Massal Stories

Rooftop Ramyeon Club

An illustrated story by Paper Comet · Slice of life · Manga · All ages · English, Turkish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean

Also in: Türkçe · Deutsch · Español · Português · Français · Bahasa Indonesia

Three friends who secretly cook noodles on their school rooftop must feed the whole school festival to win it back.

Every day after class, Ha-eun, Do-yun and Tae-min sneak up to the school rooftop and cook instant ramyeon on a camping stove: the Rooftop Ramyeon Club. When strict Vice Principal Oh catches them and orders the door locked for good, Ha-eun makes a deal: if their stall wins Best Booth at the school festival, the rooftop is theirs. Three hundred bowls, burnt tongues, one big argument and a sudden rainstorm later, the last bowl goes to Ms. Oh, who has a rooftop secret of her own.

Characters

  • Seo Ha-eun (The cook): A seventeen-year-old who believes she is the greatest instant-noodle chef in Seoul.
  • Kang Do-yun (The eater): A tall seventeen-year-old with a bottomless stomach and a perfect memory for every taste.
  • Yoon Tae-min (The planner): A quiet seventeen-year-old who measures everything, even noodles.
  • Vice Principal Oh (Vice principal): The strictest teacher in the school, who holds every key in the building.

Episode 1: The Secret Pot

Three friends cook their secret after-school ramyeon on the rooftop, until the vice principal catches them and orders the door locked for good.

The last bell rings and Ha-eun gives the secret signal.

Ding-dong!

Seo Ha-eun: Rooftop. Five minutes.

Kang Do-yun: Finally! I am starving!

They sneak up the forbidden stairwell.

Kang Do-yun: Is anyone watching?

Yoon Tae-min: All clear. The janitor is on floor two.

On the rooftop, Ha-eun opens the hidden crate.

Our secret: the Rooftop Ramyeon Club.

Seo Ha-eun: The club meeting is now open!

Ha-eun and Tae-min argue about timing.

Yoon Tae-min: The water boiled at 4:02. Noodles in... now.

Seo Ha-eun: Trust the pot, not the clock!

Do-yun is dramatically hungry.

Kang Do-yun: I haven't eaten in... forty minutes.

Seo Ha-eun: You ate my lunch!

The secret final touch: egg and cheese.

Crack!

Seo Ha-eun: The final touch: one egg, one slice of cheese.

They eat together as the sun sets.

Kang Do-yun: Best. Bowl. Ever.

Yoon Tae-min: You say that every day.

Ha-eun asks for a promise.

Seo Ha-eun: Let's do this every day until graduation.

Yoon Tae-min: Promise.

Kang Do-yun: Promise!

The door bangs open: Vice Principal Oh.

BANG!

Vice Principal Oh: What is going on up here?!

Ms. Oh announces the rooftop will be locked for good.

Vice Principal Oh: On Monday, this door gets locked. For good.

Seo Ha-eun: Our rooftop... gone?

Episode 2: Three Hundred Bowls

To win the rooftop back, the friends make a deal with Ms. Oh: three hundred bowls at the school festival. Practice goes badly until they learn to cook as a team.

Monday: a big padlock on the rooftop door.

Monday. The lock arrived.

Kang Do-yun: Goodbye, rooftop... I loved you.

Tae-min points to the festival poster.

Yoon Tae-min: Festival in two weeks. The best booth wins a wish.

Seo Ha-eun: A wish... like a rooftop key?

Ha-eun bows to Ms. Oh and proposes a deal.

Seo Ha-eun: Let us cook at the festival. If we win, give us the rooftop!

Vice Principal Oh: Hmm.

Ms. Oh sets her conditions.

Vice Principal Oh: Three hundred bowls. No mess. No excuses.

Seo Ha-eun: Deal!

Test batch one is far too spicy.

Kang Do-yun: TOO SPICY! Water! Water!

Yoon Tae-min: Batch one: too spicy.

Batch seven is too bland, and Do-yun is full.

Kang Do-yun: I can't... eat... one more noodle.

Yoon Tae-min: Batch seven. Too bland.

Ha-eun and Tae-min argue.

Yoon Tae-min: Three hundred bowls is maths, not magic!

Seo Ha-eun: Cooking is a feeling, not a number!

Do-yun remembers the perfect bowl.

Kang Do-yun: Batch three was perfect! You made it together.

Kang Do-yun: Her taste. Your timing.

They make up and plan three stations.

Yoon Tae-min: Three stations. Ninety seconds a bowl.

Seo Ha-eun: Taste by me. Timing by you. Smiles by Do-yun!

The night before the festival, the stall is ready.

Kang Do-yun: Three hundred bowls. We can do this.

Seo Ha-eun: For the rooftop.

Episode 3: Festival Bowls

On festival day the stall starts slow, a sudden rain shower nearly ruins everything, and the whole school helps. Bowl three hundred goes to Ms. Oh, who has a rooftop secret of her own.

Festival day: the courtyard is packed.

Festival day. Twelve booths. One rooftop to win.

Nobody stops at their stall.

Kang Do-yun: Hot ramyeon! Best in Seoul!

Yoon Tae-min: Bowls sold: zero.

Ha-eun fans the steam toward the crowd.

Seo Ha-eun: Let the pot do the talking.

Sniff... sniff...

The line stretches across the courtyard.

Yoon Tae-min: Bowl one hundred fifty! Right on time!

Kang Do-yun: Enjoy! Come again!

A sudden rain shower.

Splash!

Seo Ha-eun: Rain?! Cover the stove!

Classmates hold umbrellas over the stall.

Kang Do-yun: Everyone is holding umbrellas for us!

Seo Ha-eun: Thank you, everyone!

Bowl three hundred goes to Ms. Oh.

Yoon Tae-min: Bowl three hundred.

Vice Principal Oh: Hmph. Let's see.

Ms. Oh tastes it and smiles.

Vice Principal Oh: Egg and cheese... just like we used to make.

Vice Principal Oh: I cooked on that rooftop too. Thirty years ago.

The club wins Best Booth.

Vice Principal Oh: Best Booth: the Rooftop Ramyeon Club!

Seo Ha-eun: WE DID IT!

An official club on the rooftop, with one new member.

The Rooftop Ramyeon Club. Official at last.

Vice Principal Oh: New rule: always invite the vice principal.

Seo Ha-eun: Deal!

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