Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Fridge Raid Debut
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"Hello~!"
"Nice to meet you!"
With the lively greetings from the two MCs, the program finally kicked off.
"I'm your MC, Jang Sung-jun."
"And I'm Jeong Young-do."
"Great to meet you all!"
Clap clap clap clap.
Amid the audience's applause, the two MCs started things off with some simple greetings.
"Oh, and it's not just us here—we've got some truly amazing guests as well~."
"Wow, this is unreal. I heard the PD went all out on casting. Rumor has it they pulled three all-nighters just for this."
The crowd burst into amused laughter.
Guys, this isn't a joke.
"Alright, let's introduce our chef squad~!"
Clap clap clap clap.
This time, the applause was even more thunderous. They would probably insert intro clips of the chefs here in the broadcast.
'I wonder what they'll say about me.'
I wasn't exactly thrilled about being lumped in with the chefs, even if I hadn't asked for it.
"Oh~. Bong Chef, I heard you opened a new spot in Itaewon?"
"Hahaha. Word got around that far, huh?"
"And your places are right across from each other, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Wow. Rivals in business, and rivals here on Fridge Raid too~."
The MCs tossed a few prepared questions to each chef in turn, drawing out some banter.
They were even shaping characters for the newbie chefs on TV. Looked like the writers had a set edit direction in mind.
It wasn't long before it was my turn. Jeong Young-do glanced at his script and introduced me.
"Oh, this guy's been blowing up lately! Leading the SNS charge. He smashed it with snowflake bingsu, and lately, he crushed YouTube with the nuclear chicken feet challenge~. That's right, the young blood! Chef Song Woo-yeon!"
Clap clap clap.
"Nice to meet you~."
I smiled and gave a quick bow, and the other chefs smiled back warmly.
"Most of you know him from snowflake bingsu, but Chef Song Woo-yeon is the CEO of [The Song], which owns a total of three franchise brands: [Hapjae Neighborhood Gukbap 0212], [Happiness Snacks], and ."
"Yes, that's right. Honestly, that's why I'm a bit hesitant to be called a chef alongside everyone. Feel free to just call me Song instead of Chef Song."
"Oh, how casual can we get?"
"You can go with 'hey' or 'you,' or whatever...."
Hahaha!
I nailed Jeong Young-do's line, and the reaction was solid. Probably some subtitle like 'The Maknae's Woes' in the broadcast.
As we traded light banter, a sketchbook rose up from the production side.
[Guest Introduction]
They must have gotten all the opening footage they needed. The MCs quickly checked the cue and jumped to the next line.
"Alright, for [Fridge Raid]'s—our first guest in history—let's bring them out. Come on up!"
Clap clap clap. With cheers and applause, a man emerged from the back of the set. He was sharply dressed in a suit, with neatly combed-back hair that stood out.
He looked familiar, like I'd seen him somewhere before.
"Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Hwang Wei."
"We've got Hwang Wei, who's been repping China on [Abnormal Summit]~!"
Ah, that's the guy.
[Abnormal Summit] was at the peak of its popularity right then. I wasn't much of a TV watcher, but even I'd caught glimpses of the cast, which showed just how huge it was.
The two MCs chatted briefly about Hwang Wei's recent activities before firing off some program-related questions.
"Hwang Wei, anything you'd like to request from our Fridge Raid chef squad?"
"Hmm.... I want to cook Chinese food for my Korean friends, but the strong flavors turn some of them off."
"Yeah, that's often the case~. Spices vary a lot by country."
"So, I'd love to learn a fusion Chinese dish that's good for Korean friends. Or really, any dish that's great to make for friends."
"Got it~. That's what Hwang Wei's hoping for. Chefs, you all jotting it down? We see you, Bong Chef~?"
"Oh, I am!"
Bong Kang-min must have been pegged as the easy-to-tease character.
Fusion Chinese, huh.
'Two of the chefs specialize in Chinese.'
One was Jeong Ha-neul, and the other was Andre.
Sure enough, Andre's eyes lit up. He was thrilled his specialty had come up.
Yeah. That's how you make it fun to crush him.
"Now, the heart of Fridge Raid? We've raided Hwang Wei's fridge and brought the whole thing hereeeee!"
Shwaaak!
The cloth covering the fridge was pulled away, revealing a pretty sizable unit.
"That's a big fridge. Must be packed inside."
"Hwang Wei, do you cook at home often?"
"No. I'm so busy, I don't get many chances."
"Makes sense~. You're probably swamped these days."
"Haha. That's why I'm worried about the fridge. Some stuff might be spoiled."
Teasing stuff like that was part of Fridge Raid's charm.
"Oh~. This is scary. What horrors await inside?"
"Hope we don't see anything gruesome. I've got a weak stomach—might puke right here~."
The MCs teased Hwang Wei while slipping on white gloves.
"Alright, fridge~ opening!"
The door swung wide, and the MCs began pulling out and checking items one by one.
"Tuna, rice pouches, Spam. Total bachelor set."
"Ooh, some Chinese sauces too."
"Cabbage? That's random."
"They say it's good for diets...."
"Oh, diet food?"
"Yeah."
Hwang Wei gave an awkward smile, and the room erupted in laughter.
"Ramen too. And this—knife-cut noodles set from the mart."
"Perfect for hangovers."
"You eat knife-cut noodles for hangovers?"
"Yeah. The broth is killer."
Huh. Interesting.
"More usable ingredients than expected! This is looking good~."
"Freezer's got meat too! Pork belly, pork shoulder! You sure you're dieting?!"
Hahaha.
"Yeah! Underneath, it's all chicken breast!"
"Right. Got it. There is chicken breast down there, but if it's buried like that, it's hard to grab~."
The MCs thoroughly roasted Hwang Wei while emptying the fridge, sorting the ingredients.
"Okay, think that's everything. Chefs! Got ideas for dishes?"
"More or less."
"Oh~. Tough one. Fusion Chinese. I don't know much about Chinese food."
"Isn't this too advantageous for Chef Jang and Chef Ahn?"
The chefs grumbled, but the MCs shut it down.
"Landing a good guest is part of your luck too~. No helping it!"
"You've got 15 minutes. Picking a dish you can make in that time is key! And the person ahead might snag the ingredients you want~. Keep that in mind."
"How's the order decided?"
"Right~ now! Ladder game!"
Oh ho. Pure luck, then.
Numbers 1 through 8 were lined up on the prepared panel.
"Who wants to pick first?"
"Eldest first."
"Sure~. Chef Jang, you're up!"
Naturally, that made me last. But since it's all luck, no big deal.
They picked one by one, cheers of joy and groans of despair echoing around.
"Alright, last up—Chef Song gets 2nd place automatically!"
"Whoa. Pretty high."
Should be safe from ingredient theft. The later picks were fidgeting, worried the good stuff would be gone.
Such fierce competitors. Dying to win.
"Oh~. But 2nd isn't all good. Your matchup matters!"
"Chef Song's opponent is Chef Ahn, who drew 1!"
At the MC's words, Andre and I locked eyes. Oh ho. Things just got interesting.
I grinned, but Andre frowned like something irked him.
"Chef Ahn, alongside Chef Jang, is one of the top contenders~! Out of our eight-chef squad, these two are the only Chinese specialists."
"Want us to take a vote to swap orders~?!"
"Haha. No thanks."
I politely declined with a smile.
"Whoa! Chef Song's got some serious confidence?!"
"Everyone else is panicking over what to make in 15 minutes, but you're the only one looking chill."
"Is that so? Hmm."
Might as well give PD Kim a usable teaser scene as courtesy.
"At the restaurant, 15 minutes is more than enough for one serving. Never worked at a fancy restaurant, so not sure there."
"Oh~! He's got this!"
"Yeah. Pretty much...."
I looked straight at Andre and flashed a big smile.
"I don't think I'll fail."
It was blatant provocation.
"Everyone's got different ideas about 15 minutes. Haha."
"Whoa~! Chef Song! Looks can be deceiving—you're fiery!"
"'15 minutes is plenty, unlike you guys!' Is that it?!"
The MCs, sensing broadcast gold, pounced.
Should be plenty for teasers. I bowed to Andre—who couldn't hide his expression—and said,
"You'll see soon enough."
Perfect timing for ingredients too.
Time to unleash my secret recipe.
And I had never met anyone who said this dish wasn't delicious.