🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 9
At that moment, Hye-gwang’s eyes widened. As the broth touched the tip of his tongue, an astonishingly deep and rich flavor spread throughout his mouth.
“Ah…”
A sound of amazement escaped naturally.
“You didn’t add any meat, nor any strong spices or seasonings, yet how could it taste so profound? The broth is smooth, clean, and yet full of flavor.”
As Hye-gwang marveled, Seorin shyly fidgeted with her hands and answered the question.
“I selected seasonal vegetables and mushrooms, carefully trimmed them, and put them into the pot. I made the stock using radish, onions, shiitake mushrooms, kelp, and apples, then boiled it. I tried to preserve the natural flavors of the quality ingredients.”
Hye-gwang tasted the broth again. The warm liquid seemed to soothe his body against the chilly weather. Beyond the simple taste of the ingredients, it felt as though the cook’s dedication and heart had also been poured into it.
“Truly excellent. I could almost want to have this as today’s entire meal.”
Hye-gwang emptied the bowl completely. A satisfied and gentle smile spread across his face as he set the empty bowl down.
“Thank you for letting me taste such fine food.”
Seorin bowed with her hands clasped, grateful for the continuous praise.
“You are too kind with your words.”
Hye-gwang was known to be sparing with compliments, but hearing him lavish praise was enough to make the other judges hurriedly take a bowl each.
Busuksoo had initially intended to find a fault, taking a bowl reluctantly, yet he couldn’t say a word. The food truly matched Hye-gwang’s words.
One judge even went as far as mixing the broth with rice to eat it.
It seemed the judges had no further thoughts: “Candidate No. 11, Oh Seorin” received the highest score.
“Ah, what are we to do…”
The judges held their heads in frustration. While Seorin deserved the top marks without hesitation, the rest of the candidates posed a problem.
They had made dishes overloaded with meat, forcing effort into them. These were things the monks could not even touch. How could they possibly score them?
The judges turned their ire toward the cook, raising their voices.
“Isn’t this all because of the cook?”
“Even if we didn’t get to share the exam questions, why were the evaluation standards set so high?”
“Cough! Well, for those who cook, this is basic, the very basics. It cannot simply be overlooked…”
When the cook, Gojangnam, tried to explain, the judges glared fiercely, and he quickly shut his mouth.
He had been satisfied with setting an example and giving a sharp lesson to those lacking fundamentals but had not expected the results to be so disastrous.
“Cough, who would have thought it would turn out like this?”
Gojangnam looked truly troubled. If things continued this way, more than half the candidates would have to pack up and leave.
Euncheon, watching the judges anxiously scanning their evaluation sheets, spoke.
“Fortunately, the evaluation criteria are detailed on the sheets. Let us lower the standards and re-score the candidates.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Otherwise, the rejected candidates would have to be replaced with new ones for a re-examination, which would disrupt the schedule.
Moreover, the candidates had already been selected from those who performed reasonably well in the written test. There was no guarantee that better candidates could be gathered.
Gojangnam felt relieved by Euncheon’s suggestion but had one concern.
“This will take quite some time.”
“That cannot be helped. My only concern is that the judges’ schedules might be disrupted.”
However, the judges, unlike Euncheon’s worry, were quite pleased.
“No, no! When His Majesty has entrusted us with this task, what importance could individual schedules hold?”
“Exactly. Unless someone has urgent appointments tomorrow, I have no issue.”
“I feel the same. A single day is nothing.”
Where is Hye-eumwon! This was a large-scale culinary institute built by Euncheon under the emperor’s command, leaving no corner untouched.
Staying there before its official opening, as the first guests, would be an experience worth bragging about for months in Kaegyeong gatherings.
With the judges’ issues resolved, Euncheon approached the Dabi who were attending the judges. The four great horticulturists, seeing Euncheon up close, turned bright red.
Euncheon spoke to the Dabi leader.
“I believe I will need your assistance regarding this matter.”
“Oh? What matter is that?”
Euncheon, puzzled by the Dabi leader’s dazed expression, requested their cooperation.
After completing the cooking test, the candidates returned to Hyangmicheong.
“Phew… that drained me.”
Seorin slumped into a chair by the hearth and noticed Dasim with a pale face.
Dasim had managed to secure her desired ingredients despite the gang’s interference, yet she had chosen pork!
Meanwhile, Gabi, lacking strength, had been unable to participate in the physical scramble and had to rely solely on vegetables, which ironically led her to choose the correct ingredients.
“What good is securing premium pork if the customers are monks! I’m definitely going to fail!”
Seorin patted Dasim, who was tearing at her hair.
“If we think like that, everyone except Gabi and I would fail. The judges likely didn’t anticipate this situation and will surely apply different standards.”
“…Different standards?”
Dasim paused and looked at Seorin.
“Taste? Quality of the dish?”
“Is… is that so?”
“Yes, so cheer up. Don’t get discouraged already. There are still two more tests to go.”
“Ah… okay.”
At that moment, the candidates overheard others whispering about Seorin. Among them was Shini.
‘Her again?’
“Seorin… didn’t she already know the cook personally?”
“Yeah. Otherwise, how would she have asked such questions?”
“If that’s true, isn’t this test unfair?”
Dasim frowned at their words.
“Don’t blame others for not asking you themselves!”
“Exactly! And Shini is related to the cook too!”
“Let’s not waste energy on that and focus on the next test,” Seorin calmed them.
“Hey, are you okay hearing all that?”
Seorin shrugged. In truth, she secretly enjoyed the situation.
‘Being envied for doing so well on a test… I’ve always wanted to experience this!’
She had always been the one feeling jealous before, but now it was reversed.
Gabi and Dasim, however, misunderstood her demeanor.
‘Seorin is really strong-minded… impressive.’
‘She’s too kind and naive, perfect for being taken advantage of…’
Despite receiving envious gazes and admiration simultaneously, Seorin only had one wish.
‘If dreams reflect desires, I wish this were real.’
She decided to enjoy the rest of the dream and see the test through to a successful ending.
Who knows? Perhaps this lucky dream could bring good fortune in the real exam.
‘I hope I don’t wake up until then…’
Seorin spent the remaining time discussing the upcoming tests with the others.
Soon, someone entered Hyangmicheong.
‘Huh? Who’s that?’
A very tall woman with a stern expression and short hair appeared. Dressed in men’s clothing, she could easily be mistaken for a man.
“I am Lieutenant Jeong Yeonhwa, responsible for managing the guest rooms,” she introduced herself.
After the introduction, Jeong Yeonhwa looked at the candidates and shared unexpected news.
