Chapter 999: It Was Beautiful From Far Away.. (11)

The culinary world was, above all else, ruthless.

A chef had to keep a burning passion in their heart while making cold, rational judgments with their head.

If people in the same industry only exchanged compliments, wouldn’t that only hinder each other’s growth?

The chefs gathered here believed that true culinary progress came through thorough criticism.

Of course...

“This is NewBlack’s recipe.”

“Pffft-!”

The famous chefs who had been preparing harsh critiques unconsciously began smiling warmly.

“Excellent.”

“No, honestly, I’m amazed at how they came up with a combination like this!”

“Hahahaha! This dish warms even my heart!”

The chefs desperately drifted into praise.

It almost looked as though some ominous energy was slowly leaking out from the dish they were staring at.

The Souffles could practically hear hallucinated whispers saying, Do you desire power...?

-Try giving them a bad review... I’ll destroy you.......

-Hero... do you seek... hateful comments.......

-Kekeke....

Of course, the Souffles weren’t actually like that, but to these chefs, the world’s greatest boy band was still a terrifying existence.

The kind of people who made you feel like even brushing shoulders with them would result in death threats arriving like love letters.

After the chefs had desperately showered the dish with praise—

During a brief break in filming—

“Thomas.”

Chef Dante Cellini, wearing his usual stern expression, quietly placed a hand on the shoulder of his former student Thomas Kim—Chef Kim Hyunwook.

“If something like this happens again, warn me beforehand.”

“But if I had told you in advance, wouldn’t we have missed such an entertaining scene?”

“...You’re not wrong.”

As Chef Cellini sighed while comforting his disappointed daughter, who was lamenting, “They criticized NewBlack’s cooking!”

The other chefs were busy studying the food itself.

“Hm.”

They each took another bite.

Chef Bobby Ross tasted another spoonful of the fish-braised stew and spoke to the chef beside him—the greatest chef in Argentina, Chef Carlos Gonzalez.

“At first I was only focused on the fact that NewBlack made this... but the more I look at it, the better it seems.”

“To be honest... it’s genuinely excellent.”

Chef Gonzalez answered in English tinged with a Spanish accent as he stroked his chin.

“There are a few rough spots from trying to combine Korean and Italian cuisine too quickly, but the original recipe itself seems extremely strong. The creativity really stands out.”

What they were admiring was the original recipe behind the dish Chef Kim Hyunwook had presented.

Inside the minds of the world’s greatest chefs, the dish began reconstructing itself.

The fish component that gave the stew its unique flavor floated into focus on its own.

The Italian spices vanished one by one, replaced by Korean ingredients—chilies and other seasonings slotting naturally into place.

And soon, a braised fish dish remarkably close to the original recipe took shape.

Chef Gonzalez, who resembled a bespectacled mole, stroked his beard.

“It feels like there’s one more ingredient in here. Turnip? Radish?”

“I know the original recipe. It uses Korean radish. It’s a little thicker than the kind we use.”

“Mm. I can imagine the flavor.”

The chefs exchanged excited looks as they spoke.

This is worth discussing.

Being a chef didn’t mean you only cared about haute cuisine.

After all, both Chef Gonzalez—Argentina’s national celebrity chef—and Bobby Ross had once run food trucks selling street food.

Home-style dishes like this were also one of their interests.

This is fresh.

There were clearly amateurish elements in the ingredient combinations.

But strangely, that amateur quality was also its strength.

A professional never would have dared combine certain ingredients the way this recipe did, and that very recklessness had created something refreshingly new.

“Biju.”

When they called for the creator—

“.......”

Their eyes met NewBlack, who was currently working on their second bowl.

Awkward....

Jiho, who had a little pasta sauce smeared around his mouth, hurriedly explained himself.

“We don’t usually eat like this. It’s just because it’s really good.”

Didn’t they each eat three bowls at my restaurant too....

This group actually eats more once the cameras are off.

The chefs smiled.

As chefs, watching people genuinely enjoy food you made with care always felt good.

While the chefs from The Kitchen smiled happily behind them—

“Biju.”

“Yes?”

“There’s something I’m curious about. Did you create this fish recipe yourself?”

“Yes. I made it.”

Interest flickered in the chefs’ eyes.

“Do you usually use mackerel?”

“Huh?”

Beside Biju, who tilted his head in confusion, Ri Hyuk quietly whispered in Korean, “Mackerel.”

“We usually use m...ackerel? But we switch fish depending on the situation. With mackerel, once it’s caught it matures really quickly, so substances that cause hives start forming. Ri Hyuk is really sensitive to things like that.”

After hearing the explanation, it sounded like the recipe had been carefully designed around the members’ health conditions and tastes.

The chefs were impressed.

There’s affection in this recipe.

The same kind of affection parents put into meals they cook for their children.

Every time they asked another question, Biju answered smoothly without hesitation, and the chefs found themselves increasingly fascinated.

He has real instinct for cooking...!

He’s one of us.

Their eyes filled with goodwill.

Although...

Why are the others snickering behind him...?

They couldn’t quite understand why the other four members were grinning proudly beside Biju like, That’s our guy.

Still, anticipation had already begun to grow in the chefs’ hearts.

I’m curious.

They genuinely wanted to know what kind of dishes Biju would make.

After finishing filming at Chef Kim Hyunwook’s restaurant—

“Alright, it’s time to head to the next chef’s restaurant.”

“Who is it!?”

Chef Kim’s face lit up with delight.

“Who’s the next victim to suffer...?!”

“Victim? Chef.”

“Ah. Right.”

“It’s supposed to be a heartwarming gathering between international chefs and Korea’s finest chefs.”

“Ahhh. Right. That was the concept....”

It wasn’t “supposed” to be. That really was the concept....

“Who’s coming today? Which friends are appearing?”

“Chef Oh Daeyong and...”

“Daeyong!”

“Chef Park Gwansu... and......”

“Even Hyung is coming?! Hahahaha!”

Apparently everyone in the industry knew each other through one connection or another.

Every time another chef’s name was mentioned, Chef Kim Hyunwook burst into delighted laughter.

The warm smile he wore on cooking shows had transformed into the ecstatic grin of a villain.

“Kuhahahahaha!”

Isn’t he enjoying this a little too much.......

While the younger members blinked in confusion, I asked—

“Um, Chef?”

“Yes?”

“You said earlier you were going to show us the power of Korean cuisine... was Biju’s recipe what you meant by that?”

“.......”

“Chef?”

“Uh... we’re short on time if we want to make it to Chef Oh Daeyong’s restaurant. Shall we hurry?”

The chef dodged the question and fled.

“So in the end, the power of Korean cuisine was just the power of Biju.”

“Hm.”

Anyway, we all gathered around Biju, laughing.

Our second eldest was the best.

As Biju shyly pressed his hands against his flushed cheeks, someone suddenly poked their face forward.

“What about me?”

“Our maknae is the best too!”

“Hehe. I’m gonna stay the maknae forever.”

After showering him with affection, we continued clearing restaurants one by one alongside the chefs.

The effect was incredible.

-Welcome... please come in....

Even though every restaurant had signs reading [Open for Business], they looked like photographs of abandoned ruins.

Then, after hearing praise from us and the chefs, they slowly came back to life.

Even the Korean chefs who had initially been quiet gradually loosened up and started chatting once more people gathered together.

“Wow, thank you so much for inviting me. Chef Cellini and Chef Gonzalez in the same place.......”

“Chef Cellini is my idol. Seeing him in high school was what made me dream of becoming a chef. Just like aspiring idols dream after watching NewBlack, I dreamed after watching him.”

“Is this a dream or reality? They ate my cooking....”

The Korean chefs looked dazed with happiness.

I understood exactly how they felt.

It was probably the same emotion fans felt when meeting someone like Kim Deoksun in person.

“Alright! Now that everyone’s gathered.”

The world-famous chefs we had learned cooking from overseas.

And the famous Korean chefs who would determine whether we had properly adapted those dishes into Korean cuisine.

Now there was somewhere we needed to take them.

“Whoa.......”

“It’s my first time visiting Lemon Entertainment.”

“I’ve only seen pictures online... I can’t believe I’m finally here!”

Our demon king’s castle... no, our agency, Lemon Entertainment.

The moment we entered the first-floor lobby, the Souffles shopping at the café and merchandise store stared at us in shock.

“Holy shit! Ah, crap... my mouth... guys!”

Everyone burst into laughter at one Souffle’s explosive reaction.

As the Souffles hurriedly dug Dalbong dolls out of their pouches, we waved and briefly held an impromptu fan meeting.

The eyes above their masks were teary.

“Why are you crying...?”

“Because I’m happy.......”

“Don’t cry, Souffles....”

We spoke sentimentally.

“When Souffles cry, we cry too.”

“Our emotional intelligence is so high that if someone cries, we start crying too.......”

That made the Souffles laugh instead.

“We hit the jackpot!” they cried excitedly.

After finishing the fan meeting—

「S-So this is Lemon Entertainment...!」

Like a pilgrim finally reaching sacred ground, Chef Cellini’s daughter Luna clutched her mother’s hand and headed toward the merchandise shop.

The sight of the elementary schooler waddling along made nearby Souffles bend slightly at the waist to greet her.

“Onion-haseyo...!”

Everyone laughed at the baby Souffle’s adorable Korean greeting.

「Shall we head up, then?」

We approached the massive Tosami mascot standing in the lobby, along with the giant screen introducing Lemon Entertainment’s artists.

Four elevators stood in front of it.

We split into groups and headed to the employee cafeteria on the seventh floor.

It was a quiet evening hour.

「So this is where you’ll be practicing?」

「Yes.」

We explained.

「This time, the advice we want from the chefs isn’t only about the taste of the food.」

If this were just a cooking variety show, we could simply make delicious food once and be done with it.

But what we were doing was business.

And what was business?

According to Madam Kim Deoksun—

-It’s a war against all the damn bastards who make trouble. Rotten idiots.......

-Grandma. Maybe use a more refined expression.

-What? You paid money, right? Then I’ll give you food worth the money you paid. That’s business.

And according to Ri Hyuk, it meant providing customers who paid money with products and services appropriate to the price.

The most important thing was customer satisfaction.

Of course, we weren’t professional chefs, and this was ultimately just a variety show built around a restaurant concept.

But we believed preparation had to be taken seriously.

That was the foundation of all work.

「Everyone here is also an excellent businessperson. Some of you operate franchises, and some of you have run food trucks before. The common denominator is that all of you successfully manage restaurants.」

Everyone nodded.

「So we’d like to show you a trial run of our restaurant and receive feedback from you.」

「You mean you’re actually going to operate it like a real restaurant?」

「Yes. Exactly.」

That was why the cafeteria had already been fully prepared.

From prepped ingredients to cooking equipment to table settings.

Ri Hyuk handed out clipboards holding sheets of paper.

「What’s this?」

「Evaluation forms. Please give us honest and accurate feedback.」

The chefs burst into laughter.

The forms included scoring categories and space for comments.

Chef Kim Hyunwook asked—

“So basically we just hover around like auditors and watch you guys?”

“Yes.”

Ri Hyuk spoke.

“Please evaluate things like whether the food comes out at an appropriate speed, whether our movement flow in the kitchen is efficient, whether the division of labor is working properly, whether the customers seem satisfied, and so on.”

“Oho.”

Then we introduced everyone’s roles.

“Our hall manager who hears everything and notices everything.”

“Junghyun.”

For some reason, applause broke out.

“Our barista, acknowledged by a master coffee artisan from Brazil. Ri Hyuk, who drank so much coffee while practicing that he’s now showing early signs of acid reflux.”

“My stomach still burns.”

After hearing the explanation through the interpreter, the foreign chefs applauded sympathetically.

“Our adorable maknae who freely runs between the kitchen and dining hall doing miscellaneous tasks.”

“Cutie maknae entering!”

And then—

“Here’s our head chef Biju, and beside him, assistant chef and owner of this Goblin Restaurant, Wooju.”

“Waaaaaaaaaaah-!”

After the introductions ended—

As we put on sanitary caps and made our preparations—

The chefs asked—

「But where are the customers?」

「They’ll be here soon.」

We smiled.

「We’re inviting company employees who are still working overtime tonight.」

「People are still working at this hour? The entertainment industry really is.......」

The foreign chefs looked genuinely culture-shocked.

I explained—

「But there actually aren’t that many people working late today. Most people already ate dinner too.」

Which made it perfect for a practice run with just the right number of customers.

We had also sent out a company-wide email announcement.

To summarize, it basically said this—

[To our beloved Lemon Entertainment family]

Hello. This is NewBlack.

Before officially opening our restaurant, we’d like to practice serving customers in the company cafeteria.

We’re looking for people capable of realistic acting under a variety of customer concepts!

In short, we were asking employees currently working late to stop by and help us practice.

“Alright, then let’s get read—”

Just as we were about to begin—

“Hm?”

“Hmm?”

Footsteps started echoing down the hallway.

Heavy, synchronized footsteps.

Almost like an enormous army marching forward.

Then the cafeteria doors burst open.

“So this is the place?”

“This is the Goblin Restaurant?”

The imposing four-member group Scarlet entered dramatically.

Trailing behind them was ballad singer Yoon Chanhyuk, scratching his messy hair while wearing sweatpants.

“Yooo~ hey there, kids.”

“I came toooo.”

Hanbyul was there too, slightly sweaty as though she had run over in the middle of practice.

“I sprinted all the way here from TJ! Hahaha!”

And then—

“Hello.”

“Oh my, hello everyone!”

Even Lemon Entertainment’s actors had arrived.

Scarlet spoke for everyone.

“We heard there’d be delicious food!”

“I... see.”

Well, this much was understandable.

Working late into the night was common in our profession.

But then—

Ruuuuumble—

Like a waterfall crashing forward, company employees began pouring in.

“A&R Team making a glamorous entrance.”

“Producing Team making an exhausted entrance.”

“PR Team... please save us.......”

“Legal Team making an energetic entrance! Ah... as Souffles, we’re so happy right now. Best workplace ever...!”

It felt like the entire company had arrived.

While the chefs stared blankly in shock, I turned to Team Leader Na Sangyoon from the Producing Team.

“You’re not actually working overtime today, are you?”

“Not overtime. But how could we possibly miss this opportunity?”

“Ahhh....”

So they were curious about the Goblin Restaurant too.......

“If what’s written here is really true!”

“Hm?”

The Lemon Entertainment employees raised bloodshot eyes and held up their phones.

“Is what this says true? Is it really true?”

“Which part?”

“You said you wanted to simulate a real restaurant environment. And that we could act out all sorts of customer concepts.”

“Yes... that’s true.”

“Then that means we’re allowed to roleplay difficult customers too?!”

The A&R Team and Producing Team snickered at us.

My younger members and I stared blankly.

These people seriously.......

As we shook our heads at the employees eagerly plotting to torment us—help us—we quickly began calculating numbers.

Because there was something more important.

“Uh, Junghyun.......”

“Yes.”

“Go buy more groceries. We’re gonna need way more ingredients than expected....”

And so, the opening of the Goblin Restaurant was delayed by one hour.

The rehearsal finally began in earnest.

“Ooooh.”

“Ohhh, this looks legit. Real legit.”

Inside the kitchen, Wooju and Biju moved around rapidly while Jiho practiced running between the kitchen and dining hall.

Ri Hyuk inspected the coffee machines while Junghyun took orders around the hall.

This actually feels real.

The artists and actors from Lemon Entertainment looked impressed.

“It seriously feels like a real restaurant.”

“Look how serious their expressions got.”

“Wooju! You look handsome...! He’s not even looking over here. He must be focused.”

NewBlack prepared for business with intensely concentrated expressions.

The famous chefs stood with folded arms watching them work while everyone seated at the tables took selfies with NewBlack in the background.

“We’d like to order~”

“Yes!”

Junghyun hurried around the hall taking orders.

And while the kitchen prepared the dishes—

“Ohhh... that smell.......”

“Damn, that aroma is insane.”

The Lemon Entertainment employees looked excited while waiting for their food.

Hehehehe!

A legal opportunity to bully NewBlack.

The A&R Team and Producing Team—who normally shrank the moment they stood in front of NewBlack—had finally found a chance to get revenge... no, help them.

All because they sincerely cared about NewBlack.

“Your hamburger steak is here.”

Right then, hamburger steak was placed in front of CEO Park Gyuho and Director Jo Gyuhwan.

“Ooooooh!”

Chairs screeched loudly across the floor.

Everyone stood up to admire the appearance of the hamburger steak.

“Hm.”

CEO Park Gyuho took a bite and frowned slightly.

Then he crooked a finger.

“Chef.”

“!”

Wooju and Biju immediately came running.

Seeing the company’s two major shareholders rush over made the corners of CEO Park Gyuho’s lips twitch upward in delight.

He’s enjoying this...!

The CEO is loving this!

He’s spent too long shrinking in front of NewBlack.

After barely suppressing his grin, CEO Park Gyuho calmly pointed at the dish.

Then he mimed pinching something out of the air.

“Do you see this?”

“...Pardon?”

“There was a hair in the food.”

“W-Well, all of us wore sanitary caps during cooking—”

Just as Biju tried to explain—

“So you’re saying this hair belongs to me?”

“!”

“!!”

That’s right.

Shiiing—

Under the lights shone the glorious brilliance of a bald head.

And there he was, holding up an invisible hair.

A formidable enemy!

An insanely powerful enemy right from the start!

The artists and employees of Lemon Entertainment watched with sparkling excitement.