Chapter 54: The Kimchi Season Crisis

“We have a problem!”

Troubles never come alone; another piece of news reached Mujae.

Juun, whom they had been monitoring as a potential danger, had disappeared.

“He was definitely eating honey cookies at the market! But he said he was just going to the restroom for a moment, and he hasn’t come back even after all this time…”

The Shinsomis, who had volunteered to keep him company, were on the verge of tears.

Mujae and Zack were flustered by his unpredictable behavior, but first, they comforted the Shinsomis and sent them out.

“The match is about to start soon.”

But Mujae couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Originally, Juun was someone who did not exist on the invitation list.

It was a mystery how he had even managed to board the Boat to the Seocheon Flower Garden without an invitation.

‘Surely, he won’t barge into the match again.’

Zack tried to reassure Mujae using Sign Language, but in truth, he couldn’t feel at ease either.

That was because Zack, the very person who had carried him personally, had felt something suspicious.

‘That man, he didn’t seem drunk. I didn’t smell any alcohol at all.’

“Then isn’t that even more dangerous?”

Deep shadows fell across the faces of Zack and Mujae.

Mujae hesitated as if the words wouldn’t come out, then spoke.

“…Hallakgoong said something strange too.”

‘What?’

“When we had the Flesh Rebirth Flower harvesting match, a player from the Facilities Team got hurt.”

Mujae tore at his hair anxiously.

“When I checked with the players later, they said another sickle appeared besides the ones they used.”

‘One more?’

“Yeah, in the cart they used to move the flowers.”

Mujae let out a deep sigh as if he couldn’t believe it even as he spoke.

“They said the player got hurt when a sickle suddenly fell out while they were tipping the cart at the destination.”

‘Why would that…’

“Hallakgoong suspects that beggar. Looking back at the CCTV, he was the only outsider lurking around there before the match.”

A heavy silence flowed between the two.

Mujae checked his Phone while grumbling pointlessly.

“Why isn’t he answering his calls?”

It had already been thirty minutes since Hallakgoong ran off like that.

Once again, Hallakgoong did not answer Mujae’s call.

“Fifteen minutes left!”

A Shinsomi helping with Operations opened the door of the temporary booth and entered.

She was just as frantic. It made sense, because the next match was…

“The audience participants have already started gathering! Please make the announcement quickly!”

“Yes! I’m coming right now!”

It was the audience-participation match Mujae had mentioned.

It wasn’t a plan suddenly thrown together just to calm a drunken disturbance.

However, Mujae regretted it for a moment.

“I shouldn’t have done it…”

It had been two weeks since Ggotgam Officer Sara dropped the bombs of an Outdoor Event and a concert before disappearing.

While the Outdoor Event was just a small event for the Seocheon Flower Garden when first during Planning, rumors had gradually spread throughout the entire Otherworld.

Furthermore, emails kept flying into the Seocheon Flower Garden Channel, saying they wanted to attend the Outdoor Event no matter what.

The Promotion Team, unable to completely ignore those desperate contacts, distributed invitations to the audience through a lottery.

They also organized the event by accepting participants for the food market and night market.

Not satisfied with even that, Mujae…

‘How about the audience participates in the matches too? Everyone will love it!’

He wondered why he had spoken so cheerfully, smiling brightly.

Mujae felt like hitting his past self on the back of the head.

‘I’m already busy enough to die! I must have been crazy!’

But the Outdoor Event had begun.

Though he was going crazy on the inside, Mujae stepped onto the platform with a reliable smile on the outside.

Before long, the gazes of the audience waiting for the next match, the Shinsomis wearing rubber Gloves, and the participants were all focused on Mujae.

[Oops, it looks like I’m the latest one here. To think everyone gathered so diligently…]

The expectant gazes of the people were intense.

To fill the void left by Hallakgoong, Zack handed the Camera over to the Shinsomis and stepped up to take command.

At Zack’s gesture, Mujae’s face was shown in a close-up on the giant monitor.

[Did everyone enjoy your meals?]

“Yes~!”

The people answered cheerfully.

The Comment Section of the live screen also scrolled up at a rapid pace.

@Fitwriter: Is the match finally starting??

@Sandebegi: I just ate a cup of ramyun too T_T The Mukbang was so hard to watch, start the match already.

@Jigeusi: So what match is it? That’s what I’m most curious about.

Mujae, checking the Comments Section as well, furrowed his brows slightly as if a bit troubled.

A pre-planned gesture accompanied by a light laugh.

[Ah… those watching the live stream must have had a hard time. There were so many delicious things, right? I’m truly sorry.]

[But what should I do…?]

Mujae trailed off suspiciously.

As Mujae gestured toward a corner, the Shinsomis moved quickly.

Carrying giant basins on their heads, pairs of Shinsomis stopped in front of each team.

[This match is!]

Mujae took a light breath.

To shout out a cheerful start.

[‘Making Kimchi for the Winter’!]

“What?!”

While the audience buzzed upon hearing the name of the match, the Shinsomis opened the lids of the basins.

Salted cabbages were piled high in white mounds.

The Field that had been full of Flesh Rebirth Flowers in the morning was now covered with long sheets of plastic for Making Kimchi for the Winter.

[There are people who desperately opposed us when we were planning the Outdoor Event.]

Aprons and Gloves were also distributed to the audience participating in the match.

Kimchi ingredients were prepared one by one in front of them.

Red pepper powder, green onions and garlic, salted seafood, glutinous rice paste…

[If you’ve watched our Seocheon Flower Garden Channel, you’ll know who they are. It’s the Meal Service Team!]

[They are the ones who take care of three meals a day for about 800 people.]

[But of all things! Our Outdoor Event period coincided exactly with the Kimchi Season!]

Light laughter erupted from the audience at Mujae’s flavorful explanation.

Meanwhile, the players gathered tensely to check the distribution of tasks.

[So they firmly opposed it, saying the Outdoor Event could absolutely not happen… but someone in our Team came up with this idea.]

[Then, let’s all make Kimchi for the winter together. Let’s make it a match.]

[I’ll probably be eating the Kimchi made by the participants here. So please, make it delicious.]

Puhahaha…

While the audience burst into laughter at Mujae’s banter, a timer turned on the platform.

The signal announcing the match.

[Now, everyone is said to be ready. Then, I will explain the rules of the match.]

Hallakgoong was still nowhere to be seen.

[This match is ‘Making Kimchi for the Winter’.]

[All participants must wear rubber Gloves. Since it’s food everyone will eat, if you do it with your bare hands, you will be disqualified immediately with a warning.]

[The time limit is 30 minutes!]

[Within that time, you must apply the seasoning to the salted cabbage and place them neatly in another basin.]

The Shinsomis made a “Ta-da!” gesture next to the empty basins.

[There are three judging criteria.]

[First, you must naturally keep to the time limit.]

[Second, whether the seasoning is applied evenly and how neat the appearance is.]

[Finally, we will weigh them, and the heaviest team will receive points.]

[And the people sitting here will give tasting scores.]

Mujae’s last words made the audience stir.

There was an unexpected surprise event.

[You still have room in your stomachs, right? There must be meat on the day of Making Kimchi for the Winter!]

[We’ll share it with the Kimchi made in this match, so please vote for the Kimchi you think is excellent!]

“Awesome!”

The excitement in the audience doubled.

The live comments also sped up several times over with envy.

Mujae announced the match in a cheerful voice.

[Then, let the match begin! Players, take your positions… Start!]

The timer began to count down rapidly.

The players also quickly took their places and began to take out and distribute the cabbages.

Other players began to mix the seasoning ingredients together to make the Kimchi seasoning.

The white cabbages began to turn red.

It was just as the audience was becoming immersed as if they were being drawn into it.

“…Mujae.”

“Hallakgoong?! Where have you been? Why haven’t you been answering your Phone?!”

Hallakgoong appeared.

He was drenched in sweat, as if he had been wandering around.

Gasping for breath as if he had been running for a long time, Hallakgoong gestured for Mujae to come back.

“…We need to check that quickly.”

“What?”

“That, the meat. Tell them to check the meat that will be distributed after the match.”

A deep look of despair was cast over Hallakgoong’s face as Mujae looked at him.