Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Episode 5. No Leftovers Day

“Could I try making this into something else?”

At Jinho’s words, the kitchen fell silent for a moment.

It was only for a very brief moment, but it definitely did.

The sound of flames, pans clanging, and someone stacking plates in the back were all still there, yet several gazes turned toward him at once.

Yoon Heeseong reacted first.

“If it’s trash, just throw it away. What else are you going to make with that?”

His tone carried that familiar sneer. Like someone watching another person do something pointless.

Even though this was the fried food he himself had ruined just moments ago.

Jinho did not answer.

If he started arguing, it would only drag on. And right now, there was no time for that. He also had no way to explain the possibility only he could see.

Beside him, Kim Jinman asked briefly.

“Why did you think of that?”

The question was short, but he did not seem to be asking just to brush it aside.

Jinho looked down at the hard piece of fried food in his hand. He had no idea how to explain it.

Because it felt wasteful? Because it reminded him of his childhood?

Because it just felt like it was not over yet? Because he thought that if he changed the seasoning, it could become a completely different dish?

How was he supposed to say that?

In the end, Jinho chose the shortest answer.

“It’s a little hard to explain... It just feels like too much of a waste to throw it away like this. I think I might be able to salvage it too.”

Yoon Heeseong scoffed.

“Salvage it? That?”

Before he could finish, Kim Jinman raised a hand.

It meant to be quiet.

“Your basis?”

The head chef looked once at the pile of failed fried food, then once at Jinho.

Then he spoke in an emotionless voice.

“Make one plate.”

That was all he said.

It was going to be thrown away anyway. In that case, there was nothing to lose even if he ruined it further.

But Jinho knew that those words were not simply permission to do whatever he wanted. It meant, Go ahead and try. At least in this kitchen, right now.

He moved immediately.

There was no time.

Dinner service was still in progress.

And at that hour, doing the work that had to be done was more urgent than experimenting with some new dish that might or might not taste good.

Jinho picked out several pieces of the failed guobaorou.

The moment he touched them, an information window appeared.

[Failed Guobaorou (Grade F)]

- Fried pork that has lost its commercial value due to excessively high-temperature cooking.

- The coating has hardened, and moisture has been lost from the interior.

Jinho grabbed a wok.

The weight in his hand felt familiar.

It was a tool he had carried, wiped, washed, and put away countless times. But this was the first time he felt like he was truly holding one properly.

Still, it was not overwhelmingly difficult. A translucent guide was showing him how to grip the handle, where to position it, and even the angle. He was clumsy, but it seemed doable.

The wok went over the flame. Soon, a thin layer of oil coated it.

Sizzle-

The sound of heat rising was clearer than usual. Jinho chose a few pieces of the failed guobaorou and sliced them lengthwise into strips. The thought of improvising a dish he had never made before naturally made him tense.

He swallowed a short breath to calm himself. Then he moved. System messages were flowing across his vision.

[This is an unregistered recipe.]

[The system cannot provide a completed recipe.]

[However, at the user’s request, recommended cooking directions and recommended combinations can be provided.]

‘Can it also provide recipes that use similar ingredients?’

[Possible. Would you like to use this function?]

[Criteria: Spice stir-frying / High-temperature reprocessing / Compensation for moisture loss]

[Recommended ingredients will be displayed.]

Jinho nodded. At that moment, the ingredients around him began to glow faintly.

Green, red, and some that showed no reaction at all.

‘Green means ingredients that go well with it, and red means ingredients that don’t?’

Jinho looked around and gathered ingredients.

Minced garlic, scallions, dried chilies, salt, white pepper, Sichuan pepper powder.

Following the system’s instructions, several ingredients were finely chopped and added to the wok.

The instant the oil and aromatics met, a sharp fragrance surged from the pan. Garlic hit the oil, the scallions released their aroma, and the dried chilies absorbed the heat and gave off a spicy scent.

“...”

Someone seemed to say something beside him, but Jinho did not hear it. The only thing in his vision was the inside of the pan.

The time flowing on the timer, the temperature he had to match, the prescribed motions. Keeping up with every single one left him no room to think about anything else.

Stir once more now.

Coat it with the aroma now.

Lift the wok now.

And now...!

Whoosh-

Flames suddenly surged upward toward Jinho. It happened because he was inexperienced, having barely handled a wok before.

“Careful...!”

Someone shouted in alarm.

‘Hot...!’

But even in that situation, Jinho did not let go of the wok. Instead, this time he copied the system’s motion more accurately than before.

Swish-

Watching the fried pieces and spices flip inside the pan, one of the senior cooks muttered softly.

“What the...”

Another senior cook spoke even more quietly.

“What’s with that wok work?”

A whole world was moving inside the wok. What had been nothing more than failed fried food was being reborn into something new.

Tap-, tap-

After one final turn of the wok, Jinho immediately plated it. There was not much. It was only a sample for now.

[Unnamed Dish (Grade D+)]

- A dish made by cutting failed fried pork and quickly stir-frying it at high heat with spices.

- Successfully transformed the hard texture caused by overcooking into a crisp texture.

- The aroma of dried chilies and Sichuan pepper has infused the oil, partially compensating for the ingredient’s shortcomings.

- Originally scheduled for disposal, but successfully reprocessed through the cook’s judgment. A slight bonus to customer satisfaction occurs.

‘D+?’

Jinho’s eyes trembled slightly. The grade was higher than the guobaorou he had just made.

There was even a line saying it gave a bonus to customer satisfaction.

Kim Jinman came closer.

“Give it here.”

He picked up one piece from the plate with chopsticks. His face showed no particular expectation. He looked exactly like someone simply checking something before throwing it away.

But after putting it in his mouth and chewing two or three times, his expression changed ever so slightly.

It was not a dramatic change.

Only the faintest movement of his eyebrows.

But Jinho instinctively understood that, by this man’s standards, it was quite a large reaction.

Kim Honggyu, standing beside him, also picked up his chopsticks.

He chewed slowly as well. Then he briefly raised his head.

“It’s similar to salt-and-pepper crispy pork. I never thought it could be made this way, though.”

Instead of answering, Kim Jinman chewed once more. He was checking the texture in his mouth.

‘Not bad.’

The soggy exterior had become sufficiently crisp thanks to the quick high-heat stir-fry. The inside was the same. It was dry, but when combined with the aroma, that dryness turned into a new appeal.

‘Makes me want a beer.’

A moment later, he spoke briefly.

“Not bad. Can you make more? I want the others here to try it too. I’d also like to hand out samples to the customers.”

Those words were practically a declaration.

The atmosphere in the kitchen shifted.

Yoon Heeseong stared back and forth between the plate and Jinho as though he could not believe it.

The food he had wanted to throw away only moments ago was now going out to customers as samples. With the head chef’s approval, no less. Just how good was it?

Kim Jinman immediately gave an order.

“I’d appreciate it if you made the rest the same way.”

Instead of answering, Jinho immediately picked up the wok again.

His hands were faster this time. He only had to reproduce something he had already done once.

___________

“Figures. It’s a franchise.”

Sangcheol clicked his tongue while eating.

As expected for a weekend evening, the restaurant was packed with people. The clatter of dishes, children talking noisily, and distant laughter all blended together into a chaotic din.

It looked decent enough.

But that was as far as it went.

Sangcheol frowned as he looked over the food laid out before him.

It was all the same old thing. Familiar dishes that looked like things he had seen somewhere before, with flavors he had tasted somewhere before. The names sounded grand, but overall, the food was far too ordinary.

“What, you don’t like it again?”

The companion beside him, holding a plate, let out a small laugh.

“I told you we should’ve gone to a Japanese place.”

“Just deal with it. The birthday person said they wanted Chinese food.”

“There are high-end Chinese restaurants everywhere...”

They were in the middle of that conversation when it happened.

“Hello. We’re currently sampling a dish. Would you like to try some?”

Sangcheol, who had been eating with his group, looked at the approaching employee with an annoyed expression. She was the female employee who had greeted them brightly at the front when they came in.

Behind her, other employees were carrying plates with the same food.

“Is it a new menu item?”

“It’s something the kitchen made as a sample today, and the response has been good, so we’re handing out small portions to the customers.”

“Ah... A new menu item.”

Sangcheol almost reflexively waved his hand. It was polite, but he had no interest.

“Come on, I’ll try it. The guobaorou was pretty good earlier.”

One of his companions beside him quickly accepted the plate.

Sangcheol snorted.

“Sure. You be the sacrifice.”

“What sacrifice? It’s one bite.”

His companion casually took it and put it in his mouth without much expectation.

Then immediately stopped.

“...Huh?”

Sangcheol glanced over.

The playful expression that had been on his face moments ago was completely gone. Even after swallowing the food in his mouth, his companion still looked confused.

“What.”

“Wait.”

“What is it?”

“This... What is this?”

At those words, two of the other companions seemed intrigued and took pieces from the sampling plate. This time, their reactions were even faster.

“Wow.”

“Wait, this is seriously good.”

“What the hell? Not just better than expected. It’s straight-up good.”

“Hey, Sangcheol. You have to try this.”

Sangcheol narrowed his eyes slightly.

None of the three were the type to make that much of a fuss. Especially the guy who had just been complaining alongside him. Seeing him make that expression was strange.

“I’m good. You guys just eat anything.”

“I’m telling you, that’s not it.”

“Seriously, just try it once.”

“You’ll regret it later if you don’t eat this. Seriously. I’d bet everything on it.”

Sangcheol sighed as if giving in.

To be fair, he had become a little curious.

If all three of them were reacting like that at the same time, then at the very least it could not be ordinary. Besides, the sample portion was tiny. Barely one bite. If he tried it and did not like it, that would be the end of it.

The dish did not hit him first with an aggressively strong smell. Instead, a deep aroma that subtly stimulated his appetite brushed the tip of his nose.

Sangcheol put a bite into his mouth with little expectation.

Then he froze.

The moment he chewed, his thoughts stopped.

At first, there was a clear, immediate burst of flavor. But it was not merely strong. It was powerful without being rough, intense without being shallow. Only after it seized his tongue and swept through did the umami that had been pressed beneath it slowly begin to spread.

The ingredient still had presence, and the sauce was not merely coating the outside but had fully seeped in. The more he chewed, the more the aroma rose, and the smoky note that spread afterward did not taste artificially forced. Even though it was only a single bite, the layers of flavor were distinct.

Sangcheol’s eyes slowly widened.

“...What is this?”

The mutter slipped out before he even realized it.

The companion beside him grinned as if he had been waiting for that reaction.

“I told you to try it.”

Sangcheol could not answer. Instead, he rolled the flavor around in his mouth as if retracing what he had just eaten.

This was not food made to merely hit an average standard.

Without realizing it, Sangcheol looked beyond the sampling table. He suddenly wanted to check where the food he had just eaten had come from, who had cooked it, whether this flavor had only appeared by chance today.

“Hey, your expression changed.”

“Shut up.”

“Weren’t you just saying, ‘Figures, it’s a franchise’?”

Sangcheol cleared his throat once and looked down at the empty plate. It had only been one bite, yet strangely, he wanted more.

After thinking for a moment, he went and got another sample, then took out his phone and snapped a picture. A moment later, the photo was uploaded to his draft column folder.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking notes.”

“You came out to eat and your occupational habit kicks in again?”

Sangcheol gave a short laugh as he turned on the screen.

“This is worth writing down. What should I use for the title?”

___________

“Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Kim Honggyu looked at Jinho and spoke briefly.

It sounded more like an instruction than praise.

Which made it feel even weightier.

Jinho silently nodded and picked up the wok again.

He had no idea how much time had passed.

The kitchen finally had room to breathe again after the last sample plate had gone out. Only the lingering heat inside the wok shimmered faintly, and the movements of the people who had been so sharp moments ago loosened slightly.

Only then did Jinho stop moving.

His fingertips were still hot.

Not simply because they had been exposed to oil and fire for so long. The sensation of how his hands had been moving moments ago still remained. No one had taught him, yet he had known so naturally where to apply more heat and where to stop.

Ability.

That word passed through his mind.

An ability that utilized the system.

But one meant not for combat, but for cooking.

He had already seen the awakening window at the orphanage, killed monsters, butchered one, and even made yukhoe from it. At this point, he did not want to deny it by pretending he had merely happened to cook a little better in the kitchen.

An employee poked her head in from the dining area.

“Excuse me, Chef.”

Kim Jinman turned his head.

“What?”

“The samples we sent out earlier. The customers keep asking about them. They want to know if there’s any more.”

The employee added.

“And one customer asked when this would be added to the menu. They took a picture of it too.”

Kim Honggyu let out a low laugh.

“Fast response.”

Yoon Heeseong said nothing.

He was pointlessly wiping an already clean bowl again. But his movements were a little rough.

‘I hope it stays like this from now on.’

That was what Jinho thought.

Then his phone vibrated briefly inside his pocket.

Jinho casually took it out to check the screen, then froze.

[Kim Jeseong Detective Agency]

This month’s regular investigation fee has been withdrawn.

The investigation into the whereabouts of the long-term missing person is still ongoing.

Withdrawal: XXX,000 won

Balance: 3,200 won

The message was short.

But those few lines instantly dragged the strange excitement he had been feeling back down into reality.

Balance: 3,200 won.

Below that were notification after notification for an upcoming card payment, a failed automatic transfer, and overdue payments. He did not even need to open the details to know. This month too, he was barely scraping by.

A short breath escaped him.

“...Ha.”

Kim Jinman stopped as he passed beside him.

He did not look at the phone in Jinho’s hand, but he had seen Jinho’s expression change after checking it. He spoke casually.

“That sample you sent out earlier.”

Jinho raised his head.

“Write up the recipe. We’ll see if we can submit it to headquarters as a menu item. If they approve it, you should get a small bonus.”

About a beat after finishing, Kim Jinman added one more thing.

“And starting today, let’s make you a full-time employee. I’ll talk to the owner.”