God-Given Business Genius

Choi Yak-rok wiped the sweat flowing down his forehead with his sleeve as he looked around.

The chicken was almost done frying, and now all that was left was to coat it with the prepared sauce. The salad and french fries were also nearing completion.

The daunting task of preparing 100 servings was finally coming to an end.

‘That person’s help was significant.’

At the end of his glance, Song Woo-yeon was handling chicken legs.

He thought his luck was bad.

Having secretly admired Chef An Derek’s skills, he thought it would be a good experience to learn by his side.

So when the opposing team took Chef An Derek, he was internally disappointed. Song Woo-yeon wasn’t bad, but given the choice, wouldn’t it be better to observe the knife skills of someone he had long admired?

Some participants voiced complaints about unfairness, but Choi Yak-rok thought that was something they should rightfully endure.

‘Although it’s a cooking competition, it’s fundamentally a TV program.’

This competition’s theme was a case in point, and even in previous competitions, there were quite a few missions that seemed unrelated to cooking skills.

But it was his choice to participate, knowing it was a TV program.

If he didn’t like it, he should have entered other international cooking competitions. Having made the choice, he had to take responsibility.

In that context, he had decided to ‘endure’ Song Woo-yeon, but…

‘She’s much more…’

How should he put it?

Chef-like.

He knew it was a strange way to describe it, but Choi Yak-rok couldn’t find any other suitable adjective.

He meant that she seemed closer to a culinary expert than a business expert.

‘Making such strange proposals.’

It’s a shame when people who make delicious food can’t shine? How many people could say such things?

Even among chefs, exhausted by fierce competition, there were countless individuals who poured all sorts of criticism on their rivals.

Yet, Song Woo-yeon was treating him with a much more mature attitude than those people.

‘Even that guy Do-hun’s gaze has completely changed.’

The one who had the most complaints until just before filming started. Now his eyes overflow with trust when looking at Song Woo-yeon.

The other team members were no different.

Although they weren’t expressing it openly, they were approaching the task with much more confidence than before the filming began.

Seeing Song Woo-yeon at the center of all these changes, Choi Yak-rok couldn’t help but be impressed internally.

‘There must be a reason she built her business so high at such a young age.’

Yes. Choi Yak-rok privately evaluated Song Woo-yeon as an extraordinary individual.

‘Should I call it a blessing in disguise? What we thought was a crisis, she seems to have somehow turned into an opportunity and overcome it.’

It was just as he was breathing a sigh of relief that it happened.

Splat!

Red blood burst out from the chicken leg Song Woo-yeon was holding.

“……”

“……”

Choi Yak-rok felt he now understood what it meant for one’s mind to go blank.

For a moment, his actions stopped, and he couldn’t utter a word. He even felt as if his brain had shut down.

Huh?

Why is that……?

While Choi Yak-rok stood there in a daze, Song Woo-yeon turned around swiftly and asked.

“Who was the participant frying the chicken earlier?”

A chill ran through her smiling face.

⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱

“M-me.”

The participant I had seen earlier timidly raised her hand. Sensing that the atmosphere was not normal, she seemed quite tense.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh Ga-eul…!”

“Participant Oh Ga-eul.”

I suppressed the curses rising in my throat.

“Did you not hear me earlier when I said to make incisions in the chicken legs?”

“Pardon?”

Oh Ga-eul asked back with wide eyes.

“You, you never said such a thing….”

Oh ho. So this is how it’s going to be?

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Oh Ga-eul. Her trembling and watching my reaction didn’t seem like she was trying to lie blatantly.

‘Besides, we’re filming now. There’s no point in telling an obvious lie.’

If that’s the case, there are two remaining possibilities. Either she really didn’t hear…

‘Or she heard but is pretending not to have heard out of fear of taking responsibility.’

I’m not sure which it is. But what’s important is that Oh Ga-eul’s major mistake has now put the team in crisis.

Seeing is believing.

As the other team members were also curious about what was happening, I spread out the chicken leg I was holding for them to see.

The flesh soaked in red blood was clearly visible.

“Can you see? It’s not cooked inside.”

“Ah!”

Oh Ga-eul inadvertently let out an exclamation and covered her mouth tightly.

It seems she’s finally realized her mistake. I barely managed to suppress a sigh that was about to burst out.

“I might not have mentioned it for other parts, but I specifically said to make incisions in the chicken legs, didn’t I? Because they’re thick and might not cook through.”

“……”

Oh Ga-eul looked at the undercooked chicken leg with trembling eyes, then closed her eyes tightly and repeated the same words.

“B-but I really didn’t hear it!”

What?

“No, Oh Ga-eul-ssi.”

“I really didn’t hear it. What can I do if I didn’t hear it?”

This is ridiculous.

“Oh Ga-eul-ssi. Is that what’s important right now?”

Whether you heard it or not, is this the time to argue about that? Time keeps ticking, and our chicken legs are undercooked.

Can’t you see what’s more important here?

But Oh Ga-eul maintained an expression of unfairness, her eyes wide open.

“Did everyone else hear it? I didn’t hear it. Huh? Am I the only one who didn’t hear?”

“No, Ga-eul…”

The other participants avoided eye contact with uncomfortable expressions. They were all busy with their own tasks, how could they know if someone else heard something?

This is going nowhere. Even if we talk later, we need to address the situation first.

I spoke to Choi Yak-rok and Lim Do-hun, who were watching the situation unfold.

“Let’s make incisions in these chicken legs and fry them again first. Even if everything else is ready, it’s all for nothing if the main chicken dish is inadequate. Understood?”

“Yes, understood.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Choi Yak-rok and Lim Do-hun quickly picked up the trays containing the chicken legs and took them back to the kitchen.

Both of them have quite a bit of experience, so they should be able to fry the chicken legs enough to cook them through.

If we hurry, we might be able to finish within the time limit somehow. I let out a deep sigh and looked at Oh Ga-eul, who was still trembling in front of me.

“Oh Ga-eul-ssi.”

“…Yes.”

“If you have something to say, say it now.”

“……”

Oh Ga-eul glanced at my face. She seemed to be gauging whether it was okay to speak or not.

Feeling tired, I waved my hand casually, and Oh Ga-eul continued speaking with her head bowed.

“I’m sorry… I’ve never fried such large chicken before, so I didn’t know it wouldn’t cook well.”

“As I mentioned earlier, the chicken provided this time seemed larger than size 7. That’s why I told you to season it more heavily. Do you remember that?”

“Ah, yes! I remember that. …But about making incisions, I really didn’t hear…”

She still seemed to feel wronged about being called out by me.

Where should I even begin? I’m starting to wonder if I’m on a cooking program or a childcare program.

She’s probably older than me. It might be embarrassing and humiliating to receive such criticism from someone younger.

But insisting it’s not her fault isn’t going to help anyone. Not the team, and not Oh Ga-eul herself.

“Oh Ga-eul-ssi. You said you remember me talking about the seasoning, right? As I recall, right after that, I told you to make incisions in the chicken legs. And you responded that you would.”

“But…!”

“Listen to me until the end.”

I cut off Oh Ga-eul’s words firmly.

“Alright. You might not remember. Human memory isn’t perfect, especially when you were busy cooking. I understand it was a hectic situation.”

Her face was full of indignation. It was clear she was thinking, ‘I didn’t mishear, you really didn’t say that…’

Listen, that’s not what’s important here.

“But Oh Ga-eul-ssi, what’s the visible result? You didn’t make incisions in the chicken legs, so the chicken is undercooked, and precious time has been wasted. Do you at least acknowledge that?”

“…Yes.”

“If you acknowledge that, and if you feel sorry towards your team members, shouldn’t you be doing something other than standing here like this? You should go apologize to your team members and help with frying the chicken legs again.”

“……”

“Today’s mission is a team competition, isn’t it? Not an individual one. So you should act like a team member. Oh Ga-eul-ssi, is this how you’d respond to a sous chef in a kitchen? Saying you never heard such a thing?”

“……”

“I understand you feel wronged, but we’re still in the middle of the competition. Let’s go finish cooking first. The match isn’t over yet.”

Without time for a longer conversation, I hurriedly wrapped things up. If she has something to say, I’d appreciate it if she said it after this competition is over.

We only have about 45 minutes left, and we need to fry all the chicken legs again, coat them with sauce, and do the plating. There was a mountain of work to be done.

I felt like I could use an extra pair of hands.

Maybe I shouldn’t have come on this show after all. Why did it have to be a team competition? It would be a shame if we lose when I’m in charge.

As I turned around and started walking away, Oh Ga-eul, who had been standing still as if rooted to the spot, shouted at my back.

“I’m telling you, you really never said that!”

“……”

I’m getting sick of this now.

When I turned around with cold eyes, Oh Ga-eul, her face full of indignation, flinched slightly.

But soon, as if deciding she couldn’t back down here, she raised her voice once more.

“Ch-Chef Song, I think you’re misunderstanding something…! I really never heard it, but you keep making it seem like it’s my fault, and it’s so unfair!”

Oh, for goodness’ sake.

I tried to let it go nicely, but she just won’t allow it.

You want to do this? Fine.

I’m not one to back down from a fight that’s been brought to me.

“Alright, Oh Ga-eul-ssi.”

I smirked, deliberately curling up one corner of my mouth.

“Shall we check the video?”