Sushi picked up the knife beside his plate and, with a confident smirk, sliced open the grilled fish's belly. However, the moment he saw what was inside, his smile instantly vanished.
"Wait... are you kidding me right now?!" Sushi barked. "In the middle of a scorching summer like this... you actually stuffed the grilled fish with spicy chili paste?!"
Inside the slit belly, a vibrant, fiery-red spicy sauce oozed out. Sushi groaned in disappointment. "Uh... and I don't even like spicy food that much, you know."
Joseph remained perfectly composed, giving a polite nod. "There is absolutely no need to worry, sir. Please, just take a bite and try it before you judge."
Sushi was already cursing him in his mind. (What a complete joke of a chef... serving hot grilled fish in this brutal summer heat, and there isn't even a proper menu!)
Outwardly, he just sighed. "Fine... I'll give it a shot." But deep down, he thought, (If this tastes awful, I am never stepping foot in this place again!)
Sushi picked up his spoon with his other hand and scooped up a small piece of the tender fish coated in the rich sauce. As he brought it closer, the aroma hit him instantly. (Wow... okay, the smell is honestly incredible.)
He popped the fish into his mouth and chewed. The moment the flavors hit his tongue, his eyes widened. "This is impossible... this is completely..."
Before Duzki could even ask, "What's wrong?!", Sushi's eyes rolled back in pure bliss, and he collapsed straight onto the floor with a heavy thud.
Panicking, Duzki lunged forward, grabbing Joseph by his collar and yelling, "Hey!! What the hell did you put in this food?!"
But before Joseph could answer, Sushi snapped back to his feet from the floor, yelling at the top of his lungs, "No, Duzki! Wait! This is incredibly delicious! If I had to describe it, it's like my soul just ascended straight to heaven! The spice isn't actually that hot at all—it just perfectly clings to your tongue and melts away, man!"Staring at Sushi's exaggerated reaction, Duzki muttered skeptically, "Are you for real, man...?"
With lingering doubt, Duzki finally picked up his utensils to try the fish himself. Seeing them dig in, the owner, Joseph, quietly slipped away and headed back into the kitchen.
Left outside at the table, Duzki took his first bite of the tender fish meat. His eyes instantly went wide. "Oh wow... this is actually incredible!" he couldn't help but blurt out.
"Right?! See, I told you so!" Sushi cheered from the side, chewing happily as his food choices were validated.
Moments later, Joseph emerged from the kitchen once more. In his hands, he carried two beautifully rounded bowls filled to the brim with steaming, pearlescent white rice. He walked over to their table and elegantly placed the bowls down in perfect alignment.
"Wow! This is awesome!"
Sushi's eyes lit up. He immediately took his bowl of rice, expertly scooped up some of the freshly sliced grilled fish, and shoved the perfect combination into his mouth to savor the blending flavors.
"Whoa...!" Sushi gasped, his face washing over with pure satisfaction. "By pairing it with the rice, the rich, heavy density of the sauce completely cuts through and balances out! It's absolutely perfect!"
Joseph bowed slightly with a gratified smile. "Thank you so much, sirs."Within minutes, the dishes and bowls on the table were wiped completely clean, as if they had been licked dry.
Duzki stared in absolute disbelief. "Hey Sushi... just how many bowls of rice did you crush?! I literally just finished my first one!"
Meanwhile, Sushi was lazily patting his stuffed belly, calling out to the chef, "Hey boss! You got any dessert or something to wrap this up?"
"Ah, of course! Coming right up," Joseph replied from the back before disappearing into the kitchen once more.
Sushi's eyes twinkled with anticipation. "For dessert, it's definitely gotta be ice cream or something refreshing like that."
Duzki sighed, looking at his friend up and down. "Man... your appetite is bottomless, Sushi. And the craziest part is, you don't even gain any weight! Where on earth does all that food even go?!"
Sushi turned his head, flashing a mysterious, knowing smirk. "Heh... you really wanna know?"
Duzki cringed slightly. "Ugh... don't look at me with that creepy face, man."