God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 132

Crack, crack.

Should I be grateful that we at least managed to start a fire? As I thinly slice the taro and place it between the grill bars to roast, a profound sense of disillusionment washes over me.

'What am I doing right now...?'

This wasn't what I had planned.

'I've seen others eating wild boar and catfish on the other side.'

That's why I packed all these cooking utensils. Outdoor grilling is supposed to be the most atmospheric and delicious, after all. I was hoping to catch some large game for a whole-roast if possible.

...Until we came up empty-handed, that is.

'I originally brought this grill to cook fish.'

And now I'm reduced to grilling taro.

No, seriously. I came here to cook, and this is what I'm doing? Even on <Cold Cooking>, they at least gave us rotten ingredients to work with.

As the taro started to brown nicely, the hungry cast members began to lick their lips, eagerly waiting for an opportunity.

"Can't we eat now? It looks so good..."

Oh Jun-hee spoke, and Do-kyung and Han Dong-woo nodded in agreement beside her.

"Not yet."

I cut them off firmly.

"It's crucial to cook taro thoroughly."

"But isn't it like a cousin to taro root?"

"If it's not cooked well, it can be astringent and cause a burning sensation in your tongue and stomach."

"Oh no."

Han Dong-woo flinched at my words. He clearly hadn't expected such side effects.

"W-Well, I guess we have no choice then..."

Han Dong-woo trailed off, sweating profusely.

I watched the taro browning in the flames for a bit longer before taking it off at the right moment.

Alright. This should be cooked enough.

"Here we go. Let's all eat this and regain our strength. We need a proper dinner."

As I opened the grill, everyone grabbed makeshift chopsticks from broken twigs and picked up pieces of grilled taro.

"I wonder how it tastes."

"It looks just like a radish."

While everyone tilted their heads curiously, Kim Byung-man was the first to pop a piece of grilled taro into his mouth.

"Mmm, as expected of our Chef~"

"Hyung, how does it taste?!"

Chewing slowly.

Kim Byung-man chewed the taro a few times before breaking into a grin.

"It's not bad. Tastes like yam."

"Oh, really?"

With Kim Byung-man's seal of approval, Han Dong-woo hastily put a piece in his mouth too. The others also started to eat cautiously, one by one.

Such scaredy-cats.

I also picked up a piece of taro and chewed it thoughtfully.

'Well, it's not particularly tasty since salt is the only seasoning we used, but...'

It was still edible as emergency rations in the jungle. We needed to eat something to maintain our strength, after all.

"It's not bad~"

"Hmm. It's tasty in its simplicity."

"I feel like I'm getting some energy back after eating this."

It seemed everyone had similar thoughts. The atmosphere, which had been gloomy due to our failed hunting attempt, became a bit more lively.

"Ah, eating this makes me thirsty."

"There are coconuts over there, but we can't reach them. It's like the carrot dangling in front of the donkey!"

At this, our chief Kim Byung-man stepped up.

Silently, he took off his outer garment and started to hook it onto the tree. Then suddenly...

Whoosh, whoosh, thwack!

"?!"

Using the force of pulling his jacket hooked on the tree, he began to climb up the palm tree trunk!

While everyone was gaping at this marvelous sight, Kim Byung-man, as if he'd done this countless times, started twisting coconuts and dropping them to the ground with a thud.

"Wow~!"

"Chef Song! The knife! Where's the knife?"

Hearing my name called, I stepped forward with the cleaver. Everyone was startled for a moment by the brutishly large knife.

Crack!

As I chopped off the top of the coconut, revealing the sloshing coconut water inside, everyone cheered with an "Ooh~!"

"It's sweet!"

"Me too, me too!"

"It's like natural mineral water!"

Suddenly, three or four coconuts were piled up in front of me. No one else dared to handle the cleaver, as it was too difficult to manage. I picked up the knife again without much thought, but then—

Throb.

'...Oops.'

I'd forgotten about my injured arm.

As the pain surged, reminding me not to forget about it, I hesitated for a moment. I shouldn't keep using my arm like this...

But I couldn't just ignore the expectant looks on everyone's faces either.

As I was wavering, that's when it happened.

"I'll do it."

An Derek, who had somehow appeared beside me, whispered.

What perfect timing. Did he notice I was injured? I studied his face, but there was no sign of it.

'Maybe he felt awkward since I've been the only one doing things?'

An Derek isn't the type to be overly friendly with others either. Come to think of it, I don't think he's said a word until now.

Right. We've come all the way to the jungle and are suffering, so we should at least secure some screen time. It's absolutely not because my arm hurts and I'm passing it off to him.

I handed the cleaver to An Derek.

"Then, please do."

An Derek silently started opening the coconuts.

"Try this."

At Do-kyung's urging, I took a sip of the coconut water. Mm, it was delicious. I could understand why everyone was so excited about getting the coconuts opened.

"It's good, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

I nodded slowly while looking around. Unlike earlier, everyone now had lively expressions as they shared the coconuts.

Good.

We've put out the immediate fire, so to speak.

Now that their stomachs were somewhat filled, everyone seemed to have regained their motivation.

"Let's make sure we eat something really delicious for dinner tonight!"

"Yeah!"

With that resolve, we divided into teams again under Kim Byung-man's leadership.

"Half for the land team, half for the sea team! The land team will come with me to set traps and try to catch chickens, while the sea team will look for crabs or shellfish instead of fish!"

"Yes!"

"Understood, Chief!"

"For the land team, we need fast runners, so..."

Kim Byung-man quickly scanned the group before pointing at Do-kyung and Han Dong-woo.

"The three of us will go."

"Ugh. It sounds like it'll be really tough. Isn't our An Chef obviously the fittest among us?!"

As Han Dong-woo grumbled, Kim Byung-man shook his head.

"He's too tall."

Right. Taller people do experience more air resistance... Han Dong-woo protested, saying, "Are you trying to kill me twice?" but his objection was ignored.

"Come on, we have two chefs here. It'd be a shame if we couldn't eat something delicious because we didn't have ingredients! Let's all do our best and have a successful hunt!"

"Yes~!"

With the land team decided, An Derek, Oh Jun-hee, and I were naturally assigned to the sea team.

"Ugh. I drank so much water earlier."

Oh Jun-hee headed towards the beach with a sullen face.

Oh Jun-hee and An Derek seemed to find their way quickly, having been there before. As I followed them, I pondered to myself.

'What should I do...?'

No matter how I looked at it, the seawater seemed teeming with bacteria. It was obvious that I shouldn't go in with an open wound.

But asking to switch to the land team didn't seem like a good idea either, as running through the underbrush wouldn't be good for the wound either.

'Should I tell them I'm injured now?'

I didn't really want to reveal it to the cast if possible. As I was worrying and trying to gauge the situation, that's when—

Whoosh.

As we emerged from the undergrowth, a vast sea with crashing waves came into view.

"Wow..."

It was a magnificent sight. The sun was getting closer to the horizon, casting a red glow over the sky and sea.

"It's beautiful~!"

Oh Jun-hee exclaimed. I had been thinking the same thing.

After staring blankly for a moment, I came to my senses and looked around. There was no sandy beach, just a rocky shore.

We carefully stepped into the water.

"Let's go towards that cave over there. There might be a lot of shellfish attached to the rocks."

Looking where An Derek was pointing, I saw what could be described as a natural fortress. There was a natural cave carved out by the waves.

It wasn't too deep, maybe enough for five or six people to take shelter from the rain?

That should be sufficient. If we search carefully between the rocks, we should be able to find plenty of shellfish and crabs.

'And the water level isn't too high, so if I use just one arm, the seawater won't touch my wound.'

With that realization, I felt more at ease. I nodded and replied.

"Alright. Let's go."

"But."

Oh Jun-hee chimed in.

"Are you two still speaking formally to each other?"

"..."

"..."

Oh, right.

"Come on~ Didn't we sort out how to address each other when we first set out? Woo-yeon is the youngest, so everyone should speak informally to her."

That's right.

Maybe it's because we've been speaking formally for so long on "Cold Cooking." I wasn't even aware we were still using formal speech.

I spoke to An Derek first.

"Please speak comfortably to me. I'm much younger than you."

Considering our age difference, it would be more appropriate for An Derek to speak informally to me, as I'm about 10 years younger.

An Derek was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright. Then let's quickly search that cave first. We should hurry before it gets dark—"

As he was speaking and striding forward,

Tap.

An Derek grabbed my arm.

'Ouch!'

And it was my injured arm!

Although he didn't grab it too hard, I still flinched noticeably. I turned around with wide eyes, and An Derek also looked slightly taken aback.

What's going on?

But he quickly returned to his usual expressionless face and gently let go of my arm. Now I can breathe a little easier.

Then he said:

"I'll go check it out. You two rest here."

"Pardon?"

I thought this was nonsense, but An Derek calmly started to explain his reasoning.

"The sun is setting, and the water level seems higher than before, so it might be high tide. It could be dangerous, so why don't you two search in the shallower area over there? There should be some shellfish there too."

...He's not wrong, but I immediately voiced the thought that came to my mind.

"If it's dangerous, shouldn't you not go either, Chef An?"

"I'll be fine."

"What?"

"I'm tall, remember?"

"Ah..."

Fair enough.

Compared to Oh Jun-hee and me, the taller An Derek would be able to keep his head above water longer during high tide. He's not wrong.

But why does this irritate me so much?

"I also have a water rescue certification."

"I see."

Well, there's nothing more to say then. He was implying that while it might be dangerous for Oh Jun-hee and me, it wouldn't be for him.

As I stood there awkwardly, Oh Jun-hee linked arms with me and smiled brightly.

"Then we'll be gathering shellfish over there, so come out right away if it seems dangerous, okay?"

An Derek nodded. Oh Jun-hee seemed relieved, probably because she had been hesitant about going into the sea in the first place.

"Let's go, let's go~!"

As she led me back towards the shallower part of the water,

'This is strange.'

I tilted my head, puzzled.

'It seems like he's helping me whenever I need it. ...Is it just a coincidence?'