WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 17: Beyond Her Prime

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Kim Hye-yun picked up the knife.

"At this level..."

She placed an onion on the cutting board. She lightly rolled her wrist once, then brought the knife down.

Slice.

The blade passed through the onion without a sound.

Slices so thin they seemed transparent slid neatly onto the cutting board.

Every slice was perfectly uniform.

"...I can do this."

The words slipped out before she realized it.

Her wrist was fine.

She could barely even feel the weight of the knife in her hand.

Without any weight to it, she didn't need to apply force.

And without needing to apply force, there was no reason for her wrist to tremble.

Her hand simply traced the line she pictured in her mind.

Only a few days ago, she had been afraid to even hold a knife.

She woke every dawn drenched in cold sweat, the tip of her knife would slip ever so slightly off course, and her seasoning became more inconsistent by the day.

For a perfectionist like her, it had been unbearable.

But now...

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

Her hands moved too quickly to see.

Everything she cut came out the same size. Nothing clung to the blade. Her wrist wasn't under the slightest strain.

Her prime.

The days when she had made a name for herself as the youngest sous-chef in an overseas Michelin kitchen. The days when her hands had been at their sharpest.

'...No.'

The knife cut even better than it had back then.

If the Kim Hye-yun of that time saw her now, she would have stood there with her mouth hanging open.

Beyond her prime.

"...What in the world is this knife?"

Her heart raced.

Without realizing it, her grip tightened around the handle.

It felt possible.

Just days ago, she had thought that if things continued like this, everything would be over.

But now...

She could do it.

She could absolutely do this.

* * *

The hotel's top-floor private restaurant.

"...Everyone."

Hye-yun looked over the employees lined up before her.

Every face was tense.

It was only natural.

A social gathering where major figures from politics and business, people recognizable by name alone, had gathered in one place.

And they were responsible for tonight's dinner.

"I know you're all nervous, but it's nothing special."

Hye-yun gave them a small smile.

"Just do what we always do. The way we do it every day."

"Yes, Chef!"

"Good. Let's go."

Prep began.

Stock boiled, sauces reduced, and ingredients were prepped.

The spacious kitchen turned like interlocking gears.

And Hye-yun stood at its center.

* * *

Once service began, the frightened version of herself from a few days ago vanished as if it had never existed.

Tap tap tap tap.

Her knife danced.

With a flick of her wrist, thick tenderloin split into slices of even thickness.

It passed through sinewy cuts without the slightest resistance.

She never cut against the grain, so not a drop of juice escaped.

Even her body felt impossibly light.

Since the day she had collapsed, she hadn't had that awful nightmare even once.

The mornings when she woke drenched in cold sweat and the weight that had crushed her shoulders were all gone.

Her body had completely returned to normal.

Every fingertip moved exactly as she wished.

"......"

A finished plate was set on the pass.

The employee assisting beside her swallowed without realizing it.

This wasn't their usual chef.

No, she had always been good.

People didn't call her a genius for nothing.

But today was on another level.

The chef's hands moved too fast to see.

Hard carrots, soft tomatoes, and tough chunks of meat were all cut to the exact same thickness as if by magic.

It was as though the knife and her hand had become one, each gesture painting a picture across the plate.

'What is she...?'

The employee could only vaguely sense that they were witnessing something extraordinary.

And it wasn't just that employee.

The entire kitchen heated up in response to the head chef's seemingly possessed intensity.

No one needed to rush them. Everyone's hands were already moving faster.

"Chef, the garnish is ready!"

"The sauce is reducing!"

"Lower the heat and wait thirty seconds. I'm putting the meat on right away, so get your timing right!"

There wasn't a hint of tremor in Hye-yun's voice as she led the open kitchen.

"......"

At some point, the noise of the kitchen faded away.

There was only the cutting board and the knife.

Every time she cut an ingredient, she felt its unique aroma and texture come perfectly alive.

It was the ultimate catharsis a chef could experience.

A faint smile spread across her lips.

'...This is fun.'

She had dedicated her whole life to cooking, but she had never found standing in a kitchen as thrilling or enjoyable as she did today.

She was riding that peak, sending out main dishes one after another, when...

"Chef."

The hall manager hurried into the kitchen.

"Someone... would like to see you."

"What?"

Hye-yun's heart dropped.

At a VIP social gathering like this, someone was calling the head chef out during the busiest part of dinner service?

'...Did something go wrong?'

Had something foreign gotten into the food?

Or had the meat been cooked so badly that someone had filed a complaint?

Her mind went blank.

Today was a day when not even one mistake could be tolerated.

She quickly adjusted her apron and followed the hall manager with a stiff expression.

At the very back of the dining hall.

It was the table where the highest-ranking VIPs had gathered.

Yun Se-a was seated there alongside conglomerate chairmen and famous figures Hye-yun had only ever seen on the news.

She swallowed dryly.

"Director Yun, you called for..."

"Ah, Chef Kim!"

Director Yun rose from her seat with a broad smile at the tense Hye-yun.

"Hahaha, Chairman. This is the pride of our hotel that I told you about, Head Chef Kim Hye-yun. She's young, but I told you her skills are the real deal, didn't I?"

"Hoho, so this is the one who used to work at Le Ciel."

The white-haired chairman of a wealthy conglomerate raised his wineglass with a satisfied smile.

"I've lived a long life, but this is my first time having steak like this. It melted the moment it entered my mouth, yet it was so full of juice... What an incredible young chef!"

"Exactly! I was shocked when I tried it just now. Chef, how did you cook this? It just melted in my mouth."

The young third-generation conglomerate heiress seated beside him heaped praise on Hye-yun with sparkling eyes.

"I've been to most of the Michelin restaurants overseas, but I think this place is the best. Truly."

"Hoho, how did you manage to bring in such talent? Director Yun, couldn't we recruit her to work for us?"

"Haha, that would be difficult. She's our hotel's treasure."

Director Yun answered with a smile.

"Everyone was praising your cooking, Chef."

...It wasn't a complaint.

"Ah... Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Only then did Hye-yun's stiff shoulders relax as she bowed deeply.

She managed to hold herself together, but she couldn't stop her voice from trembling.

A swelling rush of joy filled her chest.

This was a gathering of South Korea's wealth and power.

And her cooking had been recognized by people like them.

It was perfect.

It felt as if all the pressure that had weighed on her had been washed away in an instant.

But she couldn't sit around.

The dinner wasn't over yet.

Hye-yun returned to the open kitchen.

Then she took hold of her knife.

For some reason, the flames in the open kitchen looked especially beautiful today.

* * *

At the same time, in one corner of the kitchen.

Kang Mirae was grinding her teeth.

'...Fuck. What happened?'

On the outside, she was still smiling gently.

The sous-chef who supported the head chef like a shadow and carefully catered to the junior staff.

The sous-chef known throughout the kitchen for being well-liked.

That was Kang Mirae.

But beneath that smiling face, she was burning up inside.

It had definitely been working.

Until a few days ago, that smug head chef had been visibly falling apart.

Her pale face. The dark circles beneath her eyes. The way she kept rubbing her right wrist.

Mirae knew all of it.

Just a little longer. She only had to push a little further.

But now, that woman...

She was wielding her knife as if a god had possessed her.

'...I really don't like this.'

Mirae bit down on the inside of her lip.

Thinking back, she had disliked Hye-yun from the start.

The head chef position in this kitchen should have been hers.

She had held a knife for over ten years. She came in at dawn and was always the first to light the burners. From her days as the youngest employee, she had clawed her way up step by step until her hands were callused.

That was how she had reached the position of sous-chef.

Now she only needed to take one more step.

The position had been right in front of her.

Then...

They brought in some kid much younger than her from overseas and dropped her right into that seat.

Because she had been a sous-chef abroad.

Fine. Mirae had thought it couldn't be helped.

'...Well, she must have earned it somehow.'

If she had gotten the job through skill, Mirae had no choice but to accept it.

Then she heard the rumors.

Rumors that Kim Hye-yun hadn't taken that position purely because of her skills.

Yun Se-a, who had become an executive director at a young age, wanted to show that young people could do the job. So she had put that girl in the position as a kind of example.

Not for skill.

As a symbol.

'...Fuck.'

It was enough to drive her mad with resentment.

The position she had devoted her life to had been filled by someone used as a tool to become a symbol.

And that person was seven years younger than her.

Of course, she acted warmly on the surface. She smiled kindly and took the initiative to look after Hye-yun.

Because I'm a professional.

Because I'm the sous-chef.

No matter what she thought inside, showing it was something only third-rate people did.

More than anyone, Mirae knew that in this industry, the moment you showed your emotions on your face, it was over.

Then, one day, as she was swallowing down her resentment...

...Someone approached her.

* * *

When Mirae first heard the offer, she couldn't help but be surprised.

They said the position had originally been hers and that they would help her take it back.

"...What?"

She couldn't understand what was happening.

Who were these people, coming to her out of nowhere and saying something like this?

Had that bitch made enemies somewhere?

Or was it Director Yun's side?

They said there was a condition.

She only had to help them with one thing.

Curse that young chef.

"...What did you say?"

Her interest evaporated. She thought they might be some kind of cult.

They went on about Talismans and Spiritual Power, saying all kinds of ridiculous things. Listening to them only made her snort.

Naturally, she had been about to tell them to stop talking nonsense and leave.

But...

Strangely enough.

The foot she raised to leave wouldn't move.

In the end, she accepted that absurd proposal.

The reason was simple.

She didn't feel guilty.

'...There won't be any evidence anyway.'

Even if something happened after she stuck on a single Talisman, it wasn't as though the police would come and arrest her, saying, "You cursed her, didn't you?"

Right. She would just try it once.

She knew it would not work anyway.

Wasn't it only natural to want to curse that detestable bitch who had stolen her position?

That was how she reassured herself.

* * *

Then...

For some reason, it really did work.

From the day Mirae attached the Talisman, Hye-yun began visibly falling apart.

Her gaunt face. Her bloodshot eyes, clearly from staying awake until dawn. And the way she subtly rubbed her right wrist whenever she held a knife.

Mirae watched all of it from beside her, smiling sweetly.

...Yes.

It just had to keep going like this.

Today was the highlight.

The young head chef would make a huge mistake at this important event.

Or before that, she would collapse in front of everyone.

Then Mirae would naturally fill the vacant spot.

She had endured all that time for today.

And yet...

'...What happened?'

Mirae glared at Hye-yun's back as she wielded her knife without a problem, no, beyond that, as if she had gone insane.

Not long ago, that girl could barely control one wrist.

But today...

She was in her prime. No, beyond it.

As if the knife were glued to her hand, she split ingredients without even the slightest tremor.

Those weren't movements a person could make.

'This can't... happen.'

Mirae's expression twisted more and more.

The corners of her mouth, which had been smiling so gently, stiffened without her noticing.

...This wouldn't do.

This couldn't continue.

Mirae made up her mind.

No matter what it took, she would finish this today.

* * *

First, I grabbed a huge pile of food from the catering spread.

Wow. This looks fucking good.

This was my first time at a hotel restaurant.

Hehehe.

I planted myself conspicuously in a VIP seat and diligently stuffed the course dishes into my mouth.

Mm. Mm! This is insane.

The moment I bit down, the meat juices burst out and coated my tongue. It was easily the best food I had ever eaten.

Honestly, I knew this would happen.

Because I had imbued the knife with Imprinted Intent.

'Make the food delicious according to the intention of the chef holding this knife.'

Something like that.

I had no idea what it originally tasted like. I'd never tried it.

But seeing how fucking delicious this was, the effect was clearly real.

Today, too, my secret friend, the Apprentice’s Diary, was on another winning streak.

Contentedly, I looked toward the open kitchen.

Mm-hm. This was how it should be.

Even from here, I could see the chef working her knife without pause.

Come to think of it, that knife was the very first thing I had made in the real world.

The first item I had created outside the game.

Maybe that was why it made me strangely happy every time I looked at it.

I could see the chef smiling brightly, too.

Yeah, of course she was happy.

Hehehe...

The fact that something I made could make someone smile like that felt better than I had expected.

Only then did I start taking in my surroundings.

Mm.

This really did seem like an insanely fancy social gathering.

The place was packed with people draped in luxury brands that probably cost a fortune. The watches on their wrists looked more expensive than the deposit on my Seoul studio apartment.

That person over there looked familiar. Wasn't that a conglomerate chairman I'd seen on the news?

But then...

'...Huh?'

Mixed among the crowd were people with unusually dense Spiritual Power.

Of course, they were all hiding it tightly with things like Suppression Talismans, but I could see tiny traces leaking out.

They said the Occult World had sunk its roots deep into politics and business.

I guess it was true.

I was leisurely enjoying my food when I saw a woman quietly slip out from the kitchen.

It was the sous-chef.

"...I'll go get some more ingredients."

She said that to someone, then hurried across the dining hall.

Then...

Swish.

Someone stood up and followed her to the same place.

It was one of the people I had seen earlier, someone giving off an especially ominous presence.

A little while later.

Something rippled inside the ingredient tray the sous-chef carried when she returned alone.

A wavering black aura. A disgusting mass of cursed power, like the Cursed spirits that had poured from the ventilation fan before.

That was...!

* * *

This time, she had to make sure.

Kang Mirae tightened her grip on the ingredient tray.

She had just received it from that man.

The moment she took it, her palm had tingled and gone numb.

She didn't know exactly what it was.

But she was sure it was far stronger than the last one.

'If I just quietly stick this on that bitch's body...'

It would be easy to make up an excuse.

After all, she was known for warmly looking after everyone.

She could say the chef's shoelace had come undone, or that she was tightening her apron, then quietly stick it to the back of the apron. No one would notice.

Then it would be over.

Mirae pushed through the crowd and headed toward the open kitchen.

Her heart pounded like mad.

Just a little farther. Just a little closer.

She was about to take one more step when...

Bump.

"Ah."

As she rounded the corner of the dining hall, she bumped shoulders with someone.

It was a man wearing a black shirt and a black mask that covered half his face.

"Ah, sorry..."

The man didn't even look at the person he had bumped into. He passed her with lazy steps and walked toward the buffet area.

'...What? He doesn't even apologize?'

Mirae frowned.

'Why the fuck is he wearing a mask and ignoring the dress code at a place like this?'

Irritation surged through her, but this wasn't the time to worry about that.

The man had already turned away without a care, disappearing into the crowd.

Mirae came back to her senses and reached toward the ingredient tray to make sure the Talisman was still there.

But then...

'...Huh?'

Her fingertips...

Were hot.

'Why...?'

Sizzle.

A faint wisp of smoke rose from the Talisman in the tray.

"...What?"

She didn't even have time to panic.

Whoosh.

The Talisman turned to ash and scattered away.

"......"

Mirae stared blankly into the tray, where nothing but ash remained.

It had definitely been there just moments ago.

What...

What the hell...

Had happened?

She couldn't understand it at all.

* * *

Meanwhile, Do-hyeon was eating happily again.

Wow. They had salmon over there, too.

Nice.

I piled a bunch onto my plate.

Munch, munch.

Apparently, someone had gotten on that family's bad side. It really must have been serious.

Munch, munch.

I was sure... she was the woman beside the chef when I had gone to deliver the knife last time.

I thought I had heard she was the sous-chef.

The two of them had seemed close.

Even then, she had been acting sweet toward the head chef and even doing cute little acts for her.

Naturally, I couldn't detect even a trace of Spiritual Power from her.

It didn't seem like she was hiding it with something like a Suppression Talisman, either.

She was just an ordinary person.

"Sigh..."

Since the head chef hadn't worked out, they must have decided to lay a hand on the sous-chef instead.

Tsk, tsk.

There was no need to say anything.

Today was probably important for their side, and once it was over, nothing major would happen.

That was why.

On my way to get more food earlier, I had passed by the Talisman rippling inside that sous-chef's tray and drawn a circuit across it.

I pretended to bump into her, then brushed past.

All I did was draw a single straight-line circuit with my fingertip and slip some Spiritual Power into it.

It was nothing special.

It had probably burned up and disappeared already.

Ahem.

I couldn't let them ruin such a delicious dinner.

Munch, munch.

Damn. This place was good.

Footnotes:

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