Chapter 143: People at the Crossroads (3)
Chapter 143: People at the Crossroads (3)
Even after Rachel had spent quite a while talking about her restaurant, the conversation continued flowing naturally between them. By the time the night had deepened and dawn was approaching, Alan finally rose from his seat.
“I should get going now. It was a good day.”
“Ah, wait. I’ll go with you. I’ll walk you to the garage.”
Emily hurriedly stood up. Alan smirked for a moment before quickly composing his expression. Once the two of them left, everyone else naturally split into smaller conversations. Anderson stayed close to Rachel, while Jeremy and Sera talked together, leaving only Kaya beside Jo Minjoon.
Kaya looked down at her smartphone. There was no new message from the person claiming to be her father. In the first place, she did not even know whether he was telling the truth, and even if he was, she did not want to reply immediately as though she had been eagerly waiting for him. A father who had never contacted her once in her entire life, only to appear after she became famous…… She could not help worrying that he might be one of those monsters wearing a human face who appeared so often on the news.
Maybe he simply couldn’t contact me. ……No. That’s not it. Kaya, get a grip. You can’t become weak.
Perhaps because she wanted to push those thoughts away, Kaya kept her eyes fixed on the words filling her smartphone screen. Most of them were conversations people were having after the live broadcast.
Allison Raskin: Italy. Honestly, I don’t think I ate Italian food that was all that delicious. Of course, there’s Italian-style pizza baked in an oven…… Maybe it’s because I’m American, but I still like American-style pizza best.
Sara Rubin: Italian pizza is delicious too! Especially when they use ten times more cheese.
Adam Jones: @Allison Raskin @Sara Rubin You’ll get sick eating like that.
Lynda Q: Minjoon caught four rabbits at once. Michelin restaurant, job offer, appearance fee, and Kaya.
Kaya Lotus: Are you sure about that last one?
Lynda Q: @Kaya Lotus If you have eyes, wouldn’t anyone be sure? Nice username, by the way.
Jonathan Rowling: @Lynda Q @Kaya Lotus You don’t even know if that’s really her. Last time Kaya was being interviewed, she paid a lot of attention to reactions on the internet.
Kaya hurriedly moved her finger towards the delete button, then stopped. If she deleted the comment now, they might genuinely start suspecting it was her.
Jo Minjoon leaned his head towards her and cleared his throat. “I don’t know why people care so much about what strangers say.”
“I care too. About what other people say.”
“You didn’t say that in front of me……though you did curse Anderson a little.”
“There are sides of yourself you don’t want certain people to see. No matter how you dress it up, talking badly about someone behind their back doesn’t feel right. And I don’t want to look like that.”
There was no need to add, At least not in front of you.
Jo Minjoon glanced at the pictures displayed on Kaya’s phone. They were screenshots from the live broadcast, and among them was one taken by the production staff in which Kaya and Jo Minjoon were gazing softly at each other. Neither of them had noticed it at the time, but seeing the moment frozen in a photograph felt strangely embarrassing.
Kaya turned her head, and when their awkward gazes met, the awkwardness only grew worse. Jo Minjoon quickly looked towards the kitchen.
“Do you want a late-night snack?”
“Ri-right. Good idea. Let’s go.”
Her agent had definitely warned her to watch her diet because she had a magazine photoshoot coming up, but those words vanished from Kaya’s mind almost immediately. When the two stood up, the others looked towards them as well.
“We’re going to make something simple. Does anyone want anything?” Kaya asked awkwardly.
“Mm……something with bread would be nice. Is there an oven here?”
“There probably isn’t since this is a hotel. What can we make in a frying pan…… Pancakes or crêpes, maybe? I’ll see what I can do.”
Kaya had just started to leave when Anderson spoke.
“Want some help?”
“Oh, Duksam. I really appreciate the thought. But I’ll only accept the thought.”
Her tone was gentle, which was precisely the problem. There was no way Kaya would normally speak gently to Anderson. In reality, she was glaring at him with cold eyes that clearly warned him not to stand up.
Anderson smirked and leaned back into the sofa. Kaya turned away and grumbled, “That Anderson is always annoying in the strangest ways.”
“Why?”
“Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”
Jo Minjoon turned his head away. “So naughty,” Kaya muttered with a smirk before opening the refrigerator.
Whether the ingredients were standard provisions for the hotel or had been prepared by the production staff, there was quite a selection inside: eggs, dairy products, cheese, canned foods, pancake mix, and more.
“What should I make? Pancakes? Crêpes?”
“Hmm……aren’t both of those a little heavy this late?”
“Is there anything that’s good to eat this late? Choose quickly.”
“Let’s just make one each. I’ll make crêpes, and you make pancakes. Looks like there’s enough room for both of us.”
Kaya looked at the hob and nodded. It seemed a little narrow for two people to stand side by side, but it did not really matter.
She rummaged through the cupboard and came back with the pancake mix. Jo Minjoon looked at it strangely.
“You’re a chef. Is it okay for you to use that?”
“Is there a rule saying chefs can’t?”
Jo Minjoon took the ingredients for crêpe batter out of the refrigerator. There were not many: flour, milk, and eggs. After beating the eggs, he mixed in enough flour to form a thick batter, then slowly poured in the milk until it reached the right consistency. Of course, if he were following the proper method, it would be better to let the batter rest for an hour, or at least half an hour, but by then eating it would probably feel burdensome.
Jo Minjoon melted butter in the frying pan and smirked. “When I run a restaurant someday, I’ll definitely need a dedicated baker.”
“That’s normal, no matter how good the head chef is. Once you become head chef, you don’t have the spare time to make everything yourself.”
“That used to confuse me. Why does the person with the most experience work the least at the front?”
“Sounds like you changed your mind.”
“Yeah. Thanks to Teacher Rachel.”
“Teacher Rachel…… You really started admiring her.”
Kaya glanced towards Rachel, and there was the faintest hint of jealousy in her gaze. Jo Minjoon looked at Kaya’s pan.
“Flip it. It’s burning.”
“Ah, right.”
Fortunately, the pancake had cooked evenly. The outside had turned a delicious golden brown, while the centre retained a soft yellow colour like a chick, making it even more appetising. After cooking four ordinary pancakes, Kaya made another one about half the size of her palm. She cooked only one side, then spread jam and cream over the other, folded it into a half-moon, and decorated it with small fruits such as cherries and blueberries.
Jo Minjoon’s crêpes were simpler than Kaya’s, or more precisely, they took less time. They were far thinner than pancakes, so they cooked quickly. Once each crêpe was ready, he filled it with different combinations: cheese and thin slices of ham with basil and pesto, banana and chocolate, strawberry and cream, and so on.
Apart from having to make the batter, there were few dishes better suited to turning simple ingredients into a satisfying meal than crêpes. Most people probably found even making batter too troublesome to prepare them often, but honestly, they were one of the most suitable snacks to make at home.
“……You’re already finished.”
Kaya sounded disappointed. What she really meant was that the time they could spend together in the kitchen was already ending.
Jo Minjoon glanced at her and deliberately took a small step back. “Yours needs to rest too.”
“……It’s not steak. You want to rest crêpes and pancakes?”
“Why not? The more absurd a chef’s creativity is, the better the results sometimes turn out. No, let’s taste them ourselves first. Maybe they’re strange, or maybe the ingredients weren’t good.”
That was hardly something Jo Minjoon, who could check the freshness of both ingredients and finished dishes through the system, should have been saying. Kaya looked at him as though he were hopeless, but soon relaxed and sat down in a chair.
“Fine. I’ll let that sophistry slide.”
“Thank you.”
Jo Minjoon poured maple syrup over a pancake topped with butter. The butter had softened from the heat and slowly spread across the surface. The aromas of maple syrup and butter met for a moment before sinking into the entire pancake.
Kaya watched with distant eyes. “Mum didn’t cook for us very often. Most of the time, she just gave us cheese or ham as it was. It wasn’t because she was a bad mother. She probably just didn’t have the energy. How exhausted must she have been? But one thing she did make for us was pancakes. They were easy and simple.”
“Did you like them?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I hated them sometimes. It felt like my whole life was sitting on top of those pancakes. But now I understand. Looking at this one……I suddenly feel sad. I want to see Mum.”
Kaya served herself one pancake, cut it as though slicing meat, and put a piece into her mouth. The aroma of butter and distinctive sweetness of maple syrup seemed to melt straight into the pancake, and she smiled brightly.
“Try it. It’s good.”
“Something just occurred to me. This feels strange.”
“What does?”
“That I’m sitting at the same table as Kaya Lotus. Do you remember when we first met? No, when we first spoke. We were practically standing on opposite sides.”
“Why are you talking about the past? So boring.”
“I just thought of it. The same way that pancake makes you remember your mother, sitting at this table makes me remember the past.”
Kaya silently scraped at a slightly burnt part of the pancake with her fork. Jo Minjoon cut a piece from a crêpe filled with cheese and ham and offered it to her.
“You need to eat the cheese before it hardens.”
“What happened to the person who said we should let everything rest?”
“That was Jo Minjoon from a few minutes ago. Not the Jo Minjoon sitting here now.”
“Ha. How convenient.”
Jo Minjoon smirked and put the crêpe into his mouth.
Six points.
It was nothing exceptional, but staying faithful to the basics had still produced a respectable score, and it tasted good. The cheese itself was high quality, so its rich aroma spread heavily through his mouth while making the flavour of the ham stand out even more clearly. The crêpe’s elasticity was good as well.
Watching Kaya slurp a strand of melted cheese like noodles, Jo Minjoon slowly spoke.
“If something difficult happens, you can tell me anytime.”
“……Why are you suddenly saying that?”
“I can say it whenever I want. And I heard over the phone last time that you were dealing with some problems.”
Kaya simply stared at the crêpe and the strand of cheese stretching from her mouth. Slurp. She bit through the cheese with a small smacking sound, then shook her head with a bitter smile.
“How many difficult moments are there in the world? I don’t want to tell you every single one. I already said that before.”
“I’m not asking you to tell me everything. Just when something becomes too difficult to endure. I’d like you to tell me then.”
“Okay. If it gets really bad, I will. But now isn’t that time. It’s not that serious yet. I’m just physically exhausted. And that’s because someone kept me awake all night.”
“You weren’t the only one. I’m sleepy too.”
“Do you want to sleep? ……Ah, I know that expression. You thought of something weird.”
At Kaya’s drowsy gaze, Jo Minjoon hurriedly looked away and coughed as though something had caught in his throat. He flushed.
“W-what are you talking about? Forget it. Just tell me what you’re planning to do from now on. What will you do after your Grand Chef schedule ends?”
“I don’t know. Rachel’s offer will probably be one of my options. What do you want me to do?”
“……Isn’t it obvious? I’d like you to come with me. To Teacher Rachel’s restaurant. I’m sure it would be good for you too. Teacher Rachel……she’s not someone you can understand easily.”
“The fact that you keep calling her Teacher really does make her sound impressive……”
Kaya trailed off. She was looking awkwardly behind Jo Minjoon.
Jo Minjoon followed her gaze over his shoulder and immediately swallowed. Sera and Anderson were standing behind them, looking utterly incredulous.
Anderson spoke.
“Does food taste better when you two eat it all by yourselves?”
Kaya and Jo Minjoon talking alone did not become the main topic of conversation afterwards, not because it was not amusing enough, but because Emily, who had gone out to see Alan off, did not return until sunrise.
“Did you have a nice time?”
“Ugh, don’t tease me! Nothing happened.”
Emily flushed at the single question and answered immediately. It was remarkably similar to what had happened when Jo Minjoon spent the night with Kaya.
But Jo Minjoon and Kaya did not have much attention to spare for Emily’s incident. It was almost time to leave for the airport, and they did not have much time left together. So on the bus heading towards the airport, they stayed close to each other like a pair of lovebirds and barely separated.
Even so, they could not hold back the flow of time.
Kaya’s flight departed before theirs, and Jo Minjoon could only see her off at the entrance to the departure area.
“Have a safe flight.”
“……When do you think we’ll meet again?”
“I don’t know. I just hope it’s soon.”
“There’s something I want to say. Something I feel like I have to say. Though you probably already know what it is.”
Kaya cautiously tested the waters. It was not difficult to understand what she meant, and it was not only Jo Minjoon who could understand. Looking at Kaya’s worried expression, even a three-year-old could probably guess what she wanted to say.
“But I don’t think this is the right moment. When everything around us settles down a little……I want to say it then. And I think that’ll be the next time we meet.”
“Then am I supposed to clasp my hands together and wait?”
“I don’t know about clasping your hands, but I think brushing your teeth would be a good idea.”
Jo Minjoon smiled. “Well, I’ll whiten them too.”
The moment he finished speaking, Kaya hugged him. She did not care that the camera was recording. They had already shown everything there was to show, and if they did not have this brief embrace now, the regret left in their hearts would probably become too deep.
Neither of them spoke. There was no need. Everything they could not express in words was carried by the embrace instead.
“I’m going, then.”
Those were Kaya’s final words.
She walked towards the departure checkpoint and disappeared into the queue. Jo Minjoon slowly turned away. Kaya was continuing down her own path, just as she had to.
Jo Minjoon took his plane ticket from his chest pocket and looked at it.
Hunger Trip.
Its final destination was printed there in stiff lettering.