Ch.124Would you like me to stir-fry some spicy pork for you?

Special guest appearances on “The Noble Gourmet” weren’t particularly common.

But they weren’t unusual enough to be considered exceptional either.

Come to think of it, aside from the main character Toro,

most characters were one-time supporting roles or guests.

Of course, occasionally there were guests who took up an entire episode.

But even that wasn’t particularly special.

However.

“This time, it’s quite innovative in its own way.”

“The Noble Gourmet Season 4.”

The current season’s special guest was different from all previous storylines.

“The first guest after the time slot change is Korean…”

Originally, “The Noble Gourmet” was a late-night broadcast.

But due to its popularity, the time slot had changed to 10 PM.

The so-called prime time.

The time slot with the highest viewership.

This alone was an enormous change,

but to add a Korean special guest on top of that?

“Now this is innovation! Change! Something different and unique!”

Could they pursue anything more novel? Certainly not.

This was truly a renewal.

“Do you think the story will come together well enough?”

The production manager of “The Noble Gourmet,”

Aitake Ura, asked, and his subordinates nodded.

“We’re thinking of going with a young man with dreams, running a Korean restaurant in Japan.”

“The actor is young, but we’ll set it up as if his whole family immigrated here.”

“And just then! Toro arrives!”

“His parents happened to be away, so he’s watching the restaurant for them.”

Aitake Ura smiled with satisfaction at the writers’ words.

“We should also use his big eater setting. Donghu eats so much, it would be a waste not to use that.”

“So I was thinking of a title like ‘An Owner Who Eats More Than His Customers?!'”

“That’s excellent. There are actually restaurants like that.”

“Yes, and since it’s lunchtime, Toro and Donghu end up eating together.”

Clap, clap.

Aitake Ura applauded the fantastic image forming in his mind.

“But there’s one problem.”

However, such ideals always come with issues.

Aitake Ura’s brow furrowed at this sudden brake.

“Is it because of that?”

“Yes, it’s… because of that.”

In fact, Aitake Ura was well aware of this issue.

“Donghu’s cooking skills… that’s the important part, right?”

Honestly, he could just pretend to cook,

and the actual dishes could be prepared separately.

It was entirely possible and not at all impossible.

But.

“If we’re going to introduce food from another country, I’d like to show something authentic.”

The reality aspect bothered him.

Even though it was a drama, “The Noble Gourmet” was based on reality.

That’s why there was a vague resistance to using a stand-in.

‘In normal circumstances we would just do it, but he’s a special guest with a significant role that involves cooking.’

Using a stand-in for the cooking scenes?

From the production manager’s perspective, it was quite disappointing.

“We did get confirmation that he can cook, but we don’t know his skill level…”

“Honestly, it’s hard to expect him to be good. He is quite young after all.”

“Let’s arrange for a stand-in on the day of filming just in case.”

“So Plan A is to have Donghu do the cooking?”

“Yes.”

Disappointing as it was, there were practical limitations that couldn’t be overcome immediately.

They had to accept that they might not be able to capture the cooking details.

“Well, that’s as far as we need to worry about filming details. The most important thing now is the script.”

“Yes!”

“The faster it comes out, the faster we can proceed with filming, so please do your best this time.”

Tick, tick.

As he said this, Aitake Ura naturally brightened the lights in the room.

Late at night.

Tokyo TV brightly illuminated Japan’s darkness.

+++++

“Donghu, the script is here!”

“What?”

Already?

‘This quickly?’

About a week had passed since the filming offer came in.

I could have sworn that just a week ago, not much had been finalized.

‘I thought they said they would write a new story tailored for me. This is amazing.’

The speed was no joke.

‘Reminds me of High Dream.’

Back then, the ending changed at about this same pace.

Anyway.

“They must have rushed it because you’re appearing! They’re featuring none other than Kim Donghu!”

Compared to Korean appearance fees, it’s almost 1/10 the price.

Getting you at this price is only possible because it’s Japan.

I gently brushed off Seokho hyung’s gilded words and took the script.

But.

<The Noble Gourmet, B, A>

“…?”

The sudden appearance of an A caught me by surprise.

‘Why is there suddenly an A grade here?’

An A grade that I’d only seen in theater productions.

A grade I’d never seen in dramas or movies.

What was peculiar was that it wasn’t just an A grade, but B followed by A.

‘When there’s an additional grade, it usually means it’s for overseas, right?’

But when did “The Noble Gourmet” start selling well overseas?

‘OTT? Netflix?’

Is this saying it’s doing extremely well there? Or is there something else I don’t know about?

‘A higher grade must be a good thing.’

With that thought, I immediately:

‘Immersed.’

I entered the world of the script.

++++++

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.

The sound of a knife dancing on a cutting board is always pleasant to hear.

When the knife tap dances, everything transforms into something completely new.

Colorful vegetables change their form,

appearing beautifully arranged in vibrant colors on white plates.

“Ta-da! Dad’s special spicy stir-fried pork!”

“Wow! Looks delicious!”

“Of course it’s delicious! Who made it after all!”

Kim Minjun smiled brightly at his father’s words.

Dad’s cooking was always delicious.

So good you wouldn’t notice if one of you died while eating!

That’s why he studied cooking diligently under his father.

But his father’s cooking was too difficult,

and learning from his mother was just as challenging.

“Dad, Mom, cooking is too hard! Why are there so many steps?!”

“That’s how it works—we struggle so the customers can be happy.”

“Can’t the customers be a little less happy?!”

“What? That won’t do!”

Despite Kim Minjun’s childish complaints, his parents just laughed.

As he continued learning to cook,

he later heard some surprising news.

“…Mom, Dad, you had three stars?”

“That’s in the past. And technically, it was one and a half each, since your mom and I split them.”

Michelin three stars.

How could his parents have achieved such an incredible feat?

Actually, what surprised Kim Minjun even more was something else.

‘And with all that, they chose to open just a Korean rice restaurant?’

They could have opened a much fancier restaurant.

But his parents chose a small shop in Japan.

The menu was extremely simple.

Spicy pork, kimbap, tonkatsu, ramen.

A menu that couldn’t be more basic.

But perhaps because it was made with six-star skill,

customers never stopped coming.

“When will our son be able to run the kitchen by himself?”

“Why? So we can hand over the shop and go on vacation when he becomes an adult?”

“Oh my, honey, our son is so perceptive!”

“Son, don’t you want a sibling?”

“Oh my! There’s nothing you won’t say in front of the child! You must be crazy.”

Then one day.

Seemingly out of nowhere.

“…How is this even possible?!”

“Son, nothing is impossible in your father’s dictionary.”

“Honey! Please watch what you say!!!”

Mom was pregnant.

Kim Minjun was shocked.

What were they, rabbits? The reproduction rate was incredible.

‘Wait, is comparing Dad to a rabbit inappropriate?’

But this didn’t bring any major changes to daily life.

It was just a matter of me doing more work instead of Mom.

While continuing with that mindset.

“Ah… Aaah!”

“Co-contractions! Son! I’m leaving the shop to you! Don’t come! Don’t worry and keep the shop running!”

Suddenly, a great trial came upon Kim Minjun.

His parents had to leave the shop urgently due to labor pains.

Honestly, he didn’t have the confidence to run the shop alone.

‘I should close the shop, clean up, and then follow them!’

As Kim Minjun moved to close the shop, at that very moment.

Grumble, grumble.

“…?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m just so hungry… are you open?”

He locked eyes with an incredibly tall Japanese man.

++++++

Whoosh!

As I finished immersing myself in the script, I returned to reality.

‘Does the rest come later?’

Come to think of it, I think they mentioned filming in two separate sessions.

The script ended right before I was supposed to cook.

‘Could it be they don’t trust my cooking skills?’

It was a reasonable suspicion.

Judging by the script, “Kim Minjun” was born with a silver cooking spoon,

so naturally it would be difficult to match that with my actual skills.

“This setting is incredible.”

“Right? A son born to six-star parents, it’s really amazing.”

Glance, glance.

Seokho hyung must be a hardcore fan of “The Noble Gourmet,”

as he kept looking at the script with a grin.

‘No wonder he was so excited when he contacted me about receiving the script.’

He really can’t hide his excitement.

Muttering that to myself, I slowly moved toward the kitchen.

“Hm? What are you doing?”

“I should practice cooking. The menu includes spicy pork… kimbap, tonkatsu, and ramen, right?”

“Ah, that’s the trendy Korean food these days. They actually wanted to include rice soup too, but gave up because making the broth is difficult.”

“Oh… they gave up on rice soup?”

I think they could have managed it.

After saying that, I looked at my phone.

There:

Ding! Ding! Ding!

-[Recognizing the difference between current cooking skills and character cooking skills]

-[Confirming the taste to be implemented and the details of innate talent]

-[Downloading application ‘Inherited and Held Stars’]

As if it had been waiting for this moment,

a message from Sims had arrived.

“Would you like me to make some spicy stir-fried pork for you?”