Chapter 118
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 118
Chapter Title Choosing Favorite Cafe Menus
There were several noteworthy parts in the system.
First, a new item had been added to all quest and achievement rewards.
It was System Damage Recovery.
For the linked quest that had just popped up, clearing it would recover 1 of the damage.
That meant I had to achieve 100 system damage recovery within two years to prevent the system from disappearing in a catastrophe.
In short, I absolutely could not fail any quests.
Up until now, the only penalties were drops in my stats, but since the reward system itself has changed a bit, it wouldnt be strange if other penalties appeared. For example, reducing the recovered damage percentage again.
It would be the most vicious of vicious penalties, but I had to always prepare for the worstcase scenario.
That way, precise analysis was possible, and even if a bad situation arose, quick countermeasures could be taken.
For now, in the case of this linked quest, the damage recovery percentage was extremely low.
It was safe to say it was at the absolute lowest level.
Probably because making coffee wasnt that important to an idols fame.
I checked one of the locked achievements.
Achievement,
Reward Passive Skill EXP Gain Ticket Large x3, System Damage Recovery 13
For the achievement of collecting a whopping 15 number one trophies from a music show, there was a huge reward.
It could recover 13 of the system damage in one go, and it even gave three passive skill EXP gain tickets.
In other words, the more important the achievement or quest was to an idol career, the more generous the rewards became accordingly.
Even small percentages are precious, so the fact that I have to clear all quests without fail from now on remains unchanged.
I pondered deeply while looking at the paper in front of me.
The item I needed to write was My favorite cafe menu.
Considering my tastes from my previous life... as expected, sweet chocolate cake types were the best.
But the problem was that I had zero experience in baking, let alone cakes, in my life.
My quest is to successfully make the menu. Since the criterion for successful is vague, I should prioritize making sure it tastes good first.
Choosing a lowrisk menu would make clearing the quest easier.
But since I didnt know the recipes or difficulties of all the menus...
I had no choice but to make an educated guess.
Going with the most universal menu, Americano.
Unlike me, who was thinking as analytically as possible, the others were freely writing down their preferences.
I love mint chocolate frappe! Whenever I go to a cafe, I only get frappe menus.
Im strawberry smoothie. I dont really like stuff with caffeine.
Thats unexpected. I thought hyung was the most mature, so youd like coffee.
Are you teasing me for being old?
At Song Hyeongbins words, Chae Eungyu playfully bristled.
Then, the quickwitted Kang Siyoon quickly stated his own preference to defuse the situation.
I dont like caffeine much either! Im in the same noncaffeine faction as Eungyu hyungnim, and my favorite menu is peach iced tea!
Hey, saying it like that is even more mocking hyung!
Aw, Hyeongbin hyung. How can you say that? Youll give it away.
Wow, Kang Siyoon is even worse than I thought?
While everyone was cracking up at Kang Siyoons words, I was sighing inwardly.
Ah, iced tea! Iced tea can just be poured from a storebought bottle into a cup. Why didnt I think of that first?
The easiest menu had been snatched away all too easily.
With no other choice, I stuck to my original plan and chose Americano.
Karis is Americano. It somehow suits you?
Ive already got a menu name in mind. Kariss Charisma Overflowing Americano. Hows that? Sounds like the perfect collab cafe menu name, right?
Dont joke around with my name and food, Siyoon.
Siyoons idea is pretty good, though?
See? Even Eungyu hyung says its a good idea, man! Why are you ignoring hyungs sense!
......Fine.
Outnumbered in a oneagainstall battle, I had no choice but to raise both hands in surrender.
Kang Siyoons naming style was adopted asis, and the other members menu names were decided one after another.
Heo Yubins Surprisingly Charming Mint Chocolate Frappe. Hows this?
DDo I have surprising charm?
Of course. Youre usually so timid like this, but then you transform on stage?
I dont transformmm!
The remaining ones were Song Hyeongbin, Yu Minha, and Ji Yooncheols menus.
First, Yu Minha raised his hand and announced loudly.
Real men always go for espresso, no question! You have to feel the pure bitterness of coffee and savor the depth of the beans to say youve had coffee. Mixing in other stuff to make it sweet doesnt count as coffee!
So Minhas making espresso then?
Ill make that espresso hot and bold!
But even in Italy, they put sugar in espresso.
Yu Minhas passionate eloquence kicked in without fail once again.
Of course, Song Hyeongbins comment was naturally buried under his enthusiasm.
So there wasnt much need to agonize over the menu name.
Yu Minhas Hot and Fiery Espresso was decided, and then Song Hyeongbin picked an unexpected menu.
Youre serious, Hyeongbin hyung?
Yeah.
You really drink yuzu tea the most at cafes?
Yuzu tea is so sweet and delicious.
He was the only one among us who chose a tea.
Everyone threw questions at Song Hyeongbin for not picking coffee or a smoothie, but I kept thinking only about the preparation difficulty.
Tea isnt bad, but there might be the hassle of brewing it repeatedly. But unlike fruit drinks, theres no need to blend anything, so it could be a bit easier.
Now, the only one left was Ji Yooncheol.
As all eyes turned to him, Ji Yooncheol cleared his throat and quietly said.
......I actually like cake the most.
Cake?
Yeah. Tiramisu cake is delicious.
Since the cafe sold cake too, it was a perfectly valid choice.
The other members seemed to have momentarily forgotten about cakes since they only picked drinks.
Ah, right. We could pick desserts too.
I was thinking drinks only since its a cafe.
But Yooncheol, have you ever made a cake before?
Chae Eungyu asked the most important question.
Ji Yooncheol flinched for a moment.
......No?
Making a cake might be a bit tough. Maybe pick something else.
Nah, no way, no way! Once youve picked it, you gotta stick with it.
Huh?
Kang Siyoon winked at Chae Eungyu and whispered softly.
We gotta get some variety show footage too.
My sharp hearing caught Kang Siyoons words perfectly.
What a terrifying guy.
Even if he was the maknae, was he just going to let him take the hard path if the variety show god descended?
The person in question, Ji Yooncheol, was blinking innocently, clueless.
In the end, without any changes, the Celeste debut commemorative cafe menus were finalized.
The manager hyung, who returned to the dorm after being notified that the menu writing was complete, praised our hard work and detailed the upcoming schedule.
You might be a bit busy since reality show filming and debut song practice will overlap. And as soon as the reality filming ends, fullscale music video production will start. A road manager will be assigned then, so just focus on filming and practice without worry.
Just hearing music video makes me so excited.
Honestly, it still feels like were filming Idol Training Simulation.... I wont believe its real until I hear the debut song.
Then thats good news.
Manager hyung smiled at Song Hyeongbins words.
Theres a meeting tomorrow at 9 AM with the content production team and AR team. Theyll probably play the songs theyve selected as debut candidates, then decide on the title track. After the meeting, well grab a quick bite and head to the cooking class for reality filming.
Debut song!
Heo Yubin sparkled with excitement, beaming brightly.
As someone with the composer trait, he got incredibly hyped whenever songrelated topics came up.
Especially since it meant hearing Celestes first title track.
It was only natural for him to be more excited than usual.
The mention of deciding the title track means theyve prepared songs in advance.
Sigma Entertainment seemed to have made all the preparations for Celeste.
I hadnt imagined theyd handle these essentials to this extent.
Of course, the quality of the songs was the most important part.
Narrowing it down to candidates meant at least two or more tracks were ready.
After the song is decided, lyrics and choreography will be finalized sequentially, so until then, just focus hard on debut cafe prep.
Yes!
With a final reminder not to stay up too late, manager hyung left the dorm.
Alright, everyone must be hungry. Should I make some snacks?
You know how to cook, Siyoon?
We have eyewitness Karis von Walden here, who tasted my fantastical cooking. Karis, care to share your impressions from back then?
Kang Siyoon looked at me with a cheeky sparkle in his eyes.
I nodded, recalling the pasta Id tasted before.
It was tastier than pasta from a regular restaurant.
Whoa, jackpot.
I want to try hyungnims cooking too!
Thanks for the enthusiastic support, everyone. First, I need to check what ingredients we have in the dorm and decide what to make.
I headed to the kitchen with Kang Siyoon.
Opening the fridge first, yet another unexpected sight greeted us.
It was packed full of abundant ingredients.
Seeing the fresh meat, Kang Siyoon murmured lowly.
Karis. Honestly, I didnt have high expectations for our company.
Same here.
But seeing this changed my mind. Preparing this much 1 Hanwoo sirloin in the dorm? Our company folks are truly respectable.
I wondered if his evaluation was changing too drastically in realtime.
But with this level of preparedness, it was understandable.
I later learned from manager hyung that the Hanwoo in the fridge was bought for a group barbecue tomorrow.
He hadnt anticipated wed rummage through the fridge on our first day moving in and cook for ourselves.
Still, it made for great reality show material, so manager hyung seemed satisfied.
After filling our bellies with meat, we dispersed to our rooms for some sweet rest in a while.
As I sat on the bed doing some light stretching, Ji Yooncheol was across from me, hugging a rabbit doll and intently searching something on his phone.
What are you looking up so seriously, Yooncheol?
......Tiramisu cake.
Cake?
Ji Yooncheol rested his chin on the doll and nodded glumly.
His drooping eyes made him look like a cat soaked in water.
Like Hyeongbin hyung said, I have to make it myself.
Right.
Its hard, so I looked up recipes just in case......
Ji Yooncheol trailed off.
From his dejected look, the difficulty was as stacked as expected.
I got up from the bed and walked over to Ji Yooncheol.
I need to load the info into my head in advance for tomorrow.
......Pardon?
Lets memorize the basic preparation method before bed tonight.
......Yes.