Cooking Competition (4)
"But is it really okay to use a Super Pass like that?"
"I used what I had."
"I don't know about that. I've watched you leave them unused for so long, I almost forgot you had any."
"There was never anyone worth picking."
Jang Hansu studied Jang On-gyu for a long moment. He simply couldn't read the man.
He's a hard one to figure, no matter how you look at it. You'd think you'd be able to see what's going on inside.
This wasn't the first time the two of them had come out to a local festival like this. This time it was regional ties that brought him, but before that Jang On-gyu had entered simply because he had a store in the area. Franchise shops could pop up anywhere, of course. Showing up for that alone was something else. Still, no one had ever minded. The man had a gift for getting his way.
Back then, he had let several perfectly good candidates go without ever using a pass like this.
He always said better not to rock the boat. That it wasn't smart to poke the locals for no reason… Hmm…
This was the complete opposite of that. Jang On-gyu could project warmth when he wanted to, but Jang Hansu knew better than anyone how ruthlessly thorough the man was underneath. There was definitely a reason this time, too.
And if he had to name that reason…
"Something wrong?"
"No. Just noticing that the two people the business genius himself picked are walking right behind us."
"Oh…! You're right."
The two owners trailing them—both chosen by Jang On-gyu's own hand. The reason had to be with them.
Did I miss something he saw? Hmm…
He still didn't know what that reason was. But he knew how far Jang On-gyu's eye for business could reach.
Will we be seeing them on TV soon? Or if not that…
He let the thought run farther than it should, then shook his head. There was no way it went as far as he was imagining. For all his polish, the business genius did not take people into his circle lightly.
In any case—
"Oh. Looking at them now, one of the coffee contest finalists is with them too?"
"I hear they're all running businesses out of the Food Truck Zone."
"Is that so? How did you find that out?"
"Haha. Looking into the contestants is basic, isn't it?"
…For a little local festival? He clearly knew something. He just had no intention of saying what.
There was no need to dig harder. Jang On-gyu hated having his inner thoughts read. Pushing him only cost you in the end.
"Ahem. Right. Anyway… looks like today's schedule is done. What do you say?"
"A drink?"
"Yeah. It's been a while. Sounds good, doesn't it?"
Better to take what you could get in the moment.
"And while we're at it, maybe we can talk a little about a new variety show."
"I've told you before—variety is off the table for a while."
"Come on. Cutting me off that clean stings. I followed you all the way out to this regional festival, didn't I? Special episodes, even?"
"Hmm… Didn't I already do a special for you once?"
"Aigoo. Fine, fine. I get it."
Too bad. His mileage clearly hadn't filled up yet.
Soulmates and brothers, my foot. Same last name doesn't make us family. Tch. Difficult. So damn difficult.
Even while thinking that, Jang Hansu mimed knocking back a glass and made a loud glug-glug sound with his throat.
"Then pure drinking, no strings?"
"That works."
Only then did Jang Hansu's expression ease.
"I really can't beat you, can I. Alright, let's go. Saerom-ssi, you coming?"
"Yes!"
"Man, I love that decisiveness. Let's move!"
With each of them carrying their own agendas, the day of the preliminaries came to a close.
"Hey? Shouldn't we be going? What are you staring at so hard? Looks like they're already gone."
"…It's nothing."
Jang On-gyu stood staring a long while at the place Kim Sunwu had left before he finally moved.
And then the very next day.
The finals arrived almost at once.
The venue chosen for them was perfect: a commercial block scheduled for occupancy by the Youth Mall. Row after row of shuttered shops, once dilapidated, had been transformed.
"Whoa. I wasn't expecting much, but they really put some work into this."
"This mayor seems decent at getting things done."
"No kidding."
The worst of the wear had been slapped with a fresh coat of paint. Places too hard to fix on short notice were screened off with panels. A few bold lighting swaps alone had turned the interior into somewhere fit to host a final.
Inside the old commercial building, things had been bustling since early morning.
"Hey, check that the freezers are working properly over there."
"No problems!"
"Good. What about the gas lines? One mistake and we're finished. Fire codes matter too!"
"We've checked those several times already!"
"Alright. Next!"
Contestants and the organizing staff preparing for the afternoon finals made up most of the frenzy.
"Everyone, fighting!"
"Fighting!"
"Let's do this right!"
Setup kicked off on every side. Those who had advanced from the beverage preliminaries took the front positions. Those who had come up through cooking drifted naturally toward the back.
The finer placement came down to luck—it was a lottery draw.
"Yes! Front row!"
"Aigoo…! I'm in the back."
"Middle? At least it's not far from the front… Whew."
Joy and dismay split the room according to the results. Kim Sunwu drew the rearmost stall—the one everyone hated.
"Hyung-nim, you okay? You're all the way in the back."
"It's fine. It's fine."
But he looked at the assignment and smiled.
For me, this is better. The space is wide open.
With as many ingredients as he had brought, the back suited him just fine.
"Alright—let's get the setup done properly!"
"Yes, sir!"
Preparations for the finals got underway at speed.
The morning slipped by. The moment afternoon arrived, the cooking competition finals opened to a packed house.
Of course the biggest crowd is over there.
Jang On-gyu, the several entertainers who had come with him, and the cameras glued to their backs.
"Whoa, that's Jang On-gyu!"
"Isn't that Lee Saerom? Oh…! She looks even better in person."
"Who's that kid over there?"
"Huh? Isn't she an idol? Wait, are they filming a broadcast too?"
The three of them together pulled in a serious crowd, and that crowd quickly became customers for the finals.
"Wow. This is good."
"What's this? It's new."
One by one, people sampled the food. At the center of it all stood Jang On-gyu.
"Hmm. This one's a pretty interesting flavor."
Every time he judged something, murmurs of admiration rippled outward. The mood was excellent. People looked thoroughly worked up and having a good time. Add the finalists' hawking into the mix and it turned into a festival almost at once.
The downside was that customers all piled into one area—the front. With Jang On-gyu up there, it was inevitable. The rear stayed relatively empty.
I'll wait for now.
Kim Sunwu chose to wait. For this competition, he meant to win on cooking skill alone. So he left the Trap skill untouched and quietly prepped his ingredients, biding his time.
There was a saying about a light at the end of waiting. Before long, a customer appeared—someone who looked as if he had been shoved back from the front, sweating hard all over.
"Could I get a bowl?"
"Of course!"
His first customer. Kim Sunwu brought out the secret menu he had prepared for the day.
"Here you go—one bowl."
"Oh! Thank you."
The dish he had ready today was a rice bowl: spicy pork and bulgogi, with cube steak thrown in as the kick—one delicious, loaded bowl.
This is a lot of food…
Jo Yongtae, the first customer, took the bowl and immediately regretted wandering all the way to the back for it. He was a light eater on a normal day—too busy even to spare the time for a bathroom break. Looking at the rice bowl in front of him now…
"Hmm… This isn't some kitchen-sink mixed rice."
Far too many things were piled into one dish. Spicy pork and bulgogi sat in the center like a taegeuk, and around them—cube steak? Sliced thin enough that it probably wouldn't be tough, but still. The sheer volume was the problem.
"They should've just put a pork cutlet down and painted a taegeuk with soy glaze. Wait—wouldn't that be even weirder? Either way, the combo is bizarre. Bizarre."
Taken one by one, they were all good dishes. Together, it felt like they had gone too far.
"Hmm…"
There were plenty of other stalls. Should he just give up? Dump it somewhere out of sight and leave…
…Ah. No, that won't work.
Jo Yongtae hastily revised the uncharitable thought. Kim Sunwu was watching him.
That makes it hard to be cold-hearted…
Nothing for it. He'd at least pretend to eat. He scooped a big bite from the center of the bowl, driving the spoon straight into the spicy pork and bulgogi.
"Huh?"
Then came a twist he hadn't expected. Under the spoon, yellow something came up with the rice.
"When did he put this in?"
Egg omelette strips—jidan—hidden underneath the whole time. Clever. And with that in the mix, it might just balance the saltiness…
"Here goes!"
Thinking that, he stuffed the oversized bite into his mouth.
That was the moment.
Fwooom—!
Fireworks went off inside his head.
This is exquisite. What is this?
Even with the egg in there, he had expected heat and salt to dominate. Not even close. The spicy pork he bit into carried a gentle sweetness and chewed soft and fine in his mouth. Before the mild seasoning could leave him wanting, the bulgogi's perfectly measured saltiness rolled in. Sweet and salty hit his brain with a sharp crack—and then the egg omelette, with its softer sweetness, got crushed between his teeth.
It melts. It just melts.
His mouth watered even as he chewed. The seasoning was so perfectly balanced that far from growing tired of it, he was already craving the next bite.
He couldn't stop there. One spoonful immediately called for the next. This time he scooped up the last of the cube steak in one go.
This'll be good too, right? But… will it actually fit? No—of course it will!
This time, full of expectation, he took the bite. They said high expectations meant big disappointments. Could this one deliver too?
"Wow…"
It delivered.
Gentle sweetness, then salt, then the sweetness that mellowed them—and tucked into the final cube steak was a searing heat he never saw coming.
Pepper? No, what is that!? Wow… how is spicy this delicious?
It was hot—but the good kind of hot. Sweet-salty-sweet, and then heat!
Isn't this basically cheating?
The stimulation was absurd. In the end, Jo Yongtae couldn't hold back either.
Chomp. Chomp.
Light eater, nothing. He loosened his belt on the spot and started shoveling the rice bowl straight into his mouth.