The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 82

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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 82. A Dream
The memories of the apocalypse, when I had to shove food into my mouth like a beast just to survive, had grown hazy now.
‘This is good.’
Warming someone’s empty stomach and frozen heart.
It never got old, no matter how many times I witnessed it.
It didn’t even matter if these weren’t my own hands doing it.
‘Well done, me.’
For the first time in a long while, a warm sense of accomplishment bloomed deeply in my chest.
It was such a joyful moment.
* * *
That moment could only be savored briefly.
“Hyung! Please take the order! The dining hall is in chaos!”
“Got it. I’m heading in right now!”
The moment I tore my gaze away from the warm meal scene of the Old Gentleman and his son.
Before my eyes unfolded what was truly a battlefield.
-Wow, now that the partition wall is gone, the restaurant is seriously spacious! I can’t even see the end.
-How many times more tables are there?
-Hey, look. It’s already completely full.
-Owner! This window table on the B-wing side still hasn’t been cleared!
The murmuring from all directions and Jin-woo’s urgent cries tangled together, filling the dining hall.
Especially today, there was a particular reason the hall was even more packed.
-Wow, crazy. Is this portion real? My stomach’s about to burst.
-They said it was an expansion commemoration set, and they’re really piling it up like a mountain!
The expansion commemoration set!
It was thanks to this temporary menu created specifically to celebrate the expansion.
-Eat it quickly. The smell is insane!
-Hey, is there even any left over? The portion is seriously crazy.
Exclamations of admiration burst forth ceaselessly from every corner of the dining hall.
The existing popular menu items.
A tray piled so generously high that even two grown men eating together would burst from fullness!
Those trays were being served without pause.
-It’s delicious!
-Seriously insane.
-Usually the taste changes when a restaurant expands, but how is this even more delicious?
-Ahhh… I made the right choice coming here. The right choice.
Satisfaction erupted from every direction.
* * *
[The customers in the restaurant feel greatly satisfied.]
[The restaurant’s satisfaction rating increases.]
Even without the notification, I could feel it naturally.
Satisfied exclamations echoed from every corner.
Additional orders kept streaming in.
‘How gratifying.’
All of it brought me genuine joy and happiness.
In return, I had to move even more frantically.
There were so many dishes to prepare.
There was a reason I could handle this massively scaled operation without faltering.
“Haran! Table 3’s lasagna kimbap! It’s a set, so make the portions generous!”
“Yes! I’ll slice it and send it right out!”
“What’s the fryer temperature?”
“It’s at 180 degrees right now! Perfect. I’ll drop them in immediately!”
“Good. I’ll have the next batch ready too.”
“Got it!”
Haran, working beside me.
Her brilliant assistance was playing a crucial role.
‘She’s doing better than I expected.’
As the restaurant expanded dramatically, the proportion of cooking Haran handled increased significantly.
I’d been secretly worried whether she could keep up, but look at her now.
She was performing far better than I’d anticipated.
Her knife work, honed by the instincts of her past life, was already flawless.
Now she’d moved beyond simple prep work and was holding her own at the fryer and stove.
“Two bowls of Hong Kong ramen coming through! Be careful, it’s hot!”
-Excuse me! Table 5 in Building C wants to add one more set!
“Yes! Coming right up!”
It wasn’t just Haran.
Jin-woo was commanding the dining hall with his booming voice.
“Ho-jun, you go that way! Seong-woong! Move it!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Stay sharp! Let’s go! Head toward Building B first!”
“Got it!”
Carrying massive serving trays across Buildings B and C.
All while keeping track of instructions from the other part-timers.
“Wet wipes here!”
-Over here too!
“Coming!”
The relentless flood of customer requests had his feet practically smoking.
Everyone was burning with intensity.
* * *
‘Busy. So busy.’
Jin-woo wiped the sweat from his brow as he arrived at the pickup counter to collect the finished dishes, casting a quick glance toward the kitchen.
Kim Seon-woo’s hands moved in ceaseless repetition, each motion precise and deliberate.
Beside him, Haran completed her dishes with perfect rhythm and timing.
Jin-woo’s gaze drifted past them, settling on the wide-open kitchen of the C-building’s home-style restaurant.
There, Lee Seok-jin simmered his own rough-hewn stew with confident, assured movements—the very picture of a true chef at work.
The Hong Kong restaurant and cafe were no different.
Each of them moved with purpose, cooking, simmering, and serving in their own distinct styles.
Jin-woo stood watching them intently.
‘…I want to as well.’
His eyes, fixed on the kitchens beyond, gleamed with an envy and yearning far deeper than usual.
‘I want to hurry and cook real food like them, standing before my own stove.’
It was a gaze that transcended mere hall service and errands—it burned with desperate, fervent longing.
* * *
A private lounge in Cheongdam-dong, its crystal chandelier casting brilliant light across the space.
A woman with striking blonde hair entered with an air of elegance—Sonny, a beauty and mukbang YouTuber.
She collapsed onto the sofa and removed her sunglasses.
“Hey, Ha-yun. What’s going on? You called me out separately.”
Ha-yun, seated across from her with a teacup in hand, let out an amused laugh.
“Why? Did I hurt the feelings of a busy 3.5-million-subscriber YouTuber?”
“No, but your complexion is absolutely glowing lately.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, seriously. Which dermatologist are you going to?”
“I stopped going to dermatologists.”
“You did? Then what is it… It seems like it started after you visited that factory restaurant.”
Sonny rested her chin in her hand, studying Ha-yun intently.
Just recently, there had even been rumors that she was retiring from broadcasting.
But somewhere along the way, Ha-yun had begun displaying a vitality that surpassed even her prime.
‘That place’s food really is insane. I keep thinking about it and going crazy too.’
As Sonny quietly savored the thought, Ha-yun set down her teacup and leaned forward.
“Sonny, that’s not what’s important right now, is it?”
“Huh? Why are you being so serious? It’s creepy.”
“Want to do something really fun with me?”
Ha-yun’s eyes gleamed with mischief—no, with fierce culinary hunger.
“Fun? If it’s something you’re suggesting, it’s predictable. Are we going to hit up another place? You know I’m on a diet lately and can’t eat just anything.”
“A mukbang YouTuber on a diet?”
“I do beauty content too!”
“Have you gained weight?”
“Hey!”
“Anyway, I’m not feeding you just anything.”
“What? So you are planning to feed me something?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you paying?”
“No.”
“Then am I paying?”
“Not at all! We’re just going to splurge with the broadcast station’s money and treat our stomachs to some luxury. How about it? Doesn’t that sound appealing?”
The moment Sonny heard those words, her eyes widened like saucers.
“I don’t quite understand. What are you saying?”
Ha-yun’s lips curved upward in a broad smile.
“Let’s treat ourselves to some luxury on the broadcast station’s dime.”
“Wait, are you asking me to go on air with you?”
“Yes!”
“…Why? You hated me.”
“Hate? I don’t hate you.”
“…What is this? Really? This isn’t like Ha-yun at all, asking to do something together like this.”
“Don’t you like it? It’s a brand new program that PD Ga is creating.”
!!!!
“And by the way, the Owner from the factory cafeteria will be appearing too.”
As Sonny’s pupils trembled, Ha-yun’s lips curved upward in a broad smile.
“Then I’m in!”
The moment that confident answer fell into the lounge room.
The tightly closed door of the private lounge swung open abruptly.
“Well, everyone’s here?”
With a smooth voice, the person who suddenly poked his head in was none other than PD Ga.
With his hands thrust into the pockets of his loose jacket, he entered naturally with a friendly smile.
“So, how’s the conversation going? Are you all feeling ready to make a splash with us?”
The moment PD Ga’s and the two women’s gleaming gazes crossed perfectly in the air.
* * *
Coincidentally, in a different room of the same establishment.
The soft sound of clinking wine glasses filled the room.
“Thank you all for coming despite your busy schedules.”
“We should be thanking you for inviting us!”
“Wow. This place is nice. But what’s this about?”
“Ah, well, it’s not anything else, but we have a very interesting opportunity coming up on the broadcast networks, and I wanted to see if you’d be interested in joining us.”
Jang On-gyu leisurely swirled his glass of premium vintage wine.
The man sitting across from him, cutting into his rare steak, wore an arrogant smile on his lips.
He was Ern Kim, the owner-chef of a Michelin two-star restaurant.
“Are you perhaps referring to that chef survival program that KBN recently planned?”
“Oh. Word’s gotten out that far?”
“The department head contacted me about it.”
“That’s correct.”
“Hmm. So it’s real then. We’d certainly be interested in appearing on a broadcast network stage… but seeing that you’ve personally invited us like this, you’re backing us, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Since I’m the one fully funding the budget and backing this program, I’m determined to make it work well.”
“Ohhh!”
Jang On-gyu’s firm declaration.
At those words, Ern Kim’s face broke into a complete smile.
He must have thought that with his skills and Jang On-gyu’s support, the conditions couldn’t be better.
Next, Oh Tae-sik, the chef overseeing menu development for the large franchise chain sitting beside him, wiped his mouth with a napkin and chimed in.
“But I heard it’s a broadcast-format survival competition?”
…This guy’s mouth runs loose.
Even as I thought that, Jang On-gyu answered without losing his smile.
“Yes. That’s right. A survival competition.”
“A survival competition. If variables come up, it becomes tedious.”
“It’s a competition, so we have to accept some risks.”
“But given the Representative’s personality, you wouldn’t have designed a game you could lose. Right?”
“Of course not.”
Jang On-gyu’s mouth stretched wide as he laughed heartily.
“You all will have to sweat in the survival competition. But there’s no chance you’ll be eliminated.”
“Are you certain?”
“Just go and cook as you normally do—lavishly with premium ingredients. That’s all you need to do.”
“Then what about the judging and eliminations?”
“The ones who’ll be trampled at the bottom and serve as pathetic extras are everyone else who isn’t here.”
“Ha ha. Everyone else?”
“Yes. The rest, so to speak. I’ve already arranged everything, so you just need to crush those guys—or rather, those people—and take home the championship title.”
At those words, Edward Kang drained his remaining wine in one gulp and giggled.
“I don’t know who they are, but they’re pitiful. They’ll end up as our extras and get humiliated and destroyed nationwide.”
“Those who can’t read the room and act recklessly need proper education, don’t they?”
“That’s right. Absolutely right. Ha ha.”
Oh Tae-sik also nodded, looking satisfied.
“If the Representative has designed this game perfectly, then we’ll wield our knives with light hearts.”
The sinister laughter of the three men filled the private room.
Overwhelming capital.
A brigade of chefs boasting brilliant credentials.
With these two factors, they could hardly lose.
And if his own pressure was added on top of that?
Losing would be strange.
‘Kim Seon-woo. I’ll show you exactly how that pathetic cooking of yours gets crushed.’
Convinced that all that remained was for Kim Seon-woo to be trampled miserably within the perfect trap he had designed, Jang On-gyu raised his wine glass with supreme confidence.
* * *
The moment when everyone’s preparations were all complete.

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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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