooker whistled, signaling that the haejangguk was cooked. I added the potatoes plus

some of the harder vegetables and cooked it for another ten minutes.

"They're here!" shouted Derrick. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" I answered as I busily packed the rice into individual bowls. "Help me set the table!"

Derrick came over and carried the dishes to the dining table. I took the flatware and utensils and set

them as well.

"Where's the main dish?" Derrick asked.

"I'll serve it once you guys are seated."

In the next few minutes, Faye, Cassie, Janus, and Robert entered the house. Derrick welcomed them

as I cleared out the kitchen counter. Robert gave me a shy smile when he passed by the kitchen, but

he didn't interact with me in any way other than that.

"Hi guys!" I greeted everyone with a smile.

"Hi BJ! Congratulations!" It was Cassie. "Here, I got you a gift."

I hadn't seen her in more than a month. She must've been busy with modeling work.

"I'll take that," Derrick said as he grabbed the gift and placed it on the kitchen counter. "Let's open it

after lunch. I'm starving."

While they were chatting and exploring the apartment, I hastily arranged the meats, the potatoes, and

hard vegetables on the pan. I topped everything with some blanched enoki mushrooms and cut perilla

leaves. Robert came over and offered to carry it to the dining table as it sat on top of a portable butane

gas burner.

"There you go!" I said as Robert placed the haejangguk in front of our friends.

"I've had this in Seoul before," Robert said as he sat down. "Isn't it called gamjatang?"

"There's actually a lot of confusion regarding that," I explained. "Most Korean restaurants offer

haejangguk and gamjatang separately. Gamjatang is served like this," I said, pointing to the dish I just

served. "While haejangguk is served individually. But personally, I think the terms are interchangeable."

I sat down and bid everyone to enjoy the food.

"The word haejangguk is an umbrella term for the soup Koreans eat supposedly to help alleviate

hangovers," I added.

I figured that was how Robert and I would address the whole thing that had happened between us. We

would pretend as though it had never happened.

Everyone started eating the side dishes and also ladling haejangguk onto their individual plates.

"In English, this is called pork backbone stew," I said.

"This is great!" the gang commented as they tasted the food.

I went ahead and ate as well. The haejangguk was good, but it wasn't as good as the one served to me

at the Hilton. I should go there one time and ask for their recipe, one of these days.

"Hey Faye, we should be eating. No phones!" Cassie said.

"Yeah, I agree," Derrick seconded.

Faye frowned at them and mouthed "fine" before tucking her phone away.

"I have an idea," Janus started. "It's been a long time since we were last together—more than 15 years

now, isn't it?"

"And?" I asked.

"A lot of things have happened in our lives that the others may not know about," Janus said. "Wouldn't

it be nice if we used this opportunity to catch up on each other's lives?"

"What did you have in mind?" Robert asked.

"Well, I was thinking we could put all our phones in a basket, and should a call come, it has to be on

loudspeaker."

"Great idea!" Faye said, eyes wide with excitement. "And in case there's a text or a chat message, it

should be read out loud."

"I'm in!" Robert said.

Derrick, Cassie, and I nodded. We all took out our phones and placed them in a fruit bowl that Derrick

had brought from the kitchen.

We continued enjoying the lunch I had prepared when Janus' phone rang.

"Looks like I'm the first victim," he said, grinning. He showed us his phone, and the name "JM" flashed

on the screen. Janus saw my reaction, so he immediately said, "Don't worry. It's a different JM." He

answered the phone and put it on loudspeaker.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"Yo, Janus! Are you free?"

"Not really. I'm having lunch with old friends. But we can talk."

"That sucks, man. I wanted to drink."

"At this hour? What's the problem?"

"You remember the rich asshole I told you about? His name's BJ."

Everyone looked at me. My face grew red when I realized that the voice belonged to Jiwoo. I've

forgotten that his full name was Jiwoo Miguel – a bizarre combination of a Korean name and a Filipino

one! I guess that's why he's called JM, too.

"I thought I was wrong about him," came Jiwoo's voice on the speaker. "But he's still an asshole after

all."