Superstar From Age 0

“Seo-jun, why do people eat three meals a day?”

“For health?”

“How nice would it be if we could stay healthy with just one meal a day?”

Seo-jun and Park Ee-deun were sitting by the faucet in the yard, washing vegetables and herbs.

It was a nice place, except for the occasional kids who would cling to their necks and shout “Teacher!”

The kids’ dinner was originally at 6 o’clock, but they decided to feed them a little earlier because they had eaten too little for lunch.

The menu was fried rice with eggs and soybean paste soup, stir-fried sausage and vegetables and mini pork cutlets, braised tofu and seasoned herbs, rolled omelet and kimchi, radish kimchi.

They planned to prepare a lot because they didn't know what the kids would like.

“I washed all the vegetables.”

Seo-jun and Park Ee-deun took the vegetables that had been shaken off the water and headed to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Kim Ja-young was preparing to cook by taking out various things, and Heo Un-su and Ju Na-hee were looking after the kids because they had no talent for cooking.

“Really? Then is there anything you can do well among the menu? I’ll do the seasoned herbs.”

At Kim Ja-young's words, Park Ee-deun decided to take charge of the rolled omelet.

“Then I’ll do the stir-fried sausage and vegetables, fried rice with eggs, and braised tofu.”

“Can you do all three?”

At Seo-jun's words, Kim Ja-young asked with a slightly anxious face. She wanted to make the fried rice with eggs as delicious as possible so that the kids would eat it even if they didn't eat any other side dishes, so she thought she would take care of it herself.

Park Ee-deun, who was breaking several eggs into a large bowl, smiled broadly and said.

“Teacher! Seo-jun is good at cooking. He has a Korean cuisine certificate!”

At that, Kim Ja-young and the production crew widened their eyes. They had never heard that Seo-jun was good at cooking. Well, there was no place for such a story to come up.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Teacher Seo-jun.”

“Yes!”

Seo-jun stood in front of the cutting board and started to cut the firm tofu and vegetables for stir-fried sausage. Small enough to fit in the kids’ mouths.

As the knife hit the cutting board with a thud, Park Ee-deun bounced his shoulders.

Kim Ja-young, who had trimmed the herbs and blanched them softly, asked.

“But why did you learn cooking?”

It was because the main writer was holding a sketchbook in front of him that said ‘Reason for learning cooking, question!’.

Kim Ja-young was also curious.

“When I wanted to eat Korean food in America, I made it myself. I wanted to eat a variety of things, so I thought it would be better to learn systematically.”

“Aren't there Korean restaurants in America?”

“There are, but it's a bit too much to go there every time. Delivery is also available, but there are few menus and it takes a long time.”

“Delivery is best in Korea.”

Everyone nodded at Park Ee-deun's words and Seo-jun continued with a smile.

“The shooting schedule is set, but it's erratic and the location changes every time if it's not in the studio, so it's easier and better for me to do it myself. My manager hyung is also good at cooking, so we take turns.”

They chatted as they cooked.

Seo-jun, who made the sauces for each dish, prepared the braised tofu first. He grilled the tofu until golden brown in a frying pan and poured soy sauce over it and simmered it slowly.

‘Next is fried rice with eggs.’

Seo-jun put some cooking oil in a round frying pan and stir-fried finely chopped green onions to make green onion oil.

He then poured well-mixed egg mixture into the frying pan.

The yellow egg mixture cooked quickly in the hot frying pan.

Seo-jun immediately added rice and mixed well with a spatula. He then seasoned it with soy sauce and salt.

He grilled half-cut sausages in another frying pan and added chopped vegetables and stir-fried them.

He seasoned it with ketchup to make it sweet for the kids’ taste.

“Do you want to try?”

“Yes!”

Park Ee-deun, who was rolling eggs, brightened his face at Seo-jun's words and naturally took a chopstick and stabbed a sausage into his mouth.

He then raised his thumb.

Meanwhile, Kim Ja-young boiled soybean paste soup, seasoned herbs, and prepared to fry mini pork cutlets.

“Senior, I mean teacher! Do you want me to cut the kimchi and radish kimchi small?”

“That would be nice.”

Park Ee-deun, who finished the rolled omelet, took out the kimchi and radish kimchi from the refrigerator and cut them small.

He prepared a few bowls by washing the red seasoning in water.

“They don't eat it if it's red.”

“Don't they eat ketchup?”

“That's right. I guess the feeling is different with ketchup. It's amazing.”

Everyone nodded at Park Ee-deun's words and Seo-jun put the fried rice with eggs in a bowl beautifully.

The other dishes also went up on the table one by one.

The table was full of warm and affectionate food, with spoons that fit the kids’ hands.

“It looks delicious. I think the kids will like it, right?”

“Really?”

Seo-jun's words also failed to hide the anxious expressions of Park Ee-deun and Kim Ja-young.

They had lost a lot of confidence because they didn't eat well throughout the shooting.

Seeing that the dinner preparation was over, heo Un-sung raised his voice.

“Kids! Let's eat!”

The kids who were whining that they wanted to play more and didn't want to eat came over and sat down when they heard about the flying squirrel Pipo.

They didn't sit quietly, though. Park Ee-deun whispered as he watched the kids wiggle their hips.

“It's hard enough to get them to sit down.”

“Right. Ha-rang, you have to eat.”

Seo-jun nodded and sat down the youngest, ha-rang, who stretched out his arms and asked for a hug.

The youngest smiled at Seo-jun with a hehehe laugh, and Seo-jun also smiled as if he couldn't help it.

Sitting down was just the beginning. The kids poked their fried rice with eggs with a spoon, drank water gulp by gulp, or turned their bodies and looked at the sky that was getting dark.

“…Myung-jin, why aren't you eating…?”

Even though he tried to soothe them gently, only two of them ate anything except for their mouths. Even Myung-jin, who used to eat well, seemed to be distracted by playing with other friends.

While the three cast members tried to feed each child one by one, seo-jun and Park Ee-deun, who had been whispering, came back from the toy room with two popular toys among the kids.

One was a bus-shaped doll, and the other was a fluffy penguin doll.

When Park Ee-deun put the two dolls on the table, the kids’ eyes were drawn to them. While the cast members and the production crew tilted their heads, seo-jun, who had killed his presence from the kids’ eyesight, opened his mouth.

“Hello. Kids!”

“Nice to meet you!”

Park Ee-deun grabbed and shook the two dolls.

The kids’ eyes and mouths opened wide.

Seo-jun pointed his finger to the right and Park Ee-deun shook the bus-shaped doll.

“Wow! You guys are eating!”

This time to the left. He shook the penguin doll.

“It looks delicious! I like sausages too!”

The kids’ eyes sparkled at the voice that sounded exactly like a cartoon.

****

“They did eat a bite after all.”

Heo Un-sung scratched his head as he looked at the fried rice with eggs and side dishes that had not been reduced by half despite Seo-jun and Park Ee-deun's efforts.

Except for two kids who ate well, the rest of them ran away to play again. Park Ee-deun and Jung Na-hee were looking after them.

“How about you eat first, teacher Seo-jun?”

“Huh?”

“You suddenly started shooting. You must be hungry.”

“Yeah. We have to leave soon so we can get home on time.”

Heo Un-sung and Kim Ja-young thought of Seo-jun who had to go back to Seoul soon and said. Seo-jun thought for a moment and nodded.

“Yes. Then I’ll eat first.”

Seo-jun's seat at the dining table was prepared, leaving the children's seats empty since they didn't know when they would come to eat.

As soon as Seo-jun, who brought fried rice with eggs and soybean paste soup, sat down, the two children who were eating their food with relish sparkled their eyes.

“Teacher, are you eating too?”

“Yes. Is it good?”

“Yes!”

“Yeees!”

Seo-jun smiled brightly at the sight of the children who were eating deliciously without knowing that they had rice grains on their mouths.

“I’ll enjoy the meal.”

“Let me know if you need anything. I’ll bring it to you.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Seo-jun smiled brightly at Kim Ja-young's words and opened his mouth again, looking at the camera.

“I’ll enjoy the meal.”

[The Invitation of (Good) Gourmet Orc is activated.]

Whooosh!

The ability spread widely around the symbol that looked like an invitation card that only Seo-jun could see.

[The Invitation of (Good) Gourmet Orc – Intermediate]

You invite those with weak mental power to your meal.

You make the food look delicious.

The atmosphere of the meal changes positively according to the target's preferences.

Gourmet Orc.

That life was greatly influenced by his previous life, just like the Fairy of the Baton.

If the Fairy of the Baton lived a destructive life under the influence of ‘Demon King (Evil)’, Gourmet Orc tried to live a relatively peaceful life under the influence of ‘?? (Good)’.

‘Gourmet Orc's previous life was not in the book.’

But he could tell how much that ‘mysterious previous life’ affected Orc's life.

Gourmet Orc, who had clear memories of his previous life, was different from ordinary orcs who ate anything.

He loved food so much that he was called a ‘gourmet’, and he wanted to be with other beings so much that he threw parties.

He might have been happy if he hadn't been born as an orc, a monster.

Gourmet Orc cooked food in various ways and ate it, but he was treated as a mutant and banished from his tribe.

He settled in a suitable forest and lived alone.

He felt lonely eating alone.

He wanted to invite someone.

He wished for someone who had the concept of ‘gourmet’. But only other races such as humans, elves, and dwarves had such knowledge in this continent.

Gourmet Orc decided to solve it ‘peacefully’.

He used his magic and the ability of Life's Library to invite those wandering in the forest to his meal.

He hid his orc identity with illusion magic and lured those with weak mental power with the scent of delicious food.

The plan was successful.

Wandering travelers, injured hunters, villagers who came into the forest to eat bark after starving for days, merchants who were robbed by bandits, etc.

Countless people were invited to Gourmet Orc's meal, who hid his identity.

Gourmet Orc laughed and drank and ate and chatted with beings who could communicate with him for a long time.

Sometimes he enjoyed a calm atmosphere and sometimes he laughed so hard that his house shook.

They were happy days.

But that time was not long either.

There were humans who wanted to unravel the fairy-tale-like rumor that someone invited them to a wonderful meal in the forest.

An unknown being was scary by nature.

That's when Gourmet Orc started wandering around the continent.

He prepared dishes with ingredients from each region and used magic and abilities to invite those with weak mental power to his meal.

It was a happy time.

He met those siblings in the cold northern region.

He had met many other poor children, but he was particularly drawn to the human siblings.

The siblings who lost their parents and were skinny made Gourmet Orc stay for half a year even though he had decided to stay for only two months.

The orc's smile became deeper as the siblings’ cheeks became plump.

But he stayed too long.

A brilliant human mage who came looking for him as an unidentified being was an orc.

Magic was poured out to defeat the monster that dared lure humans and feed them.

Even her brother and sister, who had come to give a gift to the hunter (an orc they called him), found out his identity.

The monster ran away.

Magic rained down on it.

Knights also appeared.

A hot fireball hit the monster's back.

Sharp blades pierced the monster's arms and legs.

The monster's green blood spread on the white snow.

‘He must have died like that.’

That was his life.

He had died so many times that Seo-jun didn't care anymore.

Rather, he was more concerned about something else.

‘But isn't that kidnapping?’

It might have been the best for an orc, but it was a crime in many ways according to the ethics of this world.

Come to think of it, it was also a crime according to the ethics of that world.

An orc is an orc.

Putting aside his previous life.

He didn't know how weak mental power was. But he thought it would be quite useful since it was an intermediate ability.

As soon as the ability was activated, the eyes of the children with weak mental power turned to the dining table where Seo-jun was sitting.

Something…

Something seemed to be happening there that was very exciting.

They felt like they were invited to their favorite friend's birthday party.

Their hearts thumped and their cheeks flushed.

Seo-jun picked up a spoon and took a sip of soybean paste soup.

The hot broth of the soybean paste soup spread throughout his body as if warming him up. Next, he ate a bite of fried rice with eggs that he made himself.

The fluffy rice and the eggs with just the right amount of salt fit perfectly in his mouth.

Next, he ate crispy kimchi and reached for egg rolls with chopsticks.

The soft egg rolls and sweet ketchup went well together.

Seo-jun ate neatly and deliciously.

“Wow, he really eats well.”

“Right.”

His sparkling expression alone showed how good it was.

The staff wondered if it was that good and salivated while admiring him.

Heo Un-su, who was watching the children, widened his eyes.

The children who were playing in the yard were heading to the dining table as if they were bewitched by something.

“Teacher Na-hee!”

“Yes!”

Ju Na-hee quickly brought a wet towel and wiped the children's hands.

Park Ee-deun and Kim Ja-young also quickly reheated the food.

Park Ee-deun whispered to Kim Ja-young.

“Should we leave Seo-jun alone?”

“That would be better. The kids all seem to be looking at teacher Seo-jun.”

The children who sat at the table looked at Seo-jun once and picked up their spoons.

It felt different from when they usually ate. The rice and side dishes on the table looked very delicious.

It felt like they were playing an amazing game or like they were at an amusement park.

Such a pleasant atmosphere filled the table.

The children laughed out loud even though nothing had changed from before. The children liked this meal atmosphere.

The children stuffed their mouths with fried rice with eggs and chewed hard.

Even Ye-rin, who was the most troublesome, ate fried rice with eggs with a nom! sound, Park Ee-deun teared up.

The adults who were excited by seeing the children eat happily helped the clumsy children with their chopsticks.

“Teacher! More please!”

“Me too!”

The children's shouts made the shooting site more lively than ever before.