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Wise Chef Life - Chapter 26

Published at 24th of January 2024 05:48:37 AM


Chapter 26

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There’s No Such Thing as a Delicious Salad? (3)

***

 

“Ugh, I’m starving!”

 

Han So-yul, who was lying sideways on the bed watching YouTube videos on her phone, kicked off the blanket and sat up.

 

It was 6 a.m.

 

After finishing the overnight CF shoot, she came home at dawn, drank some water, and tried to sleep, but she was too hungry.

 

All she had eaten all day was a tasteless grass salad and a sweet potato.

 

“I can’t take it anymore. I have to eat, even if it means breaking the contract and not going to Hollywood. I’ll just pay the penalty and that’s it. I’m the top star in Korea, will I die if I don’t go to Hollywood? I can act in Chungmu-ro too. I’ll starve to death before I go to Hollywood.”

 

[T/N: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chungmu-ro">Chungmu-ro</a>]

 

She muttered, throwing off her pajamas.

 

Her eyes were already irrational. They were filled with a madness for food.

 

If Dongsu were there, he would have thrown his whole body at her to stop her, but he too had returned exhausted from the overnight shoot. In a word, Han So-yul, who had lost her inhibitions, began to run wild.

 

“I’ll eat. I’ll eat. I’ll eat it all~!”

 

She opened her phone in a state of great excitement.

 

I accessed the account of my friend Oh Yuna, who enjoys posting food photos on social media, and quickly scrolled through, moving my thumb to find the menu I wanted to eat.

 

“Wow, this girl went out with soju and beef rib stew all night. Ugh~ I’m jealous.”

 

In addition to that, her friend’s posts were filled with mouthwatering photos of raw fish, spicy fish stew, and samgyeopsal.

 

The moment she thought she would eat anything she came across,

 

“But I guess I should still think about calories?···”

 

A little bit of reason came back.

 

She made a moderate compromise with herself to eat something very delicious with a calorie count that wouldn’t get her caught. After all, she had to go to Hollywood.

 

“What could that be?”

 

So-yul’s fingers moved up and down without rest.

 

One food caught her eye.

 

It was Fat Sandwich.

 

“Yeah. This is it. Boiled eggs don’t make you fat.”

 

However, sweet mayonnaise and sugar are calorie bombs.

 

She couldn’t have been unaware of that fact, but she hypnotized herself with self-rationalization.

 

“Let’s go here. Boiled eggs don’t make you fat. Hehe··· It’ll be delicious. Besides, it’s morning now. You don’t get fat if you eat in the morning. It’s okay. Let’s go.”

 

So-yul, fully equipped with a three-piece disguise set of a mask, sunglasses, and a beanie, started the engine of the luxury sports car parked in the underground parking lot.

 

***

 

Salad is a dish that can be made with dozens of combinations, depending on your preference.

 

The taste varies greatly depending on the base vegetables used, as well as the main ingredients and dressing sauce.

 

“Hmm···.”

 

Hae-jun thought about a salad that could be made with ingredients that could be grown on the dimensional farm.

 

He added romaine lettuce, a thin lettuce that is also used in hamburgers, and green lettuce, as well as bitter arugula and radicchio.

 

The green vegetables were appetizingly arranged on a white concave plate. That’s not all. For color, he thinly sliced yellow paprika and olives and placed them on top, and finished it off by cutting cherry tomatoes in half and plating them.

 

It looked promising.

 

The colors were vibrant, and above all, the freshness of the vegetables was visually evident.

 

However, it looked a little empty and lacking.

 

“Is it because there’s no main ingredient?”

 

He added goat cheese made by Chloe.

 

The fresh and tangy feel of the dish was not bad.

 

It seemed like a complete dish in itself.

 

Hae-jun, who had been looking at the plate carefully, took a small bite of the unfinished salad.

 

Crunch- crunch-

 

The fresh vegetables melted refreshingly in his mouth.

 

As he chewed slowly, savoring the taste, a sweet, tangy, and spicy aftertaste came up.

 

“Did vegetables originally taste like this?”

 

The natural flavor of the salad without any dressing sauce.

 

The rich texture and aroma filled his mouth.

 

It seemed that even if it was sold as it was, it would attract the praise of the customers.

 

In a way, it was a natural result. Hae-jun’s cooking skills were mediocre at best. The special thing was the taste of the ingredients themselves, rather than the recipe.

 

‘What would it taste like if I added sauce to this?’

 

Hae-jun, imagining the taste, shivered slightly with excitement.

 

And soon he began to make the dressing sauce.

 

In fact, he wanted to try various sauces, but with the ingredients he currently had, a low-calorie dressing for dieters was the limit.

 

A little olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice for a refreshing touch.

 

He drizzled the finished dressing and tossed it well.

 

The fresh aroma of the vegetables and the unique flavor of olive oil wafted through the air.

 

“Let’s taste it···.”

 

Crunch-

 

“!!??··· W, wow.”

 

The salad with the dressing tasted like heaven and earth compared to the one without it.

 

It was just a simple salad, but the taste was beyond that.

 

Food with all the ingredients perfectly in place is a delicacy.

 

It was superb.

 

“Perfect. Okay, this is the second menu.”

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“Hmm?!”

 

Min-ju’s nostrils flared and her eyebrows knitted together cutely as she tasted the salad.

 

A slightly comical expression, just like when she first ate the sandwich. It was a unique facial expression that appeared when she encountered delicious food.

 

“Wow.”

 

“Is it okay?”

 

“Is it okay? It’s more than okay. What on earth did you do to the salad?”

 

I could tell right away after taking a bite.

 

If the salad I had eaten so far was just a salad, this was the T.O.P.

 

I could feel the freshness and the deep flavor of the salad vegetables that were different from anything else with every bite.

 

“It’s not meat, but some kind of grass that bursts with juice the more you chew it?”

 

Min-ju boldly described the juice of the vegetables as meat juice.

 

“When you get an order, just pour the dressing sauce on it and serve it, so it’s not difficult, and I think it would be good to put this menu up right away.”

 

Hae-jun had a point.

 

He had to cover the entire kitchen by himself, so realistically, food that required a lot of hands was impossible.

 

Moreover, since the main customers visiting the store were women in their 20s and 30s, it was definitely a menu that would work.

 

“But where did you get such fresh vegetables?”

 

“I just··· I know someone who runs a small farm, and I got them there for cheap.”

 

He couldn’t tell the truth, so he beat around the bush.

 

“Buy a lot of them. A lot! This menu will definitely be a hit too.”

 

“Okay. Got it.”

 

Somehow, it felt new.

 

Starting with a single sandwich, he already had three menus.

 

I, who didn’t even know the letter ‘C’ in cooking, was running a restaurant.

 

‘You never know what will happen in life.’

 

While Hae-jun was lost in the strange feeling,

 

The golden-handed Min-ju renewed the menu.

 

+

 

[SunFlower]

 

Morning Menu

 

Potato Soup ···1.5

 

Salad ···

 

Fat Sandwich ···2.5

 

Goat Milk ···1.0

 

Set (Fat Sandwich + Goat Milk) ···3.0

 

Morning Set (Soup + Salad + Set) ···

 

*All menus are available for TAKE OUT!!

 

+

 

“Morning set?”

 

“What do you think? Is the idea okay? Since it’s a Western restaurant, I thought it would be nice to have something like this.”

 

“That’s a good idea.”

 

“How much should we charge?”

 

“Hmm··· How about two thousand won for the salad?”

 

“Wow, are you crazy?”

 

Even a cheap salad sold at a convenience store costs four thousand won.

 

But, a salad made with such fresh ingredients for only two thousand won!

 

Hae-jun was good at everything, but he lacked a sense of money··· That’s what she thought. In reality, he was just selling it cheaply because he didn’t incur any costs.

 

“You’re going to ruin your business if you keep giving it away like that. Ah, really, this oppa is good at cooking, but his business sense is totally stupid.”

 

“I told you. I’m the landlord.”

 

“Ah!···”

 

The landlord above the Chef.

 

Min-ju was immediately convinced by Hae-jun’s one word.

 

“Anyway, this is going to be a limited sale. It’s good for anyone to eat cheaply.”

 

Cheap and plentiful for those who are short on money.

 

That was Hae-jun’s own restaurant operating policy.

 

“Okay. Then what about the set?”

 

Hae-jun, who had been slightly intimidated by the part-timer calling him a dumbass, even though he was a greenhorn, spread out his five fingers, and Min-ju sighed deeply and wrote the number 5.0 on the menu.

 

***

 

Early dawn.

 

A very suspiciously dressed woman appeared in a quiet residential alleyway.

 

She looked around while looking at the phone she was holding tightly in her hand.

 

“Is this it? Brick road next to the sunflower mural··· Oh, it looks right. I found it properly.”

 

She was wearing a mask and sunglasses to cover her face, but just her pale skin like a child and her small face showed that she was not an ordinary person.

 

Her true identity was Han So-yul.

 

After the overnight shoot, she ran out in a frenzy of hunger.

 

She drove her car without thinking and arrived at the tuna shop that was said to be hot these days.

 

It happened to be a place that only sold limited quantities in the morning, so she came running without hesitation.

 

“Is it not open yet? I’m hungry.”

 

She was very hungry, but more than anything, she didn’t have time.

 

She had to return home quickly after buying the sandwich, or the manager, who had a ghost-like intuition, might notice.

 

She shook the tightly closed door and tiptoed to peek inside the house-like store.

 

There was a sense of movement inside, but it wasn’t open yet.

 

As she was snooping(?) inside like that for a long time,

 

“Who is it?”

 

She came face to face with Min-ju, who was putting up the sign at the entrance.

 

“When do you open the store?”

 

So-yul asked, her eyes downcast.

 

She was afraid that her identity might be revealed.

 

No matter how much she disguised herself, people recognized her well. It was impossible to hide her superior genes, which stood out even when she was tightly wrapped.

 

“There’s still 30 minutes left···.”

 

“I’m sorry, but can you sell me just one sandwich? I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

 

“We’re still preparing. I’m sorry. Please sit in the yard and wait.”

 

“Ah··· I’m in a hurry.”

 

So-yul, who had become impatient, habitually took off her sunglasses and checked the time.

 

The trip manager was supposed to bring her an outfit in the morning, but if she wasn’t home, she knew she would report straight to the devilish Dongsu, the manager.

 

“Wow?! It’s Han So-yul!”

 

Min-ju, who recognized So-yul at a glance after she took off her sunglasses, exclaimed.

 

“Wow, unnie, you’re so pretty.”

 

“Shh!”

 

“Oh, yes. Shh.”

 

“Since you recognize me, I’ll ask you a favor. Can you make just one sandwich quickly?”

 

“I’d like to do that too, but the boss is still preparing.”

 

“What’s going on?”

 

As Min-ju and So-yul were whispering with the door between them, Hae-jun came out and asked.

 

“Actress Han So-yul said she wanted to eat sandwich.”

 

For some reason, Min-ju spoke in a very small voice.

 

“Who? An actress?”

 

“Shh!”

 

“Shh? Why?”

 

“What if people find out?”

 

“There’s no one in the alley except us?”

 

“Ah! That’s right. But just in case. Come inside.”

 

Min-ju, who opened the door and let So-yul in, explained the whole story.

 

‘I guess she really wanted to eat it.’

 

“Is it possible?”

 

“The ingredients are ready. Come in. I’ll make it for you.”

 

Hae-jun, who headed to the kitchen, made a sandwich and put it in a transparent plastic container.

 

The salad and sauce that had been confirmed as the new menu item earlier were also included.

 

“Here you go.”

 

So-yul, who received the sandwich set, smiled broadly at the thick thickness and shape.

 

However, there were two bags.

 

“What’s this?”

 

“It’s a salad. Try it once.”

 

Her face darkened at the word salad.

 

After eating grass for months, she developed an allergy just by looking at grass, and she hated the color green the most.

 

Just give me the sandwich, why the salad··· Ugh!

 

“Do you hate it?”

 

“Of course. Where in the world is there a delicious salad?”

 

“No, this is really delicious.”

 

“I guarantee it. So-yul unnie.”

 

Min-ju, who was waiting to take a selfie together, added.

 

“Our boss’s cooking skills are the best.”

 

“Is salad food? It’s just a combination of grass.”

 

“It’s not at that level.”

 

“Anyway, I’ll eat it since you gave it to me.”

 

She finished the payment with a formal greeting.

 

This was because she didn’t want to say anything unnecessary to ordinary people who didn’t know the situation and end up being the talk of the Instagram.

 

Anyway, she got the sandwich and goat milk, which were the purpose of her visit, so she was satisfied for the time being.

 

She took a selfie with the part-timer who was a fan and hurriedly returned home.

 

She threw the salad on the island table and took out the sandwich she had brought in a package and took a picture.

 

Click-

 

I can’t show it to anyone, but a certification shot is a must.

 

The appearance of the sandwich filled with yellow egg salad was splendid.

 

She made eye contact with it for 10 seconds in a touching encounter and opened her mouth reverently.

 

“!!??···”

 

It was the first time.

 

Such a soft sandwich.

 

The moment it entered her mouth, it melted like soft ice cream.

 

“How can it be so delicious?”

 

Han So-yul, who gained popularity as an actress and earned a lot of money.

 

Her only hobby and pleasure was eating.

 

So-yul, who had eaten sandwiches made by famous patissiers herself, was a fantastic taste that she had never tasted before.

 

Before she knew it, the sandwich she had brought in the package was gone.

 

“Ah, I should have bought two.”

 

I now understand the meaning of eating twice.

 

Still, as she was resting, feeling pleasantly full,

 

Ding-dong-

 

The doorbell rang and Manager Dongsu appeared.

 

Dongsu, who took off his shoes, scanned the living room and kitchen with his sharp eyes.

 

“You came yourself? I heard you sent the youngest.”

 

“What were you doing?”

 

“What am I doing? I was just here.”

 

“Where did you go?”

 

She felt a twinge of guilt, but she tried to change her expression and burst out in anger.

 

She was a character who got annoyed when she didn’t eat anything.

 

“Where did I go? I’m already tired after finishing the overnight shoot.”

 

“But why is the bonnet hot? The parking space is different too. Hmm, it’s suspicious.”

 

“Did you secretly buy something to eat?”

 

‘As expected, his intuition is like a ghost. How did he know?’

 

“Ah, no?!





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