* * *
Lowell smacked his lips as he looked down at his stomach—now too pronounced to ignore the fact that he was pregnant.
“I want something spicy. Something with that rich, umami flavor that makes you go ‘kaaah’ the moment you take a bite.”
Just thinking about spicy food made his mouth water.
“Kimchi stew would be great. Or maybe some gamjatang. Ah! I really want dakgalbi too.”
But every dish that came to mind was out of reach.
Lowell shook his head, telling himself to stop thinking about food he couldn’t have, but once the cravings had settled in his mind, they refused to leave.
He never thought of himself as particularly gluttonous, but right now, he felt like he could do just about anything if it meant getting his hands on those dishes.
“Lowell? Do you want to eat something?”
Felix, noticing how Lowell had suddenly gone quiet after mentioning he was hungry, looked at him with concern.
“I want something spicy.”
While his mind was filled with all sorts of Korean dishes, all Lowell gave was the vague answer of “something spicy.”
Honestly, no matter what Felix brought him, it probably wouldn’t satisfy his cravings.
“Should I just cook it myself?”
He had lived alone for a long time, so he could manage cooking to some extent.
The problem was that the ingredients he was familiar with weren’t available here.
“Make sure they prepare it properly.”
Felix spoke to the servants in detail, as if Lowell’s hunger was the most urgent matter at hand.
“Still, maybe eating something spicy will satisfy me. Let’s just try whatever they make first.”
Lowell tapped his foot as he thought about his upcoming meal.
He tried not to get his hopes up, but excitement bubbled up despite himself.
“Your meal is ready.”
It seemed they had rushed to prepare it at Felix’s command, as lunch had arrived earlier than usual.
Watching Lowell practically dance his way to the dining hall, Felix suppressed a smile.
But that excitement quickly faded as the food was brought out.
“This is beef and potato stew.”
Lowell glared at the dish as if it were his mortal enemy.
It was red, yes, but the scent rising from it was far from what he had hoped for.
He scooped a spoonful and took a bite.
“Paprika powder.”
It was nothing like the sharp heat of gochugaru.
There was a hint of spice, sure, but it was far from enough for him.
“Calling this spicy is an insult to spicy food.”
His previously excited legs drooped in disappointment.
Seeing this, Felix’s expression turned cold.
“Bring out the next dish.”
Reading Lowell’s dissatisfaction, Felix didn’t hesitate to order another meal.
Though Felix himself was still struggling with morning sickness and hadn’t had a satisfying meal in ages, he was incredibly sensitive to any sign of Lowell slowing down with his spoon.
“No matter what they bring, it probably won’t be satisfying. Complaining about food at my age… I should just eat.”
But since he had already abandoned his expectations, Lowell waved Felix off before the next dish arrived.
“It’s fine. It’s delicious. I’ll eat well.”
He said that, but his pace was noticeably slower.
As he spooned the paprika-scented potato soup into his mouth, his mind kept wandering to other foods.
“Eating potatoes is just making me crave gamjatang. I know it’s not the same kind of potato, but still, there’s potato in both. If I could just have a steaming bowl of gamjatang, topped with dried radish greens, with rice mixed into the rich, spicy broth… I wouldn’t need anything else.”
What was actually going into his mouth was mild, creamy, and savory, but what he wanted was a fiery, mouth-numbing broth.
It was strange—he had never particularly craved gamjatang before in his life, and now he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“This is a seafood dish with added spice.”
The next dish was brought in a hurry.
It looked like some sort of steamed seafood, and once again, the chefs had clearly tried to make it spicy.
But the moment the aroma hit him, Lowell could tell—it was paprika again.
He was starting to resent that damn paprika powder.
“I want agwi-jjim.”
This new dish wasn’t bringing him joy—it was just making him crave something else even more.
“It looks delicious. I’ll eat well.”
Smiling, Lowell picked up his knife.
He cut into a cuttlefish and took a bite, greeted by the rich flavors of olive oil and buttery softness.
The paprika powder at the end cleaned up the flavor nicely. It was a good dish, objectively.
“But I want agwi-jjim. With soybean sprouts, milt on top, mixed with rice and seaweed, drizzled with sesame oil… That would be perfect.”
No matter how good the food was, it wasn’t what he needed.
Lowell didn’t just want something tasty—he wanted Korean food.
“Is this not good enough either?”
Felix, who had finally started to eat seafood again, carefully prepared a shrimp by removing its head and tail before placing it on Lowell’s spoon.
Realizing that his dissatisfaction was starting to show, Lowell quickly moved his fork and forced a bright smile.
“The seafood is really fresh. You should try some too, Felix.”
Lowell placed a piece of cuttlefish onto Felix’s plate.
To an outsider, it might look like a loving couple sharing their food, but the atmosphere wasn’t nearly as warm.
One of them was quietly mourning the loss of the meal they truly wanted, while the other was growing increasingly frustrated, unsure of what to bring next.
“If you don’t want to eat, you don’t have to force yourself. If there’s something you’re craving, just tell me. I’ll get it for you.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to eat… I just… I want something a little spicier. Preferably not something made spicy with paprika powder, but with actual chili peppers.”
“I’ll make sure of that for dinner.”
Felix nodded seriously, taking Lowell’s request to heart.
“And something exotic would be even better.”
“There must be chefs from other regions. I’ll have them brought to the castle.”
Lowell was about to refuse, but then a thought struck him—what if one of those chefs knew how to make something similar to Korean food?
He shut his mouth, a spark of hope flickering inside him.
“Is this homesickness? No, I don’t miss Korea enough for that.”
He absentmindedly played with his food, lost in thought.
Felix, who had been watching him intently, finally spoke.
“They say pregnancy makes you crave all sorts of food. If you don’t get to eat what you’re craving, that feeling of disappointment lingers even after the pregnancy is over. So from now on, be honest about what you want.”
It was only then that Lowell realized—this wasn’t about homesickness.
His sudden obsession with Korean food was because of his pregnancy.
“I can’t believe Felix realized it before I did.”
He had been so caught up in his cravings that he hadn’t connected the dots.
After taking a sip of tea, Lowell grinned mischievously.
“Did you read that in a book too?”
“I did.”
He had always said that Felix would make a good father, but at moments like this, Lowell thought he might make an even better husband.
“Now that I know the reason, I feel relieved.”
If it were just a random craving, he would’ve felt guilty about demanding special treatment.
But now that he knew the cause, it was a different story.
He no longer felt bad about using Felix’s wealth to get what he wanted.
“Then I won’t hold back. This is our shared responsibility, after all.”
And so, Lowell’s search for a suitable substitute for Korean food began.
* * *
