Chapter 77
Chapter 77
Translator: Penny
Chapter 77
The eight-part reality show shoot was still underway.
Today's filming revolved around our second reality show theme: cooking(?).
I'd imagined something like a hilariously terrible cooking competition that would make your heart sink, but the production team's plot far surpassed our meager imaginations.
"A relay cooking challenge?"
I read the words on the cue sheet, still bewildered.
It would be way more entertaining to just raid the fridge and whip up something edible.
"The members will take turns choosing a recipe, buying ingredients, prepping the ingredients, cooking, and tasting. Player 1 selects and writes down the recipe, Player 2 buys the ingredients according to the recipe, Player 3 preps the ingredients, Player 4 cooks according to the recipe, and Player 5 tastes the final dish. Communication or consultation between members is strictly prohibited."
After reading the explanation, I had a rough idea of how the game would work.
The most crucial roles were the fourth batter, who would cook, and the first batter, who would choose the recipe.
If the first batter picked something like Boeuf Bourguignon, we'd all be doomed.
I desperately prayed I wouldn't get the fourth batter position.
Unless the cooking theme was Tornado Omelet, I knew better than anyone how terrible my cooking skills were.
The easiest role was definitely the first batter.
The fifth batter had to eat whatever disastrous dish the fourth batter made, which didn't appeal to me at all. Of course, if the fourth batter were Gyeon Hajun, that would be a different story.
"Hajun Hyung absolutely has to be the fourth batter," someone said.
"Yeah, he's Reve's only real chef."
"What about me?"
"Hyung's the diet chef."
Seo Yehyeon seemed pleased with the title, nodding with a faint smile.
Before we could even decide the order ourselves, the production team intervened.
"We'll determine the batting order through a game," the production team announced firmly.
"We can't decide it ourselves?" Ryu Jaehee clutched his head and wailed.
"We're doomed! Unless Hajun Hyung or Yehyeon Hyung bats fourth, the fifth batter is guaranteed to be stuck with the penalty role!"
"Honestly, even if the recipe isn't for diet food, it's risky to let Yehyeon Hyung bat fourth."
"If Yehyeon Hyung bats fourth, we're definitely going with a diet recipe."
"That's a brilliant idea, guys!"
As soon as the suggestion of a diet recipe came up, Seo Yehyeon wore the warm, welcoming expression of a father embracing his prodigal son.
Seeing that smug, self-satisfied smile—as if these guys had finally come to their senses—made me want to shatter their expectations, despite our recent reconciliation.
If I suggested cream gnocchi or a triple handmade cheeseburger, would they faint?
To make that a reality, I had to secure the number one spot no matter what. I didn't care how difficult it would be to make.
The production team's game to determine the order was Halli Galli.
"The first person eliminated gets number five, and the last one remaining gets number one."
The rules of Halli Galli were simple: players are eliminated when they run out of cards on their turn, and the player with the most cards at the end wins.
But in this game, instead of determining a winner, the elimination order would determine the rankings from number five to number one.
I stretched my hands lightly, inwardly grumbling.
Damn it, I'm way better at One Card than Halli Galli.
The deck was placed in the center, and we each received our cards.
"Hey, ring the bell gently! You're gonna break your knuckles!"
"It's not five bananas! This makes six!"
"What? When did that one appear?"
"Hajun Hyung, you rang the bell wrong, so deal out one card each."
"Kim Dobin just flipped his card inward! Flip it outward! Hey, pass the cards around again."
"No fair! Penalizing us for the direction we flip our cards is ridiculous!"
A fierce game raged, leaving everyone's knuckles red and swollen. The loud DING! of the bell echoed through the dorm.
Staring at his empty hand, he raised it casually and asked, "Can we change the game to One Card and play just one more round?"
"Accept your fate, Hyung."
"Ah, if I'd known it would end like this, I would have gotten eliminated in the first round!"
Having been saddled with cooking, the task I dreaded most, I was utterly despondent.
I'd rather be a taste tester! Why me? Why this trial...?
Dead Eyes detected.
Original Intent Score -1
As I stared blankly at the floor, the System pounced, deducting my Original Intent Score.
Ugh, I guess I deserve it for zoning out in front of the camera. I'm letting it slide since I'm on schedule, but for God's sake, update the System already!
Gyeon Hajun, the first to be eliminated, took the 5th batting order. I, the second to be eliminated, got the 4th spot. Ryu Jaehee, who followed me out, ended up with the 3rd spot.
Now, only Kim Dobin and Seo Yehyeon remained for the final showdown.
The winner would claim the coveted 1st batting order, the most advantageous position.
Tension crackled between the two card players. Anyone watching would have sworn they were witnessing a legendary showdown at a high-stakes casino.
In reality, they were playing Halli Galli, not even poker.
And the winner was...!
"Dobin, you're going to break my hand..."
"Aaaah, if only I'd been 0.1 seconds faster!"
Seo Yehyeon, who had snagged the easiest part, watched with envy as Gyeon Hajun's dark future loomed. He mentally offered his friend a silent, heartfelt apology.
Gyeon Hajun is going to be stuck eating horribly bland diet food, poorly prepared and barely edible.
I'm sorry in advance, buddy. If only you or I had been just a little better at Halli Galli, this tragedy could have been avoided.
As the first to choose a recipe, Seo Yehyeon turned on the camera and fell into deep thought.
Salads were immediately out of the question. Even someone as calorie-conscious as him knew this was a broadcast.
And with Gyeon Hajun, the taste-tester, as the fifth batter, overly complex or difficult-to-make dishes were also eliminated.
He had never expected the three Hopeless Brothers to actually cook well.
At the very least, he needed to ensure Gyeon Hajun ate something edible.
Remembering they were currently promoting, he felt a strange sense of duty.
What if they ate something poorly prepared and ended up with food poisoning, requiring a trip to the emergency room?
Moreover, Yoon Eden and Ryu Jaehee already had a track record. He still hadn't forgotten the nightmare of the seaweed soup and spicy pork stir-fry from their birthday feast.
He also recalled how the two of them had been calling for Gyeon Hajun every five minutes, like Nobita summoning Doraemon.
This time, communication was impossible, so he couldn't even rely on Gyeon Hajun's help.
Why did they specifically ask us to avoid fried rice dishes?
Remembering the production team's instructions, Seo Yehyeon crossed out kimchi fried rice and omurice topped with a tornado omelet from his list.
In reality, fried rice would have been the perfect dish for Ryu Jaehee and Yoon Eden's skill level.
Of course, those two would probably manage to burn even that.
Are they worried we'll succeed too easily and not get enough footage? If so, he wanted to tell them they were overestimating the pair.
After much deliberation and searching, he finally settled on a dish of moderate difficulty:
Tteokbokki
Seo Yehyeon paused, lost in thought.
Tteokbokki? A dish loaded with carbs and devoid of essential nutrients—nutritionally the worst possible choice. Why this?
Yet, in the end, tteokbokki remained the best option.
Tomato pasta, another contender, required minimal ingredient preparation, meaning Ryu Jaehee's portion would practically vanish.
"The rice cakes are the real problem..." Seo Yehyeon muttered, searching for a suitable substitute.
After much deliberation, he settled on konjac tteokbokki, a diet-friendly version he'd discovered while researching healthy alternatives.
Remembering how Ryu Jaehee would still have plenty left even after adding two heaping tablespoons of sugar instead of the recommended teaspoon, Seo Yehyeon opted for a simplified approach.
Konjac, cabbage, green onions, carrots, fish cakes, gochujang (Korean chili paste), gochugaru (Korean chili flakes), canned sweet rice drink, soy sauce, minced garlic.
After diligently searching for recipes online and listing all the ingredients, he consulted multiple sources to create the simplest and easiest-to-follow recipe, writing it down in meticulous detail.
It had to be so clear that even an elementary school student could easily follow it.
He underlined the instruction to strain the rice grains from the sikhye multiple times, and even then, feeling uneasy, he drew five large stars next to it before finally moving on to the next step.
Seo Yehyeon's task of selecting the dish and writing the recipe was finally complete.
"I just hope the dish turns out safely as planned. I hope Hajun can eat something normal."
Seo Yehyeon held up the densely filled paper to the camera and let out a deep sigh.
"Am I taking on too much just because I'm bad at Halli Galli...?"
Seo Yehyeon finished his filming segment, wondering if he should buy some digestive medicine beforehand.
As the first batter's role concluded, the second batter's role—purchasing the ingredients—began.
Kim Dobin had no complaints about his role either. He was only slightly disappointed that he couldn't choose and write the easiest, most convenient recipe.
"Konjac tteokbokki? Oh, so there's no rice cake. Konjac instead of rice cake. Wow, this is so Yehyeon Hyung."
Kim Dobin exclaimed in admiration after reading the recipe.
"I wish it were pork cutlet—though of course Yehyeon Hyung would never allow that. But since only Hajun Hyung eats it, maybe it wouldn't matter? Hajun Hyung really has a metabolism that doesn't gain weight. It all seems to go to his height. I'm so jealous."
As Kim Dobin gathered his shopping basket and the recipe ingredients list, his mouth kept moving.
"If it were tonkatsu, Jaehee would probably be pounding the meat with a hammer right now. Eden Hyung might even be baking it instead of frying it, but not because he's watching his calories like Yehyeon Hyung—just because he messed up the oil ratio."
Kim Dobin blinked, snapped his mouth shut, and made a scissor-cutting motion with his fingers.
"Um, please edit that out."
Yoon Eden was a difficult hyung to deal with, and Dobin wanted to avoid any misunderstandings that might make it seem like he was disrespecting the leader.
"Wait, if we're okay with tteokbokki, why not tonkatsu? We could just fry chicken breast instead of pork, right? Or would that just be chicken? Chicken katsu?"
Kim Dobin, as if his Original Intent Score would be deducted if he didn't fill the audio, rambled incessantly as he headed to the supermarket near the dorm with the cameraman.
Worried that Kim Dobin might buy everything on the list, Seo Yehyeon had checked all the ingredients in the dorm and circled only the items that needed to be purchased.
Yet, despite the Eldest Member's Herculean efforts, Kim Dobin proved firsthand that things in life rarely go according to plan.
"I can't find konjac. Can I get shirataki noodles instead? Shirataki noodles are still konjac, right?"
If Seo Yehyeon had been there, he would have immediately shouted, "Dobin, no! Put that down!" But alas, the rules forbade communication, and Kim Dobin tossed the shirataki noodles into the shopping basket.
This marked the opening act of the first tragedy.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny