Localization
"Mmm! This is delicious!"
"Seriously! I've never tasted anything like this before."
It was the food Altani had brought.
Exclamations of admiration burst from the mouths of the group as they ate the buuz, commonly known as Mongolian dumplings.
Normally, dumplings were filled with pork or beef.
While buuz had a unique flavor due to the mutton inside,
it wasn't painful to eat like the khorkhog they had tried before.
This is all thanks to Mrs. Heo.
The buuz hadn't tasted like this from the beginning.
In fact, when Dojin first tasted it, he had received a shock similar to the one he got from the khorkhog.
The reason such a dish had transformed into something so savory and delicious
was entirely thanks to Mrs. Heo Mi-yeong's efforts.
Watching Mrs. Heo's back as she worked diligently in the kitchen, Dojin began to recall what had happened just a little while ago.
"It is a taste test. To check before making them in earnest. Please check it, Boss."
Gulp.
Dojin swallowed hard as he faced the buuz Altani held out to him.
Of course, his mouth was definitely not watering from anticipation.
Do people usually ask someone else to do a taste test?
Normally, the cook or their close family members would do it.
But seeing the look on Altani's face, Dojin just picked up the buuz.
Judging by her confident expression,
she seemed quite sure of the flavor despite her humble words.
The taste test was just an excuse;
she simply wanted Dojin to be the first to try it.
Ugh!
Even though he had braced himself, a scream almost escaped his mouth the moment the buuz entered.
The more he chewed, the stronger the gamey smell unique to mutton wafted through his senses.
Just then, a devastating conversation drifted over from Chanarshanhu and Altani.
"How many should I make?"
"Five thousand? Since everyone will eat together, we might make even more."
!!
Dojin's teeth, which had been mechanically chewing the buuz, froze instantly.
Five thousand dumplings that tasted like this?
Just thinking about eating all of them made his future look bleak.
He even felt a sudden surge of resentment toward Jeong Wang, who had needlessly told Chanarshanhu where to buy mutton.
N-No, this won't do.
He felt bad for the expectant Altani, but this was simply unacceptable.
It was much better than the khorkhog,
but there was no need to force themselves to eat this when there were so many other delicious foods.
Besides, hadn't they all just returned to the Sekki House?
Considering the people who had been working hard since the end of the year, Dojin had to tell her the truth here.
It might be awkward between us for a while, but it can't be helped.
Steeling himself, Dojin swallowed the remaining buuz in his mouth all at once.
And just as he was about to open his mouth—
"Oh my, what are these dumplings? You've been busy making something since earlier, so it was this?"
"Ah, Mrs. Heo. Would you like to try one?"
Altani offered a buuz to Mi-yeong, who had just come out of the kitchen.
Altani was normally on friendly terms with the kitchen ladies.
In particular, she got along with Mrs. Heo, the most influential figure among them, almost like an aunt and niece, so her actions were very natural.
"Oh, really? Well, thank you. Don't mind if I do."
Mrs. Heo nodded to Dojin in front of her, picked up a buuz, and popped it straight into her mouth.
Chew, chew, chew.
Chew, chew.
Che... w...?
...
Mrs. Heo's jaw, which had been moving rhythmically, gradually slowed down,
and eventually stopped completely.
And before anyone could say a word, she used her large hand
to smack Altani on the back.
Smack!
"Kyaah! M-Mrs. Heo? Why?"
Startled by the sudden attack, Altani looked at Mrs. Heo with wide eyes.
But instead of explaining, as if her anger wasn't fully appeased, Mrs. Heo immediately delivered another smack.
Smack!
"Kyah?!"
"Sigh! What on earth is this? Altani, what did you put in here?"
"P-Pardon?"
"This won't do. You, follow me inside!"
Glaring at the flustered Altani, Mrs. Heo let out a sigh and dragged her into the kitchen.
"Huh? Wait!"
Her wrist grabbed in an instant, Altani struggled, but shaking off Mrs. Heo's grip was impossible.
Altani might be a woman of the steppes, but Mrs. Heo was a Korean mother who had raised two high school boys.
"..."
"..."
Dazed by the sudden turn of events, Dojin and Chanarshanhu's family quickly followed the two.
Normally, they wouldn't enter the kitchen,
but Mrs. Heo's momentum just now was truly extraordinary.
Just as they expected, Mi-yeong was badgering Altani in a highly agitated state.
"Where is the filling that went inside this?"
"H-Here."
Overwhelmed by Mi-yeong's presence, Altani pointed to a large basin.
It was the basin containing the buuz filling she had been making since dawn.
Checking the basin Altani pointed to, Mi-yeong looked at the filling and asked,
"Tell me exactly what went in here."
Because the ingredients were finely minced, it was impossible to tell just by looking.
At that, Altani listed the ingredients one by one.
After listening quietly to Altani's explanation, Mi-yeong asked in a low voice,
"...Is that it?"
"Yes? Yes, yes."
The moment the answer fell, Mi-yeong's hand smacked Altani's back once more.
Smack!
"Kyaah!"
"Good grief! How could you make dumpling filling like this? No wonder the meat smells so gamey!"
"Y-Yes? But, this isn't a dumpling..."
Startled, Altani quickly explained the name and origin of the dish.
Mi-yeong also looked slightly surprised to learn that what she had eaten was not a dumpling but buuz, a traditional Mongolian dish.
However—
Smack!
"Kyah!"
"It's still basically a Mongolian dumpling. Then you shouldn't make it like this."
"B-But, this is the traditional way..."
Hit on the back again, Altani spoke as if she had been wronged.
But Altani's cries were nothing more than excuses that held no weight with Mrs. Heo.
"No matter how traditional it is, how can people eat it like this? No wonder the Representative was frowning."
"Pardon? Really?"
Altani looked at Dojin with a shocked face.
Huh? Why am I being brought up here?
A look of embarrassment washed over Dojin's face, as he had been caught off guard.
Altani was looking at him with an expression that made it seem as if she had been betrayed.
Fortunately, that confrontation was quickly broken by Mrs. Heo.
Smack!
"Kyah!"
"Pay attention! Seriously, what is this? Altani, have you not learned how to season meat after working with us all this time?"
"Because it's the traditional way..."
"Shh! Are you going to keep bringing up the traditional way? If you're going to be like that, the ingredients here aren't traditional either. Did you bring all of this from Mongolia?"
Shake, shake.
Altani shook her head at Mi-yeong's question.
She felt somewhat wronged, but looking at Mi-yeong's glaring eyes, she couldn't bring herself to argue.
"I'm not saying the traditional way is bad. But you still have to consider the people eating it with you. Even if it's natural to eat it like this in Mongolia, if we're all going to eat it together here, a chef should at least localize it to some extent."
As she spoke, Mi-yeong brought over black pepper, sugar, and red pepper powder, sprinkling them over the basin.
All the while, her mouth continuously imparted lessons to Altani.
"People in our country don't eat mutton much. It has a strong smell. I tasted it just now, and though the smell is milder in this one, the gamey odor is still strong compared to pork or beef. You have to get rid of that. Mince this."
As she spoke, Mi-yeong brought over some garlic chives and handed them to Altani.
Meanwhile, she fetched cooking wine and sesame oil, pouring an appropriate amount into the filling.
Altani, who finely minced the chives and added them to the filling, was also focusing on Mrs. Heo's explanation at some point.
Sniff, sniff.
"Did you make the dumpling wrappers yourself too?"
"Yes."
"How did you season the dough?"
"A little salt."
"Pfft!"
At Altani's explanation, she tore off a bit of the dough, tasted it, and spat it out.
Seeing this, Altani worried that something else might be wrong,
but Mi-yeong's next words were the exact opposite.
"It's not bad. It's a bit bland, but it'll be perfect once combined with the filling."
"Thank you."
Altani looked just like a daughter-in-law having her cooking inspected by her mother-in-law.
The proud figure who had confidently claimed it was a traditional dish just moments ago was nowhere to be found.
And her attitude shifted even further upon seeing the reactions of the people who ate the modified buuz.
"Wow, this is a traditional Mongolian dumpling? It's delicious!"
"We could seriously sell this!"
"Wow, Altani! This is really good!"
They had steamed a batch of buuz as a test.
The security team members who ate them were all busy raising their thumbs in approval, without anyone needing to prompt them.
"Thank you."
Altani bowed her head in response to the compliments coming from all sides.
Now, she had no choice but to admit it.
When they ate the khorkhog, everyone had been as quiet as students in a library.
But now, seeing them react so enthusiastically, she couldn't deny the truth.
"Now, everyone try this too."
Mrs. Heo appeared before Dojin, who was reminiscing about earlier, carrying a new dish.
"Oh? It's rice cake dumpling soup?"
"Well, New Year's Day has already passed, but if you're Korean, you have to eat rice cake soup for the New Year, right?"
Dojin and the rest of the group nodded at Mi-yeong's words.
They had indeed eaten rice cake soup on January 1st.
However, perhaps because the off-duty shift had made it, the taste had been subpar. Somehow sensing this, Mi-yeong had prepared the rice cake dumpling soup.
"Thank you for the—huh? These dumplings...? Mrs. Heo, could this be?"
"Yes, that's right. Whether it's called buuz or bossam, I boiled the soup using the dumplings Altani made. I tried it beforehand, and though the taste is unique, it's quite good."
"Oh! Really? Thank you for the meal."
Dojin picked up his spoon.
There was no need to hesitate when it had Mrs. Heo's stamp of approval.
Slurp! Whew!
Dojin's eyes flew open as he ate the hot broth and the even hotter dumplings.
Mrs. Heo hadn't been wrong at all.
Perhaps due to the unique aroma and texture not found in typical meats,
it tasted like a rice cake dumpling soup he had never experienced before.
The key was that it wasn't strange or offensive; rather, it was actually good.
"This is really delicious! Hurry up and try it."
"Is it that good? Then me too!"
"Thank you for the meal."
At Dojin's high praise, Do-hee and Seung-wan also hurried to move their spoons.
Though they flinched slightly at the new flavor at first, they soon began devouring the rice cake dumpling soup frantically, just like Dojin.
Looking around, it wasn't just them; every table was showing a similar sight.
"Thank you, Mrs. Heo."
Dojin expressed his sincere gratitude to Mi-yeong.
If not for her, they wouldn't have been able to enjoy Mongolian food so comfortably.
We would have either forced ourselves to eat it like with the khorkhog, or I would have had to tell Altani the truth and make things awkward.
Indeed, if she hadn't appeared, Dojin had been planning to tell Altani the truth.
Had he done so, his relationship with Altani would have been awkward for a while.
But thanks to Mi-yeong stepping in, everything was resolved.
The food became delicious, and their relationship didn't become awkward.
"Goodness, no wonder. Everyone was acting strange after Chanarshanhu served that Mongolian dish last time. The taste was weird back then too, wasn't it?"
"Hahaha..."
Dojin laughed awkwardly at Mi-yeong's question.
But Mrs. Heo shook her head as if that was answer enough.
"It's better to speak up clearly next time. If you hide it out of embarrassment, it only becomes harder to say later. Take these dumplings, for instance. Altani spent hours making them, and they almost went to waste."
"..."
"For now, I'll talk to Altani and learn about traditional Mongolian food. Knowing Chanarshanhu's personality, he'll probably offer to treat us to Mongolian food often, and we can't have people feeling troubled every time."
"Thank you."
Touched by Mi-yeong's words, Dojin took her hand.
Of course, he wasn't flirting; he was slipping a pre-prepared envelope into her hand.
"Please use this to have a get-together with the other ladies on your way home."
"Oh my, you shouldn't have! I'll put it to good use, hohoho!"
At Dojin's words, she quickly tucked the envelope into her pocket.
Yet Dojin didn't find this side of her annoying at all.
It's already a lot that she came to work on her day off.
Originally, the kitchen staff didn't need to come in today.
Since today's schedule consisted entirely of moving, they were scheduled to start regular shifts tomorrow.
However, they needed to check the condition of the newly renovated kitchen,
so only a few ladies, including Mi-yeong, had come in.
They could have just gone home after the inspection, but they had even prepared food, so he wanted to show this much appreciation.
Just then, Mi-yeong, who was checking the envelope, spoke up as if she had remembered something.
"Ah, right. You know that eel farm in Mabong-ri? Things are chaotic over there."
"Pardon? Didn't they close down that business?"
The Mabong-ri eel farm had quietly fizzled out after the village chief's family was arrested.
The villagers had sold off all the remaining eels and stopped farming them.
So what is there to be chaotic about?
Dojin wondered for a moment, but Mi-yeong's next words made him realize he had misunderstood.
"Ah, I mean the farm building. It seems no one is managing it. A water pipe must have burst at dawn, because the entire area around the farm has frozen over."
"Ah..."
Dojin nodded in understanding at Mi-yeong's words.
Come to think of it, a cold wave warning was issued a few days ago.
Even in inhabited houses, pipes can easily freeze and burst if one isn't careful.
So it was only natural for problems to arise in a building left completely unattended.
When I saw it last time, the building wasn't even proper; it looked like a makeshift structure thrown together. Places like that are much more susceptible to freezing.
This was something he had felt deeply while working at the factory.
If they stored goods in a temporary structure because they lacked a warehouse, the equipment inside was easily ruined.
"They must be frantic trying to clean it up. If the entire area around the farm is frozen, the scale must be no joke."
At Dojin's words, Mi-yeong shook her head.
"I thought so too, but no one is cleaning it up. In the first place, it's not even a proper road, so they've just abandoned it completely."
"Oh, really? Well, the people there aren't exactly the type to take the initiative..."
Dojin, who was nodding absentmindedly at Mi-yeong's words, suddenly froze.
A fun idea had suddenly crossed his mind.
"Mrs. Heo, by any chance, did the ground just freeze, or did actual ice form?"
"Well... I didn't go close enough to check, but it looked like a solid sheet of ice had formed."
"Really? How thick?"
"Well, maybe about that much?"
In response to Dojin's question, Mi-yeong pointed to the water channel running in front of the cafeteria.
Because not much water flowed in the winter, the channel was completely frozen, and the ice appeared to be about ten to fifteen centimeters thick.
If I play this right, it might actually work.
If it was that thick, it would be more than enough for what Dojin wanted to do.
Dojin's gaze fixed on something in front of the building used as a workshop—
a wooden board about the size of a seat cushion.