Chapter 118
Chapter 118
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Hidden Card
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Slosh, slosh.
The boat rocked with the waves. A sea breeze grazed my face. I swept back the strands of hair tickling my cheeks with one hand.
Baek Jae-ha was staring at me fixedly. Without a word.
I chuckled and spoke first.
"Aren't you curious about anything?"
"......"
"There's gotta be a ton. And I mean a ton."
"......"
"If you don't wanna talk, we can just head out like this."
That wouldn't be so bad either. My body's worn out from all the grueling work anyway. Staring out at the ocean felt pretty healing in its own way.
Maybe it was because I'd just come from dealing with those black-hearted creeps with their nauseating guts. Nature felt all the fresher for it.
"......Is it real?"
After some agonizing thought, that was the question Baek Jae-ha finally blurted out.
"My blog. You really saw it?"
There were endless things he could say: Where are we going? What happens next? I'm scared. It was tough.... But out of all that,
Baek Jae-ha picked this one.
"Yeah. I saw it all. It was pretty fun."
I could see exactly how to win this kid over. And conveniently, I needed a fellow enthusiast to share my interests with.
"Imagining dishes I've never tasted, piecing them together in my head. I've done that a lot myself. Ever since I was little."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Like, what's that red sauce? Ketchup? Sriracha? What kind of meat's in there? Pork, beef, chicken? Could be lamb or duck for all I know...... Those kinds of questions used to fill my head day and night."
When you crave food but have no money, your brain starts turning on its own.
I'd try making crude versions with cheap ingredients I could scrounge up. But each time, it'd only make me more curious about the real thing.
"But you know, sometimes the stuff you imagine in your head tastes even better. You think that red sauce is spicy, but turns out it's sweet."
After saving up and finally trying the real deal, sometimes I'd be blown away, but other times, disappointed.
Mine was tastier? It was more original and fun? Stuff like that would cross my mind.
"......It's the first time. Meeting someone who gets it."
"Haha. Yeah?"
"Last time, when I talked about it in counseling with my homeroom teacher. He said it's because I look like that... that I have such a big appetite...."
Maybe that's how it looks to others. Why make such a big deal out of food? It's just fuel to stay alive, right?
But just as pursuing beauty is human instinct, so is craving tastier food.
"So, that too... is it real?"
"What?"
"That you came to... scout me."
"Of course. I'm a busy guy."
Meaning, this wasn't just pity drawing me to Baek Jae-ha.
Thud.
Before long, the boat docked at the pier. It tilted, and a gangway appeared for us to disembark.
"Alright, let's go."
I took Baek Jae-ha by the hand and stepped off the boat.
"......Land."
It seemed like Baek Jae-ha's first time leaving that island. The kid turned back with trembling eyes. Beyond the hazy smoke, his hometown must have been there.
"Jae-ha. You don't want to go back there, right?"
Nod, nod.
The kid nodded without hesitation.
"I... I wanted to run away. For... a really long time. But whenever I tried to get on a boat, the village adults would block me.... And I didn't have money for the fare. So I couldn't leave."
"Yeah. But now you're free from that place. You're an adult this year, right?"
Nod. The kid nodded once more.
"And that means from now on, you get to choose your own life."
It would've been nice to come sooner. But I had to wait because of Baek Jae-ha's age and birthday.
If I'd shown up too early, we'd need his foster parents' permission as legal guardians for any contract, and those folks—who figured out how much he was making—wouldn't have let him go quietly.
'But now it's different. He'll sign the contract himself. And with the fake business card, tracing the company will be tough.'
Plus, no one recognized me on sight, so they probably weren't the TV-watching type.
Even if they did track me down, since I'd handed the signing bonus directly to Baek Jae-ha, there'd be no legal issues.
"If you want, you can just go off somewhere else and live a different life."
I pointed to the bustling street crowded with people.
"It might be tough and lonely. But that wouldn't be so bad."
Living an ordinary life has its own blessings.
"Or, you could take my hand."
I held out my empty hand to Baek Jae-ha.
"What do you say? It's your choice."
Part of me thought Baek Jae-ha might just vanish into that crowd.
We'd only met today, I was shady as hell, and he had no clue who I was. To him, I was a total enigma.
So if that's what he wanted, I'd let him go. Rescuing him from that house would settle any debt, and who knows—fate might bring good karma later.
That's what I'd decided.
Swish.
But then Baek Jae-ha placed his small hand on mine.
"......Don't... abandon me."
"I'm not abandoning you. I'm giving you options."
Baek Jae-ha gripped my hand tight. Like he'd never let go.
"You know what it means to come with me? You'll work for my company, and all your ideas become company property. You cool with that?"
"Doesn't matter."
"You get it, right?"
"I'm not an idiot."
I knew that. Far from it—he was practically a genius. Baek Jae-ha mumbled on, still not letting go.
"I'll go with you."
It reminded me of my own childhood, and my chest tightened.
If only there'd been an adult like this back then for me. Someone to rescue me from that hellhole and whisper sweet words about my talent.
Maybe all this was my way of comforting the kid I used to be.
I gave a bittersweet smile.
"......Yeah. Let's go together."
I squeezed Baek Jae-ha's hand back. We must've looked like an older brother taking care of his little sibling.
"You hungry? Let's eat first. I saw your analysis of kung pao chicken on your blog. Chinese place for kung pao chicken it is."
He probably had to tag along to family outings, stuck eating the cheapest jjajangmyeon while everyone else got kung pao or tangsuyuk.
I could picture it so clearly, and pity welled up first.
At my words, Baek Jae-ha's eyes went wide, and he snapped his head up.
"......! For real?"
"Yeah, of course. Come on, let's hurry."
"Wow!"
Kung pao chicken got him that excited? Baek Jae-ha beamed ear to ear, practically bouncing.
His first smile caught me off guard for a second, then I chuckled.
"Don't run! You'll get hurt."
"Hurry up, hurry!"
Ugh, I'm beat.
I was rubbing my dry, stinging eyes when Jeong Ha-neul sidled up.
"You look wiped. Tough day at work?"
"Ugh. That obvious? Work's not the problem... more like, uh."
Watching the kid is exhausting.
Couldn't say it straight—too many follow-ups. So I just grinned. Jeong Ha-neul picked up on my reluctance and changed the subject.
"Close your eyes for a bit. I'll wake you when filming starts. Rest while you can."
I glanced toward the studio. We'd paused recording [Raid the Fridge] for a short break.
"Man, Chef Song's got that top-dog leisure today, huh?"
Bong Kang-min jumped in without missing a beat.
"Everyone's stressing over what to make with the fridge ingredients. But Chef Song? No sweat. First place perks?"
"Haha, no way. My turn's last anyway. You'll all snag the good stuff up front."
So I'll humbly make do with what's left. Plans go out the window regardless—winging it is the plan.
"Come on, give him space. Chef Song's tired. Let him rest properly on break."
"What? Chef Song's tired? What's up?"
Bong Kang-min flailed dramatically, then smacked his palm.
"Ah! Is it that? I saw it on SNS! Our maknae tipped me off. Chef Song's up to something fun again."
"Huh? What'd he do?"
"Everyone knows Chef Jeong here's tech-illiterate. Missing all the trends~. Check this out!"
Bong Kang-min swiped through his phone gallery, showing something off.
"There! 'Test Shop'!"
Ah, that.
I instantly knew what he meant. It was the project I'd been pushing lately.
"Ooh, what's this?"
"Exactly what it says."
I explained gently to Jeong Ha-neul.
"You've got menu items you're iffy on selling big. They're tasty, but maybe not mainstream enough, or too novel—customers might balk."
"Yeah, yeah."
"So I thought, what if we had a spot to test them out? Try it, see the response, and if it pops, launch as a full franchise."
"Ooh~ Smart!"
"Nothing beats real sales data for a gut check on what works."
"Wow. Setting up a test shop means you've got experimental menus lined up, huh?"
"Haha. Quite a few, yeah."
"But is that okay? Test shop means no fixed menu, right?"
Bong Kang-min asked, puzzled.
"New dishes every day? What if you run out of ideas?"
"......Haha."
I grinned.
"Can't do it solo."
"Ooh?"
"Don't worry. I've got a hidden card up my sleeve."
Yeah. A hidden card.
Baek Jae-ha.