Ein paid no attention to the ghost as they walked to the garden room with a large round table in the middle. Above, paper lanterns of vivid colors rustled, bumping softly in the draught.
A full meal was laid in front of their eyes—tofu soup, vegetables and mushrooms still sizzling on a skillet, a steaming pot of rice and plates of pickled vegetables. The blend of various delicious aromas filled the garden room.
"Now that's a cozy space for meals," Adriel commented, eyeing the plants sitting in the corners. He looked at Ein. "If I understand right, you bought your grandma this house, right? You're more generous than you seem."
"Sit, sit," the shaman gestured, a smile on her lips.
Ein complied, taking a seat closest to the door. Adriel sat next to him, reaching to play with a plant by the table, but his ghostly fingers went right through it.
"Well, these leaves are definitely alive," the ghost commented, giving up on it.
The orange-robed man thoughtfully placed a notepad with a pen in front of Adriel's seat.
"What's this? For me to communicate directly?" Adriel eyed the items, then picked up the pen. "I feel a bit like a toddler receiving a coloring book," he chuckled, scribbling a few stars on the clean page.
Ein couldn't help but crack a smile at the ghost's lopsided stars.
The air in the room was warm and cozy, with the subtle crackle of firewood and the occasional whisper of the breeze behind the windows. The orange-robed man ladled soup into their bowls, the soft clinking of ceramics mixing with the clink of silverware.
"Try the tofu soup first," the old woman prompted, watching as Ein picked up the spoon. "It's Terry's specialty."
"You flatter me," the orange-robed man shook his head lightly, smiling.
Adriel beat Ein to it, the spoon floating as he brought it to his mouth. The flavor of the soup was rich with earthy mushroom, leafy cabbage, mildly spicy scallions and other vegetables with soft tofu.
"Woah, this is really good," the ghost murmured between bites, fully focused on his bowl.
Ein followed his example and gave all his attention to the soup, pretending not to notice his grandmother's probing stare.
The flavors were certainly pleasant on the tongue. Perhaps so much so that the troublesome ghost could only marvel in silence, no time to spare on comments until they finished the soup.
Once Adriel was done, he set the spoon down and scribbled "Delicious!" on the notepad, sliding it towards Terry.
The shaman stole a glance at the note and smiled warmly, the wrinkles on her face slightly more prominent by the candlelight. "You've got good taste, little spirit."
The orange-robed man gratefully bowed his head in Adriel's direction. "It's hard to get these kind of vegetables in the city. I'm lucky the local market had a good harvest this season."
"Man, this is really nice. So peaceful and homely," Adriel commented, leaning close to Ein like a satisfied cat.
Ein didn't mind the exchange, trying to avoid any attention. He scooped some rice with the spoon, but before he could take a bite, the old woman asked, "Are you still single?"
He let out a strained sigh, lowering his spoon. The ghost, however, pushed the spoon into his mouth. "Don't say anything rude, just eat."
The soft, slightly sweet rice tasted almost like a cloud. But it didn't help his rising irritation. Ein shot the ghost a look, who looked away with an innocent expression.
As for his grandmother's question, he swallowed the rice and gave a curt nod.
The shaman sighed, "Ein, you're not getting younger. Don't you think you should get married?"
"No, thanks."
"So stubborn," she muttered, shaking her head. "Tell you what, I have a friend, she has a beautiful daughter. I will set you two up. She's kind and polite, and she knows how to cook."
Ein set the spoon down with a clink, running a hand down his face. "Here we go again."
The shaman chewed with a frown. "Don't you 'here we go again' me! I'm concerned. Will you be alone forever? No wonder you look so haggard, you have no one to care for you."
"I'm perfectly fine on my own," Ein muttered.
"Not interested in love?" Adriel asked while drawing a heart on the notepad.
The shaman pointed her chopsticks at Ein, still poking into his business. "You need to start thinking about these things. You're tall and have a good face, not to mention you're well off. Women like men in finance."
"You told her you work in finance?" the ghost asked, trying not to laugh. "Even with your reading glasses, I doubt you'd fit into the corporate world."
The shaman continued, "And you need to do something about your cold expressions. You're scaring the girls away."
Ein reached his limit and stood up. "Thank you for the dinner." He regarded Terry with a nod, then left.
The orange-robed man lowered his eyes as the shaman grumbled something in disapproval before throwing her hand up in the air with a frustrated gesture.
Their walk to the car was silent. Adriel kept watching Ein's face, trying to figure out if it was safe to speak or if it would set off a bomb.
Awkward silence. The ghost's fingers fidgeted, itching to ask why the topic drove Ein away so fast, but he knew better than to probe this time.
"I think I can relate to your situation," Adriel finally broke the silence, eyeing Ein from the passenger seat. "My father tried to set me up with women multiple times too."
"It seems he succeeded," Ein muttered, his eyes on the road.
He had seen enough articles here and there with pictures of Adriel's girlfriends. Each event the heir attended, he had a new girl by his side.
"Not really," the ghost dragged. "I just started hiring actresses to get him off my case."
The confession surprised Ein. His gaze flicked to Adriel before returning to the road. "Actresses?" he asked, perplexed.