While the Kimjang competition heated up, Mujae quickly stepped down and relayed instructions to the Shinsomis in place of Hallakgoong, who had slumped into his seat.
“Please check if our boiled pork is ready.”
And Hallakgoong’s anxiety became a reality.
“Team Leader!!”
The young Shinsomis who had gone to check on the boiled pork returned with tearful expressions.
“Th-that strange person…”
“A strange person?”
“The nuisance who caused a scene this morning!”
Instead of Mujae, who had to guard the podium, the now-conscious Hallakgoong and Zack followed the Shinsomis. They were greeted by an absurd sight.
The beggar who had vanished, Juun, was lying there with a bulging belly, snoring loudly!
Beside him, the lids of every single cauldron used to boil the pork had been flung open.
“Juun.”
Hallakgoong called his name while lightly slapping Juun’s cheeks, but Juun had no intention of waking up.
‘It’s no use. There’s no way this man can spit out the meat already in his stomach.’
Zack, seeing that more than half of the boiled pork was gone, stopped Hallakgoong.
However, Hallakgoong delivered one more slap to Juun’s cheek.
-Slap!
“He really won’t wake up. It seems he’s sleeping after a very satisfying meal.”
‘…Hallakgoong, I think there was a lot of strength behind that hand just now.’
But there was something else they had to check.
“Zack, open that refrigerator over there.”
As Zack swung the refrigerator door wide open, another shocking sight unfolded.
With a twitch of his eyebrow, Zack asked Hallakgoong.
‘Hallakgoong, was it always this color?’
Zack was pointing at the Makgeolli they had prepared in abundance.
The Makgeolli, which was supposed to be served with the boiled pork once the Kimjang competition ended, was a deep crimson instead of its usual milky white.
“That can’t be?!”
“Hah…”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Hallakgoong opened a bottle.
He took a sniff and frowned. Zack, curious, snatched the bottle away.
“…It’s wine.”
“?!”
“All the Makgeolli turned into wine. Did that guy do this too?!”
Hallakgoong, who had been consistently polite, finally referred to Juun as “that guy.”
Zack’s face also stiffened visibly.
“This son of a…”
When Hallakgoong turned around, he finally let out a curse.
Juun, who had been lying there with his belly exposed just a moment ago, had vanished once again.
At that moment, Zack placed a hand on Hallakgoong’s shoulder.
‘Let’s get some meat first.’
Zack’s face was pale as he spoke, but he calmly settled Hallakgoong down.
‘The competition is still ongoing. There are about 20 minutes left, so let’s find a way.’
“…Right.”
He wanted to chase that guy down immediately, but Zack was right.
As Hallakgoong nodded, Zack decided on his next move.
‘And I’ll go look for where Juun went. We can’t let him cause another accident.’
“Ah! Then take this.”
As if remembering something he had forgotten, Hallakgoong hurriedly pulled a Phone from his waist.
And Zack finally heard the explanation for his long absence.
“I met an Administrative Officer from the ‘Celestial Realm Eastern Tourism Promotion Agency.’”
‘…What?!’
Zack frowned at the unfamiliar name.
-Ding!
The Phone notification that rang was the contact information Hallakgoong had shared with Zack.
Hallakgoong added an explanation anxiously.
“The person you met at the food market…”
A neat robe paired with a face that didn’t match.
Zack recalled the memory from his chaotic mind.
“That person asked you to raise the height of Yuksugwi’s tent. Mentioning a ‘Hygiene Security Law Violation.’”
“…Ah.”
Someone who would come to an event to request such a detailed instruction while mentioning a Hygiene Security Law Violation.
The quick-witted Hallakgoong had realized who the person was just by hearing that.
“That person was the ‘Integrity Priest’ who sent the public notice.”
The Integrity Priest he met had tried to ignore Hallakgoong.
But when Hallakgoong, curious about the evaluation of the Seocheon Flower Garden Outdoor Event, persistently followed him, he gave him a contact number instead of words.
“He said he couldn’t talk because he was conducting a secret audit… But he gave me a tip.”
‘A tip??’
“Yes, that there’s a dangerous person.”
In an instant, Zack’s face crumpled into such a grimace that he looked like a different person.
Hallakgoong was startled by the sight but didn’t show it.
“Yeah. That’s why I ran back so hard, but in the end… If you can’t find that guy, try contacting him.”
With those words, Hallakgoong gave a short wave and quickly disappeared.
Once his back was completely out of sight, Zack opened his Phone again.
However, the person he contacted was not the Integrity Priest.
ZAG : Brother
Wing22 : Yo-ho! What’s up, cousin?!
ZAG : Get over here right now
Wing22 : Eh?
ZAG : You can be here in the blink of an eye. Just get here
ZAG : It’s an emergency
Wing22 : What’s the matter?
ZAG : …
ZAG : Just tell me the truth
ZAG : Is there someone else here besides me right now?
The rapid exchange of messages cut off.
A moment later, the person who hadn’t replied appeared before his eyes.
“Whew…”
Unlike his light footwork as he landed on the ground from the sky, the sigh he let out while wiping his face was heavy as lead.
“I’m telling you in advance, I really didn’t know.”
It was Zack’s cousin, Hermes, whom he hadn’t seen in the months since arriving in Seocheon.
“That beggar ate all our boiled pork?”
Upon hearing the shocking news, the Meal Service Team Leader, Shinsomi, slumped to the ground.
“Team Leader!”
The Shinsomis standing beside her supported her, their eyes welling with tears.
Hallakgoong stood there with a somber face, as if he were the one who had eaten the pork.
Mujae, who had received the report with them, asked as calmly as possible.
“But about half is still left?”
“…Yes.”
“What should we do? Even if we scrape together all the remaining raw meat, it won’t be enough.”
The Meal Service Team Leader, Shinsomi, finally stood back up and bit her lip.
Mujae sank into thought for a moment before looking up again.
“…Does anyone have Yuksugwi’s contact information?”
“Oh? Hang on.”
Hallakgoong quickly flipped through the food truck list.
Once he found the number and gave it to Mujae, Mujae hurriedly picked up his phone.
“Yes, Mr. Yuksugwi. You’re watching the competition? Could you come to the front for a moment?”
As Mujae hung up, Hallakgoong cried out as if screaming.
“Yuksugwi?!”
“Yes.”
Mujae nodded.
They had seen Yuksugwi’s meat warehouse at the food market, stacked like a mountain.
If it was that amount, it would be enough to serve all the spectators here.
‘No matter how much he asks, if we pay the price…’
If only they could finish this event successfully.
As Mujae and Hallakgoong were hardening their resolve, Yuksugwi, who had come running breathlessly, delivered an unexpected update.
“I’m sorry, but all the meat is sold out.”
He rubbed his chin repeatedly, looking troubled.
A surprised Mujae and Hallakgoong asked back.
“What?”
“It’s true. People flocked here earlier, and the barbecue is completely gone.”
Yuksugwi laughed awkwardly.
“I didn’t know the Seocheon Flower Garden Outdoor Event would be this hot. We don’t even have meat to sell at the night market later. We’re barely in the middle of cooking the barbecue to sell tomorrow.”
“…Then do you have plenty of raw meat?”
“Raw meat?”
Yuksugwi’s eyes went wide.
Then he let out a boisterous laugh, a mix of absurdity and pride.
“I am Yuksugwi of Geomsu Hell! Of course, I can procure an overflowing amount of meat!”
“Then can we buy at least that?”
At Mujae’s words, Hallakgoong’s eyes widened.
There were only about 15 minutes left. Was he seriously thinking of just handing out raw meat?
“Raw meat? Are you going to give them beef tartare with the Kimchi?”
It seemed Yuksugwi was thinking the same thing.
But Mujae was serious.
“I’ll decide after I see it.”
Feeling Mujae’s solemnity, Yuksugwi thought for a moment and soon gave a cool reply.
“Then, follow me!”
“Goong, you handle the competition progress. I’ll be back before it’s too late!”
“Uh, okay…!”
Before Hallakgoong could even respond, Mujae moved quickly, following Yuksugwi.
Now there were only about 5 minutes left.
Hallakgoong was brilliantly filling Mujae’s empty spot.
[Farming Team! The seasoning is flying everywhere! You need to season the cabbage! You shouldn’t be seasoning the other players!]
[The Chae Seok Team’s Kimchi stacking skills are a work of art. Do you perhaps use a similar process when quarrying rocks?]
The spectators were enthusiastic at the sight of the players working hard to rub the seasoning into the cabbage to make Kimchi.
However, Hallakgoong’s heart was burning along with the dwindling timer.
From the sudden announcement of the Outdoor Event by his Father two weeks ago to the beggar he saw earlier, Hallakgoong’s mind was a mess.
He felt like he might burst into tears at any moment, but as the person currently responsible for the site, he couldn’t stop talking for even a second.
[Only 1 minute! 1 minute left!]
[Players, you need to start wrapping up! Quantity is important, but taste and appearance are everything~]
The time he and his friends could spend desperately running around was also coming to an end.
[10!]
Hallakgoong’s voice trembled as he announced that 10 seconds remained.
[9!]
Unaware of the circumstances, the spectator stands joined the countdown excitedly.
“8!”
“7!”
“6!”
Hallakgoong’s eyes searched and searched for his friends who hadn’t returned to their spots yet, but time passed relentlessly.
“5!”
“4!”
“3!”
[2! 1! Finish!]
It felt like his own voice, announcing the end of time, was striking his own throat.
Hallakgoong squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them, announcing the end of the match to the players as well.
[Now, everyone please stop! Hands up!]
[You must not put in any more Kimchi! Assistants, please close the lids of the basins!]
The players followed Hallakgoong’s instructions with regretful expressions.
The Meal Service Team, which had succeeded in turning all their assigned cabbage into Kimchi, was waving their gloved hands toward the spectators with triumphant looks.
Hallakgoong cleared his throat, which had momentarily tightened, and continued.
[Now… players, regardless of victory or defeat, I want to say you all worked so hard.]
What should he do?
Is Mujae bringing the meat?
Did Zack find that beggar?
‘How can I stall for more time?’
It was at that moment, while chaos was unfolding in Hallakgoong’s head.
Putting everything else aside, at the very moment he missed his reliable friends so much.
An incredibly welcome face appeared.
“I’m here!”
Mujae was running toward him with a bright face!
And behind him, Yuksugwi, the staff, and the Shinsomis were following reliably.
What they were carrying on their shoulders was…
Realizing the situation, Hallakgoong shouted.
[Everyone, the food you will be eating is coming!]
At a glance, it was perfectly roasted whole pig barbecue.
Seeing this, the excited cheers from the spectators shook the stadium.