Byungjin, can I be honest with you?

Go ahead. It's not like you're not going to do it even if I tell you not to.

That's true. Well, anyway. Actually, I ordered this because I wanted to show Haru and you something. Maybe one day I felt it roughly, though.

- On the outside, Haru and Yoon Byung-jin, two chefs, had a fight of pride, but Choi Han-seok hoped it would not end there.

Haru. You've been thinking about it for a long time. What to make, what I lack. How can I go higher?

"That's... that's right."

Byungjin, I'm sure you feel the same way. That's why I became Han. Isn't it?

-Yes, that's right.

Choi Han-seok was sitting right in the middle of the restaurant.

The ghosts were holding their breath approximately, and Yumi glanced at the clock, which was only a few days away before the door closed.

There was silence for a while.

- So you mean my problem is that I don't care about other people?

Chef Yoon Byung-jin broke the silence.

After completing his own worries, he asked Choi Han-seok as if he was arguing.

-If that's what the chef wants to say, I don't know. I'd like to say I'm wrong.

Why? Keep talking.

I came to this restaurant for the first time yesterday. It's the first time I'm cooking for you. But how can you care about each and every one of them? Some of you have bad teeth that you can't chew meat. Some of you don't like blood. How do I know such a thing like that?

The premise is wrong in the first place.

It is natural that a day when we treated ghosts to food, saw their faces, and talked a lot almost every day is much more advantageous.

Yoon Byung-jin was saying that.

but

That's why you only made it this far.

What did you just say? This is my problem?

Yeah, you idiot. Do you know why I didn't pick you up? In the oral fairy tale, even though you passed all the other tests?

Yoon Byungjin is really excited.

His face was flushed with anger, and he unwittingly clenched his fist.

Choi Han-seok didn't bat an eye, although he looked as if he was going to hit him.

And one day.

"Cooker, just cook. I only look at cooking. So, no?"

Haru, you're finally starting to understand me.

Choi Han-seok smiled brightly as he looked at the day.

Like an academy teacher complimenting a student who got a difficult question right.

Byungjin, did you say that before? How do you know that when it's only the second day?

Yes, that's what happened. Am I wrong?

Yes, you'really. Because, hey. Put yourself in your shoes. You're the guest. By the way, what? It doesn't suit my taste. Then would you come back to that restaurant?

-That's...

Choi Han-seok hit the nail on the head.

Yoon Byung-jin, who was so energetic, was completely defeated by just one word.

He's not coming. Why? Customers don't think about the restaurant situation. How much I paid, what I ate, and how satisfied I was! That's all I see. It's a matter of course. Because you're a customer.

"By the way... ..other than simply delicious food. There are many things you can be satisfied with.”

Haru is right. You know what? It's natural that the food is delicious. It's very basic. Even more if it's a restaurant that's more than Michelin-to-Star.Choi Han-seok said.

When Yoon Byung-jin came to the oral fairy tale, and when he fell in love with the restaurant, he grabbed Choi Han-seok's apron and asked him to let him work. What did you feel?

Yoon Byung-jin said something obvious.

Delicious food, great quality ingredients, and a spacious and pleasant atmosphere.

But there was one thing he didn't see.

In oral fairy tales, customers who make reservations only ask questions for more than 5 minutes. Is there anything you can't eat? Do you have any allergies or other things you like? This kind of food will come out then. Is it okay? And so on. You didn't remember that, did you?

-That's... that's right.

- That's why I eliminated you. Cooking? Good. He's good. By the way, Byungjin.

Choi Han-seok, who was sitting on the floor, jumped up with a thud.

Then I brought a white plate that was on the side of the kitchen.

He trudged in front of Yoon Byung-jin, who was shaking his head as if he had become a sinner, and put his hand on a white plate.

Soon Choi Han-seok and Yoon Byung-jin met eyes.

They looked at each other with calm but cold eyes, and black eyes like ashes that were burning and almost turned off.

You're the only one on your plate. Anyone else? Guests? I can't see a thing. I'm just cooking something delicious for you to eat. And that's your shell. Do you get it now?

-……Yes.

It was obviously Yoon Byung-jin who failed.

A little hesitation, but he admitted neatly.

What was lacking in you. Why did you lose?

"The chef is not just a cook who makes delicious dishes. I'm a person who makes customers happy with delicious food. That's what you mean, right?”

"Oh, that's... that's what it was it.

Exactly.

Haru, who had been silent, raised his head and said.

His eyes were no different than usual.

Eyes full of determination to do what they want to do.

Yumi, who was listening to Haru's story absent-mindedly, opened her mouth like a person who realized something.

So, now you know what I want to ask you?

"Then what am I short of, right?”

Instead of answering, Choi Han-seok raised his right hand and moved his finger to his side.

That's right. Keep talking.

The day opened without delay.

Yoon Byung-jin was looking at a day, not Choi Han-seok.

"If you have nothing but yourself on Chef Yoon Byung-jin's plate. I'm not on my plate. There are only guests."

A dish of cooking that a day makes.

On top of that, paradoxically, there is no day.

Because I thought too much of the guests who serve my dishes. Haru was so nice.

Therefore, he could have been a chef called Yeomra's right-hand man, but ironically, he faced a wall of being a better cook.

"I always think of people who will eat it when I cook. What does he like, whether he eats salty or bland, and how he is feeling?"

So one day, I chose Soushid, which can be easily eaten by people with bad teeth.

Instead of "medium rare," which many chefs consider better, they chose a relatively more common "medium."

Considering that there may be people who dislike greasy taste, we used plain wine-based sauce instead of cream sauce.

In other words, Haru and Yoon Byung-jin's cooking have completely different goals.-But that's exactly the way it is.

A ghost, looking at the situation, carefully intervened in the conversation.

Yul's grandfather who voted for Haru.

He stood in front of the two, poking his teeth with a toothpick as if he had eaten well.

Haru's food is warmer. I don't know what it is. Ghosts like us keep thanking Haru for that. And probably, aren't people the same enough to feel ghosts?

"Warm food…….”

It's a word that's been heard a long time ago.

But I've never pondered the meaning of it.

It's the same now.

There was nothing I could tell exactly.

But this one thing was for sure.

"I think I've got the hang of it."

So far it has been foggy and vague.

Not visible, not even caught. As a result of continuing to stir one's hands in the air, one had to give up.

A wall that used to look so tall.

But not now.

Really?

"Yes, thanks to you.”

just then

"What else to put on my plate without me. I'll have to look into it."

There was a very small crack in the egg shell containing Haru.

It was just a tiny, tiny incontinence, but clear, bright sunlight began to flood through it.

A young man trapped in an egg tried to shrink under the sunlight he had never seen before.

"As I said before. 'Cause I'm going to surpass you.'

Rather, he straightened his back as if to take a closer look.

* * *

And at the same time, someone realized something bigger than a day.

Less than 10 minutes before the door closes.

There was a ghost who plopped down outside the oral fairy tale.

-Huh... oh, my. I feel like I'm going to die.

It was none other than Chef Yoon Byung-jin.

He looked somewhere empty and pleased.

Those two emotions must be hard to coexist with.

Oddly enough, his expression looked like that. I couldn't describe it, but it wasn't bad.

Choi Han-seok, who opened the door, approached and asked playfully.

Why? Byungjin. Are you annoyed because you lost?

I'm annoyed, but I don't lose.

Then what?

Choi Han-seok put his face in. Yoon Byung-jin continued to sigh deeply.

I just realized it. It's just, I don't know how far I can go. It's a d*mn thing. I've been looking at the way I cook for decades. This is what I realized when I became a ghost.

To be honest, I resent losing a cooking contest to Haru.

Losing to a chef who is younger than himself and even has a lot of experience was a big blow to him who has a lot of pride.

But there was something I learned from him.

Your limits.

It was so annoying that I forgot at once that I lost to Haru.

Choi Han-seok ordered Yumi to roll two cups of instant coffee.

When he held out a cup of steaming coffee to Byung-jin, he said as if he had waited.

I guess I was able to climb up to Michelin One Star by myself. You knew that, didn't you?

So I let him go. Look at Joohyuk with the oral fairy tale head. He's dirty, he's not good at taking care of people. But somehow, you're protecting the three stars of the oral fairy tale.

Chef Haru, too.-You don't know. I'm not even at the Holy Fire because of one day. He is a big homework and treasure given to me by heaven. Do you know why? Something I've never seen in my life, something I've only seen in death. He's the only cook with more talent than I am.

-……Chef is a bad person. Selfish until the end.

I know.

What Byung-jin realized was simple.

Choi Han-seok talked about what was on my plate, but Byung-jin saw something else in the words.

God is indifferent. Why did they make my plate so small? If you're going to do that, don't make me crazy enough to devote my life to cooking.

To be honest, I felt like crying.

Since I started working as a chef and first grabbed a knife. I've never felt as miserable as I am now.