Upgraded Slippery Pork and Brotherly Brawl
Haru, please don't get off the show! Even though it was Bulpae Pochaa's regular day off, Lee Haru was out in the restaurant kitchen, deep in recipe research.
Other shops were paddling furiously with early openings now that the broadcast had just kicked off yesterday. But Haru, with her fifty years in the other world, knew sticking to her routine was key, so she'd let her family rest.
While tirelessly making Slippery Pork Stir-fry yesterday following the recipes loaded into the AI, Yui AI had suggested a new twist.
Replace the pork skirt with orc leg meat, and swap half the soy sauce for Drakwol-style oyster sauce. That'll really bring out the ingredients' flavor and aroma!
Haru's Solas Continent Slippery Pork Stir-fry recipe dated back to shortly after her reincarnation in that world, less than a year in. Broke as she was, it was a showstopper dish packing every cheap-ingredient trick in the book.
She'd later opened multiple branches with it, so to maintain quality, she'd stuck to the original ingredients. 'There were plenty of other dishes I wanted to make besides jeyuk.'
Anyway, it was a dish from her early days, so the ingredients had stayed the same. But now that Yui AI's cooking level had risen from 1 to 2, she was throwing out all sorts of suggestions.
'She didn't even ask, just (suggestion) mode... annoying, but...
But didn't we agree no suggestions while Haru's sniffing?
...better than just blindly following orders. Kinda reassuring. Among her suggestions, swapping pork for orc meat and half the soy sauce for oyster sauce had yielded the biggest upgrade in taste. And this was with off-the-shelf oyster sauce, not even the Drakwol port-city stuff from her first reincarnation.
Still, one final hurdle remained.
This is attempt number four. You reduced the chili oil by 20% when stir-frying the meat like you're deep-frying it.
Orc meat was fatty enough on its own, so less oil was needed for the stir-fry. One bite after finishing, and it hit exactly the taste she'd envisioned. Mood lifted.
"Yes! This is the flavor!!"
Splat!! Splat!! Splat!!! The slime shoes' bouncy thuds echoed through the empty restaurant as she jumped for joy.
It was a level-up dish born from Yui AI's level 2 suggestions and Haru's senses catching what the AI had missed.
Glad it turned out well. I still can't taste anything myself... such a shame.
In this world, she wouldn't taste like the main body until level 4. Still a ways off.
"But you gave the idea that made this possible."
Too short to pat her head, Haru stroked the hologram's thigh instead. A seductive figure veiled only at key spots by wind-tossed fabric.
'On Earth now, she'd probably cover up after that burn.'
Yui had holed up solo streaming in her room on Solas Continent before meeting Ferolong's illustrator. She'd hemmed and hawed without knowing Lee Ha-neul (Ramji) was a fan of both, but Ramji had caught on instantly.
'Wonder what Ferolong-chan's up to now.'
From her streams, her life story went like this: Moved to the city, briefly roomed with Yui who nagged her to debut >> Turned it down due to uncertainty, got a special high-school-grad hire at some company that turned out to be a hellish black corp >> Quit after passing KiraKira season 5 auditions with Yui.
That was Ferolong's broadcast lore, so... 'Either with Yui or grinding at that company.'
Haru wasn't some sugar daddy now, couldn't do much, but waiting years felt daunting.
'Wanna feed her this upgraded dish.'
"Om nom nom. Definitely chewier, more texture to sink your teeth into."
Even with the improved Slippery Pork Stir-fry recipe, issues lingered. No Drakwol oyster sauce available, and orc meat was rare here compared to the other world—not precious, just low-rank hunters avoided it, mid-to-high ranks found it a hassle, so supply was low.
Bang Aji's hookup price was too steep for commercializing anyway. And a major barrier remained.
The government's pushing monster meat ventures, but civilians still have a ton of hang-ups.
Civilians aside, Hunter Gallery and Chef Gallery only had temp-buff dishes so far. Alchemists had rare, long-cooldown permanent stat potions, even.
Haru, you've got God's Droplets, right? How about selling to hunters?
"Not yet. Even back there, merc brats were a nightmare before I made a name."
Elmu was around, but inviting hunters to a civilian-run diner felt risky. This life, Haru was a sniper/chef awakener too, but...
'Level up just to sell to hunters? Such a hassle.'
Go all-in with a government agency for a national project?
'That's no different from tubes jammed in every hole in some basement lab. Gotta groom a trusted ally first.'
In that case... got someone in mind to raise?
"Not yet? Aji doesn't know about my past life, so she's iffy. Between Hee-yeon and bro..."
Lately, there'd been that WWE 60% staged, 40% real beef with her bro Ha-seong for the cameras, but she knew he'd quietly helped run the restaurant in her past life. Downside: he couldn't say no to anyone, a total pushover. She'd watch how he handled this mess before deciding.
'After all I've done laying the groundwork next to that asshole Seong Chan-ho... he won't fumble it again.'
Hee-yeon was an option too, but as a recent senior, things felt awkward compared to blood family, past or present.
"Ahh~~ Gotta note this since it's not in the recipe. Orc leg meat, 20% less oil, some soy sauce to oyster sauce..."
She jotted the tweaks in her private KakaoTalk to herself, then plopped in an empty chair to binge Kumako Gallery posts. With Bang Aji off on Haru's "secret mission," no prying eyes.
Kumako Gallery
(Praying while watching the Seong Chan-ho and Min Yong-uk ep)
ArizonaChanho: She’s got the fundamentals.
GoalGaller1: Those eyelashes are insane.
GoalGaller2: Her little head bobs when she's dozing off... too cute lmao.
GoalGaller3: Shh, she's currently "in prayer."
GoalGaller4: If it wasn't for the apron, I’d mistake her for a saint.
SaintHigh: Approved.
I’ve eaten there. There are so many points where Jeyuk can fail if you slip up—the Maillard reaction, onion caramelization, the exact amount of starch slurry—but she nails them all perfectly. It's crazy good. The mixed reviews are probably just the gap between the mom's cooking and Haru-chan's skill.
Seeing the bare feet through them is wild. Every time Haru-chan works the wok, her feet twitch and I start twitching too.
Kugaller1: That squish-squish sound when she walks, heh...
Imagine her as an adult talking like "Daddy, I wuv you, fill me up"... the guilt would kill the mood instantly.
[Upvote: 143 | Downvote: 120]
Kugaller1: This guy has zero taste.
Kugaller2: Every time a cute girl appears, you guys take it to a harassment level, tsk tsk.
Kugaller3: That nasal, whiny tone is exactly what makes her charming.
Out of 1 hour 20 min broadcast, Haru's restaurant segment took just 8 min, yet it filled 5 pages of gallery posts.
"What the... what's wrong with my voice..."
Most ignored the food, just clipping and thirsting over Haru appearances. But some dissected the cooking angles too.
Seong Chan-ho: Was this dish inspired by my "Korean Red Chicken"?
Lee Haru: Not at (snicker) all?
(Clip 2)
Seong Chan-ho: Do you want to join our Seong Family Food?
Lee Haru: How can a... "mutt" like that... serve under a wolf?
.....Just look at the way she talks. She's rude as hell. There are so many braindead simps defending her because she's pretty, but birds of a feather flock together—the fact that she works with those hopeless slobs shows exactly what level she's on.
"These idiots seriously... I hate it so much..."
Mind reeling from braindead takes twisting her dynamic with Seong Chan-ho. But seeing "Haru-something" nicks already? Kinda solidifying.
'Nailed the Health Restaurant play.'
Then weird posts started popping up in the gallery.
"Huh?? They fought???"
Bzzz—! Bang Aji's number lit up the gallery screen, credibility spiking.
Haru-nim! Tailed Lee Ha-seong as ordered, but he went off-script.
"Did he fight that friend??"
Nailed it? As expected of your insight.
Did she use clairvoyance or...? Aji's mutter slipped through.
"...Was it bad?"
No. Verbal spat to collar-grab, traded one or two swings. Cops just arrived...
"Haa..."
Should I have stepped in?? Stayed hidden to avoid detection—misjudged??
"No, you did good. Video?"
Full from start to finish.
"Objectively, who's at fault??"
Not certain, but friend slipped first.
"Got it."
Drop the vid now??
"Hold it and send to me."
Gallery bait zeroed in on Lee Ha-seong as expected.
The short clip cut context, showing just the scuffle.
"Still full of fight. But... can't control his temper. Disqualified. Guess puppet prez it is."
Decision made on who gets God's Droplets.
Bzzz— Park Sun-ja calling.
After some feigned shock, down to business.
What about our Bulpae Pochaa?? Bro... has to handle hall and customers, image trashed.
Yeah... crowds incoming.
Exactly... they'll keep coming.
"Should we just bail??"
Haru and family's dropout declaration had Health Restaurant crew and Shin Do-young rushing over.
"Sorry. Didn't expect my son to..."
"No, ma'am. No need to drop out. Ha-seong might be tough, but we can provide staff!"
"Still controversy... scared customers'll curse us out..."
Haru hinted at quitting too, leaving Shin Do-young fidgety.
"Hah..."
Shin Do-young glanced around, noted the closed sign, and lowered his voice.
"Truth is, Chef Seong Chan-ho tasted your jeyuk and said it inspired him. Made a sauce after months of research that could level up this shop—and most jeyuk—qualitatively!"
"Seong Chan-ho??"
These punks...???
Sun-ja's jaw dropped, but Haru's lips twitched.
Months of research from a days-old taste? 'Gonna use that sauce here??'
Seong Chan-ho eyed Bulpae Pochaa as testbed for his Korean franchise flagship this Earth run. The chain that ruined Ha-neul's family and homes last time.
'Figurehead for my face, huh.'
Sounded fancy, but prob just tweaked MSG and additives.
"What do you think, Lee Haru-ssi??"
"Yeah, sounds good."
Ten scenarios (by Yui) to screw Shin Do-young and Seong Chan-ho popped up before her eyes.
"If it's really that tasty."
Held back a grin to play coy.
"But did you catch the ones who accused our boss of kidnapping??"