Chapter 4: Back to Seven Years Ago (4)
Chapter 4: Back to Seven Years Ago (4)
The cooking score was only five.
Still, the six-point lemon soufflé had been good enough to sell. If this dish had scored five, Jo Minjoon figured it should at least taste decent.
With equal parts anticipation and disappointment over the five-point result, he served the jjamppong.
“Ah, Dad should be here too.”
Jo Ara muttered regretfully.
There was a Korean saying that if you talked about a tiger behind its back, it would appear. As if to prove the saying true, the sound of the front door opening came from the entrance.
Jo Suyeop walked in.
The moment he entered, he caught the smell wafting through the house.
“What’s that smell? Did you order jjamppong?”
“No. Oppa made it. Dad, come quickly.”
As though she were proud that her brother had made it, Jo Ara grabbed Jo Suyeop by the hand and led him towards the table.
Jo Suyeop laughed when he saw the prepared jjamppong.
“Jo Minjoon made this?”
“I just made it because I was bored.”
Jo Minjoon answered casually as he set out the chopsticks.
Jo Suyeop sat down with a puzzled expression. He still found it difficult to believe that the dish in front of him had really been made by Jo Minjoon.
Lee Hyesun walked towards the table.
“Earlier, he made some kind of cake too. What was it called? Sou…”
“Soufflé. Lemon soufflé.”
“Right, that. I should’ve saved some for you, but there was hardly any. Ask Jo Minjoon to make some for you later.”
“If you put it that way, now I’m interested.”
Jo Minjoon clasped his hands together.
“Anyway, eat first. The noodles are going to get cold.”
“Right. Let’s eat.”
Jo Suyeop closed his eyes and folded his hands.
Their family was Christian, so saying grace before meals was customary. Jo Minjoon also clasped his hands and offered a prayer.
Please let it be surprisingly delicious.
Of course, no matter how much effort he had put into it, it was still only a five-point dish.
Even so, one of the pleasures of being a chef was hearing someone tell you that your food was delicious.
As though they had arranged it beforehand, everyone lifted their chopsticks at almost the same time and picked up some noodles.
The flat rice noodles were nearly translucent. At first glance, they almost resembled linguine.
Jjamppong pasta.
The thought made Jo Minjoon chuckle.
There had once been a period when that seemingly bizarre combination had become extremely popular.
The moment he put the noodles into his mouth, the first thing he tasted was the heat and aroma of chilli oil. Beneath that came salty and sweet flavours, followed by the distinctive richness left behind by the beef.
It was delicious.
Good enough to compare favourably with the jjamppong served at an ordinary neighbourhood Chinese restaurant.
Judging from his family’s expressions, they seemed to feel the same way.
Their chopsticks barely stopped moving as they ate, and Jo Suyeop was even drinking the broth directly.
There was no real need to study their reactions, however.
A notification appeared before Jo Minjoon.
[The customers who ate the Chuck Beef Jjamppong are satisfied!]
Customers?
The wording came out of nowhere, but it still felt good to see.
Jo Minjoon smiled.
“It’s delicious, right?”
“…I’m not joking. I don’t think we’ll need to order from a Chinese restaurant anymore.”
“Even so, the flavour’s a little different, isn’t it? There’s no seafood, and it’s not spicy enough.”
In truth, making it spicier would not have been much of a problem.
It was an age when sauces specifically designed to add heat were readily available. There was no need to stubbornly rely on fire alone to intensify the spiciness. Heating sugar with cooking oil could also produce a deeper, more intense flavour.
It might feel like cheating, but it was still a useful method.
The real problem was that making jjamppong took too much time.
Considering the amount of work involved, it was much easier to order it from somewhere else than to go through all that trouble at home.
With that in mind, Jo Minjoon deliberately acted less confident than he actually felt.
“Is there any more? Dad finished his.”
“There is. Please wait.”
Jo Minjoon brought over the wok and served Jo Suyeop another helping.
Jo Suyeop laughed.
“Could it be that our Minjoon cooks better than you?”
“…Anyway. Didn’t you say before that my cooking was the best?”
“Nah… Honestly, no. Your food is either too salty or completely bland. It’s always one or the other. There’s no middle ground. None.”
Jo Suyeop laughed as though he were deliberately teasing her.
Lee Hyesun grew irritated, but she could not really argue back. She had neither an interest in cooking nor much talent for it. If someone told her she was a poor cook, she did not have much of a defence.
Instead, Lee Hyesun turned on Jo Ara.
“Ara. Stop eating. You’re going to get fat.”
“What? No way. I’m almost a senior now. Legally, I’m at the age where girls are allowed to get fat!”
“You don’t even study. Stop eating. Do you know how fattening jjamppong is?”
“Enough. I’m not even the type to gain weight. Worry about yourself. Don’t you know you’re getting fat?”
Jo Minjoon could only sigh.
“The preliminaries are in March…”
Jo Minjoon stared at the screen.
It displayed information about the preliminary round for Grand Chef.
In any case, he had not even been able to apply for enrolment for the first semester because the timing of his discharge from military service had overlapped with the application period. There was no particular reason he could not leave in March.
(Translator’s Note: Compulsory military service in South Korea — South Korean men who meet eligibility requirements are generally subject to mandatory military service under the country’s conscription system. Modern compulsory service developed from the Military Service Act of 1949, with service periods varying over time and by military branch.)
Jo Minjoon quickly filled out the application form and submitted it by email.
If the competition had been restricted to Americans, he would not have had any hope of entering, but fortunately, that was not the case.
Now the problem was money.
The plane ticket and living expenses.
If he only had to stay for a month, he could somehow manage.
But if, by some chance, he made it all the way to the finals…
“If you’re selected as one of the hundred chefs, do they cover your living expenses?”
Now that he thought about it, it made sense.
If contestants were being gathered from all over the country in one place, the programme would naturally have to provide accommodation and living expenses.
Of course, that would only be after making it into the finals.
For the preliminary round, he would have to take care of himself.
Once Jo Minjoon realised there was at least some hope of reducing the expenses, he relaxed slightly.
Now I just have to tell them I’m going travelling.
He felt uncomfortable about lying, but when he thought about it, it was not entirely a lie.
He really would be travelling.
The only difference was that the purpose of the trip would not be quite what he told them.
The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, but there was nothing else he could do.
Jo Minjoon stared sharply at the screen.
“Even if I can’t win…”
No.
“Let’s win. I have to win.”
He could not keep telling himself that losing would be unavoidable.
Jo Minjoon’s gaze hardened.