Chapter 184: The Power of Science Is Amazing (2)
Chapter 184: The Power of Science Is Amazing (2)
“What?”
Kaya froze for a moment before looking at Rachel. Once she understood what Rachel meant, her face immediately turned red.
“Why? You two are dating anyway. Is there a problem?”
“That, we, we haven’t…… that…… I’m not ready……”
Perhaps it was too difficult for Kaya to put into words, because she became increasingly flustered and started avoiding Rachel’s gaze.
Rachel smiled.
“I’m only joking. There are plenty of rooms, so choose whichever one you like. Each has its own bathroom, so you can wash up whenever you want as well.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Kaya answered awkwardly.
Rachel smiled and looked at Minjoon.
“I heard you’re planning to live with Kaya and the others once you move out.”
“We haven’t discussed it in detail yet…… We’re only thinking about it.”
“That’s disappointing. Having you here made the house feel less empty.”
“……I’m sad about it too. I was really happy getting to eat Teacher’s cooking every now and then.”
He meant it sincerely.
Rachel’s cooking never disappointed. Every dish she made went far beyond ordinary expectations.
Rachel smiled again.
“If I’d known you liked it that much, I should’ve cooked for you more often.”
“I can’t ask you to do that when you’re tired. Besides, food tastes better when some time has passed since the last time you ate it.”
“But nobody enjoys the waiting itself. Not even food critics. Though I suppose it’s a little different if you’re already full.”
Jo Minjoon nodded.
The effect of anticipation could be powerful, but that did not make waiting any easier.
A few hours later, Jo Minjoon found himself having to practise patience in an entirely different way.
On top of his bed, Kaya lay squirming as she stared at his face. Her hair was still slightly damp from the shower, and since she had not brought any spare clothes, she was wearing one of his T-shirts and a pair of his shorts.
“……You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You look extremely seductive right now.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You have your own bedroom. Why are you here?”
“I’m not sleepy yet. So I thought I might as well use the chance to look at your face as much as possible. You can sleep if you want. I like your sleeping face too.”
“How am I supposed to sleep with you staring at me like that?”
Jo Minjoon smiled bitterly and reached out.
His fingers, which had begun developing calluses, slowly caressed Kaya’s cheek and chin. When his fingertips brushed against her still-damp hair, Kaya smiled.
“My hair is much better now that I wash it more often. Thanks to a certain someone.”
“You don’t normally like washing it often?”
“That’s not the important part. The important part is that I wash it often for you.”
“……Isn’t the important part that without me, you’d be so dirty you wouldn’t even wash your hair?”
“Do you dislike having such a dirty girl as your girlfriend?”
“I don’t know. Just because I like you doesn’t mean I have to like everything about you.”
At that, Kaya’s eyes rolled upwards slightly as though she were thinking.
Then she smiled and moved closer to Minjoon.
A faint fruity scent drifted from her body. It was probably the fragrance of her shampoo and lotion rather than Kaya’s natural scent, but it still made him wonder whether fruit juice flowed through her veins instead of blood.
Jo Minjoon slowly spoke.
“Wasn’t that supposed to be the part where you get angry?”
“No. I thought about it, and I like your answer. If you like me even though there are things about me you don’t like, that means you’ll keep liking me despite those things…… So now I can relax and be as mean as I want.”
“……How do you come up with logic like that?”
Jo Minjoon laughed in disbelief.
Kaya smiled brightly as she watched him before slowly speaking.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“That…… normal couples probably would’ve done everything by now. But we haven’t even reached that final stage.”
Jo Minjoon did not answer.
The reason Kaya did not want to go that far—more precisely, the reason she was afraid of it—was simple.
Kaya knew very well what could happen when a man and woman entered a relationship without being prepared.
Even though her father had returned after twenty years, those twenty years had been a path filled with thorns. What kind of life must a man live when he cannot even protect his own family?
Kaya did not want to become like her father.
She did not want to become like her mother either.
Starting a family was something she wanted to do only after everything in her life had settled down. Until then, she wanted to put it off.
Of course, having sex was not the same as starting a family. There were many ways to prevent pregnancy.
But Jo Minjoon could understand why Kaya still found the act itself difficult.
Kaya spoke nervously.
“Is it hard to hold back? If it is, I……”
“Kaya.”
Jo Minjoon placed his hand against her cheek.
It was only his palm, but Kaya felt as though the entire world had wrapped its arms around her.
She raised her eyes.
Jo Minjoon was looking at her warmly.
“If you take pasta out before it’s cooked just because you’re hungry, that pasta won’t make anyone happy. Not the chef, and not the customer. For me, even if our relationship feels a little frustrating right now, I want it to be cooked properly. I want it to reach the plate without a single flaw. Yes. You’re right. It is hard to resist. But if we do things we shouldn’t just because holding back is difficult…… then our lives won’t have any flavour.”
“Do you really feel that way?”
“Yes. I’ve always hated waiting, but I’ll wait. Kaya Lotus is my favourite chef. I’m sure she’ll bring me a dish beyond anything I expect.”
The moment he finished speaking, Kaya lifted her head and kissed him.
When she pulled back, her voice was slightly tearful.
“That’s only the appetiser. It won’t fill you up, but wait a little. The main won’t take that long. I promise.”
“Everything about that sounds good, but……”
Jo Minjoon smiled mischievously.
“Is there only one appetiser?”
A smile spread across Kaya’s face.
She placed both hands against Jo Minjoon’s cheeks.
Their noses touched, and they could feel each other’s breath.
“No. I can give you a hundred.”
*
In the end, despite Rachel giving Kaya her own room, she spent the night in Jo Minjoon’s bed.
Jo Minjoon was the first to wake.
He quietly watched Kaya’s sleeping face.
The thought that simply looking at someone could make his heart feel warm was something he had never imagined happening to him.
He had never believed another person could occupy such a deep place in his mind.
But Kaya had become exactly that kind of person.
If we end up living together…… will I get to look at her like this every morning?
Then again, if they lived with Chloe and Anderson as well, things might be different. He and Kaya probably would not be able to share a room.
Thinking about it that way, he even found himself wondering whether it might be better if Chloe and Anderson rejected the idea.
The moment he realised what he had just thought, he felt strangely unfamiliar with himself.
How long had he been watching her?
Kaya, who seemed to have been happily eating something in her dream, slowly opened her eyes and looked around.
“Minjoon…… Ah. Right. I slept here.”
“Yes. Did you sleep well?”
“I slept well, but my lips feel really swollen. I think I overdid it a little.”
“It’s not just your lips. I think your whole face is swollen.”
“Don’t say that. You’re my boyfriend. You’re supposed to tell me that even my swollen face looks pretty.”
“I never said you looked ugly. I only said you looked swollen. I was stating a fact.”
“……You’re far too good with words.”
Kaya rubbed her face against Jo Minjoon’s neck.
He patted her back.
“Wake up. It’s time to go to work.”
“Groan…… What time is it?”
“Almost seven.”
“Liar. Tell me the exact time. It doesn’t feel like seven yet.”
“6:47.”
“Okay. Then let me stay like this for three more minutes.”
“After three minutes, I feel like you’re going to ask for another ten.”
“Then let me have thirteen minutes from the start. Why? You don’t like it?”
Kaya looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes.
Jo Minjoon stared at her.
“You have sleep in your eyes.”
“That’s fine. Even that looks pretty on me. I told you. I’m the second most beautiful chef in the United States.”
“You really are proud of that.”
“I’m not that proud. Just a little more proud than I am of winning Grand Chef?”
“……You can barely contain how happy you are about it.”
Jo Minjoon smiled as he stroked Kaya’s head.
Kaya quietly looked at his neck.
The burn scar varied in colour depending on the area, lighter in some places and darker in others. When he wore his chef’s coat, most of it was covered by the collar, but in an ordinary T-shirt like this, the scar was fully visible.
Kaya spoke unhappily.
“What if you had surgery for this? Or maybe got a tattoo to cover it?”
“I told you, I’m not embarrassed by it. It’s a scar of honour.”
“Still…… every time I see it, I feel terrible.”
“Don’t. You’ve already done a lot for me. Compared to that, a burn like this doesn’t feel like much.”
“……I always feel like I haven’t done anything for you, but you keep saying I’ve done so much.”
“You helped me dream.”
“……I did?”
Jo Minjoon quietly nodded.
He wanted to explain everything to Kaya, who was tilting her head in confusion.
He wanted to tell her that he had come from the future.
He wanted to tell her about the system and the power it had given him.
He wanted Kaya to become his bamboo forest, someone he could pour all his secrets into.
But this was not the time.
Kaya already had enough problems of her own.
Instead of answering, Jo Minjoon picked up his smartphone.
“All right. Get up now. It’s seven in the morning. You need to go to work.”
“Five more minutes. No, three more. You know I have a headache, and my stomach hurts……”
“If it can get better in three minutes, then you aren’t even sick. Get up.”
Kaya pouted.
“……No fun.”
*
“Chef, you seem to be in a good mood today.”
That was the first thing Maya said as soon as he entered the restaurant.
Jo Minjoon glanced at her before answering sternly.
“A mood can go from very good to very bad in an instant. So, Maya. You look like you have something to tell me…… What is it? Something that’ll make me happy, or something that’ll make me sad?”
“Um…… I don’t know whether you’ll be happy about it. I’ve decided to become your assistant.”
“Oh. Is that so? I suppose the two of you managed to make a decision. How did Gerrick convince you?”
“……Our ancestors left us a very useful tradition. If something can’t be decided by reason, isn’t it best to leave it to rock-paper-scissors?”
“So. Are you here because you won or because you lost?”
Maya could not answer.
Her eyes darted around.
Jo Minjoon sighed.
“You lost, didn’t you?”
“I-I’m sorry. But I really will work hard!”
Jo Minjoon stared at Maya blankly, his expression impossible to read.
Unable to withstand his gaze, Maya quickly lowered her head and fidgeted.
After a moment, Jo Minjoon spoke.
In truth, he understood how she felt better than anyone.
“It’ll be difficult and annoying. You might even think you were unlucky with the section you got. But I’ll at least make sure you feel lucky about the demi chef you ended up with. Let’s work well together. I’ll give it everything I have.”
“……Yes! Thank you, Chef.”
“Why are you thanking me when I haven’t even done anything yet? Let’s go tell the Sous Chef first. He should be waiting.”
“Yes!”
Maya answered energetically and followed behind him.
When she had lost at rock-paper-scissors, all kinds of negative thoughts had gone through her head. But after considering it more carefully, she decided it might not be so bad after all.
Whatever else could be said, Jo Minjoon was a talented demi chef.
He was also a one-of-a-kind chef in the entire world.
A man whose absolute taste surpassed anyone else’s.
I’ll make all of Chef Minjoon’s know-how my own.
With that thought in mind, Maya entered the office with him.
Rafael was not the only person inside.
Rachel and Isaac were there as well, still seated as they looked towards Minjoon.
Jo Minjoon spoke cautiously.
“Should I come back later?”
“No. It’s fine. Come here. This is something you should hear too.”
“Me?”
“Minjoon. Of all the things a restaurant needs, if you remove service and taste, what remains?”
“……Is there anything else besides those two? I can’t think of anything.”
At Minjoon’s answer, Isaac spoke with the confidence of a veteran businessman.
“Image.”
“Image?”
“You could also call it reputation. What people seek from Rose Island isn’t merely delicious food. They want food made by Rachel Rose. Food from a world-class restaurant that never once lost its three-star Michelin rating. Chef Minjoon, what image does Rose Island have in your mind right now?”
Jo Minjoon thought for a moment before answering cautiously.
“It’s a legend. The main restaurant among all the Rose Island locations around the world. The words ‘main restaurant’ have a special weight to them. And people will remember Teacher Rachel’s old reputation as well.”
“Yes. Exactly. A legend. But legends exist in people’s memories, not in the present. In other words, they belong to the past. People might look at our main restaurant and……”
“They may look down on it.”
Rachel finished Isaac’s sentence.
She spoke quietly.
“This is the homework we need to complete. People always carry two expectations. One is that we’ll be as incredible as we were in the past. The other is that we’ll fail to live up to the past. We need to surpass both. We have to prove that we’ve become far better than before, and far different as well.”
“……I like what you’re saying. But how are you planning to prove it?”
“There’s a cooking competition in Los Angeles coming up soon. Every year, chefs from restaurants all over LA enter. It’s essentially a competition to determine their ranking. And while Rose Island was open, we never once lost the winner’s trophy.”
Rachel’s eyes gleamed sharply.
She continued like a commander preparing for war.
“We’ll take what belongs to us this time as well.”