Sister-in-Law's Maternal Drive and a Sudden Jeyuk Bulk Order

The kitchen at Bulpae Pochaa suddenly buzzed with activity as a massive order for seven portions of jeyuk sets rolled in.

Pop pop pop!!

"Gimme the chili oil from up there, pwease."

"Here!"

Yoo Hee-yeon, tall even among adult women, handed a bottle of red oil from the upper shelf to Haru. By tenure, Hee-yeon was three months in while Haru was the newbie part-timer, but the way she boiled the broth just now was anything but amateur.

Hee-yeon, who had quit her hairdressing job, had set her sights on her mother-in-law, Park Sun-ja, as her new goal. A veteran of twenty years with unshakable pride in her cooking, Sun-ja was the kind of woman who had even chased out her eldest son, Ha-seong, on his own. She was ruthless enough to pass down her secrets to Hee-yeon over her younger son, Ha-neul, claiming her hands were quicker.

It was hard to believe she'd bested such a woman in a showdown over their signature jeyuk bokkeum... but watching those tiny hands spin like clockwork gears made it all click.

Whoosh!!! Flames erupted from the glistening pork slicked in red oil.

"Danger!!"

Any worry proved unfounded—Haru dodged the fire with waist twists honed from decades at the wok, like a seasoned pro.

"Way more comfy than doing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it from a stool. How's it look? Get the hang of it??"

Haru trailed off, unsure how to address Hee-yeon yet.

Calling a late-twenties woman 'auntie' feels off, but 'assistant' sounds belittling.

"Can't even track it with three woks flying at once?"

Back in her Ramji days, she'd juggled up to five—this was her holding back big time.

"One wok's for flash-frying the meat in chili oil to kickstart the aroma and Maillard reaction early. The rest is standard jeyuk prep!"

"I'm still struggling to match Mom's jeyuk secrets...."

It's just marinated pork stir-fried roughly—how's that tough??

"Only three months in. You'll catch on quick!"

Guess I gotta crank it up a notch.

"Mind if I taste?"

It wasn't much different from the Slippery Pork Stir-fry she'd served the laborers days ago. The tweaks? Using Blade Anchovy Broth in the starch slurry for a salty edge to the spicy-sweet punch, plus lusher veggie toppings. Still, better safe than sorry—let her try it.

She tossed back her wavy reddish-brown hair and took a bite, radiating newlywed vibes. Her sultry eyes flashed, but she said nothing.

Too spicy for a young woman?

As Sun-ja on the other side plated her jeyuk for Ha-seong, Hee-yeon leaned in and whispered low in Haru's ear.

"Way better than Mom's."

The married woman's seductive move sent a tingle up Haru's ear and down her spine.

On the construction crew's eight-top table sat seven portions each of Sun-ja's and Haru's jeyuk, plus four bowls of cheonggukjang. One guy had skipped ordering after seeing Bulpae Pochaa's Health Restaurant Korea appearance and low rating.

But...

"Check this jeyuk sauce. Sticky like sweet-and-sour pork."

"Try it. Bite and the juices and sauce squirt out... it's steak, not jeyuk."

"Wakes you right up, shit."

"This cheonggukjang's no joke!!"

Everything but the original Bulpae Pochaa jeyuk was vanishing fast.

"What's the big fuss?"

The non-eater jabbed chopsticks at his buddy's jeyuk.

Thwack!!

"You said you weren't eating."

"Nah, the aroma hit me—had to check...."

Grown men started chopstick wars over Haru's jeyuk.

"Order your own with your money!!!"

"...Another round here."

"But eating this... breathing feels easier? Just me??"

Haru's sweat-infused broth—boosting stamina/mana recovery—cleansed even the dust-caked lungs of these laborers, thanks to God's Droplets.

Bang Aji, who usually just ordered without touching food to fake regular status, broke her seal today. She'd ordered to blend in when others came, but Sun-ja's jeyuk was meh and she hated cheonggukjang anyway. Haru's was new, so curiosity won.

Spicy-sweet with that anchovy broth saltiness, smacking my tongue left and right like twins scolding from both sides.

Kept eating till her gut felt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠greasy, so she added cheonggukjang—and damn, it was perfection.

Stick by Haru-nim, and I'll eat like this forever??

As the crew cleared out, meals for the two Health Restaurant writers arrived. Hearing new menu came with jeyuk sets, they ordered one jeyuk set and cheonggukjang. Sun-ja's jeyuk would taste like months ago's disaster, and it did.

"Chili powder chunks. Ugh...."

"Try this. Feels real?"

"What? Like some Chinese dish. Slurp! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Huh???"

The female writer shoveled Haru's jeyuk like she was possessed, then chugged ice water.

"Love sweet-spicy, kept going, but the heat hits sudden. Too heavy solo."

"Cheonggukjang's leveled up. Perfect pair."

"Can't stand the smell. New menu's good but meh."

Haru's jeyuk split the women a bit.

"Anyway... total goldmine??"

"Right?"

They glanced at kitchen duo Lee Haru and Yoo Hee-yeon.

"Too good for a sequel tease. That lady's hot, but the girl? Child actress??"

"Seong Chan-ho's daughter... nah, relative??"

"Where's that scrawny guy? Lee Ha-neul??"

The writers chatted reviews, then piped up.

"That boss lady? Lee Ha-neul from last time doing other work?"

"Post-show, said he snapped to and went shrimping. Contact's sparse—worried."

Sun-ja played her prepped script with Haru.

"Huh? For real?? Ha-neul young master never done rough work...."

Even ally Hee-yeon bought it.

"Honestly, overkill. First time at restaurant stuff, bound to mess up, but they edited him like human trash??"

Gasp.

Hee-yeon's outburst iced the room.

"Edited our oppa like a gambling addict, and it's not just sending you writers—Shin Do-young should apologize too??"

"Uh... our content resolves issues, so conflicts happen... but sorry for the biased clips."

Fifty years in fantasy had dulled Haru's edges, but those first weeks post-broadcast were nightmare fuel for the family. Unchangeable now, but...

Too meek?

Bouncing back a few times might better hide her plan to milk Health Restaurant for promo. Time to leverage the harmless girl image.

Pop pop pop.

"Eh?? Don't you get more customers and shiny kitchen after Health Restaurant??"

Haru stepped out in her Slime Shoes, cooking done.

"Not always. Bad shots mean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠internet hate and dropout."

"Hate sounds sucky.... I quit part-time!!!"

"Don't wanna much either."

Memories of past-life backlash made Haru flinch and yell instinctively.

"I-it's not full appearance, just short sequel bit—no big worry!!"

"We'll ask Shin Do-young to go easy, film preview at least?"

Key new faces Haru and Hee-yeon vetoed hard—the writers trembled.

Health Restaurant's hype had dipped. Shin's team eyed Bulpae Pochaa as clickbait cheat code. But in person? Not flash-in-pan; two guaranteed-view magnets per ep. That braided girl's cooking peeks screamed manga protag.

Don't scout now, 100% snatched later.

Fail after seeing her? They'd be trash-tier.

Who knows where this kid popped from...

One pic of her, and boss comes apologizing for sure.

"No sweat, Haru-ya. Your cooking's ace—viewers'll go wow??"

Boss Park Sun-ja soothed trembling Haru, then preview filming kicked off.

"Say name and age to camera."

"Lee Haru. Age... secret!"

"How'd you end up part-timing here?"

She recited the tower collapse survivor script straight.

"So... separated from parents in tower collapse, trapped in room, dropped here, nearly starved till boss saved you."

"Yes. Good boss."

"Cooking... from manga in mental world's time chamber?"

......

Interview wrapped; staff flooded for preview shots.

"One last take~"

Focus hit Hee-yeon and Haru over Sun-ja or Ha-seong. Worried pro vibes would flag her, Haru dialed back to "decently skilled."

"Whoa~ not cooking show, feels like drama!!"

"Great work!"

Storm passed; restaurant quieted.

"Thanks.... Haru champ!!!"

Hee-yeon patted Haru's shoulder post-wrap.

"For what??"

"When I called out production for apology... you backed me?? Without you, I'd look nuts."

"Senior's words rang true, so yeah."

"Eyy, senior's stiff. Sis fine. Or...."

She whispered soft, drowned by car noise.

"Huh????"

"Hm? Nothing. Dinner prep~"

Dinner filled 4-5 tables vs. usual 1-2. One-third capacity, but with four staff, needed more for black ink.

10 PM, hour to close—Haru prepped to clock out. Crowd gone, and minors can't work past 10.

Pop!! Slime boots off, sneakers on.

"Let's go, Haru-nim."

Bang Aji, glued to the floor, stepped up for escort-home duty.

"Where's Haru live?"

Hee-yeon followed from kitchen cleanup.

"Spare room at boss's."

"Ah, since young master's gone? But just you and Mom... she'll feel awkward, and you might feel neglected??"

"Huh????"

"Saw your hair all dry.... needs a young woman's touch. Come over sometime??"

Whatwhatwhat???? Makes no sense.

Yui's theory plus 30 points from Hee-yeon creeped her out.

"I'm good, sis! You're busy!!"

"Chatting in bed with Haru-champ would de-stress me??"

"Enough!"

Aji wedged between, arms out.

"Haru here's scared."

"Not really. Just sudden...."

Hee-yeon locked eyes with Aji, then got it.

"True. First meet today... inviting over's pushy. Rest up—see ya tomorrow!"

Aji peeled off Hee-yeon, escorted Haru home, then clocked out.

What's her deal. Barely met Haru a day, acting buddy-buddy.... If Haru lived alone, I could mom her....

While those two mulled Haru, she got home, tied on an apron, clamped her smartphone to a selfie stick, and posed every which way. For her fave ex-VTuber Ferolong's mama and indie YouTuber "Yui"—cooking contest entry vid for her viewers. Angle hid all but gloved hands and apron to dodge face reveal.

Dish: Sundae guk, fresh and lively. From Solas Continent, Yui's fave in life—loved to death.

To keep the long shape, she skewered the sundae pre-boil from the drawer.