episode_0260

A special notification window kept popping up.

[※ Loading special ability list….]

“Huh?”

Sua was suddenly taken aback. The phrase “loading *list*” felt strangely unsettling.

Isn’t cooking just about learning to cook? Why use the word *list*? It has a nuance of teaching multiple things. Sua knew that much!

Immediately, the special perk window popped up as if to explain.

[Target level: Uncivilized (top 80%).] [Loading custom learning tools.]

“Ugh, is my level the problem again?”

Honestly, Sua had half expected it, but sure enough, her brain was deemed “uncivilized.”

“…Still, it’s not all bad, is it?”

It’s slightly better than before, right?

Uncivilized (top 80%).

Among uncivilized people, she’s in the top 80 percent.

…Yeah, let’s think positively.

It’s a hundred times better than the special perk giving up and not telling me anything at all. If I put myself in its shoes, the special perk is going this far to teach Sua.

It’s that difficult to teach Sua how to cook.

Anyway!

Ssssssssss—!

[1. Learn ‘Hygiene Concept’.]

Learning began.

. . .

When she came to, she was in a kitchen.

[1. Learn ‘Hygiene Concept’.]

“Really? I’m clean enough, aren’t I?”

Sua thought so, but the cleanliness she maintained was vastly different from the cleanliness required in cooking.

Thwack!

Someone hit Sua on the head.

“Ah, sh…”

The thug inside Sua tried to rear her head, but…

“…”

Sua became docile again. She had no choice.

“Is this really a kitchen? Or a gym?”

That’s what she thought. The kitchen was filled with muscular men who looked five times bigger than Sua. They didn’t seem like the same species.

A chef with an arm the size of Sua’s head said,

“It’s not clean at all, so wipe it all down again.” “…This? It looks perfectly clean to me?”

Then he flexed his arm.

“Is it still clean?” “No. Ha, who’s in charge here! It’s really dirty!” “You are.” “Ah, I thought I saw traces of effort. Hehe…”

Sua forcibly learned about hygiene.

. . .

[2. Learn about ‘Measurement’.]

This time, she was dropped in the middle of a road.

But it wasn’t a familiar Korean road. It was a structure where you could only go forward, and in the distance, thorns completely blocked the way.

“What is this? Where am I again?”

But while it was unfamiliar to Sua, it was a familiar space to the special perk and Yeonju. This was where Yeonju awakened her Yeon Cheon Kyung.

“Hey? Answer me! What is this place?!”

Then a voice echoed in the air.

—How many liters is 300 mL?

“Huh?”

Sua was flustered.

The rules here were simple.

Whoosh—!

When she failed to answer correctly, there was an immediate reaction. Sua’s body was pulled toward the thorns.

“It’s, it’s prickly! I understand! I’ll learn! I’ll answer!”

Sua learned about measurement.

. . .

After that, all sorts of learning took place.

[3. Preparing Ingredients] [4. Distinguishing Doneness] [5. Discriminating Tastes Coldly] [6. Plating]

It goes without saying that there were many twists and turns in the process. The special perk repeated the forced learning several times to teach Sua.

So much so that Sua shouted in the middle of it.

“Stop! I give up! I don’t want to cook anymore!”

But there was no quitting halfway through the special perk’s learning.

As a result of repeating like crazy.

“Kkeueueueue…”

Sua, who had collapsed on the ground, twitched.

[Congratulations.] [You have completed ‘Cooking’.]

“Congratulations, my foot! I thought I was really going to die!”

Wait? Did I actually die?

My memory is already fading, but anyway!

[The special perk says it is not congratulating you.] [It is congratulating itself for teaching Lee Sua.] [The special perk has increased its understanding of ‘uncivilized’.]

“…”

In the end, Sua started to cry.

“Ssii…. I’m never going to cook. I’m just going to order delivery every day and live on instant food.”

In other words, Sua-tears, Sua-bawling…

How long had she been sulking like that?

“…Huh?”

Sua suddenly widened her eyes.

She felt it instinctively. She could no longer be satisfied with delivery food and instant food. Her standards had changed drastically in the meantime.

“Huh?”

Come to think of it, it was only natural.

Before she knew it, Sua was no different from a chef when it came to hygiene and taste. A very picky chef at that.

◈◈◈◈◈

Two days later.

Director Yusaku’s studio smoking room.

“Sss… Haa…”

Japan’s master director, Yusaku, put a cigarette he had quit a long time ago in his mouth. He kept sucking in the cigarette smoke, but his eyes were fixed on the air.

He was completely lost in other thoughts.

And the thought that had completely captured Director Yusaku’s attention was, of course, the phone call he had received two days ago.

‘Unbelievable, but I got a call from RINE.’

The woman, who identified herself as a secretary, had been silent for two days after saying she would contact him again.

‘Was it just a feeler or a prank call after all?’

That was the first thought that came to mind.

Why would RINE, Japan’s national messenger, take the risk of providing production costs?

But the problem was that Yusaku was desperate right now.

‘Should I call them…?’

He knew it was a pathetic thing to do, but “Weeds” was in such a bad situation that he had to cling to even a prank call.

Just as Yusaku picked up his phone.

—♩♪♬

“…!”

Yusaku couldn’t help but be surprised enough to drop the newly lit cigarette. He received a phone call again.

From the person he had been waiting for so desperately.

He answered the phone without even taking a deep breath.

“Hello?” “Yes. Director Yusaku. Are you free today?” “Suddenly? More than that, was what you said before true? Is RINE really investing in ‘Weeds’…”

“That’s something I don’t need to say. Just make sure you’re free today.”

“I have time, but what for?” “You’ll know when you get here. Are you at the studio now?” “Yes.” “I’ll send a car to pick you up.”

Click.

The call ended shortly.

Yusaku sighed again.

He had intended to ask all the questions that had been piling up for two days, but once again, the other party did not allow it. They just spit out what they wanted to say and hung up.

“I don’t understand what’s going on at all. Should I believe this or not?”

But in reality, there was no choice.

Even if this was a malicious trap, Yusaku had to go. It was the director’s responsibility to reach out and grab at straws one more time.

In the meantime.

Vroom—!

Through the window, he saw a luxury car entering the studio parking lot.

“There’s no other way anyway. Let’s just do it.”

Yusaku headed to the parking lot, resigned.

. . . . .

About 30 minutes passed.

Yusaku arrived at a high-end grilled shellfish restaurant in a luxury car.

When he arrived at the parking lot, a secretary in a suit opened the car door and greeted Yusaku politely.

“Director Yusaku, I’ll guide you.”

“…”

Yusaku swallowed hard.

It wasn’t a normal grilled shellfish restaurant with a pocha vibe, but a luxurious space where each room was a private room.

When he reached the innermost room.

“Please go inside.”

Yusaku thought.

It seemed like someone from RINE had really contacted him, but how high up was the person inside? To have a secretary and send a car, were they even the CEO?

And.

Screech—!

When the door opened, it became a reality.

“…!”

Yusaku’s eyes widened.

He immediately recognized RINE CEO Mawakubo.

Mawakubo was leisurely eating grilled shellfish, and the value of the luxury goods he wore on his neck and ears was considerable.

Mawakubo spoke first.

“What are you doing? Sit down and eat.” “…CEO Mawakubo, nice to meet you.” “Yes. Nice to meet you too.”

Mawakubo nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you like this, so should we talk about this and that? Or should we get straight to the point?” “I’d like to get straight to the point.” “Okay. To be honest, I’m not good at talking either.”

Mawakubo put down his chopsticks with a thud.

“The situation with ‘Weeds’ is a mess, right?” “A mess…”

That wasn’t wrong. Yusaku agreed.

“…It’s upsetting, but it’s true. All sorts of rumors have been attached, but at least it’s true that we don’t have money.” “I see.”

This time, Mawakubo picked up a new pair of chopsticks and put three huge shellfish on Yusaku’s plate.

“How about three? Will it be resolved?” “Three…”

Mawakubo wasn’t talking about shellfish, but about money. Yusaku understood that much metaphor.

However, he shook his head.

“3 billion won won’t solve anything. You can assume that all the investors in ‘Weeds’ have left.” “Really? Is everyone so disloyal?” “Rather than being disloyal, I felt sorry for the people who stayed until the end, so I sent them away. I didn’t want to make my precious people suffer.” “Ah, Director Yusaku is romantic.”

Mawakubo smiled.

“But Director Yusaku.”

He tapped the plate with his chopsticks.

“This isn’t 3 billion won. Look at the shell. Wouldn’t it be disappointing if it was only 3 billion won when it’s so big?” “It’s not 3 billion won? Then…”

Soon, Director Yusaku’s eyes widened.

“…30 billion won? Is it really 30 billion won?” “That’s right. Is this enough?” “…!”

Yusaku couldn’t even answer.

30 billion won! How much money is 30 billion won? It’s enough to solve all the problems of “Weeds.”

Mawakubo continued.

“But of course, I’m not giving it away for free.” “Yes. What do you need?”

Yusaku’s voice became very serious. What wouldn’t he do for the opportunity to receive an investment of 30 billion won?

But.

Soon, a very unexpected condition was heard.

“Lee Sua must not leave ‘Weeds’.”

“Ah, about that…”

Yusaku almost gave the answer that ‘Sua had expressed her intention to stay with Weeds until the end’, but he barely managed to hold back.

Because there was something he wanted to ask first.

“Does that mean that the reason you’re investing 30 billion won is related to Ms. Sua?” “Yes. Exactly.” “Have you had a relationship with Ms. Sua?” “Just, my benefactor, I guess.”

Yusaku was speechless. The word ‘benefactor’ came out of the mouth of the RINE CEO.

‘Ms. Sua is an unusual person in every way. But she even had a connection with the RINE CEO? What kind of life has she lived?’

Yusaku was out of his mind for a while.

“So? What is Director Yusaku’s answer?” “Ah, yes! I promise. If you invest 30 billion won, I will definitely include Ms. Sua and go all the way to completion.”

“Hmm, good.”

Mawakubo nodded.

“And Director, you just focus on completing the work and completely stay away from the media marketing side.” “The media and marketing side…?” “Yes. You know I don’t mean to interfere and take away ‘Weeds’, right? What I mean is, just…”

Mawakubo looked straight at Yusaku.

“…I’m saying I’ll also take care of the media atmosphere of Weeds.”

◈◈◈◈◈

A week later. Japan.

The broadcast day of the national variety show ‘Celebrity Zoo’.

[‘Celebrity Zoo’ Lee Sua special. Aired today] [Despite the controversy… The Lee Sua special is being forced.]

‘Celebrity Zoo’ was busy promoting its program through the media these days.

Of course, these days, Sua’s story is noisy in relation to ‘Weeds’, so people’s reactions were mixed.

【Japanese Community】 —Shouldn’t ‘Celebrity Zoo’ be careful until Lee Sua’s position on ‘Weeds’ is revealed?

—That’s right. What if there’s a problem later if you send it out unnecessarily? It seems like it’s good to act carefully.

—So is Lee Sua leaving ‘Weeds’?

—The existing noir fanbase pointed out that Japan is feverishly trying to ‘promote Korea’, and I think that makes sense. Can’t you make more specials for our actors? Japan! Please come to your senses!

The atmosphere was mainly filled with worry and criticism.

But the ‘Celebrity Zoo’ production team wasn’t afraid even in this situation. The word “national variety show” isn’t just for show, and they’re not just idiots.

They knew very well that controversy soon becomes a matter of interest.

Therefore, right now. ‘Celebrity Zoo’ monitoring room.

“Main PD! Broadcasting starts now!”

One of the staff shouted, and the ‘Celebrity Zoo’ broadcast can be seen on the monitors that fill one wall.

There’s no turning back now.

It really meant that the Lee Sua special broadcast had begun.

And not long after, the main PD asked.

“Why don’t you tell me right away! How’s the reaction?” “Are you talking about the internet opinion? Or…” “That’s not important at all! The ratings, I mean!” “Ratings. Yes, yes. Just a moment.”

And a moment later.

“…?”

The staff member jumped up from his seat in surprise. His eyeballs seemed about to pop out and roll on the floor.

“What’s wrong? How much did it get?” “Th, th, that’s…”

The staff member swallowed hard and said.

“It’s a whopping 25%!”

“What? 25%? Is that real? Are you kidding me?”

The ‘Celebrity Zoo’ team was turned upside down. It was a figure that far exceeded expectations. But the important thing is not that.

What’s important is that at this moment, the viewers were doubly flipped over.