Chapter 15: The Secret of Bibimbap

KoreanFoodKing was utterly shocked.  

It wasn’t that the chicken skewer he tasted was extraordinary or bursting with remarkable flavor.  

But to create food of this quality in a game, without proper seasonings, was nothing short of a miracle.  

Calming his racing heart, KoreanFoodKing took another bite of the chicken skewer.  

Chew, chew.  

Each bite of the perfectly cooked meat released a captivating smoky aroma, with the juices hidden within flowing out delightfully.  

To make such food with direct fire in a game. Not only is the subtle smokiness perfect, but the juiciness is flawless too. Grilling meat like this isn’t easy.  

The way KoreanFoodKing looked at Irim changed.  

He had thought Irim was just some amateur cook, hyped up by a few clueless players, gaining popularity without much substance.  

But he was wrong.  

Irim was the real deal.  

A true master of cooking.  

“Uh, Rice-nim, how did you grill this?”  

KoreanFoodKing was certain Irim had some incredible secret technique.  

A unique grilling method unknown to others.  

Irim looked at him calmly and answered casually.  

“I grilled it faithfully to the basics.”  

“…What?”  

KoreanFoodKing’s face twisted.  

Anyone could give such a vague answer.  

Clearly, Irim was unwilling to share his secret.  

But that wasn’t the case.  

Irim had told the truth.  

In cooking, nothing was more important than the basics.  

Master the basics, and you could achieve above-average results.  

KoreanFoodKing didn’t understand this.  

So, he misunderstood Irim.  

“Haha, I see. Well… secrets aren’t something you share easily, right? I understand.”  

“…?”  

Irim didn’t know what KoreanFoodKing was “understanding.”  

Lost in his own assumptions, KoreanFoodKing finished the rest of the chicken skewer and asked, “Do you have any more chicken skewers?”  

“Yes. How many do you need?”  

“Five more, please.”  

“Here you go.”  

Irim handed over five chicken skewers and received 7,500 Won.  

KoreanFoodKing stored the skewers in his inventory, determined to savor them and uncover the secret to their grilling.  

Wait. There was definitely a salty taste.  

The chicken skewer he had just eaten was seasoned with salt.  

KoreanFoodKing had been playing Real for nearly two days.  

On the first day, he made fried eggs and grilled chicken in the Starting Grassland, but they tasted bland, so he focused on hunting monsters instead.  

In the process, he luckily acquired a mediocre combat skill.  

Relying on that, he moved to the Spider Forest on his second day.  

But from the Starting Grassland to here, there was nowhere to obtain salt.  

“Rice-nim, where did you get the salt?”  

At KoreanFoodKing’s question, Irim felt a twinge of irritation.  

The guy had been blatantly trying to pry information out of him from the start.  

This time, Irim decided not to give a straightforward answer and spoke indirectly.  

“Broaden your perspective.”  

“…What?”  

“Then, observe every little detail carefully.”  

To KoreanFoodKing, it sounded like nonsense, but it was true.  

If you only thought of conventional ways to find salt, your perspective would be too narrow to notice the Salt Bug.  

Only by abandoning common sense and broadening your view could you spot the Salt Bug.  

And by closely examining the spot where it left, you could find the salty powder it left behind.  

Thinking he hadn’t gotten the answer he wanted, KoreanFoodKing furrowed his brow.  

But he quickly lowered his posture and began to flatter.  

“Ugh, Rice-nim, you saw my nickname, right? KoreanFoodKing. In reality, I work in the food industry, haha. The place where I’m the head chef is pretty well-known in the city. I won’t name it since that’d feel like blatant advertising… Ahem. Anyway, it looks like you’re in the food industry too, Rice-nim. Wouldn’t it be great for colleagues to share some good info? Haha.”  

KoreanFoodKing was a prideful man.  

But the one group he humbled himself for was those who cooked far better than him.  

As a chef himself, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of respect for those with exceptional skill.  

If Irim’s chicken skewer hadn’t been that delicious, he might have spat insults and left instead of groveling.  

As Irim was about to respond, Melina, who had finally swallowed her steak, cut in.  

“Hey, KoreanFoodKing-nim!”  

“Whoa!”  

Only then did KoreanFoodKing take a close look at Melina’s face.  

His heart skipped a beat.  

Totally my type.  

Her cute face, alluring figure, light pink hair, and mysterious ivory eyes.  

It was as if her character was designed to hit all his preferences.  

Having been fixated on Irim, KoreanFoodKing now scanned Melina up and down, grinning widely.  

“Yes, Melina-nim. You called me? Haha.”  

KoreanFoodKing smiled brightly, and Melina barely suppressed the urge to recoil from his overwhelming sleaziness.  

“I was watching, and you’re being too much. If you’re curious about something, figure it out yourself. What’s with this attitude of wanting everything handed to you without effort?”  

“D-Did I come off that way?”  

“Yes! You did.”  

“If it felt like that, I’m sorry.”  

There was one other group KoreanFoodKing set aside his pride for: beautiful women.  

“Um… are you two real-life friends?”  

At his question, Irim shook his head.  

“No, we met in the game.”  

Melina nodded vigorously.  

To KoreanFoodKing, her actions were utterly adorable.  

“Aha! I see. Haha. If it’s okay, could I send friend requests to both of you?”  

Melina answered with a beaming smile.  

“No way.”  

Irim, looking awkward, said, “Uh… I have to go now. See you next time, Melina-nim.”  

“Yes, take care, Rice-nim!”  

“Hey, w-wait, Rice-nim! Hold on!”  

KoreanFoodKing called out, but Irim vanished like smoke.  

“Ugh, damn…”  

KoreanFoodKing’s shoulders slumped.  

He had hoped to befriend Irim and learn his cooking techniques, but things didn’t go as planned.  

Melina patted the dejected KoreanFoodKing on the back.  

“What’s a guy getting so down about? Shoulders up!”  

“Huh? I’m not down. Haha.”  

Melina’s small touch instantly lifted KoreanFoodKing’s mood.  

Melina shook her head at him and logged out.  

“M-Melina-nim! Wait!”  

KoreanFoodKing was left with no one to welcome him.  

At Narae Snacks, head chef Kim Daewon opened his eyes.  

He removed the Connector from his head.  

“Ugh, bad luck today.”  

Kim Daewon scratched his head roughly.  

After finishing work at Narae Snacks, he got home at 9 p.m.  

He never cleaned up the kitchen.  

That was the kitchen assistant’s job, in his opinion.  

His only task was cooking.  

So, once the last order was taken, he left promptly.  

Narae Snacks’ last order was at 8:30 p.m.  

As soon as he got home, he logged into Real without even washing up.  

And there, he met the famed Rice.  

KoreanFoodKing was none other than Kim Daewon.  

“Next time, I’ll definitely add him as a friend. He’s so stingy… But who is he? With that level of skill, he must be a pretty famous chef, right?”  

Kim Daewon was curious about Rice’s identity.  

He had no idea that Rice was Irim, his colleague in the same kitchen.  

The lamp’s base was dark for Kim Daewon.  

The next morning, at 9:30 a.m.  

As usual, Irim arrived at work thirty minutes early.  

“Good morning.”  

He greeted Kim Soonyoung and Oh Chunsik, who were cleaning the dining area.  

Oh Chunsik merely nodded, but Kim Soonyoung responded warmly.  

“Irim-ssi, you come in early every day. Aren’t you tired?”  

“I’m fine, noona.”  

Irim spoke to Kim Soonyoung and headed straight to the kitchen.  

He knew that lingering in the dining area would earn him a scolding from Kim Daewon.  

“Good morning.”  

Kim Daewon didn’t even glance at Irim’s greeting.  

Irim, now used to Kim Daewon’s behavior, put on his boots and apron, then began his tasks.  

But today, Kim Daewon wasn’t deliberately ignoring Irim’s greeting.  

He was lost in deep thought.  

Who is Rice?  

Ever since meeting Rice in the virtual reality game Real and tasting his food, the question had been nagging at him.  

To make such delicious food in a game where proper cooking tools and ingredients were hard to come by—his own attempts paled in comparison.  

While mechanically preparing for the day’s business, Kim Daewon spoke to Irim.  

“Assistant, from now on, you’ll cook the rice too.”  

“Understood.”  

Irim prepared two electric rice cookers, each for thirty servings.  

As time passed and the rice steamed, the savory aroma of cooked rice wafted into Oh Chunsik’s nose nearby.  

Grrrgle.  

Having skipped breakfast due to oversleeping, Oh Chunsik’s stomach roared.  

Unable to resist, he entered the kitchen.  

“Hey, chef. Could you make me a bibimbap? I rushed out this morning and haven’t eaten. I can’t work properly on an empty stomach.”  

Oh Chunsik occasionally skipped meals.  

On those days, he always asked Kim Daewon for bibimbap.  

But Kim Daewon wasn’t one to comply easily.  

“Can’t you see I’m busy preparing for business? Go buy a triangle kimbap or something.”  

“Come on, I’m the owner, and you can’t even make me one bibimbap? That’s harsh!”  

“I’ll make it.”  

“Thanks, thanks. Sorry for the trouble.”  

His words were polite, but Oh Chunsik’s thoughts were different.  

Always making me raise my voice. Ugh, if I could find someone else, I’d have fired him already.  

Kim Daewon was about to scoop rice into a bowl but threw the ladle down irritably and called Irim.  

“Assistant.”  

“Yes?”  

“You make it. You can do it, right?”  

“I can.”  

Irim made the bibimbap in Kim Daewon’s place.  

He scooped an appropriate amount of rice into a bowl, neatly arranged various toppings without overdoing it, placed a dollop of gochujang in the center of the plain rice, topped it with a fried egg, and finished with a drizzle of sesame oil.  

Irim placed the bibimbap, along with soup and side dishes, on the table.  

“Enjoy your meal.”  

Oh Chunsik wasn’t particularly fond of bibimbap.  

It was a popular menu item at his restaurant, but it wasn’t anything extraordinary.  

It was popular because it was cost-effective and decent for a diner.  

Oh Chunsik could judge that much.  

Having eaten it many times, it no longer excited him.  

Still, he ordered it because Kim Daewon would never make anything else.  

“Thanks.”  

Oh Chunsik said formally, then paused as he began to mix the bibimbap.  

The way the toppings were arranged was different from the bibimbap he’d seen before.  

Until now, they were haphazardly thrown together, but this time, the colorful toppings were harmoniously arranged in a neat circle.  

A good-looking dish is often tasty too.  

Feeling pleased, Oh Chunsik mixed it thoroughly and took a big spoonful.  

As he chewed—  

“…Huh?”  

A new world of flavors unfolded in his mouth, unlike anything he’d tasted before.  

Surprised, Oh Chunsik looked back and forth between the bibimbap on the table and the kitchen, then took another spoonful.  

This time, he smelled it before eating.  

The nutty aroma of sesame oil, the spicy-sweet scent of gochujang, and the fragrance of well-mixed vegetables tickled his nose.  

The smell’s not much different.  

Oh Chunsik put the heaping spoonful of bibimbap in his mouth and chewed.  

Why does this taste so good?  

It was a level above any bibimbap he’d eaten before.  

The flavor itself hadn’t changed drastically.  

But the rice was stickier, with a deeper sweetness, and a refined nuttiness coated each grain.  

Suddenly, Oh Chunsik recalled the reactions of customers eating bibimbap.  

This is it.  

He finally understood the customers’ feelings.  

“Irim-ssi!”  

Oh Chunsik called out to Irim.  

Having nearly finished preparing ingredients in the kitchen, Irim stepped out to the dining area.  

“Yes?”  

“Did you make this bibimbap?”  

“Yes.”  

Irim answered casually.  

Oh Chunsik’s gaze toward Irim was different now.