episode_0186

There are so many delicious things in the world.

There are so many that it is difficult to know what to eat for each meal.

Maybe that’s why it was like that.

As soon as I started to think about what to make, a thousand different foods came to mind.

There were so many things that came to mind, but I didn’t make a hasty decision.

From my perspective, I had no choice but to be cautious, because although it may not seem like a big deal at first glance, it was a pretty important issue.

Unlike Jo-in or Ha-ho-don, who would sneak up on me and poke my side when they wanted to eat something delicious, Jo-jo rarely asked me to make something for him.

However, Jojo pointed out a place called the kitchen and told me to go there and help prepare for the banquet.

Of course, there was a somewhat sarcastic remark in front of it, ‘I really don’t have anything to do like that…’, but even so, from my perspective, Jojo’s remarks could not help but feel meaningful.

‘Are you worried again?’

Are you afraid that your persuasion might fail?

From Hagi Knight’s point of view, it was a worthy enough situation.

Creating a space and persuading the other person are completely different issues.

Moreover, in the case of Sunuk, he is not a person from the outside world like Heejijae or Jingung, but he already has a lord who serves him.

Therefore, if persuasion fails, securing talent will fail, and the relationship with Won Soo may become ambiguous, so from Jojo’s point of view, the burden is bound to be enormous.

That’s probably why you asked me this.

Delicious food has the power to soften people’s hearts.

If you think about Dangsoso in the world of Kowloon City right now, when we first met, he was as harsh as 1200-grit sandpaper, but after you made him a few meals, he became docile as if it had never been that way.

In that sense, the important thing is what you make and put out…

That was why I accelerated my steps towards the kitchen.

And just like that, I could see it as soon as I reached the kitchen.

“Is it still far?”

“Almost done!”

“What happened to the additional planting material that was supposed to come in?”

“Well, that… I was definitely supposed to bring it to you by this time…”

“Phew… Send someone to the top where the ingredients are to be delivered to check once more. If there is a problem, find out what it is!”

“Yes, yep!”

This is the image of Hee Ji-jae walking around the kitchen, holding a piece of paper with something written on it in her hand.

It’s understandable that he feels annoyed at the fact that he, the bookkeeper, was entrusted with preparing the banquet, but since this is also Jojo’s order, he has no intention of handling it in vain.

The eyes that were wide open were quite scary.

“You look busy?”

“You wouldn’t know it if you looked at itㅡ Ah, Su-hyeon.”

“Is that it? Teacher Jin wrote it down?”

Hee Ji-jae, who was confused for a moment when she saw me suddenly appear, nodded obediently in response to my question.

I asked him if I could take a look, and he obediently handed me what he was holding, as if it wasn’t that difficult.

On the paper that was confirmed in this way… Sunuk’s tastes were written in detail.

Is it because the person who wrote this is Jin Gung, who has been interacting with Sun Wook for over 10 years?

There was a lot more information written there than I thought.

It starts with what food ingredients you prefer and which you do not prefer, and goes on to the ingredients you specifically choose and the reasons for choosing them.

As I read them one by one, I came to know them naturally.

Among meats, Sunuk especially prefers chicken and cow meat, and although he eats sea fish, he cannot even eat fresh water fish.

‘I like chicken and cow…’

To be honest, I was a bit surprised.

Cow, even so, the chickens in this world don’t have any real taste.

Since ancient times, chicken is supposed to be soft and have the taste of being gently torn apart along the texture, but in this world, everything sold as chicken is so tough that it is comparable to chewing gum.

This was because the chickens sold on the market were basically old chickens whose bodies were no longer able to produce eggs.

But I can’t believe I enjoy that…

If so, I should tell you now.

What is true chicken?

“Still on the chicken and beef side?”

“Ah, yes… I thought it would get cold if I made it in advance…”

“Then, I’m in charge of those two?”

“Yes? Are you Suhyeon?”

No, why is he doing that with his eyes wide open as if he is so surprised?

“Are you sure you’re okay? Meat dishes are the most important banquet dishes…”

“No, you probably saw me cooking. I may not be as good as the masters here, but I do my best.”

“Still, since it is an occasion to entertain important guests, we would rather just leave it to the professional housekeepers and supervise it today…”

“Huh…? Does that mean the dishes I make are not suitable for important occasions?”

“Everyone is good at something different.”

You have no intention of stepping down easily…

Even now, if I revealed that this was Jojo’s order, it wouldn’t be a task to get Heejijae’s concessions… but for some reason, I didn’t feel like doing that.

Should I say that my pride as a chef does not allow me to do this?

You may be wondering if I’m some kind of idiot who has never learned how to cook professionally, but even self-made cooks have their own sense of pride.

“Then how about doing it like this?”

“···?”

“Try it thoroughly and then decide. Whether to put it on the table or not.”

*****

‘Ha… really…’

You must be busy enough right now, so why is this person doing this again?

Su-hyeon’s sudden appearance of stubbornness and behavior that shouldn’t have seemed to be bothering me again, but the reason I nodded obediently was because I felt like if I didn’t do that, this meaningless argument would continue forever.

There is still so much to prepare, so why waste time on something like that?

‘If you make something and bring it to me, you can taste it for a bit and then reject it because you think it would be difficult to put on the table.’

That’s exactly what I was thinking when I nodded.

It was roughly half an hour later.

Into the kitchen, which was chaotic with all kinds of smells, strangely powerful smells began to mix.

It was at that time that Soohyun, who had left the kitchen saying she would return as soon as it was completed, reappeared.

“···Is it them?”

“That’s right.”

Was everyone curious about a dish they saw for the first time?

Some of the sounds that were contributing to making the kitchen noisy had suddenly stopped completely, but there was no time to point it out.

For that reason, the appearance of what was right in front of my eyes was too fascinating.

There was something on top of the bowl with a color so bright that it was worthy of being called golden.

Looking at the unique savory smell of oil, it seems to be fried food, but how do you fry it to get that color?

As I felt curious once again, I wonder if I could read this person’s inner thoughts.

Su-hyeon, who grinned, used long chopsticks to pick up something that was lying on the bowl and then held it out in this direction.

Does this mean I should taste it as promised?

It seemed like that was what he meant, so he must have been turning his head around in search of chopsticks.

“Why? Do you need chopsticks?”

“···Isn’t it obvious? You can’t eat it with your bare hands.”

“In the first place, this is a dish that you eat by holding it with your bare hands?”

“What undignified…!”

“Ah, don’t do that, just pretend you’re being fooled and do as I tell you. Since this is for deciding whether or not to put it on the banquet table, if you’re going to do it, shouldn’t you do it properly?”

Even so, eating food with bare hands.

After hesitating for a moment, I eventually accepted what Suhyeon offered me.

What made it scary to do so was the warmth that was almost hot.

Considering it’s this warm, it looks like it hasn’t been made for a long time.

Since ancient times, all food tastes best when it has just been made.

That was why I calmly took the thing that still maintained its attractive appearance into my mouth.

And then I took a big bite, piling up words in my head in case it didn’t taste good…

Kwajajajak-!

Something exploded from the part where it was bitten, with a sharp sound similar to that of a jujeon beak.

Something close to hot, savory oil.

I had no choice but to honestly admit that it felt moisturizing the inside of my mouth.

This is a dish that can, or should, be put on the banquet table.

“···If it’s this good, it’s okay to put it on the banquet table.”

“Right? Try something else too.”

Actually, that was it.

I felt deep disappointment when I saw that it was a different dish.

Was it because I was so focused on making the first dish that I was relatively unable to pay attention to that part?

First of all, the appearance was disappointing.

Unlike the first dish, which boasted an alluring appearance worthy of the word golden, the second dish was dark in color.

It was as if it had been accidentally burned.

That’s not all.

Still, I cut it into small pieces with the intention of having at least one bite, and contrary to the dark exterior, the interior looked uncooked.

If blood dripping from meat is not undercooked, what does it mean?

As I couldn’t bring myself to put it to my mouth, Suhyeon, as if she knew he would, picked up the part that seemed to be properly cooked and held it out with chopsticks.

I swallowed it with the intention of quickly tasting it and cleaning it up… It must have been the moment what entered my mouth and touched my tongue.

Paradise unfolded in my mouth.

A taste that was neither salty nor sweet nor sour nor bitter swept through my mouth.

I was swayed here and there by the rush without even a chance to rest, but at the same time, I was confident.

‘This… works! ‘It’s absolutely possible!’

If you serve these at a banquet, at least you won’t fail to persuade them because of the food.

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“This is…?!”