Kim Tae-yang couldn’t refuse, even though the motive was clearly visible.
‘…This is unfair.’
Of course, he had tasted Kyu-seong’s food before.
Even though he was too busy to attend Baek Seung-hyun’s recovery celebration, he managed to taste some of the leftovers.
Despite the food being leftovers that had been sitting for a while, he could still remember the moving experience he had when he tasted it.
So when Kyu-seong announced he was bringing out food, he quietly waited. He didn’t dare to interrupt, as upsetting Kyu-seong could result in a loss for him.
“Can I use the oven, please?”
“Of course!”
Seeing Kyu-seong look for the oven, Baek Tae-seop and Baek Seung-hyun’s eyes were filled with anticipation. They had a hunch that Kyu-seong was making pizza.
The group soon moved to the dining room. Ara, too, followed with a face full of excitement.
Thud!
From Bokkeum, they pulled out the prepared ingredients: aged dough and various toppings. Seeing new ingredients they hadn’t seen before made Baek Tae-seop’s face brighten.
“Oh! Speaking of which, we also brought something special.”
Baek Seung-hyun briefly left, saying he’d brought something. He returned soon with several items in his hands.
“What’s this…?”
“Hehe, it’s cheese and ham!”
“Cheese? Ham!”
“But it’s not just any cheese and ham.”
Kyu-seong and Ara looked at the cheese and ham with wide eyes.
“Is this cheese made from monster milk? And the ham too?”
“That’s right. Cheese made from horned cow milk and ham from the same source. We perfected it to complement the pizza.”
“Wow.”
These people are serious about pizza.
Kyu-seong admired them inwardly as he examined the cheese. He had tried the horned cow’s ham before, but this was his first time seeing the cheese. Honestly, it didn’t look much different from regular products.
“Let’s make it then.”
“Alright.”
Kyu-seong distributed the pizza dough. People awkwardly accepted the dough, tilting their heads in confusion.
“If you make it yourself, it will be more special.”
“Ah.”
Finally understanding, the group started spreading the dough thinly in the borrowed kitchen.
“Is this the right way to do it?”
Kim Tae-yang asked awkwardly as he made the pizza dough. Despite his clumsy movements, he managed to form a perfect circle.
“That’s right! Now spread as much tomato sauce as you want on top and add your desired toppings.”
“Okay.”
As everyone busily made their pizzas, Kyu-seong watched Ara’s progress. She was kneading the dough with her tiny hands, creating a wobbly oval shape, but it wasn’t going as smoothly as she hoped.
“Hmm.”
With a thoughtful sigh, Ara tried to make the dough again, but it ended up with a large hole in the middle.
“It’s torn!”
“Should we gather it up and start over?”
“Yes! Let’s do it again!”
Seeing Seon-ah helping from the side, Kyu-seong felt relieved and checked on the others. He noticed that everyone had paused their work, watching Ara with fatherly smiles.
“Scary, isn’t it, CEO?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“When you first hinted about Ara, I thought it was just a longing for something you couldn’t have. But that wasn’t it.”
“Oh, how do you see me?”
“I admit it, I admit. You certainly have excellent business acumen. Ara has many elements that will make her popular. I think it’ll do well.”
By now, the pizza was roughly finished.
As Kim Tae-yang showed the completed pizza, Kyu-seong casually asked,
“Should we add sweet potato crust?”
“No, I’ll eat it as it is.”
“Oh! I’ll add sweet potato crust! How do I do it?!”
Baek Seung-hyun quickly interrupted.
Kyu-seong spread the prepared sweet potato mousse on the edge of Baek Seung-hyun’s pizza. Then, with practiced hands, he molded the edge as if making dumplings.
“Wow!”
“Now I can boast that I’ve done some cooking. Haha.”
“Really! Your hands move like a professional’s.”
They put the completed dough into the preheated oven. Last time, not knowing any better, they had cooked it at a moderate temperature for a long time, but after hearing from Jae-seong that it’s best to cook it for 30 seconds in a high-heat oven, they did just that.
“Done!”
“Wow, that was quick!”
“It’s thanks to the good oven that can produce such high heat. You don’t often see ovens like this…”
Baek Seung-hyun and Kim Tae-yang’s pizzas were the first to be completed.
They received their pizzas and savored the smell.
“Wow, the smell is just…!”
“Gulp.”
Even Baek Seung-hyun’s fuss didn’t reach his ears.
Kim Tae-yang felt a strange excitement as he looked at the completed pizza in front of him. It was 100% his taste, made exactly as he wanted.
‘Is this the power of Lee Kyu-seong?’
Suddenly realizing, he looked back at Kyu-seong.
Kyu-seong was busy helping Baek Tae-seop, Ara, and Seon-ah make their pizzas.
“I’ll bake mine myself!”
Baek Tae-seop put his pizza in the oven.
“30 seconds is enough!”
“30 seconds! Got it.”
The 30 seconds felt like a long time but was actually quite short.
However, Baek Seung-hyun and Kim Tae-yang waited, feeling as if 30 seconds were 30 minutes, until Baek Tae-seop’s pizza was done.
“Ha ha ha.”
“Wow, everyone’s preferences are perfectly reflected. How can they all be so different?”
Baek Tae-seop’s pizza was topped with lots of ham and lightly sprinkled with Ember grill.
Baek Seung-hyun’s pizza had sweet potato and potato toppings, plus the added sweet potato crust.
Finally, Kim Tae-yang’s pizza was heavily layered with tomato sauce and decorated only with cheese. He planned to dip it in honey, which Kyu-seong had also brought.
“Please, go ahead and eat!”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
At Kyu-seong’s words, the three cut their pizzas with the prepared pizza cutter and each took a slice.
“Then…”
“Thank you for the meal, Kyu-seong!”
Kim Tae-yang considered dipping his pizza in honey for a moment but decided to take the first bite as it was.
The still-hot pizza tempted onlookers with its long, stringy cheese.
“Mmm!”
“Wow! As expected…!?”
The father and son, who had put the hot pizza in their mouths, blew out air to cool it down and barely managed to cut the cheese. Even as they did, they kept expressing their admiration and soon closed their eyes, savoring the taste.
Chew.
The group savored the taste of the pizza deeply.
Kim Tae-yang, no longer able to wait, also took a bite of the pizza.
“?!!”
The first thing he noticed was the rich flavor of the cheese.
Then, the tangy tomato sauce enveloped his mouth, followed by the mild taste of the dough, which dominated his senses.
‘Ah…!!’
When he had tasted the leftovers last time, he was astonished that such food existed in the world, but this was beyond that.
Perhaps it was because it had just come out of the oven. The deep, inherent flavor of the fire clung richly to the dough, a taste that an ordinary dough could never deliver.
Gulp.
Realizing he had closed his eyes, he opened them to find the pizza in his hand had disappeared. The slice had already made its way to his stomach.
“Haha!”
Discovering a new pleasure, Kim Tae-yang burst into a pure, joyful laugh.
He prided himself on having experienced all sorts of thrills and excitement as an 8th-level awakener, but this was different.
“CEO, some alcohol!”
“Alcohol? Ah!”
Baek Tae-seop quickly made a call.
Soon, Baek Tae-seop’s secretary appeared with some alcohol.
“Pizza and alcohol… This is a first for me.”
“Isn’t wine and cheese a common pairing?”
“It’s not wine, and it’s not pure cheese, but let’s go with that. As long as it’s delicious, that’s all that matters! Haha.”
Only Baek Seung-hyun, who was avoiding alcohol to maintain his health, looked disappointed.
At that moment, Kyu-seong, who had just finished making Ara’s special pizza, watched everyone with a satisfied smile.
“You had alcohol, too.”
“Haha. I’ve been indulging in Kyu-seong’s food. My recent joy is enjoying a drink and snacks after finishing all my work.”
“Hearing that makes me feel proud.”
As Kyu-seong went to put the pizza in the oven, Baek Tae-seop and Kim Tae-yang began eating and drinking in earnest.
“Wow!”
“This is revolutionary!”
Watching their simultaneous exclamations, Ara beamed brightly.
“It’s delicious! Kyu-seong Kyu-seong is amazing at making delicious things!”
“Yes! Ara, you are absolutely right!”
Kim Tae-yang couldn’t deny it.
If he could eat such food every day, he felt he might even sell his soul.
‘Hah!’
Suddenly realizing his thoughts were dangerous, Kim Tae-yang tried to pull himself together.
No matter how good it was, to think like that over mere food…
…not just mere food. Who could call this ‘mere’?
Not only the pizza but also the various ingredients Kyu-seong had yet to reveal.
Everyone knew, even if they didn’t talk about it, that Kyu-seong was a farmer.
A farmer.
Which meant the crops he cultivated were abundant and endless.
“I’d like to try some fruit, too.”
At that moment, Ara’s ears perked up, and she dashed off to retrieve something from Bokkeum.
She returned, holding something out to Kim Tae-yang.
“It’s fruit!”
“Fruit?”
Kim Tae-yang’s eyes widened as he looked at the contents of the plastic container she handed him.
“Strawberries?”
“There’s also Layla! It’s very delicious!”
Ara spoke with a mischievous smile, looking like a cute little devil tempting him with food.
“Do you want to try it?”
“Yes, yes!”
When the lid of the container was opened, the fresh fruit aroma wafted out.
Having already eaten an entire pizza along with some alcohol, Kim Tae-yang couldn’t keep his composure when his favorite fruit snack appeared.
And watching this, Baek Tae-seop had an uneasy expression.
‘Will I lose Director Kim?’
He couldn’t be sure.
In truth, no matter what great conditions were offered to Kim Tae-yang, it didn’t hold much meaning. He was someone who could enjoy and experience everything Korea had to offer.
However, Kyu-seong’s ingredients could only be made by Kyu-seong. If Kyu-seong were to tempt Kim Tae-yang with food, could he truly resist?
‘…Come to think of it, I’m the same way!’
While Baek Tae-seop, who realized this startling fact, was lost in thought, the others continued to enjoy their food.
Ara had eaten five whole pizzas by herself and still wasn’t satisfied, pulling out various snacks to eat.
“Do you want to try it?”
“Yes!”
They were happily munching on carrots with delighted expressions.
“It’s a shame. I wanted you to try the toppings made from the new crops I cultivated.”
“New crops?”
“Onions and garlic. They’re newly grown.”
“Oh.”
Actually, no one had thought of it. Thinking they could choose whatever toppings they wanted, everyone had only focused on their personal preferences.
“Garlic and onions are delicious. You shouldn’t be picky.”
“Yes, yes. Our Ara is right. We did what even Ara wouldn’t do.”
Baek Tae-seop, who was particularly fond of Ara, laughed heartily while holding her in his arms.
“Kyu-seong, can we at least check the effects? Since they are your new crops, I’m a bit curious.”
“Of course.”
At Baek Seung-hyun’s words, Kim Tae-yang also quietly joined in to check the effects of the crops.
“Hm?”
Reading the description slowly, his gaze stopped at one part.
“What is it, Director? Did you find something?”
“Look at this garlic here.”
“Garlic?”
Baek Seung-hyun examined the garlic.
[Magic Garlic LV.1]
[A crop imbued with magic]
[Harmless to the human body]
[When consumed, it temporarily prevents physical dehydration]
[When consumed, it mildly increases disease prevention effects]
It didn’t seem particularly special.
Of course, the fact that a single clove of garlic was considered an item was surprising, but compared to other crops from Kyu-seong, it wasn’t that remarkable.
“Prevents physical dehydration…?”
However, Kim Tae-yang thought for a moment and then suddenly spoke to Kyu-seong.
“Kyu-seong, can I buy some of this garlic?”
“What? Yes, of course. I was planning to give them to you anyway. The crops I brought today are gifts.”
“Oh, as expected of you, Kyu-seong. You’re generous. I like it.”
Kim Tae-yang grinned and picked up the garlic.
Thinking about giving this garlic to someone, he fell into contemplation.
‘Vocal cord nodules… This won’t cure them, but it might help.’
Seo Ye-eun, a rookie that Iron Blood Entertainment was promoting, was both a singer and actress who recently fell into despair due to vocal cord nodules.
But if she saw the effects of this item?
While it might not be a cure, it could prevent her condition from worsening. Of course, the results would only be known after trying it, but…
‘If this helps…’
Kyu-seong would have earned a great favor.
Despite his seemingly carefree demeanor, Kim Tae-yang was extremely loyal.
Receiving a favor meant he would definitely repay it.
‘Lee Kyu-seong, you are impressive. I acknowledge that.’
Unconsciously, Kim Tae-yang’s evaluation of Kyu-seong had risen several levels.
Cliche Novel 