Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Tears Over Cottage Pie
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“When’s the food coming?”
“I’m hungry…”
The children, who had arrived early and been waiting, were gradually losing their patience with the delayed dishes.
On top of that, delicious aromas were wafting out from inside the venue as time passed.
The nutty scent of oil, the sweet fragrance of butter, the sizzling smell of roasting meat…
Stimulated by the fragrances teasing their empty stomachs, the children couldn’t hide their anxiety and could only stamp their feet to soothe their desperate hearts.
“Just hold on a little longer, dears. Delicious food will be out soon.”
The accompanying priests tried to comfort the children, but their grumblings didn’t settle easily.
Just as the children’s patience was reaching its limit…
The massive doors of the venue, which had been firmly shut, swung wide open.
“Waaah!”
At that moment, cheers erupted from the children as if they had been holding them in.
“Look! Meat!”
“There’s chocolate too! I want that one!”
“We can really eat that stuff?”
Pancakes dripping with sweet maple syrup.
Sweet-and-tart apricot pie spreading a subtle apricot scent.
Chewy, crispy cookies studded with chocolate chunks.
Beside them, a whole glossy pig barbecue was wheeled out intact, followed by crispy fried meat chunks and meatballs oozing juices.
Faced with the feast laid out before them, the children’s eyes sparkled like jewels.
It was obvious they were dying to shove those delicious foods into their mouths right away.
“Now, order! Let’s keep it orderly.”
The accompanying priests calmed the children and explained patiently.
“We’ll hand out plates to each of you, so line up at the food that looks most delicious. Don’t be greedy and take too much. There’s plenty, so just take what you can eat. Got it?”
“Yes!!”
No sooner had the response rung out than the children grabbed their plates and scattered.
As expected, they flocked to the sweet treats and the meats bubbling with oil.
“Meatballs, please!”
“Cookies for me! The ones with lots of chocolate!”
“Pancakes! Lots of syrup, please!”
The staff positioned at each dish bustled about, scooping food onto the children’s plates at their requests.
Meanwhile, in the waiting room set up at one side of the venue…
The participants were watching the outside scene on the large screen I had installed, their hearts pounding with anxiety.
“Aigoo, why isn’t anyone lining up at our dish…”
“Ah, serve it more generously! At that rate, when will they distribute 10kg giving one piece at a time.”
“Visuals really can’t be ignored. Kids keep gathering at the whole pig roast.”
On the other hand, the teams that had claimed popular dishes patted each other’s shoulders with triumphant expressions.
“See? I told you grilling those pancakes was the right call!”
“Kids can’t resist sweets, huh?”
“At this rate, we’re number one!”
I was recording all of it—their appearances, even their whispered conversations.
‘Man, this mission has too many great scenes.’
Teams blaming and fighting each other, teams despairing with no kids coming.
Dave’s flustered moments during cooking, Meylin’s team’s conviction.
Plus my father’s brutal roasts from earlier…
‘This’ll have to be split into three episodes. Too many unskippable scenes. Haven’t done heavy editing in a while.’
I scanned the orbs with a satisfied smile.
But one orb in particular felt eerily empty.
It was the one showing Meylin’s team’s dish.
Despite countless children taking food, the cottage pie hadn’t diminished at all.
‘Hmm… haven’t even opened for business yet.’
Samuel and Joel were pretending to be calm, but clear anxiety lurked in their eyes.
Meylin, sitting beside them, was biting her lip, staring endlessly at the unchanging pie.
But I was certain.
Meylin wouldn’t be eliminated easily.
Simple logic.
If there are 140 plates of greasy meat and 10 plates of kimchi, which empties first?
Look at what the kids have grabbed most.
Syrup-soaked pancakes, oil-dripping roast, meat fritters.
Heaven in the first couple bites, but queasy after two plates?
What’s needed then?
A fresh tomato sauce to cleanse the palate and mild potatoes.
Once the kids taste it, the tide will turn in an instant.
The issue is who takes the first bite, and when.
If they stuff themselves on other foods first and only then notice the cottage pie, even if they love it, they won’t eat much and plenty might be left.
That’s when it happened.
Amid the swarm of children, one kid stood out particularly.
While others clustered with friends to fetch food, this one wandered alone on the edges.
The child circled among the flashy dishes, searching for something.
Oily meat smells and sweet cookie scents just passed by.
Then, the first place the footsteps stopped was right in front of Meylin’s team’s cottage pie.
“Orb 21! That lone kid right now—follow and film continuously. Don’t miss a single expression!”
No evidence, but my PD instincts hit hard.
That’s the one.
The protagonist to turn this footage into a perfect dopamine festival.
Leo was confused.
In this unfamiliar place vibrating with meat and sugar smells…
A fiercely familiar, nostalgic scent wafted.
‘…Mom?’
Leo’s feet moved on their own.
The massive whole pig roast and sweet pancake smells couldn’t stop the child.
Where Leo halted was a deserted prep station no one sought.
In front of a rustic dish blanketed in white mashed potatoes topped with golden-brown melted cheese.
“This one… please.”
Leo said cautiously.
A tiny voice, but the staffer grinned welcomingly and picked up the ladle.
“Sure thing! First customer, so I’ll give you a big scoop!”
With that, the ladle plunged deep into the dish, scooping up the first chunk.
In that instant, still-warm cheese stretched like threads.
At the same time, hot steam trapped under the potatoes and cheese billowed out, and the tomato sauce aroma exploded everywhere.
A tangy, refreshing scent stimulating the salivary glands—overwhelming enough that nearby kids grabbing other foods paused and looked around.
Leo took the steaming pie and hurried to a corner seat.
For some reason, the heart was pounding fiercely.
With trembling hands, Leo speared potato and sauce together onto a fork and brought it to the mouth.
Mouth filled with soft potato and cheese.
Following that… the tomato sauce flavor flooded in.
Fresh yet subtly sweet, mild and comforting without irritation.
“…Ah.”
In that moment, Leo’s pupils quivered.
“Mom! I don’t wanna eat carrots! They taste bad!”
Little Leo at the table threw a tantrum.
Thanks to Dad’s vegetable stall at the market, leftover veggies always topped their meals.
Hating that, daily side dish complaints.
Watching her son pout and pick out orange carrot chunks, Mom smiled troubledly.
“If you eat everything without being picky now, I’ll make something tasty for dinner without carrots.”
At those words, Leo grudgingly chewed and swallowed the carrot.
And that evening, truly no carrots on the table.
Instead, a slightly thicker-than-usual stew and scramble eggs with an odd color, it seemed.
“Wow! No carrots!”
Leo devoured them without suspicion.
Thinking Mom kept her promise.
Then one afternoon.
Bored Leo sneaked open the kitchen door and witnessed a shocking sight.
Piled on the cutting board like mountains: carrots, onions, eggplants, and such veggies. Mom was mincing them tiny with a knife, almost unrecognizable.
Then frying with meat in the pan, pouring in mashed red tomatoes to completely hide the traces.
“I hate you, Mom!!”
Leo burst into tears and yelled.
“You lied! Said no carrots! You’re a liar!”
Hearing that, Mom dropped the cooking and rushed over, hugging him tight.
Somehow, Mom’s apron smelled cozy and sweet.
“Sorry, Leo. Mom didn’t mean to trick you. I just… wanted our Leo to eat well-rounded and grow strong.”
Mom knelt, met the sniffling Leo’s eyes, and gently patted the child’s back.
“And when you didn’t know veggies were in it… it tasted good, right?”
At those words, Leo unwittingly nodded.
It had definitely been delicious. To the point of anticipating mealtimes every day.
Mom beamed, wiping Leo’s tears.
“That’s what matters. Mom just wants Leo to eat tasty things and stay healthy.”
After that day, Leo gradually lessened his aversion to veggies.
Large-cut carrots still no, but pureed soups and sauces he ate without complaint.
Perhaps thanks to eating balanced without pickiness.
Leo survived.
From the plague that devoured the whole village.
Drip.
A teardrop fell onto the plate.
Leo shoveled the pie frantically, unaware even of crying.
Then, coming to senses, the plate was already empty.
That’s when someone at the next table shouted.
“Hey, that kid’s crying!”
“What? Why’s he suddenly bawling? Crybaby!”
“Dummy, with all that good stuff around, why eat potatoes!”
Kids who’d gathered surrounded Leo, giggling and teasing.
Of all times, the priest was off soothing a kid who’d spilled food at another table.
Normally, Leo would shrink and wait for them to lose interest and leave, but right now only one thought filled his head.
‘I want more.’
Didn’t want to lose this taste.
Leo wiped tears, jumped up energetically, and ran back to Meylin’s team’s serving station.
“More please! Lots!”
The watching kids buzzed.
“What? He’s going again?”
“That good?”
“Potato’s just potato.”
A spiteful kid sneered at Leo’s new plate.
“Hey, gimme that. Let’s see how tasty it is.”
The kid snatched a handful of pie from Leo’s plate and shoved it in his mouth.
Intending to gross out Leo.
“Hey! Don’t eat it! It’s mine! My food!”
Leo lunged screaming, but the pie was already gone down the kid’s throat.
Yet, the thief’s eyes went wide.
“…Huh?”
Expecting nasty to mock Leo…
“Why… is it tasty?”
These kids had already gorged on meat and fritters.
Stomachs churning, mouths oily and clogged.
But the tomato sauce’s fresh acidity washed away the greasiness.
And the finely mashed potatoes settling into the belly eased the bloating.
“Not just a potato lump?”
“Hey, give me a bite too!”
Nearby kids snatched the rest, eyes bulging similarly.
“Wow, really tasty!”
“Not greasy at all!”
The kids eyed each other.
Then, as if on cue, grabbed empty plates and dashed to Meylin’s station.
First three.
Two who sniffed and peeked.
And six worn out from heavy foods, sitting idly.
Thus, a line began forming in front of the formerly empty cottage pie.
“Hahaha! That’s it!”
Watching on the screen, I leapt up cheering victory.
As expected, survival shows bloom with touching stories.
The shunned dish, the boy tearing up eating it.
Even conquering the bullies’ palates—home cooking’s triumph!
What picture could be more perfect?
Whatever backstory, interview later—but probably family memories.
Not all orphans abandoned as babies.
I instructed the staff filming outside.
“Staff there? Recruit that crying kid no matter what! Don’t send him home after—hold him for an interview!”
Air his story on air, and ratings pierce the ceiling to space.
And that cottage pie becomes a legendary sellout menu the day after broadcast.
Amid it, Lucia’s gaze somehow turned to one eyeing food waste with disgust.
Illusion, right?
No reason to despise a kind, honest guy like me.