Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Noodles Befitting the Sauce

“That kitchen of yours······ can you lend it to me for a moment?”

At that absurd demand Jin Myeong looked at Mr. Kang with a strange face.

In the late night after business ended, a man of appearance no different from a homeless person suddenly asking to hand over the restaurant kitchen.

A situation that could be dismissed as a crazy person’s nonsense and ignored.

But Jin Myeong’s gaze soon stayed on the middle-aged man’s face.

“...”

Unlike the shabby appearance, the man’s expression was serious.

Beyond his pupils madness for cooking was burning brightly.

In fact, it was a kind very familiar to Jin Myeong himself too.

Previous life.

The days he reigned as the best chef of the central plains unorthodox.

The arrogant chefs who stepped out for cooking contests with him were like that, and the eyes of madmen craving the ultimate elixir cooking were also like that.

Pride too, life too, even the remaining lifespan.

Absolute obsession and madness that only those who can burn everything for the ultimate emit.

Soon Jin Myeong’s gaze reached the middle-aged man’s two hands.

The unique calluses firmly embedded in every finger joint and the edge of the palms.

“...”

Jin Myeong who examined the man’s two hands for a long time soon turned his body with a swish holding the banana milk.

“Follow.”

Short and indifferent one word.

At those words Mr. Kang’s eyes opened wide.

He stood up from his seat as if entranced and tried to follow behind Jin Myeong.

Jin Myeong without looking back said as if throwing.

“Don’t bring the alcohol.”

“...!”

Mr. Kang was startled and looked down at the soju bottle held in his hand.

Then he carefully put the soju bottle down on the table and followed behind Jin Myeong again.

Click.

Jin Myeong who entered the kitchen through the back door raised the switch.

The brightened kitchen.

“...”

Mr. Kang who followed in looked around the kitchen.

It was the kitchen of an old and small restaurant, but managed amazingly neatly.

Not a single moisture on the floor, the stainless steel cooking station shone brightly.

A perfect kitchen without even stuck oil stains around the burners.

The chef’s attitude toward cooking was intactly permeated in the space itself.

Jin Myeong leaned diagonally on the cooking station and asked toward Mr. Kang.

“Okay, now what are you thinking of doing?”

“Noodles······ thinking of pulling.”

“...”

At Mr. Kang’s answer Jin Myeong nodded small as if he expected.

It was what he guessed from the moment he saw the man’s hands.

Jin Myeong neatly cleared the large wooden work board placed beside the noodle machine and prepared a space where he could fully work.

Then he directly took out his own flour dough chunk that was aging on one side of the refrigerator and placed it on the board in front of Mr. Kang.

Jin Myeong who handed over the dough stepped back two steps and crossed his arms, and began silently watching his actions.

“...”

Mr. Kang who was submerged in thought for a moment immediately grabbed a handful of powder from the flour container placed beside and thinly spread it on the board as if scattering.

Then after deeply inhaling once, he carefully grasped the dough chunk.

Cheolsseok!

At that moment, Mr. Kang’s eyes changed.

The moment he touched the dough, strong spirit emitted from his body.

Tak, taaang!

Mr. Kang began roughly beating the dough with both hands.

He who softened the hardened dough by transmitting body temperature, soon grasped both ends of the dough and stretched it long into the air.

Tang!

With the sound of strongly striking the work board the dough undulated.

Mr. Kang folded the stretched dough in half overlapping and grasped both ends again and pulled.

Taaang!

Overlapping again, pulling, striking.

The dough that was one at first became two strands in the blink of an eye, four strands, and increased to eight strands.

The flour chunk danced flexibly like a living breathing creature inside his rough grip.

Jin Myeong’s eyes who was watching that process with arms crossed with an interesting gaze narrowed.

“...”

Jin Myeong admired inwardly.

Hand-pulled (suta).

Noodle-making technique of raising the stickiness of the noodles to the extreme by striking only with human hands without borrowing the power of machines.

High-level technique that must pull the thickness constantly by reading the fine changes in tension transmitted from the fingertips.

Even without knowing the man in front of the eyes would be one who lived with noodles for decades.

Chalssak!

Taang!

The moment he saw the amazing elasticity that can never be felt in machine noodles settling in each flour strand.

The chef’s instinct in Jin Myeong’s blood began running wild.

Chiiik!

Hwaaaaak!

In an instant, explosive flame surged from one side of the kitchen.

Mr. Kang who was beating the noodles was startled and turned his head.

“······?!”

At some point Jin Myeong who turned on the fire on the burner was frying chunjang.

Chiiik!

Hwaaaaak!

Chunjang danced in the pillar of fire splitting the air.

In an instant, the entire kitchen was filled with savory aroma.

Jin Myeong’s disciplined wok work without a single disorder even in front of the strong flame.

It was a silent provocation.

‘Saying to make noodles befitting the sauce···?!’

Mr. Kang silently withdrew the gaze that headed toward Jin Myeong.

His gaze headed downward.

In both hands noodles that had already stretched thin and long, taking quite perfect form were held.

A level he would have been satisfied with if usual.

But it felt lacking to fully handle the taste of the sauce Jin Myeong is making now.

In an instant, strong competitive spirit burned in Mr. Kang’s heart.

Teoeok!

Mr. Kang mercilessly crushed the noodles that were being completed on the work board.

Stubbornness to pull proper noodles befitting that sauce.

Taaang!

Jjaak!

Chalssak!

Mr. Kang concentrated with even more terrifying momentum.

Dough that started again from the beginning. The speed of squeezing, striking, overlapping and stretching became one level faster and fiercer matching the rhythm of Jin Myeong’s wok work.

Tempering the stickiness of the noodles beyond the limit, with momentum to blow in even his remaining soul entirely.

The two were fiercely responding to the opponent’s momentum through their own cooking without words.

At that time.

The door connected to the main house carefully opened.

Jin Myeong’s mother who was surprised by the noisy cooking sound heard from the kitchen revealed her appearance.

“In the middle of the night what mat···”

The mother froze seeing the scenery of the kitchen.

“Who···?”

An unfamiliar middle-aged man beside the son.

But even at the mother’s call mixed with question marks the two didn’t even give a glance.

Mr. Kang was stretching the noodles in a trance pouring sweat, and Jin Myeong was also concentrating only on shaking the wok.

“...”

The mother only watched that bizarre and overwhelming scene of the two making cooking without words as if entranced.

A moment later.

The flour noodles that left Mr. Kang’s hands slipped into the hot water as if sucked.

Swaaaaa!

He who scooped the noodles at the exact timing immediately rinsed the noodles in cold water without delay.

The noodles holding hot heat contracted meeting the cold water, and hand-pulled noodles with gloss flowing on the surface were completed.

The pure white noodles with moisture shaken off were contained on the white bowl as if coiling.

On top of that Jin Myeong poured the jajang sauce he just fried.

Chiiik!

The moment the noodles and sauce met, the fire aroma and sweet chunjang smell rose explosively.

A strange expression spread on the corner of Jin Myeong’s mouth who quietly looked down at that appearance with steam rising.

“Huu······.”

Mr. Kang who then long exhaled the held breath and wiped the sweat on his forehead, discovered the mother standing blankly and was startled and bowed his head.

“Sorry a lot late at night.”

“Ah, yes... but what...?”

“Borrowing the kitchen for a moment.”

“...?”

Fluster was stained on the mother’s face.

She absolutely couldn’t understand this bizarre situation of an unfamiliar middle-aged man entering the kitchen of the restaurant after business ended in the middle of the night and pulling hand-pulled noodles, and the son frying jajang beside.

When the mother looked at Jin Myeong thinking what matter, Jin Myeong without words abruptly held out the just completed jajangmyeon bowl in front of the mother.

“...Huh? Telling me to eat?”

“Yeah.”

“...”

She didn’t know what on earth the reason was, but first picked up the chopsticks.

Seuk seuk.

Chalbak.

When mixed with chopsticks, the sauce permeated without gaps between the noodle strands.

The mother scooped a little noodles on a small plate and carefully put them into her mouth.

Umul.

“······!!”

In an instant, the mother’s two eyes widened.

The jajangmyeon Jin Myeong made until now was also excellent taste far exceeding the general level, but this cooking fluctuating in the mouth now was completely a different dimension.

The texture of hand-pulled noodles alive chewy.

These noodles stuck to the palate chewy and were amplifying the extreme sauce taste Jin Myeong made even more.

“Ho... how such taste...?”

While the mother muttered immersed in shock.

Kkiik.

The door of the main house opened again, and the father who woke from sleep walked out with a disheveled face.

“No, in the middle of the night everyone not sleeping what are you do···”

The father who was approaching the kitchen rubbing his eyes stopped his steps dead.

An unfamiliar man of dirty appearance standing in the middle of the kitchen is strange, but the sight of the wife frozen with a shocked expression holding one chopsticks of jajangmyeon in her mouth.

“Honey, what matter···”

Before grasping the situation, the mother urgently picked up noodles generously with chopsticks and held them out toward the father.

“You, you also eat this.”

“...Suddenly?”

“Quickly!”

“...”

Without knowing the circumstances, the father received the noodles into his mouth in a daze unable to overcome the wife’s urging.

Umul, umul.

And...

“···Eok!!”

The father’s mouth whose sleepiness fled instantly opened wide.

At the unbelievable taste, the couple only alternately looked at each other’s faces with souls left.

*

Jin Myeong Gak hall with lights on.

In the middle of the empty restaurant after business ended, Jin Myeong and Mr. Kang were sitting facing with one table between them.

Jin Myeong’s parents stood on the counter side slightly distanced, watching the two emitting a strange atmosphere holding their breath.

Jin Myeong lifted the chopsticks and largely picked one chopsticks of that perfect hand-pulled jajangmyeon.

Umul.

Jin Myeong who slowly, and carefully savored the harmony of noodles and sauce soon nodded small as if satisfied.

“Excellent.”

“...”

At Jin Myeong’s praise relief and pride brushed past Mr. Kang’s face.

The fact of being acknowledged by such a skilled chef made him even more heart-swelling.

At that time Jin Myeong continued speaking.

“But that arm···”

“······!”

Mr. Kang flinched.

“Broke.”

“······!!”

Mr. Kang’s expression hardened instantly.

His pupils roughly fluctuated from shock.

Mr. Kang who was silent for a moment stood up slowly leaning on the table with a bitter face.

“Didn’t come expecting something in particular. Just···”

“Just···?”

“No. Nothing··· anyway sorry a lot.”

Mr. Kang let out a deep sigh and turned.

But a strange refreshment was lingering on his face.

With this it was done.

Didn’t he pull the noodles with all his soul with his own hands.

A sorrowful yet light back appearance.

Just when he was about to step out of the restaurant.

Jin Myeong’s voice was heard from behind.

“Thinking of working here?”

“······!!”

Uttuk.

Mr. Kang’s steps stopped on the spot.

He turned and looked at Jin Myeong with both eyes wide as if he couldn’t believe.

“...”

His pupils were shaking violently.

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