Knock, knock, knock.
Normally, after 5 pm, no one comes to find him. ChonDan thought to himself.
He had just finished cleaning the floor, closing the store, and preparing dinner for himself while watching the evening news on TV. After closing time, he enjoyed his private and peaceful time as a man in his early thirties.
ChonDan is not only the owner of a restaurant, but he also owns an apartment building and serves as the caretaker for the tenants. It is not uncommon for tenants with problems to contact him for help in the evening.
However, most tenants in the apartment building usually just message or call him, and it is rare for them to come to him in person. So it was surprising when someone knocked on the door of his curry shop.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking continued at the same rhythm. ChonDan put down the knife he was using to cut tomatoes.
In reality, he was thinking that he had cut too many tomatoes. He had planned to make the tomato and egg stir-fry recipe that his grandmother always made for him, but he only needed to make enough for one person. But out of habit, he ended up cutting too many tomatoes, as if he was still cooking for two.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking on the door echoed again, this time the distance between each knock was stretched out as if the person knocking was unsure if Dan was home.
"I'm coming," Dan said.
He quickly wiped his hands on a stained cloth and opened the door, but to his surprise, he didn't see the familiar face of a villager.
The person standing at the door was a strange customer who had come by earlier that day, slumped over after eating, and said how delicious the food was.
Dan wasn't sure what to do.
He didn't know if the customer had something unresolved, or would come back to demand payment for the meal that caused him to slump over.
"Um, do you need something?" Dan asked
"You … closed?" Chunn asked in return and looked past Dan's shoulder and into the store.
"Well, yeah, I've closed," Dan answered, his irritation clear. The lights were off, the door was closed, and the tables and chairs were put away. Did he really need to be asked again? The restaurant only served lunch, was there anything to eat in the evening?
The slumped-over man was still standing there, even though he knew the restaurant was closed.
"Um... Do you still have anything to eat?"
ChonDan looked confused. "Um... I already told you that the shop is closed."
But the man continued to ask, "Do you not sell any dinner? I can pay for it."
"No, sorry. It's my break time."
"Too bad," Chunn sighed with a disappointed expression.
GROWLLLLLLLL
Suddenly, there was a loud "growl" sound. Chunn's stomach growled loudly, and because no one was speaking at the time, it sounded very clear.
"Um... Are you hungry?" When asked, Dan just realized why he was asking. It was clearly visible.
"Hehe, very much," Chunn smiled dryly, his face accepting slightly embarrassed.
"Why don't you go to another restaurant? There are plenty of open ones," Dan suggested.
"I want to eat the food you make here."
Dan looked at Chunn again. The young man in the same suit from the office looked tired and hungry from working all day. In fact, there were some restaurants around here, but at this time, many people would be in them for dinner, so it was unknown when they could find a seat.
GROWLLLLLL
Chunn's stomach growled loudly again.
ChonDan tried to hold back his laughter, then he turned back to look at his own shop.
There were too many tomatoes cut up on the kitchen counter, more than enough for one person to eat.
In fact, it wasn't just the excess tomatoes that were the problem, he had also cooked too much rice. As ChonDan had mentioned, he was familiar with cooking for two people. He was also familiar with life while his granny was still around.
"OK Come on in. Actually, I've prepared too much dinner. You can share with me," ChonDan said.
This made Chunn smile and he was grateful that he didn't have a tail like a dog because it would have wagged by now. Chunn was a humanoid alien without a tail.
"Thank you very much," he replied.
Because ChonDan cleaned the floor and put away the tables in the curry shop already, so he invited Chunn to sit and eat with him in the residential area of the shop, which was basically his home.
At first, Chunn was hesitant because of the wealth of knowledge of this planet that he had loaded into his brain, making him feel like he had to befriend or be a relative to eat at someone's house, not a stranger like him.
"Oh, would that be good? I'm a stranger after all," he said.
"It's okay, I've prepared more than enough for one person to eat," Dan replied.
"Then let me pay for the meal," Chunn said.
"Not necessary today. Sitting and eating with me is enough. Consider it compensation for you who have been slumped over for two rounds in my shop," Dan said.
Chunn sat at the table and looked at ChonDan, who was preparing the meal.
"I'm going to make tomato and egg stir-fry for dinner. Can you eat that?" Dan asked.
"Sure, I can eat anything you make," Chunn replied.
Chunn didn't think much about this sentence, but it made ChonDan feel a little awkward.
"Oh... My name is ChonDan. You can call me Dan. Everyone in this apartment calls me Dan," ChonDan introduced himself.
"Oh, what's up?" Chunn was a little confused when Dan introduced himself.
"You said you were a stranger earlier, so I introduced myself. That way, you won't be a stranger anymore," Dan explained.
"Oh... I see. My name is Chunn," Chunn said.
"That's a cool name. It can be Thai or Japanese," Dan said.
"Really?" Chunn became interested.
Dan set aside the chopped tomatoes and took three eggs from the refrigerator.
He cracked them into a bowl and beat them until they were a little frothy.
Then, he added a little pepper and salt, but not fish sauce, as his grandmother's recipe didn't call for it.
While he was cracking eggs, Dan chatted with Chunn.
"So your name is Chunn, in Thai, it means bright light, and in Japanese, 旬, it means season, right?" Dan asked.
Chunn was surprised. "Really? I had no idea. Is it possible for a name to have two different meanings in two different languages?"
This surprised Dan even more. He thought, wait, isn't that his name? How does he not know what it means?
" So, where are you from?" Dan asked.
Chunn avoided the question, saying only, "Uh...I come from far away."
Dan understood that Chunn probably didn't want to reveal his country of origin, so he decided not to press the issue. He just looked at the tired young man from far away and the hungry look on his face made Dan feel sorry for him.
Dan decided to cook a delicious dinner to treat this man.
Dan knew that warm, delicious food always comforts people who are tired from work. He himself had experienced it after coming home from work. The food his granny made always made him feel better.
While Dan thought that Chunn was feeling down, in reality, he wasn't at all. Explosive thoughts were running through his head.
Did my name have a meaning in this world? Chunn though.
And not only have one meaning, but his name has two meanings in two countries that are far apart, right? His brain, now, was filled with joy like fireworks in a New Year celebration.
First, it must be told that in the worlds that have developed like Chunn, human names are not necessary because originally names were designed to facilitate communication, to avoid mistakes and misunderstandings when referring to someone.
However, these problems do not occur in worlds where communication is developed so far that just thinking about the image can communicate with each other, and can directly send the substance to the target without having to call. Therefore, the name becomes unnecessary and only a status of "unnecessary thing".
Living things are not born with names, some have names and some do not, depending on the person. Of course, Chunn was born and grew up without a name until he started working.
Chunn's name came from a training institution during his training to become an engineer for the intergalactic expressway authority. In that line of work, the name is still necessary because some planets (like ours) have lagging communication technology, so having a name helps to identify communication.
But giving names from the institution is a random process done by Skyhead, the governing computer of the entire planetary system's government, and they choose a simple name that can be pronounced by anyone from any planet by mixing a neutral voice.
Chunn received his name through this method, but he didn't initially think it was a good or special thing. For him, the name was like a company's name tag, he didn't feel any sense of belonging with it. Until today, he found that his name had meaning in two languages.
"My name has a good meaning," he said.
Dan stopped cooking and turned to him. "Come again?"
"I said my name has a good meaning."
"Oh... yeah, sure," Dan replied, unsure of how to respond to this statement. His level of suspicion of Chunn's oddity increased by one.
"I like this name a lot."
"Well, it's good that you like your own name."
"Do you like your name, Dan?"
"Um... it's weirdly good. No one has ever asked me that before."
"Well, I do. Do you like it?"
"I like it, yeah. It's something my grandmother gave me."
Even though it was the first time he had answered this question, Dan answered with confidence. The young man never thought he disliked his own name and never thought of changing it. This name was a legacy given to him by his grandmother, just like his culinary skills.
"I feel good. It's a coincidence that my name has a good meaning on this planet," Chunn said.
"Um...."
"Does it have two meanings like my name?" Chunn looked very anxious.
Meanwhile, ChonDan began to feel that he had made the wrong decision in allowing this person to join them for dinner. His strange behavior increased his level of suspicion towards Chunn by +1.
"Um... no, it only has a meaning in Thai. But the word 'Dan' is a name used in many countries. There are people named Dan in English, and in Japanese, they use the name 'Dansan'."
"Wow, you're really amazing."
"Um... thank you."
And because it was another time when Dan didn't know how to deal with the oddness of the person in front of him, he just dragged out a long sound and made a face that seemed to support him first. Of course, ChonDan's level of suspicion towards Chunn increased by +1.
"Your name, did your grandmother give it to you?"
"Yes, she did. She raised me since I was a child."
"So, the person who taught you how to cook was your grandmother, right?"
"Yes, I cook everything according to the recipes my grandmother taught me. They're like the recipes from our home, especially."
"Um... so is that OK?" Chunn felt worried as soon as he heard this sentence.
"Why? Is there something wrong?" Dan was suspicious.
"It's like a family legacy, isn't it? I feel like it should be just for your family to eat, I mean not for the outside people, like me"
"Oh, ha ha ha!" Dan burst out laughing.
And then, all the anxiety Dan had before was erased in just a second.
At first, Dan thought that Chunn was a strange person who spoke in a strange way and was almost not trustable.
Turned out, Chunn is a well-mannered person who thinks a lot. Although he may be a bit unusual, it is in a good way. Dan feels good about him immediately. The level of good feeling increased by +1.
Dan paused and said, "It's true. It's a family legacy."
Chunn also paused, looking like a little puppy that knows it might not get to eat, "That's it then... I guess I..."
"But it's a legacy meant to be shared," Dan interrupted before Chunn could finish his sentence. Chunn raised his eyebrows, "Come again?"
"The recipe for my family's food. It's meant to be shared," Dan explained.
"Shared?" Chunn repeated incredulously.
To emphasize what he said, Dan paused for a moment and continue.
"Yes, my grandma taught me that food is an expression of love. We, Thai people, don't say 'I love you' or 'I care about you' much. Instead, we like to ask 'have you eaten yet?' or 'want to eat together?' It's our way of showing love."
"Really?"
"Yes, my grandmother used to say that we Thai people express our love through food."
Dan remembered back when he worked at a bank and would come home tired, his grandmother would say "eat rice and fish." It didn't just mean eating rice, but it meant that she cared for him.
Chun leaned forward, trying to absorb the essence of this planet's culture.
"I see, on this planet, food represents love, feelings, connections, and ties between living things. That's why it tastes so good, a taste that cannot be compared to any other planet. Even with a supercomputer that calculates perfect recipes, it may not be able to compete with the food created on this planet."
Because, for this planet, it's not just food, but it's communicating love.
Chun asked, "So, can I have a meal with you?"
Dan replied, "Of course, I'm already here, and I'd like to have a friend to eat dinner with."
...