Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 553: Ordinary Life

Most importantly, he was the king of games, a person loved by the entire world.

“Is, Isn’t that Minhyuk…?”

“My god…”

“The Food God? Wow, look at those proportions…”

The entire venue where the birthday party was being held was shaken by Minhyuk’s arrival as he stood beside his father, Chairman Kang Minhoo, with a wide smile on his face. Minhyuk was someone that they could not easily meet. To be exact, not even assemblymen, hospital directors, and business presidents could meet him.

In just an instant, the entire venue’s focus turned to Minhyuk.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk was telling Kang Minhoo about the drug and his circumstances. Minhoo smiled softly, “Once a month.” Even though it was only once a month, his son was still allowed to go out. This was great news for both Minhoo and Minhyuk.

“Chairman? Why didn’t you tell us that your son is coming today?”

“Your son is very handsome.”

…people began to flock around them.

“Wow… I can’t believe I’m seeing the Food God here…”

The eyes of the children of those business conglomerates all shone with envy. Everyone present could not take their eyes away from Chairman Kang Minhoo and Minhyuk.

“I hope my son and the chairman’s son can get along well. Haha!!!”

They were all trying hard to gain a connection with the Food God, Minhyuk. Kang Minhoo’s son, Minhyuk, was this kind of person, someone that could take everyone’s attention away. And Kang Minhoo, as his father, was the proudest of them all for having such a wonderful son as him. Kang Minhoo wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulders and proudly said, “Thank you for looking at my son in a good light.”

“I don’t think I will ever see your son in a bad light!”

“Hahahaha!”

Kang Minhoo’s long awaited dream finally came true.

***

When the birthday party started, Daehan Group’s Chairman Eom Jin-Woong was smiling brightly when he saw his son and daughter-in-law enter the venue wearing hanbok[1].

‘I’m sorry.’

Eom Jin-Woong tried to keep Ilhwa Group in check by exposing Minhyuk’s eating addiction to the world. Back then, he was able to taste the bitterness of life from Chairman Kang Minhoo’s hand. It was only then that Jin-Woong realized that the fact that he was pushing his son to get their company to the top was not necessarily a form of love.

Perhaps it was because…

‘I’m getting older too.’

…his cold-heartedness after working as the chairman of their company was slowly fading as time went by. Now, all Jin-Woong wanted to do was to live a life where he could shower his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter with love. That was why he wanted to do something for his son and daughter-in-law.

For the event, he had hired Kim Seokhyun, Athenae’s famed Twilight Chef Black. Kim Seokhyun was the only Korean among the top ten world class chefs and his dishes were said to be loved by everyone.

From what Jin-Woong had heard, his son and daughter-in-law’s way of enjoying their free time was to visit different restaurants. At first, Eom Jin-Woong scolded his son saying that he should look at more documents if he had the time to do something like that. But now, he thought that it was very fortunate that his son was able to find a place where he could find solace from working at such a stressful company like theirs.

Once the party ended, Kim Seokhyun would make a table of feast for Eom Jin-Woong’s son and daughter-in-law. Just when the party was just about to end, Jin-Woong’s secretary rushed and whispered to his ears to give a report, “Chairman, Chef Kim Seokhyun was said to have been caught in a traffic accident while on his way here.”

“Wh, what…?”

For Eom Jin-Woong, this was a report that was enough to make everything fade into black. It was common for meals to be served during a first birthday party. But this birthday party was said to be different since everyone was supposed to eat together after the formalities of the birthday party ended. The birthday party was set up this way because Chef Kim Seokhyun and his entourage of chefs were supposed to make a show and cook in front of everyone here.

But Kim Seokhyun would not be able to come here?

“How, how about the other chefs?”

“All of the other chefs have arrived.”

“…”

At the very least, there was a silver-lining in this catastrophe. However, Eom Jin-Woong could not help but feel heartbroken. All he wanted was to feed his son a very special meal on this special day. The fact that giving his son a gift and his blessings was close to being ruined nearly made Eom Jin-Woong faint.

Then, Jin-Woong’s secretary said, “Chairman, if you’re willing…” his gaze turning to Minhyuk, “…why don’t you try asking for Mr. Minhyuk’s help?”

“What…?”

Chairman Eom Jin-Woong’s face turned ugly at his secretary’s words. It was not because he hated Food God Minhyuk, but because he was fully aware of what he did to the boy. The fact that he published the secrets of Ilhwa Group’s chairman’s successor about having a rare disease, which was a terrible disease that could lead to death, was a huge deal. A normal person would have already collapsed from the pressure of this secret being exposed to the world. What more for someone suffering from eating addiction, patients who were known to have contracted several mental health issues like depression and panic disorders?

Of course, the Food God was able to turn this disaster into a blessing for him, but perhaps Eom Jin-Woong was someone that he wanted to kill. Despite all these, Eom Jin-Woong still felt greedy. As Eom Jin-Woong passed by his son and daughter-in-law, he heard their conversation…

‘The Food God’s dishes. Ah, I want to try it once in my life.’

‘Me too.’

‘But the Food God is a very busy person. Perhaps we will never be able to taste it in our lives.’

Jin-Woong’s son smiled bitterly when he said that.

As a father, Eom Jin-Woong wanted to ask for his son but for some reason, the words seemed to be stuck in his throat.

“Would he even help me? A person like me?”

“We will only know if we ask.”

Chairman Eom Jin-Woong turned silent. Even if Minhyuk made excuses, Jin-Woong would understand. After all, he was sure that the boy would never lend him a hand. Jin-Woong’s secretary hurriedly rushed to talk to Minhyuk since the birthday party was about to end. For a moment, Eom Jin-Woong felt the boy’s gaze lingering on his back. Eom Jin-Woong felt both embarrassed and ashamed. This would be recorded as one of his greatest embarrassments. Then, his secretary came back.

“Chairman.”

“Right. He probably refused, no?”

“No, not at all.”

Chairman Eom Jin-Woong looked at his secretary in confusion.

“Mr. Minhyuk is actually worried if it was alright for someone like him to cook on such a special occasion.”

“What…?”

The secretary looked back at Minhyuk with a soft smile on his face as he continued to speak, “He said that he might be the Food God inside the game, but in reality, he’s just a patient suffering from a rare disease. He said that if you don’t mind that then he would do his best to help you.”

“…”

Eom Jin-Woong’s face turned a bright shade of red, ‘I’m very embarrassed.’

Jin-Woong was someone that was already well past sixty, while Minhyuk was only a young twenty one years old boy. Yet such a young man was so understanding, his mind as broad as the sea. On the other hand, what was he? Someone that tried to destroy that very man’s life? At that moment, Eom Jin-Woong felt like he could not raise his face from the shame and embarrassment that washed over him.

***

The politicians and businessmen that attended the first birthday party held quite a bit of expectation after hearing from Chairman Eom Jin-Woong himself that the birthday banquet was different from the ordinary banquets. When all of the formalities ended, chefs began to enter the venue. It seemed like the banquet was truly different. After all, they could order whatever they wanted to eat and the chefs would make it for them on the spot.

Eom Tae-Woong, Chairman Eom Jin-Woong’s son, smiled widely, “Thank you, father.” Eom Tae-Woong’s father, who had always been harsh towards him, took a lot of time and prepared this for him. Who would not feel moved?

That was when the main event kicked off. Minhyuk, who was one of the first birthday party’s guests at first, suddenly appeared and stood in the middle of the nearly forty chefs that arrived. He took off his coat, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, donned an apron and washed his hands clean.

“…What the…?”

“The, the Food God is cooking?”

“Heok…!”

Exclamations burst out from all over the place while Minhyuk looked around at the forty chefs that surrounded him. His eyes were as sharp as when he was on the battlefield. He looked like he was the main chef in charge of a hotel’s kitchen with his aura alone.

Then, Minhyuk turned to look at Eom Tae-Woong and his wife and asked, “Do you have something that you want to eat?”

“Huh? Ah, ah…! Yes!”

Eom Tae-Woong wanted to try and taste Minhyuk’s dishes just once in his life. He was so shocked by the sudden turn of events that all he could do was turn to look at his father, Eom Jin-Woong.

“We haven’t had a proper meal since this morning.”

“We were so busy preparing for the first birthday party.”

After hearing their words, Minhyuk pondered for a moment, “Will it be alright if I cook beef seaweed soup, bulgogi and japchae for your main dish? I don’t think it’s good for your empty stomachs to have dishes with stimulating flavors from the get-go.”

“That’s good!”

After hearing their consent, Minhyuk turned around to prepare cooking. The other chefs, who received the orders from the other personnel also began to move. All of the chefs were wearing their white cooking uniforms. On the other hand, Minhyuk, who started cooking in the center of them all, was only wearing an apron over his suit. He definitely stood out among everyone.

‘It is also important to consider the viewer’s enjoyment whenever there are many people watching you cook.’

Although what Minhyuk was cooking was only a simple beef seaweed soup, it could look different depending on how he would cook it and how the people saw him do it. Minhyuk immediately pulled out the knife.

Tak, tak, tak, tak, tak—

Minhyuk started chopping the carrots the moment the knife was out. When the attendees saw his skillful display of knife skills, they were in awe. After all, Minhyuk was able to chop the carrots into nice thin pieces with just his knife alone.

Actually, the other chefs were also doing splendid work. However, the gazes of the guests were trained on Minhyuk, who was standing in the middle. Minhyuk chopped the vegetables and stir-fried the meat for the japchae. And during the process…

Crackle—

…he made use of the oil and lit up a burst of flames in the pan.

“Wow.”

Clap, clap, clap, clap—

Initially, a lot of people voiced their concern about the Food God’s cooking. He might be good at cooking inside Athenae, but would that be true in real life? Those concerns were unfounded, as it turned out. Athenae was a ‘virtual reality’ game. The feeling of moving one’s hands and body inside the game felt almost the same as in reality. Minhyuk had lived as the Food God for only a short period of time in Athenae, but if all of the meals that he ate and cooked were combined, he might as well have surpassed the chefs here purely with the amount of dishes that he cooked.

Shwaaaaaaaaaa—

Plenty of the women present looked at the Food God admiringly as he cooked.

‘Wow… a man who can cook.’

‘Isn’t he too sexy?’

The muscles and veins lining Minhyuk’s forearms, which moved and twitched with every move that he made, stood out from under the folded sleeves of his shirt.

Minhyuk also stir-fried the meat for the seaweed soup, poured some water inside the same pot and added the soaked seaweed inside. He cooked the various dishes that he promised to make with quick movements and no errors at all. In just a blink, the other chefs had finished cooking and Minhyuk was the only one left.

But as if they were possessed, everyone present just stared blankly at Minhyuk.

Right after he finished cooking, Minhyuk quickly plated the beef seaweed soup, japchae and bulgogi neatly on their respective bowls and plates with side dishes of vegetables and egg rolls on the side.

If someone else saw the spread of dishes that Minhyuk cooked they would probably say, ‘Was that all that the Food God can make?’. However, most of the time cooking for someone was dependent on the other person’s situation and circumstances. Just like how one had to mind their manners when going to a fancy restaurant, the chefs also had to take into account the dishes that their clientele wanted to eat. Also, a dish was not guaranteed to be delicious just because there was caviar and foie gras added on them. Expensive and high-quality ingredients did not necessarily entail a very pleasing taste to the palate.

“Wow…”

Eom Tae-Woong and his wife looked at each other, both of them gasping in awe. Both of them were busy people that could only grab a simple meal or some chicken breasts with the short amount of break time that they could afford. That was why they could not hold back the smiles that graced their faces at the simple, yet warm, spread of home cooked food placed in front of them.

Eom Tae-Woong grabbed his spoon and took a sip of the seaweed soup.

“Huh?”

The seaweed soup had a stronger and richer flavor than ordinary seaweed soup. Another spoonful and he could not help but let out a sigh of admiration.

“How can it taste this good?”

“You’ve seen how I cooked longer than the other chefs, right? Personally, I prefer seaweed soup that has been boiled for a long time. I believe that its flavor and taste would be better if it was done that way.”

“I see.”

Eom Tae-Woong could not hide the sighs of admiration that escaped his mouth with every bite of the dishes that he ate. The dishes created with the Food God’s ‘know-hows’ were so delicious that his title was truly well-deserved.

Meanwhile, Eom Jin-Woong, who was standing from a bit further away, saw how Minhyuk’s arm shook slightly.

‘He must be having a very hard time because of his illness…’

Eom Jin-Woong was both in shock and admiration. The young man was still fighting against this illness as he cooked.

After the two people finished their meals, they both turned to Eom Jin-Woong and said, “Thank you, father.”

Chairman Eom Jin-Woong smiled softly. When the first birthday party finally ended, Eom Jin-Woong stopped Minhyuk, who was about to leave, and said, “For the longest time, I was a horrible father to my son. But thanks to you, I was able to become a good father today. What do you want and need from me, I will give you anything within my power?”

The possibility of Ilhwa Group and Daehan Group becoming strong partners under Minhyuk’s leadership was very high if he accepted this offer. After all, Minhyuk was Ilhwa’s successor. If it was now, Eom Jin-Woong thought that he could do anything for the young man in front of him, as long as it did not harm his company.

Minhyuk smiled softly, “But I don’t want anything at all?”

“…What?”

“I didn’t do it because I was hoping for something. I was able to cook something which made this birthday party enjoyable.”

Minhyuk’s words brought Eom Jin-Woong to a daze. His gaze remained blank as he said, “I’m sorry and thank you.”

Eom Jin-Woong, the most powerful man in Daehan Group, uttered his most sincere and heartfelt words to Minhyuk. Minhyuk just smiled at him, bidding his goodbye as he walked out of the venue with his father, Minhoo.

“Tae-Woong.”

“Yes, father?”

Eom Jin-Woong watched Minhyuk’s back until it disappeared from his sight.

“Grow with that child. That child will become the strongest in the world.”

1. Traditional Korean clothing. ☜