Chapter 197: The Courtship of 36 People (1)
Chapter 197: The Courtship of 36 People (1)
When marriage or cohabitation was romanticised, the scenes people imagined often had one thing in common: waking in the morning to birdsong and sunlight filtering through the window, then opening sleepy eyes to find the beautiful face of your peacefully sleeping partner right in front of you.
Kaya was currently living through exactly that kind of romanticised moment.
It was early morning. The fog had not yet lifted, so the sunlight was still faint, and the birds had not begun chirping either. All that remained was the heaviness of sleep weighing down her body and the side of Jo Minjoon’s face, barely visible through her drooping eyelids. He was lying roughly two arm lengths away.
……So sleepy.
Close her eyes and surrender to sleep, or keep staring at Jo Minjoon’s face.
After wrestling with that difficult decision for a while, Kaya’s eyelids trembled before finally closing. She remained trapped in sleep for another brief moment, then took a deep breath and cautiously reached towards the bedside table. Her fingers found her smartphone.
6:57 a.m.
Her alarm was set for seven.
In the past, she would have turned the alarm off and gone straight back to sleep. Should she be pleased that she could now at least wake up before it rang?
For a moment, she considered simply lying there until the alarm went off, but in the end she switched it off and got up. She did not want to disturb Jo Minjoon’s sleep.
Kaya walked over to his bed and knelt beside it, leaning forwards like a cat as she looked down at his face. A smile gradually appeared on her still-tired expression.
“He sleeps so peacefully.”
Some people made strange faces in their sleep, but Jo Minjoon slept exactly as he behaved when awake: calm and gentle. Even the blanket covering him was perfectly neat.
He really was pointlessly perfect.
Maybe that was part of the reason she liked him so much.
Kaya reached out and poked his cheek with one finger. She liked the feel of his firm, elastic skin beneath her fingertip. If she had the time, she could probably keep touching his cheek all day.
Unfortunately, she did not.
Kaya kissed Jo Minjoon on the lips, then stood up.
It was time to get ready for work as usual.
Kaya’s day began with breakfast.
According to the terms of their old agreement, she was supposed to make lunch as well, but that was not realistically possible anymore. The two of them were rarely together at lunchtime. Breakfast was the only meal she could consistently prepare, so she poured all of her effort into it.
“Hmm. It fermented nicely.”
Kaya lifted the lid of the pot and nodded in satisfaction.
Inside was doenjang jjigae.
She had prepared it the previous day and allowed it to rest, hoping the flavours would deepen further. Kaya placed the pot over a low flame, then started washing the rice.
She did not simply turn on the tap and rinse it carelessly.
The taste of cooked rice could change depending on the water used for the first rinse, so Kaya used slowly filtered water for all three washes. It was more troublesome, but she did not mind.
Her favourite thing was cooking.
Her favourite person was Jo Minjoon.
Why would she dislike doing something she loved for someone precious to her?
Apart from the doenjang jjigae and rice, most of the side dishes were dried banchan that could simply be taken out and served. There was only one additional dish she had made herself, and it was hardly simple: steamed sea bass and shrimp with shrimp bisque purée.
It was somewhat Western for a Korean-style breakfast, but Kaya did not think the flavours would clash.
“……You’re noisy even first thing in the morning.”
Someone clicked their tongue behind her.
Kaya did not even need to turn around.
“If you don’t like it, don’t eat. I thought I might as well make some for you while I was cooking for Minjoon, but if you want to throw that away yourself, go ahead.”
“I said you were noisy. I never said I didn’t want the food.”
“Then shut up and wait. Don’t get on my nerves.”
Kaya shot back bluntly.
Anderson was irritated, but Kaya was the one holding the knife right now. He merely sighed inwardly before asking, “Looks like you’re almost done. Should I wake Minjoon?”
“No. Let him sleep a little longer. And I’m waking him up myself. If you take that from me, I’ll kill you. I mean it.”
There was nothing better than watching someone’s confused expression the moment they first woke up.
A short while later, Kaya removed her apron. “Set the table. I’ll go wake Minjoon.”
Jo Minjoon was still asleep even though it was nearly eight.
That was understandable. Recently, there had been many nights when he stayed up late developing recipes. On top of that, now that he finally had his own home, perhaps he had unconsciously relaxed.
Kaya felt slightly guilty about waking him, but it had to be done.
She leaned down and kissed him.
Then she deliberately refused to pull away until he could no longer breathe comfortably.
Eventually, Minjoon’s body shifted and he slowly raised his head.
“……What are you doing?”
“Waking you up.”
“That’s an interesting alarm.”
Jo Minjoon smiled and wrapped his arms around her.
Kaya immediately started struggling. “No. You have to get up. I made breakfast.”
“Okay. Just one minute. No, one minute and thirty seconds.”
“You’re such a miser even when you’re bargaining for more time.”
Kaya stared at him in disbelief before laughing.
From the kitchen, Anderson watched them and covered his face with one hand.
He had moved away from his parents to escape their nagging, only to end up with two roommates who were unbearable in a completely different way.
Their affection did not stop once they left the bedroom either.
The moment Jo Minjoon sat at the table, his face brightened.
“Wow! Doenjang jjigae and rice. This really feels like a Korean breakfast.”
“I thought you might miss it in the mornings. Since you’re living abroad, it would be nice to start the day with something familiar. People at our market were like that too. Some of them stayed here illegally and had no intention of going back to their home countries, but they still always wanted food from home.”
“There are two things that distinguish one country from another. Its people and its food.”
“So take care of yourself. Are you eating properly at lunch when you’re at the restaurant? No, I’m sure you are now. But what about after Rose Island opens?”
“I’ll probably still eat properly then. Apprentices might not have much time because they have to use every spare moment to prepare ingredients and take care of other things, but I’m a demi chef. Besides……” Jo Minjoon’s expression turned slightly bitter. “Chef Rachel is extremely sensitive about the staff’s health. She had a terrible experience in a kitchen before. She probably never wants something like that to happen again.”
“I’m sure it was awful. So look after yourself. Promise?”
“I should be saying that to you. You look much thinner lately.”
“……Hey. Could the two of you please shut up while we eat? Kaya, weren’t you the one who said last time that people should concentrate on their food?”
Anderson spoke with exhausted irritation.
Kaya lifted her eyes and glared at him. “If you’re getting free food, shut up and eat, you lazy bastard. You’ve got a lot to say for someone who didn’t help at all. Besides, last time we were eating something amazing enough to deserve our full attention. Honestly, this isn’t on that level.”
“Why not? I like this better than that restaurant.”
A smile immediately appeared on Kaya’s face at Jo Minjoon’s words.
Anderson shook his head.
“……Lunatics.”
*
Rose Island was busier than usual that day.
It was not only because the newly hired servers and sommeliers were present. Cameras had been set up throughout the kitchen and dining room, while cameramen carrying equipment almost the size of small children moved constantly around the building.
A television station was filming a special about Rose Island.
The beautifully restored main branch lived in the memories of older diners and in the imaginations of younger ones. Being able to produce a feature on such a place was an irresistible opportunity for the broadcasters.
It benefited Rose Island as well. Filming was scheduled to continue only until opening day, and as long as the crew did not interfere with the cooking, there was little reason to refuse.
The cameramen and staff, however, soon found themselves dealing with an unexpected problem.
Whenever the demi chefs and prep cooks finished making a dish, they carried it over to the production crew and asked them to taste it.
At first, the staff ate happily, delighted to receive luxurious food for free.
But the endless baptism of dishes never stopped.
The PD standing beside Jo Minjoon finally stuck out his tongue.
“You’re working this hard when you haven’t even opened yet?”
“It’s been like this for months. We can’t exactly test our teamwork on paying customers.”
“……So our staff have become your guinea pigs?”
Jo Minjoon quietly avoided his eyes.
The PD chuckled before continuing, “I heard a little about you from Martin. He said you become a completely different person when you cook.”
“It isn’t always like that. If it were, I’d be insane. Oh, did Martin perhaps say I was insane?”
The PD hesitated, then cautiously nodded.
Seeing Jo Minjoon sigh, he hurriedly added, “Ah, but he didn’t just say you were insane. He said you were a lovable kind of insane.”
“What difference does that make?”
“There’s affection in it.”
“……I’m not sure Martin’s affection is enough to console me after finding out he called me insane.”
“He’s right. You are insane.”
Janet casually threw that remark over her shoulder as she walked past on her way to the refrigerator.
Jo Minjoon stared after her with a devastated expression, then turned back towards the PD.
The PD shrugged.
“Sounds like it’s basically your official title.”
“Please edit that out.”
Jo Minjoon answered shortly before returning his attention to his cooking.
The PD watched him for a while, then looked towards the servers practising their movements between the kitchen and dining room.
Both sides seemed remarkably well trained.
……Did they say the menu changes every fifteen days?
The concept behind Jo Minjoon’s current dish was certainly unusual: injecting air into mozzarella until it inflated like a balloon.
To develop an entirely new menu containing ideas like that every fifteen days……
Any ordinary chef would probably feel as though their head were about to explode.
But I suppose the fact that they can do it is exactly why this is Rachel Rose’s Rose Island.
Even chefs from famous restaurants who normally carried enormous pride could not behave arrogantly in front of Rachel Rose.
Was everyone here this good because they worked in her kitchen?
Or had she simply selected only the very best?
Every demi chef in the kitchen seemed exceptionally skilled.
Nothing interrupted their cooking, and nothing seemed to make them hesitate.
Every plate they produced looked like a work of art.
They were essentially making the same dishes again and again, but that was actually harder than constantly making different ones. Repetition made complacency easy.
The simple fact that they could maintain the same quality every single time already proved that they were more than capable demi chefs.
I heard Minjoon has only been studying molecular gastronomy for a couple of months.
For someone with so little experience, he looked remarkably comfortable handling syringes, liquid nitrogen, agar, and the other tools and ingredients involved.
Was cooking that demanded visible precision simply easier to learn?
The PD was not an expert, but his work had brought him into contact with many accomplished chefs. He could tell that Jo Minjoon’s hand movements looked every bit as natural as those of some seasoned professionals.
……I remember Martin saying that as a PD, he had to focus on Minjoon’s Absolute Taste, but as a customer, you couldn’t help being impressed by his actual ability as a chef.
Realistically, the two could not be completely separated.
Absolute Taste was part of Minjoon’s ability.
The thought reminded him of a conversation he had once had with Martin.
Do you know what the most astonishing thing was about producing that series? At the beginning, Minjoon wasn’t actually that talented a chef.
But he still made it to the final three, didn’t he? Knowing you, I doubt you would’ve asked the judges to push him forward just because of his Absolute Taste. And even if you did, there’s no way the judges would’ve listened. So what happened? Was he simply lucky?
How could anyone survive that many competitions on luck alone? His skills improved.
……Can someone really improve at cooking that quickly?
Technique probably improves slowly. But his instincts for food developed at a frightening pace. More precisely, he absorbed the cooking styles of everyone around him. If you look closely at the dishes Minjoon made during the second half of the competition, quite a few incorporated things other contestants had attempted. That’s how strongly he was affected by the people around him.
So what exactly are you trying to say?
Unable to endure the frustration any longer, the PD had finally asked directly.
Martin’s answer had been simple.
He’ll become a completely different chef depending on who surrounds him. Put him in a great chef’s kitchen, and he’ll absorb everything there and make it his own. His concentration when he’s learning something is beyond normal.
And that Jo Minjoon was now standing in Rachel Rose’s kitchen.
The kitchen of the woman regarded as one of the greatest chefs in the world.
The PD quietly thought to himself.
Minjoon, show us. Show me how much you can grow, and……