Chapter 131: Florencia’s Dawn (4)
Chapter 131: Florencia’s Dawn (4)
Kaya ended the call. Perhaps that had been the simplest way to break the spell. She walked over to him, then lightly tapped the back of the hand he was still holding against his stunned face, as though knocking on a door.
“Is anyone in there?”
“……Yes. There is.”
“Why are you making such a stupid face? What? Was that too much stimulation for Mr. Absolute Sense of Taste?”
“Are you like this with other people too?”
“Don’t be so uptight. ……Fine, I get it. I’m not. I don’t do this with anyone else.”
Kaya treated him like a sulky child. Jo Minjoon found himself bewildered. Since when had Kaya become this relaxed around him? His gaze drifted to her brown hair.
“Did you dye it?”
“Yeah. I have a stylist now too. Did I tell you last time?”
“No. Anyway, it looks pretty. Though I still like black better.”
“Well, honestly, unless you’re paying attention, you can barely tell it changed. Even though it’s brown, it’s a really dark brown.”
As she spoke, Kaya twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Watching her, Jo Minjoon muttered, “Maybe I should dye mine too.”
Kaya immediately put on a stern expression.
“No. Never. If you do, I’ll dye mine blonde right away.”
“……Why can’t I?”
“Because I don’t like it. I like your black hair.”
Watching Kaya throw a tantrum like that made him smile rather than feel annoyed. Why did everything she did look so endearing? Without thinking, Jo Minjoon pinched her cheek. With her cheek still caught between his fingers, Kaya rolled her eyes towards his hand.
“Wha’s dis, dis time?”
“You’re acting like a kid, so it makes me want to treat you like one. It’s your fault.”
“Le’s talk after you take your hand off.”
Once he let go, Kaya rubbed her cheek and glared at him.
“It hurts.”
“Sorry.”
“……You always apologise immediately. I can’t even stay angry at you.”
The two of them went on talking like that for a while. To anyone else, it might have sounded like meaningless chatter, but they were not doing it simply to pass the time. What they needed most was precisely this sort of ordinary conversation, this quiet passage of meaningless time. It was what they had missed the most.
Enough that they could endure their sleepiness for it. Their light words, drifting back and forth through the chilly air, seemed to wrap around them with warmth. There might have been one hand’s distance between them, perhaps two, but their words and feelings reached each other without fail.
“So you’re going to Alan’s restaurant tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Not in the morning, though. At lunch.”
“Lucky you. I want to go too.”
“……Do you have time?”
“No. That’s why I want to go.”
Kaya leaned against the railing with a dejected expression. Jo Minjoon stood nervously beside her, ready to catch her if anything unexpected happened. Still clinging to the railing, Kaya turned her head and silently looked at him before extending her hand.
Instead of taking it, Jo Minjoon looked at her. Kaya waved her arm impatiently.
“Will you hold my hand?”
She did not mean for him to hold it in case she fell. Jo Minjoon understood that and silently took her hand. The cold air bit at their fingers, but the warmth of their blood soon heated their joined hands. Feeling that warmth, Kaya said,
“Lately, I’ve probably held more people’s hands than at any other point in my life. I’m not really the type who likes handshakes. But the funny thing is, no matter how many hands I hold, no one grips mine as tightly as you do.”
“Are you scared?”
“……Yeah. I want to show off in front of you, but somehow I also want to be more honest with you. I’m scared. Before, I just lived as one part of the world. Now the whole world is looking at me. I thought I’d simply succeeded……but that wasn’t all there was to it. And the funny thing is……”
Kaya tightened her grip on Jo Minjoon’s hand, then pointed to his right hand with her left.
“……even when I’m that scared, if someone holds my hand like this just once……I can set those feelings down. You’re not even hugging me. We’re only holding hands. People are really strange, aren’t they?”
Jo Minjoon simply looked at Kaya. As if by coincidence, the moon appeared behind her head. Moonlight reflected from the water shimmered between the strands of her long, scattered hair, almost as though woven into it.
“What happened with that thing you told me about last time? You said something was going to happen soon.”
“It hasn’t yet. So don’t worry.”
“Can I ask what it’s about?”
“I told you. If I tell you, I’ll rely on you, and if I rely on you, I’ll become weak. I don’t like that. I’m going to become strong. So things like relying on someone……”
Kaya stepped away from the railing. Standing firmly on the ground, she slipped a hand into the pocket of her hoodie. The fabric pulled, making the hood catch briefly against her hair before it sprang free like a rubber band. The colour of her hair caught his attention again. Just as its colour had changed, so had she.
“I don’t want to do that. I want to become an adult. That’s why I have to try harder. I have to, but……”
Kaya’s eyes fell to their joined hands. At a glance, it was difficult to tell which fingers belonged to whom. She drew in a breath and spoke slowly, her voice trembling.
“This hand……it’s hard to let go.”
Originally, she had not intended for things to turn out like this. But during the past few weeks, with Jo Minjoon away from her, she had realised that she was alone in the world. She had realised that he meant far more to her than she had ever thought.
That was why she had taken his hand. She had thought it would only be for a moment. But it was not. She understood once she was holding it. She had not taken his hand simply because she wanted to hold it. She had taken it because it was a hand she did not want to let go of.
I really am……
Kaya drew her brows together as though angry, but her wide eyes trembled, wet with emotion. Those eyes fixed on Jo Minjoon. Perhaps because he was Asian and she had trouble reading his expressions, or perhaps he truly was like that……but the almost expressionless face he wore seemed strangely cold.
She did not want to look at it. She could have closed her eyes or turned away. But Kaya did neither. No, she could not. It felt as though Jo Minjoon was letting go of her hand, but then he slowly pulled her towards him by the shoulders. She felt his chin brush against her neck. His voice made the inside of Kaya’s hood feel hot.
“Don’t be scared.”
It sounded as though he were soothing her, patting her gently. The moment she heard his voice, Kaya felt all the uneasiness in her heart melt away. It was as though she had returned home.
Of course, she had never really had days when she felt comfortable at home.
Kaya hugged him back. The moment she pressed her cheek against his neck, she felt something strange. A moment later, she realised what it was: the scar remaining on his neck.
Kaya placed her hands on Jo Minjoon’s shoulders. Under the lamplight, the strangely coloured scar stood out even more clearly. Her voice dropped lower and rougher than ever.
“I told you before. That you’re the most important person to me after my family.”
“Yes.”
“That was a lie.”
Jo Minjoon did not even have time to be confused. Kaya buried her face against his neck.
Or so it seemed.
But she did not.
Kaya slowly pressed her lips against the pale scar. A ticklish, hot breath slipped between her trembling lips, and before that warmth could fade, her lips covered the scar.
Why did the smacking sound resemble the little sound someone made with their lips after tasting a dish?
Kaya slowly drew back, then lifted her long lashes and looked at him.
“You’re as important to me as my family.”
She smiled.
“Just like your scar won’t disappear, my feelings won’t change either.”
Back at the lodging, every participant knew that Jo Minjoon had gone out the previous night. Anderson had wanted to ask how things had turned out when Jo Minjoon returned, but he had fallen asleep sitting on the sofa. The others started looking for Jo Minjoon the moment they woke up.
“……He still hasn’t come back?”
Sera asked in bewilderment. Jeremy gave a wicked laugh.
“If a man and a woman don’t come back before morning, the story’s obvious.”
“……Jeremy. You’re old enough to know better than to say things like that so casually. And even if that were true, is that something you should be saying in front of the kids?”
“What’s wrong with it? You used to say all sorts of things when you were younger too. You acting like this now is even funnier.”
“I’m begging you, please shut that mouth of yours.”
Jeremy laughed. “See? This is what she’s really like.”
At that moment, Jo Minjoon cautiously appeared. He gave an awkward laugh.
“I’m a little late, right?”
“A lot. Did you sleep?”
“Yes. I slept for a bit on a bench…… What’s with that expression?”
Jo Minjoon stared in confusion at Emily, whose mouth had fallen open in astonishment. Sera smiled provocatively.
“Well, I don’t dislike that kind of free-spirited lifestyle.”
“……Does closing your eyes for a while on a bench really warrant that kind of reaction?”
“Yes?”
Sera looked at Jo Minjoon strangely. Jo Minjoon looked back at her with the same expression. They practically hurled question marks at each other until Anderson interrupted.
“You talked all night?”
“Well, yeah. I fell asleep on the bench for a bit. We had a lot to talk about since it had been a while since we’d seen each other.”
“Right.”
Anderson nodded as though that was exactly what he had expected. In the first place, he had not asked because he was curious. He simply wanted Jo Minjoon himself to clear up everyone else’s suspicions. Jo Minjoon and Kaya, though Anderson did not particularly want to admit it, were far more innocent and pure than they looked.
Sera and Emily exchanged glances. They were checking whether they had understood the exchange between Anderson and Jo Minjoon correctly. Eventually, Sera asked in confusion,
“Nothing happened?”
“Yes?”
“Ah, nothing.”
As the others continued exchanging looks as though they found it strange, Sera became even more embarrassed that she had imagined something she should not have. Jeremy cleared his throat.
“That’s why I told you not to jump to conclusions.”
They went to a pizza shop in town for breakfast. Alan was not with them, since they were scheduled to have lunch at his restaurant. In any case, it was difficult for a head chef to stay away from his own kitchen for too long.
Pizza first thing in the morning.
Thinking about it, it was strange. Eating one, or even three, pans of jeon did not feel particularly excessive, but with pizza, even eating half somehow felt like a lot. That was despite the fact that the pizza baked in the oven was not particularly thick.
Sera ordered a Margherita pizza and said,
“It’s perfectly normal for Italians to eat a whole pizza, even for women. Just like you don’t share hamburgers.”
“Well, compared to American pizza, it’s thinner and not as wide, so I can understand it…… But it still feels like a lot. In my country, it’s normal for three people to share one pizza. And we don’t eat pizza in the morning either.”
“Pizza in the morning is really healthy.”
Watching Sera say that so casually, Jo Minjoon found it fascinating. It was not simply the kinds of food that changed from country to country. Eating habits, attitudes towards ingredients, even the basic nature of the ingredients themselves differed. Just looking at this pizza, in Korea it would have been the kind of meal that could leave someone full for the entire day if eaten in the morning.
Jo Minjoon was no exception. Once breakfast ended, he climbed into the car wearing an expression that plainly showed how miserable he felt. His body did not handle cheese particularly well in the morning, and after eating it together with flour, it was hardly surprising that his stomach was rumbling.
Did Kaya eat breakfast?
Come to think of it, Kaya had stayed awake all night too, so whatever she was doing now, she had to be exhausted. Perhaps he should have sent her back a little earlier, but they had been too happy to see each other to bring themselves to part easily. Jo Minjoon took out his mobile phone.
[Me: Aren’t you tired?]
[Kaya: I slept a little in the car. They said we’re filming something at a restaurant. I’ll probably sleep again while I’m eating.]
[Me: ……Sorry. I kept you out so late.]
[Kaya: You weren’t the only one keeping me there. I kept you too. I’m going to sleep for a bit. Message me later.]
He had not expected her to reply immediately, but Kaya ended the conversation quickly, apparently overcome by sleepiness. Jo Minjoon deliberately sent no further messages. He was sleepy himself. He closed his eyes, and Anderson, who was driving, spoke.
“About the name of Alan’s restaurant. No matter how I look at it, he copied it from Teacher Rachel’s restaurant, didn’t he? Olive Island.”
“……Probably. I retired before Alan even became a head chef……and the circumstances at the time weren’t such that I could entrust the main restaurant to that boy. Even so, the fact that he left traces of both my restaurant and my husband’s makes him a very good kid.”
“You’re probably the only person in the world who treats Alan like a kid, Rachel.”
Emily smirked.
When they arrived at Alan’s Olive Island, they stopped in front of the restaurant, where Martin asked them to wait for a moment. Since nothing like this had happened before, they all looked at him strangely. Martin smiled brightly.
“I don’t know what country it comes from, but apparently there’s a saying that food tastes better when shared. Of course, among the six of you there’s already plenty of food, and you might even leave some behind, but perhaps adding one more fork and knife will let you enjoy an even better meal.”
“……What exactly are you trying to say? Why is your speech so long?”
“There’s a special guest joining you today.”
A guest.
At those words, Jo Minjoon frowned. A possibility immediately occurred to him. But there was no reason that possibility had to be correct. If it was what he suspected, then all the time he had spent awake last night would become meaningless in an instant.
However, the moment Martin gave him a peculiar look, Jo Minjoon became certain that his guess was right. Martin gestured behind himself.
A woman wearing a grey sleeveless jumper, her eyes heavily lined with smoky make-up, stood there looking silently at him.
Martin spoke.
“It’s the winner of Grand Chef, Kaya Lotus!”