Cheat day

How to Communicate (1)

Slowly shaking her head, she opened her arms and approached.

As I hugged her, she spoke in a much softer voice against my chest.

“I won’t hastily assume what you’re thinking or why you’re thinking it.”

Then she looked up at me.

“So, I would like you to tell me. Do you have a reason for wanting to get plastic surgery?”

“I haven’t really thought about it.”

I conveyed the first thought that came to mind.

“I want to look handsome. I want to look cool. That’s what I think.”

Thinking about it abstractly doesn’t make it concrete.

I tend to organize my thoughts and emotions into sentences, and Mugunji patiently waited for me to continue.

“I think I’ve had these thoughts for a long time. At some point, I gave up on them, but lately, hearing similar comments has brought them back.”

She nodded slowly.

“It seems like the thoughts I had when I was overweight, emotions I had buried while being ignored, have had some influence.”

I could feel the grip around me tighten.

“I understand that feeling well.”

Despite being strangers, I had started to distance myself from people as I frequently felt disregarded.

I kept my distance from those who judged me by my appearance, protecting myself from their ignorance.

I didn’t lack feelings of injustice or anger.

It was just that escaping from such situations was necessary for my life and mental peace, so it felt unavoidable.

In contrast, Mugunji transformed herself.

When we were just getting to know each other, we couldn’t understand each other.

I told Mugunji not to blame herself; the fault was with those who judged her. But she insisted that one must do everything they can and wouldn’t run away.

After many conversations, I realized that I wanted to change myself too, and Mugunji resented the distorted perspectives.

“If you want to do that, I won’t stop you.”

Mugunji continued.

“But you are already an amazing person as you are.”

Those were the words I had once said to her.

This person always behaves like this.

When faced with problems, she guides me to think about what is most important.

She has the ability to infer what the other person is thinking and is accustomed to presenting points in discussions.

This ability shines in contracts and negotiations but is also effective in situations like this.

Receiving the words I once offered to the harshly self-critical Mugunji back from her allows me to reconsider what the right path is.

“That’s true.”

Our eyes met.

I looked straight at her, and she looked back at me sincerely.

“I am kind of amazing.”

“That’s right.”

“Having 1.3 million subscribers isn’t easy.”

“It’s difficult.”

“I lost 51 kg while working.”

“That’s impressive.”

“I also do a lot of good things.”

“That’s true.”

“I go to the hair salon and skincare clinic all by myself. I put on my own socks and trim my toenails alone. I can touch my palms behind my back.”

Mugunji nodded.

“I bought an apartment in Seoul without debt at this age. I have a car. And I have a wise and beautiful person by my side.”

She smiled brightly.

“Thank you.”

I feel grateful and affectionate every time.

Thanks to this person, who knows my shortcomings better than anyone else in the world yet looks at my strengths, I can feel fulfilled like this.

Even someone as timid and self-conscious as I am can feel this way.

I feel mentally healthier.

***

It was the recording day for the 5th round of “Korean Cuisine Praise.”

As usual, I was reviewing the script and materials in front of the vending machine in the break room when Haim approached me.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah. Do you want some coffee?”

“No. If I drink coffee, I won’t be able to sleep in the car.”

Haim pulled a chair over and leaned the backrest forward to sit down.

“But why are you always here?”

“Just because. The waiting room is stuffy.”

Haim blinked and lowered his voice.

“Is it Lee Chan-seok?”

I widened my eyes in surprise, and Haim grinned.

“Can you tell?”

“I’m a bit perceptive. I can tell when someone doesn’t like me or if they get along with someone else.”

I had thought he was clueless, but maybe because he had experienced the entertainment industry as a trainee since childhood, he was surprisingly sharp.

I discovered another bias I hadn’t realized before. I reflected on it.

“But have you thought about it?”

“Thought about what?”

“You said you would introduce a hospital.”

“Oh. I don’t want to anymore.”

“Oh really?”

He only nodded without saying anything more.

“Why aren’t you asking why I don’t want to?”

“I figured you must have your reasons. Once you make a decision, there’s no need for me to say anything.”

Although we were just getting to know each other, he seemed like a pretty decent guy the more I saw him.

“But it’s a bit of a waste. If I introduce someone I know, they said they’d do fillers for free.”

“Damn.”

“Hahaha.”

Now we often joked around with each other.

After laughing for a moment, Haim slumped in his chair.

“Are you tired?”

“Yeah. I’m super busy right now because my single is releasing next month.”

He mentioned it while eating a pork cutlet.

Even though it was a non-active period, he said he was constantly appearing on various programs without any breaks, so it didn’t feel like he was resting.

Adding in practice for new songs, it makes sense he would be tired.

“But aren’t you doing ads?”

“Me?”

“You filmed one. The spicy galbi jjim with Choi Eun-sam.”

“Oh~”

It’s embarrassing to get praised for filming one CF when he usually does about ten ads a year.

“Not that. I meant on a broadcast.”

“Oh. I get a lot of offers, but I end up filtering them out.”

“Right. You care a lot about the quality of products, right?”

“Because I recommend them to people I trust. I have to be careful. My reputation is at stake.”

“What about me?”

“What about you?”

“How do you see me?”

“I don’t understand what you mean at all.”

“I mean, when my single comes out, can you promote it on your show?”

“Huh?”

“Please. Please.”

“You want to promote your album on my show?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

Haim looked at me intently.

“You probably don’t understand what I’m saying right now.”

I asked.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t either, you know? Try to explain it clearly.”

“No, your live stream has 20,000 to 30,000 viewers, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And your YouTube videos easily get over 500,000 views. It’s a huge opportunity, right? I want to use my acquaintance to promote.”

“Hmm.”

“And if you come on my show, I can say I’m working while actually just hanging out.”

“Is your schedule really that packed?”

Haim nodded with a sulky expression.

“And I’m a huge fan of the banchan shop, you know? I’m curious about the studio and the producer, too.”

“Uh…”

“Please.”

“Has this been discussed with your company?”

“No. But I bet they’d let it happen if I asked.”

“You’re making the marketing team pull their hair out. It’s almost next month; they must have everything scheduled already. Do you think this can just happen out of the blue?”

“If they don’t allow it, I’ll just lie down. Then they’ll have to agree.”

I was at a loss for words, and Haim chuckled.

“I can sleep in the car and still make this work, right?”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. I can afford to be a bit persistent.”

“Ugh.”

“Why?”

“It’s definitely strange, but it’s not that I don’t understand.”

“That’s more true for you.”

“For me? What?”

“The ‘White Rice Discussion.’”

I hesitated for a moment but nodded. I wasn’t in a position to judge others.

“Anyway, can’t you really do it?”

“I don’t mind. If you come, the show will do well. But do we need to write a separate contract?”

When I collaborated with other YouTubers, it felt casual, but Haim’s agency was so big that I didn’t know how to proceed.

“I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, what am I supposed to do?”

“Hold on.”

Haim took out his smartphone and called someone.

***

“Half a millennium of history on the Korean Peninsula!”

“Leading the front lines of 800,000 restaurants!”

“Our food! We will determine the best of Korean cuisine!”

“Korean Cuisine Praise!”

The recording for Round 5 of Korean Cuisine Praise began.

Despite it being the fifth week of filming, tension flowed among the participants.

The competitors in contention for victory seemed focused on solidifying their positions for the overall win, while those lingering in the lower ranks appeared eager to show their skills without regrets.

Knowing the backstories of each participant, I felt an increased burden as well.

“Banchan Judge, what is the task for Round 5?”

I was in charge of introducing the theme for this round.

“The theme is ‘jang’ (fermented sauces).”

The culture of fermented sauces like doenjang, gochujang, ssamjang, and makjang is also an indispensable part of Korean cuisine.

“The culture of Korean sauces has been passed down since the Three Kingdoms period. I look forward to tasting the contestants’ sauces today,” I said.

“As the banchan judge mentioned, sauces are essential in Korean cuisine. The time limit is 60 minutes! Let’s see how well our contestants can enhance the flavors of Korean sauces. Korean Cuisine Praise begins!”

With Woo Wang-seon’s shout, the twelve participants reached for the ingredients they had prepared.

As always, there weren’t many standout moments in the early stages, so I started discussing the topic of sauces.

Jwa Wang-taek asked Judge Ham Seok-ho about the characteristics of Korean sauces.

“Korean sauces are based on soybeans. We make meju (fermented soybean blocks), create the sauce, separate it, and then age and ferment it. In China, sauces are made into powder, while in Korea, we crush them to keep the soybean grains intact, which is a significant difference,” he explained.

“I see. So in Korea, we crush them, and in China, they grind them.”

“The method of making both doenjang and soy sauce simultaneously from meju is also a distinction from China and Japan.”

“Even the soy sauce culture!”

O Mi-kyung and Park Jeong-ah, the judges, added their explanations.

Lee Chan-seok seemed unusually quiet today.

He appeared somewhat shocked by the situation during the filming of Round 4 and seemed reluctant to act as he normally would.

“Is there a specific reason why the sauce culture developed like this?” Woo Wang-seon asked.

Since I finally had something I knew, I quickly spoke up.

“It’s thanks to the abundant raw material: soybeans. The origin of soybeans is in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria, and I believe there are over 900 varieties of soybeans just in the Korean Peninsula. Moreover, in the past, it wasn’t easy to get protein, so soybeans, rich in protein, were often paired with rice.”

With more external activities,

Especially during the filming of Korean Cuisine Praise, I’ve gained quite a bit of useful experience from editing.

I learned this knowledge while editing videos for a series called U-Genius.

“Ah, that makes sense. In the past, it was hard for common people to eat meat, so they must have relied on soybeans for protein,” I added.

“But are there really that many soybean varieties?”

As the panelists expressed their curiosity, the judges took turns answering their questions.

About twenty minutes passed, and a savory aroma began to fill the studio.