How the Rank 0 Chef Survives 043: Memories on the Plate
"...Huh?"
Beda stared at Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i, who had made such a flashy entrance, his eyes wide round.
"Who might these two be?"
"Ah, these are my summons."
Hura gazed fondly at Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i as they slid out gracefully and bowed to Beda. Guys, you don't have to go this far.
"Pardon? Summons? Didn't you say you became a chef?"
"A bit of a special chef."
"How does a chef have summons...?"
Beda muttered in disbelief, eyeing the summons who were beaming with bright smiles.
"Geum Taeyang at your service, though I may be lacking—proud to serve Hura-nim!"
"Tteoksoon-i here, likewise proud to serve Hura-nim!"
"It's an honor to meet our benefactor!"
"...Benefactor?"
Beda shot Hura a puzzled look. Hura scratched his head awkwardly.
"Didn't you help me out big time before, Beda-nim?"
"Haha, what benefactor? It was nothing."
"Anyway, the food I worked so hard on is gonna get cold. Let's eat quick."
At Hura's glance, Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i sprang up and smoothly pulled out chairs.
"Aigoo, I don't know if I deserve such treatment. Really, it was nothing."
"Come on, you more than deserve it, and a promise is a promise. No more words—sit."
"Y-Yes, sir."
Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i served the dishes with the finesse of veteran waiters from a high-end restaurant after ten years on the job. Somehow, each had a crisp white napkin neatly draped over one arm.
"Wild Boar Barbecue prepared by Hura-nim."
"Shall I slice it for you?"
Slice—
Tteoksoon-i lifted a broad leg bone and neatly carved the meat onto Beda's plate using her thread. Beda's jaw dropped as the barbecue filled the plate in perfect petal shapes.
"Th-This is really food you made, Hura-nim?"
"Haha, I said I'd treat you right, didn't I? This ain't the me who used to burn rabbit meat."
"...Impressive. The aroma is killer."
"Taste'll match. Dig in."
"Yes. Itadakimasu."
As he reached for the barbecue with his fork, one of Beda's eyebrows shot up.
"Hold on."
"Yes? What's up?"
"There's a rat hiding."
Whoosh—
Before anyone could react, the fork flew from Beda's hand at blinding speed, streaking toward a tree branch overhead.
Clang!
A metallic ring echoed from the tree, the fork ricocheting off—and in the same instant, Beda vanished from sight.
Boom! Crash!
A thunderous roar erupted with an invisible shockwave, toppling the tree.
"Whoa!"
"Master!"
Hura and Tteoksoon-i desperately held down the food against the blast, while Geum Taeyang raised his shield to guard Hura.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground cratered, thick tree trunks snapped and fell. The air screamed, birds exploded into flight in panic. A battle beyond human limits—sounds unimaginable from mere mortals. Amid the chaos, Baek Bal Baek Jung's shrill scream leaked out.
"Eek! Beda-nim! I told you it wasn't on purpose back then!"
"It flew right at my forehead. What wasn't on purpose?"
"Wasn't aiming for you, Beda-nim! I was thinking of Manager Kim when I shot!"
"Nonsense! Then why'd you approach Hura-nim?"
"That's...!"
Whoosh—
"Hura-nim! Call off Beda-nim, please!"
Baek Bal Baek Jung dove behind Hura, shrieking in a high-pitched voice. With him blatantly hiding, Beda could only growl in frustration.
"Come out from behind Hura-nim."
"No way!"
"I said come out."
"I said no!"
"I'll count to three."
"Go ahead!"
"One."
"You're really counting?!"
"Two."
"Two and a half."
"Three."
"Two and a quarter!"
"Three."
"Two and an eighth!"
"Three!"
Rumble rumble—
The ground quaked like an earthquake from Beda's surging aura. Stones danced, the table tap-danced wildly.
"Stop it!"
Hura yelled, caught in the middle, and the trembling earth instantly calmed.
"What are you doing in front of the food I slaved over?!"
"Ah, w-well..."
"S-Sorry, Hura-nim."
"The food I made just for you almost got taste-tested by the dirt!"
"S-Sorry!"
"Sorry!"
"I don't know what beef you two have, but this is a sacred table! You gonna fight here too?!"
"No! No way!"
"Absolutely not!"
"You trying to dust my food with dirt?!"
"Never!"
"No!"
Hura glared disapprovingly at the two with bowed heads. They stared guiltily at the ground, at a loss.
"...Food's getting cold. Eat."
"Yes!"
"Yep!"
"You're both my guests, so chill out for my sake. Please."
Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i quickly pulled out chairs, and Beda and Baek Bal Baek Jung sat.
"Eat up."
"Yessir."
They speared the Wild Boar Barbecue without hesitation. Beda popped a piece into his mouth casually—and reeled as if punched straight out of left field, mind going blank.
Knowing a hit's coming versus one from nowhere—they're worlds apart. An unexpected punch packs double the power.
"...!"
The savory juices flooding his mouth left Beda dazed. The sudden torrent shattered the soft walls around his heart without a trace.
Beda—no, Yoo Joo-ho—recalled a family trip before his mother's illness.
Ta-da!
His mom, a great cook, proudly unveiled her special prep: pork marinated to perfection.
"Whoa! What's this?"
"Hehe, showing off my skills after ages. Fire up that grill you brought."
Joo-ho and his dad lit the grill, and Mom tossed in the sauced pork.
"Pork barbecue!"
"Yay!"
It sizzled, dripping juices, and Mom sliced thick pieces onto plates.
"Whoa, so good!"
"She may not be perfect, but your mom's cooking is top-notch."
Mom beamed.
"Let's come again!"
"Of course!"
But there was no next time. Mom fell ill suddenly, shuttling to hospitals. Sad, but that made the memory precious.
"Beda-nim! You okay?"
Hura's urgent call snapped Beda back. He lifted his head blankly.
"...Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
"What... do you mean?"
"You suddenly started tearing up..."
"...Me?"
Beda touched his eyes. They were wet with mystery liquid.
"...?"
He'd been crying without realizing.
"Haha... Hura-nim's cooking always surprises me."
"Pardon?"
"Thanks to you, I recalled a precious memory I'd forgotten. Thank you."
"Ah, no biggie."
Hura flapped his hands in panic—because of the alert before his eyes.
Cooking Charm has been activated.
'Issneun Himkkeul Beda' has been added to the list.
-......
-Baek Bal Baek Jung
-Garden Master Lilac
-Issneun Himkkeul Beda
'...? I definitely didn't sprinkle the white powder this time.'
Hura tilted his head.
'Doesn't Cooking Charm only work with the white powder?'
As he pondered the link between the powder and the charm, a snippet flashed in his mind—a convo with that crazy old man about the powder and Cooking Charm.
"Old man, so this white powder... the 'magic' you mentioned is memories?"
His eyes widened.
"Ho ho, what makes you think that?"
"I put it in food, they ate and bawled about old memories."
The old man stroked his white beard, nodding.
"Hmm, indeed. So your power is memories."
"Pardon? My power? What do you...?"
"No more hints. Figure it out yourself."
That's what he'd said.
'Your power is memories.'
The powder always evoked precious memories. Molrangkau, Tteokbokki Cult, kimchi fried rice—all did.
But if his cooking inherently stirred memories, and the powder just amplified it?
"...!"
Beda in the game, eating his first dish—egg fried rice—and tearing up. Not coincidence, but his cooking's power at work unknowingly?
Hura's realization tied to his epiphany in Minare's Secret Garden. Seeing NPC Garden Master Lilac charmed, he'd marveled that users fell to it too. He'd thought it just made people friendly like to a restaurant owner.
Then what if Cooking Charm worked in real life too?
If his food held 'memory power'?
Could he wield it in reality?
"...."
He shook his head. No, too far. Can't mix game and reality.
Smacking his lips, he glanced across—Baek Bal Baek Jung bawling too.
"...And why're you crying?"
"Sniff—Reminds me of Mi-ok."
"Who's that?"
"Wah! Mi-ok! Miii-ok—!"
Baek Bal Baek Jung devoured the Wild Boar Barbecue, sobbing.
"...."
Too pathetic to watch, Hura avoided looking and munched his barbecue.
* * *
Ding-a-ling—
"Ah, you're here!"
"...?"
Early morning, entering the convenience store—a familiar yet strange face rushed over, bowing deeply. I stared at the top of his head.
"...Who're you?"
"It's me! Your one-and-only childhood friend Mansu!"
"Why's my childhood friend bowing so formally?"
"Heard true friends respect each other!"
"Each other?"
"Ah, actually it's one-sided from me."
"That's why the formal speech?"
"Of course!"
I approached Philip hyung chuckling at the counter. He was my senior by two years, handling night shifts before me.
"When'd this guy start?"
"'Bout 20 minutes ago. You quitting the store?"
"Yeah, trying somewhere else."
"Where to?"
"Snack bar. Good hourly pay."
"Good luck. Hit me up sometimes."
"Sure. Any messages?"
"Nah. Take care."
"You too."
"Safe trip, sunbae-nim!"
Mansu bowed at ninety degrees, seeing off the senior. Philip hyung chuckled at him and left.
"Mansu."
"Yes."
"C'mere. I'll teach you register check first."
"Yes!"
We started at the counter: register checks, POS usage, memorizing cig brands.
"Got it?"
"Perfectly."
"Do it."
"Now?"
"Now."
"...."
"...."
"...Ahem. This one?"
Mansu pondered and hit a button—the cash drawer spat out. Dead wrong.
"I said write it down, dummy."
"Hey, gentlemen don't rush."
"Gentleman my ass. You're a potato."
"Looks? Or brains?"
"Both."
"If I'm potato, you're sweet potato."
"You're a talking potato."
"—said the sweet potato."
"Potatoes taste worse than sweet potatoes."
"...!"
While roasting Mansu into a decent part-timer, the door chimed.
Ding-a-ling—
I bowed automatically without looking.
"Welcome~"
"...."
"Well, well, talking potato. No greeting?"
"You did it."
"You too."
"Next time."
"You said that last time."
"We'll see."
As we glared and growled, a sharp voice smacked my ear.
"Customer-nim!"
Startled, I finally looked up at the customer.
"D-Dahyun-ssi?"
Dahyun stomped to the counter and slammed it down, glaring fiercely.
"Why haven't you called?!"