NOVEL NEXT 95
Knock, knock.
“We’re starting the recording~!”
“Okay. I’m coming.”
I sprang to my feet at the staff member’s call.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
An Derek and I moved to where the staff member pointed. It seemed we had to wait briefly during the opening.
“Oh, that must be the stage over there.”
From our waiting spot, we could catch a glimpse of the studio. The grand “Master Chef Showdown 2” logo and kitchens lined up on both sides were visible at a glance.
Master Chef Showdown.
As the name suggests, it’s a cooking competition program to determine the champion through a tournament-style format. This kind of format was all the rage back then.
I heard that starting from the preliminaries, they gradually filtered out participants, and now only eight remained.
Click!
The lights came on, and finally, the opening began.
“Congratulations to the eight participants who have made it this far.”
A man with neatly combed hair started his script, holding a cue card. His solemn face, devoid of any hint of a smile, was impressive.
“However, the test is not over yet. Today, two participants will leave ‘Master Chef Showdown Season 2’ and return home.”
The two judges seated on either side also maintained a serious atmosphere.
Combined with the participants’ gravity, it became difficult to utter a word. Hmm, it’s much heavier than I expected. The sense of responsibility felt even more profound.
“This mission, like the previous one, is a team competition. You’ll be divided into Red and Blue teams of four people each. The four members of the losing team will face an elimination mission. The final two eliminations will be determined in that mission.”
So that’s how it works. As I nodded along, listening, one of the judges introduced us with a scripted line.
“For this mission, we’ve specially invited two additional mentors.”
“Please welcome them with a round of applause!”
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
At the staff’s gesture, I walked forward steadily. Following their guidance, I soon found myself standing in a position where I was fully exposed to the participants’ gazes.
“First, we have Chef Song Woo-yeon. She’s the CEO of
Being introduced like this is a bit embarrassing. As I bowed slightly, I could feel the participants’ eyes sparkling.
It was clear they were thinking, “It’s that Chef Song Woo-yeon we saw on
“Next, Chef An Derek is also joining us. Chef An graduated from CSI, a renowned culinary school in Europe, and…”
Unlike mine, his impressive credentials went on and on. An Derek, however, seemed utterly unimpressed.
The participants’ gazes darted back and forth, comparing me and An Derek.
‘I heard the participants here come from diverse backgrounds too. From people no different from ordinary folks to those who’ve studied cooking for a long time.’
After seeing only formidable, charismatic judges until now, what must they think seeing someone as young and inexperienced as me?
It’s unavoidable that they might feel resentful or look down on me a bit.
‘Well, as long as they don’t show it outwardly, it doesn’t really matter.’
I didn’t participate with any particular significance anyway.
After our introductions, the judge continued speaking.
“Now, we’ll reveal the 7th main mission of Master Chef Showdown Season 2.”
Drum roll.
As tension filled the air and sufficiently frayed everyone’s nerves, the judge continued.
“This main mission is ‘Serving delicious chicken dishes to 100 military personnel’!”
Oh ho.
“The rules are simple. Each team will put together ‘one plate’ to the best of their ability. The military personnel will taste each team’s food and vote for the team they think is more delicious. You’ll move to a nearby military base and be responsible for serving the food directly there.”
So those are the rules. The unique point was that the tasters weren’t judges, but ordinary people.
“Creating such a large volume of 100 servings will be a significant challenge in itself. Therefore, you’ll be able to choose one of these two specially invited chefs as your mentor!”
I think I saw something similar before my regression. They just added An Derek and me as a slight twist.
It seemed they introduced the mentor system to maximize the rivalry between the two teams.
Click!
Spotlights suddenly illuminated above An Derek and me.
“The Blue team, which won the last team mission, will choose one of the two chefs first, and the Red team will naturally take the remaining chef.”
The Blue team participants looked at us with surprised faces.
“Blue team leader. You have 5 minutes to discuss. Once the meeting is over, please make your decision immediately.”
Tick, tock.
[05:00]
A large electronic board immediately displayed the time limit.
The Blue team huddled together and started discussing various things.
“Wh-what should we do?”
“If we can only choose one of them…”
“Wouldn’t Chef An be better? He has more experience and has worked as a main chef in Chinese restaurants for a long time.”
“Right. We need someone who can take on an overall leadership role for us.”
Whisper, whisper. Although they were talking among themselves, I could hear everything clearly due to the short distance.
‘They’re making various excuses, but it seems they don’t trust me at all.’
Because it’s a broadcast, they can’t say it outright, but it’s clear they intend to choose An Derek from the start, as my name doesn’t come up even once.
‘Looks like I’ll naturally end up with the other side.’
Glancing at the Red team, they seemed a bit glum, having apparently sensed the atmosphere.
It looks like they wanted to bring An Derek but can’t, so they’re disappointed. Of course, they’re not showing it openly, but there’s a natural flow to the air that’s easily read.
“We’ll go with Chef An Derek.”
“Then, the Blue team will have Chef An Derek as their mentor, and the Red team will have Chef Song Woo-yeon.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
We each stood next to the team we were assigned to.
“I look forward to working with you.”
As I said this with a gentle smile, the Red team participants awkwardly bowed.
They don’t seem too thrilled.
‘My young age is definitely a hindrance.’
I thought I had shown my abilities quite well on TV. Yet I’m still receiving such suspicious glances.
But knowing that doesn’t mean I need to openly show my displeasure. After all, for this round, the Red team and I are in this together.
“Let’s do our best.”
Now that the game has started,
I have no intention of losing.
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“Sigh. What should we do? We’re at a total disadvantage!”
One of the Red team members, Lim Do-hoon, couldn’t hold back and vented his frustration. The others sitting in the participant waiting room silently agreed, passively expressing their consent.
“I mean, come on! They keep saying Chef Song this, Chef Song that, but the truth is, she’s not even a real chef. Isn’t it too much just because she showed her face on ‘Raid the Refrigerator’ a few times?”
While they got a chef who might as well not be there, the other team got none other than ‘Chef An Derek’.
How are they supposed to compete when there’s such a difference from the mentors?
“Sigh. I think I’m really going to be eliminated this time. What should we do, hyung?”
Lim Do-hoon asked Choi Yak-rok beside him. Choi Yak-rok’s answer was extremely simple.
“We just have to do well.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry, Do-hoon. We just need to do our best.”
As Lim Do-hoon made a pitiful face, Choi Yak-rok calmly replied.
“It’s too late to feel wronged now, and the chef we’ve been assigned won’t change. Besides, if we had won the last mission, we could have been with Chef An Derek.”
“……”
“It’s the winner’s advantage, so there’s nothing we can do. What we can do is focus on how to overcome this disadvantage and do better in this situation.”
Though every word was right, Lim Do-hoon pouted.
He grumbled inwardly that this hyung must be so calm because he’s not in danger of elimination.
“We’re starting the recording soon~ Please stand by~!”
“Okay!”
“Let’s go.”
The Red team got up from the waiting room and headed to the studio. As both teams stood in front of their assigned kitchens, the cameras started rolling.
“You have only three hours!”
[03:00:00]
A large electronic board displayed the time limit.
“Now, begin!”
The participants hurriedly started gathering ingredients. Especially since the theme was ‘chicken dishes’, the first crucial step was to quickly prepare the chicken.
As they busily moved chickens, Lim Do-hoon quickly rolled up his sleeves and began breaking down the chickens.
“What dish are you planning to make?”
Just then, Song Woo-yeon approached and asked. Lim Do-hoon felt annoyed but tried not to show it as he replied.
“We’re going to make BBQ chicken. We’ll serve it with fried rice, french fries, and salad for a hearty meal.”
“Hmm. I see. Not bad.”
Song Woo-yeon commented and then stood next to Lim Do-hoon, who was breaking down the chicken, continuing to watch him.
‘What’s with this? It’s making me uncomfortable.’
Lim Do-hoon kept glancing at Song Woo-yeon, feeling unnecessarily conscious. He even started to feel resentful, wondering why Song was bothering him when time was of the essence.
“…Ahem. Where did you learn to prepare chicken?”
“I didn’t really learn it anywhere, I just did it a lot when I worked as a cook in the military.”
Thanks to that, he was quite experienced in preparing chicken. Of course, they usually worked together in groups.
“Just a moment.”
At that point, Song Woo-yeon entered the kitchen and took the knife from Lim Do-hoon’s hand.
“Huh?”
Lim Do-hoon reflexively checked the remaining time. Tch. They didn’t have time to waste like this. His brow furrowed involuntarily with impatience.
“If you prepare chicken like that, it’ll take all day.”
Swish, slice.
Song Woo-yeon lightly made an incision near the leg and twisted it.
Suddenly, the leg bone popped out.
“See here? This is the tendon. If you just cut this slightly, it comes off by itself. Like this.”
Crack.
Without seeming to exert much force, the leg meat came off cleanly.
“You don’t need to make deep cuts in chicken. For the body too, like this.”
Swish. She made an incision and pulled with her hand, and the bone and meat separated in one go.
“!”
Lim Do-hoon’s eyes widened. It felt like he had just witnessed some kind of magic.
‘H-how long did it just take to break down one chicken?’
Glancing at the time again, barely 40 seconds had passed.
Considering the time spent talking…
’30 seconds?!’
It meant that 30 seconds was enough to break down one chicken.
‘Is that even possible?!’
Lim Do-hoon stared at Song Woo-yeon with a dazed expression.
“Pretty easy, right?”
That smiling face even seemed a bit annoying now.