Chapter 77
The next day.
The Full Moon Restaurant opened for only one person.
The restaurant was quiet.
Instead of its usual lively noise, the air felt almost solemn.
Hong Man-gi stood in the center of the kitchen wearing a freshly washed chef's uniform.
Beside him stood Lee Yu-han, Kang Jae-min, and Poming, all wearing tense expressions.
"Ready?"
At Hong Man-gi's question, all three nodded seriously.
A short while later,
Master Im Jeong-sik entered the restaurant while supported by Kang Jae-min.
His eyes remained unfocused as he looked around.
Yet perhaps drawn by some unexplained familiarity, he quietly sat in the seat he was guided toward.
It was the exact window seat where he had sat every day while staring outside.
Hong Man-gi took a deep breath.
On the counter sat a roughly shaped old pumpkin.
Beside it was a small jar brought from Master Im Jeong-sik's house.
Inside was seed soy sauce that had survived for decades, perhaps even longer.
'Let's begin.'
Hong Man-gi raised his knife.
[Slice.]
The ripe old pumpkin split in half.
Its deep orange flesh appeared, releasing a sweet earthy aroma.
Hong Man-gi peeled the skin, removed the seeds, and sliced the pumpkin thinly before putting it into a pot.
He added water and simmered it slowly.
The pumpkin gradually lost its shape and softened into a smooth mixture.
He mashed it with a wooden spatula.
Then he pushed it through a sieve using the traditional method.
His hands did not stop moving until the coarse pumpkin had become a smooth purée.
When the porridge began bubbling like golden lava, Hong Man-gi dissolved glutinous rice flour in water and added it.
The texture slowly thickened.
Pop. Pop.
Small bubbles burst rhythmically across the surface.
"Now."
Hong Man-gi opened the jar containing Master Im Jeong-sik's seed soy sauce.
The moment the lid came off, a deep aroma spread throughout the kitchen.
It did not smell simply salty or aged.
It reminded them of old wood from the floor of a traditional house.
Or perhaps a forest after rainfall.
It was the fragrance of time itself.
With trembling hands, Hong Man-gi scooped out one spoonful of seed soy sauce.
The thick liquid was so dark it almost appeared black, yet carried a reddish glow.
[Drip.]
The seed soy sauce fell into the golden pumpkin porridge.
Hong Man-gi slowly stirred until the soy sauce completely disappeared into it.
No salt was added.
No sugar.
Only the natural sweetness of the old pumpkin and the deep savory flavor of the seed soy sauce embraced each other.
This work was on a higher level than simply manipulating molecules through Material Reconstruction.
Hong Man-gi did not depend on his skill.
Instead, he placed the memories of the ingredients and the heart of a chef into a single bowl of porridge.
"It's finished."
Hong Man-gi neatly poured the steaming pumpkin porridge into a brass bowl.
He added only a few pine nuts and a small jujube flower as garnish.
There was nothing flashy about it.
It was an incredibly humble bowl.
Hong Man-gi carried the tray toward Master Im Jeong-sik.
"Master, your meal is ready."
Im Jeong-sik, who had been blankly staring through the window, turned his head.
White steam rising from the brass bowl drifted across his face.
Then,
his nostrils twitched.
"Th... this smell...?"
His cloudy eyes trembled violently.
A familiar fragrance.
"Huh...."
Hong Man-gi placed the spoon into the Master's hand.
The old man's hand trembled badly.
Almost as if hypnotized, he scooped up some porridge and brought it to his mouth.
Warm, soft porridge entered his mouth.
The gentle and deep sweetness of old pumpkin covered his tongue.
Then the salty, savory fragrance of seed soy sauce entered his nose.
Neither flavor overpowered the other.
They blended perfectly and created something warm and nostalgic, almost like a mother's embrace.
Master Im Jeong-sik slowly closed his eyes.
'Honey, did you really make this?'
Before his closed eyes appeared the bright smile of his young wife.
The days when they had been poor.
One evening when they had run out of rice and survived on a single old pumpkin.
He had apologized for being unable to give her something better.
Yet his wife had raised her thumb and called it the most delicious food in the world.
'Jeong-sik, your cooking has a heart inside it. That's why it's warm.'
The scorching heat of professional kitchens.
The respectful gazes of countless students.
The cheers from the day he received the title of Master Chef.
None of those glorious memories were as clear as the nights he had spent cooking this porridge for his sick wife.
On the day she died,
the final food she swallowed had been this very pumpkin porridge.
"Ah...."
Tears flowed from Master Im Jeong-sik's eyes.
Life began returning to his cloudy gaze.
The years he had forgotten.
His own name that he had lost.
They rushed back like waves and filled him.
"This taste... yes... this was it...."
He could not put down his spoon.
He continued eating while crying endlessly.
One spoonful.
Then another.
With every bite, another lost piece of memory returned to its proper place.
"Honey... I... I remembered far too late...."
Lee Yu-han and Kang Jae-min watched with reddened eyes.
Poming sniffled on Hong Man-gi's shoulder.
Hong Man-gi remained silently beside the Master.
He watched the miracle created by his cooking with a solemn heart.
By the end of the meal, Master Im Jeong-sik had completely emptied the bowl.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked up at Hong Man-gi.
"It was you... the person who found my lost memories."
He took Hong Man-gi's hand and smiled warmly.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you. Before I die... you've allowed me to taste the most precious flavor of my life one more time."
"No, Master. I'm the one who should be honored."
Hong Man-gi lowered his head.
That night,
the lights of the Full Moon Restaurant remained on until very late.
Master Im Jeong-sik carefully followed his returning memories and shared countless stories with Hong Man-gi.
His philosophy of cooking.
How to treat ingredients.
Stories about life itself.
It was more than a simple conversation.
It was like the final lesson of a legendary master passing everything he knew to the next generation.
Several days later,
Hong Man-gi visited Master Im Jeong-sik's home again.
The Master came out through the gate looking noticeably weaker than before.
Recovering his memories had been a miracle.
But apparently even a miracle could not turn back the time of a body already deeply affected by illness.
"You came."
The Master welcomed Hong Man-gi while sitting on the wooden porch.
The old notebook Hong Man-gi had seen earlier rested on his lap.
"How are you feeling?"
"Haha, I'm managing well enough. But... I know I don't have much time left."
He smiled bitterly.
"Memory is a cruel thing. Just when I thought everything had returned, I can already feel the fog trying to cover it again."
He gently stroked the notebook.
"After you left, I rewrote the final page that had been ruined by ink. I did it before my memories disappeared again."
He lifted the notebook and held it out toward Hong Man-gi.
"Take it."
"Master... this is...."
"My entire life's record."
Im Jeong-sik smiled.
"My life. My soul."
His expression became wistful.
"My children never had any interest in cooking, so I had no one to leave it to."
He looked directly at Hong Man-gi.
"But I think it has finally found its owner."
Hong Man-gi accepted the notebook with trembling hands.
He could feel the old paper beneath his fingertips.
Its weight seemed impossibly heavy.
"I may eventually forget everything... but my cooking will continue living through you."
Master Im Jeong-sik spoke firmly.
"Please carry my heart to the next generation."
He looked straight into Hong Man-gi's eyes.
"Hong Man-gi. I recognize you as my one and only successor."
Those words were worth more than any certificate or trophy.
A legend of Korean cuisine had formally recognized a Hunter chef who had once been practically unknown as his direct heir.
"I will remember your words. I will never forget your wishes, and I will carry them forward."
Hong Man-gi felt his eyes grow hot as he bowed deeply.
"And take this as well."
The Master pointed toward the large earthenware jars in one corner of the courtyard.
"That's the seed soy sauce I've protected my entire life. That jar belongs to you now."
That day, Hong Man-gi returned home carrying Master Im Jeong-sik's notebook and seed soy sauce.
"Thank you...."
Some time later,
the story spread quietly, yet steadily.
First among the owners of old restaurants around Jongno.
Then across the gourmet boards of Hunter communities.
Eventually, it spread to the general public.
"Did you hear? They say if you go to the Full Moon Restaurant, they'll even bring back lost memories."
"Apparently he cured Master Im Jeong-sik's dementia with one bowl of pumpkin porridge. It's seriously a miracle."
"It's not just a place with good food. That restaurant... heals souls."
The fame of the Full Moon Restaurant grew even more.
Hong Man-gi, Lee Yu-han, and Kang Jae-min became busier than ever.
Yet their faces carried more fulfillment than exhaustion.
However,
as the reputation of the Full Moon Restaurant and Hong Man-gi rose,
the dark eyes watching him became sharper as well.
At the Hunter Association headquarters,
several figures sat around a massive round table while staring seriously at a screen.
The screen displayed a long line outside the Full Moon Restaurant and a photograph of Hong Man-gi.
"Restoring Master Im Jeong-sik's memories... it would be difficult to dismiss that as ordinary cooking talent."
An elderly man seated at the head of the table spoke in a deep voice.
"There's a high possibility he possesses some form of regenerative special skill. A high-grade ability."
Cha Mu-jin, seated across from him, calmly reported.
He slowly opened his eyes.
"Clearing an S-rank dungeon, producing a legendary weapon, and now restoring memories. His speed of growth and potential have moved beyond our control."
Cha Mu-jin continued.
"He has also gained public support. Acting against him carelessly could cause serious backlash."
Another executive spoke with concern.
"But we cannot simply leave him alone. His power, especially Cha Gang-il's legacy, may become the greatest destabilizing factor threatening the Association's order."
The man frowned.
"What happens if Hunter Hong Man-gi fully understands that power and turns his blade toward us?"
The elderly man tapped his fingers against the table.
"Team Leader Cha. What is your opinion? Do you still believe he can be persuaded?"
Cha Mu-jin remained silent for a moment.
He remembered the way Hong Man-gi had firmly rejected his proposal.
"...Persuasion is impossible."
His voice was cold.
"His beliefs are too firm. He and our methods are like oil and water. They cannot mix."
"Then?"
"There's only one method."
Cha Mu-jin's eyes grew cold.
"We destroy everything he has built."
Silence filled the room.
"We turn him from a hero into a threat to society and isolate him."
Cha Mu-jin continued.
"Then... we reclaim everything he possesses."
The old man nodded with satisfaction.
"Good. Proceed. But make sure it's handled quietly and completely."
"Understood."
Cha Mu-jin stood.
