Chapter 1: Back to Seven Years Ago
Chapter 1: Back to Seven Years Ago (1)
“Wake up. Minjoon, Jo Minjoon!”
Jo Minjoon opened his eyes with a frown at the sound of the loud voice. He was certain he had fallen asleep at the restaurant, so why was he at home? While he lay there dazed, unable to make sense of the situation, Lee Hyesun spoke again.
“What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and get up. It’s already ten.”
“…Ten? It’s ten? Oh my God. Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”
“What are you talking about? You’re on break from university.”
“What? There’s no break at the restaurant! I have to go to work!”
“Restaurant? You’re ridiculous. Did you dream about being a chef or something? Get a grip, Jo Minjoon! You’re a university student!”
“…What?”
A dream about being a chef? She had probably said that because he had been working at a restaurant. But a university student?
Jo Minjoon suddenly felt something was wrong.
He instinctively looked around the house. The chair that had broken three years ago was standing beside the table as though nothing had ever happened to it. The television they had thrown away because of its poor picture quality sat in the living room as if it had always belonged there.
Jo Minjoon asked in a dazed voice, “Mum, what… year is it?”
“What? What are you talking about? Are you all right? Wake up already.”
“What year is it?”
“It’s 2010! Hurry up, wash, and come eat. The food’s going to get cold.”
2010
Then this was the year he had been discharged from the army.
Still confused and disoriented, Jo Minjoon washed up haphazardly. At Lee Hyesun’s urging, he sat down at the table.
At that moment, something resembling a computer screen appeared before his eyes.
[White Rice]
Freshness: 73%
Origin: Goryeong, South Korea
Quality: High
Cooking Score: 5/10
“…Huh?”
Jo Minjoon rubbed his eyes and stared blankly at the rice.
What am I looking at? Have I gone insane? Or am I still dreaming?
Those were the only explanations he could think of.
But the screen did not disappear even after he closed his eyes. Confused, Jo Minjoon turned his gaze towards the doenjang jjigae.
(Translator’s Note: Doenjang jjigae — A Korean stew based on doenjang, fermented soybean paste, usually cooked with vegetables, tofu, and sometimes meat or seafood. Fermented soybean pastes have been part of Korean cuisine for many centuries, with historical references to soybean fermentation appearing as early as Korea’s ancient and medieval periods.)
Another screen appeared.
[Doenjang Jjigae]
Freshness: 90%
Origin: Hidden (Contains too many ingredients)
Quality: Medium (Average ingredient quality)
Cooking Score: 4/10
“Have I been reading too many fantasy novels lately…?”
“What? Are you reading things like that instead of studying these days?”
“Ah, no. Mum. That’s not what I meant…”
“Don’t you know how hard your dad works? Use your time properly, for your father’s sake and mine!”
All that nagging just because he mentioned a novel. It was something he had rarely experienced after graduating from university.
Yet sometimes, he had missed even this nagging.
Did I… go back seven years?
He remembered his conversation with CookingGuru. He did not want to believe it, but given the absurd situation before him, there was only one conclusion he could reach.
So he sent me back to the past.
Once that possibility occurred to him, the reason followed naturally.
CookingGuru had asked whether, if Jo Minjoon could return to his younger days, he would enter the culinary world without hesitation. Jo Minjoon had answered yes. He was certain now that cooking was his path.
To be honest, rather than happiness, what he felt most strongly was bewilderment and confusion. But no matter how much he thought about it, there was no logical explanation he could come up with.
Jo Minjoon lifted his spoon and brought some doenjang jjigae to his mouth.
At that moment, another screen appeared.
[You have mastered Lee Hyesun’s Doenjang Jjigae Recipe.]
Mix strong doenjang and regular doenjang at a ratio of 2:1, then add water equal to three times the amount of doenjang. Add the potato first and boil until the water level drops slightly, then add half an onion and one block of tofu. Add one teaspoon of dried anchovy seasoning, stir, and continue boiling until the stew is done.
…She said she didn’t use MSG.
(Translator’s Note: MSG — Monosodium glutamate — A flavour enhancer based on glutamic acid. Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda identified glutamate as the source of umami in 1908, and commercial MSG production began shortly afterwards under the Ajinomoto brand in 1909.)
More than the mysterious screens themselves, that particular detail caught his attention.
He had told his mother countless times that it was impossible to get this flavour without adding MSG, but she had always denied using any.
When Jo Minjoon gave Lee Hyesun an I knew it look, she clicked her tongue at him.
“Why aren’t you eating? Are you already complaining about the food? I thought you’d improve after serving in the army…”
At those words, a horrifying thought occurred to him.
What if he had returned just a little further into the past? To when he was twenty-one or twenty-two, when he was still serving in the army…
Thank you so much, CookingGuru.
What I said about cooking—I’ll make it come true.
Lunchtime was drawing to an end. Perhaps because he had eaten around ten, Jo Minjoon was not particularly hungry, which left him free to sink deeper into thought.
He had been thirty years old. A former high school English teacher who had aspired to become a chef.
And now he was twenty-three years old, a university student preparing to return to school.
“…What should I do?”
The moment he realised he had returned to the past, his mind was already made up.
This was his final chance.
This time, he did not want to hesitate until it was too late before entering the culinary world. But his parents would never allow him to quit university and blindly pursue a career as a chef.
First, he had to show them what he could do.
Jo Minjoon went out into the living room. Lee Hyesun was folding laundry while watching television.
“Mum, do you want me to make you a simple snack?”
“You’re going to cook?”
“I’ve made food for you before. There’s something I’ve been practising.”
“All right, then. Let’s see how good my son’s cooking is.”
As soon as she agreed, Jo Minjoon headed straight for the refrigerator.
Although Lee Hyesun did not particularly enjoy cooking, she still had three refrigerators, one of which was specifically for kimchi. Because of that, there were plenty of ingredients that had been sitting around for a long time. His father, Jo Sooyeop, was always complaining about Lee Hyesun letting so much food go to waste.
“Let’s see…”
[Large Egg]
Freshness: 85%
Origin: Namyang, South Korea
Quality: Medium
The screens that appeared without warning still left him bewildered from time to time.
Jo Minjoon first cracked the eggs into a bowl, then took out a lemon, sugar, and starch.
Seeing the eggs had brought a particular dish to mind. It was fairly simple, but still required a considerable amount of work.
A soufflé.
(Translator’s Note: Soufflé — From French souffler, “to blow” or “to puff” — A French dish made from a flavoured base lightened primarily with beaten egg whites so that it rises dramatically during baking. Recognisable soufflés developed in French cuisine during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and became an important test of classical pastry and cooking technique.)
A baked dish that looked somewhat like a muffin, but was softer than custard.
The quality of a soufflé depended heavily on the chef’s skill. There was even a saying that if a restaurant made a good soufflé, everything else on its menu would probably be good as well.
There had been a period when Jo Minjoon had been obsessed with soufflés. If he did not have one for dessert after all three meals of the day, he felt as though he might die. Of course, after making them as though there were no tomorrow, he eventually grew sick of them.
Even so, it was still something he made at least once a week.
He was confident.
First, Jo Minjoon preheated the oven and separated the egg whites into a bowl. He used the whites from two eggs in total. Then he added a large spoonful of sugar and began whisking.
The next step was simple.
Whip as though his life depended on it.
The sound coming from the kitchen caught Lee Hyesun’s attention.
“What’s making so much noise?”
“I’m making bread.”
“Bread? You can make something like that?”
“Just wait. It’ll be good.”
Jo Minjoon kept whisking.
When egg whites were continuously beaten, bubbles began to form. If they were beaten further, those bubbles stiffened into a thick foam.
That was meringue.
Someone might wonder what was so difficult about whisking a few egg whites, but making meringue by hand took a considerable toll on the arms. You had to whisk with your right arm until it became tired, then switch to your left. And, of course, you had to keep whisking in the same direction. If you suddenly reversed direction, the bubbles you had worked so hard to create could collapse.
It took him almost four minutes just to make the meringue.
Jo Minjoon took a deep breath and looked down at it.
[Meringue]
Freshness: 85%
Origin: Hidden (Contains too many ingredients)
Quality: Medium (Average ingredient quality)
Cooking Score: 5/10
He had put a lot of effort into making it, yet the cooking score was only five out of ten.
Still, he understood why.
He had added the sugar from the beginning rather than incorporating it gradually partway through. It was not the standard method.
Jo Minjoon licked his lips and cut the lemon in half. He strained the juice through a sieve, then stirred it into the meringue.
Slowly, the meringue turned a pale yellow and began giving off a fresh, tart aroma.
At this point, the dish was halfway done.
Jo Minjoon coated the inside of a mug with butter and sugar, then carefully poured in the prepared meringue. He had thought two mugs would be enough, but a little mixture remained, so he poured the rest into a coffee cup.
The next step was simple.
Jo Minjoon placed the mugs on a baking tray and put them into the preheated oven.
Then he added sugar and starch to a blender and ground them into powdered sugar.
After a while, the oven beeped.
Jo Minjoon took out the soufflés and dusted them with the powdered sugar through a sieve.
That was it.
The pale lemon-coloured soufflés were topped with a layer of white powdered sugar that rested over them like snowflakes.
Jo Minjoon looked at the screen that appeared above the soufflés.
[Lemon Soufflé]
Freshness: 98%
Origin: Hidden (Contains multiple ingredients)
Quality: Medium (Average ingredient quality)
Cooking Score: 6/10
Six points.
Jo Minjoon eagerly prepared himself for the taste and took a spoonful from the smallest cup.
It was soft, though there was still a slight roughness to its texture, somewhat like scrambled eggs. It gave way beneath his spoon and tongue as softly as fresh snow compressed underfoot.
But, as always, the flavour was the best part.
The combination of sourness and sweetness was one of his favourite tastes.
“Mum, it’s done.”
“Okay. Bring it here.”
“…All right.”
Not even a hint of enthusiasm, despite all the effort he had put into it.
Jo Minjoon carried the soufflé over to her. He was confident she would be surprised after a single bite.
And his expectations were not disappointed.
Lee Hyesun’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between the soufflé and Jo Minjoon.
“You… made this?”
“Who else? Do you think a Snail Bride came and made it for me?”
(Translator’s Note: Snail Bride — A figure from a traditional Korean folktale in which a freshwater snail transforms into a woman and secretly performs household chores, including preparing meals, for a man before becoming his wife. Variants of the supernatural-bride tale have circulated in Korea for generations.)
Lee Hyesun picked up a spoon. After poking the lemon soufflé, she let out a gasp.
“Wow… it’s so soft!”
Then she took a bite.
That was the finale.
Lee Hyesun chewed the soufflé, quickly took another spoonful, then stared at Jo Minjoon in amazement.
“…Hey. Have you secretly been taking cooking classes?”
Jo Minjoon merely smirked without answering.
At that moment, another screen appeared.
[Lee Hyesun is amazed by your ‘Lemon Soufflé’!]
[EXP is increasing rapidly because you demonstrated cooking skill beyond your current level!]
[Baking Level Increased!]
[Cooking Level Increased!]