Chapter 23

"I want to join the competition with you," he replied.

I gazed back at Minjoon, speechless, staring at him in disbelief. While I was honored that he came up to me to inquire, it did make me wonder why I was the first person he approached.

"They can't cook as well as you do," he replied, before going on to discuss the sweets and breakfasts I'd made for them in the past inside the gaming realm.

The flavor lingered with him, and he enjoyed cooking with me because, apparently, I wasn't as difficult to cook with as the other members of Arkane.

"I'm delighted with that compliment, but..."

"Please!" he begged, clasping his hands together, "just this competition, then I won't budge you anymore."

His request sounded eager, and he looked at me with those hopeful eyes.

I averted eye contact as quickly as possible since I didn't want to be affected by it. Knowing myself, it was tough for me to refuse a favor from someone I care about.

Especially from people who approached me first to beg for my assistance, despite the fact that there are other people who could assist them with their tasks.

I sighed as I gently returned my gaze to Minjoon. "Fine," I answered, "but just this once."

He huffed in relief as he smiled with delight at my response.

"Yes, thank you!" he exclaimed as he warmly shook my hands with his. Suddenly, as he celebrated with a wiggle, there was another ring from the doorbell.

Minjoon and I exchanged puzzled stares before proceeding to the front door. I glanced through the peephole once more and spotted Jaeseong on the other side. He appeared agitated.

I quickly opened the door, and his mood softened when he saw me.

"I apologize for disturbing you at this hour, but by any chance did Min—" His statement was cut short when he recognized Minjoon behind me. "Seo Minjoon," he angrily yelled out to the boy.

The chef gasped in terror when he discovered it was Jaeseong.

"Hyung!" he exclaimed.

"Didn't we tell you not to bother her?" the clown chastised him.

I instantly butted in and told him that he wasn't bothering me and that everything was fine. He was also quite obedient and didn't make a mess inside.

I then gestured to him to enter, but he rejected it, stating that it was already late and that they needed to get some beauty sleep for the night.

Jaeseong apologized once again as they both bowed after capturing Minjoon.

As they walked away, the youngster exclaimed, "Yumi, don't forget about the promise!"

"Hey, she's older than you! Call her with respect!" The elder screamed back.

I bid them a good night and waved softly as they ascended the steps back to their dorm. Assuring him that the promise will not be broken

[AUTHOR'S P.O.V]

The clown's quiet scolding filled the trip back to their unit. When they entered and strolled to the living room, they discovered the other members watching a movie while waiting for Jaeseong to pick up Minjoon.

"By looking at Jae Hyung's expression, Minjoon went to Yumi's unit, didn't he?" Yejoon accurately surmised, and hearing how the musician addressed her annoyed the clown slightly.

"It's Yumi Noona," he said. "She's older than all of you, except for Seongho, Joseph, and I."

Everyone's attention is now focused on Jaeseong. Yumi's youthful features and height led them to believe she was born around the early 2000s. They were completely taken aback when they discovered she was much older.

"Why did you even go to her unit, Minjoon?" Yuto inquired as he sat next to him. He explained why he went to Yumi's place, which piqued the members' interest.

They had not expected him to actually join the event and were surprised but proud of his decision.

Minjoon was one of the best cooks in the world, and it was a shame he thought he wasn't because of the vicious comments he received back then.

He had also avoided cooking on their variety program because it was still seen as a competition for him. That's why the members were overjoyed when he finally broke the cycle and chose to enter a competition.

***

The next day arrived. Yumi decided to pay the boys a visit in the afternoon to talk about the cooking competition with Minjoon.

One of the employees had informed her, saying they wouldn't have much to do for the day because Arkane was taking the day off.

Nonetheless, she was assigned a few jobs, which she completed this morning, leaving her afternoon and evening free.

She knocked on their door as soon as she arrived. Minjoon smiled as he opened the door seconds later.

"Hey! You arrived!" he exclaimed joyfully. When the boy neglected to address her respectfully, Jaeseong abruptly cleared his throat.

"Noona," he then added.

She lifted her brows in astonishment when she heard him call her 'Noona,' then switched her gaze to Jaeseong next to the boy.

She asked if he told the rest of the members of her age, to which he nodded, then explained that he had to because it was part of their culture. It was understandable, so she accepted it.

"Thank you for inviting me," she said as she stepped inside, but before entering fully, she removed her shoes and replaced them with home slippers.

They strolled down a long corridor and turned to their right into the dining room, which was already connected to the living room.

Her breath was taken away by the interior design. It was modern, simple, and lovely. Jaeseong grinned as he noticed the girl staring about the room in astonishment.

"Do you like what you're seeing?" he inquired, and she nodded.

"I do, but where do you guys sleep?" she questioned as she sat on a chair at the dining table while Minjoon gave the guest iced tea.

"Upstairs, each bedroom has four people," He explained.

"Wouldn't you suffer?"

"Nah, our bedrooms are pretty big," Seongho assured.

Yumi wasn't surprised. The floor on which they were staying was a VIP level. The units are bigger than those on the lower levels, and the rooms are expected to be spacious.

They moved on from interior design to Houndlet's cooking competitions. They wanted to win despite participating for fun. They are not required to receive the winning reward; third place will suffice.

In a few minutes, they’ll be receiving a call from Angela, who will join their discussion later on after her work in the earth realm.

Yumi instantly remembered a chat she had with her. Angela was chosen to be the competition's host.

When she told the boys the news, they had the same delighted reaction she did when she first of it.

"Oh, wow! Was it the captain's decision?" Joseph wondered.

"Nope, it was the Queen's decision. She seems to like Angela a lot," she responded.

"That's a good sign," Minjoon commented.

Yumi then received a phone call from Angela in the middle of their talk a few minutes later. Before answering the phone, she places it in front of them, leaning against her sling bag.

The purpose of the call was for her to announce the round concepts and explain the program flow.

"Hello! "Yumi welcomed her.

Angela returned her greeting as she looked up from her phone, but was caught aback when she noticed Yumi and four members of the Arkane boys in the same frame.

"Wait, are you two in the same room in the earth realm?" she questioned, her face pressed up against the screen.

"Yeah, I came here to work in Seoul," Yumi stated hastily. "Now, about the competition."

"Oh right!”

Angela took out her notepad, which included all of her competition notes. They listened intently to the herbalist and planned to respond at the end of her discussion.

The cooking competition will be divided into three rounds. The theme for the first round is 'Lunch,' and the primary ingredient will be tomato.

To spice things up, the participants would have to combine these with at least 3 to 5 extra ingredients. It was a challenge that any serious and experienced chef could complete.

The theme for the second round will be 'Dessert,' with mango as the primary ingredient. Another twist to this round is that the dessert they'll be making should be baked.

The final round was said to be confidential and will be revealed on the same day as the competition.

Minjoon and Yumi expressed relief when they received the ingredients. They anticipated that the concepts would make it difficult for them to come up with ideas for their dishes.

"That is because these ingredients are considered exotic food in the gaming realm," Angela said. "To us, these may be something we use on a daily basis, but to them, it takes a fortune to buy a pack."

Yumi is still perplexed by how easily she forgets that the gaming realm and the earth realm were not different countries on the same globe, but rather universes.

What people eat here will most certainly differ greatly from what they eat there.

Angela began by discussing the positive aspects of the show before moving on to the negative aspects. Except for the mango and tomato ingredients, which they will use to prepare their meal, the contenders must bring with them their own supplies and ingredients.

"You're joking, right?" Yumi asked.

"I wish I was, but that's the rule they've given, and if you don't follow it, you'll be disqualified right away," she replied, making them all sigh in frustration.

"It'll take us a lot of work to get all the ingredients for our dish," Minjoon said.

"That's why I'm telling you this ahead of time. It is to save you some trouble."

While looking for ingredients for their chosen dishes may be tough to obtain an exact replica in the gaming realm, what struck them the most about this regulation was that the final round remained confidential.

Even if they discover a duplicate of these components and pass the first and second rounds of the competition, it will be tough for them to think of and bring the necessary ingredients to cook the dishes for the final round.

"That's why you should choose your ingredients wisely," Angela replied.

This prompts them to devise a strategy. To be able to bring basic food on set, they needed to learn and uncover all of the ingredients they could utilize in the gaming universe.

This allows them to make a meal that retains its ingredients, flavor, and impact when devoured.

They ended the call after Angela informed them of what they needed to know. What they were doing wasn’t considered cheating.

In fact, the information they were given will be shared with the contenders during a gathering two days before the competition.

"Let's do it," Minjoon huffed, his gaze filled with determination.

"We'll help you guys gather your ingredients," Jaeseong offered, and the others agreed.

"Thank you," Yumi said, sighing again as she rolled her neck in, feeling worn out.

Thinking about the competition and the fact that they had to gather all of their ingredients immediately fatigued her.

Minutes later, Sujin, Jun, Jeongmin, and Seungjae arrived in the dining room with the takeaway food they had ordered, followed by Yuto, Jiho, and Jiwoo.

"We've got lunch!" exclaimed Sujin.

"We should eat before logging in; it'll be bad if we go looking for the ingredients on an empty stomach," Joseph stated as he stood up to help take the takeout's out of their bags.

Yumi inquired, "What did you guys buy?"

"Some Korean food you have to try!" exclaimed Seungjae, his shoulders rising with excitement.

Jun informed them that Yumi had not eaten anything other than convenience store food since her arrival in Seoul.

So they went out and got a lot of food for Yumi to taste and enjoy. They took out the food boxes one by one, smiling as the girl sniffed the enticing aroma.

She couldn't suppress her excitement because she was also hungry. Everything they had purchased looked and smelled delicious.

"While we eat, why don't we discuss our dishes to cook for the competition?" Minjoon proposed, and they did.

While the two contenders were engaged in brainstorming, the two eldest members explained everything to the rest of the group while they ate and talked.

Yumi was initially opposed to joining Minjoon in the competition, but now she seemed ecstatic and couldn't wait to impress the judges.