Chapter 157 - Battle of Destiny (2)

Anderson knitted his brows. He figured he called him another weird name.

‘I heard the name he gave Kaya was nice.’

In Anderson’s eyes, Cho Min Joon’s face looked cold. Anderson shut his mouth and loosened his fingers. Sushi. He talked like he was confident, but he wasn’t very familiar with it. To Westerners, sushi was more like fast food that they ate to be full rather than a fancy cuisine. It was similar to Japanese burgers.

There was no reason to invest time in making good fast food. He made it sometimes when he was bored, but he figured Cho Min Jon wouldn’t be much better.

“But aren’t battles more fun when something’s on the line?”

It was Emily who made the proposal. Cho Min Joon wiped his hands with a wet towel and answered, “It’s one of two things. Set a punishment or a prize. I personally prefer the latter. Is there something you’re offering?”

“Not me.”

Emily answered and looked back at Martin. Martin shrugged.

“I’m just a poor producer.”

“… There’s your answer. A punishment it is.”

Cho Min Joon and Anderson exchanged anxious glances. They both acted confident, but neither of them had much experience making sushi. That meant no one knew who would win and who would get punished. Cho Min Joon opened his mouth.

“Is there a need for that? We don’t need to…”

“No, we do. Look at the viewers’ responses.”

[Shave the head of whoever loses.]

[That’s harsh. How about they starve for a day? After how much they ate, they don’t even need to eat for a day.]

[It would’ve been more fun if it was Kaya instead of Min Joon. A battle for Min Joon! Sorry.]

Many were interested in the punishment, but it was to be expected. The most fun sight to see was other people fighting, so now that there was a punishment, it was more exciting.

Anderson looked back at Emily with resentment. Emily smiled and said.

“At this point, there’s only one answer. Just win.”

“… What’s the punishment?”

“Oh, are you letting me decide?”

Emily smiled. While Anderson felt anxious, Sarah whispered in Emily’s ear. Emily smiled wider in response. Cho Min Joon pretended to be calm and asked, “Did you think of something?”

“I’m not sure if it’s a punishment or a prize. This is Sarah’s idea, but I don’t know if you’ll like it.”

“Just tell us already. What is it?”

“Master and servant.”

“… You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Anderson’s face turned stiff, but it made sense for a prize and a punishment. Anderson glared at Cho Min Joon with a stiff face. He looked too serious for the occasion.

“Let’s do it.”

“… Really?”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“No. But… okay, fine. Let’s do it. I’ll win anyway.”

Anderson smirked.

The staff soon came out with the equipment that Samuel provided. The equipment were ordinary. Rice cooker, cutting board, knife, steel plate, and whetstone. Other than that, they were just sushi ingredients. Cho Min Joon examined the knife and opened his mouth.

“Seeing from the ingredients, you want us to win using the basics.”

“Well, there wasn’t much else to bring. Good luck. I’m curious to see how you do.”

In response to Samuel’s answer, Cho Min Joon looked at the ingredients. They must’ve expected them to make their own wasabi because rather than ground wasabi, there were still roots attached.

Cho Min Joon lifted the wasabi and began to stir it on the steel plate in a clockwise direction. The wasabi had to be stirred in the same direction to be sweet. That was common knowledge among people who weren’t even interested in sushi.

After grinding the wasabi, he had to choose his fish. There were two types. Tuna or salmon. And both were belly regions with lots of marbling.

“… This is a luxurious part for a newbie. I’m sorry, tuna and salmon.”

The flavoring of the rice had already been complete. All they had to do was squeeze the rice and slice the fish, so it all depended on how much wasabi and soy sauce they put on it.

He couldn’t receive help from the system’s predicted score. Since the only part of the recipe was the amount of wasabi and rice they used, a recipe wasn’t going to help him.

“I just have one question before we begin.”

“What is it?”

“The rules. Do we have to put the first one we make on the plate?”

Emily was unable to answer right away. After all, she wasn’t the judge of the battle. Emily looked at the others. Rachel opened her mouth.

“You can’t serve customers imperfect food. Keep making it until you think it’s perfect.”

“Okay.”

“But…”

Rachel added to that. Anderson and Cho Min Joon stared at Rachel’s lips with sharp eyes. Rachel continued slowly, “Chefs must not waste ingredients either. Since you’re the ones making them, just make sure you don’t put the food you made into the trash.”

In other words, she was telling them to eat what they messed up. Cho Min Joon and Anderson nodded.

They began cooking. Cho Min Joon sliced the tuna belly into thin slices. The first cut was a failure. The thickness was inconsistent with one side being thin and the other side being thick. And as a result, his following pieces were crooked as well, so all of the failed pieces went into Cho Min Joon’s mouth. He didn’t even dip them in soy sauce. He couldn’t be so greedy since he messed up.

Cho Min Joon moved onto the rice after slicing 10 times, and the same went for Anderson. If they were making sushi that was edible, they would’ve finished already… But that wasn’t good enough this time because this was a battle. And they were rivals, at that.

Squeezing the rice wasn’t easy either. It was hard to use the right amount of rice, and they couldn’t squeeze it so hard that it fell apart. But if they didn’t squeeze hard enough, it fell apart as well, so it was hard.

But both were good with their hands. So it wasn’t hard to get past that step. But in Cho Min Joon’s case, his experience eating sushi at Yamamoto’s shop was still fresh in his memory. Of course, he would never catch up to his level, but he couldn’t help being dissatisfied with his own sushi. And the same went for Anderson.

They had to apply the right amount of wasabi, squeeze it just hard enough, and apply just enough soy sauce. But that simple process took a long time. Sarah asked Emily in an impatient voice, “… Don’t you think they’re being too serious?”

“They’re chefs. Their pride is on the line. Like you said last time, they’re rivals, too.”

“That’s true…”

But she had a weird feeling. That things were not right.

***

[…]

[… Zzzzzz]

[I got back from my walk. Is it finished?]

[Yeah. Your walk is.]

[No way. Hasn’t it been 2 hours?]

[Around 1 hour and 40 minutes.]

Sarah stared blankly at the chat window. 1 hour and 40 minutes. 100 minutes. 100 minutes had passed. That was long enough for all of them to digest their food, but Anderson and Cho Min Joon had yet to finish their sushi.

“What kind of sushi are they trying to make?”

Sarah spoke as if she didn’t understand. She had no idea how they could take so long. 100 minutes. They were making sushi for 100 minutes. And during that time, all the food we’re going into their bellies after they had already filled them with lots of food.

[Jeremy is asleep.]

[Well, he’s old. As for Rachel… she probably enjoys watching her pupil work hard.]

[Rather than enjoying it… I feel excited. I feel like I’m watching art being created. Of course, if I went there and waited for my sushi for that long, I’d flip the table.]

What was weird was that she understood what they were saying in the chat. Sarah put her hand on her chest. The way her heart pounded was unusual. She felt like her body was heating up. And the cause of that was the two of them.

They were being competitive, but the reason why they were still making sushi was also because of their passion and love for cooking. The way they could devote their souls and minds to one thing was cool and admirable.

“Emily. How can someone focus on one thing like that?”

“Well, you’re seeing it happen in front of you.”

“Yeah, but I can’t believe it… I wish someone could focus on me like that.”

Emily watched Cho Min Joon and Anderson without a word. They had already cleared two rice bowls. The customers in the hall had already left, and Samuel and his chef were watching the two of them battle it out.

And at that moment, Anderson and Cho Min Joon exchanged glances and presented their plates at the same time.

“We’re finished.”

Was the sushi finally perfect? A piece of tuna sushi and salmon sushi could be seen on each of their plates.

In terms of flavor, they were lacking compared to professional sushi restaurants, but there wasn’t a big difference. The quality of the fish was good, and the rice was also made by the restaurant. But the fact that Anderson and Cho Min Joon lacked experience in making sushi made the flavor impressive. Cho Min Joon spoke apologetically, “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have kept you waiting for so long.”

“That’s all right. This is a competition after all.”

[Ugh, it’s finally over. I know chefs are like that, but how could they be such perfectionists over one sushi…?]

[It’s funny. That’s a Japanese sandwich, right? It was as if they kept making it over and over because a piece of ham was crooked. I know it’s a little different, but still…]

[Who’ll win? I’ve been waiting for hours for this.]

They both worked hard, but there could only be one winner. The four of them began to discuss. There was only one difference between Anderson and Cho Min Joon’s sushi. The thickness of the fish as well as the amount of wasabi was nearly the same. The only difference was that Cho Min Joon left a little air between the rice grains while Anderson kept it tight.

The discussion didn’t last long. Rachel opened her lips.

“Before we announce the winner, I want to tell you that you two did a good job. I’m sure the viewers felt how serious you are about cooking.”

Cho Min Joon and Anderson stared at Rachel with heavy eyes without a response. Rachel’s lips opened.

“Your sushis were quite similar, but the votes were unanimous. Anderson!”

“Yes?”

“Congratulations. You won.”

A bright smile spread across Cho Min Joon’s face. His face was filled with innocent joy. Cho Min Joon smiled sadly and dropped his head. He thought he could win, but he lost again. He opened his mouth. He lost, but he needed to know the reason.

“What was mine lacking compared to Anderson’s?”

“You made a small hole in the middle of the rice.”

“I did. Is that a problem?”

“It probably tasted good when you had it fresh. But…”

Rachel pointed her finger. That finger went from the cutting board to her plate.

“When it comes here, the taste changes. That’s how sushi is. If this was a bar and I could have it right away, it would’ve been different. But it took time to make sushi for all four of us and hand them out. At that time, the meat sunk into the rice. That caused a great weight to push down on the weak rice…”

Rachel made a circle with both her thumbs and index fingers before taking them off. That was when Cho Min Joon understood. The rice fell apart, and that would change the flavor.

“Chefs don’t only learn on the cutting board. The real battle is at the table of the customers. But I’m sure you had a meaningful time, both of you.”

“… Yes. Thank you.”

Cho Min Joon answered in a sad voice. He thought he could win, but while trying to make a change, the change pulled him back. Cho Min Joon looked at Anderson. He was leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed. He looked at Cho Min Joon.

“Hey.”

“What?”

Anderson picked up his empty glass and put it down with a smirk.

“Water.”