Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Yu Seon-yeong's Executive Chef Exposé — Blowing Your Nose Without Lifting a Finger

Ahead of the "Leave It to the Fridge" broadcast.

-Wind Forest Guild Master, S-Rank Hunter Chef An Seon-u, appearing on "Leave It to the Fridge"!

-"Leave It to the Fridge" PD: "You can look forward to Chef An Seon-u's performance. It will exceed expectations."

Articles poured out one after another.

But one article title caught my eye for all the wrong reasons.

-Apprentice of former three-star Pungjeong Chef Ha Yu-seong, 'Chef An Seon-u' deploys on "Leave It to the Fridge"!

There was an article linking me to the Executive Chef.

As expected, appearing on a cooking variety show made it impossible to avoid being associated with that man.

***

The Farm Dungeon I had created for Rin.

Rin had begun growing a great variety of vegetables and fruits inside the dungeon.

She must have felt stifled farming in the cramped yard all this time, because she seemed to be releasing all that pent-up energy in the Farm Dungeon.

"Rin, are you not pushing yourself too hard?"

"I am fine, I am not overdoing it. Because I have to finish farming and go pway with Yeona."

So she was managing her time sensibly to make sure she could play with Yeona afterward.

Ria and I harvested the crops Rin had grown.

Among them was mugwort.

One of the crops I had recommended to Rin.

While picking mugwort, I asked Ria.

"Ria, shall we make mugwort rice cakes?"

"Mugwort rice cakes? I do not think I have tried those."

"Really? Then I will make some for you."

"Sounds great."

I would make mugwort omegi-tteok, mugwort injeolmi, mugwort glutinous rice cakes, and more.

Ria said to me.

"Then shall we snack on mugwort rice cakes while watching the show later?"

"Let us."

Today was the broadcast date for the episode I had appeared in.

After finishing the harvest, our family headed to our home outside the Rift.

I trimmed the mugwort at the dining table.

'What a wonderful aroma.'

Being A-Rank mugwort, the fragrance was exceptional.

Not overpowering, but an elegant, subtle scent.

'Mother loves mugwort too.'

When we had eaten at a traditional Korean full-course restaurant, mugwort soybean paste soup had been served.

While eating it, my mother had recalled memories with my father.

-Your father used to pick fresh mugwort from the fields during our newlywed days and make savory pancakes, soybean paste soup, and mugwort rice cakes. They were so delicious......

She had dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, then said the mugwort soybean paste soup was really delicious as she continued eating.

'I should make not just rice cakes but all sorts of dishes with the mugwort.'

My mother was coming over today anyway.

It was Sunday, so she said she would finish work early.

We had planned to have dinner together and then watch the "Leave It to the Fridge" episode I was in.

'Even after transferring to the Korean branch, she barely takes any days off.'

I was worried she might collapse from overwork.

She was getting on in years too.

She had saved plenty from a lifetime of working.

'Her son has done well for himself too. She could afford to take it easy now.'

But she showed no intention of scaling back her work.

Anyway, the mugwort rice cakes came first.

I blanched the mugwort in boiling water.

I rinsed the blanched mugwort in cold water, squeezed out the moisture firmly, and chopped it finely for the blender.

Into the blender it went with glutinous rice flour.

First pass.

More glutinous rice flour, second pass.

Four passes in total.

I put the blended mugwort and rice flour into a bowl, added Allulose, salt, and water, and kneaded it into dough.

Then I steamed it in a steamer for fifteen minutes.

I transferred the steamed rice cake to a mortar and began pounding.

Ria watched from beside me and asked.

"How long do you need to pound it?"

"The longer you pound, the better it tastes."

Rin had quietly come over to watch.

"Papa, can I twy too?"

"Would you like to?"

I handed the mortar pestle to Rin.

She took it, gripped it with both hands on the floor, and pounded the mugwort rice cake.

The vine around her wrist grew out and wrapped around the pestle, helping her grip it firmly.

"Nice work, sweetheart."

"Hehe! It is fun."

Yeona stood watching her big sister's pounding.

Once the mugwort rice cake was sufficiently chewy, we stopped pounding.

I rolled the mugwort rice cake flat with a rolling pin, placed red bean paste inside, folded it closed, and shaped it into round balls.

That completed the mugwort glutinous rice cakes.

Next, I cut some mugwort rice cake into squares and coated them in soybean flour for mugwort glutinous rice injeolmi.

And by rolling the already-shaped round mugwort glutinous rice cakes in boiled red beans, they became omegi-tteok. Rolling them over black sesame or seeds made black sesame omegi-tteok or seed omegi-tteok.

"It wooks dewicious."

Rin was eyeing the rice cakes hungrily.

Mugwort rice cakes contained only plant-based ingredients, so Rin could eat them.

"Rin, want to try one?"

"Yesh!"

"If you eat it all at once, it might get stuck in your throat, so take small bites."

"Okay, I will eat it wittle by wittle!"

I gave Rin one mugwort glutinous rice cake.

She took it and began chewing away.

Would Rin like the mugwort flavor?

Adults could handle the slightly bitter taste without issue.

But children sometimes disliked the flavor of mugwort.

"Wow, the mugwort smells weally good! It is dewicious."

Thankfully, no aversion at all.

She loved it, in fact.

Being a Dryad, she naturally liked the scent of plants.

Ria also tried a mugwort glutinous rice cake.

"This is even better than I expected. The aroma really is wonderful, just like Rin said."

"Is it? I should try one too."

I tasted one as well.

The mugwort aroma was undeniably refined.

As expected, A-Rank mugwort grown by a Dryad had a fragrance that was in a league of its own.

With the mugwort rice cakes done.

Time to start preparing dinner in earnest.

Ria helped me prepare beside me.

"I want to cook for Mother-in-law too."

That was her reason.

Ria still looked after her mother-in-law better than I, her own son, did.

Anyway, tonight's dinner menu was mugwort savory pancakes and mugwort soybean paste soup.

Barley-dried yellow corvina, stir-fried baby octopus, grilled deodeok, kimchi, seasoned wild garlic, and acorn jelly salad.

'I prepared foods that Mother enjoys.'

As the food preparations were wrapping up, my mother arrived.

"Gwandma-!"

"Mama!"

The two granddaughters welcomed their grandmother.

My mother hugged them with the happiest expression in the world.

"Oh my, how precious, my little darlings!"

After greetings, we sat down for dinner right away.

My mother was impressed by the spread.

"My goodness, what a feast. This must have been a lot of work to prepare."

"Ria and I made it together. We always eat this well, so please come for meals more often."

"Ho ho! I should. Mugwort soybean paste soup and savory pancakes. This is going to be delicious."

My mother took a sip of the mugwort soybean paste soup.

She hummed appreciatively.

"Mm! The mugwort aroma is wonderful. How is the fragrance this good?"

"Right? It is because Rin grew the mugwort herself."

"Rin did? Our granddaughter is amazing."

"Hehe!"

Rin beamed with pride at her grandmother's praise.

My mother's expression turned wistful as she continued.

"If your father were alive, he would have been overjoyed. Having the world's best little farmer as a granddaughter."

My father had been pushed out of his company and turned to farming.

He used to say he was happier farming than he had ever been at the office, that it suited him.

"He would have. If he were alive, he would have adored Rin."

And so, eating mugwort soybean paste soup and mugwort pancakes, both my mother and I recalled our memories of my father.

After dinner, we sipped tea and rested, and before we knew it, it was time for "Leave It to the Fridge."

We gathered on the living room sofa and turned on the TV.

Our snacks for the viewing were the mugwort rice cakes I had made that day, along with fruit.

"The rice cakes are so delicious, daughter-in-law."

"Are they not? I kept eating them earlier because they were so good. There is plenty, so please have as many as you like."

The show began airing.

My face had not appeared on screen yet.

A moment later, when my face appeared.

"Wow! It is Papa!"

"Dada! Dada!"

My daughters were ecstatic.

'Seeing them this happy, I am glad I did the show.'

Not just the girls, but Ria also covered her mouth with both hands and smiled.

My mother looked pleased as well.

'This is a bit embarrassing.'

The talk segment followed.

'I talked about my wife and daughters more than I realized.'

Ria, watching the TV, had gone red in the face.

"Honestly, you are something else."

"Ha ha......"

Then the cooking battle began.

First, they showed me breaking down the chicken.

SWISH-SWISH! CRACK!

The chicken was dismantled in an instant.

-It was taken apart in the blink of an eye!

-I think we need to see this in slow motion.

Just as the MCs said, they replayed it in slow motion.

My mother nodded watching the replay.

"At normal speed, it happened so fast I could not tell what was going on. Watching in slow motion, I can see now."

After the slow-motion replay, the deboning showcase continued.

The chicken bones separated rapidly.

My mother continued.

"This is definitely a performance never seen before on the show. Only someone like you could pull off that speed and precision, Seon-u."

"It is a performance only possible because he is an Awakened with a high Dexterity stat."

Rin was watching the TV with sparkling eyes, clapping.

"Papa, you are so cool!"

"Ha ha! Rin, is Daddy cool?"

"Yesh! My daddy is the coolest ever!"

For the first time, Rin called me "daddy" instead of "Papa."

She probably said it unconsciously.

The udon-making and all the accompaniment dishes followed in sequence.

The screen time dedicated to my cooking seemed at least 2.5 times the amount shown for my opponent, Chef Seol.

Ria watched the screen and smiled.

"I wonder whose husband that handsome man is."

"My wife, you have got love-blinders on thick."

"He really is handsome."

Hmm, was he that good-looking?

My mother sided with her daughter-in-law.

"Like my daughter-in-law says, I wonder whose son that handsome man is."

Well, the me on screen had received professional makeup and hair styling, so I did not look half bad.

Then I won the competition on screen.

Watching that, Ria and my mother both smacked their lips.

"I want to try that udon."

"Me too."

Making it for them would be easy enough.

"Shall I make it right now? Can you eat more?"

Both shook their heads.

"I want to, but I am too full right now."

"Me too, I cannot eat another bite. After dinner I kept snacking on rice cakes and I am stuffed. Next time, please."

"All right, next time."

The other chefs' battles followed.

My daughters, every time I appeared briefly on screen.

"Yeona, Papa is on!"

"Dada!"

They would cheer with delight.

From that day on, Rin and Yeona rewatched that episode of "Leave It to the Fridge" constantly.

***

The response to my appearance was hot.

The episode recorded a viewership rating of 9.1%, nearly shattering the all-time record.

For about two weeks, my name appeared in entertainment news.

The show's official Mutube channel views also exploded.

"Leave It to the Fridge" uploaded the episode the day after airing.

Over roughly two weeks, my cooking battle clip reached 23 million views.

The edited talk segment hit 11 million.

Among six shorts clips, the highest reached 31 million and the lowest 6 million views.

The massive view counts were partly driven by significant international interest.

'......This is excessive.'

The level of attention was overwhelming.

As a result, broadcast casting requests and advertising inquiries were flooding into our guild headquarters.

All of which I declined.

'One broadcast appearance is enough.'

I had gone on solely for my daughters, just that once.

And there was one more side effect from the broadcast.

-Chef An Seon-u? He was my top apprentice.

Ha Yu-sik, the former Pungjeong Executive Chef, had begun shamelessly name-dropping me on TV shows and various Mutube channel videos.

'Even a runaway conscience has limits......'

I was thoroughly displeased, but I took no action.

I simply watched to see how far he would go.

However, there was someone who could not stand by and watch Ha Yu-sik's antics.

That someone was Yu Seon-yeong.

After completing her prison sentence, Yu Seon-yeong had gone to Europe looking for work.

Having disappeared entirely, she resurfaced by borrowing the power of a famous Mutube rubbernecking channel to begin exposing every wrongdoing Ha Yu-sik had committed.

She revealed that Ha Yu-sik had stolen original dishes created by sous chef An Seon-u and passed them off as his own creations on TV.

She exposed the verbal abuse and physical violence he had inflicted on kitchen staff, including me.

And she even revealed that she and Ha Yu-sik had been in an extramarital affair.

In the affair-related revelations, my name was conspicuously absent.

She had not disclosed that she and I had been a couple at the time.

And so a truth battle began between Yu Seon-yeong's side and Ha Yu-sik's.

'May the best one win...... no, actually. Win this one, Yu Seon-yeong!'

Just this once, I would root for Yu Seon-yeong.

Of course, I would not get involved myself.

I would simply watch from the sidelines and blow my nose without lifting a finger.