Chapter 136: What a Kitchen Is (1)
Chapter 136: What a Kitchen Is (1)
“Anderson, how long are you planning to act like a child? Grow up, please. Grow up.”
……That’s not something I want to hear from someone who practically dates in the middle of a broadcast.
Anderson gave Kaya a strange look, but simply shut his mouth and turned away. He had no desire to be caught in the same bizarre scene as her.
When Anderson did not answer back, Kaya wore a triumphant expression, convinced she had won. Jo Minjoon looked at her and laughed silently. Anderson might find her unbearable, but to Jo Minjoon, she was simply adorable.
Without thinking, he reached out and tousled Kaya’s hair.
Kaya frowned and glared at him.
“Ah, what are you doing? Don’t touch my hair.”
“It looked strange. I fixed it for you.”
“Fixed it, my foot! Look, now it’s all messed up. ……And you’re the one who told me not to leave my hair untidy.”
Kaya grumbled as she checked her hair.
It was certainly a side of her that would have been difficult to imagine in the past. It was not that Kaya had never cared about her appearance, but compared with girls her age, she had definitely put less effort into dressing herself up.
Then again, why else would she have worn that strange smoky make-up every single day?
Of course, by now it had practically become part of her identity.
“What if customers expect you to wear smoky make-up in the kitchen?”
“They won’t even be able to see me in the kitchen anyway.”
“Open kitchens are trendy these days. Ah, right. Teacher Rachel, is the main Rose Island an open kitchen?”
“Yes. Daniel wanted to see the customers’ faces even while he was in the kitchen. He wanted to see them eat and enjoy themselves, and sometimes complain. All of it. He dreamed of becoming a chef who didn’t just manage the kitchen, but understood the dining room as well.”
Jo Minjoon felt as though he understood what Rachel meant.
He turned back towards Kaya.
Kaya was bent over, fixing her hair by looking at her reflection in a camera lens. She straightened up and turned her head.
“……Why?”
“No, I was just curious. Do you like open kitchens? Or would you rather not be seen from the dining room?”
……He always asks her.
Anderson complained inwardly.
If they were still broadcasting, the chat would probably be saying something like:
[Are they deciding what kind of restaurant they’re going to open together?]
Just as he tried to erase the imaginary comment floating in front of his eyes, Kaya thought for a moment and groaned as though the question were difficult.
“Mm……I don’t know. I think it might be fun watching customers eat, but maybe I’d get tired of seeing them every day. And having everyone looking at me all the time sounds exhausting too.”
“That makes sense. Just look over there……”
Jo Minjoon pointed to one side.
Kaya followed his gesture and immediately looked uncomfortable.
An open kitchen occupied one side of the dining room.
It was not especially hectic. Most of the chefs remained at their stations, while only those who appeared to be junior staff moved busily back and forth, bringing ingredients to them.
If I had to stand there……
Honestly, she thought she could probably endure it once or twice, but doing it every day would be mentally exhausting.
There were not even that many customers watching the kitchen. Most only glanced over briefly before returning their attention to their meals.
Even so, the chefs working there would inevitably remain conscious of those gazes, whether the customers were actually looking at them or not.
Kaya shook her head.
Perhaps she really had been getting proper treatment lately, because the hair swaying around her face somehow made her resemble an Egyptian princess.
“Oh, I’m definitely not suited to being exposed to people’s stares.”
“There probably won’t be a day when people stop looking at you.”
“……And you?”
That short question left Jo Minjoon momentarily confused.
Was she asking whether he would keep looking at her too?
Or whether he would someday attract just as much attention himself?
It sounded simple, but it was actually difficult to answer.
Fortunately, he did not have to.
Alan cleared his throat.
“Let’s go to the kitchen now. You said you wanted more pasta, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
“To be honest, I was dying to know which dish would get the highest score. Now that it turned out exactly as I expected, I feel relieved and disappointed at the same time. Since we’re in Italy, I thought I had to earn points with pasta. But as a chef, you also want to break free from the stereotypes associated with a country.”
“If making excellent pasta counts as a stereotype, that’s a pretty good one.”
“I know. I was just saying.”
Alan replied mildly.
When Jo Minjoon had known him as a judge, Alan had always been strict, which naturally created a sense of distance. Meeting him now as a chef serving customers made him seem far more approachable as a person.
As they entered the kitchen, a young female chef with a childish face hurried towards Alan and stopped in front of him.
Alan shook his head.
Rapid Italian came from his mouth.
“Berta. Don’t come over here. Stay at your station. I’ll handle this.”
“Ah…… May I bring you something?”
“Didn’t you hear me say I’d handle it?”
Alan’s voice was cold.
Kaya whispered into Jo Minjoon’s ear,
“It reminds me of the old days.”
Jo Minjoon shook his head.
“I think this is worse.”
Perhaps because these were people from his own kitchen, Alan’s manner towards them was even harsher and more intimidating.
Even so, the young chef did not leave immediately.
Was she around Kaya’s age?
Berta had thick brown hair and was about half a head shorter than Kaya. Perhaps she was even shorter than Chloe.
The way she trembled made her look almost like a rabbit.
She glanced at Kaya.
Alan frowned.
Emily placed a hand on his shoulder.
“It looks like she has something she wants to say to Kaya. Give her a moment, Alan.”
“……Berta. If you have something to say, say it quickly and get back to work.”
“Y-yes!”
Berta nodded nervously.
Even if she was roughly Kaya’s age, she clearly had far less presence.
She opened her mouth.
Her English was not particularly fluent, but it was easy enough to understand.
“I also, um……just graduated from secondary school. I don’t have talent as amazing as yours, but……even so, I want to become like you. You’re my……you know. Ah, role model. You’re my role model.”
“……Uh, thanks.”
“You two look good together! Excuse me!”
Berta glanced between Jo Minjoon and Kaya, blurted out the words, then fled back into the kitchen in embarrassment.
Jo Minjoon and Kaya looked at each other with awkward smiles.
Kaya spoke first.
“If we were still live, they’d be teasing us again, wouldn’t they?”
“Even if we aren’t live, they’ll still tease us when this part airs. Martin. Are you going to edit this?”
“I have to.”
At the unexpected answer, Jo Minjoon widened his eyes and looked at him.
Martin soon added with a simmering smile,
“To make it more impactful.”
“See? He’s like this.”
“……That slave to viewer ratings.”
“My bonus depends on the number of viewers.”
“Martin always said he was grateful because the viewer count went up thanks to us. If you got a bonus from those viewers, why don’t you buy us something good to eat?”
“Aren’t I buying you something right now?”
“……You’re paying for this with the production budget!”
Martin did not answer and merely pretended not to hear.
Jo Minjoon patted Kaya on the shoulder.
“Stop throwing a tantrum. Whenever I think you’ve grown up, you act like a child again, and then it goes the other way. Why are you like this?”
“Girls have times when they want to be children. And times when they want to be adults.”
“You’re going to act like a woman in front of Martin too?”
“Why? Do you want me to only do that with you?”
Jo Minjoon was rendered speechless.
Apparently, Kaya also realised how suggestive her words had sounded.
Jo Minjoon turned his head away, while Kaya flushed and stared at the floor.
Alan had just finished preparing the pasta. He glanced at the two of them and nodded as though he understood everything.
“Looks like they filmed another movie. What genre is it this time?”
“I wonder. A passionate melodrama?”
“I look forward to the day they film an action movie.”
“You never know. They might shoot an adult drama first.”
Emily said it with a bright smile.
Jo Minjoon thought she seemed happier than usual today.
Of course, Emily had always been cheerful by nature, but today she seemed even more so.
Is it because of Alan?
He could not help thinking that.
Every time Emily looked at Alan, she seemed to deliberately put on a prettier smile than usual.
Jo Minjoon looked towards Sera.
“Sera. Doesn’t Emily seem happier than usual?”
“Uh…… Ah, she certainly does. I wonder why?”
Sera looked confused for a moment, then noticed the direction of Jo Minjoon’s gaze and broke into a knowing smile.
Emily flushed.
Alan plated the pasta as though deliberately pretending not to hear them.
“This is what Italians consider the ideal al dente texture. It’ll taste better than what you ate at the table. I made it myself.”
“……Alan. Do you realise your image from Grand Chef has crumbled quite a bit?”
“This isn’t Grand Chef.”
Kaya spoke as though she still could not get used to him, while Alan answered calmly.
Jo Minjoon decided to put the pasta into his mouth rather than pay attention to their exchange.
Normally, even if it were the same dish, eating it again after only a few weeks should lessen the impact.
Yet astonishingly, he felt no such thing.
Oil pasta was already a dish that was difficult to tire of, but perhaps this was simply the appeal of a ten-point dish.
No matter how much he ate, the deliciousness of the noodles did not diminish at all.
Rachel and Jeremy were also eating in silence, which said enough about the flavour.
Rachel smiled proudly.
“Alan. You’ve grown a great deal. And you found an excellent pasta maker too.”
“Ah, about that…… He’s actually someone you know.”
“Me?”
“Yes. It’s been a long time.”
The answer came from behind the kitchen staff.
Several employees turned around in surprise at the unexpected voice.
An elderly man with grey hair and strong, well-trained wrists stood there looking at Rachel.
Rachel narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to focus.
Then her expression changed in surprise.
“Alfredo?”
“You’ve aged quite a bit too.”
“You were living here?”
“I should be the one asking questions. I’m not the one who retired for ten years. You are.”
“……That’s true too.”
The old man was speaking not in Italian but in English, and his English was so natural that it could easily have belonged to a native speaker.
There was no difficulty following their conversation.
Naturally, everyone looked towards Rachel with questioning eyes.
Rachel met those gazes and spoke in a voice coloured by memory.
“Alfredo is the pasta maker who supplied us when we first opened a restaurant in Venice.”
“And the pasta you’re eating right now was made by me as well.”
Alfredo spoke with obvious confidence.
Jo Minjoon looked at the elderly man in surprise.
[Alfredo Argento]
Cooking Level: 6
Baking Level: 6
Tasting Level: 8
Decoration Level: 4
His levels were not particularly remarkable for someone capable of producing pasta like this.
Of course, making noodles was a skill that could not necessarily be measured through cooking or baking levels alone.
Jo Minjoon looked at Alan.
“Alan, could I see the pasta before it’s cooked?”
“Ah, sure. It’s right here.”
Alan immediately took some linguine from a cupboard.
Jo Minjoon stared at it.
The raw linguine carried a distinct aroma, and its texture was unusually soft.
Its cooking score was 7.
The noodles alone, without any sauce or preparation, already had a score of 7.
Jo Minjoon understood very well what that meant.
Without hesitation, he bit into one of the raw strands.
Alan smirked and looked towards Alfredo.
“Be careful. That friend became famous for having an absolute sense of taste. He might figure out Mr. Alfredo’s secrets.”
“Hoho. My life isn’t so shallow that someone can understand it in a few bites. These are noodles I’ve devoted my entire life to. I make them while considering the temperature, humidity, my own body temperature, and the salt. No matter how sensitive his palate is, he won’t be able to read all of that work.”
Alfredo was confident.
Jo Minjoon swallowed the raw noodle without saying anything.
His eyes shifted slightly.
At the edge of his vision, a familiar window appeared.
[You have acquired Alfredo’s Linguine-Making Recipe!]