"Found another reason to hate Mondays," Dravin grumbled.
The radio news reported a truck accident at an intersection near TipTop Tower that had killed three pedestrians.
That intersection was the source of the traffic, and that very tower was his destination.
He looked at his watch.
Should I just walk and leave the car? They usually do this in movies.
Dravin shook his head. He had just bought the new edition car last month.
No, I’m not crazy enough. I’ll just be late then.
Forty minutes later, he arrived at TipTop Tower and hurried to the event hall.
"Chef, you almost missed your award. Please stand by backstage. I don’t think you have ti to change clothes." The staff mber said.
"Worry not. Your ratings will skyrocket today because I will cook wearing a suit." Dravin winked, and the female staff imdiately flushed.
"Y–yes, Chef, won will go crazy for sure."
Her voice faded as he headed to his waiting room. He figured he could get more endorsents from this clothing brand if he got it more screen ti.
Dravin entered his waiting room filled with nagging from his manager.
He had only five minutes before receiving the award and performing a live cooking demo.
Seconds later, the stage staff called his na.
Before leaving the waiting room, he saw the envious glances from the staff towards him.
Yeah, he was used to all kinds of gazes for the past three years since his na beca known as a "chefluencer."
n envied him, and won were srized by him.
Who would have thought that a global pandemic, which cost him his job as a chef at a five-star hotel, would turn him into a content creator?
From behind the curtain, Dravin saw how flashy and grand the stage was. He smiled widely as he saw the cooking table set on the stage.
"And, the Most Popular Cooking Content Creator in the TipTop Award goes to..." The host’s voice bood. Dravin’s heart beat faster.
"Congratulations, Chef Dravin Connor. Please let us welco him on the stage!"
Dravin stepped onto the stage, accompanied by triumphant music and thunderous applause.
He walked toward the host and proudly accepted his award trophy. The host then asked him to give a speech.
"Thank you... thank you..." He began with a portable mic on his jaw, trying to calm the audience and take control.
All eyes were on him. His palms felt damp.
Being confident in front of a cara was different from being directly in front of an audience.
"Well, let take off this jacket first."
A swooning scream erupted from the mostly female audience.
The screams grew louder as Dravin rolled the sleeves of his sky-blue shirt to his elbows, showing the firm veins in his arms.
"I know... I know... I got caught in a traffic jam, so I couldn’t wear the chef’s uniform. But isn’t this view better?"
"YEAH! A LOT BETTER. YOU CAN TAKE OFF MORE!" A loud shout made the entire hall burst into laughter.
Dravin stepped forward, approaching the cooking table.
He frowned slightly, disappointed with the brand of the induction stove. That brand had so many product issues.
"Many of you can guess what I’ll cook here, right? Yeah, my first cooking video, that viral fried Oreo, the dish I made for my sister. She was craving sothing sweet and fried at the sa ti when she was on her... well, sensitive days."
The audience gave a soft laugh in admiration as Dravin started to heat the stove and placed the deep-fry pan on it, pouring about four cups of cooking oil.
"Who would have thought her prank of filming making this snack right after waking up, with ssy hair and topless, would lead to standing on this stage? I thank her very much."
He started to mix the pancake batter while waiting for the oil to heat up.
"But more than that, I thank everyone who liked and shared that video. I thank all the people who were entertained by my cooking videos. For that, I will give this fried Oreo to those who have the topping powders under their chairs. Co on... find it and co here."
Dravin smiled as he watched the audience busy looking down.
"You’ll find cinnamon, coffee, matcha, red velvet, purple yam, and so other powders in small glass bottles. Bring them to to complete this dish."
The audience grew even more frantic, eager to find the treasure. So had already found it, cheering with joy.
Dravin felt a strange heat on his arm.
Why is this stove heating up so quickly? Is it because of the new induction technology this brand boasts? But...
Dravin shook his head and refocused. He set the mixing bowl aside and started to open the Oreos.
His lingering nervousness made him thirsty, and he asked a staff mber for a glass of water with ice cubes. Chewing on ice cubes could help reduce his nerves.
The audience mbers who had found their powder bottles began to climb onto the stage.
Dravin started dipping the Oreos into the batter and plunging them into the frying pan.
He winced as oil splattered a bit on his palm. It was too hot. He tried to reduce the temperature, even though it was already at the right temperature to cook.
"Chef, here is your ice water."
The voice of the staff mber made Dravin turn his head.
Suddenly, she stumbled and tripped.
Dravin froze as he watched the glass with the ice cubes fly from her hand.
Crashhh! Crack!
His legs trembled, refusing to move as cold water hit the hot glass surface of the induction stove.
No.
It was too late to move.
Craaackk! Blarrr!
The induction stove exploded, sending shards of glass flying and hitting Dravin.
"Aaarrgghh..."
Sharp, hot glass shredded his arm and face. A burning sensation stung every nerve as he collapsed in front of the stove.
His blurry vision caught sight of the deep-fry pan. It had lost its balance and, toppled towards his head, poured all of its contents.
The last thing Dravin heard was his own pain-filled scream.
Then, everything went black.
.
.
.
[Welco to Vitaronia]
[You just activated the NuLife Balance System]
[Let’s bring food to the table and catch the demons]
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