The Long-Awaited Delivery

"Ah, when is it going to get here?" I muttered, craning my neck as I portioned out the special item I had painstakingly prepared onto a tray. I was waiting for someone with bated breath.

Rattle, rattle, clatter!

A noise echoed from the distance. At the sound of wooden wheels jolting against the stone pavement, my head snapped up. Finally, it's here!

I dashed out of the kitchen and spotted the cart driver waiting at the back of the Outer Dining Hall. He was leaning against a massive, cloth-covered cart, panting heavily to catch his breath.

"Good heavens, I was shocked when I got your order. Are you really planning to use this much?" the driver asked, wiping sweat from his brow. He had hauled the heavy load all the way from the West Gate to the Outer Dining Hall. I simply shrugged.

"It's only half a cow's worth of meat."

"That's exactly why it's a problem! Who on earth is going to eat all that beef?"

"Come on. I'm actually worried it won't be enough."

"What? How could half a cow not be enough? I mean, as long as I get paid, it's fine by me, but... is the Chief Chef really going to use all of this...?" The driver trailed off, his eyes screaming, Are you insane? I slowly nodded. Isn't more meat always better?

I pulled back the cloth covering the cart, revealing a mountain of deep crimson meat, each slab larger than an adult's head. Just looking at it made my mouth water; the quality was absolutely phenomenal.

"The quality looks excellent. How long has it been since it was slaughtered?"

"They were slaughtered just this morning. I went through a lot of trouble to pick only the ones that have never worn a yoke in their lives."

In modern Korea, where tractors ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exist, "cows" are either livestock raised for food or a self-deprecating term used by mobile game players who spend too much money. I was a total cash cow back in the military too. Moo. But things were different in the Central Plains. Here, cattle meant labor. Most cows in this world were used for hard work, meaning their muscles were tough and they had almost no fat, resulting in incredibly chewy, stringy meat.

However, the beef before me was different. The fact that they had never worn a yoke—the wooden bar used to plow fields—meant they were raised strictly for consumption. While they might fall slightly short of famous breeds like Wagyu or Hanwoo, they would still be tender enough to melt in the mouth. Best of all, since they had been slaughtered just this morning, they were the absolute pinnacle of freshness.

Having verified the quality, it was time to move the meat to the kitchen. I called over some servants to haul the slabs inside, which immediately drew gasps of shock from the kitchen staff.

"Oh my goodness! What is all this? Is the Emperor himself paying us a visit?"

"Did some cattle ranch go bankrupt?"

"Are you trying to bankrupt the Outer Dining Hall's budget?" Hey, why is everyone reacting like this?

"Come on, ladies, you're being too harsh. Hearing you talk like that makes me feel like I haven't earned your trust yet."

"Oh, don't be like that, Chief Chef! We're just shocked because we've never seen this much meat at once. Hohoho!"

True, even in the Outer Dining Hall, which fed hundreds of students daily, seeing a literal mountain of meat was an incredibly rare sight. I cleared my throat and addressed the cooks and the servants waiting a short distance away.

"Today, I only need you ladies to do one thing. I'll handle the butchering, so your job is to coat the meat evenly with this. As for the servants, you'll carry the coated meat over to the ovens."

I pointed to a large tray piled high with a mysterious powder. It was reddish overall, but a closer look revealed a blend of various grains and particles of different colors and sizes.

"Put on some gloves and rub this powder all over the meat until the surface is completely covered."

With those instructions, I began trimming the silver skin and excess fat from the meat with a razor-sharp knife. The cut of beef I had ordered was brisket. In Korean butchery terms, this cut encompasses the melt-in-your-mouth short plate, the brisket point, the brisket flat, and the flank. No matter how well-raised a cow is, the brisket supports the massive weight of its body, making it a relatively tough cut of meat. Consequently, it wasn't a popular choice. If people ate it at all, they usually boiled it for hours to make soup. So why did I choose such a tough cut? I had my reasons.

"Chef Yoon, there's still quite a bit of fat on this meat. Is that alright?" Mrs. Geum asked, pointing to the slab I had just handed her. Indeed, a thick layer of white fat still clung to the trimmed meat.

"Ah, it's perfectly fine. We need at least this much for it to turn out rich and juicy."

"Oh my, you're keeping all of that?"

"Of course. This thick layer of fat is going to play a crucial role. Just wait and see—it'll blow your mind."

For any other dish, I would have trimmed it off meticulously, but this recipe required fat. While not exactly a secret weapon, it would heavily influence the final flavor. Since my culinary advice had never steered them wrong, the three cooks nodded and began rubbing the powder onto the trimmed brisket. Later, I'd have to set aside a couple of slabs for the ladies and the hard-working servants hauling the meat. It would be a tragedy if they didn't get to taste this.

As I was busy preparing, a prickling sensation washed over the back of my neck. Ah, is that spy guy back to watch me again? I don't have time to make him tea cookies right now. With that thought, I whipped around, only to find an entirely unexpected person staring intently at me.

"...What brings you here?"

"I heard that the vice-commander of the Hidden Shadow Unit—someone whose stealth techniques are second to none in the Sacred Cult—was bribed with tea cookies and chased away."

Standing by the entrance of the Outer Dining Hall with a pout on her face was a breathtaking beauty. It was Seonwoo Seol, the Little Heavenly Demon. The only person I had ever bribed with dasik was that spy from before. But that guy was the second-in-command of some elite unit?

"You mean... the man who was watching me from the storehouse?"

"Exactly. He is the vice-commander of the Hidden Shadow Unit."

The Hidden Shadow Unit? Uh... this was getting a bit chilling. Was it the same Hidden Shadow Unit I was thinking of?

"Is that Hidden Shadow Unit the Hidden Shadow Unit?"

"I don't know what you mean by 'the Hidden Shadow Unit,' but there is only one Hidden Shadow Unit in the Sacred Cult, and they are our elite stealth force."

"..."

Although they were the most secretive special unit in the Demonic Cult, their exact operations remained shrouded in mystery. All the public knew was their name and their legendary mastery of the Eunjam-sul stealth technique. Since the vice-commander's stealth had been easily detected, it was only natural for Seonwoo Seol to be suspicious. I was completely cornered.

"I knew there was something off about you, Chef Yoon. How on earth did you detect the stealth of the Hidden Shadow Unit's vice-commander?"

I couldn't pretend I hadn't seen him when he was practically standing right there, nor could I take back what I had already said. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Well, maybe the martial arts I learned are just unique?"

"And of course, you're not going to tell me what kind of martial arts they are?"

"Well, obviously. Who goes around sharing their martial secrets with strangers?"

"It sounds like a poor excuse to me. Isn't it actually because your own stealth skills surpass those of the Hidden Shadow Unit?"

Seriously, she was making wild accusations just because she was pretty. Seeing her constantly trying to frame an innocent citizen like me as a spy made me feel like the ghost of Joseph McCarthy—the guy who accused innocent Americans of being Soviet spies—had possessed her. Begone from Seonwoo Seol's body, Joseph McCarthy! McCarthyism has no place in the Central Plains!

I wanted to throw coarse rock salt at her to exorcise McCarthy's spirit, but doing so would likely get me strung up from the ceiling. I decided to rely on my silver tongue instead.

"If you twist the facts like that, anyone could look guilty. Didn't I tell you? You should investigate first instead of jumping to conclusions."

"I was trying to investigate, but then you went and spotted my vice-commander!"

"I can't pretend I don't see something that's clearly visible, can I? Besides, if I were actually a spy, I would have tried to exploit the fact that he was watching me."

"How would you exploit it?"

"Well, for instance, I could leak false rumors or pretend something is my weakness when it actually isn't. There are plenty of ways."

Wow, I'm teaching the future Little Heavenly Demon some great tricks. Realizing my blunder, I shut my mouth and focused on trimming the meat. Seonwoo Seol narrowed her eyes.

"Why did you stop talking?"

"Because I need to focus on the meat. You're going to eat this too, Little Heavenly Demon, so I have to be extra careful."

"And what exactly are you carefully rubbing onto it?"

"Spices. The budget was a bit tight, so I even spent some of my own money to buy them."

The powder I had instructed the three cooks to rub onto the meat was indeed a spice rub. It was a blend of nine different ingredients, selected specifically for their rich, aromatic profiles.

"It's not poison, is it?"

"Hey, now you're crossing the line. I became a chef to nourish people, not to kill them. If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you're just going to keep disrupting my work, please leave the Outer Dining Hall."

Tsk, you shouldn't talk to your elders like that! When I scolded her, Seonwoo Seol pouted again.

"Fine, I won't disrupt you. But what kind of dish are you making that requires so many spices?"

"I'm going head-to-head with the Inner Dining Hall using the dish for the entrance ceremony. This is the prep work for it."

Barely listening to my answer, Seonwoo Seol walked over to where the three cooks were working. She sniffed the air, then began counting on her fingers.

"Cumin, star anise, cloves, sesame seeds... hmm, chili powder, garlic, and scallions."

Well, look at her. She managed to identify almost all the ingredients in my special Central Plains spice rub just by smell? However, she had missed two. One of them was something you couldn't identify by smell anyway. It felt like I finally had the upper hand. So, I decided to be honest.

"You're close, but you missed a couple of ingredients."

"What...? How many did I miss?"

"Two."

"Two? No way!"

"It's true. You missed black pepper and salt. Here, try a taste."

I handed her a bowl that still had a bit of the spice mix clinging to the bottom. Giving me a highly suspicious look, Seonwoo Seol dipped her pinky finger into the bowl and tasted the spice rub.

"...!"

She looked ready to unleash a torrent of complaints, but then she froze, realizing she really had missed those two. Glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, she grumbled an excuse.

"You can't smell salt!"

"But you still missed the black pepper."

"Argh...!"

Realizing she had been outwitted again, she let out a huff that sounded like steam escaping a rice cooker, her lips twitching in frustration. Seeing her look so utterly defeated was incredibly satisfying. I've never been one to lose when it comes to teasing people. Since I was probably the only person in the world who dared to treat the Little Heavenly Demon this way, it was only natural that she was furious.

"But don't worry, the finished dish is going to be absolutely delicious. You can look forward to it."

When I offered her a bright smile, Seonwoo Seol glared at me, her face still a picture of discontent.

"You still haven't told me what kind of dish it is."

"You can't go around spreading rumors about this. Especially not to the Inner Dining Hall."

"I've heard the rumors too. That the Outer and Inner Dining Halls are having a showdown to see who makes better food."

"Which is exactly why you need to keep your lips sealed."

As I hinted that I might let her in on the secret, her pout instantly vanished. Instead, she looked up at me with wide, sparkling eyes full of curiosity. Even the cooks didn't know yet, so I wasn't sure if it was wise to tell her.

"I'm going to smoke it. Slowly, for a very long time."

"How long?"

"An entire day."

"An entire day?!" Shocked by the idea of smoking meat for twenty-four hours, Seonwoo Seol blurted out the question much louder than usual.

"Shh, keep your voice down. The Inner Dining Hall will hear you."

"S-sorry. I was just so surprised... But still, what kind of meat do you smoke for a whole day?"

"The more effort you put into a dish, the more delicious it becomes."

While skill is crucial to elevating a dish, the passage of time can also work wonders. There are plenty of dishes like that in Korea. The boiled beef slices served at ox bone soup restaurants are a prime example. Tough cuts like beef tendon or knee cartilage must be simmered for hours to achieve that perfectly tender, gelatinous texture. By slow-cooking this beef coated in my special Central Plains spice rub, I would transform a tough cut into the most incredibly tender meat imaginable.

As I grinned at the beef I was prepping, Seonwoo Seol spoke in a soft, almost reverent whisper.

"...That's amazing."

"Where did that come from?" I was grateful for the compliment, but her sudden shift in tone was puzzling. Seonwoo Seol stared at me blankly for a moment, then shook her head vigorously and looked down.

"I think I've distracted you too much. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine... I'm just trimming meat right now, so you're not bothering me." It wasn't a difficult task; I could easily do this while chatting. Yet, as she prepared to leave, a strange pang of disappointment washed over me. Ah... this is a bit complicated.

Despite my words, Seonwoo Seol shook her head, gave a polite bow, and vanished from the Outer Dining Hall as quickly as she had arrived. As I stood there thinking about how unpredictable she was, the three cooks crept up beside me.

"My, our Chief Chef really thinks on a completely different level, doesn't he?"

"Exactly. A man who takes his battles seriously and is truly dedicated to his craft is just so handsome."

"And the Little Heavenly Demon noticed it right away too." Huh? What on earth are they talking about?

"What are you ladies talking about?"

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing. Back to work, back to work!"

"But won't the meat burn if we smoke it for a whole day?"

"Especially with all these spices rubbed on it."

"I'll be managing the fire myself to prevent that. But wait, ladies, don't change the subject. What did you mean by those comments earlier?"

"Oh, why do you care so much? We're too busy working to know anything."

"Exactly. Ah, to be young. Hohoho!"

"Hohoho!"

Wow... their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠subject-changing skills are on par with an inertia drift. I gave up trying to understand. It was best to just let it go. The moment I let the ladies set the pace, I'd lose. I decided to focus on the meat instead.

The mountain of meat was fully trimmed, and the cooks had finished coating every piece with my special Central Plains spice rub. Now, the real battle against time began.

I removed the stone slabs from the oven, replaced them with heavy iron grates, and carefully arranged the meat starting from the corners. I made sure to keep the meat as far away from the direct flame as possible. Then, I added white bamboo charcoal and pieces of applewood for smoking before lighting the fire.

"..."

Next, I sealed the oven door ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tightly with iron plates and rice flour dough to prevent any smoke from escaping. The smoking process had officially begun.

From here on out, my only job was to periodically replenish the white bamboo charcoal and applewood chips. For twelve double-hours in Central Plains time—or twenty-four hours in modern time. Was it insane? Absolutely. Staying awake for twenty-four hours straight just for a piece of meat was pure madness. But there was only one reason I was committing to this madness: to create the Central Plains' very first beef brisket barbecue.