061. Dinner Gathering (3)
061. Dinner Gathering (3)
My carefully crafted dishes—the pineapple kimchi jjigae and the soft tofu kimchi—were completely ignored by everyone.
Even Lee Yu-ri, the one person who had at least tried to take a bite, hesitated at the visual and ultimately put her spoon down.
'It's seriously edible if you'd just try it!'
A wave of injustice surged up inside me, but everyone had already rejected my cooking.
That was when Kang Do-hee, the only one among the party members, picked up her spoon, scooped up some pineapple kimchi jjigae, and put it in her mouth.
Slurp—
Clink.
She set her spoon down with a soft sound.
"Yellow Dog. You've crossed a line."
Kang Do-hee's voice was cold.
"What...?"
"Your cooking is an insult to the ingredients. Jin Yu-ha."
"...Insult?"
My face hardened at her words.
"Yes. I don't care what you eat yourself, but when you offer something to others, you need to consider a normal palate."
Grind.
A sharp sound escaped from between my teeth.
"What you did was play around with perfectly good ingredients. Nothing more, nothing less."
It felt as if my ten years of cooking experience, honed in a studio apartment, had been completely negated in an instant.
Look, I'd once called myself the Baek Jong-won of my studio apartment. I'd always prided myself on having some level of expertise when it came to cooking.
"Really? Then how good are you?"
My pride wounded, I spat the words at her.
At that, Kang Do-hee gave a scoffing laugh and rose from her seat.
"Fine. Let me teach you what cooking actually is."
Kang Do-hee headed for the kitchen, and I followed her in, ready to see just how good she really was.
The other party members, equally curious, came along too.
'Ha. I never once saw you cook in the game, so what gives.'
Kang Do-hee was a physical, brawler-type character from the start.
She wasn't suited for delicate work like cooking.
She was obviously just putting on airs; I'd be surprised if she could manage anything more than instant ramen or a fried egg without burning it.
Tik-tik-tik-tik—
Kang Do-hee turned up the gas flame with practiced ease.
Then, as if something didn't quite suit her, she tilted her head and spoke to Shin Se-hee.
"Flowerbed. Turn up the heat here a little more."
"...Alright."
Shin Se-hee, likely still thinking about that pineapple stew from earlier, obediently increased the flame at Kang Do-hee's request.
Whoosh—
Kang Do-hee gauged the flame's size, then drizzled a little oil into the wok and began swirling it around.
Round and round—
Arms still crossed, I watched Kang Do-hee's every move.
At the unexpectedly skillful sight, a cold sweat beaded on my forehead.
'...Sh-she seems to know a little about cooking, but! W-well, she hasn't even started yet. Once she actually begins, it's bound to be a disaster!'
She spoke as she heated the wok.
"Food is not good cooking just because it's unique and creative. Did you think, 'It all gets mixed together in the stomach anyway, so I can just throw it all in'? Was that your lazy reasoning?"
"......I, in my own way—!"
"Fine, there might be recipes like that out there. But the fact that they aren't mainstream also means they don't suit the average person's palate."
Deciding the oil was sufficiently heated, she skillfully took up a knife and cut the leftover pork from the kimchi jjigae into bite-sized pieces.
And then immediately dropped them into the wok.
Sizzle—
The meat fried in the hot oil, and a savory aroma rose along with the delicious sound.
When the meat was about half-cooked, she added a touch of minced garlic and sugar.
The meat's color deepened instantly.
"If you want to attempt something new like that, you should at least get a chef's license first."
Kang Do-hee poured soy sauce in a circle over the wok. The oil splattered, and tongues of flame licked up into the wok.
The sound of sizzling oil poured down like a rain shower, and she gave her wrist holding the wok a few light, snapping flicks.
Swish—
Swish—
Swish—
The meat and garlic soared into the air, tracing a smooth arc before tumbling back into the wok.
And the flames, lightly scorching the outer surfaces, triggered the Maillard reaction, making the color even more mouthwatering.
"......Wow."
"......Whoa."
"That's insane."
Sounds of admiration came from behind me.
I bit down hard on my lip.
'...Ha, all flash and no substance!'
That's nothing but technique.
It's not that I can't do it. I just choose not to.
Home cooking has its own proper domain, after all.
Kang Do-hee added green onions, chili powder, and cheongyang peppers, stir-frying rapidly while adding a splash of water to let the seasonings soak in well.
And for the final touch, she added a spoonful of sesame oil, plated it, and sprinkled crushed sesame seeds on top to finish.
Kang Do-hee held the finished spicy stir-fried pork out to me.
"This is cooking. Yellow Dog."
* * *
After that, Kang Do-hee whipped up several more dishes in a flash using the available ingredients.
Soft tofu stew made with soft tofu and eggs.
A glossy, pudding-like steamed egg, cooked to a custard consistency.
And the pineapple was simply grilled over an open flame to bring out its sweetness.
"Wow, this is honestly better than what you'd buy at a restaurant—!?"
Lee Yu-ri's eyes sparkled as she worked her chopsticks.
"Mm, i-it's definitely... It really is good enough to pay money for...."
"Do-hee has a talent for cooking too—!? She's amazing—like a professional chef!"
And just like that, everyone forgot the awkwardness, and a pleasant mood settled over the dinner as they enjoyed the meal.
On the other hand, I, the one who had organized this get-together, wore a stern, solemn, and serious expression as I stared at the dishes before me.
Fine, I'll admit it.
Honestly, it looks the part.
In the soft tofu stew, chili oil and the soft-cooked egg yolk harmonized, sending up white steam,
and the fluffy steamed egg, bouncy like pudding, was topped with finely chopped green onions that added an artistic touch.
But the absolute best among them was the spicy stir-fried pork.
The smoky flavor was so deeply infused that, right from the smell, it boldly proclaimed this was no ordinary food.
'However, it's ultimately just looks. Ordinary, run-of-the-mill cooking cannot satisfy me.'
After all, aren't these taste buds seasoned by ten years of cooking for myself?
I glared at the food as if I'd been possessed by the sternest judge on a cooking show.
Then I lifted my chopsticks, picked up a piece of the stir-fried pork,
and brought it to my mouth.
Pop.
"......Ah."
An involuntary sigh of admiration escaped me.
I closed my mouth a beat too late, but once it was shut, the taste became even more vivid.
Yes, taste.
Taste is, in the end, stimulation of the tongue delivered to the brain.
The smoky flavor tantalizing my nose and the meat juices bursting between my teeth.
Even though so little seasoning had been used, a savory richness exploded and ravaged my tongue.
And my brain said,
Give me more.
One hundred times out of one hundred.
This food has a taste no one would ever dislike.
"How is it, Yellow Dog."
Kang Do-hee, arms still crossed, tilted her chin up and looked down at me.
A clear gaze looking down on me.
Quiver, quiver—
I chewed at my lip, a surge of defeat rising within me.
The ten years of cooking experience I'd built wouldn't let me lie and call this bad.
"......This time, you win."
I spoke in a voice as small and suppressed as a mosquito's buzz.
Kang Do-hee nodded, as if that was only to be expected.
"I see you've come to understand something. If you want to cook in the future, first study mainstream recipes. Start by following them exactly as they are."
"......Tch."
Could I just let my cooking skills be disparaged like this and stay silent?
Later.
Someday.
There will be another chance.
When that time comes, I will surely have my revenge for this humiliation.
I silently vowed to get even.
"Hoobae. It's okay. No one can be good at everything. I'm full of things I'm bad at too."
At that moment, Im Ga-eul gently spoke from beside me, patting my shoulder.
I turned dead eyes toward her.
"They say failure is the mother of success, right? If you keep at it...."
"......You didn't even try it, sunbae...."
"Th-that's, ho-hoobae! You just, you just have a lot of mothers! Mm! The more the better!"
Flustered, Im Ga-eul averted her gaze and made a mom joke.
*
Anyway, the cooking incident at the dinner party was thus brought to a close by Kang Do-hee's proper education.
In any case, as I had originally intended, the awkwardness between the party members was gone, and the atmosphere had become a not-unpleasant one of eating and drinking together.
'Yeah, it feels like I was used as the sacrificial lamb, but this is the result I wanted. So, I'll just say it's a win....'
I forcibly pulled my sinking spirits back together. Then, watching them, I spoke up.
"For now, the five of us will be the initial members of our party."
The party members all turned their heads towards me. Hearing that, Shin Se-hee asked a question.
"Hmm? But we still don't have a Healer in our party. And since I'm not a combat role either, shouldn't we be looking for a Special separately?"
"Mm, I'm planning to find a Healer slowly, later on. And a Special even later than that. I'm sorry, but until then, I'd like us to use potions. You all have Subspace storage now anyway."
"Then can't we just find temporary party members separately?"
Lee Yu-ri asked me.
She meant like how she had taken me as a temporary party member in Camela Forest.
I thought about Lee Yu-ri's question for a moment.
'Temporary party members, huh... She's asking if we can just recruit people and then use and ignore them however we want, like in the game....'
Well, it's not a bad idea. Most Velvetsra Players proceed through the game that way.
But the conclusion I reached after mulling it over was so firmly settled within me that I even surprised myself.
I shook my head firmly.
"No, I won't be looking for anyone separately. If they aren't someone who'll be with us from the beginning to the end, I'm not bringing them into the party."