Chapter 92
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Grand Chef Korea - It Looks... the Same, Though?
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1.
“Kang Yerin. Please return to your spot and stand.”
At Chef Kang Taeyeon's words, I nodded briefly. Then I walked wordlessly through the contestants, my face expressionless.
“Unnie…!”
Yurim looked up at me, her eyes sparkling. I silently placed my hand on her head. Lee Seohwa, who was beside her, approached with a relieved expression.
“It's such a relief you came back! I was worried something might have happened... We were all concerned.”
“Not everyone seemed worried, though.”
I slowly lifted the corner of my mouth and turned my gaze. The contestants who had badmouthed me earlier all had frozen faces.
“...You heard all of that?”
“Who knows.”
I replied with a sly smile. There was no reason to tell them outright.
“...I was worried.”
Han Chaeyun approached me and said.
“Really? That's surprising. I thought you'd want me to be eliminated, Chaeyun-ssi.”
“What I want is to beat you at cooking. Getting you out like this would mean nothing.”
“Mm, good luck then.”
Seeing her burning with competitive spirit, I simply wished her well. Han Chaeyun nodded firmly, steeling her resolve.
“Normally, we would announce pass or fail right after tasting, but...”
Chef Kang Taeyeon continued, scanning the contestants.
“Due to the prolonged discussion over Kang Yerin's elimination, the announcement was delayed. Please forgive us.”
A brief silence fell. I could feel everyone's eyes turning to me all at once.
“Now, we will announce the judging results.”
The moment his voice rang out, the judging hall sank into silence.
Drip-
The space, where even breaths were inaudible, suddenly plunged into darkness. Shortly after, spotlights began dropping one by one over the contestants' heads.
The cold, sharp light clawed at their faces. Everyone held their breath. The tension was so thick it felt like the air itself was freezing.
'They sure love their lighting.'
I chuckled softly and shook my head.
The staging was impeccable. From the viewers' perspective, there'd be no more entertaining scene than this.
“Lee Seohwa-ssi.”
All eyes turned to her at the called name.
“...Yes!”
Lee Seohwa replied in a slightly trembling voice. She was usually bright and spirited, but now her fingertips were shaking.
After a moment of silence, a short phrase slipped from Chef Kang Taeyeon's lips.
“Passed.”
“Th-thank you...!”
Her eyes widened as if they might burst, and she bowed deeply. The light above her head stayed on.
“Kim Minjae-ssi.”
“Yes!”
This time, it was another man's name. He swallowed hard and answered with effort. His body was trembling.
“Failed.”
The cold voice dropped like a stone.
The moment the words ended, the spotlight over him went out. Suddenly, one person vanished.
“Ah...”
A despairing cry burst out.
Soon after, a thud as his knees buckled. The sound of him collapsing. Even his silhouette of despair was swallowed by the thick darkness.
After that, Chef Kang Taeyeon's massacre continued.
“Failed.”
The lights over contestants began extinguishing one by one. Each time, the darkness grew thicker.
“Seol Yurim-ssi.”
“Y-yes...!”
After six more names, finally Yurim's turn. She clasped her hands tightly over her chest, like she was praying.
The moment she held her breath, Chef Kang Taeyeon spoke.
“Passed.”
Yurim's tension melted away, and she slid down to the floor.
“Th-thank you! Thank you so much!”
She bowed repeatedly, her voice choked with tears. Moments later, Chef Kang Taeyeon's gaze shifted to the next person.
“Han Chaeyun-ssi.”
Her name came midway. She stared at Chef Kang Taeyeon with a stoic face, but her lips were trembling.
“Passed.”
“...Thank you.”
Han Chaeyun barely squeezed out the words and bowed deeply. Her shaking shoulders showed just how much tension she'd held back.
'When will they call my name?'
Names were called one by one. Joy and despair. Cheers and silence, light and darkness intertwined like breaths.
In the space tangled with two kinds of tears, lights continued to vanish, and before long, nineteen names had passed.
Only ten lights remained in the judging hall. I could feel the other contestants' eyes all focusing on me.
“Kang Yerin-ssi.”
Chef Kang Taeyeon called my name in a cold voice.
“Passed.”
“Yes.”
Since I already knew, I answered impassively. The others nodded as if they'd expected it too.
Of course, not everyone accepted the result.
“Why the hell did Kang Yerin pass?!”
A man's voice exploded from the darkness. Everyone flinched at the sudden shout.
A red light dropped from the ceiling. It illuminated a man's face, dragging him back onto the judging stage.
'Kim Minjae, was it?'
The first one eliminated. His despair-twisted face was memorable.
“Uh...”
Under the light, he froze in momentary panic. He'd mustered courage hiding in the dark, it seemed. But soon he gritted his teeth and lifted his head again.
“K-Kang Yerin was a candidate for elimination, wasn't she? Then why did she pass?! There wasn't even talk of her being a candidate!”
“Right!”
“It's unfair!”
Murmurs rose around Kim Minjae. Starting low and indistinct, they soon swelled into clear cries of agreement.
Chef Kang Taeyeon watched them silently.
Thud-
With a heavy sound, the red light expanded. It pinpointed their heads and dropped, instantly pulling them back onto the stage.
Some covered their faces, some lifted their heads defiantly. Others twisted their lips into eerie smiles.
“How absurd.”
The space fell silent at Chef Kang Taeyeon's cold voice. The excited failures clamped their mouths shut.
“Deciding passes and fails is the judges' authority. You agreed to that and applied for this.”
He narrowed his eyes and continued.
“And now you're complaining because you don't like the result? Because someone else didn't get eliminated?”
Sarcasm laced the end of his words.
“Have some shame. Kang Yerin passing doesn't mean you survive.”
“We participated believing the judging would be fair!”
“Right!”
Kim Minjae shouted as if he'd been waiting. Voices of agreement followed.
“So you're saying our judging was unfair?”
“Yes!!!”
The two men glared at each other. Chef Kang Taeyeon let out a hollow laugh, a sneer on his lips.
“Kim Minjae-ssi. If you're so aggrieved, I'll show you right here. The difference between you and Kang Yerin.”
He turned and walked toward a staff member nearby. A brief exchange, like giving instructions, then silence.
“...Is this really okay?”
One failure whispered. Uneasy eyes.
“If it's unfair, we have to call it out. Staying quiet like idiots just hurts people like us.”
Kim Minjae gritted his teeth, eyes fixed on me. I didn't avoid it. I stared straight back.
Chef Kang Taeyeon returned to the podium. He held a remote in hand. The noisy hall quieted again.
“Please direct your attention here.”
Chef Kang Taeyeon impassively raised the remote and operated it. The large screen behind lit up, and the first image appeared.
A bright screen with a paper densely filled with writing. The lights dimmed, leaving only the screen illuminating the space.
“This is the ingredient list Chef Moon Taeo used when making the Anjolotti.”
The contestants held their breaths, staring at the screen.
“Written by the chef himself, an internal document never publicly released.”
He clicked the remote to advance.
“This is the ingredient list Kim Minjae-ssi submitted.”
The paper listed various ingredients, but woefully lacking compared to Chef Moon Taeo's. Some missing ones were listed too.
“And this is the one Kang Yerin-ssi submitted.”
“...No way.”
Kim Minjae among the failures showed unease. Soon, a long handwritten ingredient list on A4 paper appeared.
The contestants silently scanned the ingredients on screen. Then one muttered.
“It looks... the same...?”
That single remark thrown into the air plunged the judging hall into silence. No one could follow up, just staring blankly at the screen.
Chef Kang Taeyeon clicked once more. Three images filled the screen.
Chef Moon Taeo's recipe. My submitted list. And finally, Kim Minjae's ingredients. The comparison was crystal clear.
Two matched perfectly without a single discrepancy, but one was utterly different.
“...Impossible.”
Kim Minjae muttered. His face was dyed in despair.
“Kim Minjae-ssi.”
Kang Taeyeon's voice was low but firm.
“Do you admit it now?”
Kim Minjae couldn't speak. His hands shook, lips moved, but no sound came. Finally, he hung his head.
Chef Kang Taeyeon looked up at the failures.
“Let me say it again. There's one reason you failed. You couldn't cook. Your food simply didn't taste good.”
Heads dropped one by one. Some gritted their teeth, some squeezed their eyes shut.
“Nothing more, nothing less. So leave this place. And remember this bitter feeling for the rest of your lives.”
He growled lowly.
“If you want to stand on this stage again, come back with skill. Not by dragging someone else down, but by truly winning. Understand?”
“.........”
“With that, the fifth mission ends. Good work, everyone.”
It was the pathetic end of a pitiful rebellion.