Chapter 103: Cooking Style (2)
Chapter 103: Cooking Style (2)
The day they were told the next mission would begin came two days after Anderson received the name Anduksam.
“Gather in the kitchen by five o’clock.” Kaya muttered with a gloomy expression as she watched the staff member who had delivered the message walk away. “In the end, one more person dies today.”
“Don’t say ‘dies’. It sounds horrible.”
“Fine. One person gets eliminated today.”
“…That alone is enough to ruin the mood.”
“Then what do you want me to say?”
“Just don’t say anything. There’s nothing good about thinking about it.”
“So weak. Face reality instead of running away from it.”
Jo Minjoon gave Kaya a sour look. She bared her white teeth in a grin, and somehow the smile looked even more mischievous than usual.
“I was imitating you. How was it?”
“I’ve realised I’m a really annoying bastard.”
“Good. Then it was a success.” Jo Minjoon looked at Kaya and held out his hand.
“How can you swear at me like that when today might be the last day we see each other?”
“…If you get eliminated, are you planning never to see me again?”
“No. Even if I get eliminated, that won’t be the end of me.”
“I know we’ll see each other again. I believe that. That’s why I can swear at you too.”
“…If you believe in me that much, then wish me luck instead of swearing at me.”
Instead of answering, Kaya smiled brightly. The closer they came to the end of the competition, the more nervous she ought to have become, yet she seemed brighter instead. Regardless of what they were talking about, perhaps that alone was proof of how much she had grown.
“If you survive today, I’ll do it. I’ll wish you luck.”
“And if Anderson survives?”
“I’ll curse him… and you.”
“…So Anderson gets cursed whether he gets eliminated or survives.”
“He just has one of those faces that makes you want to curse at him.” Kaya tilted her head.
The faint dimple beside her smile was absurdly cute. If a genie appeared before him right then, Jo Minjoon might have used a wish just to touch it.
Then the corners of Kaya’s mouth dropped, and naturally, the dimple disappeared as well. Jo Minjoon let out a small groan of regret. Kaya tilted her head again.
“What? Is there something on my face?”
“There was. A dimple.”
“I have dimples?”
“A small, faint one. It’s not very deep.”
Kaya switched on her phone and examined her reflection. She deliberately smiled, and only then did the dimples appear. She nodded in satisfaction. “As expected, even my dimples are pretty.”
“…You literally just found out you had them.”
They chatted idly for a while, and before long, the time reached 4:47.
Kaya stared silently at the clock. She had acted so confident before, but now Jo Minjoon raised one corner of his mouth.
“You’re nervous?”
“…No.”
“Then?”
“It’s just… unsettling. I keep wondering whether I’ll actually survive.” Kaya hugged her knees.
Jo Minjoon looked at her calmly. “There’s only one football player I like, one violinist and one singer. That’s the kind of person I am. Half of it is intentional, too. Well, you say it all the time, but my personality is a little unusual. And there’s only one chef I’m a fan of too. Kaya Lotus.”
“…Why me? I’m still nothing.”
“Because I know what kind of person you’ll become.”
Kaya stared into Jo Minjoon’s eyes without saying anything.
His words did not sound like something he had said merely to improve her mood. She had felt it before, but sometimes Jo Minjoon truly seemed as though he knew the future.
More precisely, Kaya’s future.
Otherwise, how could he believe in her so firmly when even she could not?
“…Can I trust it? Me believing in you, I mean.”
“You can. It’s a little strange saying this when we’re competitors, but you… you’re someone who makes me want to follow behind you, and at the same time, you’re a chef I want to walk beside. I admire you.”
Considering how calmly he said it, the content was extraordinarily bold.
Kaya’s ears turned red, and she quickly looked away. “…Sometimes you really sound like a player.”
“You know better than anyone that I’m not.”
“I don’t know. Forget it. Let’s go. There are three minutes left.” Kaya stood up.
Jo Minjoon felt a faint sense of regret. If one of them happened to be eliminated today, this might be the last time they were able to sit together and have such a peaceful conversation.
But that was not something he needed to think about yet.
When they went out into the hall, Anderson was already there.
They had expected him to become more sensitive as the mission approached, yet there was still a pillow crease on his cheek.
Kaya stared at him in disbelief. “I thought you’d finally developed some sense of tension after going inside looking so serious, but you were sleeping?”
“…It’s only natural to recover some stamina before a mission. Being around you obviously drains my mental energy.”
“Who are you calling a beagle?”
“You already look like one.”
Kaya glared sharply at Anderson before turning her head.
“Pour salt all over your cooking.”
“Then you pour pepper on yours.”
“…What are you two doing, acting like children?” Jo Minjoon sighed. Whenever he thought they had become more mature, they immediately behaved like this again. He cleared his throat. “Let’s stop fighting and do our best. Whoever it is, one of us is going to be eliminated today. So cook without regrets, and spend the time without regrets too.”
“…Fine.”
Anderson did not answer.
Jo Minjoon slapped him on the back and grinned. “Let’s go, Duksam.”
After finishing the preliminary interviews and entering the kitchen, they were met by a chill in the air.
Jo Minjoon looked around.
There was a curtain behind the three judges. Was there a cow or pig hidden behind it? But if so, he could not hear any animal sounds.
Kaya and Anderson took their places beside him, and Joseph spoke.
“You are now the final three. Congratulations. You’re only one step away from seeing all your efforts bear fruit.” Joseph paused. “Before we reveal the mission, I’ll give you a riddle. They are the customers you’re happiest to welcome, yet they’re also the most troublesome people to cook for. At the same time, they can be your toughest opponents. Anderson, who do you think they are?”
“I’m not sure. Children?”
“Children… understandable. But wrong. Minjoon?”
“Hmm… the elderly? There’s nothing more particular than their tastes.”
“But they wouldn’t necessarily be the customers you’re happiest to see. Fine. Kaya, what do you think?”
Kaya did not answer immediately. Whenever she encountered a riddle like this, she was the type who could not let it go until she had solved it. When the judges glanced at her, she finally answered without much confidence.
“Family…?”
The judges said nothing.
They only smiled broadly.
At that moment, Emily walked to the back and pulled away the curtain.
Kaya sucked in a breath.
Her eyes immediately reddened, then grew wet. Kaya twisted her face and covered it with both hands, but apparently regretting that she was hiding the sight before her, she quickly lowered them again and forced her eyes open.
Standing there was none other than her family.
And Kaya was not the only one.
Jo Minjoon stared ahead, his eyes trembling.
His mother, Lee Hyeseon, and his younger sister, Jo Ara, were standing there.
Perhaps because they were going to appear on television, they had both had their hair done and were wearing make-up. Yet despite being dressed up, their faces were filled with complicated emotions.
Joy. Frustration. Guilt. Pride.
There were too many to name individually.
Anderson, on the other hand, looked surprisingly calm. His expression seemed to say little more than, Oh, they came.
His parents were not much different. His father wore a relatively gentle expression, but his mother looked remarkably similar to Anderson himself.
Joseph glanced at all of them before calling out cheerfully. “Now, go hug your families!”
Jo Minjoon embraced Lee Hyeseon and Jo Ara.
In Korea, theirs was not the sort of family that hugged often. Months could pass without one. And given the cameras, the whole situation could easily have felt staged.
But right now, at least, Jo Minjoon could hug them sincerely.
His voice trembled. “How did you get here?”
“We got a call a few weeks ago. They asked whether, if you managed to survive until the top three, we’d be willing to come for a surprise visit… I half doubted you would make it, but in the end, you did. You’ve done well. Really well.”
“It was so hard not telling you. Anyway, it’s good seeing you after so long… Ah, why are you making that face? You’re giving me goosebumps. Don’t look like you’re about to cry.”
Jo Minjoon swallowed the urge to cry that had risen into his throat.
Before returning to the past, he knew how much his family had suffered because of his insistence on becoming a chef. That was why even these ordinary words of praise made him feel more indebted to them than ever.
“Father… is at work?”
“Yeah. He wanted to come, but he said things were too busy.”
“I see.”
Jo Minjoon lightly pinched Jo Ara’s cheek. He deliberately controlled his strength so it would not hurt, but Jo Ara still frowned.
“Ah, what are you doing? I’m going to be on TV. Stop treating me like a kid.”
“You are still a kid.”
“Forget it. Stop.”
Jo Minjoon smiled faintly and looked away.
Kaya was hugging her family, tears streaming down her cheeks.
His gaze settled on one of them.
Unlike Kaya, she had light brown hair bordering on blonde. Her forehead was drawn into an awkward expression, and her legs were positioned unnaturally apart. She had the characteristic appearance of someone living with cerebral palsy.
Was her name Gemma Lotus?
“See, Mum? I was right.”
At Jo Ara’s voice, Jo Minjoon turned back.
Jo Ara was staring at him with narrowed eyes, as though she already knew everything.
“You denied it so much… but look. It’s obvious even from watching the broadcast. Are you seriously saying there’s nothing going on?”
“Minjoon, I don’t particularly mind having a foreign daughter-in-law… but are you going to be all right?”
“…There’s nothing to be all right about because it’s not like that. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you.”
“The fact that you have to defend yourself that many times makes it sound even less believable. You always say it’s a misunderstanding.”
“Forget it. This is a cooking programme. We’re wearing microphones, so behave normally.”
Perhaps the heavens understood how Jo Minjoon felt, because at that moment the judges signalled them.
The three contestants had to return to their stations.
Joseph began speaking. “There’s no customer more particular than family. And there’s no customer more troublesome than family either. There are plenty of chefs whose husbands, wives, fathers or sons expect them to come home and cook after spending all day surrounded by heat and oil in a restaurant. And most chefs rarely live up to those expectations. Because even cooking at home can become mentally exhausting.”
He continued.
“At the same time, satisfying your family’s tastes isn’t easy. Compared with what you have available at a restaurant, both the quality and variety of ingredients in your home refrigerator are naturally limited. On top of that, your family is already accustomed to your cooking, which means they’re far more comfortable criticising your food. And naturally, that makes you lose the desire to cook for them again.”
For some reason, what the judges were saying did not sound like a simple explanation.
It sounded suspiciously like personal experience.
Hearing the faint resentment in their voices, Jo Minjoon smiled awkwardly. Off to one side, Anderson’s parents nodded and exchanged strange looks.
Emily spoke next.
“To put it simply, today’s theme is this: a high-class dish for your family. It needs to feel familiar and luxurious at the same time. You should understand how difficult that is. We don’t care what method you use. You can make an Asian meal, a full Western course, or even just a single dish. The choice is yours.”
“And…” Alan took over. “The thing you must keep foremost in mind is your family’s satisfaction. Of course, the final judgement will still be ours, but don’t forget who you’re cooking for. Even if you make something simple, put your skill and creativity into it. You’ll have two hours to cook, and thirty minutes to design your recipe. Your planning time begins now.”
Jo Minjoon simply stared at his family.
His heart pounded.
This was the first time he would show them his true self as a chef.
Then…
Then he had to show them.
He wanted them to see how far he had run, where he now stood…
…and what kind of chef he had become.