Chapter 55: Travelling, Cooking and Business (1)
Chapter 55: Travelling, Cooking and Business (1)
As he looked out of the window, the scenery drifted slowly past. Inside the gently shaking bus, Jo Minjoon stared absent-mindedly towards the horizon. Now that he thought about it, seeing such an uninterrupted horizon with his own eyes was almost impossible in Korea. The word horizon itself did not seem to suit Korea very well. The only place where one could properly see one was probably Gimje. Of course, he had never travelled all the way south just to look at it.
(Translator’s Note: Gimje — A city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea, particularly known for the Gimje Plains and the extensive agricultural landscape around the Mangyeong and Dongjin river basins. Because roughly seventy per cent of the Korean Peninsula is mountainous, the unusually flat terrain around Gimje is notable for allowing exceptionally broad views of the horizon)
“What’s so interesting that you’ve been staring outside like that?” Anderson asked.
“It’s different from looking at the horizon in Korea.”
“What? Why?”
“There are too many buildings and mountains. No, actually, it’s mostly because of the mountains. You just can’t see very far.”
Anderson looked as though he did not understand. Jo Minjoon waved a hand dismissively. “People from huge countries like you wouldn’t understand.”
“I never said I wanted to.” Anderson grumbled and turned his head away.
Hugo, who was sitting behind them, smiled. “Do you two fight every time you meet?”
“This isn’t fighting.”
“I don’t know. From where I’m sitting, it looks like fighting.”
Judging by Hugo’s smile, he would probably continue saying whatever he pleased no matter how much they denied it.
Jo Minjoon did not bother answering and turned back towards the window. It was not exactly grassland outside, but wilderness, and the sheer vastness of it was strangely refreshing.
The reason they were riding the bus like this was simple. Two days after the risotto and paella mission ended, Martin had summoned them and told them only one thing: “We’re moving to the location of the next mission.” Questions immediately poured towards him, but he refused to answer any of them.
Naturally, the bus was filled with curiosity and frustration. Kaya grumbled while playing Tetris on her mobile phone. “Martin needs to suffer at least once before he learns. We should hide his salary envelope somewhere in his house, and when he asks where it is, we’ll tell him, ‘It’s wherever you think it is.’”
“That sounds good, but people don’t usually get paid in cash these days. It goes straight into their bank accounts.”
“Then we hide his bankbook and cards. He can enjoy playing hide-and-seek with us instead.”
Everyone laughed. Marco gave an awkward smile and asked, “But seriously, where do you think we’re going?”
“Looking at previous seasons, they’ve done things like cooking and handing out food to soldiers.”
“There was also that time they went out to sea and cooked with the fish they caught.”
Jo Minjoon merely smiled without saying anything. He remembered where they were heading quite clearly because it had been such an entertaining episode. If things had not changed from the original timeline, then their destination was……
“It’s boring just sitting here. Want to make a bet?” he asked.
“A bet? How?”
“Everyone guesses where we’re going, and whoever gets it wrong has to pay a price to whoever gets it right. Washing dishes, cooking something, maybe an errand coupon.”
Hugo immediately brightened. “Ah, then how about this? Whoever gets it right becomes king for an entire day. Whatever that person orders, the rest of us have to obey. How’s that?”
“That works.”
Hugo looked around, clearly having more fun now. “Who wants in? No, actually, who doesn’t?”
Only two people raised their hands: Anderson and Kaya. Hugo looked genuinely disappointed. “Hey, you two are exactly the people we’d want to boss around the most. How can you opt out?”
“That’s exactly why,” Kaya replied. “If I lose, it looks like you’re planning to work me to death.”
“You just have to win.”
Without saying anything, Kaya raised one finger. Naturally, it was neither her thumb nor her index, ring, or little finger.
Hugo pulled a sour face, then turned to Anderson. “Anderson, why aren’t you playing?”
“Don’t bother me. Play among yourselves. I’m going to sleep.”
Anderson closed his eyes as though he had no intention of answering anything else.
Hugo sighed and turned back towards the others. “Fine. Where do you think we’re going? I’m betting on an army base.”
“A hotel.”
“A hotel sounds plausible. Hotel for me too.”
“I’ll say a restaurant.”
“………Maybe someone’s house?”
More guesses followed. Hugo typed everyone’s names and predictions into his mobile phone before glancing at Jo Minjoon. “Minjoon. What about you?”
“A rental car place.”
“………What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?” Hugo stared at him in disbelief. Rental cars and cooking had absolutely nothing to do with each other, and even though he looked at Jo Minjoon as if he were deliberately giving a ridiculous answer for entertainment, Jo Minjoon merely smiled brightly. Hugo frowned. “You’re not allowed to change your answer later.”
“………This is insane.”
Hugo stared blankly ahead. The first thing that greeted them when they stepped off the bus was a sign reading, RENTAL CARS — WE’LL BE YOUR FEET.
He slowly turned his head, unable to believe it. Martin was climbing out of a mid-sized Jeep. Hugo asked, “A rental car place? Are we cooking for the employees here or something?”
“Maybe. Wait a little longer. You’ll find out soon enough.” Martin had barely finished speaking when a loud rumble came from the parking lot.
A moment later, three vehicles drove in. They were trucks. Food trucks.
Only then did Hugo understand the connection between rental cars and cooking.
Jo Minjoon laughed and put a hand on his shoulder. “So when are we doing the king thing?”
“……You knew this was coming?”
“If I didn’t, why would I have guessed a rental car place?”
“Are you some kind of psychic, or do you secretly gamble for money……?” Hugo muttered weakly.
At that moment, the people climbing out of the food trucks came into view, and every one of them was familiar. They were the judges.
Jo Minjoon laughed as he looked at them. Emily sighed, appearing slightly shaken. “Driving a truck is really hard.”
“You drove well, Emily,” Alan said.
“Don’t tease me.” Emily shook her head wearily.
Alan smirked before turning towards the contestants. “Honestly, after seeing this much, you should already have a good idea what today’s mission is. Yes. This is a food truck mission.”
Jo Minjoon smiled as he looked at the trucks. They were large enough that perhaps fifteen people could fit inside one. In truth, he had always wanted to try this sort of mission. More precisely, he had wanted to experience travelling from place to place in a food truck, using whatever ingredients were available to cook for local residents.
In that sense, this mission almost felt like a reward.
But the real reward had yet to begin.
Joseph looked at Jo Minjoon and said, “There are three trucks. Naturally, that means there will be three teams, and therefore three team leaders. One of those leaders will be the contestant who came first in the previous mission. Minjoon! Come forward!”
Caught completely off guard, Jo Minjoon walked forward with a bewildered expression. Team leader. He had never imagined that he would be given such a role, so all he could do was feel flustered.
Joseph continued, “There are currently thirteen contestants remaining. Thirteen doesn’t divide evenly into three, so naturally, one team will have five members. Minjoon, that will be your team.”
“………Is that supposed to be a good thing?”
“Normally, yes. You’ll have an extra pair of hands—actually, two extra hands.”
Joseph laughed, then looked towards the other contestants. “And now I’ll choose the other two team leaders. I’m not basing this only on the previous mission. These are the contestants who have consistently shown qualities suitable for leadership. Chloe. Hugo! Come forward.”
Chloe and Hugo hurried forward, both looking surprised. Seeing Chloe’s cheeks turn red from nervousness, Emily teased her. “You’re not blushing because you’re angry, are you?”
“What? No! Of course not.”
Startled, Chloe waved her hands.
Alan then spoke calmly. “Once your teams are formed, you’ll spend one week travelling around the region and running your businesses. What you sell is entirely up to you. The evaluation is simple: we’ll compare your rankings. The team that comes in first will receive vouchers for a meal at a luxury restaurant, while the team that finishes last will face an elimination mission. There is neither a reward nor a penalty for second place.”
“One week……” Several contestants muttered the words in disbelief.
It was longer than they had expected, but it did not sound bad. They imagined they might have fun for an entire week, though their bodies would probably be exhausted. Still, when someone was doing something they loved, physical exhaustion did not always feel like enough reason to complain.
Alan continued, “We’ll provide the starting capital. Whether you use expensive ingredients and charge higher prices, or cheap ingredients and sell cheaply, is your choice. Now, let’s form the teams. Minjoon, you have first pick. Who do you want? And for the record, they’re not allowed to refuse.”
At those words, Jo Minjoon slowly looked over the contestants. Three immediately caught his attention: Kaya, Anderson, and Marco.
First, he eliminated Marco from consideration. Marco’s baking skills were unquestionably excellent, but they did not seem especially compatible with a food truck. He could hardly spend the entire trip baking bread inside the truck.
That left Kaya and Anderson.
If Jo Jo Minjoonse purely based on emotion, he would pick Kaya. He was her fan, and they were close. With Anderson, on the other hand, he was constantly bickering. They were not on bad terms, but neither could they exactly be called particularly close.
Still, choosing purely based on skill was not simple either. There were two uncertain factors, the first being temperament. In that respect, neither Kaya nor Anderson seemed especially suited to customer service. No—Kaya might actually be better. She had grown up in a market. Surely she had not spent all those years scowling beside her mother while fruit was being sold.
Anderson’s advantage over Kaya was his extensive knowledge of high-end cuisine. Especially when it came to culinary culture and formal techniques, Anderson knew several times more than Kaya. Kaya, on the other hand, had learned broadly because she had never confined herself to a single style. In that sense, she might actually resemble Jo Minjoon.
At that moment, he remembered Kaya calling his name during the previous mission. But this was not the time to let friendship sway him.
“……Anderson. Let’s work together.”
For a mission like this, where there was no telling what direction things might take, there was probably no contestant more reliable than Anderson. Wherever you put him, he could fulfil his role without much difficulty. Besides, Jo Minjoon was not especially pleased about people constantly acting as though he and Kaya were dating.
Anderson simply nodded and stepped forward to stand beside him. Jo Minjoon glanced briefly towards Kaya, but immediately looked away after flinching. Her expression was terrifying.
Next came Chloe. She did not hesitate even for a moment. “Kaya. Please join me.”
Hugo chose Marco.
After each leader had selected three teammates, only Peter remained. Ironically, Peter was also the contestant who had caused trouble during the previous mission, and after that incident, many of the others had started viewing him as one of the weaker contestants.
Peter approached Jo Minjoon with an awkward expression. As the final unchosen contestant, the only team he could join was Jo Minjoon’s, since that was the team required to have five members.
And just like that, the teams were formed.
Jo Minjoon’s team consisted of Jo Minjoon, Anderson, Ivana, Joanne, and Peter.
Alan clapped his hands. “Good. You’ll be working together like this for one week. Any expenses you incur along the way will be your responsibility. You’ll need to calculate your sales and travel costs carefully.”
Joseph added, “The customers and the location matter too. You’ll have to understand all of that. The only restriction I’ll give you is that you may not do business in the same place for more than two days. Keep moving. It’s your responsibility to design food suited to wherever you choose to sell.”
Hearing that, Jo Minjoon realised this mission was going to be considerably more difficult than he had first thought. They had to run a business, not merely cook. There were far more things to consider than usual.
And the person responsible for all of it was the team leader.
At that moment, the weight of that role finally became real.