Byeol woke up early this morning. A clear sky with not a single cloud, and the sunshine was just perfectly warm. It couldn’t get much better than this—well, except for one thing. Since it was a weekday, Daddy was at work, and Mommy was at school. Yong-Yong was sprawled on the bed, sleeping so soundly that he wouldn’t notice even if a bomb went off beside him. On the opposite side, Karsiel was curled up, softly snoring. Byeol toddled over to Yong-Yong and shook him. “Yong-Yong, gimme food!” But no matter how much she shook him, Yong-Yong showed no signs of waking up. On the contrary, he snored even louder and drooled all over the pillow. Was he having a pleasant dream? Smacking his lips, he let out a little giggle and resumed snoring. Byeol squinted her eyes. Yong-Yong’s face was downright goofy. “There’s no use. Yong-Yong’s a lost cause.” Byeol headed to the kitchen. If she waited for Yong-Yong to wake up, she might starve to death. Having already polished off all the snacks in the house, Byeol knew she had to get creative to survive. She dragged a chair to the sink, climbed up, and opened the cupboard. She pulled out a pack of ramen and began breaking the dry noodles into smaller pieces with a bit of effort. Once the noodles were crushed enough, she opened the packet and sprinkled the seasoning evenly over them. The powder coated the dry ramen thoroughly. Byeol grabbed a handful and popped it into her mouth. The spicy, salty flavor of the dry ramen coated her mouth. In just three minutes, Byeol finished the entire packet, crumbs and all. She licked the seasoning off her lips and swallowed, wincing at the spiciness. She hissed and gulped down her saliva. “Wake up! The sun’s up!” This time, she shook Yong-Yong more vigorously. Still, there were no signs of him waking. Byeol sighed in defeat, pulled her bear-shaped wallet out of the drawer, and headed outside. “What’s going on, guys? Today, I’ll be deleting thirty burgers!” Lately, Kiriel had been obsessed with watching mukbangs[1] on MeTube. Not just any mukbangs, though—he was into food fighters, those who ate huge amounts of food in one sitting, way more than a typical person could handle. Just then, the door of the food stall swung open, and Byeol walked in. Kiriel paused the mukbang video he was watching and stood up to greet her. It wasn’t even 10 AM—what could possibly bring her here so early? “Taiyaki, pwease,” she said. Kiriel picked Byeol up. He could smell the spicy ramen seasoning coming from Byeol’s open mouth. Had she eaten ramen? Maybe that’s why she kept sniffing and swallowing repeatedly. “Did you have breakfast?” Kiriel asked Byeol. Byeol’s stomach growled loudly in response. Chuckling, Kiriel handed her a taiyaki filled with red bean paste. Byeol took out 400 won from her wallet and offered it to him, but Kiriel shook his head and said, “This is on me.” While it was more than okay to give her some taiyaki for free, Do-Jun had strictly instructed him not to give things away without charge, explaining it could confuse the child’s understanding of money. So Kiriel decided it was okay as long as he paid for it himself. Hakase, watching nearby, extended his hand toward Kiriel and said, “Four hundred.” “Tch. You stingy lizard.” Grumbling, Kiriel handed the money to Hakase. Byeol quickly devoured the taiyaki but still seemed unsatisfied. She stared longingly at the container of skewered fish cakes and rice cakes. “How much for these?” Byeol asked. “Five hundred won each. Eat as much as you like. Like I said, it’s on me,” Kiriel answered. Kiriel returned to his seat, resumed the mukbang video, and continued watching. The mukbang streamer was really impressive. Even though it took two hours, they managed to eat thirty burgers all by themselves. Kiriel couldn’t stop marveling and admired the food fighters’ skills. “Kiriel, time to pay up.” Hakase handed Kiriel the bill as he stretched and stood up after finishing the video. Remembering his promise to treat Byeol, Kiriel pulled out his wallet and glanced at the total. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Just because I was distracted doesn’t mean you can scam me!” The bill was more than 8,000 won. Hakase shrugged as Kiriel, pale-faced, checked the breakdown. Eight skewered fish cakes and rice cakes each. In just twenty minutes, Byeol had devoured that much food on her own. “I know it’s hard to believe, but the bill’s correct down to the very last won,” Hakase said. Kiriel let out a gasp as if realizing something profound. “We’ve found a baby food fighter.” Near Changshin Villa in Bangbae 3-dong, there was a daycare with two classes: the Teddy Bear Class for six-year-olds and the Deer Class, mainly for kids under five. Although just a year apart, the age difference was significant at this stage of life. The kids in the Teddy Bear Class practically monopolized the playground at the daycare. While they played, the younger kids from the Deer Class stayed in the corner, watching them nervously. Finally, a boy from the Deer Class couldn’t take it anymore and shouted, “Let us play too!” The playground fell silent. The boy immediately realized his mistake and clamped his hand over his mouth. Then, a large kid, much bigger than the others, slid down the slide with a loud swoosh. “Say that again!” “Well, um... we want to use the playground too...” “Hah! You little ones who can’t even eat much want to use the playground?” The big kid was the Teddy Bear Class’ reigning glutton. These days, the daycare was in the middle of a “glutton craze,” where the child who could eat the most ruled the playground. And the daycare’s king was none other than the gluttonous kid nicknamed “Big Eater.” “If you want to use the playground, beat me first!” Big Eater laughed loudly. After enjoying all the fish cakes and rice cakes she wanted at a street food stall, Byeol wandered through the neighborhood. About an hour later, everything she had eaten had already been digested, leaving her feeling just a little peckish if not hungry. That’s when Byeol saw a group of older kids from a daycare playing at a playground. Thinking it was a great way to kill time, Byeol energetically dashed toward them, but something seemed off. While the kids from the Teddy Bear class were playing on the slide, the kids from the Deer class were sitting in a corner, huddled timidly. “What you guys doing?” Byeol asked. The kids brightened up when they saw Byeol, but their smiles quickly faded as they sighed. “Oh, hey, Byeol... The Teddy Bear class kids are using the playground, so we’re waiting for them to finish,” one of the kids answered. Byeol didn’t understand. The playground was big enough for everyone to play together, wasn’t it? In reality, the Teddy Bear class kids weren’t even using the entire playground—only about half of it. However, with Big Eater leading the way, they were blocking the Deer class kids from using it. As a result, the Deer class had no choice but to wait for their turn. “But that’s not nice,” Byeol said, surprised after finding out the situation. “There’s nothing we can do. None of us can eat as much as them....” “I can eat a lot too,” Byeol said, casually. “What? Really? How much?” Soon, it was lunchtime at the daycare. Today’s menu consisted of vegetable soup, brown rice, radish kimchi, and mini pork cutlets. Normally, each class would eat in their own rooms after getting their food, but today, everyone was focused on the “competition.” “Ha! To think a little kid like you is my opponent! How amusing!” Big Eater crossed his arms, gazing confidently at the mountain of mini pork cutlets piled on his tray. The competition was held in the Deer class. Two desks had been pushed together to create the “arena.” On one side sat Big Eater, and on the other, Byeol. The crowd of kids leaned heavily in Big Eater’s favor, chatting excitedly. “It’s a contest to eat fifty mini pork cutlets!” “Who’s going to win?” “Obviously Big Eater! Just look at the size of that guy!” Hearing their chatter, Big Eater smirked and looked down at Byeol. Each tray had exactly fifty mini pork cutlets of the same size. Big Eater’s personal best was forty-three—an unrivaled record in the daycare. “It’s not too late to back out, keke.” Big Eater sneered. Byeol’s stomach rumbled as she eyed the fifty pork cutlets on her tray. The ramen, fish cakes, and rice cakes she ate in the morning were long gone from her stomach. Looking at a fellow Deer classmate massaging her shoulders for support, she asked, “Weally, I can eat it all?” “Of course! You’ve got this!” “O-oh my god...” Byeol muttered, staring dreamily at her tray of pork cutlets. “This is heaven...” Then, with the shout of “Start!”, the match began. Big Eater skewered three pork cutlets with his fork and quickly shoved them into his mouth at once. The Teddy Bear class kids cheered loudly. Meanwhile, Byeol simply picked up a single pork cutlet with her hand and popped it into her mouth. “Hmph! Let’s see how long you keep that smile on your face!” Big Eater picked up the pace. However, by the time he reached his fortieth pork cutlet, sweat was pouring down his forehead. Maybe he had overestimated his ability—he couldn’t eat another bite. That’s when cheers erupted. “What?!” When Big Eater snapped out of his brief zoning out, Byeol had already eaten forty-three pork cutlets! Her pace wasn’t slowing down either—if anything, it was speeding up! With the final bite, Byeol finished her tray. The Deer class kids jumped up and down, shouting in celebration. Big Eater broke into a cold sweat. Losing to someone so much smaller than him? Unbelievable! And then, Byeol spoke. “Are you full?” “Want me to help you finish yours?” Shocked by her words, Big Eater fainted. And thus, the daycare had a new Big Eater. “Mmm...” Yong-Yong rubbed his eyes as he woke up. Byeol was still asleep beside him, snoring softly. It was already 1 PM, but Karsiel was still fast asleep as well. “Oh, wow. Look at the time...” Yong-Yong muttered and scratched his butt as he climbed out of bed. Karsiel had been in charge of cooking the previous day, so today it was Yong-Yong’s turn. Honestly, being on cooking duty just meant reheating the side dishes Yoon-Hee had prepared the day before. Once the food was ready, all he needed to do was wake everyone up for brunch. “Alright.” Yong-Yong opened the fridge, pulled out the wrapped side dishes, and placed them on the table. Just then, the doorbell rang. Yong-Yong opened the door with a click and saw a rather chubby boy standing there. “Ah, hello! Please... give this to Byeol!” he said, handing Yong-Yong a sheet of paper before rushing toward the elevator at the end of the hallway. Yong-Yong looked at the paper that read, “Big Eater Challenge Letter.” Scratching his head, Yong-Yong muttered, “Now, what’s this supposed to be?” 1. Mukbang is a category of streaming where the creator devours abnormal amounts of food. ☜