NOVEL WEB Chapter 177
Chapter 177
About 30 minutes had passed since the cooking competition started.
The progress of the competition was completely unexpected by both us and the Airies.
“Wow……”
The kitchen was filled with the savory smell of simmering seaweed soup and the fragrant oil from frying onions and meat.
In other words, instead of the burnt smell, spicy odor, or fishy stench we had braced ourselves for, only the delicious aroma wafted through the air, teasing our senses as we hadn’t eaten dinner yet.
Though neither Ban Yo-han and I, who were giving instructions, nor Kang Ji-woo, who was anxiously awaiting his birthday meal, could see what they were cooking.
Even without seeing it, we could tell through our sense of smell that a potentially delicious dish was being prepared there.
Incidentally, due to the Airies’ valid request to keep seeing the busy Seo Moon-gyeol and Gyun Seong-ha cooking, we had another live broadcast titled “Cooking Battle of the Century” running simultaneously.
We weren’t sure if it was possible to run more than one live broadcast in one group at the same time, but it turned out to be possible once we tried.
It’s always good to try things out.
– It’s technically a 5-member ORCA V App, but now it’s 3-member + 2-member = 5-member
– I’ve never seen a group practice “separately but together” like this
– Isn’t it funny that we have two V Apps in the same spaceㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Watching the main broadcast on my tablet and the cooking team broadcast on my phone
– Why does Seong-ha talk to himself so much while cookingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s worse than my momㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Cooking Battle of the Century: Seong-ha’s audio portion is 2 servings, Gyeol’s is 0, totaling 2 servings, perfect balance
“I’m done mixing everything!”
At that moment, Gyun Seong-ha, who had mixed the glass noodles and seasoning, called for my next instructions.
“Now, put all the remaining ingredients and the noodles into the frying pan and stir-fry them. Don’t let it burn!”
“You’re a native English speaker, yet you call it a frying pan…….”
Despite smiling as if nothing was wrong in front of the camera, Ban Yo-han gave me a light scolding, hinting he wasn’t pleased with something.
“Season it with soy sauce as you taste it, and if it’s good, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. Is there anything difficult?”
“No!”
I lightly ignored Ban Yo-han’s comment and gave the final instructions.
Eventually, the two cooks brought their respective dishes to the living room.
With the lids still on the pots and pans, the contents remained a mystery for the moment.
“Ugh.”
Ban Yo-han got up and set up the table in the living room.
– Real life vibe
– Jiwoo, happy birthday!!
– My dad also sets the table with that exact expressionㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– I want to eat at that table for just one day…
It felt like we were showing too much of our private and human sides to the Airies….
But since the members’ faces, led by me, still looked fantastical, I decided to let it slide.
“First of all, great job, both of you. And Raon and Ban Yo-han too.”
“Why am I the only one you address formally? It feels unfair.”
“Fine, Yo-han-ah.”
Kang Ji-woo seemed to be holding back because we were on a broadcast.
But I had a feeling that within a year, those two would be completely at ease even in front of the camera, regardless of whether it was a broadcast or not.
It already seemed like they were about 80% of the way there.
“Anyway, this concludes the Cooking Battle of the Century. We are both worried and excited to see what kind of dishes the two teams have prepared. Well, actually, I’m more excited!”
Because it smells good, Kang Ji-woo added brightly.
“I was planning to wait nervously without knowing anything, but the Airies kept spoiling in the comments that Seong-ha and Gyeol were doing better than expected, so my anticipation has unintentionally risen quite a bit.”
“Wasn’t it originally too low?”
Gyun Seong-ha pointed out sharply, and Kang Ji-woo laughed heartily.
It seemed he was right.
“Now, please reveal your dishes by removing the lids!”
Probably hungry, Kang Ji-woo quickly counted to three, and Gyun Seong-ha and Seo Moon-gyeol lifted the lids off their frying pan and pot at the same time.
“Wow……”
“Smelling it makes me even hungrier.”
Surprisingly, the seaweed soup and japchae looked quite decent, and once again, Seo Moon-gyeol had created an amazing piece of fruit art with the fruits from the dorm. I didn’t even have the energy to be surprised by that anymore.
“This is what it means to pleasantly exceed expectations.”
“No, but… how? Even if Seong-ha’s skills were unknown, but Gyeol hyung…….”
“I believed in our Gyeol!”
“You believed in that hyung? How much?”
“I will… no comment on that.”
– Why did it turn out well..?
– It’s funniest that they seem surprised themselves
– I was ready to cry with Jiwoo because I thought they would mess up, but they unexpectedly did well
– It looks delicious
– Great job, Gyeol oppa
– wowowowow
– Is that a duck? A swan???
– But where did he learn to make things like thatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Amusingly, everyone found this situation odd.
It seemed the trauma from the previous risotto incident was still significant.
“Visually, it looks delicious…….”
Holding a spoon, Kang Ji-woo alternated his gaze between the glossy seaweed soup and the shiny japchae.
“Why are you looking at it with such suspicion? We didn’t put anything weird in it. It’ll taste good.”
“Yeah. Let’s taste it first!”
Determined, Kang Ji-woo picked up a spoon, obviously thinking that no matter how it tasted, he would say it was good.
“Hmm……”
All eyes were on Kang Ji-woo as he took a big spoonful of seaweed soup and put it in his mouth.
“How is it?”
Ban Yo-han prompted for feedback.
“……It’s delicious? The seasoning is good. It’s not greasy or fishy.”
Seo Moon-gyeol smiled slightly at the seemingly sincere evaluation, looking happy, but I thought I saw a bit of anxiety in that faint smile.
‘Was he worried it might taste bad?’
“How about my japchae?”
Gyun Seong-ha urged Kang Ji-woo.
“Didn’t you taste it while cooking?”
“I did, but your taste and mine could be different.”
“Hold on. I’ll try it now.”
The japchae also received a favorable review.
They said it was the best japchae they’d ever had.
– They’re not just saying it’s good when it’s not, right?
– Jiwoo’s smile is genuineㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Thank goodness it’s a birthday meal and not a memorial meal
– Where did that dish from hell go, and how did it turn into such a normal seaweed soup????
– Our Daeng Seong can cook well too. Wanna live with your sister?
– I was expecting them to fail spectacularly and give us big laughs, but I’m slightly disappointed. Still, as long as Joo is happy, that’s enough.
“Guys, you should eat too. You must be hungry.”
“I’ll go get the rice.”
“Everyone, we’re just going to eat now. We won’t be able to read the comments… or look at the camera.”
“Because Jiwoo’s grandmother said we should only eat while eating.”
“But seriously, we’re just going to eat, so if you’re busy, you can leave. Of course… we’d prefer if you didn’t……”
“Don’t go.”
“Don’t go.”
“Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go……”
“What song is that?”
“If you find out the title, I’ll grant you a wish.”
“Isn’t that just something you made up on the spot?”
“Haha.”
Anyway, we warmed up the rice from the fridge in the microwave, and our official dinner began.
Originally, we planned to end the live broadcast around this time, but we just couldn’t find a good moment to stop.
Since we showed the cooking process, it seemed like we should show the eating process as an after-service.
– The kids are eating so deliciouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Why is it so cute that they chew with their mouths closed
– Why is it entertaining just to watch them eat
– Ah, their faces are funny
– They really don’t seem to care about the cameraㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Guys, it feels like I’m watching an unedited version of Chinlrka2 right nowㅋㅋㅋ
– Why are the side dishes such high quality??
– Guys, don’t starve and make sure to eat wellㅠㅠㅠ even though Jiwoo will take care of it without us saying it…
– Let’s go from acapella > cooking show > mukbang > lying down broadcast!!!
“We shouldn’t lie down right after eating.”
“What obvious thing are you saying now?”
“Well, some commenter suggested we do a lying down broadcast.”
“Don’t read the comments, just eat.”
“I’m full now……”
At that moment, Ban Yo-han, who was eating the seaweed soup with a serious expression, spoke.
“No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.”
“What’s strange about it when you ate so well?”
“No, this isn’t the taste that should come out if you followed my recipe.”
Seo Moon-gyeol’s eyes flickered slightly at Ban Yo-han’s persistent words.
“Gyeol, did you perhaps…….”
Seo Moon-gyeol, as if feeling guilty, avoided Ban Yo-han’s sharp gaze.
“Did you look up the recipe in advance?”
“……”
Seo Moon-gyeol, who was showing the Airies how to carve a swan out of an apple, started moving his knife a bit faster.
His hands, moving like a professional apple carver, made me worry that he might cut himself.
“Gyeol.”
“Yes.”
“Did you look it up in advance?”
“Yes…….”
With an apologetic expression, Seo Moon-gyeol placed a beautifully carved swan on a plate.
– What a twist….
– No wonder
– So Gyeol practiced in advance??
– Yo-han is so sharpㄷㄷㄷ, it’s all the same seaweed soup to me
– To taste it and say it’s not the recipe he gave, he’s almost a detective
– Meanwhile, Gyeol’s hands are so pretty and busy
– The swan is so beautiful, but it’s just a golden hand following a YouTube tutorialㅠㅠㅠ
“Why did you do it? I told you absolutely not to look it up.”
“But……”
“But?
“It’s Jiwoo hyung’s birthday, so I wanted to make something delicious for him.”
– Ah….
– Here we see the saint Seo Moon-gyeol..
– I feel like I just saw a halo
– People shouldn’t be this kind,,,
– I’m glad Yo-han is there to look after our naive kids
“Gyeol……!”
Kang Ji-woo, munching on the apple slices Seo Moon-gyeol had cut, called out his name with tearful eyes.
“Did you not trust me?”
In contrast, Ban Yo-han asked with a slightly sulky expression.
“Because you’re not good at explaining.”
Seo Moon-gyeol’s straightforward and honest evaluation left Ban Yo-han momentarily speechless.
“Yeah. You need to explain it clearly like I do. Your explanations are too difficult and overly simplistic, making it hard for anyone who knows nothing to understand. Looking back, the failure last time wasn’t because of Gyeol hyung’s hands but because of Yo-han hyung’s mouth!”
Seizing the moment, I took a jab at Ban Yo-han.
“No, if I must say, your explanations today were like sticky rice cake, and I understood them perfectly.”
Gyun Seong-ha executed a team kill.
This rascal?
“Hey, Daeng Seong. Just because you call it sticky rice cake doesn’t mean it’s not a mess. If you do that, you’re not Gyun Seong-ha but ‘Mess Seong-ha.’”
“I’m not using rough language because we’re in front of the Airies. And it’s so childish to mess with someone’s name.”
“Wow, what a pretense.”
And so, the two of us began arguing noisily.
……I felt my mental age dropping lower and lower.
– A total messㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– An American who knows how to translate “Daeng” as “mess”
– Raon is almost a word magician
– Guys, don’t fightㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– The small ball launched by Saint Seo Moon-gyeolㅠㅠㅠ
– But it feels like they’re just lightly hitting each other with cotton fistsㅠ are they really fighting..?
In that chaos, Kang Ji-woo hurriedly wrapped up the broadcast.
“Thank you so much to everyone who celebrated my birthday today, and we will work even harder for the remaining ‘Dream’ activities. We have a special stage prepared for next week’s music show, so please look forward to it. Goodbye!”