Cooking Stream

Pulling my hand back out of the camera frame, I spoke up.

"Shall we get started, then?"

At that moment, Minseo suddenly cut in.

"Ah, hold on. I'm gonna go use the bathroom real quick."

"Wait, why didn't you go earlier like I asked?"

"...I got nervous all of a sudden."

"Hurry back."

"Okay!"

"So, what should we do while we wait?"

Nothing's coming to mind, honestly?

"Want to compare hand sizes, just the two of us, while she's gone?"

"Excuse me? Why would we do that?"

Are you that curious about it?

"Let's see what the chat thinks."

Hmm... demand is higher than I expected.

Once again I was reminded that Sua really knows this territory well.

"Fine. Whatever."

It's not hard, so let's just do it.

I put my hand back into the camera's view.

"Here. This is my hand."

"And this is Somi's hand."

I pointed at Sua's hand as it slid in beside mine.

"Now they're side by side. Compare away."

"No! You're supposed to put them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠against each other!"

"Ew. Pass..."

Is it really worth that much?

"Roze, look at the chat! You gotta do it, right?!"

"Ugh, fine..."

I pressed my palm against Sua's.

"Whoa... your fingers are seriously long..."

"Ah, thank you."

"Heh heh heh..."

Letting out a sly little laugh, Sua wore a face full of mischief and laced her fingers through mine.

"...What are you doing?"

"Hmm~? I have no idea what you're talking about~?"

"No, you told me to compare hand sizes and now you're interlocking fingers? We can't compare like this."

Wait, did it already end with what just happened?

But then... why did she interlock our fingers?

"Wow... Roze... you really..."

"What?"

Curious why Sua was looking at me in bewilderment, I tried to check the chat, but her body was blocking the screen. Failed.

Eh, it's probably nothing important.

"Can I let go now?"

"Nooo~?"

When I tried to pull my hand away, Sua brought her other hand up and started kneading mine.

"...Don't touch me."

"Don't wanna~? Whoa! Why is your skin SO soft?!"

"I'm back! That was fast, right?!"

The moment Minseo's return stole Sua's attention, I yanked my hand away at lightning speed.

"Ah..."

...Why does she sound disappointed?

Anyway.

"Now can we really start?"

"No! Why are you so impatient!"

"I figure if we're doing it properly, we'll run past three hours."

"...What on earth did you bring?"

Hmm... it's actually simple, but nobody's guessing it.

Or maybe it's too simple to predict?

"Oh, is it something gross? Something graphic? Anyone with a weak stomach, cover your screen."

"Wh—hold on! S-something gross?! G-graphic?!"

"Yes."

It seems fine to me, but I suppose some people really can't stomach this sort of thing.

"So... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what are we making today... exactly?"

"I was about to explain."

I set down what I'd picked up at the market onto the table.

Ah, to be precise — the seafood market.

"It's autumn now, isn't it?"

"Oh, don't tell me..."

Seems Sua caught on watching what I carried in.

"When you say autumn, you think gizzard shad, right?"

"Ah! Please, no!"

"Yes. Today's menu is gizzard shad sashimi and spicy gizzard shad stew."

"Aaagh! Roze!"

"Uuugh... d-don't tell me we're also prepping them...?"

"Yes. I bought them alive. Look here."

Leaving the two of them drained of color, I unwrapped the package and held it up to the camera.

"They look pretty calm right now. But watch this!"

Smack!

I slapped the table with my palm as I spoke.

Immediately, the gizzard shad erupted into a frantic, flailing panic.

"Phew, thank goodness. They're still alive."

I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deliberately walked as slowly as possible on the way here, but honestly, I'd been a little nervous.

"That's why I said people with weak stomachs shouldn't watch."

"Ugh..."

"Roze... do we really have to do this today...?"

While Minseo turned her head away from the fish, Sua tried to negotiate with me instead.

"Of course?"

"Is there... nothing else...?"

"Don't want to."

I bought them expecting exactly this reaction in the first place.

Why would I back down when even Sua is rewarding my expectations beyond what I planned for?

"But... really?"

"Yes."

I wasn't lying, though.

And then—

"Don't worry."

"Why...?"

"It's only about five fish? I'm only making you prep roughly that many. I'll handle the rest myself."

I bought them to eat, after all. It wouldn't do to force everyone through the whole process for the sake of the stream and end up with nobody able to eat anything.

"So don't worry."

"F-five...?"

"Ugh...!"

How are you reacting like that when I haven't even touched you yet?

Clap clap clap!

"Alright, alright!"

Everyone was still too out of it to snap back to reality even after all that time, so I clapped to grab their attention.

"Shall we begin now?"

Let's really get started this time.

I've lost count of how many times I've said "let's start."

"First, let's wash our hands."

I moved the camera over to the sink, washed my hands thoroughly, and pulled on rubber gloves.

...It's just my hands, what about them.

Ignoring the mournful chat, I pulled out one gizzard shad and tossed it into the camera's view.

"Hey. Hold still for a second, will you?"

Watching it flop around and escape the frame, I made my decision.

Hmm... let's just kill it and start over.

So I snapped the gizzard shad's neck, then checked the screen.

Came out decently.

Ah, there's blood.

I ran the water to rinse off the blood and picked up the kitchen knife.

"Then, allow me to demonstrate."

"...Do we really have to watch?"

"Yes."

"...Can't you at least think about it a little?"

"Hmm... no."

Anyway—

"First, we remove the scales."

Scrape, scrape!

The sound of the knife hitting the shad's scales, paired with that distinctive satisfying feel in the hand, was oddly fun.

Spinning the fish around in a full circle, I stripped every scale off.

"The upper part especially — around the dorsal fin — you need to be thorough and get it all."

"Mm..."

"Wait, have you prepped gizzard shad before? You're good at this..."

"Huh? No? I watched YouTube really carefully to prepare for today, though."

"Ah. Right..."

She carried on so naturally that they'd assumed she was used to it, apparently.

"Anyway, see this spot here? The little dot?"

"Mm..."

"Starting from here, you make a slight diagonal cut."

Blood started flowing again, so I rinsed it clean under the water and moved on to the next step.

"Now, cut along the underside of the fish about... this much? Yes, about that. If you're not sure, just keep cutting. You'll lose the good parts, but at least you'll make progress."

"And now, a bit of eye terror for the viewers."

I spread open the shad's belly and held it up to the camera.

The reactions were delicious.

"Want to take a look too, you two?"

"...No."

"Please... we just saw it on screen..."

Oh, so Sua already saw it?

"Then have another look."

"KYAAA!"

"Put it away! Put it away!"

"Haah... haah... I think I'm gonna cry..."

"...Same."

"Everyone's overreacting because it's a stream. It's really not that bad."

"Anyway, now we remove all the innards. Then we cut off the tail. Easier than it looks, right?"

Hmm... it is easier than I expected, actually.

"And now we rinse it clean."

I spread the shad open and scrubbed out the inside with the brush sitting beside me.

"Gizzard shad is naturally fishy because of the blood, so they say if you remove the blood properly, you're halfway there."

"...You got that from YouTube too?"

"Yes."

I patted the cleaned shad down thoroughly with a towel and laid it on the cutting board beside me.

"The camera... ah, whatever, let's just move the cutting board over to the sink."

"Hey! Even if it's a hassle, hygiene stuff you DO!"

"I'm about to slice it anyway."

"Don't brush me off!"

"Removing the bones would make it easier to eat, but since it's higher difficulty, let's just eat it with the bones in."

"Yes! Please! I love bones!"

"Hmmm... should we do boneless, then?"

"Hey!"

"Kidding. If I cut my hand doing this, I won't be able to sleep tonight."

...I'm always wondering this, but just how far down has my image fallen?

"Back to the main point: you just slice diagonally from the head end, at a moderate angle. Simple as that."

Once I'd finished slicing one whole fish, I transferred it to a plate, arranged it, and held it up to the screen.

"And there you have it — what's commonly known as sekkoshi, sashimi sliced whole with the soft bones left in."

"...And now we're supposed to do that ourselves, is what you're saying?"

"That's right."

My demonstration was over, so I peeled off the rubber gloves.

"Give it a try now. Which of you two wants to go first?"

"Leader first!"

"S-Somi first!"

"Well then. Wooju took longer earlier, so you go first."

"Aaagh!"

As the old saying goes, better to take the beating first.

Going first isn't a bad thing, if you ask me.

Should've been faster if it bothered you that much.