Chapter 128: Florence's Dawn (1)
Chapter 128: Florence's Dawn (1)
Doing something out of goodwill did not always produce good results.
And just like that, the dish Rachel had poured all her effort into for the king ended up creating an unexpected bad……no, rather, a slightly strange situation.
Jeremy was exactly as he had always been.
Perhaps his standards had risen instantly after eating Rachel’s beef ribs, because he began criticising every restaurant they visited.
“You only managed to make the smell seep in. The flavour itself doesn’t come through properly at all. I told you to cook, not commit fraud.”
As an food critic, he was entitled to make that sort of judgement.
What made things complicated was not that he muttered those comments to himself, but that he said them directly to the chefs.
If he had at least spoken in English, perhaps the chefs would not have understood.
But Jeremy searched through a Thai dictionary and complained with astonishing sincerity.
Perhaps the grudges of those people truly reached the heavens.
On the day before they were supposed to leave Thailand, a sound like the sky tearing apart rang through the clouds, and rain began pouring as though it had exploded from above.
In the end, their flight was delayed.
The staff and participants were all forced to remain in the airport waiting area.
Sitting on a chair that was far from comfortable, Jo Minjoon organised the dishes he had eaten in Thailand in a palm-sized notebook.
And the notebook did not contain only what he had eaten in Thailand.
There were dishes from Brazil, recipes and tips from his time on Grand Chef, and notes about the characteristics of different national cuisines.
For example, he had written down preferred spices used in Indian dishes that combined fruit and chilli, excluding those containing dairy products.
He had been genuinely bewildered when he first heard about it.
Fruit and chilli.
Because of the food culture he had grown up with, it was not a combination he could easily imagine.
Sera glanced at Jo Minjoon’s notebook and looked impressed.
“You’re really meticulous.”
“I decided to become a chef. There’s only one path I intend to walk, so I should at least walk it properly.”
“……A man who works hard. How cool. Minjoon, keep that attitude. You look really sexy.”
“Isn’t that sexual harassment?”
“What a woman as charming as me does isn’t harassment. It’s seduction.”
Sera said that and blew him a kiss.
The way Jo Minjoon immediately lowered his head struck her as rather cute.
Emily tugged Sera away and sighed.
“Stop bothering an innocent person.”
“You’re lecturing me again. I’m not a child anymore.”
Jo Minjoon simply watched the two of them.
There was one thing he had realised while spending time with them.
Sera was strangely conscious of Emily.
At first, it had seemed as though Emily was being thrown off balance by Sera’s blunt personality.
But as time passed, it began to feel more like Emily was looking after a spoiled niece.
Sera herself was strange too.
Perhaps she was like a younger sister who admired her older sister while pretending she did not.
And their age difference certainly fit that image.
Sera was twenty-four.
Emily was thirty-one.
“Hey. Look at this.”
Anderson called Jo Minjoon over and pointed at his phone.
Jo Minjoon leaned closer, then smirked.
“Looks like she’s doing well.”
It was a picture of Chloe.
She was wearing a chicken costume and cooking for children.
Since she had continued appearing on a five-minute recipe programme, it seemed other broadcasts had started inviting her as well.
Perhaps it was partly because she was surrounded by children, but seeing her face blooming with a smile made Jo Minjoon feel good.
Anderson scrolled through more pictures, showing Marco, Hugo, and the others.
“Aren’t you thinking about starting Starbook?”
“I’ve never really thought about it.”
“You don’t lose anything by using it. Improving your image is important for chefs too.”
“……I thought you’d be rather conservative about things like that, but you’re surprisingly open-minded.”
“I’m realistic. If something helps, I’ll use it. Food tastes better when people already know who I am and are looking forward to eating it. So why wouldn’t I?”
“If you tell me to find a reason, it’s not like there isn’t one. You know about blind tastings. Judging food without seeing who made it or even how it looks.”
“That’s something used in competitions. In reality, the chef’s image becomes part of the dish too. Before the food even touches your tongue, aroma and appearance aren’t the only things that raise expectations.”
“I understand what you’re saying. In the end, you’re telling me to start Starbook, right?”
Anderson tapped the screen.
Many familiar faces appeared.
“Look. Kaya uses it too. She isn’t the type to upload things often, but she already has ten thousand followers.”
“How many do you have?”
“……Uh, I only started recently.”
“So how many?”
At Jo Minjoon’s persistent questioning, Anderson moved his lips awkwardly, then lowered his head with a sulky expression.
“Two thousand seven hundred.”
“Oh, that’s a lot. Why do you look so disappointed?”
“It isn’t a lot. Compared with the others, it’s mediocre. Even Chloe has more than six thousand.”
“You said you only started recently.”
“……Actually, I was the first one to start after the competition ended.”
The way Anderson confessed it as though revealing an important secret was too much.
Jo Minjoon burst out laughing.
“Kuh…… It’s just funny. The unrivalled Anderson suffering over something like this.”
“I’m not suffering.”
Anderson snorted as though Jo Minjoon were talking nonsense.
Jo Minjoon smiled.
“One day, you’ll naturally build up more followers. What do you think would happen if Teacher Rachel joined Starbook? Tens of thousands…… No, couldn’t she reach hundreds of thousands?”
“I don’t know. She’s definitely famous, but she’s also older. Most of Teacher’s fans aren’t exactly at an age where they spend their time following celebrities on Starbook.”
“You’re a fan and you’re young.”
“There aren’t many people like me.”
“Come to think of it, why do you follow Teacher Rachel so much? No, I know she’s someone worth admiring……but did you ever go to Rose Island’s main restaurant when you were young?”
“Yeah.”
It was only a short answer, but Jo Minjoon’s eyes immediately brightened.
He leaned in with obvious curiosity.
“What was it like?”
“It’s impossible to describe properly in words. I was young enough that my palate was especially sensitive…… It was shocking. That’s all I can say.”
Just imagining the restaurant made Jo Minjoon’s chest swell.
Perhaps 10-point dishes had lined up one after another there.
What kind of heaven must it have been?
He regretted not being born earlier.
If he had been, he would certainly have gone there.
He would have met him too.
Rachel’s husband in his prime.
There were so many things Jo Minjoon would have wanted to ask, learn, and experience from the two of them.
But he still had an opportunity.
Rachel might no longer be at her peak, but she was still beside him.
He remembered what Emily had once told him.
Receiving Rachel’s attention was something most chefs could only dream of.
And Jo Minjoon had no intention of letting that opportunity slip away.
He looked towards Rachel.
She was asleep with her head tilted to one side, looking tired.
Jo Minjoon’s gaze towards her was anything but ordinary.
At that exact moment, Anderson glared at him.
Then Martin approached.
“I just received word. The flight should be cleared in about an hour.”
“Ah, so we’ll be able to leave soon?”
“Yes. If there’s anything you need to prepare before departure, do it now. And if you want to visit any shops, you can do that too.”
“Where are we going after Italy?”
“That’s obviously a secret. You can enjoy guessing. Consider it part of the anticipation.”
“Well, honestly, just thinking about where we’re going now is already enough. Italy. Personally, Italian food is my favourite among European cuisines.”
Jo Minjoon swallowed the saliva gathering in his mouth.
There were so many things he wanted to know.
Whenever he had eaten at Italian restaurants in Korea, the degree of doneness had varied from chef to chef.
He wanted to know what truly ideal al dente felt like.
He wanted to know what Italian meat tasted like.
What sauces and purées made from Italian fruit tasted like.
Just thinking that he would soon experience all of those things made his heart beat like a child preparing for a school excursion.
After everyone talked for a while, the waiting area became quiet.
Some people chose to sleep.
Others looked at their phones.
Jo Minjoon belonged to the latter group.
[Me: Are you busy?]
[Kaya: No. I’m on my way to the airport.]
Fortunately, it did not seem as though they had missed each other.
The message had arrived a little while ago.
Jo Minjoon’s fingers moved quickly, his expression noticeably brighter.
[Me: Can I call you?]
[Kaya: Yes.]
[Me: I’ll call. Wait a second.]
Jo Minjoon pressed the call button and raised the phone to his ear.
Anderson gave him a strange look.
Jo Minjoon smirked and silently mouthed, Kaya.
Anderson turned his head away with a sour expression.
Perhaps because it was an international call, the ringing went on for quite a while.
Eventually, a familiar voice came through.
If Kaya’s voice could have been turned into a dish, it would have been something fermented in sleepiness and cooked roughly without care.
[I’m tired.]
“Why are you saying that right from the start? Have you been sleeping properly lately?”
As Jo Minjoon began the conversation, Martin gave Anderson a questioning look, asking who was on the phone.
Anderson answered for him.
“He says it’s Kaya.”
Martin immediately signalled the cameramen to zoom in on Jo Minjoon.
Jo Minjoon, completely unaware of what was happening around him, continued the call with a relaxed expression.
“No. It still isn’t time for you to sleep? What time is it there?”
[It’s dawn. Don’t tell me to sleep. Who knows when we’ll be able to talk again?]
“What’s more important than that? If your health gets worse, that’s a bigger problem.”
[This is important to me. I don’t even remember the last time I had a proper conversation. Everyone I meet is a local resident, a customer, or another chef. When I contact you and the others once in a while, it feels like I’m actually resting.]
“Who else do you contact besides me?”
[Obviously Mum, my sister, and……Marco. Chloe and I can’t seem to get our schedules to match. So we just exchange messages once a day.]
“Chloe’s busy too. So, is your body all right?”
[I don’t know. They won’t even send me to a hospital, so how am I supposed to know? Maybe when I finally find out later, I’ll already have some incurable disease.]
Jo Minjoon frowned.
Even imagining that made him uncomfortable.
“Don’t say things like that. So where are you now?”
[Germany. But in a few hours, I’ll be in Italy.]
“………Italy? I’m going there too. Are you appearing on our programme?”
[No way. They’re filming Grand Chef in Italy, and they asked me to appear as the previous winner. Even though I don’t speak any Italian.]
“Do you think we’ll be able to meet?”
[If we’re nearby, probably. I can sneak out at dawn.]
“It’d be nice if we were close.”
Their conversation did not end quickly.
Ten minutes.
Thirty minutes.
Fifty minutes.
Only when it was finally time to board did Jo Minjoon end the call.
“I need to get on the plane now. At least get some rest while you’re flying.”
[Yeah. I’ll hang up.]
Only after the call ended did Jo Minjoon realise everyone around him was staring.
He looked at them awkwardly.
“Is there a problem?”
The flight lasted a little over twelve hours.
Because of the time difference, however, it was exactly two in the afternoon when they arrived in Florence.
After passing through immigration and stepping outside, Martin cleared his throat and gathered everyone together.
Then he spoke.
“This is Italy. And today, we’ve brought in a special guide who’ll be leading you.”
“A special guide?”
Emily asked curiously.
At that moment, Jo Minjoon thought of Kaya.
She had definitely said she was coming to Italy.
Although she had also said she was appearing on the Italian version of Grand Chef……
Could it be?
Martin did not answer.
He merely looked behind him.
A man standing some distance away slowly walked towards them and removed his sunglasses.
The instant Emily saw his face, she sucked in a startled breath.
“Alan………?!”