The Star Chef Who Fell to Another World
Another world.
"The number one chef on this year's brand reputation rankings — Chef Han Jungwoo!"
My name was everywhere the moment you turned on a TV or opened a browser. That's right — I was, at this very moment, the most popular celebrity chef in all of South Korea.
I'd built a restaurant bearing my own name into a runaway success, won a famous televised cooking competition, and recently launched a personal YouTube channel that blew past a million subscribers in the blink of an eye. I was in the full swing of my golden years, busier than I could keep up with.
Of course, even though everything looked this dazzling now, it hadn't been a hit from the start. My parents passed away early, and I'd crossed the ocean alone to start from the very bottom. There were days when I was ground down by racism and treated like a dog, days when I wasn't even paid properly.
But after years of rolling around in the dirt, life finally began to flow my way — as if rewarding all that suffering — and now here I was, drinking beer in an apartment overlooking the Han River, gazing out at the night skyline.
"Phew. Another brutal day."
A single can of beer after wrapping up a packed schedule… this was the life. So I really did make it, didn't I.
Looking at the gold play button on the shelf, the designer furniture, the collection of sneakers lined up around the room, my success hit me all over again. Time to try something new… maybe a trip.
I'd been running flat out all this time; a little rest wouldn't hurt now. I'd earned plenty of money, so I found myself thinking I'd travel abroad here and there for a while.
Yeah, let's take a trip… somewhere really far away…
A pleasant buzz spread warmth through my whole body, and drowsiness came pouring down over me. Unable to fight it, I drifted off right there in my chair.
And when I opened my eyes, a world spread out before me that looked nothing like the Seoul I knew.
"What the hell is this?"
The scenery in front of me looked like something straight out of a medieval fantasy. Pointy-eared elves strolled by carrying bows, and burly warriors swaggered around wielding axes as big as their own bodies. I even spotted what looked like beastfolk — people with cat ears and tails — out in the streets.
Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?
At first, I couldn't believe what was happening and wondered if it was all some elaborate, mean-spirited joke. I wandered wherever my feet would take me, until a bad feeling crept over me and cold sweat broke out on my skin.
No way…
Having grown up loving anime and manga, I knew exactly what this phenomenon was. Isekai — otherworld transmigration.
It was a common setup in novels and comics: the protagonist abruptly dumped into a fantasy world. Of course it was absurd on its face, but nothing else could explain my situation.
"Stop messing with me… why me, of all people…"
Sure, I'd said I wanted to travel somewhere far away — but I never asked to be shipped off to some other world. Come to think of it, there were plenty of people out there who actually dreamed of this stuff. So why drag me, someone perfectly content with real life, into it?
"Goddammit! I want to go home!"
As I roamed the streets, I finally couldn't hold it in anymore — I dropped to my knees on the pavement and screamed.
Everything I had built, gone overnight… The fact that I was still holding onto my sanity at all was a miracle in itself.
And then, in the middle of my despair, one thought popped into my head. Right! You don't get thrown into another world empty-handed. Surely I'd been granted some cheat ability or special talent.
Thinking of every isekai novel I'd ever read, I shouted at the empty air.
"Status window!"
"…"
"System!"
"…"
"Inventory! Stats! Info panel!"
"…"
"Seriously? Nothing at all?"
I felt genuinely, profoundly betrayed. What the hell was I supposed to do, dumped bare-handed into a fantasy world with no powers whatsoever?
Still, in the middle of all that hopelessness, a thought crept in: I had to at least try something. Sitting still like this would drive me crazy with anxiety.
Okay. Just start moving.
I looked around for someone to talk to, but everyone looked so menacing and frightening that I couldn't get a word out. Eventually, I sidled up to a street merchant who looked slightly more approachable than the rest.
"Excuse me… could you tell me what city this is?"
It was a suspicious question, sure — but I had no spare brainpower to worry about that now.
"What do you mean, where? This is Palrein, the Labyrinth City. You a foreigner?"
The Labyrinth City?
The merchant's words made my head swim. Damn it all. If I'd at least fallen into some peaceable romance-novel kingdom, fine — but a world with labyrinths crawling in it? No wonder I'd been seeing so many people walking around armed.
"If you're here for work requests, head over to the guild hall over there."
I followed the merchant's gesture and saw an enormous building looming in the middle of the street, two or three times the size of everything around it.
There was nothing else I could do for the moment, so I decided to check out this guild first. I headed straight over and pushed through its doors — and to my surprise, the interior, which I'd expected to be bustling, looked rather quiet.
I approached the receptionist standing right in front of me and spoke up carefully.
"Um, excuse me…"
"Yes. All requests for today have been closed out, so please come back tomorrow."
The receptionist answered without so much as glancing in my direction, visibly annoyed. So that's why there was no one around — the requests had all been snapped up. Maybe, like a temp agency back home, you had to show up early in the morning to get work. Even in another world, the job market was cutthroat. Setting my questions aside for the moment, I pressed on.
"No, that's not it — I've just arrived in this city, and—"
"Ah, in that case, first make a guild registration card, then take requests. The issuance fee is 1,000 copper."
"…I don't have any money."
"…I'm sorry, what?"
"Can't I work without one of those cards?"
"Ah… no, sir. We only serve as an intermediary. Without registering, we cannot provide you with any requests."
And so I found myself all but shooed out of the guild hall. On the bright side, when I'd peppered the receptionist with questions, it had become clear that this world wasn't some hardcore hellscape where monsters invaded the streets and wars broke out every other month.
But that didn't make my desperate situation any less desperate. A guy who'd spent his whole life cooking suddenly trying to hunt monsters was practically suicide — and flat broke as I was, I had no idea what to do next.
"I guess I'll have to get a job at a restaurant…"
Cooking was the only thing I knew how to do, so working at an eatery it was. The thought of starting over from the bottom rung again made me dizzy, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and I resolved to go door to door looking for work.
- What? You want me to hire you? What exactly about you makes me think you can do the job?
- You don't even look strong. Get lost.
But as you can see — outright rejection, every single door. God, I missed the real world. Another worlds are cold, man. Really cold.
Yeah, might as well just lie down and die~
I gave up on everything and flopped onto the pavement. I didn't even understand why I had to suffer like this. I had nowhere to sleep tonight, and the road ahead just kept getting darker.
*Grrroowl.*
And my stomach was growling on top of everything else.
Hours must have slipped by, because the sun went down and evening settled in. A few drunks were already stumbling around, the air was starting to bite with cold, and my anxiety swelled with every passing minute.
They say you don't live long sleeping on the streets here. I'd told myself death was better than dishonor, but the truth was… I desperately, desperately wanted to live. Sniffling against the cold wind, I sank deep into thought about what on earth I could do.
That was when someone suddenly appeared in front of me and spoke.
"Excuse me… are you all right?"
"…"
I lifted my head to find a woman looking down at me.
"Would you like something to eat? Even just a little?"
An angel?
In this other world that had offered me nothing but despair, an angel had suddenly appeared — and my mind snapped wide awake.
"Yes! Please, thank you so much!"
I bowed my head with all the politeness I could muster. She looked me over — pathetic, groveling creature that I was — then quietly walked away and opened the door of a shabby-looking shop.
"…I don't know what your circumstances are, but come in for now."
I'm saved.
For a second I nearly crawled in on all fours like a dog, but I barely wrestled my dignity back under control and walked in like a human being.
Inside, I found a fairly spacious dining room lined with wooden tables. It was nothing fancy or upscale, but the timber-filled interior gave off a warm, cozy sort of feel.
"There are no other customers anyway, so sit wherever you like."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Just then—
From the back of the restaurant, a huge man came stalking out.
"Ciel."
He was built like a bear, with a scowl that could curdle milk. In one hand, he carried a massive blade — something like a Chinese cleaver.
"And what is that supposed to be now?"
The woman answered with a slightly troubled look on her face.
"He was collapsed in the street. I thought he really might die if I left him there…"
"Ha… how many times have I told you to stop dragging home beggars? This isn't a soup kitchen."
"Haha… I'm sorry."
Intimidated by the unwelcoming atmosphere and the mountain of a man, I kept my head down and slid quietly into a seat.
"Hey. You. Bum."
"…Y-yes sir!"
When the big man bellowed at me, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Feeding you for free happens exactly once. If you come back here begging for food again, next time I'll kill you."
"…Understood, sir. It won't happen again."
Damn it. Being treated like a beggar stung, but I forced a smile and didn't let it show. You know what they say — never spit into a smiling face.
"Tch."
The man clucked his tongue and disappeared back into the kitchen, looking none too pleased.
"Haha… startled you, didn't he? That's my uncle, Bran. I'm Ciel. Please, have a seat and wait just a moment."
With that, Ciel headed into the kitchen, and I sat there alone, taking in the restaurant while I waited.
It wasn't glamorous or luxurious by any stretch, but the wooden interior carried a warmth to it — a snug, homey atmosphere.
Out of pure professional habit, I ran my fingers along the window frames. There was barely a speck of dust anywhere; the place was quite well kept, all things considered.
Before long, Ciel returned and set down in front of me, on an old wooden tray, a single slice of bread and a thin, watery stew.
"Here, eat. I'm sorry I can't give you more."
"Not at all! This alone is more than I deserve!"
With trembling hands I picked up the bread, dunked it hurriedly in the stew, and shoved it into my mouth. She settled into the chair across from me, watched me for a moment, then spoke up.
"The restaurant's gotten a bit quiet, hasn't it?"
Now that she mentioned it, there wasn't a single other soul in the place besides me. From what I'd seen of the drunk crowds and the other establishments on the street, this should have been the golden hour.
"It didn't used to be like this, you know. Business was actually quite good once upon a time — my mother was a wonderful cook."
Ciel continued with a wry smile.
"But… since Mother passed away, my uncle and I have been keeping it running, here and there and the best we can… and it just hasn't been as easy as we'd hoped."
I listened with one ear while furiously shoveling food into my mouth with the other.
"Goodness, look at me pouring my heart out to a beggar. Please, forget I said anything."
Only after I'd eaten my fill did Ciel's face finally register with me. Gleaming silver hair, woven into a braid. Not a single ornament or flourish on her — yet she was unmistakably, strikingly beautiful. Yeah. Nothing drives it home quite like this: I really am in another world.
"So, how was the food? Was it all right? I did learn quite a bit just watching over Mother's shoulder, you know."
I'd been staring at her face, lost in my own head for a moment, but I snapped back to myself, swallowed the mouthful of food I'd packed in, and answered honestly.
"Mm. Honestly? It doesn't taste very good."
"…"
And with that, a long, long silence settled over the table.