Chapter 265

<A Surprise (4)>

If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁

‘I guess the 45-year tradition really wasn’t a bluff.’

Of course, if they put fake slogans in their store ad, it would technically be a scam, not a bluff. While Jo Minjoon’s gaze was nailed to other people’s tables, Kaya propped her chin on her hands and looked into Jo Minjoon’s eyes with a contemplative gaze.

‘It’s always like this.’

It was normal for him to get distracted by dishes on other people’s tables, so she wasn’t even embarrassed anymore. Rather, she was just curious. Just what did he see in those eyes of his when he looked at dishes that he hadn’t even tasted?

Jo Minjoon’s existence had always been a catalyst for Kaya. If she hadn’t met Jo Minjoon, she would have probably still been drunk on her talent and success at this moment, with no end to her pride. It nearly turned out that way too. She had competed and won against crowds of chefs from all over the United States when she wasn’t even twenty yet. That too, unlike them, she even had to bear all sorts of condescending comments in that grueling environment before she won.

At first, she didn’t think that Jo Minjoon was anyone greater than her. When she found out that Jo Minjoon had absolute taste, she was surprised that there was someone who could have a sense of taste more sensitive than her, but that didn’t discourage her. However, as time went on, she realized. Aside from the huge gap in their sensitivity to taste, their innate temperament was also different. Kaya opened her mouth.

“Do you know?”
“What?”
“When I think about your cooking, I feel that people sure can change so frighteningly.”
“Of course. I bet my life after all.”

There was no hesitation in his voice as he declared that, betting on his life. Kaya looked at him in wonder.

“How can you be so sure? You don’t know how life will turn out in the future.”
“I’ve liked it since I was young. Cooking. And even when I took it up as a job, my thoughts on it haven’t changed at all. I will continue to feel that way in the future too. And I’m the type of person who won’t feel any passion if I don’t do what I like. Of course, there isn’t anyone who isn’t like that. Don’t you think so too?”
“Well. I certainly love cooking, but sometimes I imagine myself doing other things too. Such as appearing on TV shows, like Chloe. Of course, at the moment, I feel like I’m practically an entertainment TV chef.”
“Don’t blame yourself. No need to rush either. There’s only a few months left till the Grand Chef contract ends.”
“When you put it that way, I feel relieved but also a bit regretful.”

Kaya crossed her legs and leaned back to stretch against the backrest. Jo Minjoon glanced at the table next to him. Seated next to them was a middle-aged couple that gave off the impression of being wealthy. As expected, one would wonder about the taste of Pyongyang naengmyeon when they were getting on in years. The woman said reluctantly,

“No matter how many times I eat Pyongyang naengmyeon, I can’t think of it as delicious. Just why do you like this?”
“People say that Pyongyang naengmyeon tastes boring, but I really don’t understand that. How can this be boring? The taste of the salty broth is clearly brimming with flavor.”

Jo Minjoon burst into laughter at the man’s words. Kaya asked with a curious expression.

“Why are you laughing?”
“When it comes to this dish, the disparity in people’s preference is quite great in Korea. I think you can probably taste Pyongyang naengmyeon’s hidden taste…… but that couple’s opinions are divided.”
“Let me guess. The husband likes it, but his wife doesn’t?”
“How did you know?”
“It’s obvious from their expressions. Besides, the woman has been picking at the food with her chopsticks since the beginning.”

Hearing Kaya’s words, Jo Minjoon nodded. Certainly, there was no need for words to tell what someone’s feelings about your cooking were. It could be understood just from looking at the customers’ bowls and the expressions on their faces. Jo Minjoon sighed internally as he thought about it. He found it hard to believe that even dishes made with such care wouldn’t be able to overcome the barrier of taste.

He realized how cruel it was to be the path of Pyongyang naengmyeon. If he cooked any other delicious dish, people would love it unless they were allergic to it or had trauma associated with it. However, no matter how highly the Pyongyang naengmyeon was perfected, it would still fail due to the person’s taste not being suited to it. To be precise, it was a matter of people’s preference. For people who had become accustomed to the stimulation of salt and seasonings, it couldn’t be helped that the mildly salted Pyongyang naengmyeon would simply taste like a lump of watery minced buckwheat.

‘But seeing how he hasn’t given up no matter what, it should be said that craftsmen aren’t craftsmen for nothing.’

Jo Minjoon thought about what he would have been like if he were in this situation. He had been depressed, saying that he couldn’t see any future, even though he was knocked down while he was still so young. If he really dedicated 45 years of his life to this, only to elicit this kind of reaction…

“It’s scary.”
“What is?”
“Dedicating your life to a dish that most people don’t like, it’s not something that can be done with a normal amount of tenacity.”
“It’s a foolish thing.”

And the subject of that foolish dedication was coming over to them. Kim Minseok smiled nervously as he brought their naengmyeon over. To be precise, it wasn’t just naengmyeon. Placed in front of them was a dish of pork pyeonyuk and beef suyuk alongside the naengmyeon. Jo Minjoon looked at Kim Minseok with a puzzled expression. Kim Minseok replied, smiling sheepishly,

“On the house for alumni. Enjoy your meal.”
“Oh, thank you. You didn’t have to do this…”
“It’s a service for alumni, but it’s also because I’m curious. Did you say that you have an absolute taste? It’s not everyday that there’s an opportunity to be rigorously evaluated by such a great gourmet. It may even be the last time…”

As Kim Minseok said the last few words, his expression seemed to turn gloomy for a moment. However, Jo Minjoon didn’t dwell on it. He thought that Kim Minseok probably said that because he would return to America soon. He laughed and nodded.

“Thank you for the food. Kaya, say hello. This is on the house you say?”
“Ah, kansahamnida*.”
“······you got the pronunciation wrong.”
“How should I pronounce it?”
“Kamsahamnida.”
“Kaeum…?”
“It’s okay. I’ve already understood it. Ttaeng-kyu, Kaya. Enjoy your meal.”

Kim Minseok smiled and left. Jo Minjoon looked back at the dishes. The cooking score for the sliced ​​meat was 6 and the score for the cooked meat was 8. Kaya looked at the dishes on the table hesitantly.

“This is the problem with Korean restaurants. I have no idea where I should start eating from. It’d be nice if there were some sort of guidelines set.”
“You can simply start from whatever you feel like eating. You’re just indecisive.”
“Please choose for me.”
“In this case, it would be better to eat something hot first. Suyuk. Pyeonyuk. And then naengmyeon. Let’s go in that order.”

Jo Minjoon said so and picked up a slice of the suyuk. Were the different parts of the meat boiled together? Among the parts of the meat, cow tongue was also included in. He carefully picked up the meat. It felt as if the meat that had been simmered till it was tender would be crushed if he applied too much force. It was at this moment that he slightly soaked an end of the meat in the mixed mustard soy sauce and put it in his mouth. A smile spread across Jo Minjoon’s face.

“It’s delicious.”

The taste was indescribable. He could feel the high quality of the meat from the way it mashed up like cream under his teeth. The meat, which melted inside his mouth in no time, had a taste so stimulating that there was no need to add mustard soy sauce separately to it.

However, Kaya seemed to be unable to sympathize with his emotions. She couldn’t help it. At this moment, she was still engaged in battle with the chopsticks. Even picking up something ordinary would be difficult when using chopsticks, not to mention tender slices of beef suyuk. She looked at Jo Minjoon tearfully.

“I can’t keep a hold on it.”
“I told you to practice like this. Chopsticks.”

Jo Minjoon clicked his tongue and lifted the meat to feed it to Kaya. And after a while, Kaya’s lips curved into a happy smile too.

“This is so fascinating. Is it possible to achieve this kind of texture just by boiling beef for a long time? It’s not, right? There’s also the subtle taste of pork. Did he boil it together?”
“You got it right again. That’s right. The pork and beef used in boiling the broth were served separately in this way.”
“It’s delicious. You really eat this kind of thing on a daily basis?”

Kaya nodded in admiration. In fact, considering it’s price, beef suyuk wasn’t a dish that could be eaten on a daily basis, but Jo Minjoon didn’t want to burst her bubble. He smiled and put a slice of pyeonyuk into his mouth. Perhaps it had been made using head meat, this chewy pyeonyuk wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t incredibly good either. It was just plain.

“This one is just so-so. Ah, it feels a little strange to say this about a dish we got as gratis.”

Kaya mumbled like that when she was suddenly surprised to see Kim Minseok standing in front of the kitchen. Jo Minjoon picked up naengmyeon with a smirk. The real meal started now.

No words were needed. Jo Minjoon picked up his chopsticks and scooped the noodles into the broth. In the case of regular mul naengmyeon, if you scooped up too many noodles into the broth, your teeth would be numbed and you would most likely not feel the taste. However, there was no need to worry about that when it came to Pyongyang naengmyeon. The taste was fundamentally not that stimulating.

Jo Minjoon opened his mouth. The edge of the noodles in his mouth were sucked in whole with a slurping sound. Kaya observed him and cautiously followed suit. Being used to the western custom of eating without making any sound, she sucked in the noodles with a lot of power even though the sound of her slurping wasn’t as loud.

And it didn’t take too long for that facial expression to become cryptic. Kaya felt the taste lingering in her mouth with a tense expression. First, she took in the dull umami taste of the broth on the tongue, while the noodles gave off the smell of buckwheat as she chewed on them. The most interesting part was the taste of the broth. At first, it tasted like plain water that didn’t contain anything, but when tasted by itself, the taste of pork and cow were somehow present in it. Kaya looked at Jo Minjoon with a confused expression on her face.

“What’s this?”
“Pyongyang naengmyeon.”
“I’m not asking about that. How could a taste like taste exist? I can’t seem to figure it out. Just when I think it’s strong, the taste becomes dull, and when I think it’s dull, it becomes strong. Ah, this is really infuriating. I’m so frustrated. I don’t know what it is.”
“Congratulations. That frustration is the taste of Pyongyang naengmyeon. So, if you want to enjoy the real taste of Pyongyang naengmyeon properly, you have to concentrate without saying anything. In pursuit of the breathtaking feeling that’s just out of reach. By the way…”

Jo Minjoon looked at his bowl of Pyongyang naengmyeon as he trailed off. He had expected it when he saw the score, but he had never imagined that it would be able to express this kind of flavor or that he’d get to experience this kind of taste from Pyongyang naengmyeon.

‘I don’t think I’ve experienced a taste this vivid before…’

He thought it was delicious, but he couldn’t figure out why. But now he seemed to realize. The meat looked as if it had simply been boiled carelessly, but in fact, the ratio between cow and pig was expressed appropriately in the smell of the meat. And the buckwheat noodles served in it had a firm texture, like pasta cooked al dente. Jo Minjoon looked at Kim Minseok and Kim Minseok came over to them right away.

“Is there something you need?”
“No. That’s not it…. I want to thank you because it’s very delicious. I’m glad this was the first dish I tried after coming to Korea. Kaya also thinks that it’s really good.”
“Kansahammida.”
“······Please excuse her pronunciation. She’s a foreigner.”
“Of course.”

Kim Minseok smiled and nodded. Jo Minjoon thought that his smile seemed wistful rather than happy. It was right when he was about to ask why that Kim Minseok opened his mouth, saying with a grim voice,

“These days, my thoughts have been very complicated, but it feels good to see our naengmyeon recognized by people who have been recognized around the world. Although, now it may not mean much.”
“Eh? It no longer means much?”

Jo Minjoon asked perplexedly. Kim Minseok answered as he scratched his head, looking embarrassed. His feelings of frustration towards reality, regret, and anger toward his inadequate self were evident in his voice as he said,

“We will be closing our doors soon.”

(T/N: Kam-sa-ham-ni-da (감사합니다) = Thank you.)

If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁

< A Surprise (4) > End.