Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Red Team's Narrow Victory
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The camera director captured the face of a Republic of Korea Army soldier happily tearing into a chicken leg, filling the entire screen. Plates with red rims and plates with blue rims were laid out on either side.
Nearby, he approached while observing the scene and struck up a conversation.
"Whew, you're really digging in. Eat up~ How's the taste?"
"Yes, it's delicious!"
Seeing that beaming smile made a pleased grin slip out naturally.
"You've tried both the Red Team and Blue Team dishes. Which do you think tastes better?"
"For me... the Red Team's!"
"And the reason?"
"The Red Team's fried rice is so fluffy and tasty! The Blue Team's pasta is a bit overcooked!"
Oh ho.
Looking at the Blue Team's plate, even though they'd portioned it out with olive oil, some of the pasta had still turned out slightly soggy.
But since they'd prepared the noodles themselves, they must have accounted for something like this. I doubted Andric would have selected the menu without considering variables like that.
Naturally, I turned to someone else sitting at the same table.
"And you, next to him?"
"For me...... Blue tastes better!"
"Oh, really?"
"Yup! The seasoning suits my palate more!"
I went around the other tables as well, conducting a bit of preliminary research.
"Red!"
"I'm Blue!"
"Both are good, but Red edges it out for me!"
"Blue's the tasty one!"
It was a total deadlock.
Blue and Red were in perfect balance. Predicting the winner wouldn't be easy.
"Anyone want more leftover chicken~?"
"Waaaaah!"
But even setting that aside, seeing everyone enjoying the delicious food and lighting up with joy made my fatigue melt away. The other participants seemed to feel the same.
I happened to nudge Choi Yak-rok's side with my elbow as he stood nearby. He turned to me with a startled look, so I flashed a grin and asked.
"How about it? Your thoughts?"
"Yes?"
"Isn't it great? Win or lose aside, the fact that a single meal can bring everyone this much joy."
"......Yeah."
Choi Yak-rok nodded in agreement. He seemed to share the same sentiment as me.
"......Earlier, about Ga-eul."
Here we go. He was bringing up the topic I'd deliberately shelved.
I turned to him with a calm gaze, but Choi Yak-rok steadfastly stared straight ahead.
From a participant's perspective, it must be daunting to bring this up with a mentor. And yet, his desire to protect his teammate came first.
"Oh Ga-eul, the participant. ......I know it's overstepping, but could we skip the video review?"
"Hmm."
"I...... heard it."
Choi Yak-rok bit his lip hard before speaking again.
"The instruction to score the chicken. I heard it from the side. Even without a video review, I know."
"I see."
I'd figured at least one person might have overheard. And sure enough.
The reason he hadn't spoken up until now was probably just one thing.
"He's still young, and it's his first time on a show, so he must have been really nervous. If he shows a bad side on broadcast where everyone can see...... it might be hard for him to make a comeback."
"You're right."
He wanted to shield Oh Ga-eul.
I might not know the details, but these participants lived in dorms together.
They probably had their own bonds off-camera. Even if not, Oh Ga-eul must feel far closer to him than some guy he just met today.
Feeling his subtle glance at my reaction to my neutral response.
"......It's partly my fault for not confirming if he scored it from the side. Couldn't we just edit it that way?"
He was saying to frame it as his own mistake and let it slide with some editing.
Hmm. Questionable whether the production crew, who'd snagged such juicy footage, would go along with that...
But everyone has to take responsibility for their own mistakes. Society isn't school, and life is the real deal.
"I know, Mr. Choi. That's why I was planning to let it slide quietly."
"......"
"But what can you do when someone blows it up themselves? Oh Ga-eul may be young at twenty-eight, but that's old enough to take care of himself."
Choi Yak-rok dropped his head with a thud.
I glanced at the lively tables chattering away and the other participants busy dividing up the remaining food, then turned on my heel.
"After the mission ends, I'll talk to Oh Ga-eul separately. Mr. Choi, you go convince Oh Ga-eul yourself—not me."
If he admitted his mistake fully and apologized even now, we might avoid the video review.
Tsk tsk.
Tough luck with that teammate. Maybe I should tip off the production crew to give Choi some antacids.
I patted Choi Yak-rok's shoulder comfortingly and slipped past him.
"The results of the competition are......"
Boom boom boom boom.
Tense music swelled, and only after a long pause did the judge announce the outcome.
"Red Team, victory!"
Pop!
Confetti exploded overhead like fireworks. Glitter rained down, tickling my fingertips.
"Out of 100 votes, excluding 3 invalid ones, Red Team takes 51 of the 97 valid votes... Red Team wins!"
Phew. That was close.
As expected, Chef Andric was no pushover. Choosing popular seasoned chicken as the main dish—with hardly any love-it-or-hate-it divide—must have secured that narrow victory.
"Waaaaah!"
"Kyaaaa!"
The teammates let out ecstatic screams one by one. No dropout mission for them now.
Watching Oh Ga-eul hug his teammates and shed tears of joy, I figured that was his luck at work too.
Of course. Luck is skill. Especially in competitions like this.
Beyond the teammates jumping for joy, I saw the Blue Team participants unable to hide their disappointment. I approached Andric, standing at their front, and offered a handshake.
"Good match."
I could feel eyes on us.
Ooh, the ice-cold rivals duo! Some serious mind games! They were probably thinking something like that.
Reality was totally different. I wondered if he even saw me as a rival. It was all just fake images cooked up for TV.
Andric stared at me quietly before clasping my outstretched hand.
"Lost again."
"Haha. Yeah. But you won last week's Frost Challenge, Chef Ahn, so call it even?"
It was Frost Challenge recording just last week, and fate pitted us against each other again. After much deliberation, the guest sided with Andric.
So technically, it was 1-1.
"Wasn't the theme Chinese food? Chef Jeong would've snapped my leg if I'd lost there."
"Haha, good one."
As if that tiny, adorable lady had the strength.
"......? Didn't you see Chef Jeong swinging that wok?"
Andric looked puzzled, but come on, were they the same? Sure, veteran chef means strong, but I couldn't picture her using violence on someone.
Though Andric's expression turned subtly weird, like he'd heard something bizarre. My opinion stayed the same.
Our Chef Jeong was so kind and upright.
I nodded vaguely and offered handshakes to the dejected Blue Team participants as well.
The production crew clapped and raised their voices.
"We'll prepare for the dropout showdown, so take a short break~! Everyone back to the waiting room!"
The Blue Team trudged off like cattle to the slaughterhouse. They looked downright pitiful.
"Chef Ahn, please come this way. You'll need to prepare food for the losers' bracket."
"Yes."
I waved lightly to the departing Chef Ahn, about to head to the waiting room myself.
"Chef Song."
One of the production staff called me.
"Participant Oh Ga-eul requests a private meeting. Do you have time?"
Well then.
Looks like Choi failed to convince him.
"Sure. Of course."
I smiled brightly in response.
He was declaring war, huh.
In that case, no way I'd go easy.
Click.
As I opened the door and entered, Oh Ga-eul, already seated, shot up from his chair.
His face was thick with tension. Why the pitiful victim act, though?
I nodded to Oh Ga-eul and sat across from him.
"Have a seat."
"......Yes."
Oh Ga-eul mumbled glumly and sat back down.
A couple of camera staff were present, and we still had our mics on.
High chance this would air.
"First off, congrats on Red Team's win. Glad you pulled off a good result."
Small talk to ease the mood. But Oh Ga-eul ignored the courtesy and cut straight in.
"Camera director. You said the video review was done."
"Yes."
"Play it."
Hmm. That confident attitude made it seem like he was sure he'd win.
'Choi probably tried convincing him to wrap it up since he heard it too. And he's still this cocky?'
Only two possibilities then.
One: He firmly believed he was right, no matter what anyone said.
'And the second...... acting confident.'
Claiming innocence to the viewers, insisting he never heard it. Better to push hard than half-admit and apologize.
Slide, thump.
A camera was placed in front.
Click. The play button was pressed.
-The chicken seems bigger than number 7, so marinate it stronger. That way it soaks in well.
-Yes!
-Thick cuts like chicken legs might not cook through. Score them ahead of time to finish in the allotted time.
-Yeees~!
Thump.
The video stopped there.
As expected. Words once spoken couldn't vanish. I'd anticipated this.
Now, what reaction? I glanced sidelong at Oh Ga-eul.
"......"
Oh Ga-eul kept his head bowed, saying nothing.
Flustered? Or too embarrassed to look up? I crossed my arms, watching to see how he'd play it.
What he chose wasn't an apology or denial.
"Hic!"
Tears.