Chapter 61
Hong Man-gi placed the Silent Snow Bone into a mortar and began grinding it into a fine powder.
Something like snowflakes rose from the pale bone powder, carrying a mysterious fragrance with them.
He carefully mixed the Snow Bone powder into the finished soup.
Swish.
The moment the powder dissolved into the soup, the once clear and transparent broth began to glow faintly.
At the same time, a hazy fragrance spread throughout the entire studio.
"All right, it's finished."
Hong Man-gi neatly poured the completed soup into a white porcelain bowl.
There were no garnishes at all.
It was simply a bowl of perfectly clear soup.
The name of the dish?
"The First Taste You Forgot."
Hong Man-gi gave a faint smile.
If Edward Kang's dish was a dazzling work of art that captivated the eyes, Hong Man-gi's dish was a quiet poem that gently touched the heart.
And so, the time limit finally ended, and judging for the second course began.
The first dish presented was Edward Kang's "Garden of the Future."
"Hmm...."
"Oh... this is impressive."
"Amazing. It looks almost perfect."
Edible butterflies and flowers made with a 3D printer, colorful gels and foams, and insect protein crumble were arranged together into a dish with overwhelming visual impact.
It was art created by blending advanced science with cooking.
The judges repeatedly expressed admiration for his creativity and technical skill.
"Truly remarkable. I can see a chef's deep consideration of the future food crisis, along with excellent artistic expression."
David Chen spoke first.
"To think such beauty could be expressed through food... remarkable indeed."
Master Kang Min-jung also nodded.
However, their evaluation changed slightly after tasting it.
"The composition and balance of flavors are excellent, but it feels too cold and artificial. I understand it intellectually, but it lacks something that moves the heart. If food in the future tastes like this... hmm, I'm not sure. I think I would find it a little sad."
David Chen's evaluation was cold and precise.
Edward Kang tightly bit his lip.
Next came Hong Man-gi's "The First Taste You Forgot."
"Hmm...."
At first glance, it was nothing more than clear vegetable soup.
Placed after Edward Kang's dazzling dish, it looked even more plain and ordinary.
"Mr. Hong Man-gi, is this what you consider creation?"
David Chen asked with a puzzled expression.
Hong Man-gi quietly nodded.
"Yes. That's right. I believe true creation isn't necessarily making something completely new. Sometimes, it means helping us rediscover something precious that we had forgotten."
The judges fell silent, as though they needed a moment to think about his words.
Then they each lifted a spoonful of the strangely aurora-like soup and brought it to their mouths.
The moment the soup touched David Chen's tongue,
"Oh, shit!!!!"
David Chen's eyes opened wide with shock and emotion.
A memory he had forgotten long ago flashed through his mind like lightning.
His childhood in a poor immigrant family in New York.
His sick mother, who still made him thin vegetable soup despite her condition.
It had almost nothing in it, yet to him it had been the warmest and most delicious food in the world.
That was his very first taste.
"A... amazing... G... great!"
Hot tears began flowing from his eyes before he even realized it.
Master Kang Min-jung also tasted the soup.
Her reaction was the same.
"Th... this is!"
Before she became trapped within the strict rules of royal cuisine, there had been a time when she played on the wooden porch of her grandmother's countryside home.
After running inside, she had eaten a simple bowl of scorched rice water.
That pure taste returned to her.
Kang Min-jung's eyes also reddened.
It felt as though memories were blooming automatically inside their minds.
The other judges and members of the audience who received tasting portions of the soup also began recalling precious first memories they had long forgotten.
The excitement of first love.
The joy of their first success.
The warmth of their parents' embrace.
One by one, they sank deeply into emotion.
The Silent Snow Bone had revived each person's purest and warmest "first memory" through taste.
Before long, the studio had become a sea of tears and emotion.
Watching the scene, Hong Man-gi explained his dish in a slightly trembling voice.
"To me, the food of the future isn't about flashy technology or completely new ingredients."
He continued.
"No matter how much the world changes, I think future food should remind us of the pure and warm feelings we must never forget."
"Oh...."
"Because that heart is what gives us the strength to move toward a better future."
Everyone applauded Hong Man-gi.
The judging result went exactly as everyone expected.
The score difference was overwhelming.
The final winner of "Blue and White Cooking King" was,
Hong Man-gi!
[BOOOOM!]
"Whoa! Waaaaaaah!"
Lee Yu-han collapsed onto the floor and covered his face.
Then the tears he had been holding back burst out like a broken dam.
The humiliation, disrespect, and despair he had suffered as an F-rank Hunter.
It was as though all those dark moments were pouring out as tears of joy.
He cried like a child.
"Hunter! We did it! We really did it!"
Lee Yu-han repeated the words again and again.
"Haa...."
Hong Man-gi stood beneath the falling confetti and stared blankly into the air for a moment.
Faces of the countless spirits he had met passed through his mind.
Sama Cheon, who had cried over a bowl of ramen.
Baek Jong-su, who had finally let go of his regrets after a warm bowl of gukbap.
Oh Dal-su, who had wanted one last drink.
Han Young-mi, who had suffered because even her name had been forgotten.
And many more.
It almost felt as if every one of them was smiling at him at that very moment.
"Thank you."
After quietly whispering those words, he slowly walked toward the championship trophy.
The instant he raised the heavy trophy with both hands, the studio erupted with deafening cheers and applause.
Still holding the trophy, Hong Man-gi approached the crying Lee Yu-han and pulled him tightly into an embrace.
"Yu-han. We did it."
His own voice had grown wet with emotion.
Standing on the opposite side of the stage, Edward Kang stared blankly at them for a while.
He had already sensed his defeat.
But instead of bitterness, his face showed pure respect for the true winner.
Unlike before, he now carried himself with the dignity of a mature adult.
Soon, a bright smile spread across his face, and he began clapping more passionately than anyone else.
Following his applause, everyone in the studio rose from their seats and celebrated the birth of the new Cooking King.
Several days later.
The championship trophy from "Blue and White Cooking King" had taken its place on one wall of the Full Moon Restaurant.
The effect of the broadcast had gone far beyond anything they had imagined.
Hong Man-gi's small restaurant had become one of the hottest and trendiest places in all of South Korea.
The alley in front of the restaurant was crowded from early morning.
Long lines formed every day with customers who had seen the program, and calls for reservations rang without rest.
"New order! Table three, one Spicy Cream Jeyuk Rice Bowl! Table five, two Yu-han Special Ramens!"
"Hunter! We're almost out of tteokbokki broth! And we only have five chicken skewers left!"
"Chef! Aaaah! The customer at table one flipped the pancake and it stuck to the ceiling! What do we do?!"
The inside of the Full Moon Restaurant had turned into a battlefield.
Hong Man-gi and Lee Yu-han moved without rest, yet even the two of them could barely keep up with the flood of orders.
Inside the open kitchen, Poming flew from place to place, screaming instructions like a mad commander.
"Chef! That one! Add a little more sugar! It's not sweet enough! No, wait! Mr. Lee Yu-han! Those stir-fried noodles are way too soggy! Throw them out and make them again! You're not seriously planning to serve that to a customer, are you?!"
Despite her tiny body, Poming commanded the entire kitchen like a battlefield general.
Her little front paws never stopped pointing through the air as she barked instructions, refusing to tolerate even the slightest error in flavor.
"Huff... huff...."
Hong Man-gi wiped away streams of sweat while stir-frying pork.
Lee Yu-han, looking close to tears, threw away the overcooked noodles and began boiling a fresh batch.
Naturally, both men looked exhausted.
Yet their faces were also filled with gratitude toward the customers who had come all this way, and with the responsibility they felt toward them.
Neither stopped moving even for a moment.
Eventually, however, the day's ingredients completely ran out.
"Hunter, the rice... we're completely out of rice."
Lee Yu-han showed him the empty rice cooker.
"And that's the last of the chicken. We're out of tteokbokki rice cakes too."
Hong Man-gi sighed.
In the end, he took off his apron and stepped outside.
Dozens of customers were still waiting in line.
"I'm very sorry, everyone. We've used up all the ingredients we prepared for today, so I'm afraid we can't continue serving. You came all this way, and I'm truly sorry."
Hong Man-gi bowed personally to the waiting customers.
They were disappointed, but perhaps because of his sincere apology, most of them quietly turned away.
[Clunk.]
Hong Man-gi hung a "Sold Out" sign on the door.
The moment he stepped back inside, the tension drained from his body and he collapsed into a chair.
Poming also stuck out her tongue and lay flat on top of a table, panting.
"Haa... this really is a war."
Hong Man-gi wiped away his sweat.
"Seriously, Hunter. I think this is ten times harder than when we ran the food cart. Still... it feels good."
The exhausted Lee Yu-han wiped his sweat away with a satisfied smile.
Poming felt the same.
"Poming's throat is completely gone... sob... Chef, you need to make me honey water tomorrow...."
Her voice had become hoarse.
She gave Hong Man-gi a strange look, almost as if begging him to dismiss her summon.
Hong Man-gi grew serious.
"I think we might need to hire more people."
He continued.
"The three of us can't handle this anymore. At minimum, we need part-timers to help with dishes and serving."
"Should we? But Hunter... our restaurant is a little unusual. Is it really okay to hire just anyone?"
Lee Yu-han asked worriedly.
Hong Man-gi nodded.
"That's the problem. The Full Moon Restaurant isn't just a normal restaurant. Besides, we're Hunters. Working together with ordinary people probably won't be easy... and... there's also the real reason this restaurant began in the first place...."
Hong Man-gi sank into deep thought.
It was wonderful that business was thriving.
But as business grew, so did the number of new problems.
While the three of them talked and filled the late-night silence, a small sound suddenly came from the closed door.
[Clatter.]
[Knock... knock... knock, knock.]
Someone was gently knocking.
"Huh? Who is that? We put up the sold-out sign."
Lee Yu-han started to stand with a puzzled expression.
Hong Man-gi suddenly raised his hand and stopped him.
"Wait."
He stared toward the door.
'This presence... maybe....'
It was not the presence of a living person.
Cold.
Sad.
Lost.
A drifting presence that seemed to have nowhere else to go.
"That's right."
Hong Man-gi immediately knew.
After a long absence, another spirit had seen the light of the Full Moon Restaurant and found its way here.
"Yu-han, could you stay in the kitchen for a bit? Come back out later."
"What? Hunter?"
"It's fine. I think this is a customer I need to meet first."
Hong Man-gi sent Lee Yu-han into the kitchen, then slowly approached the restaurant door.
"Poming, summon dismissed."
He carefully opened the door.
[Click.]
There was no one outside.
Only cold night air filled the empty alley.
However,
'They're already inside.'
Hong Man-gi slowly turned around.
