Totsuki Academy.
Tomoe walked through the entrance gate, her walk oozing confidence as she gazed at the students nearby.
They arrived in their luxury sedans, judging the people around them. Some walked up to others with a smile, hoping to make connections.
But soon, their eyes were drawn to Tomoe, specifically, the burn marks all over her body. Wherever she passed, people stepped back. Whispers began to rise.
"She must have gone through something bad."
"Look at that lady, she is tall."
"She's probably six feet."
"She definitely works out. Her body, it's like a fitness influencer."
Tomoe didn't care about the whispers. Her eyes moved around, searching for something.
Thankfully, there was one.
She walked to the empty bench and sat on it. Her hands flailed out to the sides, claiming as much space as possible.
She glanced at the people around her, gaze sharp like a tiger watching its prey. They looked away and began talking about other topics.
Tomoe looked up and sighed. Nobody bothered to disturb her.
This is peace.
She looked at the buildings. European style. They stood several stories tall, their exterior clad in pale cream stone dressed with ornate moldings and decorative banding. Tall, narrow windows lined each floor in neat rows, their frames carved with careful detail. It was beautiful.
Soon, an alarm rang on her phone.
She got up and made her way to the building with a large sign reading: HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION TRANSFER EXAM LOCATION.
As she entered, her eyes were greeted by a luxurious interior that demanded awe. A horde of students rushed in behind her, trying to move quickly through the doors.
The examiner stood and watched as the students entered the room. He waited five minutes until no one was left outside.
The room was almost packed.
"Ahem... I welcome all of the aspirants here. Your courage is remarkable, but we don't select students on the basis of courage. What we need is perseverance and talent."
"Let me ask you again, are you willing to bet your reputation and your life on the line? If you fail, you will be known as the student who could not even pass the entrance exam. I am giving you ten seconds to reconsider your decision."
Panic began to spread. Whispers of chaos swept through the room. People started pushing each other, making their way to the exit.
Tomoe looked back and watched the circus unfold behind her. Is this what it's like to be the heir of a wealthy family? Reputation above everything else.
After the panic died down, what remained were the students with absolute confidence in their skills, those willing to bet on their reputations.
The examiner clapped and continued. "Your first exam will be a group interview, and I will be the interviewer."
He began asking questions about their cooking experience and their specialty.
"Contestant No. 40, Tomoe."
Her name was called out. Her gaze fixed on the examiner, ready for whatever questions were about to be thrown at her.
"Your experience in cooking?"
"I have been cooking for eleven years."
"Any courses you took before coming here?"
"None."
The examiner raised his eyebrow, then proceeded to ask another question.
"Any specialty?"
"Comforting and soothing food."
The examiner nodded slowly.
After he had finished asking everyone, he clapped his hands again. The two doors behind him opened and more examiners walked in.
He handed papers to the others as they began calling students to their rooms. They were divided into two groups across two rooms.
The contestants stood before their cooking stations as examiners walked by, handing each of them a paper stating what dish to cook.
Tomoe looked at her paper. Her assigned dish was spicy, completely contradicting her specialty.
So that's why he was asking about specialty.
She looked at the ingredients laid out on the table, both hands resting on the cooking station.
Mushrooms, noodles, vegetables, chicken, shrimp... She studied them carefully. A spicy dish. Chili chicken? She shook her head. Maybe a spicy seafood dish, that would pair well with the noodles.
Tomoe took some dried anchovies and kelp and put them aside. She put the pot half-filled with water onto the gas.
Placing the anchovies on the cutting board, with a swift movement, each of their heads and dark innards were gone.
After a wash, with a flick of her hand, the anchovies and dried kelp boiled in the water.
Green onions, leeks, onion, bok choy, large cabbage leaves, and carrots. All of them were seated together, section by section.
Swish...
It was like a sharp wind blown through the veggies, cutting them into how it desired. The leeks and green onions were cut into a thinly fine shape, the onions were sliced. Cabbage leaves were cut into bite-sized pieces, along with the carrots.
The clams and mussels won't do, I don't have an hour to spare. For the sea ingredients, she grabbed some shrimp and squid.
The examiner's eyes fell on her. Hmm? What was that movement? His eyes squinted, ready for her next action. Tomoe's eyes came across him. She halted, took a quick glance at the other students, and started removing the second squid's bone.
The examiner's eyes relaxed. Maybe it was an illusion. Her hands were moving slowly, carefully, de-boning the squid. Not the insanely fast speed he had caught a glance of for a second. He started watching others.
While cutting the squid into neat slices of rings, her eyes wandered to the examiners. Nobody was looking at her.
She sighed. Her eyes lingered on the squid. She stopped moving, as if the light behind her eyes dimmed.
Ting...
A loud dropping of a bowl brought her back. Her eyes flickered, and the light shone ever so slightly.
She started slicing the squid again, soon she shelled the shrimp and washed both of them.
Going through the plate full of thinly sliced beef, she took some and cut it into thin strips.
The stock, it should be done. She turned off the gas and strained the stock. Her hands moved quick. In a bowl, she added hot pepper flakes and sesame oil, then mixed it. The nutty and hot aroma gushed out, hitting her nose. Without appreciating it, she moved on, making ginger-garlic paste.
Done. Ingredients lay there naked on their plates, waiting for Tomoe to dress them up.
Heating the pan, she added oil, minced some garlic and dropped it into the pan. It shimmered with an aroma. The beef strips went in. Both of them got mixed until the beef was half-cooked.
Setting the half-cooked beef to the side of her pan, she made some room. The hot pepper flakes went in, different from the mixed ones. Soon, a smoky, peppery smell covered her surroundings.
Contestants kept glancing at her, their eyes always wandering towards her pan.
After a moment, the vegetables jumped from the plate straight into the pool of oil paste beef. She toggled the heat to the highest.
The veggies stayed there, soaked in the beef.
She took a sniff. Perfect. Opening the lid, she added the stock, seafood, and bok choy, sprinkled some salt and fish sauce before covering it.
Her eyes fixated on the noodles. Taking them out of the plastic, she put them to boil.
Tomoe put her hand behind her neck and cracked it. looked at every contestants cooking.
Some of them were shaking, her eyes could barely catch it. Nobody is happy. She shook her head. My aunt... was a liar. Her eyes went hollow, looking at the noodles.
She remained like that until the noodles were done. Taking them, she rinsed them with cold water. Right after that came the finishing touch.
She added the hot pepper flakes mixture and stirred it, letting it sit there for a few minutes before shutting off the gas.
Tomoe let out a short breath. Grabbing a bowl, she added the noodles and then the broth, some veggies, and seafood. She looked at it for a moment before plucking some of the veggies and adding more shrimp.
Her dish was ready. She was happy. But what her face held was just a serious, unapproachable facade.
She looked around. Everyone was still busy with their dishes. She glanced at the examiners, they were looking at her. Their eyes told their own demands.
She had to choose an examiner to approach.
I didn't want to go first, but... She took her plate and walked toward the examiner in the middle of the panel. Her eyes would occasionally wander towards the crowd.
Are they Jealous, envy, surprise—what is it? Tomoe was overwhelmed, her heartbeat racing faster.
She placed the plate down. The examiner took a glance at her. It was the same examiner she had first met in the hall.
"So, you chose jjampong."
"Yes."
He brought his face close to the bowl. The aroma hit him, sending a sudden jolt through his body.
He couldn't wait.
Taking out a spoon, he tasted the broth first.
"Uhh~." He moaned, his eyes closing as he savored it. The other examiners looked over, curious.
He stayed like that. To others, he had stopped moving, but to himself, he was swimming with anchovies in the ocean, with small groups of shrimp breezed past them and a occasional massage from huge squids.
Every bit of flavor was present in this dish. He opened his eyes. "You-you passed."
Whispers erupted everywhere.
Tomoe mumbled, "Thank you." She left the room, wanting no traces of herself left there.
One of the other examiners turned to him. "Why did you do that? You haven't even tasted the main dish yet."
He laughed and gestured for them to try it.
Moans erupted from the group. It was perfect. Every ingredient was contributing something.
The flavor of the sea. The smooth noodles that slid down the moment you slurped them. And finally, the chili—overwhelming, but something inside it kept drawing them in.
She is really talented.
Tomoe took a rest on the bench for a while.
Finally... it's over. That was terrifying, with so many people in there.
She pressed a hand to her chest, her heart had calmed considerably. She looked around. I hope... they won't be mad at me.
She sat with her thoughts for a while before making her way toward her assigned dorm. As she walked, she heard footsteps behind her. Her heartbeat quickened.
She slid her hands into her pockets.
Grabbing the taser.