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Chapter 16
His junior spoke with an excited voice.
“Everyone’s buzzing about it, you know. They said they’re going to watch it just because you’re appearing, senior.”
“I doubt I’ll be on screen long enough to make it worth watching.”
“That’s exactly why they’re looking forward to it. Even a moment is enough.”
“Now that our anchor is appearing on a variety show, we can brag a little, too. That person’s our senior. STB anchor Shin I-hyun.”
“If that’s all you called me here for, I’ll be going.”
“Joking, I’m joking!”
The group burst into laughter before another junior leaned in with a curious look.
“Hey, that Yoo Hae-rin is going to be on too, right? I heard there was a lot of talk about her casting. Supposedly the PD didn’t even want to bring her in.”
“Who said that?”
“My junior’s colleague overheard it. Someone said… ah, can’t remember who exactly. Someone from the industry desk, maybe.”
The junior across the table took a sip of his drink and frowned.
“Industry desk? An industry reporter said that?”
“They claimed to be close to the PD.”
“I met that PD at a company dinner once. He struck me as someone with strong convictions.”
“Exactly. That’s why it sounded strange to me.”
It was the first I-hyun had heard of it. Whoever was spreading it sounded as careless as a journalist writing an unverified piece.
He turned to the junior who had shared the news.
“That’s all you heard?”
“Yes. Apparently the show came up during a dinner, and it was mentioned briefly in passing.”
“Next time someone brings it up, correct them. Tell them you heard directly from me why she was cast.”
“Really? Then why was she?”
“The PD is a fan of Yoo Hae-rin. He wanted the chance to work with her.”
The juniors nodded in understanding. With the information he wanted secured, I-hyun rose from his seat.
“Leaving already, senior?”
“Yes. Thanks for the coffee.”
“Anchor-nim, wait. I’ve been dying to ask— is Yoo Hae-rin really that beautiful in person?”
“……”
“Look at his face. You can tell he’s thinking what a pointless question.”
“What? Can’t I be curious? Just once—how beautiful is she?”
I-hyun hesitated at the frivolous question, then finally answered.
“The most beautiful I’ve ever seen.”
“Wow. That sounded sincere. See you, senior! Oh, by the way, I once copied that thing she does with her eyelashes—pulling them out like this. I was obsessed with it for a while.”
Leaving his juniors’ chatter behind, I-hyun exited the café.
He hadn’t expected it, but he’d walked away with a suspicious lead.
“An industry reporter, huh. Whoever it is, I’d better keep an eye on them.”
* * *
The day of the second recording for Self-Made King of Cooking.
As soon as Hae-rin stepped out of the car, she turned her head at the sound echoing across the parking lot.
“But they promised me a private dressing room this week. That’s what the writer told me. Isn’t that right?”
“I’m so sorry. The venue suddenly changed…”
The writer stammered nervously.
“Starting from next week, it’ll be properly prepared. Could you just be understanding this once? I’m really sorry.”
A sharp retort snapped back immediately.
“That’s your problem, isn’t it? You drop this on me without warning, and I’m supposed to just accept it? ‘Today you’ll be in a shared room again.’ Do I have no choice but to go along?”
“I truly apologize.”
“I’m not asking for an apology. If apologies solved everything, why would laws exist? What are you going to do about this?”
It was Hee-seo. With his trademark easy smile, he was pecking away at the writer like a woodpecker.
The poor writer couldn’t even lift her head.
She tried to appease him in a small, timid voice.
“I’ll come down myself before filming starts and explain to you. Just for today, could you please wait in your car…?”
“Last time I was the only one waiting in my car. Everyone else are seniors—do you want me to leave an impression as some disrespectful rookie? Writer-nim, you really don’t have much professionalism.”
Hae-rin held back a sigh. If he was so unhappy, he could just walk into the waiting room like the others. Listening closely, she realized he was blowing up something trivial into a drama.
“This isn’t something I can just leave alone.”
She started forward—then stopped.
No, if she stepped in directly, the writer might only face worse backlash later.
“…Right. I need a better way.”
An idea came to her.
Feigning that she had just arrived, Hae-rin approached them with a bright expression.
“Writer-nim. Oh, Hee-seo-ssi, you’re here too. Hello.”
“Ah, hello, sunbae-nim.”
“…Hello.”
Hee-seo gave only a half-hearted nod.
“Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask. Writer-nim, do you have a moment? I think I need your input.”
“Ah—yes! I’m so sorry. I promise next week we’ll have the dressing rooms ready.”
“Yes, please do.”
The writer quickly joined Hae-rin in the elevator. His face, now turned away from Hee-seo, looked on the verge of tears.
Inside the empty elevator, his voice cracked with exhaustion.
“Sunbae-nim… what you wanted to ask, was it about the dressing room…?”
“No. To be honest, there wasn’t anything. I just thought it’d be nice to ride up together.”
“Ah… I see.”
A soft sniffle echoed from her side. Hae-rin kept her eyes fixed firmly on the glowing panel of buttons.
* * *
“Five minutes left!”
I-hyun’s voice rang out.
The contestants scrambled at their stations.
“Slurp— ugh!”
Ju-ho gagged as he tasted his simmering braised chicken.
Since his station was right next to hers, the sound reached Hae-rin clearly.
“Wow… that must be terrible. How’s he going to eat that?”
The rule for the sub-ingredients was simple: you had to use them in a way that made sense. Those who completely botched their ingredient challenge faced penalties.
“We don’t have to mix it in, right? Couldn’t we just use it as a topping?”
“Yes, toppings are fine! But when eating, it must be eaten together.”
“Ugh, PD-nim, you should’ve told us sooner! I already mixed my sweet-candy snack into the sauce!”
“……”
Ju-ho was one of those who had mixed his. His braised chicken, now infused with melted “123” chocolate, had turned a strange, muddy brown.
Meanwhile, Hae-rin lifted her spoon for a final taste test.
“Oh. This is actually better than the one I make at home.”
Deng—!
The deep gong signaled the end of cooking time.
The counters rolled away, leaving the stage clear as the contestants gathered.
Seong-jae, the MC, gave a dry laugh.
“Come on, everyone, smile a little. This is a variety show.”
“I can’t. There’s nothing funny about this.”
Except for Hae-rin and one other, everyone wore grim expressions.
“Contestants, are you satisfied with the dishes you’ve made?”
“No.”
“I don’t even want to eat mine…”
“Looking around, I see some dishes that make you very jealous, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
The stares converged on Hae-rin, and she laughed awkwardly.
Something about the MC’s tone made her uneasy.
“It seems unfair that your fate could be sealed by drawing a bad ingredient, doesn’t it?”
“Yes!”
“So, are we getting a do-over?”
“Nope.”
Seong-jae smiled as tension thickened.
“Today, there will be two losers. One will be the contestant with the fewest coins. And the other…”
The pause stretched.
“…will be chosen at random from those who have no tasters.”
A ripple of panic ran through the contestants.
“No one’s going to taste mine!”
“Which is why—we’ve prepared a mission.”
It was called ‘Catch Your Taster.’
At the blow of a whistle, contestants had to tag someone to be their taster. But anyone tagged lost the chance to choose for themselves and automatically became eligible for punishment.
“And here’s the twist—you all wrote down your predicted scores earlier, right?”
“Yes.”
“If your taster’s score matches your prediction, you’ll earn one thousand coins.”
“Whoa!”
“Those of you with low balances will want to choose your tasters carefully.”
“Wait. So if I get caught, I don’t even have a chance to earn coins?”
“That’s right. Now, you have three minutes. Catch your tasters!”
Beep!
With the whistle, everyone scattered, tension bristling as subtle strategies began.
Hae-rin, however, stood conflicted in the chaos.
“A thousand coins?”
It was no small prize. Choosing the right taster mattered.
But then the realization hit her.
“…No matter who I pick, I won’t be able to earn them, will I?”
