Chapter 1: This Marriage Must End
How wonderful it would be if all of this were just a dream.
“An owner-chef who runs a small but beloved restaurant.”
“The only family and precious daughter of Madam Song Eun Hwa.”
“An ordinary citizen simply living each day diligently.”
Ryu Seol-young.
These modest truths that once described her life had, at some point, begun to twist, crumble, and collapse.
As if struck by an invisible bomb. Like dominoes falling slowly and one by one.
The beginning of her misfortune was when her mother, Eun-hwa, suddenly collapsed from acute liver failure and was told she had only a short time left to live.
“Thanks to Doseok, your mom has a chance to live now. Where would we find someone as kind as him, hmm?”
“Marry Doseok. That’s the only wish your mom has before she dies.”
Doseok, whom Seol-young had known as her friend’s older brother, appeared wearing the mask of a savior. When he said he was willing to donate part of his liver, she agreed to marry him.
But afterward, he took that mask off without hesitation.
“Hey, you didn’t go around telling people we’re married, right?”
“My acting career is finally about to take off. You can’t become a stumbling block. Besides, you don’t even sleep with me, so you can’t really call yourself my wife anyway!”
Before she realized it, Seol-young had become his servant and burden—nothing more than a wife in name.
The promised liver donation never happened, of course.
Yes. She should never have married him.
That marriage with Pan Doseok had opened the floodgates of her misery.
The property had started draining.
The huge loans taken out secretly in her name.
Her restaurant is on the verge of ruin because of vicious rumors.
While Seol-young sank deeper into misfortune for nearly half a year, Doseok—once an unknown actor—rose rapidly to stardom.
Now his face even appeared on giant billboards in the middle of Gangnam.
Is that… what I think it is?
The large screen seemed to be showing the program Doseok had bragged about endlessly.
The show he had appeared in, where chefs, celebrities, and ordinary people paired up to compete in cooking battles.
A fusion survival show combining cooking and romance that had already attracted massive attention.
Seol-young had received an invitation to appear on it herself, but she had declined because of her marriage and her mother’s care.
She knew Doseok was on it, but between the hospital and the restaurant crises, she hadn’t had the time to watch him.
Yet now—
The program was being promoted with captions like
“Global TOP1!”
“The birth of a full-scale cooking + romance program!”
The main star was Pan Doseok.
It seemed he really had become famous, just as he had confidently claimed.
As Seol-young stared blankly at the billboard, the color slowly drained from her face.
Then she froze completely.
The camera had zoomed in on a brightly colored dish—something Doseok claimed he had developed himself.
“That… that’s….”
That’s my vegan steak.
It was a seasonal menu she had carefully designed for the coming summer but had never released. One of her proudest creations.
From the color balance of the ingredients to the plating, it was identical.
The vegan steak that should exist only in Seol-young’s mind and in her secret recipe notebook was now on the screen—held in Doseok’s hand as he smiled brightly.
Soon, a caption appeared.
[Actor Pan Doseok Re-Discovered—His “Life Recipe” Secures His Future as a Global Star!]
[Who will be the final winner of Couple Chef? Revealed tonight!]
No way.
A terrible thought crossed her mind.
Seol-young immediately ran home like a madwoman.
She had to check her recipe notebook.
But just as she feared, the drawer where she kept it was empty.
“…Ha.”
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor.
Doseok had been a nobody actor before.
Even if the program were well produced, he could never have become this popular without genuine ability.
They had only been married a short time, but he had never even poured himself a glass of water.
So how could someone like him stand out on a cooking show?
The answer was obvious.
He stole it. My recipe notebook.
Seol-young immediately binge-watched.
She watched every episode. Then she watched them again.
Now she understood.
Why Pan Doseok had taken out huge loans in her name, ruined her restaurant with carefully timed rumors, and stolen her recipes.
“So you wanted to take everything I had. That’s why you appeared on the show—to turn your life around.”
In every competition, he produced brilliant ideas that defeated his opponents.
People adored him—the perfect dark horse, the symbol of dramatic comebacks.
Of course, his success wasn’t only due to Seol-young’s recipes.
It was also thanks to his partner, Chef Kwon Bo-yoon.
Bo-yoon became Doseok’s hands and feet, supporting him whenever his skills fell short.
Her weakness was creativity—she could only cook dishes that already existed.
Doseok filled that gap with dazzling ideas and recipes.
Doseok was the brain.
Bo-yoon was the hands.
They perfectly complemented each other.
They trusted, relied on, and respected each other—and sometimes their subtle fluttering feelings for one another showed through.
They were talented, visually perfect together, and incredibly good at their jobs.
Their chemistry was so strong that many viewers wondered if they were actually dating.
Like the sharp kick of spice in a dish, that chemistry became a major reason for Doseok’s popularity.
Then a notification popped up.
The final episode had been uploaded.
[Couple Chef Episode 10 – The Hellish Final]
There were no surprises.
In the end, the two of them won.
They embraced and cheered as they claimed the championship title.
Doseok gently wiped away Bo-yoon’s tears as she cried with emotion, looking like the most affectionate man in the world.
At that moment, Seol-young suddenly laughed.
A hollow laugh.
“Ha… Bo-yoon. Kwon Bo-yoon….”
In truth, Bo-yoon had been one of Seol-young’s middle school friends.
Although they had drifted apart after graduation, Seol-young had always felt some closeness because they were both in the culinary field.
“That recipe… it’s mine. Pan Doseok stole it from me, Bo-yoon….”
On the screen, Bo-yoon was smiling as if she owned the entire world.
Seol-young felt utterly dumbfounded.
Her friend had just won, yet she couldn’t feel happy at all.
It was unfair.
It hurt.
Time passed.
Eventually, Seol-young’s face lost all expression.
Only one thing remained that she had to do.
“…This marriage has to end.”
Even if it were already too late.
It had to end.
“And I will get my recipes back.”
Seol-young pushed herself up to her feet.
* * *
At that very moment, Doseok was hiding from Seol-young at his younger sister Doran’s house—the place where he used to live before marriage.
He sprawled lazily across the sofa, staring intently at the TV.
His face looked as if he owned the entire world, repeatedly admiring how handsome he looked on screen.
He already knew he had won, but he hadn’t expected the broadcast to make him look this good.
Even his slightly lacking looks as an actor seemed to have improved.
Fans said his warm, cute appearance made him look like the perfect boyfriend.
His clumsy cooking skills were portrayed as charming and human.
Meanwhile, his innovative cooking ideas were framed as the surprising brilliance of a hidden genius.
—Still obsessed with our Pan-baby today
—Chef Pan!! Please shoot a romance movie!!
Watching the flood of live comments, he grinned widely.
Between endless self-praise, he muttered to himself.
“I really am a genius… They told me to pick Ryu Seol-young at the Bliss Shop, but nobody told me how to use her. But look what I did. I squeezed every last drop out of that bitch.”
Everything—from appearing on Couple Chef to winning it.
Doseok felt unbearably proud of himself.
“And partnering with Kwon Bo-yoon? That was a god-level move. Hahaha.”
Just then, his phone rang.
It was her.
Kwon Bo-yoon—the partner who devoted herself to him in cooking and in bed.
Doseok answered with a sly grin.
“Yeah.”
—Oppa, you watched the broadcast, right? It’s amazing. It’s all thanks to you.
“Heh, is that so?”
—But… Seol-young keeps calling me. It’s getting uncomfortable.
“Why would she call you?”
—Well… The gnocchi we made in the finals was similar to the signature dish at Seol-young’s restaurant. I think that’s why. But you told me not to answer her calls, so I can’t… but ignoring her completely makes me feel guilty.
“Baby. Just listen to me. Everything worked out perfectly because you listened to me, right?”
—I guess so, but…
At that moment, Doseok suddenly turned his head.
Seol-young was standing inside the house.
“Shit.”
She had entered without a sound.
Her large eyes burned with resentment and rage.
Doseok flinched.
How much did she hear?
Did she hear… What about the part about the Bliss Shop too?
