The Chef From the Apocalypse Enters the Food Industry - Chapter 94

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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 94. The Final Round
‘This is entertaining. This is really entertaining.’
I wondered what expression Jang On-gyu was making inside that kitchen. Whether he thought he’d orchestrated the whole thing by now. Or if he was starting to sense that something was off.
I was curious about all of it, but regardless, the Department Head was pleased.
Either way, we’d gained buzz and landed advertisements.
The Entertainment Department’s budget was set to increase significantly.
‘It would be strange if things weren’t going well.’
The Department Head muttered under his breath.
“That guy really is something else.”
A laugh escaped again.
* * *
My phone vibrated.
It was the one I’d left on the kitchen shelf. I glanced at it.
[PD Ga]
‘The timing is absolutely perfect.’
I set down the ladle I was holding and answered the call.
“Yes, I’ve got it.”
-Owner. He’s taken the bait.
His voice was short and composed.
But there was something packed inside it. Everything he’d been holding back all this time.
“Jang On-gyu?”
-That’s right.
“As expected. I had a feeling. Ha.”
I let out a short laugh.
-You knew?
“I suspected it.”
-I thought so. The plan was in your hands from the start. Heh. By the way, Choi PD got goosebumps hearing this? He wanted me to tell you something.
“What’s that?”
-He said to let him know before he becomes the enemy. He’ll apologize in advance if it looks like it’ll happen.
“Ha. That guy only looks timid on the surface.”
-Ha. He’s always been that way.
PD Ga paused for a moment, then continued.
-The rest are starting to move. The game’s going to get bigger.
“How much bigger?”
-A little more than you’re thinking. Are you ready?
“Hmm… it sounds like you’re adding something extra?”
-If I don’t add something here, I’m not much of a PD.
“Then I have just one answer for you.”
-What’s that?
“I’m ready. Bring whatever you’ve got. I just need to land one solid blow on Jang On-gyu.”
-Heh, you certainly are straightforward.
Instead of answering, I glanced around the kitchen.
A pot simmering over the flame. Prepped ingredients. A spotlessly cleaned cutting board. And these hands—the very hands that had stubbornly clawed their way through survival in my past life—were here now.
‘This should be more than enough preparation.’
PD Ga seemed to read my momentum.
A low chuckle came through the phone.
-Then I’ll wrap up on a good note. I’ll contact you soon.
“I’ll be waiting.”
-Yes! Oh, and don’t forget—you’ll be doing this one with someone else too.
“There’s no question about it!”
Click.
The call ended.
I stood there for a moment, phone still in hand.
‘This is going to get interesting.’
Jang On-gyu was back in the spotlight. Not pulling strings from the shadows anymore—now he was stepping into the foreground.
Other things would start moving along with him soon enough.
I’d already anticipated that much.
But according to PD Ga, things are rolling a bit bigger than expected?
‘That’s not a bad thing at all.’
The corners of my mouth lifted on their own.
If there’s one thing I learned from the Apocalypse,
it’s that the bigger the stage, the more you gain when you survive it.
It wasn’t something to fear. Quite the opposite.
‘The bigger it gets, the more fun it is.’
I set the phone back on the shelf.
Then I untied my apron strings.
Snap.
I folded the apron and set it aside.
Today’s service was done anyway.
Jin-woo was handling the closing, and the kitchen was already half-cleaned.
‘What should I serve next?’
That’s what filled my mind now. It was an inescapable part of my nature—cooking came first.
‘I was always like this in the Apocalypse too.’
I was the kind of person who thought about how to cook something before thinking about how to hunt it. That hadn’t really changed.
‘Alright. Let’s wait and see.’
The stage was already rolling forward anyway.
All I had to do was cook.
That was enough.
And for that, I just needed to get one piece right.
‘There it is.’
That piece was also conveniently right beside me.
* * *
Watching Seonwoo hang up the phone, Jin-woo’s hands paused as he tidied one corner of the kitchen.
A bitter smile spread across his lips.
‘He’s climbing higher again.’
The owner of the factory canteen, and the older brother I admired.
Even in a world where money slipped through your fingers, he could smile with such composure.
How far would that momentum carry him?
‘Honestly, I can’t even begin to predict it.’
It wasn’t just him.
Haran was the same.
The knife work Haran displayed during the live broadcast.
It was something I couldn’t believe even watching from right beside her.
That scene of slicing through cascading meat and vegetables at a speed invisible to the eye.
Shing. Shink-shink.
The sound of her knife work from that moment was still vivid in my mind.
That performance—brutal yet somehow elegant—had turned the internet upside down.
There was a nickname the viewers had given her.
Blade Queen.
Haran herself had turned bright red when she heard the nickname, flustered and embarrassed.
But the fact that even fine dining sous chefs couldn’t hold their ground before that speed and precision.
That was something no one could deny.
‘I also….’
Jin-woo quietly looked down at his two hands, still damp from washing.
I know I’m doing my part as a manager.
Seonwoo had told me several times that the hall runs smoothly because of me.
Those were words I was genuinely grateful for.
But.
‘I want to stand in the middle of that kitchen too.’
Not carrying trays.
I want to cook my own dishes in front of the stove.
The more brilliantly my older brother and Haran shone.
And the more I watched people become passionate about their cooking from the sidelines.
That yearning didn’t fade—instead, it burned hotter, as if I were being scorched by flames.
Just as Jin-woo clenched his lips and pressed that feeling deep down inside.
“Jin-woo.”
“…!”
When had he approached? Seonwoo, wearing an apron, suddenly stood right in front of Jin-woo’s face.
* * *
“Why do you look so startled? Did you do something wrong?”
“Ah, no. It’s just….”
Jin-woo quickly composed his expression.
As if nothing was wrong.
As if he’d only been lost in thought for a brief moment.
Seonwoo watched him quietly.
‘I can see it all. He’s the only one who doesn’t know.’
I’d noticed it from the moment he hung up and turned around.
The way Jin-woo stopped his hands and stared down at his palms. The way he bit his lip.
I knew exactly what that expression meant.
There was no way I couldn’t know.
Had I never seen eyes like that in my past life?
‘No, that’s not it.’
I had. Men who wanted to fight but couldn’t go had eyes exactly like that.
Capable but without opportunity.
Wanting to prove themselves but without a stage.
How desperate those eyes were.
‘I know better than anyone.’
I knew all too well.
Because I’d been there once too.
“Next round.”
I spoke up.
“Yes?”
“The finals. Come with me.”
Jin-woo blinked.
“…Me?”
“Yeah.”
“But I’m just a manager. The kitchen….”
“You’ve been training hard all this time, haven’t you?”
“That’s true, but… Hyung, I’m not even a chef. I haven’t had proper training. Do I really belong in that competition?”
“You do.”
I was firm.
“Hyung….”
“I’ve watched you manage the hall all this time. What customers want, how they react when something goes out. You read that faster than anyone else.”
Jin-woo opened his mouth, then closed it.
“But that’s not the same as….”
“Cooking isn’t completed on the tongue alone. The sense you have—I need that. That’s why we’re going together.”
My voice was quiet. But there was certainty in it.
‘I’m just speaking the truth.’
There was no doubt in my mind.
Jin-woo said nothing for a long while.
I waited first.
I knew what was going through his mind.
‘Jin-woo is scared, not unwilling.’
Even though he seemed to be nitpicking, I understood that wasn’t the case.
It was the opposite, actually.
He was afraid because he wanted it too much.
Now that the opportunity was right in front of him.
He was trying to back away by making excuses.
That wouldn’t do.
‘No, Jin-woo. I know how hard you’ve worked to get here. You can’t do this.’
I chuckled and added,
“If you don’t want to, then don’t.”
“…No, sir.”
Jin-woo’s voice cracked slightly.
“I’ll go. Of course I have to go.”
“Good.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Ha.”
Jin-woo let out a short laugh.
It was less a laugh and more a sound escaping him.
His eyes glistened slightly.
He turned his head away, trying to hide it.
But I’d already seen it.
‘Yes, those eyes.’
That was the real thing.
Keeping someone with those eyes outside the kitchen was far too great a waste.
“Then be prepared.”
“Yes, sir!”
This time, Jin-woo’s voice came out strong and clear.
* * *
The moment Jin-woo walked through the door, his energy was vibrant.
Even the sound of closing the entrance was different.
Not a bang, not gentle—it was the sound of someone in a good mood.
“I’m home!”
My parents, who had been watching TV in the living room, turned their heads.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah, I’m home.”
Jin-woo set down his bag and plopped onto the sofa.
Mother glanced at him.
“Why am I in such a good mood today?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s not. I was just asking.”
After watching TV for a while, Jin-woo suddenly pulled something from his pocket.
It was a small envelope.
“Mom, this is for you.”
“What is it?”
“Just come here on this day. With Dad. Please.”
“How long are you going to keep calling me Mom and Dad? You should say Father and—”
“Oh, come on. Just look at it first.”
Pressed by Jin-woo’s insistence, his mother opened the envelope and peered inside.
Eventually, his father turned his head to look as well.
“What is this?”
“You’ll find out when you come.”
“Hey. What kind of ticket is this? An audience pass?”
“Yes. There’s a broadcast featuring our restaurant. These are finals tickets. I had a hard time getting them.”
“Wow. You managed to get these? That’s impressive.”
“Right? So you have to come. There are two seats.”
Jin-woo grinned brightly.
His parents exchanged glances.
His mother spoke first.
“This boy. He’s got a good heart.”
“Why! Just come, okay?”
“Fine, fine. If you’re asking, we’ll go.”
“We’ll go. We’ll definitely go.”
His father replied curtly.
Then he turned his gaze back to the TV and added quietly.
“Jin-woo.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t get hurt.”
“Dad—I mean, Father. We’re just going to watch. What could happen?”
“Still. Don’t get hurt.”
“…Okay.”
Jin-woo chuckled and stood up from his seat.
“I’m going to wash up.”
His mother examined the envelope and clicked her tongue.
“This boy. He’s got a good heart.”

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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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