Chapter 193: Searching for the Roots (4)
Chapter 193: Searching for the Roots (4)
Jo Minjoon put another spoonful of samgyetang broth into his mouth.
Changing his mindset did not instantly change the flavour itself. But the way he experienced that flavour was undeniably different.
He no longer thought he had to abandon it for the sake of efficiency. Instead, he found himself wondering how he could make proper use of this flavour and use it to win people over.
Not giving up, but holding on to hope.
That small shift alone made the table feel far more enjoyable than before.
Satisfaction showed on Jo Minjoon’s face, and Kaya smiled as she watched him.
Lisa asked teasingly, “Are you two always like this?”
“Hmm? Like what?”
“The two of you. I know you’re a chef couple, but I didn’t realise you dated while making it so painfully obvious that you’re chefs.”
“It’s because of Minjoon. He’s always starting discussions about food.”
Anderson answered with a tired expression.
Then he glanced towards Chloe.
She looked calm on the surface, but she was probably hurting quite a bit. Nobody would enjoy watching the person they liked being affectionate with someone else.
Anderson looked back at Jo Minjoon.
Minjoon could seem dense at times, but he was actually thoughtful and fairly perceptive when it came to other people’s feelings.
……Is he doing this on purpose?
Perhaps it was for the best.
Rather than giving Chloe mixed signals, showing her the cold reality might make it easier for her to put her feelings behind her.
Any couple could look as though they would never break up, but Anderson genuinely could not imagine Kaya and Jo Minjoon ever separating.
After thinking about it for a while, he sighed inwardly and picked up his chopsticks.
There’s nothing more pointless than worrying about someone else’s love life.
The meal continued for quite some time.
With so many dishes on the table, there was no way it could end quickly.
Ordinary people might simply eat the dishes they liked, but they were chefs. They wanted to taste everything, and at the same time, they did not want any food to go to waste.
Of course, avoiding the latter was practically impossible.
“I can’t eat any more……”
Ella stared sadly at the piece of galbi-jjim on the end of her fork.
Kaya answered bluntly.
“Then stop eating. You’ll get fat.”
“……I won’t get fat.”
“If not wanting to gain weight was enough to stop it, dieting wouldn’t exist.”
Ella glared at Kaya before looking sadly back at the galbi-jjim.
Jo Minjoon smiled.
“If I ever have a daughter, I’d like one like Ella.”
“……What? Who said you’re allowed to?”
Kaya asked indignantly, making it clear she had never agreed to anything of the sort.
Ella looked just as shocked.
“Uncle, you’re going to have a baby?”
“I assume I will someday?”
“……I don’t want Uncle to have a baby.”
“Why?”
“Then you won’t play with Ella anymore.”
Ella’s shoulders drooped along with her expression.
Jo Minjoon gently stroked the back of her head.
“Why would I stop playing with you? Don’t worry. I’ll still play with you plenty.”
“……You’re talking as though we’ve already decided to have a child.”
“Eventually, we will.”
“I never agreed to that. I don’t have time to have a child and raise one because of work.”
“I don’t know. That’s assuming I marry you…… Ugh.”
Jo Minjoon suddenly jolted and reached down to rub his thigh.
Kaya had pinched him with her toes.
She stared at him ominously.
“Do you want to die?”
“……Fine. I’m sorry.”
Jo Minjoon answered quietly.
If they ever ended up living together, he already had a fairly clear idea of who would be in charge.
Lisa suddenly seemed to remember something.
“Come to think of it, you said you were planning to live together. Have you decided anything yet?”
“Not yet. We haven’t found a house……”
“Ah. About that.”
Chloe spoke.
Her voice was awkward.
“Sorry. I’m going to have to say no.”
“What? Why?”
Kaya asked with obvious disappointment.
Chloe smiled apologetically.
“Sorry. It’s too complicated to explain everything. I just think it would be difficult for me.”
“There’s no need to apologise, but……”
Kaya trailed off, disappointment written all over her face.
That made sense.
She had been the one looking forward most to living with Chloe.
Jo Minjoon quietly looked at Chloe before slowly speaking.
“You thought about it a lot, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I thought about forcing myself to try, but in the end…… I think it would be too difficult.”
Those few words carried far more meaning than they seemed to on the surface.
Beneath the table, where nobody could see, Chloe clenched her fist.
……Yes. Good job, Chloe.
If she told Minjoon that she had completely resolved her feelings for him, he would surely believe her.
That was the kind of person he was.
But she could not do that.
She could not betray him by taking advantage of his generous nature.
And she could not betray Kaya.
Perhaps this was a confession in its own way.
Her feelings were still there.
And they might be difficult to erase completely.
Maybe her refusal even revealed that she had lied when she said she had already put those feelings behind her.
As insecurity began creeping in, Jo Minjoon spoke.
“It’s disappointing, but what can we do? Whether we live together isn’t what matters. What matters is that we’re friends, and that won’t change just because we live apart. Right?”
The moment Chloe heard that, she bit her lip.
She felt as though she might cry if she did not.
Jo Minjoon was comforting her.
He understood.
And he was letting her know that her feelings would not destroy their friendship.
Kaya continued as though the answer were obvious.
“Of course. How many friends actually live together? Living separately is normal.”
“That’s true.”
Jo Minjoon smiled.
At that moment, the door slid open and Lee Tae Hoon entered.
He looked over the table.
“Are you finished? Should I bring dessert?”
“……Does the saucier normally come out personally to ask that?”
(Translator’s Note: Saucier — A station within the classical French brigade de cuisine. Traditionally, the saucier prepares sauces as well as many sautéed dishes, stews, and hot savoury preparations. The brigade system was formalised particularly through Auguste Escoffier’s work around the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The saucier is traditionally regarded as one of the most technically demanding senior station positions.)
“Not normally. But it’s different when the saucier happens to be a fan of the guest. Besides, there are three beauties here…… No, four beauties.”
Lee Tae Hoon noticed Ella glaring at him and quickly corrected himself.
Jo Minjoon looked around at the others before nodding.
“Yes, please bring it. Ah, and…… could I ask you a favour?”
“What is it?”
“I’d like to look around your kitchen…… I’ve only ever seen Korean restaurant kitchens in films. I’ve never actually been inside one.”
“Mm…… That shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Me too! I want to go too!”
Ella immediately shot her hand into the air.
Lisa scolded her, looking embarrassed.
“No, Ella. You’ll bother the chefs.”
“……Okay.”
Ella lowered her hand with a disappointed expression.
She might be mischievous at times, but she listened to her mother remarkably well.
Lee Tae Hoon smiled.
“No, it’s fine. The chefs are about to take a break anyway. I’m sure they’ll enjoy having such a cute little lady come and visit.”
Ella immediately lifted her head again and looked at Lisa with sparkling eyes.
In the end, Lisa shook her head as though she had no choice.
“Fine. But you have to listen to Uncle Minjoon, okay? Don’t let go of his hand.”
“Okay! I will!”
Ella smiled brightly and clung to Jo Minjoon’s arm.
Seeing Kaya’s displeased expression, Chloe smiled and patted her knee.
“Relax. She’s only a child.”
“……I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am relaxed.”
“Your fist looks awfully tightly clenched for someone who’s relaxed.”
Just then, Ella, who was walking away while holding Minjoon’s hand, turned around and stuck her tongue out at Kaya.
Kaya glared.
But Ella had already turned back around.
On the way to the kitchen, Lee Tae Hoon spoke.
“It’ll probably be a little different from what you’re expecting.”
The reason became obvious the moment they entered.
Aside from a few traditional Korean earthenware pots, the kitchen was thoroughly modern.
There was almost nothing that immediately distinguished it from the kitchen of a Western restaurant.
The walls and floor were tiled, while stainless-steel appliances and refrigerators filled the workspace.
Lee Tae Hoon smiled.
“Doesn’t look as historic as you expected, does it?”
“I suppose I was imagining something more traditional. Wooden worktables, maybe a fire pit made from stone and sand.”
“That’s understandable. The outside of the restaurant looks like an old tiled-roof house.”
While Lee Tae Hoon was speaking, Ella tapped Minjoon on the back.
When he looked down, she raised both arms towards him.
“Lift me up. I want to see from up there.”
Jo Minjoon picked her up.
Thankfully, she was not particularly heavy.
Ella spotted one of the earthenware pots and gasped in admiration.
“That looks like a turtle.”
As she spoke, an older man approached them and held out his hand.
Jo Minjoon put Ella down before shaking it.
“You must be the famous Jo Minjoon. I’ve heard a lot about you. I hear you work at Rose Island?”
“Ah, yes.”
“My name is Gregory Adams. I’m the head chef here.”
Jo Minjoon looked visibly startled.
How could he not?
Gregory was Black.
Gregory smiled as though he could immediately tell what was going through Minjoon’s mind.
“Why? Surprised that a Black man works at a Korean restaurant? And as the head chef, no less?”
“No, well…… yes. If I’m being honest, I am a little surprised.”
“I like honesty.”
“The food feels very Korean. Of course, there are some slight differences, but considering the ingredients being used, I’m not even sure I could call them differences. That’s why I’m even more surprised.”
“Sometimes you can see something more clearly when you look at it from the outside. For example, you’re Korean, but you cook Western food.”
“You’re right. I didn’t think I would be like this, but I suppose I have my own biases too. I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologise. Who in this country is completely free of bias? Even I sometimes feel uneasy when I go out for sushi and see a White person slicing the fish. I start wondering whether I picked the wrong restaurant.”
Jo Minjoon laughed.
As he picked Ella back up, Gregory looked at her.
“Your daughter?”
“No. A colleague’s daughter.”
“She’s the cutest child I’ve seen all year.”
“Thank you very much.”
Ella answered with a shy laugh.
The conversation did not last long.
Jo Minjoon did not want to disturb the kitchen any more than necessary.
While they were walking back towards the private room, Ella rested her chin against Minjoon’s neck and spoke sadly.
“I wish Minjoon was my dad instead of my uncle.”
Jo Minjoon stopped walking.
He wanted to say something immediately, but the subject was too heavy for him to answer without thinking.
He slowly patted Ella’s back before finally speaking.
“Do you really want to see your dad?”
“……Yes. Very much.”
“Uncle can’t become your dad…… but I can love you as much as a dad would. So don’t feel lonely, Ella. Me and everyone else—we’re all here beside you. And we all love you very much. You know that, right?”
Ella did not answer.
Instead, she tightened her arms around Minjoon’s neck.
What was it?
She was still the same light little girl he had been carrying moments earlier.
And yet, at that moment……
Ella felt unbearably heavy.