Chapter 10

Chapter 10

10. If It Suits My Taste, It's First Place!

Preparations for the barista competition went extremely smoothly.

Now that we'd secured the beans for the competition, there wasn't much else to prepare besides tables.

But we'd forgotten the most important thing.

Send 150 people home after making coffee all day without even feeding them?

‘That just isn't right by Korean standards.’

And if I was going to feed people, I've always believed you should feed them properly.

Which was why I'd come here.

To one of the most authentically local barbecue joints in Hawaii.

“Uh··· so you want us to have all of this prepared, then set everything up immediately when you give the signal?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Including alcohol, beverages, and service staff, the total estimate comes to this amount. Will that be all right?”

The figure on the estimate was $17,200.

Cheaper than I expected.

They'd said it was some of the best traditional barbecue in Hawaii, so I'd figured it would cost over twenty thousand.

“If you need the price adjusted, we can also change the package.”

Huh?

At the unexpected suggestion, I looked at the restaurant owner who'd prepared the estimate.

He looked incredibly nervous, as though he was afraid I might cancel.

Tsk, did I dress too casually today?

Just what does he take me for!

“I think we'll need to make a few adjustments.”

“Ah, yes! Then we can reduce the side dishes a little and switch the alcohol to cheaper brands······.”

“No. Make it thirty thousand dollars.”

“Pardon?”

“Is that difficult?”

“N-No, sir!”

The revised estimate I received had what looked like twice as many items as before.

Including several dishes whose names gave me absolutely no clue what they even looked like.

Not that I particularly cared.

He'd probably added items worth their price.

That was one advantage of doing business in America—or rather, Hawaii.

Maybe their motto was, ‘Labor and profit margins are high, but we won't cheat you!’

For someone like me with more money than I knew what to do with, it was perfect.

If I paid more, I got more. Simple as that.

Just like the Big Ross beans we'd secured for the competition.

“Looks good. Let's proceed with this.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The owner sprang to his feet with a huge smile, repeatedly shouting thank you.

Maybe because he'd spent his whole life cooking, he looked far too innocent to be much of a salesman.

Good. Now this is the kind of contract worth signing.

- Scribble, scribble.

With the food for the feast arranged, all that remained was to laze around until competition day.

***

Time flew, and before I knew it, the day of the competition arrived.

【Hale Makani Barista Cup】

A simple banner had been hung.

“Bring more beans over here!”

“James! They say Table 16 is wobbling like crazy! Don't we have another one?”

Frank and the staff were completely absorbed in setting up the event.

The participating baristas were just as busy arranging the equipment they'd brought on their tables.

What was I doing?

Handling the more annoying stuff.

“I'm Noah Kawelo from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Could we have a moment of your time?”

“This is the first barista competition of this scale ever held in Hawaii. Why Hale Makani? Why not Honolulu or Kona?”

“I'm with the Hawaii Tribune-Herald······.”

There were four reporters shoving microphones and cameras at me, plus a NewTuber wandering around the venue.

What the hell was there to report on at this little competition that had brought so many of them here?

And so,

‘For the advancement of Hawaii,’

‘With a sense of duty to spread awareness of Kona coffee,’

and other things I didn't mean in the slightest kept the reporters occupied until the promised hour of 8 a.m. finally arrived.

(All right! The Hale Makani Barista Competition begins now! )

- Clap, clap, clap.

Amid encouraging applause, the 159 baristas gathered there began making their respective coffees.

The judging was surprisingly simple.

Coffee experts would sort out the good ones in the preliminary round, then I'd make the final selection through a blind taste test.

There was no way I could properly taste all 159 cups myself.

Of course, by coffee experts, I meant Yanya and the farm workers. They were the only ones I knew.

“We're here!”

“Woo-jin! Good to see you!”

“Welcome, everyone.”

“Whoa, this is seriously impressive! It's almost on the same scale as the competitions our HCA holds! ”

“Thank you for taking the time to come.”

“It's a competition using beans from our farm. Of course we'd come!”

“Boss said it was annoying and didn't want to come. We made her come.”

“W-When did I ever say that!”

“Even in the car she kept saying Woo-jin can't get anything done unless our farm takes care of··· mph!”

“Hoho! Enough useless chatter. Let's hurry up and judge!”

The gathered judges began moving busily between the tables, evaluating coffee.

I was no different.

My precious single vote would determine the next hundred years, so I couldn't take this lightly.

Coffees that passed the preliminary round arrived one after another at the platform where I sat, and I gave each one my full attention.

I'd gone through all the trouble of building a lounge café and sourcing expensive beans. There was no way I was spending my leisurely days drinking disappointing coffee.

But once I started judging seriously, I realized the world of coffee was far deeper than I'd imagined.

Different aromas and strengths that made it hard to believe they'd all been made with the same beans.

Finding one among them that perfectly suited my taste was······.

- Sip.

Huh?

Among the coffees I'd been tasting one sip at a time in growing despair, a familiar flavor suddenly crossed my tongue.

Calling coffee familiar sounded a little strange, but at least that was how it felt to my palate.

It wasn't flashy, but the aroma wasn't faint either.

At that moment, first place in my mind was decided.

***

(The second-place winner is Number 115, Tyler Brennan!)

- Clap, clap, clap.

(And now, the first-place winner is······.)

The noisy venue fell silent.

(Number 28, Sophie Bennett!)

“Waaaaah!”

Huh? That woman?

“President Kim, do you know her?”

“Yes. Looks like I chose well.”

It was Sophie.

From the café lounge where I'd practically clocked in every day.

I placed a flower crown around Sophie's neck after she stepped onto the podium.

“Congratulations.”

“Huh? Sir, what are you doing here······.”

Only then did Sophie seem to recognize me.

She looked like she'd just discovered someone she knew in the one place they should never have met.

“I'm the owner of this hotel.”

She still looked like she couldn't believe it.

Well, I had spent a long time acting like an unemployed bum in that lounge.

“For now, enjoy winning. Take your prize sign.”

“Th-Thank you······.”

Just as the sign marked $4,000 was about to be handed to Sophie,

“This is a scam!”

The shout came from a contestant in the front row.

“I'm an official barista at Waikiki Sun Beach Hotel! She's just a server! How does someone who did nothing but carry coffee win a barista competition!”

Tsk, there's always one guy who has to ruin a perfectly good day.

I walked straight toward the shouting man.

“Why doesn't it make sense? It's my competition, and I picked the coffee I thought tasted best.”

“That's······.”

Naturally, I was the organizer of this competition.

“I paid for this competition with my own money, and I even picked first place blindfolded. How exactly is that a scam?”

“Damn it!”

In the end, the man couldn't come up with any answer and stormed out of the venue.

All right, now that the unwanted guest was gone, shall we get the real festival started?

I returned to the stage and picked up the microphone.

(This concludes the competition. And to thank everyone who participated today, we've prepared a small party.)

“A party?”

“Nobody said anything about that.”

“Frank, did you know?”

Of course this was news to everyone.

I'd prepared the party separately.

I waved toward the four vans parked side by side in the hotel parking lot, signaling them to come out.

The waiting barbecue company staff poured into the venue all at once, carrying armfuls of food.

Even the banner hanging beneath the hotel sign was changed in the blink of an eye.

【Hale Makani Barista Festival】

(From this moment on, the Hale Makani Hotel Barista Festival begins!)

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

The cheer was on an entirely different level from the awards ceremony.

Whole roasted pigs and alcohol were piled like mountains across the tables. Who wouldn't love that?

Ah, there was one person.

“President Kim, what is the meaning of this?”

“Ah, Frank. It's a party I prepared separately. Everyone worked hard today, so enjoy yourselves.”

Before Frank could launch into what looked like a long speech, I quickly shoved a piece of pork into his mouth.

“Woo-jin! We can really eat all this?”

“Yes. Thank you for today. Help yourselves.”

“See? I told you he's generous! What did I say? Aren't you glad we came?”

“Boss lies every time she opens mouth. Boss don't eat. Boss don't deserve.”

“Ah, why not! ”

The noisy atmosphere was exactly like a neighborhood festival.

“Haʻaheo ka ua i nā pali

Ke nihi aʻela i ka nahele······.”

A soft Hawaiian song accompanied by ukulele.

And enough alcohol for everyone there to drink all night and still have some left.

And so Hale Makani's first event was drawing to a spectacular close.

If I had to name one thing I'd overlooked, it was probably that we'd happened to hold the after-party immediately after a barista competition.

The staff,

the judges,

the participating baristas, and even the tourists who'd come to watch.

Every single one of them had just finished drinking a mountain of coffee.

Warriors incapable of feeling sleepy now stood before alcohol and meat.

Like Marines pumped full of Stimpaks.

Well··· nothing bad will happen, right?

That's not what's important right now.

There was still one matter left to settle.

Now that I'd picked the best barista, shall I hire her?

The nouveau riche's steps toward Sophie were lighter than ever.

***

While the party was in full swing, the reporters who had come to cover the event had gathered together and were busily making calls somewhere off to the side.

“Hello? Yes, Chief. First place went to a barista with no previous competition record. The interview will start shortly······.”

“What? You want today's story on tomorrow's front page? Director, the festival isn't even over yet. No, the competition ended, but then a festival started afterward······.”

© Kim Mangcho#1ond5