I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 33

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 33. The Noir Latte Challenge (2)
The Noir Latte Challenge.
Though this trend had emerged suddenly and its history was brief, its influence was undeniable.
Even Roro, who had started it all, hadn’t anticipated this.
– No! Everyone! I’m being honest with you! I wanted to make it a challenge, but not like this! It’s dangerous!
She, who had tasted it herself, was startled by this phenomenon and uploaded a video pleading with people to stop.
But didn’t everyone know this already?
It’s human nature to want to do something when told not to.
“A challenge where the person who started it is telling people to stop? I can’t resist this.”
“What on earth is happening…”
“Let me read other comments. Ah, hehe. They’re saying how spicy can bread possibly be.”
This was the problem.
What was the greatest characteristic of Korean cuisine?
It was stimulating.
But the richness lost to America, and the saltiness lost to Japan.
The exotic sourness and bitter, astringent tastes could be said to lose to various Southeast Asian countries.
So then, what exactly made it so stimulating…
“And it also says, ‘At best, it’s only as spicy as tteokbokki.'”
“Sigh…”
It was spiciness.
Koreans were a people who would dump capsaicin into even a single serving of tteokbokki.
A people who turned foods that were naturally spicy into hellish experiences, and transformed even foods that weren’t supposed to be spicy into fiery dishes.
“Like spicy cold noodles or spicy pork cutlets…”
“Do all the people here practice enduring pain? Master?”
“There’s a saying that they’re a warrior nation…”
Anyway, this created one shared source of pride among everyone—spice pride.
It had become a situation where proudly boasting about eating spicy food was actually something to be proud of.
In the midst of all this, the rising sacred mukbang YouTuber Ye-seul introduced a bread.
And in a very innovative way at that.
“I didn’t know she could bring it to life like this.”
“That human woman has talent for YouTube. It’s always entertaining to watch. Master.”
“You need to dial it back. My channel doesn’t even have viewing history—how did you watch it?”
“A kind human woman named Haeryang showed me. Meow. She said she couldn’t come today because of work, so I’m disappointed.”
So Haeryang was the culprit—the older sister who had been away from home for work had asked if she could take just one day off when she came home.
Well, she was someone who couldn’t resist anything cute, so she would have definitely looked after Noir, who appeared to be an adorable cat.
Anyway, since Noir’s brain was so marinated in dopamine that he would say such things, you didn’t need me to tell you how amazing Ye-seul’s editing skills were.
She edited the accidents that occurred during filming in such a thrilling yet humorous way that the accidents no longer looked like accidents but rather like intentional direction.
“That’s exactly why it’s a problem.”
“What do you mean? Didn’t that human woman achieve what she wanted? Look at this, Master. Views and subscribers are exploding.”
“That’s exactly what became the problem, I’m telling you!”
Just as Haeryang had anticipated, this project opened a new chapter for Ye-seul’s YouTube channel.
In just a single day, it drew an enormous number of views, and with each refresh, the subscriber count climbed visibly higher.
Naturally, the bakery’s story began circulating among people as well.
-So where is this place?
-Trèfle de bonheur.
-All the other breads there are delicious too! You can’t go wrong with anything you pick!
Thanks to this, many customers came in, and the bakery achieved record-breaking sales.
However….
“It’s far too dangerous.”
Though I had created it myself, the Dragon Claw Cheese Bread was a perilous creation.
If someone ate only this bread alone, the intensity of the spice would surely be enough to cause gastroenteritis.
Because of this, I made it mandatory to order the Pain-Relief Latte alongside any challenge attempt, inducing a set menu effect.
“But then a challenge emerged where people tried to eat it without the latte….”
Just today alone, roughly twenty people had come by claiming they’d attempt the challenge.
And right now, another one was sitting there, having ordered the bread and preparing to eat it.
“Since they’ve placed an order, I have to serve it. Owner.”
“That’s true. Sigh….”
I exhaled deeply once, then placed the bread and beverage on a prepared tray and brought it over, saying:
“Please, absolutely make sure to have the latte with it….”
“Yes! Thank you! But I came because of that challenge! I appreciate the concern! Well then! Here goes!”
“Ah. Yes.”
This was the same sequence of events repeating itself.
Probably at first, she’d say it was delicious and eat it happily.
“Mmm! This is really delicious!”
“Yes, yes. Thank you.”
“Hmm, but you said it was a spicy bread, and it’s only….”
Then after a brief silence, her face would turn bright red.
Yes, it was already happening right before my eyes.
If I counted three, two, one in my mind at this moment?
“Aaaahhhhh! Kyeeeeeek! Kraaaaaahhhhh!”
She’d let out screams like those of a tormented soul suffering in hell, wailing in utter despair.
“Have the latte. The latte.”
When I said this, she’d grab the cup without her reason intact and gulp down the latte desperately.
Yes, that’s what I’d thought would happen until now.
“Cough! Hack! I c-can’t! Kraaahhhhh!”
But contrary to my expectations, she endured it with her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned pale white.
The woman’s eyes were so bloodshot from the pain, the capillaries burst and crimson with blood, as she stared at me and opened her mouth.
“Haa… haa… I must…. I absolutely must….”
“Yes?”
“I must… get my name there…. To do that… I need to do it in one go….”
“W-wait just a moment!”
Then she crumpled the remaining bread and shoved it all into her mouth at once.
A disaster unfolding before I could even stop her.
Who would have thought she’d choose to cram the entire bread into her mouth at once to minimize the duration of pain!
What kind of challenge is this anyway!
“Ghhhhh… Heeeeek….”
Tears and snot streaming down her face, the woman continued to move her jaw and chew through it all.
Everyone around her watched in shock as she endured this agonizing challenge.
Some even pulled out their phones to record.
Ah, this will definitely be all over social media later.
The title will probably be something like “Today’s Dragon Claw Victim.”
“Ghhhhh… Gheehhh….”
“Is she okay? Isn’t she actually dying like this?”
“Should we call 911?”
“That seems like the right call….”
The customers who had come in murmured as they watched the woman’s complexion shift from flushed red to dark, and now to a sickly pale.
Some even set down the bread they’d picked up to challenge the Dragon Claw, quietly backing away.
But as they say.
Humans are resilient.
“Um… are you alright….”
“Gulllp!”
She finally swallowed the bread she’d crammed into her mouth.
Yes, that should count as successfully completing whatever this Noir Latte challenge was.
With that thought, I offered her the latte again, but with her pupils dilated, she shook her head and forced out her words with difficulty.
“The challenge rules… eat… and no latte… until the spice fades….”
“The customer will die like this!”
“Hhheeehhh….”
I didn’t know that.
Such detailed conditions for a simple challenge.
Even I, who made the bread, and Ye-seul, who started it, didn’t know about these rules.
In any case, I offered my sincere support and prayers.
I just hoped one minute would pass quickly.
How much time had passed as we all held our breath and waited?
“Done! Hhhhh! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!”
The moment the spice faded and color returned to her face, the woman drained the latte beside her in one shot.
Then she set down the empty cup with a clatter, stood up from her seat, and shouted.
“Success! I did it! Phew! I made it! I actually made it!”
“Ooooh!”
“Wow! That’s insane!”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone succeed!”
No one but Roro, who started this madness, seemed capable of succeeding at the Noir Latte Challenge.
Everyone offered genuine applause at the birth of a survivor who had endured that hellish ordeal.
… Was this really right?
“So if I complete it, my name goes on the Hall of Fame too, right?”
“The Hall of Fame?”
“Yes! Right there!”
What she pointed to was Roro’s autograph.
I wasn’t sure why a signature hanging on a bare wall earned the name “Hall of Fame,” but—
Wasn’t the customer always king?
If the king said so, then that’s how it was.
“Of course. Here, I’ll give you a pen and paper.”
When I handed over the paper Roro had used, the woman cheered and wrote her name and signature.
Her name was….
“Yes. Lee Bo-ram. I’ll add your name to the Hall of Fame.”
“Yaaaay!”
“This is insane. How do we handle this?”
“Even those mukbang YouTubers failed at it, didn’t they? You know, that guy who’s always eating weird stuff and calling people hyung? He couldn’t do it either.”
“That young woman is impressive.”
And so the customer entered the Hall of Fame amid everyone’s cheers.
The entire process was captured on video by another customer and uploaded to SNS for views and attention.
– Wow. She actually ate it.
– Hmm. Is it really that bad?
└ Found someone who’s never tried it.
└ You can’t tell from the smell alone. One bite and you’ll know immediately.
Try eating it, haha.
– Wow but the Hall of Fame thing is actually real
Now people are gonna go crazy eating there starting tomorrow hahahaha
Comments streamed down the screen.
And true to the final comment’s prophecy, the very next day, the bakery entrance was packed with people—specifically those attempting the Noir Latte Challenge to eat the Dragon Claw Cheese Bread.
– Owner… I’m sorry to call so suddenly, but there are so many people I can’t get inside….
“I’m sorry, Haeryang. I’ll open the back door for you, so come that way.”
Haeryang, who had returned after enjoying time with her sister at home, couldn’t even enter through the main gate.
* * *
Haeryang finally managed to clock in through the back door I’d opened.
“There are so many people.”
“Did you anticipate this too?”
“Yes. It’ll only get worse from here, not better.”
Customers lined up long before we’d even opened.
Given the bakery’s location deep in the alley, the line seemed even longer—perhaps because we’d arranged them single-file to avoid blocking the passage of people walking through.
“On the way here, I saw the line extending all the way to the intersection outside.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes. There must be around fifty people waiting…”
“…Should we open the bakery door early today? Haeryang?”
“Yes! Of course! Um… let me just eat some salt bread first…”
No matter what, I couldn’t leave the customers waiting outside.
The moment I opened the door much earlier than expected, customers flooded in.
Though the salt bread was showing its effects, Haeryang—still unaccustomed to dealing with people—took over the counter.
I stepped outside to manage the waiting customers.
And what was Noir doing, you ask?
“Meow.”
“Awww! So cute! Come here! Kitty!”
“Why meow. Hisss!”
“Wow! He’s hissing! So adorable!”
Let’s just say he was engaged in quite the difficult battle.
“This way, please!”
“My apologies! Please wait just a moment! Sorry!”
There were exactly two things I hadn’t anticipated.
The first was the lack of a system.
I’d expected many customers, but I never imagined it would be this overwhelming.
“We really need a waiting list system, don’t we?”
“I agree.”
I had no choice but to write numbers on paper and distribute them one by one.
In some cases, I even had to write down phone numbers and names.
The other thing was this.
“Owner. The sales ratio for Dragon Claw Cheese Bread isn’t as high as I expected.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Other breads are selling more, actually. The baguettes, pumpernickel, and salt bread shelves are already empty.”
Most of the customers who came weren’t just buying Dragon Claw Cheese Bread.
That’s just how people are, really.
They come in wanting one thing, but then they see something appealing and think, “Oh! This looks delicious too! And this one?”
This was exactly what I’d been aiming for.
Thanks to that, sales were on an upward trajectory day after day.
“From now on, we can make even more delicious bread by using better ingredients without hesitation.”
“As expected, Owner only thinks about bread.”
“Because bread is wonderful?”
“That’s what makes you so admirable!”
It was the kind of remark that could be misunderstood if someone overheard it, but let me be clear.
What shone in Haeryang’s eyes wasn’t romantic affection, but rather the reverence one might feel gazing upon a Buddha who had attained enlightenment.
I was about to shrug and get back to work.
Ding~
The notification sound of an incoming text message on my phone.
The moment I pulled it out and read the message, I couldn’t help but freeze.
[Seonghui Nursing Home – Patient Status Notice]
Dear Guardian,
Patient Lee Geum-rye, currently admitted to our facility, has been showing signs of weakness and high fever since this morning.
Our medical staff is currently providing appropriate treatment, but we need to consult with you regarding future treatment directions (such as referral to a higher-level hospital) while monitoring her condition.
Please contact the hospital or visit us at your earliest convenience.
It was a text from the nursing home where Grandmother was staying.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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