Chapter 185

Chapter 185

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 185If you asked me what the Recipe Development Club looked like in my last memory of it, I could answer confidently.

The old Recipe Development Club had been filled with equipment and items that looked like they'd been brought straight from a school home economics classroom or bought from a secondhand furniture discount store.

But the sight before my eyes now was completely different from what I remembered.

An island-style table that looked like it used luxurious black marble instead of the old steel table.

A brand-new frying pan with diamond coating instead of one whose coating had nearly peeled off completely.

There were also all sorts of amazing appliances and even broadcasting equipment whose purpose I couldn't identify.

“Wow... Senior ladies. You've really made it big?”

The scenery practically resembled the cooking broadcast studio of a major corporation, and Jin-woo also looked around in surprise as he muttered.

“Ahh~ this? Our president's new recipe hit it big this time! It's all thanks to President Eugene!”

I'd wondered where they'd gotten the money to buy all this equipment, but apparently they'd struck it big thanks to the club support policy.

Come to think of it, Haru had recently told me that the Recipe Development Club had been doing an excellent job of bringing in profits. Was this what she meant?

“By the way, Noona. Where is Senior Lee Se-ri?”

Maybe it was because he'd been the one mainly dealing with the Recipe Development Club.

When Jin-woo asked familiarly, the Recipe Development Club member pointed toward the area where the camera equipment was set up.

“She should be over there broadcasting.”

“Broadcasting?”

When I looked toward where her finger pointed, I saw Lee Se-ri standing in front of a camera wearing an apron and smiling brightly.

“Now~ hello, Cookies! I'm Lee Se-ri, president of the Recipe Development Club and the cook of our Make Cookie channel!”

She waved at the camera and gave a cute greeting as though she were completely accustomed to it.

“What is she doing?”

Jin-woo blinked as though this was his first time seeing her like this and asked about the situation unfolding before us.

“They've made a lot of money recently, but they're still a Bronze Club and haven't gotten much attention from the freshmen. So they're uploading videos and doing broadcasts online to increase awareness. In other words, it's basically a desperate struggle to survive.”

Their membership was decreasing and they were at risk of being shut down, so they were increasing awareness through broadcasts to revive the club...

That method sounds really familiar somehow.

“Oh, the dish we'll be making today is! Drumroll── Byabyabyak! Aaaah! Cut! Let's go again!”

Lee Se-ri stopped recording midway and frantically waved one hand.

Then she looked around, spotted Jin-woo and me, and started hopping while waving.

“Huh? President Eugene and Mr. Jin-woo! When did you get here?”

She still wore a smile pleasant enough to brighten your mood just by looking at it. Jin-woo and I waved back, and she immediately left the set and ran toward us.

“What brings you here? I was actually planning to bring over today's dish later anyway.”...

Again today?

The refrigerator is already so full it's overflowing, and I'm even taking some home as snacks for Ji-yoon, and there's more?

“No, no. More importantly, I came because I have a favor to ask.”

“Huh? A favor?”

Was it really that surprising for me to ask for a favor?

Her eyes widened more than I'd ever seen before.

“I'd like you to cook this for me.”

I naturally placed ‘that’ in her hands after taking it out of the Cube.

“This is...?”

“A Golden Tangerine. You know what it is, right, Senior?”

There probably wasn't a cook anywhere on the Korean Peninsula who wouldn't know.

“Of-of course I know! Of course! It only grows on the oldest ancient tree among Jeju's Ghost Tangerine Trees... the legendary ingredient that can only be seen once every ten years! B-but how, h-how did this end up in your hands, President?”

She asked while trembling, unable to understand how the Golden Tangerine had ended up in my possession.

I shrugged.

“I made quite a lot of money from the club support business this time.”

“Ahh...!”

In truth, I'd picked it myself.

But she seemed to accept that explanation immediately.

After all, it was already common knowledge that I was earning quite a substantial income through this business.

“Would it be possible?”

A legendary ingredient an ordinary cook would never even get to touch.

Now that she'd already touched it directly, there was no way she could refuse.

And indeed.[Trait. 【Heir to the Underworld

- Offer They Cannot Refuse】 activates!][Trait. 【Eloquent Speaker】 activates!]

Even my traits were working hard.

“O-of course! N-no! There isn't anyone in this Academy who can handle this elixir better than I can! I'm certain!”

She nodded as though steeling her resolve and was about to turn around when.

“Ah, right.”

As though she'd suddenly thought of something, she looked back at me and smiled sheepishly.

“Instead. Could I ask one favor?”

“A favor?”

“Yes. I'm developing a recipe and making food for you, President. Surely I can ask one small favor, right?”

Hmm... she certainly had a point.

Although I was helping her grow by providing such a precious item, she was also using her abilities for my sake.

“If it's something simple.”

“Yes! Then follow me!”

She stuffed the tangerine into the pocket of her apron, immediately grabbed my hand, and ran toward the set.

Jin-woo, left standing there blankly, shouted, “W-what about me?! Don't you need me?!”

“Mr. Jin-woo, please help the other members!”

And he was left behind.

Just like that, I was suddenly dragged onto the set.

“Uh... what am I supposed to do here?”

Why did she drag me onto the set like this? What is she planning to make me do...

“Ah, yes! Please help me with the filming.”

“...

Pardon?”

What did this senior just say?

“Please help me with the filming!”

“Filming...?”

“Yes! I've somehow been doing it alone until now... but recently I've hit a wall and haven't made any progress.”

As she said that, Lee Se-ri showed me her phone screen.

On it was what appeared to be the Recipe Development Club's channel.[Make Cookie

- 100,000 subscribers]

“Isn't 100,000 pretty high?”

That was a subscriber count you could brag about anywhere, wasn't it?

“Th-the problem is, lately, the subscriber count hasn't gone above 100,000... I was thinking maybe we need some kind of new change? And then, right on cue! President Eugene came by! This must be an opportunity sent by God!”

Wait a second. Don't tell me...

“Are you asking me to appear in the video with you?”

“Y-you understood perfectly. That's right! With your, um, face, President Eugene... it'll definitely work, right?”

Hm?

“Me?”

It had been a long time since someone had said something like that to my face, so I was caught off guard.

She apparently became embarrassed after saying it too, lowering her head with a flushed face.

“Well... yes? For starters, President Eugene. You have a fan club, you know.”

That's news to me.

“I have a fan club?”

“Yes. You didn't know? It's pretty famous on the school community.”

“...

Pardon?”

At her words, I immediately accessed the school community and searched my name.[Why do I hear so many bad rumors about Eugene lately, but still like him?(12)][The Academy's ultimate Bad Boy(9)][First-year Han Eugene? Seriously looks like a pretty-boy gigolo lol(35)]...

There were quite a few posts.

I clicked the one with the most comments.[First-year Han Eugene? Seriously looks like a pretty-boy gigolo lol][Author: ㅇㅇ][As a senior, seriously giving advice here, guys who look like that make girls cry every day. A man should look like a man, but this guy looks like some pretty-boy gigolo, tsk tsk. Anyway, I don't like him.][ㅇㅇ: Jealousy looks ugly lololol I can feel your fingers trembling just from reading the post~]└[ㅇㅇ: I'm not.]└[ㅇㅇ: Hit a nerve? lololol]└[ㅇㅇ: You're that Rasengan from second-year Class C, aren't you.]└[ㅇㅇ: How can someone's name be Rasengan lololol ahahahaha]

“...

What the hell is this?”

I knew there had been people watching me around the Academy recently, but I never dreamed it was this kind of attention.

No, I knew my notoriety had risen lately, and that my Charm had increased greatly after gaining the 【Top-Ranked at the Academy】 trait, but this was how the aftermath showed itself?

For a moment, I felt dizzy.

“Um... President Eugene? Are you okay?”

At Lee Se-ri's worried question, I shook my head and looked at the camera in front of me.

“Yes. I'm fine.”

All right, let's think about this rationally.

What benefits could I gain by helping Lee Se-ri here?

1. By granting her request, I could boost morale and also make her feel indebted to me.

2. Taking this opportunity, she would devote herself fully to developing a recipe using the ‘Golden Tangerine.’

3. If the Recipe Development Club's success became widely known, there would be a greater chance of creating favorable momentum for our club support business.

4. As the Recipe Development Club grew, the profits coming into Familia would increase.

Then conversely, what could I lose?

1. Embarrassment.

That was it.

My face becoming known?

Both the Academy community and people outside were already eagerly trying to gather information on the Academy's top-ranked first-year, so having my face spread around was nothing.

Just embarrassment.

That was all I had to endure.

“Um... President Eugene?”

“Let's do it. The video filming.”

And giving up all those benefits over a little embarrassment didn't suit my personality.

If I had to choose, shouldn't I move toward the option that brought benefits?

“Ahh, yes! Everyone! Reset the broadcast setup! Make sure the lighting covers two people!”

“Yes! President! Junior Jin-woo, hurry and move this light!”

“Huh? Th-this?”

“Yes! More to the side! To the side! That's it!”

The moment my video appearance was decided, the Recipe Development Club members began moving busily.

Until now, this had been a stage for one person, but now it was a stage for two.

“Mr. Eugene. Have you used a knife before?”

“A knife?”

Thinking about it, with this body I'd always fired guns or thrown punches, and I had barely used knives at all.

Still... I used to cook for myself before.

“I know the basics.”

“That's a relief. Then today shouldn't be too difficult. We're going to make a relatively easy dish.”

An easy dish?

“All right! Camera standing by! Both of you, please look at the camera!”

At that moment, one of the members called out from in front of the set. Apparently Jin-woo had been assigned to handle the lighting.

“As expected, President Eugene looks amazing on camera too! This video is going to be a hit! All right, we're starting! 3, 2, 1, action!”

At the member's shout behind the camera, the video began with Lee Se-ri smiling beside me.

“Now~ hello, Cookies! I'm Lee Se-ri, president of the Recipe Development Club and the cook of our Make Cookie channel! Today, we have a special guest with us! He's the top-ranked first-year at Seoul Hero Academy and the president of the club ‘Familia.’ President Han Eugene! Hello, President!”

“Yes. Hello.”

Once the filming actually began, I realized I wasn't nearly as nervous as I'd expected.

Considering the people I normally met, would I really get nervous just from standing in front of a camera?

Up to this point, everything went very smoothly.

“Yes! Nice to meet you! Since today we have President Han Eugene, who's a beginner at cooking, we're going to make a relatively easy dish! And what is today's dish?! It's this!”

Lee Se-ri lifted up a board that had been leaning against the floor.

Written prominently across it was today's dish.[Sweet and Sour Pork]

“That's right, sweet and sour pork!”

Hmm. I see the problem.

“Cut. Cut. Um, President Lee Se-ri.”

“Yes?”

“You said you wanted to increase your subscriber count, didn't you? For the club's expansion.”

“Yeees...”

“Then this won't work.”

“Whaaaat? I-is that so?!”

Lee Se-ri jumped in surprise at my words.

“Still, you don't need to worry too much. Fortunately, I happen to know one method guaranteed to make the channel explode.”

“Th-th-th-there's such a method?”

She looked at me as though saying she had no idea, and I smiled.

“Yes. I guarantee it. This will absolutely work.”──Absolutely.

______________

“Hello. Today, we've invited President Han Eugene, who's a beginner at cooking!”

“Yes. Hello, I'm Han Eugene. I'm already looking forward to what dish the Recipe Development Club president will teach me.”

“Yes, yes, don't worry. I've carefully selected it already. The food we'll be making today is~!!”

Lee Se-ri shouted confidently and lifted the board that had been leaning against the floor.

Acrylic board swirling with a menacing blue color.

Written there was a phrase that would spark anyone's curiosity just by looking at it.[Slime Sauce Sweet and Sour Pork]

“That's right, sweet and sour pork using slime: Slime Sauce Sweet and Sour Pork!”

Yeah, that's it.