Haejin and Soorin move with practiced efficiency.
Rice flour, water, salt, a touch of sugar. The dough needs to be steamed first, then kneaded.
While the rice flour steams, they prepare the coloring. Mugwort for green. Beetroot for pink. Some will stay white. And the filling—sesame seeds toasted and ground with honey.
The scent of toasting sesame fills their station. Nutty and warm. "That smells amazing," Jisoo calls from the next station.
"Thanks," Soorin replies without looking up. Focus on the work. Just the work.
At Team 1's station, disaster strikes immediately. Doyun misreads "teaspoon" as "tablespoon" for the salt.
"Wait—" Taekyung starts. Too late. Doyun dumps a tablespoon of salt into the dough.
Taekyung tastes it. His face does something complicated. "This tastes like the sea."
"Is that bad?"
"Yes, Doyun! That's very bad!"
"Sea cookies could be a thing—"
"They're not a thing. We're starting over."
"But we just—"
"Starting. Over."
