Chapter 22
Packet ramen really is the best.
They say pouring hot water into the bag leaches endocrine-disrupting chemicals and makes it bad for you.
Well. It's not like I'm trying to live to a hundred.
If it tastes good, that's all that matters.
Besides, we don't have a proper pot to put ramen in anyway.
Since getting stranded on this deserted island, all that's gone into our mouths is yam, caterpillars, and fruit that fell on the ground.
With packet ramen, who needs a Michelin three-star meal?
"......!"
Just thinking about salty sodium and MSG touching my tongue again after so long made my heart pound.
So this is what they mean when they say the tastes you know are the most dangerous.
My salivary glands went into overdrive, pumping out amylase by the bucketful.
Yerin swallowed hard too, clutching the ramen packet tight to her chest.
"Wow... this is seriously driving me crazy. I'm drooling so hard I could die."
"We haven't even added the water yet."
"Just looking at the ramen packet makes me happy...."
I tore the packet halfway open and dumped the seasoning inside.
Making sure not to spill even a pinch of powder.
Carefully.
I carefully lifted the bamboo tube, steam curling up from it,
and slowly poured the hot water it held into the packet.
Fwoosh.
The aggressive aroma so familiar to modern people filled the cave.
"Gulp...."
Yerin and I clamped our mouths shut at the same time.
This was insane.
The smell was downright violent.
To think a single pack of ramen could make me feel like this.
Yerin looked like she'd just received a divine revelation.
"...It's still not done, right?"
"It's been ten seconds since I poured the water in."
"...."
I folded the opening over so the heat wouldn't escape, then propped it against a stone near the fire pit.
"Now we just wait a little."
"I've never had waiting for ramen feel this long before...."
Yerin stared at the ramen packet with an overwhelmed look on her face.
The slight moisture around her eyes was probably just my imagination.
No way a girl streamer with 300,000 subscribers would cry just because she wanted ramen.
Yerin bounced on her toes as she stared at the ramen packet propped by the fire and said,
"Seriously, before coming to this deserted island, I never touched ramen."
"Why not?"
"Because I was dieting and only eating salad."
She deliberately ate nothing but greens?
There was so much delicious food in the world.
That was like throwing away half your life.
"Yerin, that's silly."
"What?"
"You've got money, so why were you eating nothing but leaves?"
Yerin stuck her lower lip out as if it were unfair.
"For girl streamers, keeping yourself in shape is mandatory."
"Do you really have to go that far?"
"On camera, people's faces look twice as big, you know? I can't help it."
So that's the kind of hardship they deal with.
Well.
Even skinny celebrities get branded pigs if someone captures them from the wrong angle.
Girl streamers were probably the same.
Yerin let out a deep sigh, then stared blankly at the glow of the fire pit.
"But."
"Yes?"
"Now that I've lived here, I get it."
Then she spoke with an extremely serious face.
"People don't eat to live."
"...?"
"They live to eat."
She looked solemn, like she'd just made some grave decision.
"From now on, I'm done with dieting."
"Then you'll gain weight."
"Hmph. Then I'll just work out that much more, okay? And I'm really skinny."
Hmm... objectively speaking, she was skinny.
She was almost at the level of bare bones, so I had a hard time understanding why she'd even been dieting.
"You are skinny."
Yerin nodded, satisfied by my answer, then suddenly looked down at her chest.
"Except for this."
Shrug.
She wore an incredibly smug expression.
I looked at her, nonplussed.
"Why are you bragging about that to me?"
"Why else would I?"
"......?"
"You're jealous, right?"
Seriously.
So what if her chest was big?
I wasn't jealous at all.
"Yerin."
"What."
"Breasts don't help you survive at all. If anything, they're bulky and awkward when you move."
"What?!"
The moment Yerin heard that, shock flooded her face. Then she shrieked at the top of her lungs.
"No they aren't?!"
"They're less useful than a knife."
"Who in the world compares a knife to boobs?!"
"A knife can cut bamboo."
"Aaaagh!! I told you, you're seriously weird."
But honestly, wasn't I right?
If your chest is big, it's uncomfortable when you move, and people keep staring.
Of course, from a girl streamer's point of view, it'd be a huge asset.
While we were bickering like that, the familiar smell from the ramen packet propped near the fire pit started spreading more strongly.
Our eyes met at the same time.
"It should be ready, right?"
"Yep."
"Let's eat!"
Like wild beasts with prey in front of us, we hurriedly opened the ramen packet.
Fwoosh.
Along with the curling steam,
yellow, perfectly cooked noodles revealed themselves.
...Ah!
This was the very embodiment of advanced modern civilization.
The product of countless masters, PhDs, and researchers wracking their brains.
Yerin went first, using chopsticks she'd made by shaving down twigs, her hands trembling as she lifted the noodles.
The hot steam was hitting her straight in the face, but she didn't seem to care at all.
Sluuurp!
Yerin's eyes went wide, like a giant sinkhole had opened in them.
"...Uheung!!"
Then she let out a bizarre noise.
"This is so freaking amazing...!"
"...."
"This is the kind of taste I'll remember for the rest of my life. That's how good it is."
Her eyes had gone completely slack, like she'd taken drugs.
Was this really the same person who'd just been talking about being a girl streamer and dieting?
Yerin frantically shoveled noodles into her mouth.
"Wow, this is insane."
Slurp.
"No, how can"
Slurp.
"ramen"
Slurp.
"be this good?"
I stared blankly at Yerin vacuuming up the noodles like a human vacuum cleaner, then cautiously picked up some noodles myself and took a huge bite.
"......!!!"
Delicious!!!
The intensely salty, spicy broth and the chewy noodles.
The massive jolt of MSG I hadn't tasted in ages hammered away at my mouth.
All kinds of seasonings danced on my tongue,
and the water, infused with bamboo's crisp fragrance, brought out the ramen's flavor even more.
Ahh, so this was the taste of heaven.
"...Wow."
An awed sigh was all that escaped me.
It was unbelievably good.
It had always been tasty when I cooked it at home, but never like this.
Eating it after suffering on a deserted island made it feel completely different.
'The person who invented ramen deserves a Nobel Prize.'
That's the kind of reverence it inspired.
Yerin was already sipping the broth too, completely beside herself.
"Rils."
"Yes?"
"From now on, I'm never disrespecting Ramen-nim again."
"...Ramen-nim?"
"Yep. Ramen-nim."
Yerin nodded with a deeply sincere face as she spoke.
"Ramen is the greatest invention humanity has ever made."
@
[Our queen's getting it on]
Posted by: RilsFan
(GIF of Rils's party scarfing down ramen)
I couldn't take it anymore, so I started filling a pot with water too
ㄴHoly shit lol, you too?
ㄴFuck, I'm out of ramen at home. Heading to the convenience store
ㄴMan, now I'm craving ramen like crazy
ㄴWhy does our queen's mukbang look so damn good
ㄴMaybe it's because they starved first, but they're eating like crazy lol
ㄴYerin's reaction is so damn funny, going "Uheung!" and all that
ㄴSeeing her on the verge of dying happy over one pack of ramen is weirdly heartbreaking
ㄴNo but seriously, just watching this is making my mouth water
ㄴThe vibes are insane
ㄴThis is the power of MSG, you cavepeople!
ㄴIf you're Korean, there's no way you can resist this lol
ㄴI'm boiling X Ramyun right now
ㄴI'm going with X Ramyun
ㄴX Ramyun it is
ㄴXX Ramyun, let's go
ㄴAll of you get your asses over to the ramen board, damn it
[I ate all the ramen at home, so I came to the convenience store]
Posted by: Nongnongnongnongnong
(Image of a convenience store packed with people)
Why is the line so long?
Everyone's buying ramen while watching the stream on their phones
ㄴI came to the convenience store too, and X Ramyun is sold out. Fuck
ㄴWhat is this influence? Holy shit lol
ㄴRamen companies hit the jackpot;; this is free viral marketing
ㄴIf they had any conscience, they'd pay for an ad
ㄴBut don't ramen commercials only go to top-tier celebrities?
ㄴYou think our queen's a joke? Don't compare her to those celebrity hacks
ㄴYou crazy bitch, stop making the fandom look bad
@
Inside the cruise ship studio.
The giant monitors were still broadcasting Rils's party.
Grrrrrrowl.
A hungry stomach rumbled from somewhere.
It wasn't just one person.
The cameramen, the PDs, Mystery Rich's friends.
Even the survival expert.
Everyone's expressions were subtly wavering.
The reason was simple.
"...Wow."
"That looks seriously delicious."
"My mouth is watering."
Because on the monitors, Rils and Yerin were eating ramen way too deliciously.
Slurp.
Even the way they were sipping the broth was pure food porn.
"Uheung~ this is so freaking amazing...."
The final blow was Yerin's ridiculously satisfying reaction.
In the end, one staff member swallowed hard and muttered,
"...I want ramen."
"Me too."
"Ah, shit, I'm suddenly starving."
Watching the scene, Mystery Rich let out a quiet chuckle.
"Come to think of it, we're getting hungry too. Want to make some ramen?"
With that, the mood in the studio instantly brightened.
"Oh."
"Sounds good!"
"Do we have eggs?"
"Kimchi too!"
In the middle of the live broadcast, a ramen party started up on one side of the studio.
Someone put water on the burner, someone tore open ramen packets, and someone else even stuck instant rice in the microwave.
And through it all, on the monitors, Rils kept sipping broth.
Mystery Rich turned to the survival expert.
"It looks like Rils really has no intention of using the API."
"Seriously. I never imagined she'd buy a knife by selling information about a water source."
The survival expert continued, clearly impressed.
"She's remarkable."
"...."
"I can see why Rils is so popular."
Mystery Rich arched a brow in amusement.
"Have you fallen for Rils too, Expert?"
"...."
"Lately my staff have been hounding me to get them even a single autograph from Rils."
In fact, the group chat profiles for the staff were already plastered with Rils.
The survival expert cleared his throat and trailed off.
"Uh... as a commentator, I have to stay neutral, so I'll refrain from saying more."
Judging by his expression, though, he was already nowhere near neutral.
A little while later.
One by one, the pots of bubbling ramen were finished.
Everyone grabbed their chopsticks and started scarfing it down.
"Wow."
"This is insane."
"It tastes even better while watching the broadcast."
Everyone was busily eating ramen when,
the survival expert suddenly spoke up, cautiously.
"...Excuse me."
"Yes?"
"Rils is an unaffiliated independent streamer, right?"
At that, Mystery Rich's ever-smiling face stiffened for a moment.
It was only for an instant, so brief that no one noticed.
But the atmosphere turned faintly cold.
Still, he immediately put that affable smile back on and said,
"Yes. Well."
"...."
"That's right."
The survival expert carefully continued.
"I was thinking it'd be nice if I could do some collaboration with Rils as well—"
At that moment.
Mystery Rich cut him off and lightly gestured at him with his chopsticks, smiling all the while.
"First."
Then, in a very gentle voice, he said,
"You should eat before it gets soggy."
"...."