Cheat day

Han-sik Ye-chan (5)

The filming had wrapped up.

I hurried over to Joo Ji-seung after greeting the fellow judges and staff.

I was so happy that I jumped up and down, and Joo Ji-seung beamed with a big smile.

“Awesome! Awesome!”

“Thanks. You really set a great tone to start with.”

“No, you made it well. When you were talking about the jjampong bread, I was like, how did you even think of that? You’re really a genius!”

“Come on.”

“No, seriously! How do you go from jjampong bread to spicy soup bread? It’s like going from Mickey Mouse to Pikachu!”

“It’s not that big of a deal, so stop it. It’s embarrassing.”

“And it’s not even too spicy! It’s so delicious! These kinds of breads are usually super spicy, right? But it’s slightly spicy, sweet, and has a rich, deep flavor. Wow. This really deserves an award. Oh wait, you already got one. You should get two!”

“Stop gushing.”

“I’m really happy for you. Truly.”

Though I felt shy, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

After starting to cook for my wife and getting into YouTube to find joy in cooking, Joo Ji-seung had felt quite bored for a long time after his channel’s success.

At first, he thought it was a creative endeavor, but eventually, the videos became more formulaic.

Despite studying hard, he might have fallen into a rut while struggling to come up with new content.

Looking back, he definitely seemed a bit worn out.

As he worked on projects like “Making Side Dishes for Joo Ji-yong,” “Baek Seung-yong’s Lunchbox,” and “Walking Up to the Sky,” he gradually began to find joy again, and now with Han-sik Ye-chan, it seems he’s rekindled his enthusiasm.

I was overjoyed for him.

“Excuse me, I’m passing through.”

“Oh, sorry.”

As I stepped aside, I made eye contact with contestant number 3, Choi Eun-sam.

I bowed slightly, feeling glad to see him, and he nodded back, opening his mouth to speak.

“Thank you.”

“No, I was blocking the way without realizing it.”

Choi Eun-sam smiled without saying much and exchanged greetings with Joo Ji-seung before passing by us.

From behind, I noticed his shoulders slumped, which didn’t sit well with me.

He had used a unique ingredient, shark, to create a traditional flavor, and while the soup was genuinely delicious, the jeon (pancake) was too salty, resulting in a 12th place finish.

His score had dropped by 4 points from the first round.

It was only natural for him to feel down.

“Let’s go. Want to grab a coffee?”

Joo Ji-seung asked.

“Sounds good.”

After leaving the broadcasting station and sitting down for coffee, Joo Ji-seung brought up Choi Eun-sam.

“That guy we ran into in the hallway earlier.”

“Choi Eun-sam?”

“Yeah. Since we were in the waiting room together, we ended up chatting a bit. He said he runs a business in Yeongcheon. His father sells fish at the market, and Eun-sam runs a beef bone soup restaurant next to him.”

“Oh.”

Now it made sense why the soup was so amazing.

His father probably brought in some fresh fish to cook with.

“He said the market business isn’t what it used to be, and since his father is getting older, he wanted to really show off this time around. It’s bittersweet.”

I hadn’t known Choi Eun-sam had such circumstances.

“I see. That’s too bad.”

Joo Ji-seung smiled.

“Why?”

“Earlier, when Eun-sam said thank you, he wasn’t just talking about me clearing the way.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we were packing up in the waiting room, he mentioned feeling a bit irritated when he heard his dish was too salty. He said that dombae-gi (a type of fish) is usually served salty, and he didn’t want to come off as someone who doesn’t know that. So he wanted to say something, and you ended up saying it for him.”

“Oh.”

“That made him proud. Even if it’s the same comment, saying it’s traditionally salty and it’s good to know the traditional taste is different from just saying it’s salty.”

As someone who speaks for a living, I understand how important nuance is. If it’s stated that dombae-gi is a salty dish, the judges who tasted it before would feel embarrassed, and it could undermine their preferences. But if you dismiss the dish outright as salty, it disrespects both the chef and the tradition. I had circled around the issue, but I never imagined it would lead to a thank you.

“That’s just courtesy.”

Joo Ji-seung shook his head at my response.

“You were the only one who said it like that. The other judges had their own logic, but they didn’t show much consideration for how the person listening might feel. Especially Lee Chan-seok?”

“Hehe. Yeah, he’s a bit… something, isn’t he?”

“I think Lee Hye-rin got hurt a lot.”

“Yeah.”

That was when they were discussing the seafood japchae (stir-fried noodles with vegetables) made by contestant number 6, Lee Hye-rin.

When Lee Chan-seok said that cheongpyeon (angel hair) didn’t fit the stage, Lee Hye-rin’s face turned bright red.

“I felt bad listening from behind. I thought, who is he to judge the ingredients?”

“Exactly.”

“But you immediately rebutted him, saying it was a dish considerate of the eater.”

“I really thought that when I said it.”

Joo Ji-seung looked at me and smiled.

Feeling shy, I tried to change the topic.

“Oh, but it really made my heart tighten.”

“Why?”

“Well, it was your last judging round, right? When they were sharing the food, everyone seemed full. Thanks to that, I managed to eat a whole one.”

“Hehe.”

“I was worried that everyone would eat delicious food and not fully appreciate yours.”

“Chan-yong, do you think I wouldn’t know that?”

“Knowing it doesn’t mean you can do something about it. You judge based on the order in which the dishes are finished.”

“It’s possible to finish last, though.”

What does that even mean?

“Are you saying that was intentional?”

Joo Ji-seung pointed his finger at me and shook it up and down.

“I’ve been complimenting you this whole time, and you still have a long way to go?”

“What do you mean? Huh?”

“Think about it. If you serve it last, it will leave the most intense memory for the people.”

“Right?”

“But that means their taste buds might be fatigued from the dishes they had before. So what do you have to do?”

“…Make it more stimulating?”

“Exactly. I seasoned it more than usual. The spicy soup concept was made for that reason. The flavor is strong. If it had been the first dish made from that recipe, people would have said it was too salty.”

“So dombae-gi too.”

“Right. If dombae-gi had been served after the other dishes, people wouldn’t have reacted so negatively. In this kind of competition, the dishes need to be perceived as delicious, so everyone tends to use a bit more seasoning.”

“Wow. You’re really a genius.”

“I’ve watched quite a few cooking competition programs.”

Joo Ji-seung chuckled in his unique way, feeling proud of himself.

As a judge, he needs to maintain fairness, but personally, I really hope Joo Ji-seung wins.

***

Slowly, I could feel the growing fame around us.

To prove it, the viewership ratings for Baekbanda Season 2, the Suncheon and Seosan episodes, were 7.7% and 7.5%, respectively.

The 7.6% rating for the Gangneung episode wasn’t just a fluke; Baekbanda Season 2 was becoming a solidly popular program.

On top of that, Han-sik Ye-chan achieved an impressive 11.3% viewership rating in its first episode, garnering unexpected praise.

└ Banchan-yong speaks beautifully.

└ Yeah, even if it’s the same words, it must feel great for the contestants.

└ Honestly, I was a bit worried, but the judging was done well, haha.

└ Formerly 138 kg, currently a diabetic. It’s inevitable I know about food.

└ Hahahahahaha.

└ But seriously, where can you find sogari-bread?

└ There’s no place that sells it. You have to make it yourself.

└ The problem is finding sogari (a type of fish).

└ But isn’t there a problem if the contestant and judge are close friends?

└ Joo Ji-seung and Banchan-yong?

└ Yeah.

└ If anyone saw a biased judgment, it would definitely get called out. But that’s not the case.

└ Banchan-yong has taken quite a bit of flak from us, so he’s picked up on things.

└ ?

└ Hahahaha. In the early broadcasts, he was kind of awkward, but at some point, he started to speak up.

└ I don’t know about that guy, but there are definitely many dishes I want to try. I heard the mussel rice is really delicious.

└ That dude runs a restaurant that serves mussel rice, so if you want to try it, you can go visit him.

After looking up some related articles, I discovered an interesting fact.

It seems obvious in retrospect, but for someone who runs their own restaurant, just getting into the finals of Han-sik Ye-chan is great publicity.

With ratings over 11%, the more good evaluations they receive, the higher the chance it translates into sales.

To be honest, I also expected a certain influx of subscribers, so in a way, I’m in the same position.

“Your meal is ready.”

Outside, Muk-ji told me that the muk-ji (fermented vegetable dish) was ready.

I’ve been responsible for lunch and dinner on weekends, saying that we need to do things little by little, and today marks the first week of that.

When I went out, I found doenjang-guk (soybean paste soup), boiled pork, and kimchi prepared.

The kimchi was sent by my mother, so it seemed they made the doenjang-guk and boiled pork.

“……”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why do you look like that?”

“Um… I’m not blaming you or anything.”

Muk-ji nodded.

“There’s garlic in the doenjang-guk?”

“Yes.”

“Only garlic.”

“Yes.”

I tilted my head slightly for more explanation, and Muk-ji elaborated.

“There’s so much garlic. I have to use it up.”

A while back, Muk-ji bought half a container of garlic, and since then, I’ve been eating garlic constantly.

If I only eat ssuk (mugwort) too, I’ll become a person.

“Oh. I like garlic. I’ve never seen anyone put just garlic in doenjang-guk, but that’s possible. But isn’t it a bit strange to have only garlic?”

“If I add other ingredients, it will slow down the rate at which I can eat garlic. Stop complaining and just eat.”

“Yes.”

I took a spoonful of the doenjang-guk that only had garlic in it.

“Mmm~”

“How is it?”

“The garlic is crunchy and nice. The texture is alive.”

“To keep the texture, I watched a YouTube video that says to add the vegetables after boiling the soup completely.”

“……”

“I succeeded.”

Muk-ji slightly raised his chin, looking proud.

It’s absurd, but it’s nice and commendable that he took the time to study and watch videos to prepare the food we would eat together.

“Yeah, you succeeded.”

I often make boiled pork, so I knew the recipe well, and it seemed he followed it exactly.

It tastes pretty good.

“Yum! The boiled pork turned out well.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It’s really delicious.”

Maybe if the manual is well-prepared, he could cook quite well.

It seems he may lack flexibility, but he sticks strictly to principles and rules.

“But aren’t you eating, Eun-ji?”

“I’m full because I eat a little while cooking.”

“Well, that’s not right. You have to have a proper meal.”

After a moment of thought, Muk-ji brought rice. He only filled half a bowl, but since he said he ate while cooking, I didn’t bring up the portion size.

Unlike before, since he recognized he needs to eat on his own, I wouldn’t pressure him to eat more.

That could only add stress.

“……”

Muk-ji looked at me after eating the doenjang-guk.

“Why?”

“Why are you eating this?”

Muk-ji took my bowl and dumped it back into the pot, raising the heat.

“……”

“How ridiculous was I to confidently say that the texture was alive?”

“It wasn’t ridiculous.”

“I’m so embarrassed.”

“Really, I thought it was cute.”

Muk-ji turned his head away.