183. Cream Bun Chef (3)
A week had passed.
At first, the excitement had been so intense it was practically blazing hot, but now everything was dragging and sagging.
Everyone was exhausted.
It could not be helped.
Even though lodging was being provided, there were just too many applicants....
They had no choice but to set up temporary outdoor accommodations.
As a result, the control measures were strict and exhausting too.
Even with every single Yoobaek employee stopping their usual work and throwing themselves into this, there was still enough chaos for complaints to be heard.
Still, one fortunate thing was this.
The number of chefs taking on the challenge was gradually decreasing.
—Mmmmmm, sorry! This is completely different in style! It’s delicious! It’s definitely delicious, but...... this is a total failure!
Once the chefs Lamba had harshly criticized started giving up and dropping out, the cycle became a little more manageable.
Even so, it was incredible.
That Lamba.
How could she keep eating cream buns for an entire week without resting?
And yet she did not seem sick of it at all.
“Hoo.”
As she sat there with a sigh, Yoo Jia, dressed in a suit, approached from far away.
She was holding two iced Americanos in her hands.
—Damn, nice sense!
“Are you holding up, Jinwoo?”
Even now, she still used polite speech with him in public.
Baek Jinwoo accepted it with a smile.
“I don’t know. For a while, I think just looking at cream buns is going to make me nauseous.”
“Do this while drinking this.”
“Yep.”
After receiving the coffee, she sat down beside him and gave her report.
“First, we handed the footage over to the PBC documentary team. I took a quick look, and it was completely amazing......”
It really had been amazing.
They had only filmed the parts that absolutely had to be filmed.
The bloody battle between the Paladins and the demons unfolding in the demon realm.
The absurdly overpowered nature of Explosive Dragon Sorcerer, things like that.
“And the complex shopping center will be opening soon. We’ve already secured all the tenants too. Would you like to take a look at this?”
Yoo Jia pulled a folder out of her bag and handed it to him.
Stamped boldly across the front was the title: [Rune Eclat]
Oh.
Fwoosh!
As he opened and flipped through the papers, a design mock-up came into view.
Rune Eclat, set up grandly and lavishly right at the very center of the shopping center!
From the entrance, majestic rune patterns were engraved into the floor, and the entire space was designed so that a soft glow would flow throughout it.
“What do you think? Two world-class designers put days of work into this design draft.”
“It looks good.”
It was definitely luxurious.
At the same time, it felt mysterious.
“I like how it really feels like it’ll seize the customers’ attention right from the entrance.”
“Hehe, right?”
At Baek Jinwoo’s praise, Yoo Jia showed a pleased expression.
“Oh, and Rune Eclat is going to be incorporated as a Yoobaek subsidiary. Baek Ajin will be the CEO. That’s okay, right?”
“Hmm.”
Ajin, huh.
After thinking for a moment, Baek Jinwoo nodded.
She had handled things well without any issues until now, and she had built up plenty of experience by this point.
It seemed like he could trust her with it.
‘This is totally a family business.’
But well.
That was not bad.
Baek Jinwoo’s dream from the start had simply been for their own people to live well and eat well together.
“Go ahead. When do you think this will be finished?”
“The building is already up. There are two months left until the official opening. And the government seems to be trying to significantly develop the Hanam City area altogether, you know? I think it’s okay to look forward to it a little.”
Oh.
Very nice.
The government should be supporting this.
Do they have any idea how much we’ve already given them?
Besides?
There would be more to gain from the league coming in half a year too, right?
* * *
At that same time.
The government was also closely watching the current contest.
“Well, would you look at that? Look at that.”
The Minister of Economy and Finance clicked his tongue in regret.
A photo of the site taken by satellite.
The area around U City was packed tightly with foreigners.
No, was it only foreigners?
When you added the sightseers who had come up from all over just to watch the cream buns lottery, the number became beyond imagination.
If there had been infrastructure capable of stably accommodating that massive crowd and floating population right now?
By now, the inflow of foreign currency and consumption effects into the neighboring area would have been enormous.
“Didn’t I tell you? We had to move faster. This was an opportunity to create national wealth.”
The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also shook his head regretfully.
After all, when something made money and clearly benefited the nation, the odds of the ruling and opposition parties joining hands rose.
First of all, any business related to Baek Jinwoo?
The public loved it.
If anything, they would compete to support it, never sabotage it.
Interfere?
That would be a disaster.
The backlash would be tremendous.
Wouldn’t it be better to just give up on the next election?
“Okay! Then let’s move decisively.”
The Minister of Economy and Finance nodded.
“First, let’s solve the transportation issue. Let’s just build a large station over by Geomdansan.”
“A station? Do you think that alone will be enough?”
“What wouldn’t work about it? We can connect a direct line from Gangnam Station, a direct line from Seoul Station, and even connect an airport line.”
“No.”
The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport wagged his index finger with the air of someone who knew more than the other.
“That won’t be enough. On top of that, we should build an entirely new international airport on the land next to Hanam.”
“A-an airport too?”
“Of course. Isn’t it obvious? It’s bound to become Korea’s tourist destination in the future. Once it’s built, people might use that more than Incheon.”
“Huh...”
The Minister of Economy and Finance fell into thought for a moment.
It would cost a lot of money.
But it was possible.
They were already making profits from the oil fields and technologies secured this time, and on top of that, the value they would create in the future was endless.
And all of that—wasn’t it thanks to Yoobaek?
“Let’s do it. Let’s go for it!”
* * *
Another week passed.
Now everyone was growing tired.
The chefs were starting to wonder whether this was really right, and Baek Jinwoo too looked hollow-eyed.
A breathing technique only worked once or twice....
Was this really the right way to awaken Lamba?
—Mmmmyah! Hwaaah! This is so delicious! How is the cream this soft? But this isn’t it either. Hehe, sorry!
“.......”
At this point, it almost felt like Lamba was messing with him.
“HunGyo.”
—Yes, my lord.
“She’s not doing this just because she wants to eat cream buns, right?”
—She can be a little slow at times, but she is not the type to lie.
“Right?”
He had to be right.
No!
He absolutely had to be right!
“Hoo.”
They could not keep doing this forever.
If Lamba did not work out, maybe it would be better to focus on the other summons instead.
In fact, HunGyo was continuously training the others as well, looking for ways to unlock their latent abilities.
That was when it happened.
Sniff, sniff-sniff!
Lamba’s nose flared.
—Uh, wait, this scent?!
Sliiide!
She moved forward as if gliding.
At the cooking station was a Western chef who looked relatively young....
It was Baek Jinwoo’s first time seeing Lamba get that excited by a smell, so he stood up too.
‘Please.’
Anyone was fine, so......
Please find Lamba’s cream buns.
If this passed?
He felt like he might even give more than the reward he had originally promised.
As he got closer, he could see the chef.
He looked to be in his late teens......
Was he even qualified?
When Baek Jinwoo showed interest, one of the staff members managing the area ran over and asked,
“Is there anything you need?”
“This person looks very young.”
“Ah, yes! That’s right. She’s an applicant from Lisbon, Portugal. She’s 17 years old, but she’s an outstanding talent who even took first place in a youth cooking competition. Here, take a look.”
Swoosh.
The staff member held out a document.
“Thank you.”
He gave it a quick look.
Her name was Marisa Soares.
‘Oh, she was young, but she ran a bakery?’
It was a shop her late grandmother had operated for many years, and apparently it was fairly famous locally as well.
Especially for making excellent cream buns....
‘Oh.’
She was small in stature too.
With red hair, and an atmosphere that made her seem a bit like a fairy.
Tap, tap!
Her hand movements were incredible.
After kneading the flour softly, she felt it with her hands, shaping the texture.
Soon after, she added a small amount of fermenting agent, creating a soft texture that made the inside of the bread slightly hollow.
“......Suave e um pouco como ar.”
She whispered quietly, and when he asked through a staff member,
“She says she’s making the bread so soft it’s almost like air.”
Huh.
His curiosity piqued, Baek Jinwoo summoned the Interpreter Bird and placed it on his shoulder.
“Your name is Marisa?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
She grinned brightly.
Whisk, whisk, whisk!
She poured fresh cream into a large bowl and whipped it.
“You should put only one drop of vanilla extract into the cream. If any other scent gets mixed in, the cream buns might lose its original flavor.”
In a way, it seemed like a simple method.
“Did you learn the recipe from your grandmother?”
“Yes. I joined because the theme was fairy. My grandmother’s nickname was Fairy ever since she was young.”
“……Fairy.”
Swish, swish, tap!
In some incomprehensible way, the dough rolled itself into a round shape and was already going into the oven.
—Woooooow! What is that?!
Lamba began getting more and more excited.
—First of all, the appearance passes! It looks exactly the same as the one I used to eat when I was little!
As she made a huge fuss, the other chefs started getting anxious.
‘What the hell.’
‘It’s the first time that damn fairy has ever said something like that.’
‘No! She has to eat mine first! This one is the real masterpiece.’
Scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch!
Accordingly, the sounds of cooking grew much faster as well.
But.
Lamba’s gaze was fixed solely on Marisa’s oven.
—Mmmmmm, it smells so good!
The scent of the baking bread stimulated Lamba’s nose.
Before long.
The bread came out with a warm golden color, and Marisa smiled as she murmured,
“You’ll like it. I insist on using only traditional methods, not modern ones.”
Swoosh.
With graceful hand movements, she made a hole in the center of the bread.
Immediately after, she filled it to the brim with the fine whipped cream.
Not so much that the cream overflowed, but so full that the bread looked ready to burst!
Just from her serious expression, it was clear how delicately focused she was.
Fwaaash!
Lastly, she sprinkled on a mixture of coconut sugar and coarsely refined sugarcane powder by the handful.
Ding!
She rang the bell.
“It’s done. Please try it.”
—What? Even the aroma is completely different.
With a pounding heart, Lamba carefully lifted the cream bun.
Gulp.
Baek Jinwoo swallowed.
‘I’m even more nervous than she is.’
Please.
Let this be the one!
—I’m eating it, okay?
Aaang!
Opening her mouth wide, Lamba took a big bite of the cream bun.
—...!
At that moment.
The soft bread pressed down inside her mouth, and the rich yet clean cream seeped onto the tip of her tongue.
At the same time.
A scene she had buried deep in her memories from long ago resurfaced.
Her childhood.
A snowy winter day.
That cream buns her mother had made for her just before leaving.
The bread, warm enough to drive away the cold, and even that tender look in her mother’s eyes as she watched her eating it so happily.
—Ahh.
A faint shimmer of tears welled in Lamba’s eyes.
—This is it.... This is the one. This was it!
That cream bun matched it exactly, one hundred percent.
The taste she had wanted to recover so badly!
This passes, no matter what.
Wow.
At last, after two whole weeks, the word finally came out of Lamba’s mouth.
—Pass!
“Ha.”
“Uaaah!”
“Huuuuuh.”
Regretful groans rose from all around.
But.
Baek Jinwoo alone was delighted.
“Pass?”
The eyes of the staff member listening nearby widened,
“Pass! She says it passes! The chef from Portugal, Marisa Soares! Paaaaaass!”
He shouted loudly, as if delivering a formal verdict.
In truth, the staff were growing more and more exhausted too.
The mere fact that a successful candidate had finally appeared was a great joy in itself.
And at that moment.
[You clear the sudden quest of ‘Wind Fairy’ (EX-grade)!]
[‘Wind Fairy’ (EX-grade) unlocks her latent ability.]
[‘Wind Fairy’ (EX-grade)’s base stats increase.]
[‘Wind Fairy’ (EX-grade) gains a new skill.]
Whoosh.
Lamba flew over and stopped in front of Baek Jinwoo’s face.
—Jinwoo, thank you.
She smiled brightly.
—For awakening my precious memory once again.
For the first time.
It was the moment when Lamba’s latent ability was unlocked.
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