In This Life, The Greatest Star In The Universe

Chapter 180:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 180

This was trouble.

Today’s main star was Patissier Min Sejin.

She was the winner of a survival program and she was going to showcase various desserts from abroad.

The worst situation happened when the person who had to perform the most injured her wrist.

“…”

A cold silence fell over the kitchen.

The production staff silently rubbed their heads and rolled their eyes, and Chef Park Jaewoo held the injured person’s wrist and looked at her with concern.

“Sejin, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just a slight sprain, so I can still knead the dough… Ugh!”

Min Sejin tried to reach for the dough again, but soon let out a groan of pain.

Woojoo asked, “How did this happen…”

“The orders kept coming in, so I got impatient. The prepared stock was also running low.”

She had put too much force on her wrist in a hurry and sprained it.

She said with a guilty face, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“…”

“I ruined everything. You all prepared so much…”

Her voice cracked. At the same time, a tear rolled down her cheek.

Everyone looked awkward.

Bijoo and Woojoo felt sympathy for her, so their hearts sank for a moment.

It was like them spraining their ankles during rehearsal on the day of an overseas showcase.

The audience was coming in, and everything was messed up, from the choreography to the situation.

“…I’m sorry.”

It was a choked voice.

She turned her head away from the camera as if she didn’t want to be seen and wiped her tears. She spoke as if she had made up her mind.

“I’ll do my best somehow.”

“No.”

The PD said, “I understand how you feel, Sejin, but you can’t do that. If you push yourself too hard here and make it worse, what are you going to do?”

“But the broadcast right now…”

“Do you think the viewers will like seeing this? It’ll only cause controversy over abuse.”

Yoo Changhyun, who was watching the mood, stepped in.

“Let’s not do this and talk about solutions first. The orders are still coming in.”

“I’ll take care of the main menu.”

Chef Park Jaewoo said, “I’m not as good as Sejin, but I participated in making this menu, so I can make it with a similar quality. The problem is the other miscellaneous menus…”

People’s eyes looked at the finished products that had already been made.

Korean-style glutinous rice donuts with red bean paste or cream, shaved ice with injeolmi powder, and mini fish-shaped bread or macarons that were modified for dessert.

Min Sejin looked helpless.

“Drinks or shaved ice are easy to make, but the other bread types are the problem. Chef, you have to make the main menu, so you don’t have time. At this rate, the remaining stock will be gone in 30 minutes…”

Silence flowed.

People thought that making cute desserts was a charming and fun job, but in reality, it was a profession that required strong muscles.

It wasn’t something just anyone could do.

And you needed skilled skills to quickly shape the dough or bread.

The PD asked, “Is there anyone who has done some baking? Sejin can just direct you from the side.”

Everyone shook their heads. They said they would only ruin it if they tried.

That was when Bijoo and Woojoo exchanged glances.

‘Hyung, should I say something?’

‘Let’s say it together.’

Woojoo parted his lips after roughly agreeing with his eyes.

“Excuse me.”

The production staff, the PD, and the cast who were holding the camera looked at Woojoo at the same time.

The PD asked with a pale face, “Woojoo, do you know how to do it?”

“Can Bijoo and I try? Bijoo likes cooking as a hobby, so he sometimes does some baking.”

Bijoo nodded.

He didn’t have much confidence, but he said he would do his best.

Chef Park Jaewoo agreed.

“Oh, that’s right. You’ve cooked before. Bijoo.”

“And… if you don’t mind, can I lend a hand too?”

“Woojoo? You?”

They looked at Woojoo with doubtful eyes.

It was as if they were saying, ‘You don’t look like someone who has ever gotten their hands dirty.’

…How did he explain this?

Before Woojoo appeared on the show today, he binge-watched ‘Patisserie Korea’ at Director Jo’s house.

And to act like he knew something, he also watched some videos of famous pastry chefs from abroad on YouTube.

Woojoo wasn’t perfect, but he could imitate the skills that he had seen with his eyes.

He felt it in his body.

It was like an electric signal running through his neural network.

He also had a manual in his brain for how to move his fingers on the dough.

But he couldn’t say shyly, ‘I have superpowers.’

He made a quick decision in 0.5 seconds.

“My grandmother runs a Korean restaurant and I helped her a lot since I was young. I’m very familiar with kitchen utensils.”

That was true.

And he added one more spoonful of justification, “It’s a work that requires strength and it would be hard for Bijoo to do it alone.”

“Woojoo Hyung…”

Bijoo looked at Woojoo with a touched face.

The people nodded.

The truth was, they were not in a position to be picky since the ace of the team had been injured.

“Let’s do that.”

The PD agreed.

The serving was done by Yoo Changhyun and their four members, and Bijoo and Woojoo went into the kitchen as assistants.

“Bijoo.”

“Hyung.”

“Let’s do our best.”

They high-fived lightly in the mood.

As they nodded at each other, they rolled up their shirt sleeves and approached the kitchen table.

“What should we start with?”

Min Sejin sighed inwardly.

‘How did it come to this…’

They had spent a lot of money at the broadcasting station to do this overseas location, but she got injured right before the most important shooting.

‘I’m disqualified as a professional.’

She felt sad, ashamed, and sorry.

She couldn’t lift her head because she was so depressed.

She felt like everyone was pointing fingers at her.

“I’m sorry.”

She apologized to the two idol members in front of her.

They must have been busy with serving, but because of her, they had to do the baking that they had never done before.

They had no responsibility for that, but they might get scolded by the customers for making something tasteless.

When she apologized, the other side looked confused.

“Why are you apologizing, Chef?”

“Yes?”

“Injuries are not something you choose to have. I hope you don’t think like that.”

The leader of New Black smiled.

Beside him, Bijoo also put on a gentle smile as he wore his gloves.

“That’s right. Someone once told me that what’s done is done, and worrying about the past is harmful.”

“Wait a minute.” Woojoo tilted his head and whispered, “Isn’t that what I said?”

“That’s right.”

“Don’t quote me like a biography. It’s embarrassing.”

As they comforted the shrunken girl with their chatter, Min Sejin felt grateful.

Woojoo grinned and said, “Just give us the ingredients, Chef. We’ll work like pros.”

“Then…”

Min Sejin told them what they had to do.

But she was still worried about the two in front of her.

‘This is harder than it looks…’

It was physically demanding, but there were also many details to touch on the skills.

Small things like the texture and the taste.

As she wondered how to advise the beginners, Bijoo’s hand moved quickly.

‘…What?’

As expected from someone who said cooking was his hobby, he measured everything in no time.

And he stirred the whisk with speed and accuracy.

There were some flaws, but his skill was impeccable.

“I’ll do the dough.”

It was Woojoo’s turn.

While Bijoo moved to another place to make shaved ice according to the recipe, Min Sejin looked at Woojoo.

“When you do the dough, you have to knead it like you’re doing laundry… You’re doing it.”

Woojoo was faster to retort.

At first, he seemed a bit clumsy, but after a few times, he started to mix it with great skill.

“You have to switch hands from left to right… You’re doing it.”

Before she could say it, Woojoo moved his hand.

He was sweating from the tension, but he was so proficient that it didn’t make sense.

"…

She looked back at him.

‘He must know him well since they’re in the same group.’

She was about to ask him a question about Woojoo.

“…Uh, what?”

A surprised voice came out of Bijoo’s mouth.

“There’s no way Woojoo Hyung can do that well.”

“…”

“Then the conclusion is…”

Bijoo smiled brightly with a convinced face.

“As expected, Woojoo Hyung is good at everything.”

His point of acceptance was strange.

It was when she was about to give him some advice on the other parts after the dough stage.

“When you put the red bean paste in the donut, hold it with your left hand and lift the paste, then turn it around once…”

He was already doing it.

A beginner would have stuffed the paste into the dough and pressed it hard for a long time like making dumplings.

Woojoo made a round shape in one go, turning his hand swiftly like he did.

And that too, at a fast speed like a spider with eight hands.

‘Was he a dung beetle in his previous life?’

She decided to stop coaching.

Instead, she gave him simple instructions like ‘Please knead the dough.’, ‘Please put this in.’, ‘Please coat it evenly with sugar.’

It was fantastic teamwork.

When she gave him the instructions, Woojoo handled the steps that required strength skillfully, and Bijoo decorated and made them pretty with delicate hand movements.

And then…

“Are you really doing this for the first time?”

The results that the challengers made were good enough to serve to the customers.

The cameraman, Chef Park Jaewoo, and Min Sejin tasted them and admired the sweet desserts.

“…Can we just serve them like this?”

“They’re delicious.”

The two novice pastry chefs smiled brightly and high-fived each other.

“Hyung, they said it’s delicious!”

“Bijoo, we did it.”

Chef Park Jaewoo chuckled as he saw the disappointed expression on Min Sejin’s face, who was munching on the delicious bread.

“Do you feel inferior?”

“Yes… I was a total mess when I first did it. How did the first bread turn out like this?”

“We’re lucky, right?”

“That’s true. The result is so good that I can think like this. I’m really grateful.”

She looked at the New Black members with grateful eyes.

Her eyes stopped at one place.

She whispered to him, “Woojoo, what is his identity?”

“I know, right. He was mistaken for a local, and the atmosphere he gave off when he was baking was like a 30-year veteran. When I studied abroad in Europe, the artisans made desserts with that expression.”

“Huh, yeah. That grandfather’s expression when he was baking cookies…!”

Then she remembered where she had seen it.

As Woojoo kneaded the dough, his expression changed slightly, but they were familiar expressions.

Like the stubborn mouth of Kyungryun, who resembled the old masters from overseas.

“Hey.” Woojoo asked then, “Can we leave it like this?”

Everyone nodded.

At the same time, the cold atmosphere that had been swirling around the kitchen began to warm up again.

Especially…

“We, we made it.”

The PD’s eyes, looking at New Black, were filled with emotion as if he had seen a benefactor.

“I came to get some bread…!”

Yoo Changhyun, who entered the kitchen cautiously, looked puzzled.

The kitchen atmosphere was so warm.

The PD in charge was smiling all the time, and the cameraman was thumbing up while drooling over the bread.

‘…What?’

As if she was going to pass on her know-how, Min Sejin, who had an ice pack on her wrist, was lecturing passionately.

The two disciples were sweating so much that their shirts were soaked, working hard on kneading or making cookies.

Park Jaewoo greeted her.

“Hey, Changhyun, try one.”

“…Huh?”

“They made these, try them.”

He looked at the tray filled with glutinous rice donuts and various desserts.

They were all misshapen and smelled rustic.

He bit into one with a suspicious eye.

‘…Wow!’

The sugar melted on his tongue, and the sweet taste hit his brain.

He opened his eyes wide and made an ‘O’ with his mouth, which the camera captured.

“It’s, it’s okay? No, it’s delicious.”

“Right? Can you believe they made these?”

“…Those two?”

Yoo Changhyun stuck out his tongue as he heard the whole story.

“One is a beginner, and the other is doing it for the first time after only watching TV, and this is what they came up with?”

“That’s right. I don’t understand it either.”

“Did you film that?”

The cameraman made an OK sign with his finger. Yoo Changhyun chuckled and muttered, “It’s going to be a riot when this airs.”

He was nervous, but on the other hand, he breathed a sigh of relief that things went well. He grabbed a dessert from the tray.

He chuckled as he did.

‘They can do anything.’

They were strange kids who had skills in all kinds of fields.

And the strangest one of them was definitely Woojoo.

From foreign languages to his skill at kneading dough.

‘He’s good at everything. He’s a hit.’

He understood why Ye Heeyeon kept mentioning the member ‘Woojoo’ at the drinking party.

And the members seemed to know about their leader’s peculiarity.

“…Let’s say Bijoo Hyung is like that. But Woojoo Hyung made this bread?”

As an answer to the question of what the leader who had disappeared was doing, Yoo Changhyun pointed to the pretty dessert.

The members, who were momentarily flustered, regained their composure.

“It’s Woojoo Hyung.”

“Am I weird? Why am I not surprised?”

“He’s always like that.”

They said, and started to serve with calm faces.

Meanwhile.

The customers who were enjoying the desserts at the store screamed with joy as they ate the desserts served by the New Black members.

“It’s delicious. So delicious.”

“It’s perfect. Really. Korean desserts are good too.”

“The taste is a little different from before?”

There were some sharp people, but most of them enjoyed the cake and shaved ice with satisfied faces.

But their satisfaction with their taste buds was only for a moment, and their interest shifted elsewhere.

“Where did the two go?”

“Exactly… I want to see Woojoo’s face.”

The customers felt a visual happiness every time they saw the New Black members who were serving.

They were all handsome, but the combination of the five was too perfect.

It was such a perfect combination of handsome men, as if they were saying ‘we’ll show you all the types you want’. It was a pity that they left.

The customers quickly grabbed a passing waiter.

“Excuse me, where did those two go?”

The tall one tilted his head. The customers gestured with their hands to describe their heights.

“Cute guy, handsome guy.”

“Aha.”

The serious bear-like face nodded as if he understood. Then he answered.

“Jenmin makes bread.”

“What?”

His bushy eyebrows pointed at the dessert on the table.

“The bread you eat. Jenmin made it.”

“…?”

“Enjoy. Bread.”

From his bushy eyes to his sturdy body.

Maybe it was because of his big and macho vibe. The customers admired his cool answer and his back as he left.

“He’s awesome.”

“He has a powerful presence, just my type…”

Meanwhile, someone was watching him from nearby.

A snow-white and sharp member grabbed him and pecked at him like a bird.

He nodded at whatever he was saying.

Thump, thump.

The customers swallowed their saliva at the sight of his rough walk and serious expression as he returned.

A huge shadow loomed over them.

They looked up at him blankly. His eyebrows looked somewhat gloomy.

“Sorry. Me Chinese stupid. Me be more kind.”

The customers burst into laughter at his cute and funny Chinese.