Chapter 135: Their Live Broadcast (4)
Chapter 135: Their Live Broadcast (4)
Asking for something to aid digestion had not been a joke. When Alan brought him some medicine, Anderson did not hesitate for even a moment before swallowing it.
Rachel patted Anderson on the back with a sympathetic expression, and he gave her a smile that looked both pleased and embarrassed at once.
“Even an old woman who has already sent her husband away can endure it. Are you already having this much trouble?”
“……I won’t make excuses.”
“Will you still be able to eat?”
“I have to. We’re broadcasting, and more importantly, every single plate is too tempting to leave untouched.”
Anderson was a chef, after all. At the same time, he was also a gourmet. He was not the kind of person who could ignore something delicious sitting right in front of him.
No. More precisely, perhaps he simply did not want to show weakness in front of Rachel.
He wanted to show her a more perfect version of himself.
Anderson glanced at Jo Minjoon.
I’d like you to be in my kitchen.
Rachel’s words still echoed in his ears.
Unfortunately, those words had not been meant for him. They had been meant for Jo Minjoon.
He wanted to hear them too.
He wanted Rachel to acknowledge him. He also wanted there to be a place for him in her kitchen.
……I’m not some girl who’s fallen in love. What am I doing?
Anderson smiled bitterly as he put some pasta into his mouth.
The ridiculous part was that even in a situation like this, the pasta still tasted incredibly clean and delicate.
It was delicious.
Delicious enough to make him forget his headache and stomachache for a moment.
Of course, that did not mean his complicated feelings disappeared along with them. Still, he felt a little better.
[Anderson, cheer up. We understand how you feel too.]
[But Anderson said he was celibate in the last broadcast. Do celibates hate seeing things like that?]
[People his age who say they’re celibate are usually just doing it as a concept. Don’t believe him.]
“……Why are you suddenly attacking me? I really am celibate.”
He had been taking some comfort from the chat, only for them to start questioning his very identity.
Anderson decided he would stop looking at the comments and focus on eating his pasta, but Sera, sitting beside him, immediately brought up the subject.
“But why are you celibate?”
“……Does there have to be a reason?”
“Is there anything in the world that doesn’t have one? I’m a food critic because I like eating, and you became a chef because you like cooking. Even those things have reasons, so why would being celibate be the one thing without one?”
“Fine. I understand. I understand, so stop talking for so long. You’re the first person I’ve ever met who can talk longer than my mother.”
Anderson shook his head wearily.
Emily looked at him with an expression that said she understood exactly how he felt. Sera, meanwhile, casually twirled pasta around her fork and continued.
“I’ve never felt the need for a relationship. Other people might, but I’ve never particularly wanted to get married. That’s why I’m celibate.”
“Hey, those are different things. A celibate person lives with the conviction that they’ll remain unmarried for life. You just don’t have any desire to marry.”
“Isn’t the result the same?”
“Is someone who only eats vegetables because they don’t like the taste of meat the same as a vegan who refuses meat because of religion or some other belief?”
“……No.”
“Then you’re not celibate either.”
The more Anderson listened, the more convincing she sounded.
He chewed his pasta and wondered.
Is that really how it is?
Sera had firmly planted that doubt in his mind.
She leaned towards him and whispered into his ear, though the microphone naturally transmitted every word perfectly well to the viewers.
“If you really were celibate, there’d be no reason for Minjoon and Kaya to make you feel sick. ……Well, actually, even a celibate grandfather would probably feel sick watching them act out some innocent romance drama. But still……you know?”
“Fine. I get it. But why is it so important to you whether I’m celibate or not? Why are you trying so hard to convince me?”
“It would be a shame for an attractive man like you to spend his whole life thinking he’s celibate. I’m releasing a good fish back into the ocean for women around the world.”
Anderson opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to think of something to say.
In the end, he flushed and turned his head away.
Even he was defenceless against such a direct compliment.
Kaya watched him and clicked her tongue.
“Anderson. Focus. We’re broadcasting right now. Try dating when the cameras are off.”
Anderson stared at her blankly after receiving that pitying look.
Then he looked towards Jo Minjoon, silently asking whether he agreed.
Instead of answering Anderson’s gaze, Jo Jo Minjoonse to look at Alan.
“Alan. Who made this pasta? The oil is excellent, and the combination of squid and bok choy is good too, but I think the most important part is the noodles. I’m not exaggerating at all when I say this is the best pasta I’ve ever eaten.”
“That’s quite an evaluation. You’re making me expect too much. Can I ask what score you’d give it?”
“Normally, I’d feel a little sorry answering that……but this time, I can say it without even the slightest hesitation. It’s a ten. Perfect.”
“Kuh, I did it!”
Alan could not hide his smile and clenched his fists.
He had received compliments from gourmets older and more experienced than Jo Minjoon, but praise from Jo Minjoon carried a different meaning.
It meant his dish was perfectly balanced.
For a chef, there could hardly be anything more satisfying.
[Ten points…… Who has Jo Minjoon given a ten to so far?]
[From what’s been broadcast, maybe the place in Chicago from Rose Island. Was it calf cheek with fried anchovies? Probably that.]
[Calf cheek…… That description sounds kind of awful.]
[This setup is fun, though. On Grand Chef, Alan was the judge and Minjoon was the one being evaluated. Now their roles are reversed.]
[It would be fun if Minjoon became a judge on Grand Chef.]
“As for the pasta……I actually didn’t make the noodles myself. Someone supplies them to our restaurant. He’s been making noodles every single day for decades, so naturally the quality is different from industrially produced pasta.”
“That certainly makes sense.”
“Just as running a restaurant in France means you need connections with a good pâtissier, in Italy there’s no stronger weapon than having a relationship with an excellent pasta maker. In almost every town, there’ll be at least one master who makes fresh pasta every day. That’s one of the reasons Italy became the home of pasta. And I can say this confidently about the man who supplies ours. He’s one of the finest pasta masters in Italy. Which also means he’s one of the finest in the world.”
Those words gave Jo Minjoon a great deal to think about.
Connections with a good pasta maker. Connections with a pâtissier.
The more he learned, the more he realised just how many people were needed to run a restaurant properly.
Finding all those connections felt almost like setting out on a long journey.
There was fear in that thought.
And curiosity.
The combination of the two left Jo Minjoon strangely unsettled.
He felt alive.
He had been able to put everything down and enter Grand Chef because he wanted to walk this road.
And the path that had once seemed impossibly far away was now right beneath his feet.
No.
It was already behind him.
Because he was already walking it.
The path towards becoming a chef.
The dishes continued to arrive.
There was risotto with roasted moonfish, followed by a medium-rare T-bone steak served with five kinds of dressing sauce and six varieties of salt. Pizza came next, followed by cherry jelly coated in white chocolate.
The risotto and moonfish scored 9 points, while the rest scored 8.
But perhaps because the pasta had made such a powerful impression, the only thing that remained clearly in Jo Minjoon’s mind was that smooth, elastic pasta.
Kaya seemed to feel the same way.
She looked at Alan and urged him,
“Can’t you give us some more of that linguine we had?”
“……But you’ve finished your meal.”
“So what? Honestly, does it make sense to give us only a tiny amount of something that delicious and then tell us we’re done?”
“Fine. Come to the kitchen after the broadcast.”
“……Can I come too?”
“Minjoon too…… Anyone who wants to come can come. I’ll make it myself specially.”
[A rule-breaker in several different senses.]
[But I agree with her. Restaurants always give you lots of the stuff that isn’t that good and only a tiny bit of the really delicious stuff.]
[I want to eat pasta in Italy too. Restaurants these days make everything too salty. Sometimes tomato spaghetti even tastes bitter. And cream spaghetti is always so sticky I can’t tell if I’m eating noodles or raw pasta dough……]
Martin simply watched the viewers chatting amongst themselves.
The number of viewers had continued to rise and was now approaching 310,000.
That was quite a respectable figure.
No, it was extremely good.
Of course, compared with live sports broadcasts on the internet, it was not particularly large, but this was nothing more than a live tasting show.
More importantly, the viewers were not leaving.
And Martin believed Kaya was the biggest reason for that.
No, more precisely……is it Minjoon and Kaya together?
The two had a rather unusual fandom.
Of course, each had their own fans individually, but whenever they appeared together, the viewers’ reactions changed dramatically.
He had noticed it during Grand Chef as well.
When Jo Minjoon and Kaya appeared separately, the viewer count barely moved. But whenever the two were shown talking or doing something together, the number of viewers would increase by tens of thousands, sometimes even by hundreds of thousands.
If only Kaya hadn’t won, I could’ve brought both of them along.
Martin smacked his lips regretfully.
At that very moment, Rachel was feeling a similar sense of regret.
More precisely, it was closer to greed.
Kaya’s genius was so striking that Rachel regretted not recognising it earlier.
If Jo Minjoon had not existed, Kaya alone would probably have occupied all of Rachel’s attention.
If I could take both of them……
But Kaya was more difficult than Jo Minjoon.
Not because Kaya herself was necessarily difficult, but because of her circumstances.
For the next few months, she still had obligations to Grand Chef.
Jeremy cleared his throat.
“Your eyes are full of ambition. At your age, shouldn’t you be learning to relax a little?”
“It sounds like you’ve gotten old. I haven’t.”
“How much difference is there between us anyway……? Whatever. Since you don’t seem able to say it yourself, I’ll say it for you. Kaya. This woman seems to want you quite badly. What do you think?”
“What do I think?”
It was an unexpected proposition.
But Kaya seriously considered it.
Jeremy’s meaning was obvious.
The very first thought that entered her mind was, If I go there, I’ll be able to see Minjoon every day.
Even she was dumbfounded that this had been her first thought, but what could she do about it?
A moment later, however, Kaya’s expression twisted.
The chat scrolling across the screen was getting on her nerves.
“Ah, I’m not pretending to think about it! And obviously I’m not stupid enough to go there just because of Minjoon!”
“……Let’s hear your answer another time.”
Rachel smiled awkwardly and changed the subject.
Kaya glared at the screen, breathing heavily, then sank back into her seat with a sulky expression.
Sera leaned towards Emily and whispered quietly,
“I think Kaya’s temper is worse than mine.”
“……Maybe.”
The live broadcast was nearing its end.
The meal was over, so naturally the broadcast had to end with it.
After a brief closing announcement, the stream ended.
One final comment remained clearly visible on the screen.
[Kaya?Minjoon]
“……Why are people so childish?”
Kaya asked, her voice trembling.
She knew she was hardly the most mature person herself, but people on the internet seemed even more childish than she had imagined.
Jo Minjoon smiled bitterly.
For something that strange to be the final comment left on the screen……
Well, considering that most of the chat had revolved around the two of them, perhaps it could not be helped.
Anderson rubbed his stomach, apparently still feeling unwell.
“You idiots should just start dating already.”