I Only Baked Bread, but I Was Mistaken for the Best - Chapter 84

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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 84. A Delicious Meal (2)
“Ah, you’re coming now? Yes, yes. I understand.”
I hung up the phone with the author of A Delicious Meal and took another look around the bakery.
Bread filling every shelf.
The floor, swept and wiped clean since yesterday, gleaming with polish.
Even the kitchen, so immaculate that the hygiene inspection team wouldn’t find a single flaw.
“Haeryang, the beverage menu is all prepared without any issues, right?”
“Of course. I calculated all possible variables and determined the optimal quantities.”
“Ah… variables, you say…?”
“I monitored every single episode of A Delicious Meal yesterday.”
“What? All of them?”
I knew it was a long-running program with over 300 episodes, and she watched them all?
Was that even physically possible?
“I split the screen with 10 episodes on one monitor and played them at 5x speed.”
“That’s… possible?”
“I have that skill, you know.”
All hail ultra-fine analysis.
Anyway, thanks to that, she was able to confirm the cast members’ tendencies and the editing direction of the show.
She even received various help related to that.
“When I mentioned there was filming today, your sister asked if there was anything she could help with.”
“Ah, that’s too much.”
If Haeryang has a sister, it would be Yu Ha-neul, the guild master of the Blue Dragon Guild.
It doesn’t make sense for an S-rank Hunter to make a guest appearance just because I’m appearing on cable TV as a bakery owner.
“She’ll be here soon. Chae-eun also sent me a message.”
A buzzing notification brought Chae-eun’s text.
There wasn’t much content besides saying she’d arrive a bit later.
“Seeing how much you’re all doing this, you must be quite worried.”
“They’re regular customers. It’s good that they care so much about our bakery.”
“That’s true.”
Haeryang was right.
From Chae-eun’s perspective, it wouldn’t really matter what happened to our bakery.
I heard that this appearance was a promotional broadcast coinciding with Favor’s comeback and the end of their hiatus.
“Meow.”
“Yeah. Noir. Let’s just do what we normally do.”
“Meow.”
Noir shrugged, then turned away with an air of indifference and took a spot by the entrance.
Though I had to admit, the way she perked up her ears was cute.
That creature had taken my phone for a while and listened to all of Favor’s songs on YouTube.
“Did she become a fan or something?”
“Owner?”
“Ah, no, not me. I just hope our regular customers do well.”
“But Fever is already such a hot group.”
“Yeah, I found that out when I looked into it.”
Since I was going to appear on the broadcast, I did some thorough research on Fever and Hani—Chae-eun, that is.
Fever was a female idol group formed two years ago.
Hani, who served as the main vocalist, had been caught up in various rumors since her debut.
The most recent one was the discord rumor.
“Apparently she stress-ate because of that and gained a lot of weight….”
“Recently, there’s been viral posts about her successful diet.”
“When I first met her, it didn’t seem like she’d gained weight.”
I remembered her having a pretty ordinary figure.
Actually, if anything, she seemed rather thin.
But in the entertainment world, that apparently wasn’t the case.
“When I saw her recently, I was actually worried….”
“Because she was too thin?”
“…To be honest, it looked like I could grab her and snap her in half.”
Well, at least she seemed happy about it, so I suppose that’s good.
I was thinking such thoughts when it happened.
Ding~
“Hello there! Good to see you!”
A loud, resonant voice rang out.
I was familiar with this voice from hearing it often on TV.
It belonged to Ho-jeong, one of South Korea’s representative MCs.
He smoothed down his short hair as he continued speaking.
“Are you the owner here? Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Ho-jeong.”
“Hello. I’m Han Seung-hyun, who runs Trèfle de bonheur.”
“Ha! You know, boss, you’ve got such a striking appearance that you’d photograph really well on camera! Haha!”
He grasped my hand with a cheerful demeanor and shook it while offering compliments.
I didn’t particularly react to what he said.
After all, there was no real reason for me to appear on camera.
When I signed the contract with the broadcast writers, I’d even included a clause stating that my appearance wasn’t necessary.
“Then shall we start preparing for filming right away?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I appreciate how straightforward you are.”
Before he’d even finished speaking, people rushed in and began setting up cameras and equipment throughout the bakery.
I think those people are called staff.
Even someone like me, who doesn’t know much about broadcasting, knows one thing.
When people work, they get hungry.
“Please have some while you work.”
“Oh my. How can you….”
I approached the person who appeared to be the most senior among the staff and handed over the bread and beverages I had prepared in advance.
The combination of an Americano potion that could restore mana and a cream bun would surely sweep away all the bad things from their bodies.
“Thank you for the meal, Owner.”
“Don’t mention it. When you come to a bakery, eating bread is only natural.”
“We’ll make sure to get some beautiful shots for you. Ha! Hey! Everyone grab one of these! The Owner gave them to us!”
The staff members, having finished their preparations, gradually approached one by one and took their coffee and bread.
Their expressions brightened the moment they took a sip and a bite.
“Wow… this is really delicious, isn’t it?”
“Somehow… all the fatigue just melts away.”
“Doesn’t it feel exactly like that? That refreshing sensation you get when you wake up after sleeping in.”
“That’s just because you’re addicted to caffeine.”
Their reactions varied, but the reason behind them was all the same, so it worked out.
While I waited, the cast members began arriving at the shop one by one.
“Hello! Owner! I’m Jo Mi-hyeon!”
“I’m Chef Han Yeong-gu.”
“I’m Han Seung-hyun. Thank you for having us.”
“Oh, we should be the ones thanking you.”
Comedian Jo Mi-hyeon and Chef Han Yeong-gu.
I wasn’t familiar with Mi-hyeon, but I had heard plenty about Young-gu.
Although my specialty was baking while Young-gu worked in fine dining, so our paths didn’t overlap much, I could still draw inspiration from his work within the broader realm of cooking.
“I was impressed by the herring sandwich you made before.”
“Ah, you saw that? I only made it once because I felt so wronged about it. Ha ha.”
“It looked delicious despite that.”
Perhaps it was because of that past incident when a so-called star chef—me—had made a soggy and fishy sandwich.
Young-gu, who took pride in his profession, later appeared on another program where he created his own herring sandwich and made a name for himself.
“Thank you for seeing it that way. But you’ll judge the bread fairly, right?”
“Of course. You won’t be disappointed.”
At my words, Young-gu smiled broadly and disappeared with his manager.
“Phew. He’s always like that. Please don’t mind him too much. He just has so much pride in his profession.”
“A chef should have pride in their work. I think it’s admirable.”
“Ho ho. Thank you for saying that. Young-gu has made quite a few owners cry over the years.”
Mi-hyeon answered while waving her hand dismissively.
From what I gathered, Young-gu’s harsh critic image seemed to stem entirely from the pride he held in his profession as a chef.
Rather than putting others down for his own glory, his blunt remarks came from a professional compulsion that said, “As a chef, I must serve the best possible dish to my customers.”
“He throws away his own dishes immediately if he thinks they don’t taste good. I thought they tasted fine.”
“Is he a perfectionist?”
“Phew. It’s more than that. So he makes harsh comments, but then he also worries about the comments online. Ha ha. It’s funny, isn’t it?”
“Aha ha….”
It would bother him, I suppose.
Young-gu was human after all, so he couldn’t completely ignore the gazes and evaluations of others.
Still, I find it truly admirable that the chef steadfastly maintains the path they must walk.
“Hani will be arriving soon! We’re starting the shoot!”
“Oh! I should get going! As for you, Owner…”
“I’ve already received my instructions beforehand.”
“Got it! Then good luck! Hehe!”
Soon, the three cast members and guest began their introduction outside the bakery according to the script.
“Yes! We’ve finally arrived!”
“Is this the place? The sign is so pretty!”
“Hmm. A pretty sign is one thing, but a bakery must have delicious bread.”
“Young-gu, try it first and tell us. This is a place Hani really strongly recommended! Right, Hani?”
“Yes! I’m confident!”
“See? I told you so.”
Gone was their earlier demeanor—they’d completely transformed into seasoned entertainers.
Haeryang, who’d been watching them alongside me, spoke up.
“They’re all lying.”
“That’s just how broadcasting is.”
“Ah. Only Chae-eun is being sincere.”
“So was the part about the sign being pretty also a lie?”
“… That’s exactly why I suggested we make the sign design prettier.”
It seemed my aesthetic sense for bread-making didn’t translate to sign design.
As I quietly recalled the sign design I’d been so proud of, everyone came through the door.
And greeting them was.
*Ding~*
“Welcome to Trèfle de bonheur!”
“Oh? Are you the owner?”
“Ah! No! I’m just a part-timer.”
It was Haeryang.
This was entirely intentional staging.
Of course, not my intention—the broadcast writers’ plan.
What had they said during the first meeting?
“Really? You two are close?”
“Well, I’m not super close with the older sister directly, but with her younger sister…”
“Either way, you’re close!”
“Ah… yes…”
For that reason, Haeryang was assigned to handle the first meeting between the Delicious Meal Road team and Trèfle de bonheur.
The camera captured them exchanging handshakes and greetings one by one.
So what was I doing?
“Hiding here watching, then coming out when I get the signal.”
“Meow.”
“Seems like the staff and I switched positions, doesn’t it? I think so too.”
But what could I do about it?
The experts on the broadcast said this would have more impact.
So I had no choice but to follow along.
Meanwhile, the conversation continued outside.
“Wow. So you’re saying the Owner makes all the bread sold here?”
“Of course. To be honest, I don’t even know the detailed recipes.”
“Amazing. Since no one else’s hands touch it, you must have incredible craftsmanship.”
Though in reality, it was bread that literally couldn’t be made by anyone else’s hands.
“Then, would it be possible to meet the Owner?”
“Ah. I think he’s probably making bread inside right now?”
This was our agreed-upon signal.
When this conversation came up, I was supposed to act like I’d naturally just come out from making bread.
I didn’t even need to act for this.
It was what I always did anyway.
As I stepped out from the kitchen in my current outfit, everyone’s faces showed surprise.
“Oh my! The Owner is so young!”
“Wow. You’re quite impressive, aren’t you?”
“Ha ha. Thank you.”
We’d already greeted each other earlier, yet they reacted like this.
Professionals really are something else.
As I scratched my head awkwardly, Ho-jeong naturally continued the flow.
“So what bread will we be tasting today?”
“Ah. The bread you’ll be having today is….”
Chestnut butter cream bread and Americano.
That was the pre-arranged line.
But I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
Even though it was filming, I could see the expressions of the people who would be eating my bread.
Especially Young-gu, who was frowning deeply.
That was an expression only someone who’d just eaten a lot of greasy food could make.
Giving them chestnut butter cream bread loaded with thick, rich cream in this situation would be maximizing their suffering.
And on top of that….
Ding!
[Appetite-Stimulating Cleanliness]
▷ Did you know you can suffer even from eating? Here are some poor souls who’ve proven it.
▷ Deliver ??? to ??? 0/1
▷ Reward: 1,000 BP
A quest had even popped up.

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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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