WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 16: The Look on a Newbie’s Face When You Give Them Endgame Gear

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Kim Hye-yun opened her eyes.

A pure white ceiling. The smell of disinfectant.

"Is this... a hospital?"

She bolted upright.

This was bad. How long had she been asleep?

She fumbled for her phone.

[Director Yun: Get plenty of rest before coming in. Don't worry about anything else.]

Ah... right.

She had collapsed in the kitchen yesterday.

Only then did fragments of yesterday come back to her.

The hotel kitchen, the people who had come to make a custom knife for her.

And after that... everything was hazy.

But something felt strange.

Her body... felt light.

Her shoulders, which had always felt unbearably heavy, felt unbelievably light. Her mind was clear.

The headache that had weighed on her was completely gone too.

'...I didn't have a nightmare.'

The nightmares that came without fail whenever she laid her head on the pillow. Waking up every dawn as if she had sleep paralysis.

Even that bone-chilling feeling was gone.

She couldn't even remember the last time she had slept so deeply.

Her gaze drifted to her right hand.

Hye-yun cautiously rotated her wrist inward, then outward.

"...Huh?"

It didn't hurt.

That unpleasant pain deep in her joints had vanished as if by magic.

She clenched and opened her fingers.

Then she lightly bent her wrist.

...Nothing.

'...Is it because I got some rest?'

Even as she thought that, she couldn't quite feel relieved.

* * *

After completing the discharge paperwork, she headed straight to the restaurant.

Director Yun had texted her to rest at home, but she couldn't bring herself to lie around. The event was right around the corner.

The streets passed by outside the taxi window.

...It was strange.

Thinking back on the past few weeks, she couldn't believe she felt this normal.

She had first seen it several weeks ago.

The kitchen, in the middle of a busy dinner service.

When she suddenly felt a chill at the nape of her neck and looked up, something with long black hair was hanging near the ceiling vent.

She screamed and fell backward.

When she looked again, there was nothing there.

"......"

As she awkwardly tried to stand, her wrist throbbed.

She must have caught herself on the floor when she slipped.

Still, it wasn't a serious injury.

Even the hospital said there was nothing wrong. They told her it would get better with rest.

She thought it was because she was exhausted. She had been pushing herself lately, so it wasn't impossible that she was seeing things.

She didn't think much of it.

The problem began that night.

The nightmares started.

Every night, something climbed onto her chest and crushed her. Whenever she opened her eyes, the woman with the long black hair she had seen before was right in front of her, wearing a grotesque smile.

"Haa... haa..."

She woke up drenched in cold sweat every dawn, and after that, she couldn't fall asleep again.

With so little sleep, the wrist that was supposed to recover with rest showed no sign of getting better.

Her knife work began to slip.

Her seasoning was off.

For a perfectionist like her, it was almost unbearable. Enough to make her despise herself.

Above all, she couldn't let anyone find out.

She was twenty-eight.

The youngest head chef in that kitchen.

She had been the youngest sous-chef at a renowned Michelin restaurant overseas.

That was when labels like [genius chef] and [the rising star Michelin had its eye on] began following her around.

Director Yun, who had visited that restaurant at the time, personally recruited her.

But her position was, in truth, like standing on thin ice.

A twenty-eight-year-old head chef in a hotel kitchen. It was unprecedented in Korea.

Naturally, there had been plenty of opposition.

They said an unproven kid had been put in too high a position. They asked if spending time abroad made someone capable of anything.

It was Director Yun who had pushed through that opposition and put her in the position.

But Director Yun herself had been one of the youngest people in the industry to attain that position.

When someone like that deliberately appointed a young chef as head chef, people didn't see it as a simple recruitment.

Age and years of experience didn't matter.

Only skill did.

People believed that was what Director Yun wanted to say by putting Hye-yun in that position.

So everyone watched her.

To see whether the young chef called a genius truly lived up to the name. Or when her shortcomings would show.

How could someone that age possibly be a head chef? She was only lucky. She would crumble soon enough.

Under those eyes, not even a single mistake was acceptable.

The moment she slipped even once, they would rush in as if they had been waiting for it.

They would try to drag her down from this position.

Maybe then, even Director Yun would no longer be able to protect her.

So she couldn't tell anyone that her wrist was trembling.

That she was tormented by hallucinations every night.

The moment she said it, it would all be over.

But...

Trying to hide it didn't make it disappear.

Her mistakes became more frequent.

They were tiny slips that others wouldn't notice, but Hye-yun knew.

The frequency with which the tip of her knife went off course was increasing day by day.

And then...

"...Hye-yun. Has something been going on lately?"

Only Director Yun eventually noticed.

The dark circles that had grown noticeably deeper. Her fingertips occasionally freezing in place.

Director Yun didn't miss those little signs.

Of course, Hye-yun stubbornly denied it.

She was only tired. She was just sensitive because of the event preparations.

But after that...

Strange people began coming and going from the kitchen.

There was no way she could fail to notice.

Strange people had begun coming and going through the kitchen and dining hall in droves.

An elderly person burning incense and chanting incomprehensible spells. People putting talisman-like things all over the walls.

She almost laughed.

It seemed Director Yun believed in shamanism.

...As if that kind of thing existed.

This was all her fault.

Yes. She knew it.

It was because she had overworked herself. Because she hadn't managed her condition properly. Because she was mentally weak.

The nightmares, her wrist, her trembling hand. All of it.

...But then.

'...What was that thing yesterday, really?'

Yesterday suddenly came back to her.

They had said he was a knife artisan, so she had accepted it. But then that young man had suddenly pulled some strange talisman-like thing from his clothes.

'What now? ...He's not putting something weird in the knife, is he?'

Just as she had begun to grow suspicious...

Her vision flashed.

Then she lost consciousness.

"......"

Hye-yun quietly shook her head.

It was nothing.

The hospital had said there was nothing wrong with her.

And today, she had woken after sleeping deeply, as if by magic.

She would be fine.

...She had to be fine.

* * *

She had expected the kitchen to be empty this early, but its lights were already on.

"Oh my, Chef. You're here already?"

The woman leaning against one side of the prep counter turned around. Kang Mirae, the sous-chef.

She was seven years older than Hye-yun. She was also the veteran who had been closest to becoming head chef.

At least, until Hye-yun took that position.

"I heard you collapsed yesterday, Chef."

Mirae approached with a deliberately concerned expression.

"Oh, I was so worried when I heard. Are you feeling better now?"

Her voice was as kind as could be.

But Hye-yun knew. By now, those words would have spread through the entire kitchen. Hye-yun knew the story of the young head chef collapsing right before an important event would be exaggerated as it passed from mouth to mouth.

"...I'm fine. I was just a little anemic."

"Really? You're not overdoing it, are you?"

Mirae's eyes curved softly.

"You shouldn't push yourself too hard. Without you, we wouldn't be here either."

She smiled.

Mirae was always like that.

Even though she was much older, she would approach with a warm smile.

...Thinking back, that was true.

In that kitchen where everyone crossed their arms and waited for her to fall apart...

Mirae had been the only person on her side.

When Hye-yun had first been appointed head chef and everything was unfamiliar and uncomfortable, it was Mirae who quietly came over and looked after her.

That was why Hye-yun could lean on Mirae more than anyone else in this kitchen.

"So, Chef."

Mirae tilted her head slightly and smiled.

"How about I handle today's main dish, pleeease?"

"......"

Handing over the main dish for one day.

That itself wasn't a major issue. It was common for the sous-chef to handle the main dish.

...Normally, it would have been.

But since becoming head chef, Hye-yun had never once handed the main dish to someone else and stepped back.

Overseeing the entire kitchen, pushing the staff, inspecting ingredients, watching every final plating herself.

She did everything a head chef had to do, but she never let go of the most important thing, the knife.

She didn't want to be called young. She wanted to prove herself through skill.

When it came to the most important work, she had always done it herself.

And now, the day after she had collapsed.

If she handed the main dish to the sous-chef...

How would the eyes watching her take it?

...There was no need to imagine.

She appreciated Mirae's kindness.

But that was why she couldn't accept it.

"...Thank you for worrying about me, Mirae."

Hye-yun smiled calmly.

"But I'm fine. I'll handle the main dish."

For a brief moment, Mirae's smile seemed to stiffen slightly.

Then it curved softly again.

"...Of course, Chef. You should handle it, riiight~"

Hye-yun gave a small smile and walked over to the prep counter she always used.

She had said that, but honestly, she was worried about her hand.

Was it really all right?

Even if it had felt fine this morning, there was no telling whether her wrist would hurt again once she held a knife.

She decided to test it before service began.

The moment she stopped in front of the counter...

"...Huh?"

Instead of her old knife bag, which should have been on the counter, there was an elegant paulownia box she had never seen before.

And in front of it...

"Ah, Chef. You're here. How are you feeling?"

It was Seo Ji-an, the broker she had last seen right before passing out yesterday.

Beside her stood Master Do, his face covered by a black mask and dressed in a loose T-shirt.

* * *

"...Huh?"

The chef approached the counter, her eyes widening.

I gave her a small nod in greeting.

I had stayed up all night.

Once I started hammering in front of the forge, I couldn't stop.

It was fun carving all the circuits I had designed into one knife without letting them interfere with each other. I lost track of time.

It felt like speedrunning an on-the-spot puzzle.

The result?

Naturally, I was more than satisfied.

I wanted to hear the customer's feedback as soon as possible, so I pestered Ms. Ji-an and stormed into the hotel kitchen early in the morning.

"How are you feeling?"

"Ah... yes. I slept well, thanks to you. But what brings you here so early?"

"The chef's knife you ordered yesterday is finished, so I brought it."

"What? Already?"

The chef's face was full of confusion.

Of course it was.

She had commissioned it yesterday afternoon, and I had brought it in before a full day had passed, right in time for her morning shift.

Maybe she thought I had roughly polished up some mass-produced factory knife and brought it over.

Without a word, I opened the lid of the paulownia box.

Sliiide.

A chef's knife rested on black velvet.

The kitchen's fluorescent lights flowed softly over its smoothly shaped blade.

A Spirit Stone faintly tinged with blue was set into the end of the handle.

"......"

The chef froze, her eyes fixed on the knife. The woman behind her, who seemed to be the sous-chef, widened her eyes in curiosity as well.

"Go ahead and hold it."

At my suggestion, the chef cautiously took hold of the knife's handle. The moment she lifted it...

"...Huh?"

A silly sound escaped her.

Of course she was surprised.

The [Lightweight Circuit] would be activating, dispersing the weight of the steel until it felt as light as a feather.

On top of that, I had adjusted the balance without the slightest error to suit her tense wrist muscles and slight build.

It was probably a grip she had never experienced before.

"Is there anything you can try cutting?"

At my words, the chef nodded as though entranced and reached for the green onions piled beside her.

...Then I spotted a hard, fully ripened pumpkin next to them.

"Try that."

"Pardon?"

The chef's gaze landed on the pumpkin, and the corners of her mouth lifted awkwardly.

It was obvious.

With her wrist in bad shape, she probably didn't want to touch ingredients that would put a strain on it.

But I was confident.

"Trust me and give it a try."

"Ah..."

The chef glanced at the sous-chef beside her.

The sous-chef smiled sweetly.

"Sure, Cheeef. Go ahead and cut it, pleeease~"

Reluctantly, she placed a fully ripened pumpkin on the cutting board.

Thud.

Just the sound of it hitting the board made it seem hard.

An ingredient tough enough that she would normally need to put a lot of force into her wrist to cut it.

"Then... I'll try cutting it."

She cautiously raised the knife.

The moment she lightly brought it down toward the pumpkin...

Slice.

The [Automatic Balance Circuit] and a subtle Spiritual Power adjustment concentrated at the tip of the blade. Without any resistance, as though she were cutting through empty air, the blade passed through the pumpkin.

Thud.

The pumpkin split perfectly in half and fell to either side of the cutting board.

Its cut surface was as smooth as glass.

"...?"

The chef froze.

She looked back and forth between the pumpkin on the cutting board and the knife in her hand.

She looked like she couldn't understand what she had just done.

...Now this was it.

That exact look a newbie made when you first handed them endgame gear.

This was why I made things.

If I hadn't worn a mask, the huge grin spreading across my face might have been obvious.

* * *

Hye-yun, meanwhile, had no interest in Do-hyeon's expression.

'What... was that?'

She hadn't put any strength into her wrist.

Far from hurting, she could barely even feel that she had just cut something.

It had been easier than cutting tofu.

'Wait.'

Her hand moved as though entranced.

She pulled over a thick radish and a chunk of sinewy meat from the pile beside her.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The chef's hand began moving so quickly it was hard to see.

The ingredients were cut into unnervingly uniform pieces with every stroke.

Nothing stuck to the blade.

This was absurd.

"That's insane..."

...Yeah, insane.

Hehehe.

...Ah, this was bad. I kept grinning.

Grin, grin.

At the curse that slipped from the sous-chef watching behind them, Do-hyeon savored his satisfaction inwardly.

Exactly.

The head chef before him was probably displaying flawless skill, as though the god of kitchen knives had descended upon her.

"Haa, haa..."

After wildly chopping across the cutting board, the chef stopped and took several ragged breaths.

There wasn't a trace left of the wrist pain that had tormented her.

Instead, she felt an overwhelming sense of unity, as though the knife had become one with her arm.

Her eyes trembled slightly, then she turned to Do-hyeon with an expression full of shock.

"Excuse me. What... exactly did you do to this knife?"

She asked as though she were holding an artifact enchanted with some incredible dark magic.

What did I do?

It was just a basic chef's knife setup, exactly as I always did it.

'Ahem.'

There was a standard line for times like this.

Do-hyeon shrugged and answered casually, as if it were nothing.

"I just reduced the weight a little so your wrist would hurt less, and adjusted the balance."

"...What? This?"

"Ah, and..."

"You won't need to sharpen this knife. For about three months, I'd say? If it suddenly feels heavy or stops cutting well while you're using it, contact me. I'll provide after-sales service."

"What? I won't need to sharpen it...?"

"After-sales service is paid, by the way. Well then, happy cooking."

I'd said everything I needed to say, so I should go up to the suite and get some sleep.

Leaving the stunned chef and sous-chef behind, Do-hyeon coolly left the kitchen while rubbing his still-sleepy eyes.

"Mr. Do-hyeon! Wait for me!"

Seo Ji-an hurried after him.

It had been a perfect delivery for his first commission.

Footnotes:

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