What Is a Chef?
A chef is someone who specializes in cooking. So, am I a chef? Yeah. Even if I'm just a lowly employee at a small snack bar, since cooking is my profession, you could say I specialize in it. Doesn't that qualify me to call myself a chef? Well, in the game, I even have the official Chef class.
...Even if the name's a bit weird.
Anyway, yeah. I'm already a chef. At least in the game, and a pretty famous one at that. Not some fancy title like executive chef or culinary researcher, but a chef's a chef.
So, I declared it proudly.
"Grandpa."
"Yeah."
"I'm a chef."
"What?!"
...Huh? Grandpa's reaction was unexpected.
A high-pitched scream like a banshee's wail exploded from his wide-open mouth. He stared at me with eyes bulging like he'd seen a ghost.
...You were the one telling me to grab it with both hands, Grandpa. Why the shock?
Just as the startled grandpa opened his mouth to say more, a shrill grandmotherly voice flew in through the window.
"Old man! Quit yapping nonsense with the kids and come eat!"
"Y-Yeah! Coming!"
Grandpa mumbled a vague reply and glanced back at us. He leaned forward, lowering his voice dramatically.
"What? A chef? You serious right now?"
"...Gulp."
Did I say too much? Cold sweat trickled down. My mouth went dry.
But the words were already out. I swallowed hard, eyeing Grandpa's tiger-like glare.
"Yeah. I want to be a chef, so I'm studying hard. Right now, I work at a snack bar."
I said it all tensely, but Grandpa's reaction surprised me again. His face cleared up like a sunny day, breaking into a huge grin.
"Kehahaha! The chef's blood finally kicked in!"
He laughed heartily, slapping my shoulder hard. Sis and I exchanged bewildered looks. I stared at her wide-eyed.
...Why's Sis surprised? She was acting like she knew all about 'adult circumstances.' Didn't she know everything?
I shot her a look, and she averted her eyes, asking Grandpa,
"Grandpa, didn't you hate the idea of us becoming chefs?"
Grandpa beamed.
"Hate it? Nah! I just played along 'cause your grandma hated it."
"So you like chefs?"
"Kehah. Of course. Why else would I have married your grandma?"
Curious, I asked,
"Chef's blood?"
Grandpa leaned in closer, whispering,
"Your grandma... she was one hell of a chef!"
Grandma was a chef? An amazing one?
Grandpa continued.
"Your grandma endured Korea's toughest kitchen—the one where even the top chefs from every province, those sturdy guys, tapped out after a month. She lasted to the end. That's no joke."
"...!"
It all clicked like puzzle pieces. Her fiery temper made sense now—she wielded fire and knives as a chef!
...But why does she hate chefs so much then?
Grandpa pulled out his old flip phone, grinning ear to ear.
"Hold on. I know someone. Meeting them could be a great experience."
"Someone you know?"
"Yeah. Heard he's doing pretty well these days."
Grandpa squinted at the screen, fumbling with the keys—his eyes weren't what they used to be—when the shrill voice rang out again.
"Old fart! You coming or not?!"
"Aigoo! I'm coming!"
Grandpa snapped the phone shut and shoved it in his pocket.
"That old bat's temper..."
He grumbled, standing up, then winked.
"We'll talk more after lunch."
After a feast of gourmet dishes that could break the table, we're now huddled in the small room for a secret meeting.
Sis says she easily guessed Grandma was a chef.
"How?"
"Obvious. She hates chefs but cooks like a pro."
"Ah."
"Duh. Weird if you didn't notice."
...I was the weird one, huh.
"Eunbi probably knew too."
"...No way. But if Grandma's a chef herself, why does she freak out at the idea?"
"Dunno. I thought she just saw it as a tough job and didn't want us suffering."
Sis crossed her arms, muttering,
"Didn't expect Grandpa to be into it."
"Maybe Grandma secretly likes it too?"
"Heard anything? Grandpa said he goes along with her."
"Oh, right."
"Yeah. Better keep it secret from her."
As we whispered, the door creaked open.
We whipped around. Through the crack, a small twin-tailed head peeked in. But the ribbon was blue.
Eunhui's was pink.
Sis yelled,
"Hey! It's Eunbi!"
"...!"
Eunbi bolted.
Oh Eunbi. The "Bi" in our Hype-and-Bi Sisters duo.
Does personality follow names, or did our aunt name her perfectly? The fraternal twins Eunhui and Eunbi were opposites, just like their names.
Eunhui: Bouncy, outgoing, cheerful girl.
Eunbi: Deep thinker, calm, quiet, precocious girl.
Once, Aunt showed us their school self-intros from early semester.
Question: "What's your biggest fear?"
Eunhui: "Ghosts!"
Eunbi: "The inexorable flow of time that slowly leads us to inevitable death, a relentless current we cannot escape."
Sis laughed her ass off.
"Hahaha! Hura, that's totally you!"
Other stories too. Asked if school was fun: "If it were, it wouldn't be school."
Tie in a game: "We all won!" Her: "Means we all lost too."
Like Sis said, similar to me, so she sticks to me extra. Shy, so it takes time to warm up after a while apart.
Even at lunch, I felt her stare. Prickly gaze—turn, and she'd whip her head away. Ignore it, and it'd prick again.
Ate lunch feeling that trailing gaze.
"Eunbi~ Let's play with sis~"
I stood as Sis waddled after her, hands out. Eunhui's sulking hard, so play with Eunbi.
"Ugh... my back. Slept too long?"
Dahyun thumped her back, mumbling.
Stayed up late waiting for Molrangkau, slept in.
"Shoulda just done sleep login. Aigoo..."
She sat up in bed, messy hair, then started dozing off.
Beeeep—grunt—
"...!"
Grunt!
"Ack."
Sebastian finally headbutted her torso. Dahyun flopped dramatically on the bed. He climbed on, kneading with paws.
"Ack. Ugh. Gah."
Couldn't ignore his breakfast tantrum, so she got up, puffy-eyed.
"Fine, fine. Feeding you now."
Poured kibble. Sebastian dove in face-first.
"Gave you some before bed. Can't wait?"
Poked him with a finger.
"Hey, Sebastian. You're getting fat. Know that?"
Chomp chomp chomp—only eating sounds.
"Lose some weight, piggy."
Yawning, she stretched. Afternoon sun through window.
"Whew... time flew."
Flopped back on bed, half-lidded eyes on phone.
"...Hm?"
Fingers stopped scrolling.
"Hmmm?"
Eyes widened.
"Already up?"
New video on Panwol Emo Jjomo channel.
Thumbnail: Apron-clad Chef Hura, huge, grinning villainously from who-knows-where.
"...Looks like a real villain."
Molrangkau, Beda, Sap Gisa as side characters too.
Irresistible thumbnail.
Simple title thanks to provocative thumb:
'What Happened in Harten'
"That confident, huh?"
Clicked. Countdown started.
"Oh, hadn't started yet! Score, perfect timing."
Teaser worked; live viewers exploding.
Past Harten vids were fragmented user clips, low quality. No pro editing with good cams and narrative.
They edited overnight, aiming for this.
"Oh, starting!"
5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Video began.
-Sap haha ha!
Opened with Sapjaru-dan's bold march. Plowing northern blizzards to Harten, clashing with Tteokbokki-dan.
Full war between Sapjaru-dan and Tteokbokki-dan. Viewers went wild.
Live chat reactions flooded.
Cameras captured the war from all angles. Sapjaru-dan digging en masse with shovels. Tteokbokki-dan hurling tteokbokki out of nowhere.
War wound down, momentum shifting. Amid the close, a massive boom heralded new drama.
Meteor-like crater, then three Huras split on screen.
Sap Gisa appeared.
Camera followed Sap Gisa. Brief shots of Jeil Hura and Je Hura.
Enraged Sap Gisa reached Harten village.
-You came?
The 'real' Hura waited with a smirk.
Tense standoff, then Sap Gisa devouring Hura's ramen.
Smooth surrender left question marks.
Sap Gisa verbally wrecked by Hura, snaps, crowd jumps in. Non-stop action.
Then, giant phoenix with Molrangkau.
Chat exploded.
But not over. Beda drops from sky.
Chat flipped again.
Rank 5, 6, 8 high rankers went all out. Few saw the full fight.
Chat: Oohs and aahs.
Long brawl took half the edited vid. Rank 5-6 alliance won when Sap Gisa fainted 33rd time.
Even he couldn't tank 5+6 pincer.
But didn't die. Armor busted, batted away like baseball by Beda's greatsword, vanished far off.
Never wins all, never truly loses.
Fight ended, video too.
Lingering impact kept chat buzzing.