Episode 3: Scent of the Alley and Chili Mango

Episode 3: Hot Dogs and Spinning Wheel As the night deepened, the sidewalk block street connecting Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong was turning into a more colorful and dynamic melting pot of festivals. Bow and Tino, who were heartily served sweet tamales and cool horchata at Uncle Carlos's stand, walked slowly along the green lawn and sidewalk block trail of the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail, guided by busker Minseo. Tino's stomach was swollen with a mountain of tamales, roasted sweet potatoes, and watermelon, but his curious eyes were still sparkling. This was because every time I turned a new alley, completely different colors, smells, and a feast of music awaited me. “Tino, look under your feet. These stones are a little more red than what you saw earlier.”

Bau said, pointing to the floor. The sidewalk blocks in the forest road section of Yeonnam-dong were beautifully laid with red clay bricks and granite flagstones like a mosaic. On the bench under the shade of the street trees, sweet lovers were leaning against each other and whispering, and on the lawn, young people were enjoying the night breeze while spreading out mats, enjoying chicken and beer. When a Tyrannosaurus the size of a house walked into the middle of that peaceful landscape, making a thudding sound of footsteps, people's reactions changed from shock to cheers and welcome. The video “Innocent Tyrano Mukbang in Hongdae” had already risen to the top of real-time search terms on social media. “Oh my! It’s him, he! That little dinosaur that enjoyed eating tamales!”

“It’s really big! If you look at it in person, the color of the scales is so bright!”

“Hi, Tino! Look here!”

People were waving and taking pictures on both sides of the road, and Tino responded by gently wagging his tail from side to side, jingling the bell on the leather necklace around his neck. It was a magical moment when a wild, primitive beast was reborn as a perfect mascot in the city of civilization. At that time, a cheerful and loud sound of rolling wheels split the air from one side of the open sidewalk block square. Charrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Swoouuuk—bang! Bow and Tino turned their heads in surprise. In the center of the square, brightly lit by streetlights, about a dozen skateboarders wearing baggy hoodies and young men riding BMX bicycles were performing dazzling tricks. 'Hot dogs spinning, wheels in the air,

Cotton candy clouds, dreams everywhere.' Like the lyrics of the song, the wheels were flying into the air. When a young man stepped on the tail of his skateboard with all his might and soared into the air, the wooden board spun three times under his feet and rose high. The young man stayed in the air as if in weightlessness, then stepped on the board with both feet exactly at the landing point and slid onto the smooth sidewalk block. bang-! With a cheerful landing sound, the surrounding audience burst into thunderous applause. Next, a boy riding a BMX bike with colorful neon LED wheels rotated the handlebar 360 degrees, held the front wheel in the air, pedaled with one foot, and made an elegant turn. “Uh… huh?!”

Bau's mouth couldn't close. A human can ride on a round wheel and fly through the air like a bird! In the primitive earth, the concept of ‘wheel’ itself did not exist. Even when moving heavy logs or mammoth meat, they had to be tied with strong leather straps and dragged across the bare ground. However, these modern humans were making a perfectly round wheel, riding on it, and dancing by jumping around in the air as if playing with gravity.

“Tino, look at that! There’s a person flying in the air! He’s running through the sky with round stones on his legs!” Tino also seemed to be in great shock, tilting his large head from side to side and following the trajectory of the skateboard. Every time the board went up in the air, Tino's big amber eyes looked up, and every time it landed on the floor, his chin rattled. Finally, Tino started jumping around on his huge hind legs, as if trying to imitate the skateboarders. thud! thud! thud! Every time a dinosaur the size of a house jumped lightly in rhythm, the floor of the sidewalk block rang pleasantly.

The sight was so comical and adorable that skateboarders and onlookers burst out laughing. “Wow! I guess dinosaurs want to ride boards too!”

“Tino, aren’t your jumping skills a joke? You can compete in the next Olympics!” One of the skateboarders, a young man, approached Bau with his spare longboard. “Brother! Caveman, would you like to try it too? It’s really easy if you just keep your balance!”

Bau looked down at the longboard with a mixture of curiosity and tension. Minseo smiled next to him and held Bau’s arm. “It’s okay, Mr. Bow. I’ll hold you there. Put one foot up first and push slightly with the other foot.”

Bau placed his bare feet on the deck, which had been covered with rough sandpaper tape. And then I push the sidewalk block away with my other foot—

Swoouuuk—! Four urethane wheels rolled smoothly, gliding over the sidewalk blocks. Bau spread his arms, cut through the wind, and glided 3 meters with ease! “Whahahaha! I’m flying! I’m running on the wind!”

As Bau burst out laughing like a child, hundreds of spectators cheered. “Caveman Skater is awesome!”

“Your form is perfect?!”

Tino was also in a good mood and ran after Bau, wagging his tail. Right next to the skateboarders' fantastic stunt plaza, there was a large classic American hot dog cart with a red and white striped awning. A large roller grill made of shiny stainless steel was installed at the front of the cart, and dozens of plump, fatty sausages were rolling around and sizzling on top of it. Chi-ik- Chi-ik-

Juice and oil bursting from the surface of the sausage crackled on the roller, releasing a storm of fragrant aromas of sweet, smoked pork and herbs. The owner of the hot dog cart was ‘Master Park’, a white-haired old gentleman stylishly wearing red overalls and a white chef’s hat. He was a living street legend who returned to Seoul after driving a street hot dog cart in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York for 20 years and serving authentic handmade hot dogs. Master Park opened the lid of the grill and placed the sizzling jumbo sausage between fluffy brioche buns toasted in butter. Then, chopped pickle relish, caramelized onions, bright yellow cheddar cheese sauce, and honey mustard were sprinkled in artistic curves on top. 'Hot dogs spinning, wheels in the air...'

Tino could not take his eyes off the sausages spinning endlessly on the roller grill. Its large head swung from side to side like a pendulum following the direction the sausage was rolling. The rolling sausage looked like a plump, living caterpillar, and Tino cautiously tried to stretch out his front paw with a drop of clear saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. “Crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm…” Bau lightly tapped Tino on the bridge of his nose. “Tino, no. That’s food being cooked over a fire. If you step on it, you’ll get burned.”

At Bau's admonition, Tino quickly hid his front paws behind his back and snorted with a pitiful expression. Master Park, who was watching this, burst into laughter and clinked the large stainless steel tongs. "Hahaha! Dinosaur guy, I'm fascinated by the spinning sausage! Okay, I haven't even met a dinosaur customer in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, but today I'm making a historic debut in the middle of the Hongdae sidewalk block!"

Master Park skillfully created two freshly grilled signature beef hot dogs and handed them to Bau and Minseo. The hot dog served on a warm paper tray was so heavy that it was difficult to hold in one hand. Golden toasted bread, springy sausage that looks like it's about to explode, and topped with crunchy onion flakes and golden cheese sauce! Bau carefully held the hot dog with both hands and took a big bite. Wow! Kwasik! The skin of the smoked sausage burst open cheerfully, and the thick, hot, concentrated meat juice spewed out like lava all over my mouth.

The softness of the sweet bread, the sour pickles, and the deep flavor of the cheese formed the perfect holy trinity. Bau opened his eyes wide and pounded his heart. "Oooh...! The meat... the meat sings in the bread! I can't believe that fire-grilled meat can be so soft and juicy!"

In primitive times, meat was a tough food that required tearing off the tough skin, removing bone fragments, and chewing until your jaw dropped. But this modern-day hot dog melted like magic the moment you chewed it, sending your tongue into a state of ecstasy. Master Park laughed and told us the history of hot dogs. “Do you know how this hot dog originated? It all started when butchers in Frankfurt, Germany, put sausages between bread to eat meat comfortably without getting their hands dirty. It spread across the Atlantic to the baseball stadiums and streets of New York, becoming a warm consolation that soothes the souls of workers and poor artists around the world. Street food is greater than the fancy tables of aristocrats. Because anyone walking down the sidewalk can share the warmth equally!”

Bau was deeply moved by Master Park’s words and nodded. “Equal warmth... yes, that’s what food should be.” Tino, who saw that, seemed like he couldn't bear it any more and stomped on a sidewalk block with his big tail! thud! I cried and stamped my feet. “Keeeeeeek! Crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

Master Park chuckled and opened the lid of the large icebox behind the cart. Inside were dozens of giant, one-meter-long jumbo sausages specially made for hot dogs! “Now, sir, Tirano! Since bread won’t fill you up, I’ll treat you to a special course of handmade whole sausages grilled over charcoal! Are you ready to eat it?!”

Master Park lifted a 1 meter long golden jumbo freshly grilled sausage with large tongs. Tino's eyes sparkled like diamonds. “Kaaaaaaaa!”

Tino opened his huge mouth wide. When Master Park threw the sausage high into the air, it fell in an elegant parabola in the night sky. Just like skateboarders soar through the air, a fleeting moment where sausages spin in the air! Hot—! Gulp! Without a single mistake, Tino snatched the sausage out of the air and swallowed it right down his throat. “Waaaaaa—!”

Hundreds of spectators cheered and gave a standing ovation. “Nice catch!”

“Tirano Air Show is awesome!”

Master Park was excited and threw two, three, and five sausages into the air one after another, and Tino caught the sausages from the air and swallowed them perfectly, like a skilled circus acrobat. Twenty sausages disappeared into Tino’s stomach in an instant. Seeing Tino patting his stomach and letting out a burp, Master Park held his stomach and rolled on the floor. “Hahaha! In my entire life of business, I’ve never had a customer as refreshing and cheerful as today! Today’s sausages are all free, free!”

Next to the hot dog cart, at the edge of the sidewalk block at the entrance of the alley lined with old vintage leather workshops and antique clothing stores, there was a completely different and quiet atmosphere. Next to the round flower pot under the eaves of the store, there was a small incense burner made of brass, and inside it, a thin juniper stick was burning slowly, sending out a thin stream of white smoke into the night sky. 'On the curb, the incense burns slowly,

Patchouli whispers where the churros glow.' The lyrics were exactly as they were. The bitter and dreamy scent of patchouli and sandalwood blooming from burning incense sticks on the curb was gently spreading through the night breeze. That mysterious scent mingled gently with the sweet, cinnamon-sugar smell of churros being fried to a golden glow at the Spanish dessert truck across the street. A female leather craftsman in her 40s, an artisan at an alley leather workshop, came out the door and looked at Bow and Tino closely. Her eyes fell on the rough leather necklace around Tino's neck. A crude but perfectly symmetrical ancient knot made by twisting wild bison hide with tendons! “Oh my... did you make this leather necklace yourself?”

The craftsman asked Bau with an exclamation. When Bau nodded, the craftsman let out an exclamation. “It is a breath of the wild that can never be imitated by machines. This knotting method perfectly brings out the texture of the leather... It is truly a great work of art!”

The craftsman brought out a handmade brass bell that made a brilliant sound along with natural beeswax chestnuts from the store. She carefully attached a brass bell to Tino's necklace and applied fragrant beeswax to the surface of the leather to make it sparkle. Jingling—Jingling—! Every time the clear and elegant sound of the bell cut through the night breeze, Tino tilted his head and smiled, as if he was in a good mood. Bau also thanked the craftsman, stopped in front of the patchouli incense burner, and quietly closed his eyes. The earthy and woody scent of patchouli was surprisingly similar to the smell of smoke from a bonfire burning in a cave deep in the primeval night.

Even amidst the flashy neon and noise of the city, the fundamental breath of the earth never disappeared and was quietly breathing in this small, simple incense burner. As Bau put his hands together and placed them on his chest, Tino also crouched down next to Bau and placed his large chin on the sidewalk block. As the juniper smoke passed over Tino's huge nose, his breathing became calmer and more peaceful.

“This scent... smells like the heart of the forest.”

Bau muttered softly. Minseo sat next to Bau holding an acoustic guitar and smiled. “It is a scent made from the grass leaves of India and Southeast Asia called patchouli. It is said that merchants traveling along the ancient Silk Road thousands of years ago also burned this scent to soothe their longing for their hometown and the fear of the desert. When people are anxious or tired, they light this scent to soothe their minds. The peace of the forest where Mr. Bau lived tens of thousands of years ago is fully captured in this small scent.”

Bau nodded and bowed lightly toward the incense burner. It was a moment when I realized that no matter how advanced civilization is and how tall towers pierce the sky, it is ultimately the clean soil and scent created by nature that comforts the human soul. At that time, the young pastry chef, owner of the churro truck across the street, approached carrying a bunch of freshly fried, crispy churros in a paper bag. White sugar and cinnamon powder were sprinkled on the outside of the long, star-shaped dough that was deep-fried until golden brown, like snowflakes. “Dinosaur friend and caveman guy! Come and try our churros! They’re freshly fried so they’re really crispy!”

The pastry chef handed the churros to Bau and Tino along with a container of warm dark chocolate dipping sauce. The pastry chef smiled brightly while telling us the origin of churros. “These churros were originally made by shepherds in the high mountains of Spain, who did not have ovens deep in the mountains, so they easily fried them in a pot of oil over a campfire. The food that shepherds shared while looking at the stars in the night sky has now become the most loved dessert by couples all over the world.”

Bau's eyes sparkled. "The shepherd's bread fried and eaten over a bonfire... It really resembles the life in our caves! All the delicious foods in the world ultimately originated from people's love to soothe the cold and loneliness." Bau picked up a piece of churros, dipped it in the rich chocolate sauce, and took a bite. Crispy—! The chewy and moist dough was chewed inside the crispy shell, and the flavors of sweet sugar, bitter cinnamon, and heavy chocolate created fireworks in the mouth. “It’s crunchy yet sweet… It’s like the sweet vine fruit from the forest baked to a crisp!”

In response to Bau's admiration, Tino also stuck out his long snout. The pastry chef gave Tino twenty churros filled with sweet natural acacia honey instead of chocolate sauce. When Tino failed to catch the churros with his short front paws, he stretched out his long tongue, wrapped around the churros all at once, and popped them into his mouth. Crunchy, crunchy, crunchy! The sound of churros breaking between Tino's huge teeth took on a cheerful rhythm. Tino, intoxicated by the sweet taste of honey and cinnamon, hummed happily and waggled his tail again. Bau shared churros with the leather craftsman and Minseo and laughed together. The sight of strangers sitting around on a sidewalk block sharing a piece of bread was a scene of solidarity more beautiful than any fancy dinner. In the center of the square, skateboarders' wheels were still flying through the air.

On the side of the road, the slow-burning scent of patchouli and the sweet scent of golden churros danced endlessly in the night breeze. People sat in groups of twos and threes on the sidewalk blocks, sharing hot dogs and churros, and chatting with Bow and Tino. Someone curiously touched Bau's bone necklace and asked about stories from primitive times, and a child brought a pretty flower wreath carefully woven with yellow wild chrysanthemums and gently placed it on Tino's huge horn. Tino seemed to like the wreath, folding his huge eyes into a half-moon shape and gently tickling the child's palm with his tongue.

The child's clear and pure laughter filled the night sky. Minseo stood up again, holding the acoustic guitar in her arms. This time, they began to color the streets with even more exciting and rhythmic strokes. Ding- Jajajaja- Ding-!

Cotton candy clouds, dreams everywhere. On the curb, the incense burns slowly,

Patchouli whispers where the churros glow. Sidewalk serenade, flavors parade,

Every corner’s got a story handmade. Streetlights dance, under the moon’s charade,

Life’s a banquet, sidewalk serenade.’ As the song spread, the skateboarders and buskers gathered in the square began to clap and sing the chorus together. “Sidewalk serenade! Sidewalk serenade!”

Tino lightly clinked his two front claws together, making a crackling sound like Spanish castanets, and completed the cheerful ensemble with a brass bell hanging around his neck. Bau also hummed the melody in a rough voice and stamped his feet. The sound of laughter and music flowing over the sidewalk blocks,

Wheels rising in the air and hot dogs spinning round and round,

And mysterious scents whispering on the side of the road. In the night streets of Hongdae, where all the loneliness and coldness of the world melt away, Bau and Tino were breathing in the true magic and festival of life contained in the sidewalk blocks with their whole bodies. As the darkness deepened, the city streetlights danced brighter, and every corner of the street was filled with magical stories carefully created by hand. This night's feast was an eternal festival that would never end, and the serenade on the streets was the warmest embrace for all the wounded souls in the world. Bau stroked Tino’s head and held Minseo’s hand. “Minseo, what is that pink cloud over there?”

“Hehe, you’ll find out when you go. I’ll make you taste the sweetest dream in the world.”

Under the night sky that stretched over the sidewalk blocks, the giant dinosaur and the simple caveman began to take steps once again toward a new sweet miracle. A fairytale-like harmony that no one could have imagined was filling the streets of Seoul with warm love. The clear and pure sound of brass bells ringing with each step rang softly and affectionately, as if promising another excitement and eternal happiness to come. In the distance, sweet cotton candy clouds blooming in pink and azure colors were affectionately calling for their next steps.