Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Shall I Make It?

“···Did he really say that?”

Even he who usually rarely shook at others’ reactions showed not a little surprised color at the unexpected answer.

Chief Choi standing in front of him had his face turning red and blue from humiliation.

“Yes, that’s right! Just because he got a bit of attention on the internet, he seems to have nothing in his eyes. Daring to the chef’s favor...”

Chief Choi burst his anger while crumpling his face greatly.

Wasn’t Namgung Wi a genius with the highest taste recognized by himself and others, a top celebrity chef worshipped by the public.

Not only kicking away the hand such a chef extended, but daring to spit out such violent words.

But what was driving Chief Choi crazy now was himself who couldn’t even get angry in the face of that arrogant brat.

Pressed by the momentum that young chef emitted at that moment, he couldn’t properly retort even once and returned as if fleeing.

Only after returning to Seoul did that miserable humiliation that belatedly surged burst out as the uncontrollable fury now.

“Oh my my! What’s this!”

At that time, Cameron who was trimming his nails in the corner of the sofa suddenly clapped.

“Completely unexpected! He looked blank because he was slender outwardly, but he was completely a real man? Oh my, what to do. I really like that macho style!”

At those words Chief Choi yelled.

“Is that something to say now! The chef was insulted!”

“Oh my! Why are you getting angry at me?! Did I say something wrong? Bouncing is much more charming than bowing without integrity just because money is given!”

“What?!”

Cameron covered his ears and frowned.

“Ah, Chief Choi is too noisy!”

Even while Chief Choi and Cameron were bickering, Namgung Wi was submerged in silence.

‘He’s not a person who comes when told to come, goes when told to go···’

Strangely interest preceded anger.

Is it the recklessness of a nobody, or the madness of one who blindly believes in his own skill.

Probably the latter.

Then what on earth is the source of that confidence.

“There’s no need for chef to go directly to that shabby place. I’ve captured the entire cooking process in my eyes, so if we unleash our research team, we’ll be able to reproduce that taste soon.”

“Hmm... doesn’t seem like it.”

“Mr. Cameron!”

“Ah, surprised!”

These people’s conversation didn’t enter Namgung Wi’s ears.

‘What on earth kind of taste is it.’

No matter how much he tore apart and analyzed the videos, it didn’t resolve.

Because of that, the curiosity turned into uncontrollable thirst.

“Enough, now go out.”

Chief Choi turned around in surprise.

“Yes? But chef...”

Seuk.

Namgung Wi silently raised one hand.

“...”

The paused Chief Choi lowered his head.

“Ah, yes... understood.”

Chief Choi was about to leave the room but paused, and furrowed his brow.

“...”

Because Cameron showed no intention of leaving at all, still sitting on the sofa.

“What are you doing. Not leaving.”

When Chief Choi said with an absurd expression, Cameron pouted his lips.

“Oh my, even me to leave?”

“Isn’t it natural?”

“I don’t want to?”

At Chief Choi’s cold answer, Cameron snorted and buried his body even deeper into the sofa.

Chief Choi approached with large strides and roughly grabbed Cameron’s forearm.

“Oh my my! Surprised!”

Chief Choi began forcibly dragging the screaming Cameron who jumped while pulling him toward the waiting room door.

“Au, really! Okay! I’ll go so don’t pull so roughly! This is a limited silk shirt! It’ll wrinkle!”

Click.

The door closed and the noisy interior quieted.

Namgung Wi left alone deeply buried in the sofa and tightly closed both eyes.

‘Come yourself and eat it...’

If it were the usual him, he would have just ignored it.

But why does it keep bothering him.

“...”

Even so, himself going directly in response to the provocation of a nameless neighborhood Chinese restaurant brat is also ridiculous.

But···

‘What on earth kind of taste is it.’

***

The lights of the restaurant hall went out.

“Huu, today is over too.”

On the parents’ faces in the miracle-like days continuing for several days, fulfillment was stained more deeply than fatigue.

“Our Jin-myeong, you worked hard today too.”

The father patted Jin Myeong’s shoulder as if admirable.

Jin Myeong only stood silently with an indifferent expression as always.

After all organizing finished, the three family members were about to enter the narrow single room attached inside the restaurant to rest.

Seuk.

Jin Myeong didn’t head toward his room, but picked up the thin outerwear that was draped on the chair one by one and put it on, then moved his steps toward the restaurant entrance.

“Eh? Jin-myeong, where are you going?”

The mother asked in surprise, but Jin Myeong pushed the glass door and went outside without any answer.

Watching the son’s back receding into the dark night street, the mother looked back at the father with a worried face.

“Will it be okay?”

“It’ll be fine. These days he doesn’t wander unable to find the way like before.”

It was as the father said.

Recently Jin Myeong’s condition had improved to a degree incomparable to the past.

The number of words decreased and the atmosphere became strangely cold, but at least in terms of daily life he was close to a normal person.

“Looking these days, he seems to buy and eat this and that alone at the convenience store. The kid is only now starting to know the taste of the world.”

The father laughed heartily and hurriedly followed behind Jin Myeong.

“Jin-myeong!”

“...?”

The father stuck one 50,000 won bill into the pocket of Jin Myeong’s outerwear.

“If money is insufficient, call dad anytime. Play slowly and come in.”

Jin Myeong indifferently felt the texture of the bill that entered the pocket, lightly nodded, and moved his steps into the darkness.

“...”

The father who had been watching the son’s back made a strange smile and entered the restaurant again.

The 24-hour convenience store near Jin Myeong Gak.

“Welcome.”

A dry voice.

The part-timer was fixing his gaze on the smartphone screen with his chin propped.

A noisy game broadcast was flowing in the screen, and only his finger occasionally tapped the screen.

Jin Myeong slowly moved his steps toward the display shelf.

Many snacks wrapped in colorful packaging.

Jin Myeong’s eyes flashed interestingly while scanning the display shelf.

He stopped his steps as if familiar and picked up a sweet bar chocolate and a deep brown chocolate ice cream bar in the freezer.

A strong and intuitive sweet taste that even the emperor couldn’t easily taste in the Central Plains of his previous life, to the point the tongue tingled.

As a chef crazy about cooking, Jin Myeong had recently become deeply immersed in the explosive and diverse world of tastes this unfamiliar world held.

At first he just regarded it as shallow technique.

But these chemical seasonings and artificial flavors rather became a fresh shock and excellent subject of exploration to his taste.

This deformed taste that seemed to forcibly draw up the limits of natural ingredients had a strange point to learn.

Jin Myeong who picked up the items approached the counter.

Tak, tak.

He placed the chocolate and ice cream on the counter.

Ttik. Ttik.

The part-timer without taking his eyes off the smartphone, the part-timer holding the barcode reader in one hand stamped the items as if groping the air.

“3,500 won.”

Jin Myeong indifferently held out the 50,000 won bill.

The part-timer received the bill, opened the cash register with a click, and roughly placed the change on the tray.

“Received 50,000 won. Change 46,500 won. Goodbye.”

“...”

Jin Myeong shoved the change into his pocket and blankly stared at the part-timer.

If it were the Central Plains of his previous life, even the clerks of inns would bow when customers came as a natural principle.

Showing such a bad attitude in front of a customer who was paying money was an unimaginable thing.

But Jin Myeong didn’t feel bad.

‘The law of those who work receiving money in this world seems roughly like this.’

As a result of observing while going around outside for several days, the ordinary workers of this era seemed not to express more emotion or courtesy than necessary.

A practical way of moving mechanically only as much as the money received without extras.

In a way he even thought it was convenient and rational.

Jin Myeong silently turned his body and left the convenience store.

Jin Myeong immediately peeled off the vinyl packaging of the ice cream bar.

“Tsk.”

The moment he bit into the deep chocolate coating, a cold and strong sweet taste filled his mouth.

Savoring the soft sensation felt at the tip of the tongue, Jin Myeong began wandering the dark night street with slow steps.

The memories of Lee Jin-myeong who was the original owner of the body guided the way, but because he was a child who lived trapped in a very narrow world, the world was still full of unknown areas to Jin Myeong.

While going around the neighborhood here and there like that, Jin Myeong’s gaze stayed on the flashy neon sign board pouring out from the second floor of an old building.

[PC Room]

“...”

A place that faintly remained even in the original memories.

Curiosity arose and Jin Myeong threw the ice cream stick into the trash can with a tuk and went up following the stairs.

Kkiik!

Wiiing-.

Entering inside, the mechanical sounds the computer bodies emitted, and the cool air conditioner wind.

Because it was late night, only three or four customers were sitting in front of the monitors in the empty interior.

Jin Myeong stopped behind one customer as if entranced.

In the monitor screen, martial artists wearing flashy long robes were cutting the air and emitting sword energy.

It was a high-freedom MMORPG game of the martial arts genre.

“······.”

Jin Myeong couldn’t take his gaze off the monitor even while thinking it was meaningless.

Even the absolute peak martial arts that would shock even himself of the previous life were running rampant.

“...”

Jin Myeong’s brow slowly narrowed.

Every time the martial artist in the screen swung the sword once, a large sword energy was shot out.

The ground flipped and all sides were scorched.

It did look strong.

But that was all.

‘Extremely ignorant.’

In the Central Plains of his previous life, the forms of real masters were not this noisy.

Moreover rather than thinking of avoiding the forms of enemies pouring from all sides, it seemed like a competition of who sticks in a bigger technique more ignorantly first.

A merely vulgar fighting method without defense or evasion, or linkage of footwork.

‘Tsk tsk. If you moved your body like that, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough in the Central Plains.’

Jin Myeong clicked his tongue, but stared piercingly at the screen feeling interest in those vivid movements that strangely stimulated the memories of his previous life.

Of course he knew it was just a game made of light and numbers.

A fake world where even if you die you come back to life, and even if injured one bowl of potion heals.

‘Yeah, because it’s fake, such ignorant acts are possible.’

Thinking it was meaningless himself, he shook his head.

Just then.

“Ah shit! Where did the part-timer go?! Why doesn’t he come when I said make one fried rice!”

The large-bodied customer who was playing games in the corner seat half-threw off the headset and grumbled in an irritated voice.

But even at the customer’s shout, there was no presence from the counter side.

It seemed the night part-timer had gone to the bathroom.

“Ah, I’m dying of hunger really···”

That grumbling hit Jin Myeong’s ear.

The instinct of a chef wriggled.

Jin Myeong quietly moved his steps and entered the narrow kitchen space inside the empty counter.

“...”

A space so narrow that one person could barely turn around.

In one corner a portable gas burner was placed, an old coated frying pan and cold rice covered with wrap, and minced cheap ham and frozen vegetable mix were rolling around.

In the seasoning containers were salt, pepper, soy sauce, and the magic powder unique to this world (MSG).

‘Fried rice···’

The corner of Jin Myeong’s mouth rose strangely.

There were no highest-grade ingredients nor a gas stove of strong firepower.

But the essence of cooking is not bound by the quality of tools or ingredients.

Moreover Jin Myeong had already grasped to some extent what chemical smell and taste the seasonings of this world emitted.

‘Shall I make it?’

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