The three stations display very different results.
Team 1: A plate of chocolate chip cookies that are slightly misshapen but smell decent.
Team 2: A whole cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries, presentation slightly marred by the crack but otherwise respectable.
Team 3: Thirty perfect songpyeon arranged beautifully on a bamboo tray, looking almost too pretty to eat.
Judging time. Manager Park, Daehyun, and two senior staff members approach as judges.
They start with Team 1.
Manager Park takes a cookie. Bites. Chews. His expression is carefully neutral.
"Edible," he says finally. "That's... really the best compliment I can offer."
Daehyun tries one too. "They exist and you can eat them without harm."
Doyun and Taekyung accept this feedback with resignation.
"We worked hard on those cookies," Doyun says.
"We worked hard on three batches of cookies," Taekyung corrects.
"The first two don't count."
"They absolutely count."
"We should get points for perseverance."
