The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 125

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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 125. A Proposal
While exchanging casual banter with Jin-woo.
Han Jae-won settled into a corner table at a nearby Bar and opened the menu.
Truth be told, he wasn’t even looking at it.
I already knew he’d memorized everything.
As expected, my suspicion proved correct.
After sitting quietly for a moment, he looked up and asked.
“What will you prepare for me today?”
“Will I be choosing again?”
A question answered with a question.
The response that came back was quite amusing.
“Yes. I find it enjoyable.”
“Enjoyable, you say… Well, I do it because I find it enjoyable too.”
He loves eating; I love preparing.
We complement each other well. Unlike with Jang On-gyu.
“Hehe. So what’s possible right now?”
“Let me think… the inspiration that comes to mind is noodles.”
“Noodle dishes, then?”
“Yes. Ramen and Hong Kong-style beef brisket noodle soup would be interesting.”
“Since we had ramen last time, let’s go with Hong Kong-style this time.”
“Excellent!”
Whether he chose it knowingly or not, it happened to be exactly what I wanted to make.
It turned out to be a fortunate selection.
‘I should arrange the toppings in an interesting way.’
I prepared the Hong Kong-style beef brisket noodle soup, even utilizing my skills.
“Here you are.”
“I’ll enjoy it.”
Slurp—
Han Jae-won ate with more enthusiasm than expected. Without much fanfare.
He lifted the noodles topped with garnish above the broth with his chopsticks.
He ate slowly, without even a slurping sound.
He savored it as if tasting it for the first time.
‘He’s eaten beef brisket noodle soup before, though.’
He was always like this.
Everything he ate, he approached with the seriousness of a first-time experience, deconstructing each ingredient one by one.
Then he would tilt his head in contemplation.
‘There’s flavor there. He just can’t quite pinpoint the source of the difference.’
He could analyze taste, though not quite to my degree.
It was a natural gift, one might say.
Based on that foundation, he possessed an exceptional ability to recreate flavors.
It’s also the reason he can succeed.
“I still can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“What is it?”
“This difference in taste. It’s subtle, but… hmm….”
“It’s a simple difference. There’s only one thing that’s changed from before.”
“Just one? Hmm… what could it be?”
“Should I tell you?”
“Wait a moment. Just a moment…”
He actually enjoyed hunting for the secret behind this flavor. Quite openly, at that.
‘I wonder?’
He’d managed to surprise me with it before.
He’d occasionally succeeded in detecting the subtle differences I’d incorporated.
But here’s the thing.
Today didn’t seem to be one of those times.
“…I can’t figure it out today, though?”
“Haha. It’s simpler than you’d think.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s a fundamental principle of cooking.”
“Surely not….”
“Salt. I simply added salt differently. Just a trace amount.”
“Hmm… but the taste changed that much?”
“Yes.”
“How so?”
This time, it was my turn to surprise him.
“It’s targeted.”
“Targeted?”
“Yes. You eat here every day, don’t you? So isn’t it time I showed my hand?”
“Ah…!”
Great minds think alike, indeed.
This man understood what I was getting at.
“You’ve tailored it to my palate?”
“Yes. You prefer umami, but I noticed you respond even better to something subtly salty. So I adjusted it in small amounts. To match your taste perfectly.”
“I feel like I’ve just learned something about myself I didn’t know.”
“Haha. Is that so?”
“Yes. I always thought my palate was quite ordinary. So I assumed my tastes aligned with the masses… and I even thought I’d suppressed my preferences as much as possible.”
Had he really tried to conform even his own tastes to the public?
Anyway, he’s an interesting person.
“But you couldn’t actually get rid of it? That’s what this is?”
“Something like that. This is… something worth thinking about.”
“Is it really something to think about? It’s just a preference, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I can’t speak for others, but at least for me.”
“Because you need mass production?”
“That’s right.”
For the sake of production.
I knew this already, but.
This person truly has production embedded in their very bones.
‘He’s obsessed with cooking in a different way than I am.’
While I felt admiration, there was also something unsettling about such dedication.
‘There’s definitely something I can learn from him.’
* * *
After explaining the flavors to him, I was organizing receipts at the counter during the break time that had arrived.
Lost in thought about food, he asked me while eating the remaining noodles.
“Are you thinking about the next product?”
He hadn’t put down the noodles.
Product, not cooking.
For a moment, I wasn’t sure what he meant.
“…Huh? The next product?”
“After the flounder. What you’ll commercialize.”
“Ah, I see…”
I glanced over at him for a moment.
Wow. This guy. He catches me off guard like this and then strikes when I least expect it.
He’s always been like this.
Sometimes he just comes, eats, and leaves.
Other times he asks how a previous proposal is going.
And now he’s asking about the next product.
It’s a bit self-centered, if I’m being honest.
But it also inspires me.
‘He’s asked something similar before.’
So this time, I felt I could actually give him an answer.
“I do have something in mind. Nothing’s confirmed yet.”
“Oh! So you’ve finally taken a step forward?”
“I suppose.”
After hearing my response, he said nothing more.
He touched the broth with his chopsticks and simply took another bite.
‘Why does he ask and then just stop? He’s really something, isn’t he?’
I watched Han Jae-won quietly.
His gaze was fixed only on the broth.
He throws out a comment and then withdraws.
They say to frustrate someone, you have to start speaking and then cut yourself off.
This guy knows how to do it.
I had no intention of forcing it out of him. And it didn’t seem like he was waiting for an answer either.
Looking at it now, he’d simply planted a seed and come to eat.
‘This man’s timing is uncanny.’
He acts as if nothing happened, yet touches exactly what I’ve been worrying about and leaves.
It feels like he’s waiting for me to give him an answer.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Yes, have a good day!”
Once again, I hadn’t given him the answer he wanted.
Because truthfully, my dilemma hasn’t ended.
* * *
‘My head feels cluttered.’
Was it because of the bait Han Jae-won had cast?
Or was it because my thoughts on mass production had deepened?
My head was muddled.
So normally I would cook dinner myself.
‘Today… shall I do something different?’
Since the topic of mass production had come up, I decided to move differently.
‘Yes. Let’s try that.’
Moving differently didn’t mean doing anything grand.
“Jin-woo. You worked hard. Head on home.”
“Huh? You’re not eating today?”
“No. I’m going to grab something from the Convenience Store today.”
“You’re going to the Convenience Store?”
“Yeah?”
“Well then, can I come too?”
“Sure.”
The Convenience Store was a five-minute walk from the Restaurant.
Jin-woo said he needed to buy something, so I went along with him.
Though it didn’t look like there was anything he particularly needed.
It was clear he’d simply tagged along.
Since I was doing something I normally don’t, curiosity must have gotten the better of him.
‘The next product.’
Han Jae-won’s words still echoed in my ears.
Jin-woo picked up this and that.
Cup noodles, triangular kimbap, sausages.
I stopped in front of the refrigerated section.
A flounder package was displayed on the shelf.
Right next to the triangular kimbap. The same spot I’d seen yesterday.
‘Next.’
My hand moved first.
One fish cake bar.
Two slices of cheese.
One cup of instant broth. One sausage.
I grabbed them without much thought.
The combination looked odd when I laid them out. But what did it matter?
‘Once you eat it, it’s all the same anyway.’
I’m particular when I’m the one cooking.
But when it comes to eating, I’m not picky at all.
After experiencing something like the Apocalypse, it’s only natural that you stop being choosy about food.
“Hmm… let’s eat over there.”
“Yes!”
There was a small makeshift table next to the Vending Machine Coffee Corner. It was empty.
I stood there and put the cup of broth in the microwave.
While it heated up.
For some reason.
A combination took shape in my mind.
What if I cut the fish cake bar, put it in the broth, and melted the cheese on top?
Chop the sausage finely and add it too.
‘Huh?’
I could almost see what it would become. And I hadn’t even touched it yet.
The moment the microwave finished, I took it out.
I pushed chopsticks through the fish cake bar and sliced it.
I put it in the broth and layered the cheese on top as I’d envisioned.
Chopped the sausage finely and added it too.
I stirred it with the chopsticks.
The cheese melted in the heat, clouding the broth.
A savory, salty aroma wafted up.
‘That’s it.’
My hands had gotten it right.
Jin-woo, who had somehow ended up standing beside me, sniffed the air.
“Hyung. What is that? What are you suddenly making?”
“Just try it first.”
“Really? This?”
“Yeah.”
Jin-woo picked up the chopsticks.
He fished out a piece of fish cake and put it in his mouth.
Dipped generously in the cheese-melted broth.
He paused mid-chew.
“Why is this so good? It’s just Convenience Store fish cake and cheese.”
“Right?”
Jin-woo fished out another piece.
This time he pulled up a sausage along with it and ate it.
“Seriously. Why is this so delicious? It’s the same stuff I eat all the time. But somehow it tastes different.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
I took a bite as well. It was delicious. Really.
‘If this counts as cooking, then it’s cooking, right?’
A Chef from the Apocalypse Ventures into the Food Industry
Author |
Heunghaeng
Publisher |
Samyang C&C
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
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UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260206001
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
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@dreambookss
Submissions |
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No part of this book may be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C – Dream Books.

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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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