Chapter 119 - Hunger Trip (3)

‘I know this is the first day, but still…’

Cho Min Joon stared at the sticks in front of him with a dejected feeling. Did they watch Korean variety shows? He couldn’t know. He never knew how American variety shows were done, to begin with. Emily asked with a sharp look in her eye, “Wait. What’s the lowest and highest?”

“The highest is 300 reals, and the lowest is 50 reals. Just so you know, 50 reals are enough to get one meal, but you won’t be able to afford expensive and large meals with that.”

It was a relief that the lowest was enough for a meal. Cho Min Joon picked a stick without hesitation. He then sighed. Martin asked with anticipation, “How much is it?”

“I’m screwed.”

Cho Min Joon stuck out his stick. Martin, who looked at it with a smile, suddenly turned dark. He realized Cho Min Joon’s sigh was a fake.

“300 reals.”

“… Let’s keep going. Emily, pick a stick.”

“One moment.”

Emily pointed at a stick that Martin was holding.

“Why aren’t you putting that back in?”

“Because it’s been chosen.”

“… Does that mean mine has to be lower than 300 reals?”

“Yes.”

“Martin! I know this is a variety show, but still. The saddest time is when a person can’t eat when they want… Are you trying to make me sad?”

Emily spoke in a sulky voice. Martin showed a soft smile and spoke in a comforting voice,

“Emily. Like I told you before, 50 reals is a lot of money. That’s nearly 30 dollars. You could eat two average meals with that. Besides, Brazil’s food is cheap.”

“But it’s not fair. I don’t even expect 300 reals. 100 reals… No, 200 reals. Just give me 200 reals.”

“Emily. You know food tastes best when you’re hungry.”

“… Okay, fine. I’ll choose.”

Emily gave up and took her hand to the sticks. Her trembling hands showed just how nervous she was. After a long thought, she picked one of the sticks. As soon as she pulled it out, Emily spoke in a tearful voice, “I knew it.”

The stick said 50.

***

Every time he took a step, sand got into his shoes. The two of them were at the beach in Sao Paolo. July. It was winter in Brazil, but it wasn’t very cold, just slightly chilly.

But many people were still gathered at the beach. Some were jogging while the kids played near the waves. Just looking out into the blue sea made his head feel refreshed, and the colorful umbrellas on the beach reminded him of the movies.

But Emily was unable to enjoy the view. As a woman who drove a car that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, holding just 50 reals in her hands made her heart feel empty. Her hands kept fumbling with her purse, but all that was remaining was her anxiousness.

“How much are 50 reals again?”

“Around 30 dollars?”

“That’s enough for a tip.”

“… You give large tips.”

He realized the person next to him lived a different life. Emily flinched and shook her head.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not the type to splurge. But when I eat, I tend to spend a lot because I’m in a good mood.”

“But now, you can’t even splurge on food.”

“Ugh… I should’ve said to do a documentary instead of a variety show.”

“But haven’t you tasted cheap food before? You’re a food critic. Don’t you taste all sorts of different food?”

“I’m embarrassed to say this, but food critics are picky, too.”

Emily answered with an embarrassed laugh.

The place that Cho Min Joon and the rich heir went to was a Churrasco restaurant. They sat in the chairs underneath a parasol, and Cho Min Joon looked around him with a refreshed look on his face. White sand underneath the sun. He saw it often on TV but never in real life, so he was excited to eat in that scenery.

“I’ve always wanted to eat in a place like this.”

“Enjoy yourself. Although I’m not the one treating you.”

Emily joked, but her face turned dark as soon as she saw the menu. She grumbled in a low voice, “It’s expensive by the beach. It costs 110 reals just to have a buffet… There’s no chance for me. If one carving is 5 reals to 10 reals… I guess I can only eat it 5 times.”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Min Joon, you’ve never eaten in Brazil before, have you? They’re very ill-tempered here. Most people make it as thin as paper.”

“Come on, that’s not possible. I’m sure they’ll make it thick since we’re holding cameras. Even if they make it thin…”

He smiled leisurely.

“I can eat 6 times more than you, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Hmph, are you making fun of me because I’m not your judge anymore?”

“That sounds weird. I was never nervous with you even when you were a judge.”

“That’s true. I raised a real tiger. Ugh, I don’t know. Here, look at the menu.”

Cho Min Joon took the menu from Emily. The menu listed all sorts of different meat parts of beef, pork, chicken, and lamb. The pricing was simple. Churrasco, also known as meat in Korea, was 110 reals for unlimited refills. If not, they had to pay for each carving. On top of that, if they give a tip… It was quite expensive. Cho Min Joon looked at Emily with worried eyes.

“Emily, why don’t we go somewhere else? We don’t have to eat Churassco today.”

“… I’ve never met a man like you before.”

“What did I do?”

“You’re saying we should go somewhere else because you don’t have money! I can’t believe it. I never thought this day would come for Emily Porter… Oh, can you edit that out? I was just kidding.”

Martin laughed instead of answering. Emily fanned out her shirt. Cho Min Joon glanced at Martin and asked, “Martin…”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“You were going to ask if you could pay for Emily’s meal, too. You can’t do that.”

“Forget it, Min Joon. I’ll just give up on the Churrasco and eat something else. They have curry and beef stroganoff, too.”

“… Is that okay?”

“What can I do? This is the harsh reality.”

Emily made a sad face like the female character of a tragic movie and then looked at the menu. She ordered 20 reals worth of Feijoa. It was a dish of meat covered in a sauce made of dark bean sauce. Cho Min Joon was surprised after seeing the dish because it had a high cooking score. It was 8 points.

“… Emily, is this place famous?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t really been here before. We just came here because it was close.”

“But it smells so good.”

“I wonder if it’ll taste good, too…. Hm, it tastes good. Oh, never mind. It’s amazing. But then again, most Feijoas are like that. Do you know how long it takes to make a proper Feijoa?”

“How long does it take? I don’t know what dish that is.”

“Four days. It takes a day to soak the beans, another day to boil the beans and meat, and after that, you boil the meat with onions, beans, and onions for half a day… Look.”

Emily picked up a piece of meat with her spoon. Between the beans were pieces of meat. The meat looked soft, and it was covered in sauce. The sauce and meat were so mixed together that it was hard to tell them apart.

Emily put the meat to her mouth. The salty flavor of the beans and the strong scent of the pork collided. The meat melted in no time. It was as if it was already melted, to begin with. But the fibers of the meat still stimulated her tongue, giving Emily a happy look on her face

“Wow, I didn’t expect much from a Churassco place, but it’s really good. I can tell the chef has the right mindset.”

“… Is it that good?”

“When it comes to food, I never lie. Also…”

She stopped talking. A large man was holding a skewer and knife and standing beside Cho Min Joon, and the skewer contained pieces of meat. The skewer made of the buttocks of the cow was the most popular Churrasco dish in Brazil. She almost swore.

“Can I cut it for you?”

“Oh, sure.”

The carver carved the meat for him. It might’ve not looked so impressive to the average person, but Cho Min Joon could see it. It was difficult for the average person to cut the meat without harming the structure of the muscles.

‘… Is the cooking score 7?’

If it was 7 after just grilling alone, that meant it was grilled well. Of course, it also meant he cut it well as well.

As soon as he put a piece of the meat in his mouth, he tasted the scent of the coal as well as saltiness. Thanks to the taste of fire, the meat wasn’t smelly from the bloody nature of beef, and thanks to the sauce made of onion, garlic, and chili sauce, it wasn’t too heavy either. Cho Min Joon opened his mouth.

“Look, Emily. It’s not as thin as paper.”

“… I don’ know. Maybe it’s the cameras, or maybe they actually have a conscience. Who cares? I can’t even eat it, but…”

Emily Put a piece of the Feijoa on bread and continued, “I feel comforted because this tastes pretty good.”

Cho Min Joon smiled and touched the green sign beside him. The sign had green on one side and red on the other, and the meaning was simple. Green meant he would eat more and red meant he wanted to stop. But of course, he wasn’t full enough to hold up the red yet.

What Cho Min Joon enjoyed the most was the chicken heart. Although the cooking score was only 6, he loved the chewy texture of it against his lips and tongue. The next in line was sausage. It was just 7 points, but that wasn’t why he liked it.

Handmade sausage had a rough but strong flavor that was so intense that it changed Cho Min Joon’s mindset about sausage in general.

The crispy skin melted like a candy wrapper, and juices flowed out of the soft meat as soon as he bit into it. On top of that, when the scent of coal and salt melted in his mouth, Cho Min Joon felt delighted. Was this how it felt to be overcome with flavor? He smiled.

“This place must be getting great business.”

“Is it good?”

“Yes, very good.”

“Lucky.”

Emily put her spoon in her mouth. At that moment, the carver approached. He put sirloin covered in garlic sauce on Min Joon’s plate and asked Emily if she wanted some as well. Emily nodded in surprise and then quickly shook her head.

“Oh, I’d like to, but I didn’t order the buffet.”

“It’s on the house. You’re beautiful.”

Emily smiled by reflex in response to the compliment but glanced at Martin. Martin nodded with a generous look on his face. Emily beamed and looked at the carver.

“Thank you!”

The carver smiled and gave her a fairly large piece of meat. She wondered if such a thick piece of meat could cool all the way through, but it was cooked.

Martin watched with a smile. Viewers felt satisfaction when watching someone eat after starving for a while.

‘She’ll explode if she finds out that we contemplated making the lowest allowance 10 reals instead of 50 reals’

It was a relief that Emily wasn’t the stuck-up type. He wondered how the other cast would react when he pulled the same prank on them…

‘It’s time to show off my tongue as an English literature major.’

The carver looked at Martin weird for licking his lips and then disappeared.