Seoul Kitchen: Chapter 24 (Patreon)

Impromptu Interrogation

If somebody told him just a few years ago that he’ll be attacked by a doppelganger, he would ran for the hills as he wasn’t going to take his chances with a possible psycho but here he was, holding one in his pantry. With the girls hands tied to her back and her legs tied to the chair, she wasn’t going to get anywhere soon. Off course, he wasn’t alone. Maine and the gang were here having answered his call for his help.

“God damn it, the bitch bit me!” Rebecca hissed out as Kiwi tended to her wounds. With a chunk of a her shoulder missing, it was a wonder how she wasn’t screaming in pain.

“Oh pipe down will you, you’ll live,” Kiwi told her as she tied his output’s bandaged tightly, “Be thankful she didn’t took another bite. She could have made you into a genuine chopping board if she just went a bit lower.” She then joked while Rebecca hissed out in pain and anger.

“Wouldn’t have bitten you a second time,” their lovely prisoner grimaced, “You tasted awful! Blegh!” She then added, making a show of it as she stuck her tongue out. For a girl that got shot in the stomach and only got the minimum to stop her from bleeding out, she was awfully lively.

“I’d have you now that I taste amazing!” Rebecca shouted back before turning to him, “Chef! Tell her!”

He could only bury his face and groan with how red Lucy’s face turned and how Dorio coughed and averted eye contact. “Damn in Becca,” He muttered as Maine laughed and gave him a pat. He already had enough trouble with dealing with Pilar. At Least she was looking far more animated now after a shot of MaxDoc.

“While I’d love to watch you go at it for the laughs, we still have some business to attend to,” Maine cleared his throat as he trained his face. Walking up to the girl and looming over her, he then told her, “Normally, I’d have painted the floor red and call it a day but my friend over here convinced me otherwise.”

Dragging a chair over, the giant of a man then sat down and asked her, “Who the fuck do you think you are to bite one of my crew? Who sent you!” Wasn’t that the million dollar question.

Assassinations were an all to common occurrence in Night City. Life was cheap and the corporations have deep pockets. Still, he hasn’t pissed of any one big just yet right? Unless… no, that musn’t be the reason. If it were, they’d send a whole team to take him. Shaking his head at the thought, he turned his attention back to the interrogation at hand. He wanted to know, just so he could be at ease.

Barring her surprisingly sharp looking teeth, she hissed back, refusing to speak up. Sitting by the wayside, he noted that there was a hint of fear laced in all that bluster; She was afraid of them. Now that he had a proper look at her, he noticed something add. he noticed how much more injured she was than how she should be.

Don’t get him wrong, Rebecca gave her a beating but the bruises and cuts she sported was far worse than what she would have sustained. There was also the matter of her sunken eyes, her thin frame, her chapped lips and the filthy, ill fitting clothes she worke. She looked more like a poor girl from the streets than some Chromed out Assassin.

“Well, I tried,” Maine shrugged before he glanced at Dorio. With a nod, the tall blonde walked over and grabbed the tiny teen, forcing her to bow down as she exposed the girls neck. The girl let out a blood curdling cry as she struggled hard but Dorio proved too strong her.

“We have a fighter her alright,” She grunted as she held the girls head in a tight headlock, “But the Corpo’s cheapened out on their assassins. She has a slot to jack into. Thought they’d be a lot smarter about their toy soldiers,” She snorted as she let the girl go. Dorio had to back away as the girl snapped at her.

“Get out of my head! Get out of my head!” The girl screamed, having been set off by the action. The girl was losing it.

“Kiwi, you need her knocked out?” Maine asked with a grimace.

“Eh, the dive should knock her out,” Kiwi shrugged as she started unbuttoning her shirt. “Just get me some ice and I can handle it from there.” Pillar was quick to rummage through his chest freezer as he sat there, concerned.

“I only got these green veggies over here! Think this work?” Pilar then asked as he held up a bag of peas.

“No,” Kiwi deadpanned as she stopped undressing.

“Oh come on Kiwi, it’s frozen, it’s good enough,” Rebecca shouted as she stood up and grabbed several bags of it, prompting an argument between the two. As the two argued, he kept his attention on the girl.

Hunched over and breathing heavily, he was now having doubts that the girl actually wanted to attack Rebecca in the first place. He might have misjudged her but he wasn’t sure. The girl was refusing to talk but there must be something.

As he turned away to get some fresh air to clear his mind, he noticed the can of tomatoes he had forgotten to toss away. Grabbing it, he held it close and noticed that this wasn’t opened with a can opener, it had bite marks on it.

“Wait!” Turning around, he then shouted, “Untie her! I think I know why she’s here.”
“Say what now?” Maine asked with a bewildered look on his face but he ignored it as he ran back into kitchen.

Chef wanted to kick himself for not noticing until now. It should have been obvious the moment he had a proper look on her. Grabbing a bottle of soy sauce from the counter and some packed miso he squirreled away in the fridge, he got to work.

Checking the stock, it still wasn’t as dark as he wanted it too but it’ll do. Scooping himself a generous amount on a bowl, he quickly mixed in the tare. He had to cheat a bit by making the other ingredients as they weren’t quite ready yet. Pork Chashu, Fish Cakes, Eggs, Nori, Fermented Bamboo shoots and green onions for garnish.

Making sure that the bowl had plenty of noodles, he rushed back to the panty where a confused gaggle of Edgerunners would greet him. “Sorry about earlier. I should have noticed sooner,” he told the tied up girl and knelt before her.

Almost immediately, the girl paused as she stared transfixed to the bowl. Smiling, he pulled out a pair of chopsticks and picked up some noodles. “Say ah,” he told her even as Rebecca gave him questioning looks. “Trust me,” he whispered back to her before turning back to the girl.

The girl looked at him warily but the promise of food was too much to resist. Slowly, she leaned forward before taking a bite. Slurping up the noodles, she chewed on it as she savored the flavor. As she swallowed it down, she started tearing up. “It’s ok, no ones going to hurt you,” He promised her as she offered her another bite. It didn’t take long before the dam broke.

Tears started falling down her cheeks as she bawled her eyes out. It was an ugly sight with snot bubbling out of her nose all while she’s slurping up the noodles but there was beauty in it. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!” She cried out after she finished the dish.

“There there,” He patted her as he started to untie her. Rebecca bolted for him as soon as the doppelganger lunged at him but he held out his hands. The girl merely hugged her, crying on his shoulders as he patted her.

“How? Why?” Rebecca stuttered out, clearly having a hard time processing what she saw.

Lifting the tiny doppelganger up and stroking her back, he then told Rebecca, “Would you believe me she did all this cause she’s just actually hungry.” It should have been obvious with her thin frame and slightly emaciated frame but fear got the better of him.

There was a wave of realization and shame from the group as they gave the girl in his hands a pitying look. Rebecca on the other hand wasn’t all too pleased at what she heard. “Wait, you’re telling me she took a bite out of me because she was hungry!?” She shouted, reminding him of her injury.

He winced at that as she defended her the girl, “Sort off? She really didn’t mean it honest!” Rebecca however chose to pull out a frying pan as she started approaching him. Holding out his free hand, he begged her, “Rebecca, put the pan down! Ow! Ow!”

In the end, he got himself a few extra bumps in the head for being a stupid ass gonk that freed a partial cannibal but it was well worth it. The girl was hungry and in need of help, how was he going to live with himself if he didn’t feed her and helped her

A/N:

Sorry it took so long for another chapter. Got a bit stuck with this one (had to toss out a days work) but I think I have the next series of events mapped inside my head.