Chapter 110: Reunion in Front of the Door (2)
Chapter 110: Reunion in Front of the Door (2)
“The method is simple. First, all of you will secretly vote for whichever contestant you want to support, Kaya or Anderson. Whoever receives more votes will have the first choice of teammates. However, anyone who is chosen has the right to refuse, unless they’re the last person remaining.”
“…Isn’t that basically a popularity vote? This is still the final.” The strange voice belonged to Hugo.
At his remark, Joseph smiled broadly. “That’s right. A popularity vote. And that popularity will reflect how they treated the people they’ve spent the past few months with. Character, charisma and skill are all important qualities for a chef. That’s what this mission is about.”
Joseph looked at each of them in turn. “This is the final. If we were simply comparing individual cooking ability, a team format would be inefficient. The results could vary greatly depending on the abilities of the team members. Even so, we chose a team battle because, ultimately, every restaurant works this way. Imagine two head chefs. One cooks extremely well but can’t lead a kitchen. The other isn’t quite as good a cook, but leads the kitchen effectively. Which restaurant do you think would serve better food?”
“…The latter, right?”
“Exactly. Individual ability is obviously important. But realistically, the most important quality is the ability to lead a kitchen. Whoever wins this competition won’t simply be responsible for one station. They’ll act as the head chef overseeing the entire kitchen. They’ll become the Grand Chef. Just as a performer needs talent, a director needs the ability to direct.”
Silence settled over the room.
Jo Minjoon quietly looked at Kaya and Anderson.
How well would the two of them demonstrate their qualities as head chefs?
Has Kaya grown even more?
She was certainly different from when they had first met, but he still worried that she might cause trouble. He had no particular concerns about Anderson. Anderson might be unpleasant at times, but he was an adult who always fulfilled his responsibilities properly.
The voting began.
There was nothing surprising about the name Jo Minjoon wrote on his slip of paper.
Kaya.
Even though he had grown closer to Anderson, it was nowhere near the bond he shared with Kaya. More importantly, his admiration for Kaya had always run deep.
Who’ll win?
He was not thinking about the competition itself, but the vote.
Jo Minjoon suspected Anderson would win. They were both sharp-tongued, but if one compared the intensity of it, Kaya was unquestionably worse.
Everyone watched the votes being revealed with curious eyes.
Two votes for Kaya.
Three for Anderson.
One more for Kaya.
And then…
Two more for Anderson.
Five to three.
Anderson won.
Kaya pursed her lips, visibly disappointed.
Emily smiled.
“Good. Anderson has the first choice. Who are you thinking of selecting? Remember, however, that the person you choose can refuse. Which means… if there’s someone you’re certain will join your team, it may be better to leave them until later.”
Anderson silently examined the others.
Taking cooking ability, personality, style and everything else into account, the person he wanted most was Jo Minjoon.
Chloe leaned more towards Asian cuisine than Western cuisine, while Jo Minjoon was well balanced overall.
There’s no way that fanboy will come to me.
Even now, Jo Minjoon kept glancing towards Kaya.
In that case, there were not many options left.
Marco and Sasha would both be useful for desserts, but there was little point choosing one immediately. Kaya was unlikely to take both of them, considering the efficiency of her team composition.
“Chloe. Help me.” In the end, Anderson chose Chloe.
Although her culinary tendencies were somewhat different from his own, her fundamentals were unquestionably strong.
Chloe bit her lip. She hesitated. She had been one of the people who voted for Kaya.
Just as with Jo Minjoon, Chloe was closer to Kaya than she was to Anderson. She could still clearly remember Kaya trembling before a mission, wondering whether they would continue seeing each other after the competition ended. Kaya felt like both a friend and a younger sister to her.
But Chloe could not simply reject Anderson without hesitation either. She remembered what he had done for her. On the day she was eliminated, Anderson had pretended to receive a phone call that had never come, giving her time alone with Jo Minjoon. Remembering that made her feel guilty about coldly turning him down.
Chloe was fundamentally gentle. Sometimes, she was so unwilling to act selfishly on her own feelings that she almost seemed foolish.
However—
“I’m sorry. This time, I want to stay beside Kaya.” Chloe declined.
She felt bad for Anderson, but she wanted to change too.
She wanted to do what she wanted to do and say what she wanted to say. If she continued taking those steps one by one, perhaps one day she would have changed so much that she would barely remember the person she used to be.
In the end, Anderson chose Hugo next.
Kaya chose Joanne.
There was no need for Kaya to call Jo Minjoon or Chloe yet. Either of them would join her whenever she asked. In truth, she hardly even needed to ask.
Anderson chose Sasha next, and Kaya selected Marco.
Olivia and Ivanna joined Anderson’s team.
That left Chloe and Jo Minjoon on Kaya’s.
“The teams have been decided. From now on, you’ll practise, and then practise some more. Think of the five of you as running a restaurant together.” Joseph continued. “It won’t be a comfortable environment. There’s a saying that the kitchen is the smallest country in the world. There will be plenty of things you agree on and plenty that turn out differently from what you expected. Most of all, the hardest part will be controlling yourselves. You’ve all experienced that plenty of times already, so you should understand.”
He looked over them. “But the final mission will put you under more pressure than usual. It will be broadcast live, and every customer will be a renowned chef. You’d better prepare yourselves mentally.”
Joseph stopped there and signalled to Martin.
Martin spoke. “Cut!”
“…Watermelon gazpacho, langoustine with buttermilk purée and carrot purée as garnish, seared pumpkin with tortellini, artichoke carpaccio with turkey scaloppine, and tarte Tatin with sorbet for dessert…” Jo Minjoon organised the recipes and their sequence in his head.
(Translator’s Note: Gazpacho — A cold soup originating in Andalusia in southern Spain. Modern versions are most commonly associated with raw vegetables, particularly tomatoes, although numerous fruit-based variations exist.)
(Translator’s Note:Tortellini— Small ring-shaped stuffed pasta traditionally associated with Emilia-Romagna, especially Bologna and Modena. Recipes resembling modern tortellini are documented from at least the seventeenth century.)
(Translator’s Note:Carpaccio — An Italian dish traditionally made of thinly sliced raw meat or fish, often beef, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice or other dressings. Originating in Italy in the 1950s, it is served as an appetizer.)
Then he smiled.
The average individual scores and overall composition score were both excellent and sophisticated.
But that was not what made him smile.
It was because he could still feel the philosophy Kaya had spoken about before reflected in the menu.
“You said you wanted to create a restaurant people could visit comfortably without having to think twice. Even this menu shows that.”
“…You still remember that? How embarrassing.” Kaya blushed and scratched her neck before glancing at him. “Do you think it’ll be all right?”
“You’ve thought it through carefully. Of course it’ll be fine.”
“Then good.”
“How are you planning to divide the roles?” Chloe asked.
Kaya rested her chin on her interlaced fingers and hummed thoughtfully.
“Hmm. I think everyone should start with the recipes that suit their strongest areas. They said we can do the preliminary preparation beforehand… but even then, we’ll probably need someone free to help wherever things get backed up.”
“Why don’t we work it out while practising?”
“Let’s talk first. We can organise our thoughts and relieve some stress at the same time. So, how have all of you been? Minjoon, I heard you travelled.”
“Even if you call it travelling, everywhere feels more or less the same.”
“I want to travel later too. I’ve never travelled.”
“I’ve heard you say that quite a few times now. You’ll be able to soon. You’re going to become famous. No, you already are. It won’t only be places in the US. Won’t people from all over the world start inviting you?”
At Jo Minjoon’s words, Kaya unconsciously smiled brightly, then hurriedly forced the corners of her mouth back down.
“I’m not that drunk on my dreams.”
“I know. So stop looking so serious.”
“…Marco. What are you doing these days?”
“Uh… well…” Marco hesitated.
It was not because he had nothing to say. Rather, he wanted to say it so badly that the words would not come easily.
Eventually, a smile spread across his large face. “Actually, I think I might be taking charge of a café. I obviously won’t own it, but I’ll be working there as both the chef and pâtissier. It’s newly opened, so it isn’t famous or anything, but… it’ll be the first place I’ve ever been responsible for.”
“…You’re going to be running a café?” Joanne stared at Marco in surprise.
At that moment, a voice came from behind them.
“Who’s going to be doing what?” Anderson approached.
More precisely, Anderson and his entire team approached together.
Joanne immediately spoke sternly. “Don’t spy on us.”
“Would spying even mean anything in this mission?”
“…Now that I think about it, no.”
“Tch. So what were you talking about? Marco became a head chef?”
At Anderson’s question, Marco hurriedly shook his head. “Calling me a head chef is too much… I’ll just be the chef at a neighbourhood café.”
“That’s impressive. Getting that far already.”
“…You’re really not the person who should be saying that.” Jo Minjoon gave a strained laugh.
Anderson frowned.
“What about me?”
“You made it to the final. Do you have any idea how much that’s worth?”
“If I don’t win, I’ll end up the same as you.”
“Why are you suddenly so lacking in confidence? Normally, you’d be saying you were obviously going to win.”
Anderson did not answer.
Jo Minjoon looked over Anderson’s teammates.
Hugo, Ivanna, Olivia and Sasha.
There was one noticeable difference from before.
Hugo had improved.
Of course, Jo Minjoon knew that for a very simple reason. The system told him so.
Hugo’s cooking level was now seven.
Even so, Kaya’s team had considerably greater potential.
Of course, judging the strength of an entire team purely by numerical values was as meaningless as evaluating football players and teams entirely through statistics.
But numbers were still one basic point of reference.
By the system’s standards, Kaya’s team should not lose.
I won’t let her lose.
Whatever happened, he would not allow himself to become an unexpected variable in this final.
After saying a few more things, Anderson left with his team. They had their own matters to discuss.
Jo Minjoon closed his eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again.
Chloe glanced at him. “Are you tired?”
“No. My eyes were just tired for a moment.”
“Should I make you some tea? I’ve been practising lately.”
“No, it’s fine. By the time you go all the way down to the kitchen and come back up here…”
“…You still have the scar.”
At Chloe’s words, Kaya looked away.
Jo Minjoon briefly touched his neck. “Well, it’s an honourable scar.”
“I looked into it, and apparently there are tattoos designed to cover scars. Have you ever thought about getting one?”
“I don’t know. If it really looks that ugly, maybe I should… Is it that ugly?”
“No.” Chloe answered immediately. Then she gave him an awkward smile. “It looks cool. It’s a scar you got saving someone. Who could say that isn’t cool? And it’s not that noticeable. It just looks a little like a mark.”
“A mark…”
“Anyway, it’s fine. But don’t get hurt anymore. If you get another scar, I really might start saying you look ugly.”
Why did the concern in her slightly nasal voice sound so endearing?
Of course, it was not as though her nose was actually running. That was simply how her voice normally sounded.
Jo Minjoon smiled softly. He was grateful that even after rejecting her confession, they could still maintain this warm relationship.
“I’m always grateful. And sorry.”
“It’s fine to be grateful, but don’t be sorry. If someone feels sorry because of me, then I start feeling sorry towards them too.”
“Understood.”
Silence settled between them for a moment. No, not merely between the two of them. All five had fallen silent. Perhaps there was nothing left to say. Or perhaps there were too many things that were difficult to say.
Joanne finally broke the silence. “Should we do what we always used to do?”
“…Bad-mouth Anderson behind his back?” Kaya asked instinctively.
Joanne giggled and shook her head. “That sounds good too, but instead of letting things out of our mouths, let’s put something into them.” Joanne shaped her hands like a beak and brought them towards her mouth. “Let’s eat.”