Rachel sighed. “Oh my gosh, he’s really handsome and radiant,” she said, then shook her head and closed her eyes. “Ah, no, no. Calm down, Mr. Kim. I just like you,” Rachel continued before resuming her walk.
At the intersection not far from home, Rachel caught the mouthwatering aroma of food.
She broke into a light jog until she stopped at a stall selling bungeoppang ice cream, her favorite snack.
“Wow, Auntie, you’re finally selling bungeoppang ice cream. It smells absolutely delicious,” Rachel said as she breathed in the aroma of the freshly cooked, still-warm bungeoppang.
“Auntie, how much is one serving?” Rachel asked.
“Just 3,000 won.”
Rachel quickly unzipped her backpack to take out her wallet. She froze when she saw that it held only 1,500 won. She had just remembered that she’d spent all her spending money on snacks during break, as well as treating Deisha to a glass of orange juice and a serving of tteokbokki.
“Ah, I shouldn’t have put my money in my piggy bank this morning,” Rachel murmured as she remembered putting some of her allowance into the piggy bank before leaving for school.
“What’s wrong?” asked the woman who owned the bungeoppang stall.
Rachel gave a bitter laugh. “N-no, it’s nothing. I was just—”
“You don’t have enough money? How could you ask the price when you knew you didn’t have enough to buy it?” the woman said gruffly.
Rachel fell silent, as if she had no idea how to respond. “I’m sorry. I’ll come back tomorrow to buy it.”
After bowing, Rachel started walking home again.
“Wait,” the woman said, walking over to Rachel, who stopped in her tracks. “The rule at my stall is that anyone who asks the price has to buy it,” she continued.
“B-but I don’t have enough money. I promise I’ll come back here tomorrow.”
The woman kept staring at Rachel, deep furrows visible on her forehead. “How much money do you have right now?”
“Only 1,500 won,” Rachel replied hesitantly.
“Since this is a new item, I was planning to sell it at half price as a promotion. I just remembered that, so if you really want to try my bungeoppang ice cream, you only need to give me 1,500 won,” the woman said with the same gruff expression.
Rachel smiled widely. “Oh, really?” She quickly unzipped her backpack again, pulled out her wallet, and took out 1,500 won.
“Cia, bring me a plastic bag,” the woman shouted to a young girl who was busy making bungeoppang batter inside the stall.
“Okay, Mom,” replied the girl named Cia.
Still wearing a gruff expression, the woman took the thousand-won bill Rachel handed her. After the girl named Cia gave her a plastic bag, the stall owner quickly wrapped up one bungeoppang ice cream and handed it to Rachel.
“Thank you so much, Auntie. I hope you sell out of bungeoppang today,” Rachel said with a broad smile as she bowed.
“Next time, check how much money is in your wallet before asking the price,” the woman said before going back inside her stall.
Rachel bowed once more, then continued on her way home.
“Why do you always have to do kind things in such a harsh way? They’ll remember you as a scary woman instead of a kindhearted one,” asked the man who was busy preparing several other menu items.