Chapter 345. At a Motel with a Prostitute in the Room Next Door: A Chat with the Prostitute in the Morning. (5/8)
After that, I returned to Yuna’s room with her portion. As soon as I entered, she glared at me coldly.
“You sure had fun together with that prostitute, didn’t you?” Yuna whispered in a chilly tone.
“No, I didn’t. With the thin walls, you should have heard everything, right?”
“From you cleaning up her place, her getting herself off in front of you, you turning down her advances repeatedly, teaching her how to fold her clothes, making her something to eat, and then walking out right before she starts crying. Yes, I heard everything from beginning to end.”
“Then why do you look so upset with me?”
“I’m not upset with you. I’m just annoyed from listening to how she talks about herself and also your conversation with her overall. Calling herself useless and unable to do anything all the time, acting like she’s worth nothing and doesn’t have a soul, all of it pisses me off.”
“I see. But it’s not our problem.”
“She sold her soul to you. You’re helping me in exchange for my soul, are you trying to say her soul is worth nothing?”
“I cooked her a meal in exchange for it. By the way, here’s your portion. As for her, the only one who can fix her problems is herself. Giving a second chance to someone who’s given up on everything including themself doesn’t benefit anyone. Trying to force someone to change is useless. People change with time on their own as they mature and meet different people. It only takes a meeting with one person to change a person's entire life.”
“You’re saying her meeting you, is that?”
“No. But her meeting me may lead to her meeting someone else who might be that person.” The butterfly effect. Simply meeting me… no, us here when it did not happen my first time through life could lead to a drastic change in this prostitute’s own life.
“Sounds like some pretty cheap words to me.”
“It’s impossible to help everyone. If you tried to do that you’d die from exhaustion.”
“Whatever, hurry up and get the sheet so we can get going now. They should be almost done, right?”
“Yeah, it should be about done drying. I’ll be right back.”
“You better be right back this time. This last time you said you’d be right back, you were gone for over two hours.”
“Sorry, my bad. I really will be right back this time.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re all talk. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
I quickly downed my portion of egg and toast before I headed back to the prostitute’s room. She should have had enough time to calm down by now.
Just to give her a heads up that I was entering, I knocked on the door.
“Your stuff is dry.”
When I opened the door, she was seated upright on the bed with her body curled into a ball and her arms wrapped around her knees in front of an empty sheet of foil. She’d eaten it all and left nothing behind.
I quietly made my way over to the dryer which had shut off. I opened the lid up, retrieved the sheet then headed back to the exit.
Before I opened the door, I said, “Thanks for letting me wash this here.”
Before I could open the door to leave she spoke up quietly, “Uhm… hey…”
“What is it?”
“Before you leave… can you… teach me how to cook the eggs and toast you made for me just now?”
“Hmm, well there is still some left. Enough to cook some more. Sure, I don’t mind.”
“Thanks…”
She got off the bed and followed me into the kitchen.
“Put some olive oil in the pot and let it heat up a bit.”
“Okay.”
I handed her an egg and explained, “While it’s heating up, crack the egg on the edge of the counter and pull the shell apart over the cup.”
She’d obviously never cracked an egg before judging by how inexperienced her movements were, but she was able to do it nevertheless.
“Is that fine?”
“Yeah, there aren’t any shells. If you ever get any pieces of the shell in it, make sure to fish it out.”
“What’s next?”
“Sprinkle some salt over it. Enough to sparsely cover the surface is typically enough.”
“Is this enough?”
“A little more wouldn't hurt, personally I like them more on the saltier side, but everyone has their own preference.”
“How about now?”
“Yeah, that’s enough. You can mix it up now.”
“This good?”
“Yeah. Now that the egg is ready, you can get the toast in the oven. Since you don’t have a toaster, place the bread on a sheet of foil and put it in the oven like that.”
She did as instructed and put it in the oven.
“Uh… how do I use the oven? I’ve only ever had to use the heating element on the stove to boil water before.”
“Turn this knob here on the left to bake. Then set the temperature by turning the knob on the right side to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.”
“Done. Now what?”
“Well, while the bread is in the oven you can get started on frying the eggs. You’re aiming to finish both at around the same time. You could delay a bit before you start though as the bread may take a bit longer than the egg. But we won’t this time. Another thing to keep in mind is that you have to keep checking the bread to make sure it doesn’t burn. Keep an eye out for when it acquires a very light brown color on the surface. Once it does, you can turn it to make sure both sides come out equally.”
“That’s quite a bit to do at once.”
“It’s a lot easier with a toaster. But once you get the hang of it, it’s not very difficult at all. I’ll help you keep an eye on the bread this time, but in the future, you can use a timer. There’s a timer on the stove as well. Press this timer button then the up and down arrows to select the time you want and that’s it.”
She dumped the egg into the pot with olive oil coating the bottom.
“Well, it isn’t recommended to use a plastic fork like this, but as long as you’re quick, careful, and don’t let it stay in contact with the bottom of the pot for too long, you should be able to avoid it melting.”
“Keep turning the egg so the portions that are still uncooked touch the bottom of the pot.”
She followed my instructions carefully, and after a short minute, the egg was fully cooked.
“Now that you’ve started to see a hint of light brown on the eggs, you can take them out. You can actually take them out a bit before it reaches this point when some of it is still slightly liquid, they actually do taste pretty good like that as well.”
She transferred the fried eggs onto a sheet of foil I’d placed on the counter.
“You should check the toast.”
“Right.”
She opened the oven and took a look.
“They’re slightly brown like you said.”
“Good, then you can turn them over.”
“Okay.”
“In a minute you’ll want to spread some butter or margarine on the bread as soon as you take it out so it melts. So open this packet and have it ready for when you take the bread out.”
She checked the bread after opening the packet of butter.
“It looks done.”
“Then take it out.”
She reached into the oven and touched the bread but quickly pulled her hand back and hissed, “Sssss! It’s hot,” while waving her hand in the air.
“Don’t touch the bread directly. If you don’t have oven mitts to take it out, grab the raised up corners of the foil and pull it out. It won’t be hot there.”
“Oh. You’re right, it really isn’t.”
She pulled it out and quickly spread the butter on the bread.
The toast came out golden brown and glittered under the light from the melted butter on top of it and the soft moist yellow egg positioned beneath it.
“Congratulations, there you go. You cooked eggs and toast and it turned out looking really good.”
“You mean… I really cooked this?”
“Yeah. You did a great job. It wasn’t so hard, was it? It didn’t even take that long to prepare. It’s a very simple meal that just about anyone can put together and enjoy. It uses the bare minimum amount of ingredients, but it tastes great as long as you cook it right.”
“Uh… yeah… would you try it and let me know how it tastes?”
“Sure.”
She tore the bread in half and divided the fried egg into two equal portions.
I tore my piece of bread in half, put half of the fried egg on top of it, and stuffed it into my mouth. It tasted the same as the batch I made myself.
“It tastes good,” I complimented.
“Really? You’re not just saying that?”
“Try it yourself if you don’t believe me.”
I ripped off a piece from her bread along with some egg and held it up to her mouth.
“I can do it myself.”
“Just open your mouth.”
Though a bit hesitant to try something she cooked herself, she still opened her mouth.
When she sank her teeth into it, her eyes lit up and a natural smile bloomed on her face as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest and cheerfully exclaimed, “It really tastes the same.”
“See? I wasn’t lying.”
“Yeah, you weren’t.”
“Anyway, I’ve got to get going now.”
“You’re checking out with that girlfriend of yours?”
“Yeah.”
“I see…”
“If we meet in the future, hopefully, it’ll be a time when you don’t consider your life a mess.”
“If… I somehow get my act together… maybe I’ll cook for you again if that time ever arrives.”
“Sure, I’ll look forward to it then. It’s a promise.”
“A promise?”
“Yeah.”
I knew it was childish, but I stuck my pinky finger out to her.
“Are you a kid?”
“What’s wrong with being a kid? Don’t you think it’s at least better than being a cynical adult who can’t see any good in the world?”
“That’s… certainly true… things were so much easier when I was a kid.” She raised her pinky up and locked it with mine which made it official.
After I washed my hands in the sink, I headed to the door, but before I opened it, I resolved myself to ask her one last thing.
“Hey, there’s one thing I want to confirm before I go...”
“What is it?”
"Well..."
Chapter 345. At a Motel with a Prostitute in the Room Next Door: A Chat with the Prostitute in the Morning. (5/8)
After that, I returned to Yuna’s room with her portion. As soon as I entered, she glared at me coldly.
“You sure had fun together with that prostitute, didn’t you?” Yuna whispered in a chilly tone.
“No, I didn’t. With the thin walls, you should have heard everything, right?”
“From you cleaning up her place, her getting herself off in front of you, you turning down her advances repeatedly, teaching her how to fold her clothes, making her something to eat, and then walking out right before she starts crying. Yes, I heard everything from beginning to end.”
“Then why do you look so upset with me?”
“I’m not upset with you. I’m just annoyed from listening to how she talks about herself and also your conversation with her overall. Calling herself useless and unable to do anything all the time, acting like she’s worth nothing and doesn’t have a soul, all of it pisses me off.”
“I see. But it’s not our problem.”
“She sold her soul to you. You’re helping me in exchange for my soul, are you trying to say her soul is worth nothing?”
“I cooked her a meal in exchange for it. By the way, here’s your portion. As for her, the only one who can fix her problems is herself. Giving a second chance to someone who’s given up on everything including themself doesn’t benefit anyone. Trying to force someone to change is useless. People change with time on their own as they mature and meet different people. It only takes a meeting with one person to change a person's entire life.”
“You’re saying her meeting you, is that?”
“No. But her meeting me may lead to her meeting someone else who might be that person.” The butterfly effect. Simply meeting me… no, us here when it did not happen my first time through life could lead to a drastic change in this prostitute’s own life.
“Sounds like some pretty cheap words to me.”
“It’s impossible to help everyone. If you tried to do that you’d die from exhaustion.”
“Whatever, hurry up and get the sheet so we can get going now. They should be almost done, right?”
“Yeah, it should be about done drying. I’ll be right back.”
“You better be right back this time. This last time you said you’d be right back, you were gone for over two hours.”
“Sorry, my bad. I really will be right back this time.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re all talk. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
I quickly downed my portion of egg and toast before I headed back to the prostitute’s room. She should have had enough time to calm down by now.
Just to give her a heads up that I was entering, I knocked on the door.
“Your stuff is dry.”
When I opened the door, she was seated upright on the bed with her body curled into a ball and her arms wrapped around her knees in front of an empty sheet of foil. She’d eaten it all and left nothing behind.
I quietly made my way over to the dryer which had shut off. I opened the lid up, retrieved the sheet then headed back to the exit.
Before I opened the door, I said, “Thanks for letting me wash this here.”
Before I could open the door to leave she spoke up quietly, “Uhm… hey…”
“What is it?”
“Before you leave… can you… teach me how to cook the eggs and toast you made for me just now?”
“Hmm, well there is still some left. Enough to cook some more. Sure, I don’t mind.”
“Thanks…”
She got off the bed and followed me into the kitchen.
“Put some olive oil in the pot and let it heat up a bit.”
“Okay.”
I handed her an egg and explained, “While it’s heating up, crack the egg on the edge of the counter and pull the shell apart over the cup.”
She’d obviously never cracked an egg before judging by how inexperienced her movements were, but she was able to do it nevertheless.
“Is that fine?”
“Yeah, there aren’t any shells. If you ever get any pieces of the shell in it, make sure to fish it out.”
“What’s next?”
“Sprinkle some salt over it. Enough to sparsely cover the surface is typically enough.”
“Is this enough?”
“A little more wouldn't hurt, personally I like them more on the saltier side, but everyone has their own preference.”
“How about now?”
“Yeah, that’s enough. You can mix it up now.”
“This good?”
“Yeah. Now that the egg is ready, you can get the toast in the oven. Since you don’t have a toaster, place the bread on a sheet of foil and put it in the oven like that.”
She did as instructed and put it in the oven.
“Uh… how do I use the oven? I’ve only ever had to use the heating element on the stove to boil water before.”
“Turn this knob here on the left to bake. Then set the temperature by turning the knob on the right side to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.”
“Done. Now what?”
“Well, while the bread is in the oven you can get started on frying the eggs. You’re aiming to finish both at around the same time. You could delay a bit before you start though as the bread may take a bit longer than the egg. But we won’t this time. Another thing to keep in mind is that you have to keep checking the bread to make sure it doesn’t burn. Keep an eye out for when it acquires a very light brown color on the surface. Once it does, you can turn it to make sure both sides come out equally.”
“That’s quite a bit to do at once.”
“It’s a lot easier with a toaster. But once you get the hang of it, it’s not very difficult at all. I’ll help you keep an eye on the bread this time, but in the future, you can use a timer. There’s a timer on the stove as well. Press this timer button then the up and down arrows to select the time you want and that’s it.”
She dumped the egg into the pot with olive oil coating the bottom.
“Well, it isn’t recommended to use a plastic fork like this, but as long as you’re quick, careful, and don’t let it stay in contact with the bottom of the pot for too long, you should be able to avoid it melting.”
“Keep turning the egg so the portions that are still uncooked touch the bottom of the pot.”
She followed my instructions carefully, and after a short minute, the egg was fully cooked.
“Now that you’ve started to see a hint of light brown on the eggs, you can take them out. You can actually take them out a bit before it reaches this point when some of it is still slightly liquid, they actually do taste pretty good like that as well.”
She transferred the fried eggs onto a sheet of foil I’d placed on the counter.
“You should check the toast.”
“Right.”
She opened the oven and took a look.
“They’re slightly brown like you said.”
“Good, then you can turn them over.”
“Okay.”
“In a minute you’ll want to spread some butter or margarine on the bread as soon as you take it out so it melts. So open this packet and have it ready for when you take the bread out.”
She checked the bread after opening the packet of butter.
“It looks done.”
“Then take it out.”
She reached into the oven and touched the bread but quickly pulled her hand back and hissed, “Sssss! It’s hot,” while waving her hand in the air.
“Don’t touch the bread directly. If you don’t have oven mitts to take it out, grab the raised up corners of the foil and pull it out. It won’t be hot there.”
“Oh. You’re right, it really isn’t.”
She pulled it out and quickly spread the butter on the bread.
The toast came out golden brown and glittered under the light from the melted butter on top of it and the soft moist yellow egg positioned beneath it.
“Congratulations, there you go. You cooked eggs and toast and it turned out looking really good.”
“You mean… I really cooked this?”
“Yeah. You did a great job. It wasn’t so hard, was it? It didn’t even take that long to prepare. It’s a very simple meal that just about anyone can put together and enjoy. It uses the bare minimum amount of ingredients, but it tastes great as long as you cook it right.”
“Uh… yeah… would you try it and let me know how it tastes?”
“Sure.”
She tore the bread in half and divided the fried egg into two equal portions.
I tore my piece of bread in half, put half of the fried egg on top of it, and stuffed it into my mouth. It tasted the same as the batch I made myself.
“It tastes good,” I complimented.
“Really? You’re not just saying that?”
“Try it yourself if you don’t believe me.”
I ripped off a piece from her bread along with some egg and held it up to her mouth.
“I can do it myself.”
“Just open your mouth.”
Though a bit hesitant to try something she cooked herself, she still opened her mouth.
When she sank her teeth into it, her eyes lit up and a natural smile bloomed on her face as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest and cheerfully exclaimed, “It really tastes the same.”
“See? I wasn’t lying.”
“Yeah, you weren’t.”
“Anyway, I’ve got to get going now.”
“You’re checking out with that girlfriend of yours?”
“Yeah.”
“I see…”
“If we meet in the future, hopefully, it’ll be a time when you don’t consider your life a mess.”
“If… I somehow get my act together… maybe I’ll cook for you again if that time ever arrives.”
“Sure, I’ll look forward to it then. It’s a promise.”
“A promise?”
“Yeah.”
I knew it was childish, but I stuck my pinky finger out to her.
“Are you a kid?”
“What’s wrong with being a kid? Don’t you think it’s at least better than being a cynical adult who can’t see any good in the world?”
“That’s… certainly true… things were so much easier when I was a kid.” She raised her pinky up and locked it with mine which made it official.
After I washed my hands in the sink, I headed to the door, but before I opened it, I resolved myself to ask her one last thing.
“Hey, there’s one thing I want to confirm before I go...”
“What is it?”
"Well..."
