"My King, you have arrived," Insu's father said.
"Yes, I have." The king stepped closer to the general.
"Welcome back," the general said. "But you're late."
Anger flickered in the king's heart, though his face remained calm. "Yes, I had a few matters to handle, but it's all over now."
"Very well, if you say so," the general responded.
"Let us all head in now," the king said firmly. "We will begin shortly."
He quickly went to freshen up and changed into his royal attire.
Minsoo, on the other hand, immediately washed up and wore her chef uniform. Shortly after, they all headed into the competition room.
The moment Miso and the other chefs saw Minsoo, they rushed toward her.
"Where have you been? We missed you! We thought you weren't going to come. We felt doomed!" Miso cried.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying so hard?" Minsoo asked.
"Yesterday, while you were gone, Jihoo treated me so harshly."
"What do you mean?"
"He forcefully taught me how to use my knife to gently cut the meat for today's competition. Anytime I got it wrong, he scolded me over and over again until I finally did it right. I stayed up all night trying to perfect the cutting technique."
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I'm here now."
"What happened to your head?" Miso suddenly asked.
"I'm okay. I'll tell you everything later."
"My goodness… how can you cook with those injured hands?" Miso asked when she noticed Minsoo's hand.
"I'll manage," Minsoo replied calmly.
Jihoo had been acting strangely lately. Dal and the other chefs had noticed it but didn't know what was wrong. Minsoo walked toward him and saw that he was trembling.
"What is wrong with you?" she asked softly.
"I'm sorry… but I won't be able to participate in today's competition," Jihoo replied, his voice shaking. "I'll only cause us failure."
"Why? What's wrong? Is somebody threatening you?"
He remained silent.
"Are you being threatened?" she asked again.
"I'm sorry… I put Miso through all that. She did help us win before, but I can't…" His words trailed off.
Minsoo's eyes sharpened. "Oh… I see. You're being threatened. Miya is behind this, right?"
His heart skipped, but he said nothing.
"Don't worry. We will take over. You don't need to worry."
The moment she said those words, Jihoo calmed down slightly. For a brief moment, he felt peace.
Miya had been threatening him. She knew where his mother and siblings lived and had sworn to kill them if he cut the meat during the competition. That was why he secretly trained Miso overnight. If he hadn't, no one else could do it. He was the best when it came to handling knives.
Miya had ordered him to cause a disaster so he wouldn't be able to help during the cutting process. That was why he had prepared Miso to step in if something went wrong.
Shortly after, the competition began.
Minsoo was under immense pressure. She needed the pressure cooker cover from Rowoon. Trusting his promise, she turned to her team.
"Let's begin."
Lee, the head of Ming's chefs, was relieved when he saw Minsoo alive and present. His mind was finally at ease.
The Joseon team began cooking. Minsoo mixed the ingredients for their ginseng-infused ogolgye samgyetang (silkie hen soup), while the Ming chefs prepared wine-cooked beef.
Minsoo attempted to stir the ingredients in the pot but struggled due to her injured hand. Dal immediately noticed.
"Let me do that," he said.
She nodded and stepped aside.
Soon, it was time to carefully slice the meat. Even knowing it wouldn't go well, Minsoo still called Jihoo forward.
Jihoo stepped up and began cutting, but deliberately sliced his own hand in a way that looked accidental.
Gasps filled the room.
"Oh my goodness!" people cried as blood dripped from his hand.
"Step backward," Dal ordered. "I'll handle it."
Dal grabbed a new knife and tried to gently peel the skin from the meat, but it kept tearing no matter how careful he was. Minsoo attempted to help, but her injured hand made it impossible.
Hope began slipping away.
The Ming team had progressed far in their cooking. They simply watched the confusion unfolding in the Joseon team.
Suddenly, Jihoo signaled to Miso.
Miso swallowed her fear and stepped forward. "I can do it."
Minsoo looked at her. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. If I don't, we'll lose. I have to try."
Miso picked up the knife, steadied her trembling hands, and carefully began cutting the meat exactly as she had been taught. Slowly, perfectly — until she finished.
The team erupted in relief and quiet celebration.
It was time to place the meat into the boiling pot.
But the cover was still missing.
"What do we do?" Dal asked anxiously.
"Let's be patient. It will come," Minsoo replied, though her heart pounded.
A noise sounded outside.
Rowoon was struggling with the guards, trying to enter.
The king noticed the disturbance and ordered the guards to check. When he stepped outside, he saw Rowoon.
"Let him in," the king commanded.
The guards released him.
The moment Minsoo saw Rowoon, she ran toward him.
"You came," she breathed.
"I told you I would," he replied.
"I trusted your words… and you kept them. Thank you."
He handed her the pressure cooker cover. He had repaired it perfectly.
"Go. Continue. We'll talk later. I wish you good luck."
She nodded and rushed back.
Minsoo quickly sealed the pot. Within moments, it began boiling fiercely.
The Ming team stared in confusion, wondering what had just happened and how she managed to retrieve it.
They kept feeding their fire with more wood, blowing harder to increase the heat for their beef, but it took much longer than expected.
Meanwhile, the king could not take his eyes off Minsoo.
She looked exhausted. Pale. Stressed.
His heart felt heavy watching her struggle.
He wanted the competition to end quickly.
He only wanted to take care of her.