Chapter 4: Twelve Courses

Saturday night, Seo-won broke the first rule of the deal.

Tae-min had said he would pick the plan.

Seo-won, who had never in his life let a plan go unimproved, booked a table.

The restaurant was in Cheongdam and had two stars and a doorman.

There was a twelve-course tasting menu on thick paper, and the first course was a single leaf on a stone.

Tae-min sat across from him in his one good jacket, looking at it.

"Is this the menu," he said carefully, "or is it a plant?"

"It's the amuse-bouche."

"It's a leaf."

"It's a pickled perilla leaf with sea urchin."

"Okay." Tae-min ate the leaf. He chewed for a long time. "It's very green."

Seo-won felt the evening tilting.

Course two was a foam.

Course three was a single scallop under a glass bell, which the waiter lifted with ceremony, and the smoke poured out.

Tae-min went white.

It was a very small amount of smoke, and he sat completely still until it cleared.

"Sorry," he said. "Habit."

Seo-won's hands went cold on the tablecloth.

He had planned a romantic evening and had put smoke under Tae-min's nose.

"We can leave," he said.

"No. Don't be dramatic." Tae-min picked up the scallop with his fingers and ate it in one bite.

"I'm fine. I just haven't eaten since lunch."

By course seven, a lone drop of beetroot jelly sat on a plate the size of a manhole cover.

Tae-min's stomach growled so loudly that the couple at the next table looked over.

He covered his face with one hand.

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