Reset Life with Infinite Talents - Chapter 116

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Infinite Talent Reset Life Episode 116

 

 

”Huk!”

When I return to the restaurant, Emily hugs me.

Surprised, I open my eyes to see Flash silently patting my back.

Emily lifts her head and asks with eyes moistened with tears.

If I’m okay.

A chuckle escapes me.

“I’m fine. It’s already been more than 4 years.”

I’m okay because I met Larry and Ada.

I got better because I met you all.

So I’m okay.

“Waaah!”

“Johann!”

Friends embraced Johann, and Hong Hee-sook and the ladies wiped away tears watching the scene.

The reporter and cameraman’s eyes also reddened as they got caught up in the moment.

‘Jackpot!’

The Wolf Boy who caused a stir in California 4 years ago.

That genius had grown up so warmly like this.

‘Jackpot! Jackpot!’

They stomped their feet excitedly.

 

Soon the dishes came back.

“Oh…”

All the plates and bowls completely emptied.

For a chef, this was the greatest compliment.

Johann and Hong Hee-sook looked at the Owner Chef.

With this much, the outcome was practically decided.

Two cameras filmed the Owner Chef.

“…This is cheating.”

The Owner Chef, who had been anxiously staring at the empty bowls and biting her lips, gritted her teeth.

“You’re not going to acknowledge this?”

‘Are you even a chef?’

If she wouldn’t acknowledge this even after seeing empty plates, she shouldn’t be qualified to cook.

‘I know! I know that!’

But she couldn’t acknowledge it here.

She needed to use this broadcast as a stepping stone to open a second location.

But if rumors spread that she lost in cooking to a mere 15-year-old boy, investors would withdraw their investments.

No, sales would plummet first.

‘Wh-what should I do?’

Rolling her eyes, she spotted the fake meat left in the wok.

‘That’s it!’

“That’s meat, isn’t it?! Right?”

Those bean-sized things on top of the bibimbap dish.

That’s definitely meat.

“You didn’t make vegan food, so why should I concede?!”

‘Pathetic…’

“How pathetic.”

Silence suddenly falls over the kitchen.

Everyone’s gaze turns to Hong Hee-sook.

She’s smiling coldly.

“Ugh! Non-professionals should stay out of this!”

“Oh my, I’m a non-professional? Do you really think so? Hohoho!”

As Hong Hee-sook reaches for her handbag, Johann grabs her hand.

“It’s okay, Hong. I can just make it again in front of her.”

She’s a precious investor.

He couldn’t let her get involved in this kind of incident.

“If I just need to make it again…”

Clatter clatter!

Sudden running footsteps.

A young girl rushes into the kitchen and points her finger at the Owner Chef.

“Stop talking nonsense! You’re the one who put in the meat!”

Thud!

“…Huh?”

Everyone’s gaze turns to the Owner Chef.

The Owner Chef has turned pale for some reason.

‘What’s with that expression?’

Everyone’s eyes fill with suspicion.

The Owner Chef’s heart sinks and she contorts her face.

‘No! I can’t let them suspect!’

“Wh-what nonsense are you talking about! You could get sued for defamation! Even if he’s in the same situation as you…”

“Ha! I have a meat allergy, you know?”

Even eating just a little meat makes her whole body itch and break out in rashes.

Both meat and fish, even just a tiny amount.

“See this?”

Emma shows her forearm covered in bumpy hives.

“This happened after eating your food!”

Boom!

“Oh, my goodness!”

“No wonder she insisted on mixing the secret seasoning herself!”

Everyone’s gaze fills with certainty, and the reporter, a predator who caught prey, rushes over.

“Chef, is what that girl said true? Did you really add meat to the food?”

With the microphone thrust right in front of her face, the Owner Chef feels dizzy.

‘I-I only added a tiny amount, so why!’

A year after opening the restaurant, sales gradually declined. The reason was simple.

It was due to the limitations of vegan cooking.

The umami taste of meat that couldn’t be surpassed no matter what research was done.

It was because of the absence of that umami.

Growing anxious, she eventually resorted to meat powder, and sales recovered to their original state as if they had never dropped.

Since then, meat powder became her secret recipe, and now it was being exposed.

‘N-no!’

If this broadcast aired, not only would the second location be problematic, but the currently operating restaurant would also have to close.

With her eyes rolling back, she ended up saying what she shouldn’t have said.

“Are you really believing the words of such an orphan right now?! I’m the Owner Chef of LA’s first vegan restaurant…”

The Owner Chef’s face turns blue as she speaks.

It’s because of people’s cold stares.

“N-no, I!”

She tries to make excuses frantically, but faced with still cold gazes, the chef can only contort her face.

“Ugh! Delete it! I won’t appear on your program, so delete everything you filmed today! If you broadcast even a bit of it, I’ll sue you! Got it?!”

Crash!

Holding a black bag containing the sauce she brought and the food scraps left by the children, she hurriedly rushed out of the kitchen, and the reporter excitedly shouted at the camera.

“As you just witnessed, the owner chef of LA’s first vegan restaurant has taken away all the food she made, leaving the raised suspicions shrouded in mystery. Only the owner chef knows the truth. This was Monica from LA Morning!”

“Great job!”

“I wondered why you called me, but you really delivered a knockout blow! Good work, Monica!”

“I’ll buy beer when I get my bonus! Phew.”

Monica, who removed her earpiece, approached Johann with a bright smile.

“Thank you so much for allowing today’s filming, Jefferson. For revealing the ugly truth…”

“Emma too!”

“Emma as well.”

“Is it okay?”

Monica chuckled at Johann’s question and replied.

“Who? The broadcast? Or that person?”

If it’s about the broadcast, it’s fine.

They already have a contract stating they’ll air it regardless of any incidents or accidents.

“Well, even so, there might be lawsuit issues…”

This is America, the land of lawsuits.

No matter how many contracts they’ve signed, you never know what might happen if someone files a lawsuit.

“I doubt she’ll have the mental capacity to file a lawsuit.”

All the customers who ate vegan food at the restaurant over the past four years will be filing lawsuits.

“Will Emma file a lawsuit too?”

Emma is a victim who suffered actual damages.

If she goes to the hospital right now and gets tested, she has a high chance of winning.

“LA Morning can’t provide help, but I can introduce you to a lawyer.”

“…Yes!”

Emma glanced at Johann and nodded vigorously.

This is probably also the luck Johann mentioned.

“Wow…”

Johann, feeling like he witnessed a slice of America, clicked his tongue and picked up his phone.

“Yeah, Ada. Do you know about LA’s first vegan restaurant? Oh, you do? I think they used meat there. A patient with a meat allergy ate food made by that person and had an allergic reaction. Wait, Emma.”

“Uh, yes?”

“Take this.”

“H-hello?”

-Nice to meet you. This is Ada Wong, senior lawyer at Lewis & Boris. May I ask where you are right now?

“Le-Lewis & Boris? Victory Nike?!”

Lewis & Boris law firm, one of LA’s landmarks featuring the Victory Goddess Nike mural.

Its reputation was so great that even a 15-year-old girl knew about it.

 

* * *

 

“The broadcast will start at 8 PM on Wednesday in two weeks! So about that…”

“If you want, I’ll appear on it.”

LA Morning’s basic format involves the MC having talks with guests in the studio while airing pre-recorded videos in between.

“…Wow, are you finally starting to appear on broadcasts?”

Young genius Johann Jefferson, who avoided broadcasts so much that he wouldn’t appear on them even after releasing songs.

“Only LA Morning.”

“Oh, don’t worry. Bilford is a really good person!”

LA Morning is basically a program that introduces various aspects of LA and California. So they don’t have aggressive conversations like late-night talk shows.

“That’s why I’m appearing on it.”

Because they won’t ask difficult questions.

“Hahaha! Then I’ll contact you!”

As Monica waved and left, Emma approached.

She lowered her head and tapped the ground with her foot while speaking.

“…Thank you.”

Thanks to Johann, she gained the strength to live on.

She found a dream.

“A dream? What is it?”

“I want to become a chef.”

‘Like you.’

“Cooking that can bring joyful moments to people!”

So that people can make good memories eating her cooking.

She wants to become a chef who can say such things.

Johann, surprised, soon nodded his head.

“I’ll cheer you on.”

“Yes! I-I’ll go!”

Emma hurriedly entered the building, and Johann smiled watching her.

“Live well.”

This is enough.

It’s enough that she gained the strength to live well in the future.

Johann smiled with satisfaction and turned around.

“Hmm. Should I support the child protection facility?”

Seeing the children directly reminded him of his past situation, and his heart began to lean toward it.

“Johann!”

Startled!

“Yes! Got it, let’s go!”

A warm breeze ruffled his hair.

 

* * *

 

The volunteer work came to an end at 4 o’clock.

“Ugh! Why did I do laundry!”

“Really? Johann really took down the chef?”

Students pulling their hair, regretting missing the good show.

“…”

Thump!

The children from the protection facility silently watched and extended their fists.

Johann bumped his fist against theirs, smiled again, and turned around.

“Ah! That was fun! Where should we go next?”

“Shouldn’t buying a camera come first?”

“Should we buy a camcorder?”

Just like four years ago, Johann always causes major incidents during volunteer work. He’ll definitely cause trouble during the next volunteer activity too, so they needed to prepare to film it.

Johann was looking at his friends plotting such schemes with disbelief when…

“Johann.”

As Hong Hee-sook approached, Johann nodded.

“You may do so.”

Startled!

“How do you know what I’m going to say?”

“You want to sell my cooking, don’t you.”

The cooking method of the ‘Master Chef.’

Hong Hee-sook is a chef, not just a cook.

As a chef, one can’t help but be interested in new cooking methods.

Also, if today’s events get broadcast, interest in Korean cuisine will explode. Vegans who feel betrayed by LA’s first vegan restaurant, as well as regular vegans, will start seeking out vegan-style Korean food.

Even if it was just temporary interest, it was definitely worth trying.

Hong Hee-sook is surprised by those words.

‘Accurate.’

“…I really don’t need to worry.”

“Haha. Instead, please use part of the profits for child protection facilities and the development of Korean cuisine.”

“How….”

How can he be so reliable.

“Understood. I’ll definitely do that. And thank you for this too.”

Hong Hee-sook smiles warmly as she lifts the plastic wrap containing the mushroom meat and dessert juice that Johann made today.

“Please take good care of the movie from now on.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll send you the recipe by messenger by tomorrow.”

“Hoho. When you come to Koreatown, contact me at this number.”

Johann watched Hong Hee-sook walking away and looked at the business card.

“Bukchang-dong… soft tofu?”

“What? Bukchang-dong?”

Mason, who is Korean, reacts.

“You know it?”

“Of course I know! It’s an incredibly popular restaurant in Koreatown!”

They even have a second location in LA Koreatown, and I heard that over a thousand customers visit there daily.

Hollywood celebrities interested in Korean culture and Korean celebrities also frequent it, making it a pride of LA’s Korean community.

“I heard there are about ten more branches besides LA.”

“Wow….”

‘So that’s how she can invest such big money.’

A thousand people per day. Even if each person spends just $20, that’s $20,000 per day, $7.3 million per year. Just in LA alone.

‘It seems like she invests in various places besides movies.’

At this level, you could call her a walking corporation.

“The recipe found a good owner.”

The meeting of a Korean restaurant and royal cuisine.

‘Should I write down and send other recipes too?’

All the dishes from that era that the ‘Master Chef’ remembers.

Dishes that the ‘Master Chef’ developed but weren’t passed down to later generations.

“Hm?”

“No, nothing. Let’s go.”

“Who wants to go bowling!”

“Ha, this loser always suggests bowling even though he loses every time.”

“$100 bet. You scared?”

“…Call!”

“Men, really….”

“Gene’s team has to buy coffee and cake!”

 

The next day, at the main branch of Bukchang-dong Soft Tofu in Koreatown.

“Tofu delivery!”

“You’re here? This way!”

“Finished peeling all the garlic!”

“Over there!”

The kitchen is busy even before opening time.

Hong Hee-sook, dressed beautifully in hanbok, moves around busily.

She wears hanbok every day to promote not only Korean food but Korean culture.

“How’s the broth?”

“Please try it.”

Slurp!

“Mm. As expected, Seong-gyun.”

“Haha. It’s nothing.”

“Boss!”

Hong Hee-sook looks puzzled as a hall staff member suddenly enters.

“Someone left this and went away.”

Hong Hee-sook’s eyes light up at the notebook in the hall staff’s hand.

‘It came!’

Johann kept his promise.

“Quick, give it here!”

She urgently takes the book from the hall staff and opens it, letting out an exclamation.

“Ah, so this is how you do it.”

As expected, stealing with eyes and mouth had its limits.

Flip flip flip!

“How thoughtful of him to write it down in such detail.”

Not only that, but he even recorded in detail the direction and number of times to stir the ladle. Truly grateful.

“Hm?”

Accidentally turning to the back page, she sees something more recorded there.

 

Bongsu Porridge.

An improved porridge version of Bongsu soup, which is effective for strengthening and fortifying….

 

Rustle! Rustle!

“…?!”

Her complexion hardened stiffly.

 

* * *

 

That evening, in front of the entrance of a house with a small garden.

Hong Hee-sook wears a tense expression.

She can’t help it.

The person she’s about to meet is a benefactor who greatly helped her when she immigrated to LA and established herself.

“Huuuu.”

After taking a long breath, she raises her hand.

Knock knock knock!

“Elder, it’s Hee-sook.”

Tap! Tap!

The sound of a cane hitting the wooden floor approaches, and soon an old woman in her 80s opens the door and greets her warmly.

“You must be busy, why did you come again.”

Hong Hee-sook feels guilty at the clear smile.

“Come again? I should be sorry for not visiting often enough. How is Grand Mother?”

“She just woke up.”

Grand Mother usually only wakes up briefly during the day.

Today she must have stayed awake to meet Hong Hee-sook.

“Come in quickly.”

“Excuse me.”

Then she guides Hee-sook to a room where sunlight shines well.

When the door opens, the smell of death penetrates Hong Hee-sook’s nostrils.

In a space that looks like a hospital room transplanted exactly as is, an emaciated old man lies among all kinds of machines, wheezing as he breathes.

‘She’s getting thinner by the day. She shouldn’t go on like this.’

A righteous person who came to California when Japan invaded the Korean Empire, gathered the scattered Koreans and contributed independence funds, and the spiritual pillar of the Korean community in California – Grand Mother.

At 117 years old this year, it wouldn’t be strange if she closed her eyes right now, but still, it breaks my heart.

“Mother, President Hong is here.”

“….”

Grand Mother moves her lips hesitantly.

The old man brings his ear close to those lips.

“Yes. Is your husband doing well?”

“Well, he’s doing fine.”

“Oh my.”

When Grand Mother smiles with difficulty, telling her not to worry too much, Hong Hee-sook also smiles as if it was just a joke.

“It’s still before dinner, right? I had something so delicious yesterday, and I thought of Grand Mother and you, so I brought some.”

“Oh my, what’s so precious about people who will soon enter coffins.”

“Sir!”

“Ho ho ho… Hm?”

The old man narrows his brow after seeing the contents.

It’s because of the meat floating in one of the two types of porridge.

“It’s artificial meat made from beans and two types of mushrooms.”

I tried to recreate it after receiving the recipe book, but kept failing, so I brought what I got from Johann.

“This is what I cooked.”

“It’s porridge made with pine nuts.”

This one should be fine.

“Mother, President Hong cooked porridge for you to eat.”

The old man scoops up a spoonful and brings it close to Grand Mother’s nose.

At that sight, Grand Mother contorts her face.

I’m always sorry.

To the daughter who takes care of her adoptive mother despite being over 80 years old.

Why hasn’t this tenacious lifeline been cut yet – Grand Mother feels sorry again and again today.

Yes, I should eat quickly, she thought at that moment.

“…!”

Grand Mother’s eyes, which had been narrowly open, gradually widen.

“Oh, Mother?”

She lifts her emaciated arm that had been attached to the bed and waves it in the air.

Both are shocked by this sight, but the old man, who comes to his senses first, understands her meaning and presses the remote control of the bed.

Whirrrr!

As her upper body is raised, Grand Mother examines the yellow porridge with her blurry eyes.

No doubt about it.

It’s Bongsu porridge.

A food that improved Bongsu soup, one of the royal beverages called Eumcheong, into porridge.

When Grand Mother opens her mouth with difficulty, the savory and sweet porridge enters her dry mouth.

Slurp!

Ah, it’s been so long.

That taste she secretly ate in the palace kitchen in the distant past.

Grand Mother, who briefly travels to the distant past, unconsciously opens her mouth again.

 

The old man and Hong Hee-sook are shocked.

Because Grand Mother, whose digestive function has declined and who can’t eat more than two spoonfuls of any food, has emptied half a bowl of porridge.

“Are, are you alright, Mother?”

Nod… nod, nod… nod.

She moves her head with difficulty and looks at Hong Hee-sook as if grateful.

At this, Hong Hee-sook takes out dessert as if enchanted.

“Would, would you like to try this too?”

A sour fragrance brushing past her nose and a piece of pear in red water.

“Wh, what’s that?”

The old man looks at Grand Mother in surprise.

Grand Mother’s eyes are also wide.

‘Baesuk Jeho soup. How is that….’

Baesuk Jeho soup, which wasn’t even recorded in books or documents, only passed down by word of mouth among court ladies.

A food made in the Crown Prince’s Kitchen of the Eastern Palace where Crown Prince Sado stayed.

A food that even the old man only heard about from Grand Mother.

The old man scoops up a spoonful with trembling hands and brings it to Grand Mother’s mouth.

The moment the sour and sweet beverage touches her tongue, Grand Mother realizes.

Ah, this is it.

I’ve continued this tenacious life to eat this.

Long ago, when she had a terrible cold, the Baesuk Jeho soup that her adoptive mother, who was a court lady in the Main Palace Small Kitchen, made for her just once.

A food whose records were even forbidden, saying it might have been the cause of madness, even though Crown Prince Sado was restored.

‘Child, is it delicious?’

‘Yes, Your Majesty. I think my fever is going down.’

Drip!

I guess I’m finally going to see you, Mother.

As she seems to hear the voice of her mother whose face she can’t even remember anymore, as the warmth of the hand that was placed on her forehead back then comes to mind, tears flow from Grand Mother’s dry eyes.

 

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