"It's my first time in Noryangjin. Are you here alone?”

"Yes, yes. Just Noryangjin Cupbap Street is famous. I wanted to try it.”

"Well, that's a good thing you're here! My house is like the original. Choose whatever you want. I'll give you plenty. Oh, this is the best seller. Tuna spam is very popular."

Obviously, there were so many kinds of cup rice even though it was a food truck run by a lady.

As many as 18 kinds.

Starting with tuna spam called steady seller, some included thin pork belly or stir-fried spicy pork, or other things such as sausages and grilled short rib patties.

In addition, there was an emperor's cup rice, which costs as much as 7,000 won.

"Um…… I'd like to have Tteokgalbi, Spicy Pork Cup Rice, please.”

"All right, student. Wait a minute."

As soon as I ordered, I started cooking.

I took a piece of tteok-galbi patty out of the freezer under the truck and baked it with eggs.

Put hot white rice in a styrofoam container and put fried kimchi and seaweed powder on top.

Put the baked patties and fried eggs on it and ladle the stir-fried pork in the next pot.

Finish with teriyaki sauce and sesame oil.

In less than three minutes, a cup of rice was made in a snap.

I thought it would take longer than this even if I cooked ramen.

"Tell me if you don't have enough kimchi or rice. I'll give you more."

"Yes, thank you. Oh, and here."

The price of cup rice that looks good is only 4,000 won.

When I took cash out of my wallet, the lady took it with a smile.

Well, it's a visual I've been imagining. It's definitely cheap.

"I can't help it if I want to match the price of 4,000 won for this composition. It's a compromise."

Let's taste it first and think about it.

After cutting the short rib patty with a disposable spoon, the yolk of the soft-boiled egg was popped and rubbed.

My mouth was watering when the savory smell of sesame oil and teriyaki sauce mixed with the spicy smell of fried kimchi.

"Lower pressure."

I took a big bite while doing it.

The taste was, well, the taste everyone thought.

The taste of patty and fried kimchi, which are closer to Nubiani than tteok-galbi, was dominant, but the balance was not bad.

The meat of stir-fried spicy pork was a bit crumbly.

It wasn't cooked right away, and it was kept warm.

But considering the price, it was edible.

It's a little lower quality than stir-fried spicy pork in a convenience store lunch box.

I envy you! I want to eat it too. Sometimes I feel like this kind of thing. Even if it's not luxurious, it's a kind and familiar taste.

'Hhh, Chef. I'm sorry, but I'll eat alone today. We can make it tonight.

-Hey, you know that. It doesn't taste like this when you cook it at home! By the way, what do you say? Please tell me how it tastes. Just vicarious satisfaction.

'Should I say evaluation…'…, because it's hard to say. This is the price.’

It didn't taste bad.

Similar to ramen, it was a delicious taste that everyone knew.

Of course, from Haru's perspective or Choi Han-seok's perspective, he had a lot to say.

Tteokgalbi, hash brown, pork cutlet, etc. were all frozen foods.

It is not a branded frozen food, but a cheap frozen food that comes into the market.

The same is true of other ingredients there.

Spam, corn, tuna, etc. in canned foods.It was clear that the stir-fried spicy pork was also used with cheap imported pork front legs.

It's a dish that can be easily tasted with frozen ingredients such as kimchi and sauce.

The same was true of other dishes.

Rice noodles, which cost between 3,000 won and 3,000 won, are made by adding a stock base sold on the market, and ramen is the same as not making broth directly.

It was hard to say that it didn't contain any techniques, and that it used fresh ingredients.

In addition, nutrition and food quality were never said to be good.

But Haru and Choi Han-seok knew.

This cup rice is.

And Noryangjin Street food is not food that should be judged by those values.

"Auntie, I'm here!"

"Oh, my God, Sua, you here? I heard you took the mock test last time, did it go well? Oh, can I make it a meal that I eat every day after all?

As Haru was eating cup rice talking to Choi Han-seok, a girl in a pink knitwear jumped up in front of a food truck.

I think you know the boss here to some extent.

When asked by the lady if she did well on the test, the female student scratched her head a little while avoiding her eyes.

"Hehe……. Actually, I didn't see it as much as I thought. It's not that I didn't get a score, but I don't think it's as good as I studied. I have an exam soon...….”

"Don't worry too much. Sua, I know you studied hard. I'm sure it'll work out. Auntie believes that."

"Thank you, Auntie. I've been on a diet lately. The exam is over, and I'm here to relieve my stress. It's been a while since I thought of my aunt's food.”

"Oh, my God, there's no weight to lose a skinny kid like you! And don't be so worried. My aunt has met a few kids here in five years of business! Sua, you're going to eat this and confidently pass the exam and come back, right?”

A lady who was cooking quickly, sincerely cheering for a girl named Sua, soon offered a cup of rice.

It was cup rice with fried eggs, fried kimchi base, boneless chicken, cheese, and red sauce, just like Haru ordered.

"Fire chicken mozzarella cup rice. It's what you always eat, right?”

"Of course! It's my favorite menu. Well, thank you for the food!"

A girl who bows and eats deliciously.

The cup rice sprinkled with fire chicken sauce was spicy and delicious.

For your information, Buldak mozzarella cup rice costs only 4,000 won.

Noryangjin would be the only place in the world to taste this food at this price.

Of course, aunts' affection for students is a bonus.

Students who leave their parents' side and continue studying for the exam at Noryangjin Goshiwon, which has no acquaintances.

And even if it takes 10 minutes to eat, the ladies on the streets of Cupbap will be the mothers of those students.

That's the seasoning that makes Noryangjin Cupbap street's food taste better.

"Whoo...…I'm full."

It was quite filling to eat a cup of rice worth 4,000 won.

I was so full that I couldn't even compare it to a convenience store lunch box that I could buy at the same price.

"Student, you ate your fill, didn'”

"Of course, ma'am, thank you for the meal."

"Yes, yes. I'll be nicer to you next time. Have a safe trip home!"When I put down the cup rice bowl, the lady gave me a kind smile and a warm greeting.

When I went out of the food truck, I saw Choi Han-seok from far away.

He was about to sneak out and come back in the middle, saying he would go around the streets more than just eating while watching Haru eat.

"Chef, what do you think of the other shops?"

It doesn't matter. They're all similar. It's so cheap, it's delicious. I think I can taste everything on my tongue even if I don't eat it. Well, I'm kind to you though...….

Choi Han-seok, who was criticizing the food, soon let out his words.

He also knew the menstruation of the Noryangjin food truck business district, so it is difficult to argue simply by the quality and taste of the food.

"I felt it strongly as I walked around the Noryangjin commercial district. As expected, I think we should give up the main business district.”

Noryangjin's main commercial district where the academy and the station face each other.

No one disagreed that it was as good as Hongdae, but it was already saturated.

Fully occupied with merchants who have been doing business for several years.

I couldn't see any room for Haru, who was just coming in.

"Then I'll have to be pushed out to the back alley or the residential area……. I'm afraid people will come there. And will the price of food be okay...….”

I definitely felt it when I came here myself. It's not easy at all.

As Haru was talking around in a worried voice, Choi Han-seok, who was looking at him, lightly said a word.

-Well, Haru, you're all right. Honestly, don't you feel it to some extent? I don't know if I'm the only one who thinks so. I don't think our business can fail.

"You can't fail?”

- We have a very powerful weapon that only we have, without other people. The quality and taste of cooking!

Cooking should be delicious for now.

The biggest reason people eat is to enjoy the taste.

In that sense, Choi Han-seok could speak with confidence.

You know, your cooking here is literally unique. Other merchants can never follow you in terms of the quality or taste of cooking.

I'm not trying to denigrate Noryangjin's food at all.

However, from a commercial point of view and based on the cuisine itself.

It can never be compared to one day's food, Choi Han-seok said with confidence.

In other words, Choi Han-seok's opinion was summarized in one line.

-We don't have to worry too much about where to sell. Why? Because the food is delicious. Haru's Tteokgalbi is so delicious!

It was ridiculous to hear.

However, considering that the person who said that was Choi Han-seok, the highest authority on Korean food, and that his voice was overflowing with confidence, it was strangely believed.

Besides, one day couldn't hide a smile that was built by itself.

Choi Han-seok's words, full of confidence, were nothing short of praising the day.

"Really, do you think so? Chef."

-It's because I didn't tell you, but this sandwich you developed was beyond imagination. Haru, don't worry. I bet on Choi Han-seok's name in three letters, this will definitely succeed. Even if you sell it in the middle of Tokyo, it's enough for a Seoulite to come to eat.Choi Han-seok is raising his thumb to hold onto his worries.

With this image of him that I had rarely seen, I had no choice but to nod my head one day.

Sure, with confident eyes.

"Well, I'll do my best!"

* * *

"Ha... I'm dying."

That, that.

The man, who had just left the academy, sighed and barely moved away.

25 years old, 4th year student, 3rd year student.

This was the only word I could say for myself.

When I entered Noryangjin, my goal of becoming a seventh-grade civil servant changed to ninth-grade in two years.

He said last year that he would return to his parents' house if he failed this exam and the year before last.

But despite the dawn of the new year, he ended up in Noryangjin.

While receiving allowance from my mother, I skipped my parents' spine by saying that I would be a good son after passing the exam.

"I'm sick of it."

After waking up in a 3-pyeong room, I woke up early in the morning, lined up in front of the academy, and studied.

A series of everyday life that only goes to academies and studies.

If I could, I would like to rest or play for a day, but I couldn't because of the guilt of weighing on my shoulders.

"I need to eat something."

I had to use my brain to study, and I had to eat to use my brain.

I didn't see a lot of people who collapsed while studying.

But there wasn't enough money.

Of course, food trucks such as cup rice, rice noodles, and fried rice, which can be used for a meal for about 3,000 to 4,000 won, were scattered around the academy.

But it was a day or two, and I was sick and tired of eating it for years.

I'm completely sick of the stimulating smell and MSG taste.

"I want to eat something delicious. It's not like sausage fried rice sold at convenience stores or cheap food trucks. Like beef, steak...….”

Others eat to cheer up, but I just feel like I'm eating so that I don't die.

If you pass the exam and get your first salary, you have to eat expensive food.

I should go to a Michelin restaurant with my parents who worked hard.

I had no choice but to think so.

Tubbuck, tubbuck.

As I walked recklessly thinking if there was anything else other than the things I was tired of, I quickly escaped from the academy.

If you don't eat quickly, you will be late for the academy.

I had no choice but to roughly fill it up at a convenience store nearby.

"What's this smell?"

Nose, who had completely lost his appetite, captured something.

A rich, yet luxurious aroma, such as steak.

It was different from the stimulating smell of food from other food trucks.

The young man was unwittingly drawn to the epicenter of the smell.

And it was soon discovered.

A food truck that I've never seen before, standing in a place where not many people pass by, the back of the academy and the studio village overlap.

It was a food truck with a slightly unusual name, "A Reliable Day," and the menu was also unusual.

"Tteok-galbi sandwich?"

Gulp.

I'm sure it's a food I've never seen before, but strangely, I expected the taste.

Sandwich with thick short rib patties?

I drooled without realizing it.

"Oh, welcome! Enjoy your sandwich!"

As he walked slowly as if he had been possessed by something, the owner of the food truck who found him smiled broadly and greeted him with eyes.

The owner was a young man similar in age to him, and his smiling face gave him a strangely comfortable feeling.After roughly saying hello, I headed to the food truck.

And the grill that caught my eye.

The chubby patties, which added to the taste of fire, were sizzling with fire.

The quality was not unusual even on the face of it.

"Steak……? How is the short rib patty quality?"

The only thing I knew about Tteokgalbi was frozen Tteokgalbi that is sold at cup rice restaurants.

What the hell is this?

"It's handmade. It's really good! Would you like one?"

The owner of the warm-looking man said something, but he could not hear it was hard to the young man's ears.

He felt his lost appetite return in an instant.

A truly growling ship was speaking.

The food he was looking for was right here.

At the end of the day, the worse young man.

"Ha, give me one. No. One sweet and one cheese, please!"

Unknowingly, I ordered two.