The eight-part reality show was still being filmed.
Today’s shoot was focused on the second reality content theme we had chosen—cooking (?).
I had expected it to be some sort of awful cooking contest that would chill my heart, but the plot the production team had brought far exceeded our meager imaginations.
“A relay cooking challenge?”
Even as I read the words on the cue sheet, I was puzzled.
Honestly, I thought it would be more entertaining if we just raided the fridge to make something edible.
“They say the members will each take turns with recipe selection, ingredient shopping, ingredient prep, cooking, and tasting. The first person will choose and write down the recipe, the second person will buy the ingredients according to the recipe, the third person will prep the ingredients, the fourth person will cook according to the recipe, and the fifth person will taste the dish. No communication or consultation between members is allowed.”
After reading the explanation, I roughly understood what it was about.
The most important roles seemed to be the fourth person, who cooked, and the first person, who chose the recipe.
If the first person picked something like boeuf bourguignon, we were all doomed.
I desperately hoped I wouldn’t end up as the fourth person.
I knew better than anyone how terrible my cooking skills were unless the dish was tornado omelet.
The easiest job would be the first.
The fifth job was unappealing because it involved eating the failed dish. Of course, if Hajun was the fourth person, it would be a different story.
“Hyung, Hajun has to be the fourth person no matter what.”
“Yeah, he’s REVE’s only chef.”
“What about me?”
“You’re the diet chef.”
Seo Yehyun nodded with a faint smile, seemingly satisfied with his title.
Before we could decide on the order among ourselves, the production team intervened.
“We’ll determine the order through a game.”
“Can’t we decide based on our own discretion?”
The production team was firm. Ryu Jaehee clutched his head and wailed.
“We’re doomed! If neither Hajun hyung nor Yehyun hyung is the fourth person, then the fifth person will automatically end up with a punishment role!”
“Honestly, if it’s not a diet recipe, having Yehyun hyung as the fourth person is risky too.”
“If Yehyun hyung is the fourth, the recipe must be a diet dish.”
“That’s such a good idea, guys.”
At the mention of a diet dish, Seo Yehyun looked like a father warmly welcoming back his prodigal son.
His pleased and moved smile made me want to break those high hopes, even though we’d reconciled.
‘If I suggest creamy gnocchi or a triple homemade cheeseburger, would he just faint?’
To make that a reality, I needed to secure the first position at all costs. It didn’t matter if it was hard to make.
The game the production team prepared to decide the order was Halli Galli.
“The first one to be eliminated will be the fifth, and the last one remaining will be the first.”
The rules of Halli Galli were simple: if a player ran out of cards on their turn, they were eliminated, and the player with the most cards won.
But in this game, they were deciding the order based on the elimination sequence, not declaring a winner.
I stretched my hands lightly and sighed inwardly.
‘Ugh, I’m more confident in One Card than Halli Galli.’
The bell was placed in the center, and everyone was dealt cards.
“Hey, hit the bell lightly! My hand is going to break!”
“It’s not five bananas! That’s six!”
“What? When did that card come out?”
“Hajun hyung, you hit the bell by mistake, so hand out a card to everyone.”
“Dobin, you spread the cards inward! Spread them outward! Hey, hand out one card to each.”
“No, giving penalties for the way you spread cards is not right!”
A fierce game ensued, leaving everyone’s hands red and swollen, and a loud clang echoed through the dorm.
Looking at my empty hand with not a single card left, I raised my hand and asked.
“Can we switch to One Card and play just one more time?”
“Accept your fate, hyung.”
“Ah, if I had known, I would’ve gotten eliminated in the first round!”
I was in despair, having ended up with the role I wanted least—the cooking. I would rather taste the dish, but why am I being put through this trial…?
[Detected dead fish eyes.]
[Initial Intention -1]
As I blankly stared at the floor, the system immediately stepped in to deduct points.
Oh yes, my bad for zoning out in front of the camera. I’m just letting it slide since I’m on schedule now, but please, please update the system.
The first to be eliminated was Gyeon Hajun, making him the fifth person, then me, the second to be eliminated, the fourth person, and next was Ryu Jaehee, who would be the third person.
Now it was down to the final showdown between Kim Dobin and Seo Yehyun.
The winner would take the best spot, the first person.
Tension filled the air between the two holding cards. You could almost believe this was the greatest showdown at a casino poker table.
Well, in reality, it’s not poker, just a silly game of Halli Galli.
And the winner is…!
“Dobin, you’re gonna break my hand bone…”
“Ahhh, if I had been just 0.1 seconds faster!”
I looked enviously at Seo Yehyun, who got the easiest role, and silently offered my condolences to Gyeon Hajun’s dark future.
Gyeon Hajun would end up eating poorly-prepped, flavorless, diet food.
I’m sorry in advance, my friend. If only you and I were a bit better at Halli Galli, such a tragedy wouldn’t have happened.
Seo Yehyun, who became the first person to select the recipe, turned on the camera in front of him and fell into deep thought.
First of all, salads were a no-go. No matter how much he prioritized low-calorie options, he was at least aware that this was a broadcast.
And with Gyeon Hajun as the fifth person in charge of tasting, recipes that were too difficult or complicated were also out.
He had never expected the three members of the “Hopeless Trio” to cook well from the start.
At the very least, he should make sure Gyeon Hajun would eat something a human could eat.
Remembering that they were still promoting, a strange sense of duty welled up in him.
What if someone got sick from the badly cooked food and ended up in the emergency room?
Besides, Yoon Eden and Ryu Jaehee had a history. He hadn’t forgotten the nightmare of the birthday seaweed soup and stir-fried pork.
He also remembered how they called for Gyeon Hajun every five minutes like Nobita calling for Doraemon.
Communication wasn’t allowed, so they couldn’t rely on Gyeon Hajun’s help like they did back then.
‘Why are we supposed to avoid fried rice dishes?’
Recalling what the production team had told him, Seo Yehyun crossed out kimchi fried rice and omurice topped with a tornado omelet from his list.
Considering Ryu Jaehee and Yoon Eden’s cooking level, fried rice seemed perfect for them.
Of course, they were the type to burn even the fried rice.
Maybe the production team was worried it’d be too easy, leaving no content for the show. If so, they were overestimating those two.
After a long search and debate, he found a dish of moderate difficulty.
[Tteokbokki]
Seo Yehyeon stopped writing and hesitated.
A dish loaded with carbs and devoid of any essential nutrients, nutritionally the worst kind of food, really?
Even so, tteokbokki was the best option.
The other candidate, tomato pasta, didn’t involve much ingredient prep, making Ryu Jaehee’s part nearly nonexistent.
“The rice cakes will be the main problem…”
Seo Yehyun mumbled to himself, searching for a substitute for tteokbokki’s rice cakes.
After much thought, he found konjac tteokbokki, a diet version, and decided to go with that.
Thinking of those who would likely use a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon for sugar, Seo Yehyun chose a simple recipe.
Konjac, cabbage, green onion, carrot, fish cake, gochujang, red pepper powder, canned sikhye, soy sauce, minced garlic.
After thoroughly researching online recipes and listing all the ingredients, he wrote down the simplest and easiest recipe to follow, referencing multiple sources.
So simple that even an elementary school student could follow it.
He underlined the instruction to strain the rice grains from the sikhye before adding it and even drew five large stars next to it, still worried, before moving on to the next step.
Seo Yehyun’s task of selecting the dish and writing the recipe was finally complete.
“I just hope the dish gets made without any issues. I hope Hajun gets to eat something decent.”
Holding up the densely filled sheet of paper to the camera, Seo Yehyun let out a deep sigh.
“Is this not too much of a trial for merely lacking skill in Halli Galli…?”
Wondering if he should buy some digestive medicine in advance, Seo Yehyun finished his part of the shoot.
Once the role of the first person was complete, it was time to move on to the second person’s role of buying ingredients.
Kim Dobin had no complaints about his role. He was only a bit disappointed that he didn’t get the easiest and most convenient role of choosing and writing the recipe.
“Konjac tteokbokki? Ah, there are no rice cakes in it. Using konjac instead of rice cakes. Wow, that’s just like Yehyun hyung.”
Kim Dobin exclaimed in admiration as he read the recipe sheet.
“It would’ve been great if it was pork cutlets—though of course, Yehyun hyung would never allow pork cutlets. But I guess it doesn’t matter since only Hajun hyung has to eat it? Hajun hyung really doesn’t gain weight. I guess it all goes to his height. So jealous.”
He kept chatting while gathering the shopping bags and the sheet with the ingredients.
“If it was pork cutlets, Jaehee would probably be pounding the meat with a mallet. Eden hyung might try grilling it instead of deep-frying it. And not because he’s like Yehyun hyung, worried about calories, but because he doesn’t know how to control the amount of oil.”
Blinking and closing his mouth, Kim Dobin mimed cutting with his fingers.
“Um, please edit this out.”
Since Yoon Eden was a difficult hyung to him, he didn’t want to say anything that might be misunderstood as disrespecting the leader.
“But why would he be okay with tteokbokki but not with pork cutlets? We could use chicken breast instead of pork, right? No, then it’d be chicken cutlets? Chicken katsu?”
As if not talking would cost him some points, Kim Dobin kept babbling and headed to the nearby mart with the cameraman.
Worried that Kim Dobin might buy everything listed, Seo Yehyun had circled only the items they actually needed, checking what they already had at the dorm.
But despite the oldest hyung’s thoughtful effort, Kim Dobin was about to show that things don’t always go as planned.
“I don’t see konjac. I guess shirataki noodles will do, right? Shirataki is still konjac.”
If Seo Yehyun were there, he’d immediately shout, “Dobin, no! Put that down!” But unfortunately, communication wasn’t allowed, and Kim Dobin put the shirataki noodles in the shopping cart.
This was the prelude to the first tragedy.
***
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