I Regressed and Became Too Good at Brewing - Chapter 27

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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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Episode 27. A Guest Beneath the Pine Tree (3)
The moment she brought the glass to her nose, what struck her was the refined aroma of oak.
Yet it wasn’t overwhelming.
Rather, the vanilla notes that must have been born from the Bourbon Cask intertwined beautifully with a pleasant nuttiness.
‘Honey and citrus… white chocolate too…….’
It was a castle built of confection.
The sophistication remained intact, yet the sweetness was almost shockingly pronounced.
Instinctive, and yet not cloying.
In that ambiguous space between the two lay a formidable taste that enchanted completely.
‘It’s as if… just this alone makes it feel like I’m having dessert…….’
It was, literally.
The flavor and aroma were genuinely reminiscent of eating dessert.
She’d felt something similar before when she’d tasted what was called Noble Rot Wine.
Noble Rot Wine was made by carefully selecting only grapes infected with noble rot fungus, which had lost their water content and achieved an extraordinary level of sweetness.
She’d even had the chance to drink a high-end variety of it by chance.
‘That one… even for a half bottle ran about five hundred thousand won… how could that flavor be here…….’
Even just a sip left the aftertaste lingering subtly for several minutes without fading—and that perfection too was complete.
“No… wow… this is… this is incredible…….”
Who would believe it.
That liquor of this caliber had been crafted in a small Korean distillery.
But because of that very fact, Su Bin could only feel all the more disappointed.
‘Could they really sell this? Even if they did, I’d probably never get to drink it again…….’
That was the nature of capitalism.
When a fine product is created, and when that product can’t be made frequently, the price skyrockets.
This liquor was exactly like that.
Not that she meant to disparage Song Ha Dang’s staff, but there had to be limits to how much spirit one person could craft by hand.
‘Even if I wanted to buy it and drink it, there’d be too many competitors fighting for it… so of course they’d sell it as a Limited Edition…….’
If it launched as a Limited Edition, an even greater obstacle awaited.
Collectors.
If people participated who purchased not for the taste of the drink itself but for the rarity embedded within it, then Su Bin would likely never have the chance to drink this particular liquor again.
‘What can I do but enjoy this moment.’
Just as Su Bin, tears brimming in her eyes amid that fleeting happiness, was straining to hold onto the aftertaste on her tongue—
“How is it?”
It was Se Joon who pulled her back to reality.
To his question, Su Bin answered immediately, without a moment’s hesitation.
“It’s incredible.”
“Ha ha! Thank you! Actually, we were experimenting based on what Yeon Woo told us! To have you recognize it on our very first try means a lot. Ha ha!”
Se Joon’s smile was noticeably bright.
Watching that smile, Su Bin found herself thinking.
She too had some grasp of common sense.
Experimentation inherently entailed countless failures before results emerged.
Moreover, with so many variables at play—which vessel to use, how long to age it, what original liquor to employ—far more failures would likely follow.
But…….
“An experiment… you said?”
“We strained Dong Jung Chun medicinal liquor and aged it with Full Aging in a Raspberry Wood Cask. We worried since it was the first attempt, but fortunately it worked out.”
“Your first time?”
“That’s right? Still, we all studied hard and worked for it. This friend here was just being overly cautious.”
“No! How is this overcautious! You tasted the original liquor once and suddenly decided we had to find a Raspberry Wood Cask!”
The two exchanged words without hesitation, as if they’d been close friends long before working together.
Se Joon was flustered, yet he remained happy with the success, and through it all Yeon Woo merely smiled, watching everyone.
‘Their first try?’
Su Bin was genuinely shocked.
A first attempt—and moreover, a risk-laden one at that: using Full Aging on a Raspberry Wood Cask that had no proven track record.
With Bourbon Cask, for instance, it was well-known that sweetness and vanilla notes would emerge, but the Raspberry Wood Cask had no such established information.
In plain terms, after spending substantial money on the Raspberry Wood Cask, they could have ended up with a product of no value—a spirit so revolting in taste and aroma it was undrinkable.
That the result had turned out this way was shocking enough, but to be smiling about it as if it were nothing—
‘As if they knew it would turn out like this…….’
No other explanation made sense for such composure.
The moment he tasted the original liquor, he’d predicted the aging result and chosen the cask and aging method accordingly.
‘Have they come from the future?’
Without quite realizing it, Su Bin had conjured the answer closest to the truth, but she shook her head.
No matter how she looked at it, wasn’t it just fantasy?
It wasn’t as though there was a time machine.
Then this could only be the ability of that man, Yeon Woo.
‘I heard he was in his twenties…’
A bearing that didn’t match his age.
It was precisely then, as she gazed at Yeon Woo—whose appearance grew strangely more endearing the longer she looked at it.
“Do I have something on my face?”
“Oh! I—no! No, nothing!”
Had she been staring too intently because she found it so fascinating?
At his question, Su Bin startled and quickly turned away.
‘I’ve made a mistake!’
Who in the world enjoyed being stared at so openly?
Since becoming an actress, she’d been careful about the public eye—she wouldn’t have let such a slip happen before.
It seemed that a few glasses of good liquor had brought on an uncharacteristic buzz.
But then he offered her information that instantly sobered her right up.
“It’s a medicinal liquor I’ll be launching soon. I’ve named it Dal Bord.”
“A medicinal liquor? Good grief! A spirit that hasn’t even been released yet? Is it really okay to drink this?”
“Of course.”
“I… well… could I have just one more glass…?”
By now, Su Bin herself had chosen not to be conscious of the filming, and she twisted shyly in her seat as she held out her cup again.
At her behavior, everyone broke into genuine laughter.
The goblins were no exception.
* * *
The rest of the shoot had nothing particularly noteworthy.
After finishing the distillery tour, they sipped Me Ari while admiring the natural beauty of Yeongwol.
Beyond that, there was nothing special.
The shoot wrapped up quickly and everyone departed by car.
And then…
[Yoon Hwan: The editing of the filmed content is complete. As we discussed before, it will be uploaded at 10 a.m.]
“You’re quite diligent.”

A notification chimed on my phone as I sat in the pavilion, savoring the quiet of the morning filled with birdsong.
It was a text from Su Bin’s manager, who had left Song Ha Dang after filming not long before.
“Everything really does seem to be progressing well.”

“That’s right.”

Since the regression, I had been running at full speed.
I’d crafted Me Ari, a green-tea liquor, and later its aged version, Me Ari: Autumn.
In that process, I’d brought in Young Gil’s Raspberry Wood Cask.
In my past life, I’d never encountered an employee like Ha Jeong, let alone twins.
And finally…
“Today is Dal Bord’s launch day.”
That was precisely why Yoon Hwan had insisted on uploading the footage at 10 a.m. today.
At that exact time, Song Ha Dang’s website and Juju Daily were set to begin selling Dal Bord simultaneously.
The filming for Jeong Sul Bin’s channel and the interview with Juju Daily were all part of the promotion.

“In the interview? Like what?”

Song Ha slipped in to sit beside me, adjusting his traditional hat.

He brushed dust from the hem of his robe and, settling in beside me, continued speaking.

“It’s premature for now.”

As I’d said before, I was still reluctant to speak directly about the spirits or to share my mindset.
A liquor maker speaks through the liquor itself.
It might seem old-fashioned, but my grandfather was the same way, and given that I follow suit, I suppose it’s just my nature.
“Besides, how could I speak of the wager I made with the Goblin King?”

“And besides, I saw how everyone loved the liquor we all made together.”

Dal Bord—the spirit that would soon make its presence known to the world—had passed the exacting palate of Su Bin.
Not just that.
Yoon Ju Ho took a sip as well, and didn’t spare his praise, marveling, “How is such a spirit even possible!”
‘He seems to be in quite a good mood.’
“It can’t be helped.”
What could be happier than having one’s effort recognized?
And to know that the fruits of that effort could put a smile on someone’s face—what could be better?
“Just ten minutes left now.”
‘I wondered why he’d come out this far, but it seems he’s nervous after all.’
“There’s no way it won’t happen.”
It wasn’t that he lacked confidence.
If anything, he was brimming with it.
Dal Bord had a flavor that there might be those who’d never tasted it, but there was no one who’d tried it even once who didn’t come back for more.
“I think every time we release a new spirit, it’ll be like this.”
‘Then that’s not nervousness at all.’
“Is it not?”
‘Rather, wouldn’t it be more like a pleasant sort of tremor?’
A pleasant tremor.
Yes, Song Ha was right.
I’m wrapped up in anticipation right now.
How will this spirit satisfy people?
How will they regard its taste, its aroma, its package design?
How will all of our effort be received?
“That’s true. I do seem excited.”
‘It’s good to be excited. Considering how much Mok Tong drank—honestly, if he’d had that much, even the lees would have turned to fine wine by now.’
“Hahaha!”
That certainly had been the case.
He’d drunk so much that even one cask felt noticeably lighter to the touch.
The memory of Mok Tong whistling sheepishly beside a bewildered Se Joon, wondering “Why is this like this?”, set him laughing outright.
In the meantime, the time had already slipped to 9:59.
It was when the second hand swept toward the hour with a ticking sound.
Buzz—buzz—buzz
Bzzzzzz
Bzzzzzzzzzz
The phone began vibrating frantically.
With a violent tremor as if war had broken out, he checked the screen to find countless messages waiting.
[Su Bin: (Purchase confirmation screenshot)]
[Su Bin: We did it! We did it!!!]
Su Bin, who’d managed to capture and send a proof photo of her purchase history mere moments after 10 p.m., somehow moving with impressive speed.
[Yoon Hwan: Upload complete. We posted it as scheduled, and the response is already excellent. Congratulations.]
Though he hadn’t checked yet, judging by Yoon Hwan’s words, the video he’d created in collaboration with Su Bin was already proving its promotional worth.
[Se Joon: Wait, does this make sense? How can the person who made it not be able to drink his own spirit?]
[Ha Jeong: (confused hamster emoticon)]
[Ha Jeong: Haven’t you already tasted it quite thoroughly? Why would you buy it again?]
[Se Joon: This one! Is mine! Got it!]
[Ye Eun: (closed-eyes person emoticon)]
[Ye Hyun: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋI succeeded!]
[Se Joon: Bitter ㄴ]
In Song Ha Dang’s group chat, the staff were going back and forth debating who’d managed to secure Dal Bord.
It would have been nice if everyone had been here together, but since they’d all worked through countless nights for Dal Bord’s launch, today had been designated as a temporary closure, so there was no choice but to watch their reactions unfold this way.
“Se Joon already tasted it himself, so why is he carrying on like this?”
‘That’s precisely what you call romance—what you young people refer to as emotion.’
“Well, I suppose. But was it really that hard to get hold of?”
Judging by the response to Me Ari: Autumn, Dal Bord had released as large an initial quantity as possible from the start.
Yet even with that, this was the response……
A new message popped up, as if to prove a happy sort of anxiety.
[President Yoon Ju Ho (Juju Daily): Inventory is critically low. I think we need to redraft the contract…….]
“Wow.”
After that, Dal Bord’s initial stock sold out before even a full day had passed since sales began.

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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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