A Lunch for Two

‘Sheesh, you read fast,’ Crystal comments as Yan carefully puts the book back on the shelf.

‘Eh…’ Yan looks at her, her eyes still glued to the final pages of her book. It’s not like she’s nowhere near finishing it, and to be fair, it seems that manga has more pages. It’s just a nice little compliment.

It’s been so quiet for the past hour or so. Immersed in the fictional world, Yan didn’t hear any footsteps or voices nearby, and even when a clumsy customer accidentally dropped a book earlier on, all he did was raise his head a little before returning to the story. Most surprising of all, Crystal did not utter a single word during this time, only occasionally fixing her sitting posture or brushing her hair back to read clearer. One of the loudest people he ever met, calmed by a few hundred pages of drawings and text.

The magic of reading really is something else.

‘You wanna read another one?’ she asks. ‘I’m down to stay longer before we need to eat.’

Ah, right. It’s past noon already. Usually, if this is a Saturday, Yan will have already left the bookstore to buy takeout for his family. However, since this is a Friday, he can afford to eat a little later if that means reading another three-volume compilation of Equivalent Exchange. It’s not like he eats much for lunch on weekdays anyway, especially not when he usually consumes so little energy during the holidays at home.

‘Sure, I can—’

Grrrrrrrr. His stomach furiously protests with a rumble, as if reminding him that this is not a usual Friday. His ears immediately flush red, hoping no one else has picked up that ghastly sound. Unfortunately, Crystal is already eyeing him suspiciously, looking at his thin body as if he’s some malnourished child. Not that it’s that far off of a description of his stature, but it’s at least a little embarrassing to be looked upon like that.

‘You sure?’ she questions.

‘Uh… Um…’ he drags, not even knowing the reason for delaying his response. Now that reality is back, he realises he is hungry, just that some small part of him refuses to admit the truth.

‘Hello?’

‘... Actually, let’s go for lunch,’ he relents. Again, no idea why it takes him this long to answer a simple question.

‘Yeah, sure! Let’s go!’ She springs up, immediately darting towards the exit. That boundless pack of energy is back.

Yan can only sigh as he trudges behind, even though it’s pretty clear he’s the only one starving of the two. Waving briefly at the clerk, he follows Crystal outside to the immense summer heat, the sun shining down with its full strength. Just his favourite type of weather, the type that melts people like him within ten steps.

‘Ughhhhh…’ he mutters to himself.

‘What did you say?’ Crystal turns back a little, concerned at his slow pace.

‘Nothing.’

‘Anyway, what do you wanna eat?’

Yan wishes she would’ve asked that while they were in the air-conned interior of the bookstore. Too late for that now. They’re outside. Going back inside the bookstore will be too much of a hassle. A hassle of ten steps at most.

Well, ten steps is ten steps. Having drastic temperature differences is bad for one’s health, Yan reasons to himself, sweat already trickling down his forehead.

‘Dude, what do you wanna eat?’ Crystal repeats.

‘Oh, uh, I don’t mind.’ The default response. Even though he might prefer something like noodles or Japanese ramen right now, he’s too lazy to even bring that up to her, only hoping she’ll somehow read his mind and decide in his favour. That’s what he does every time his parents ask him a similar question. In the end, they decide, and it just becomes a lottery if he does get what he wants.

Not the most efficient way of getting what one wants, but definitely the lowest cost option. Not that he knows what the cost is exactly.

‘Then, hm… How about ramen? There’s a pretty good ramen shop nearby,’ she suggests.

She read my mind. ‘I don’t mind.’

‘You sure?’

‘Yeah, I don’t mind.’

‘Can you stop saying “I don’t mind” every single sentence?’

‘Oh, oops. Sorry.’ The default response went a bit too far.

The ramen shop is situated near a train station, set up next to a bustling path with pedestrians walking to and fro. Yan himself has passed by the place several times, and as expected, there is already a small line waiting to be seated, the young staff inside hurriedly serving bowl after bowl of thick tonkotsu ramen.

‘Isn’t this place a bit expensive for lunch?’ he says, scanning the menu under the blazing heat. Almost all the ramen meals cost upwards of $100, nearly double of a usual quick meal in the area.

‘It’s fineeee,’ Crystal reassures. ‘The ramen here is really good. At least that’s what other people say.’

‘Wait, you’ve—’

‘Nope!’ she answers confidently before he can finish his sentence.

‘Ah.’

Despite the shop’s small interior, the line shifts rather quickly forward, and after a short while, the two of them are ushered inside by a waiter, leading them to a corner table where they can barely see the ramen chefs at work.

The environment is rather loud. Besides the footsteps of staff hurrying around and chefs shouting numbers corresponding to each order, the customers’ voices also echo across the tiny interior, creating a warm ruckus in the shop. Overwhelmed by the sounds, Yan stares intently at the menu, ticking each box corresponding to the broth’s thickness, the noodles’ firmness, different add-ons, etc. And when that’s done, he begins to doodle on the order, drawing cartoonish eyes and symbols on the margins, distracting himself from the noises around him.

‘Ooh, what’re you drawing?’ Crystal suddenly looms over, her order also complete and dotted with pen strokes.

‘Just some random pictures,’ he answers monotonously. It’s nothing special

‘Looks really good!’

‘Not as good as yours.’ Where Yan’s doodles are scattered and random, Crystal’s seemingly random strokes eventually combine into a portrait of a young man, his expression enigmatic, his hair covering one of his eyes as he stares straight at Yan.

Whoa…

‘Uh, may I take your orders?’ a waitress asks as she stands by their table.

‘Yes, please.’ Crystal hands over her order, and Yan quickly follows, muttering a word of thanks as the waitress takes the paper.

‘Thank you… Oh, these are pretty nice pictures,’ she comments, smiling at them as she leaves for the kitchen.

‘Hehe, thanks…’ Yan sheepishly chuckles.

It isn’t long before the two bowls of ramen are served along with a plate of karaage (that Yan ordered) and two bottles of cold tea. The aroma of the broth immediately relaxes their postures, the toppings are laid out neatly on top with the onsen tamago being the cherry on top at the centre. At first glance, it doesn’t seem to be too special compared to the other ramen Yan had eaten in Hong Kong. Being a place filled with people addicted to Japanese culture, the cuisine is nearly as common as local seafood restaurants and even cha chaan teng.

‘Ooh, looks nice,’ Crystal says. For a second, Yan thinks she’s about to take out her phone for a picture… but instead, her hand reaches for the small bottle of spice powder, sprinkling a bit of it over the ramen. Then, she goes for the chopsticks, clamping up a mouthful of ramen before eating it with a loud slurp, the steam fogging up her glasses. Her movements are crude, but unlike the feigned expressions of some people online, there is nothing but pure enjoyment of the food from her face.

Meanwhile, Yan carefully puts a bit of ramen on his spoon before adding bits of each topping and finally soaking it in the broth. It’s a habit he’s developed whenever he eats any kind of noodles, a habit that makes the least sound and mess while enjoying all the ingredients in one bite. As the food slips into his mouth, the rich broth and firm noodles fill up the interior, conquering his taste buds with the near-perfect mix of taste and texture. The slightly-charred pork adds a further layer to the taste, while the veggies offer a refreshing crunchiness before he swallows it all.

It’s absolutely amazing.

‘T…This is so good!’ he exclaims.

‘Mm, mm!’ Crystal nods before swallowing her food. ‘Could I try some of your broth? You can try some of mine, too.’

‘Uh, sure?’ Is there anything different between our ramen other than the spice?

‘Hm… Your broth is slightly thicker, isn’t it?’

‘Eh?’ He takes a bit of Crystal’s visually identical ramen broth. It doesn’t seem different at all, but as he tastes it, the distinction immediately shows itself. Compared to his broth, hers is lighter, more easy to consume, but in exchange, it loses some of its richness and taste.

He checks the order details. Sure enough, while Crystal ticked ‘medium’ for broth thickness, he had ticked ‘extra thick’. He must’ve not been looking when he ticked that box.

‘Oh… That’s why,’ Crystal says, also noticing the minute difference on their order details. ‘By the way, can I take a piece of karaage?’

‘Uh… sure.’

She quickly devours one… and proceeds to grab a second one. Then a third, leaving one piece of karaage for Yan.

‘Oh, sorry, I ate a bit too much,’ she apologises.

‘Just order a plate for yourself already,’ he frowns.

‘I’m sorry, ok?’ she nervously laughs, trying to shrug it off. ‘I’ll pay for the karaage.’

‘Fine.’

For the rest of the meal, they each finish their bowl of ramen, not once exchanging a word with each other. It’s the same with the bookstore all over again, but unlike before, Yan now finds himself looking at Crystal’s expressions every once in a while. And every few minutes, while he’s preparing another ‘scoop’ of ramen, he notices a pair of eyes staring at him as well.

Soon, their bowls of ramen are emptied. Well, Crystal’s bowl still has quite a bit of broth remaining. As per habit, Yan has fully devoured even the last drop of his broth, enjoying every bit of the meal. The karaage ended up being quite good as well, though not that special compared to the ramen.

And amidst all this… Yan is still not yet full. Well, almost full, just not really just yet. There’s food just there opposite him, even if it’s just broth, but he feels just a little uneasy asking her for her food. Even if she quite literally took three quarters of his karaage earlier.

‘Um…’ he anxiously asks. ‘Crystal, can I finish your bowl as well?’

‘Yeah, sure!’ she replies. ‘But you don’t have to force yourself to actually finish it—’

Sluuuuurp. The last contents of Crystal’s ramen fall down into Yan’s stomach. He stacks the bowls and places the utensils together before handing it to a nearby waiter. The entire process, he guesses, ended up being around one minute.

‘Oh… my god. You’re insane,’ Crystal just manages to say.

‘I mean, I really did like the ramen,’ Yan chuckles, amused at her shock.

For the first time, he confidently smiles at her, proud of the little feat he has just accomplished.