Chapter 50: Crossroads (1)
Chapter 50: Crossroads (1)
Chloe’s parents were architects.
Her father used to say that just as people lived in houses, houses themselves needed to exist in harmony with nature. Chloe had never really understood what he meant, but whenever he said those words, she thought he looked incredibly cool. To other children, architecture might have seemed like a boring profession, but to Chloe, becoming an architect had once felt like a dream.
That dream did not last long, however, because the family she had believed would remain together forever eventually fell apart.
Her parents might have known how to harmonise houses with nature, but they had failed to create that same harmony between husband and wife. Not long after Chloe graduated from primary school, the raised voices that had filled their home finally ended in divorce papers. Her mother, Diana Jong, received custody, and Chloe Crook became Chloe Jong from then on.
Diana had always been busy, but after the divorce, she began coming home even later. She did not want Chloe to feel that she could not live a normal life simply because she came from a divorced family, so she allowed her to try whatever interested her: martial arts, horse riding, swimming, karate, and more. Perhaps Diana needed that as much for herself as for Chloe. She wanted to believe that her daughter was growing up healthy and happy.
But there was one important thing Diana could not give her: her presence.
Naturally, homemade meals became increasingly unfamiliar to Chloe. Diana was actually a very good cook and often cooked with her on weekends, but looking after her properly during the weekdays was difficult.
That was also how Chloe became good at cooking herself. There were simply too many things she wanted to eat, and she did not want to keep filling her stomach with pizza or hamburgers. Sometimes she followed recipes from the internet, and at other times she copied the methods she had seen her mother use. Before long, her cooking skills had improved until they were comparable to Diana’s.
She had never dreamed of becoming a chef. To be honest, even now she was not sure whether that was truly what she wanted. She simply liked cooking. She had entered the competition with a light heart, but now...
“It feels heavy.”
Lying on her bed, Chloe stared at the ceiling as countless faces passed through her mind: Kaya, Jo Minjoon, Hugo, and the others.
They all had one thing in common. Their faces were filled with passion and determination towards cooking. Chloe liked cooking too, of course, but if someone asked whether she could stake her entire life on it the way they did, she would not have been able to answer easily.
That night, she could not fall asleep. She changed into her sports clothes and went outside for a walk under the moonlight. Wandering around alone at night was not only unusual but dangerous, since she had no idea what kind of people might be roaming outside, so she stayed within the grounds surrounding the Grand Chef house.
...It’s still a little scary.
The wind was cold, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. That was why her expression brightened the moment she noticed a man sitting on one of the benches.
“Minjoon! You’re still awake?”
“Huh? What are you doing out here at this hour?”
“You’re outside too.”
Jo Minjoon smiled at her reply.
Chloe glanced at the phone in his hand. The brightly lit screen was filled with comments, but since they were written in Korean, she could not understand any of them.
“What are you reading?”
“The comments.”
“I hate reading those. They just make me feel bad.”
“I hate them because they make me feel bad too.”
“Then why are you still reading them?”
“Because when someone is insulting you, it’s human nature to want to know exactly what they’re saying.” Jo Minjoon shrugged as though there were nothing more to explain.
Chloe sighed. “And this is what you told Kaya? That reading comments was a waste of time and attention? You sounded like a teacher lecturing a student.”
“...Kaya’s still young. She’d have a harder time dealing with it.”
“And you’re a grown-up?”
Jo Minjoon only smiled.
Chloe sat down beside him. “I don’t think I’m a grown-up either. I’m still too young.”
“What brought that on all of a sudden? Did the night make you sentimental?”
“Just because.” Chloe smiled faintly.
Jo Minjoon studied her for a moment before saying, “Something’s bothering you.”
“There’s nothing like that.”
“You’re not troubled by anything, but you came outside at midnight?”
“You’re outside too.”
“But I am troubled.” Jo Minjoon raised his phone as evidence.
Chloe pressed a hand to her forehead as though conceding defeat. “Fine, good for you. Sorry for not being troubled enough by my own problems.”
“What’s bothering you?” This time, his voice was serious.
Chloe pursed her lips and hugged her knees closer to her chest. It was cold. “It’s just... everyone else seems to be working so hard, but I don’t feel like I am.”
“You work hard too. So what’s the problem?”
“I’m not passionate enough about cooking to cross the Pacific Ocean and come all the way here like you did. Of course, cooking is what I like most, and I’m enjoying it more and more, but I don’t know whether I can challenge myself the way you do. I keep wondering whether I can really devote my whole life to cooking.”
“What would you do if you didn’t cook?”
“I want to become a detective. I’m a fan of Holmes.”
“Come to think of it, you said you were planning to go to law school.” Jo Minjoon looked at her in surprise.
Chloe cupped both cheeks in her hands, perhaps simply because she was cold.
For a moment, Minjoon considered taking off his coat and giving it to her, but he stopped himself. They did not have that kind of relationship.
He laughed instead. “Having too many talents is troublesome too. You end up with too many paths to choose from.”
“What does it matter how many paths I have? The important thing is how much I’m willing to stake on one of them.”
“You’ve already staked plenty. There’s no reason to panic.”
Chloe slowly shook her head. “That isn’t what I’m worried about. What I’m wondering is whether I can keep walking down this path.”
“I like your cooking.”
The words came out bluntly, but they carried more weight than Chloe expected.
Jo Minjoon continued, “I think your personality shows in your food. Nothing is excessive. It’s gentle, and there’s a lot of consideration in it. There’s nothing malicious about it at all.”
“Just because I don’t do bad things doesn’t mean I never think bad things. If you could look inside my head, even you might be shocked.”
“You can think whatever you want. What matters is whether you turn those thoughts into actions. And the Chloe Jong I’ve seen until now is timid, but she has some interesting sides too. When other people point out someone’s flaws, you’re usually the one who looks for their good points.”
“...Hey, when you put it like that, it’s embarrassing.”
“You think it’s embarrassing for you? If this were being recorded for the programme, I’d be kicking my blankets in shame for years. Ugh, I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.” Jo Minjoon held out his arms as if checking them.
Chloe stared at him while the wind ruffled her short hair. “My worries are disappearing, but nothing’s actually been solved.”
“There probably isn’t anything anyone can say that will solve them. In the end, you’ll only know the answer by walking the path yourself. And if you hesitate...” Jo Minjoon slipped his phone back into his pocket and stood. Then he pointed towards the path ahead. “At least I can walk this part of the road with you.”
Oh Hyunjun: It’s really interesting seeing a Korean on a foreign programme. He’s not even an overseas resident. He’s just Korean.
????: What’s so interesting about that? There are loads of cases like this in God Korea. Korea is expanding into the world!
Lee Geoneun: @???? God Korea, my ass. Isn’t the whole point that people leave because they don’t get opportunities like that in Korea?
No reply.
Kimbo: But it looks like something’s going on between him and that white girl. If she were blonde, I’d die of jealousy.
Crow: You idiot, anyone can dye their hair blonde. Tsk, tsk.
Kimbo: @Crow If you tan your skin, do you become Black?
Shin Saeyeon: Watching that made me hungry. Anyway, Grand Chef is really fun. It’d be great if they brought it to Korea.
Hello: Forget that, your profile picture is really pretty. Is that you...?
JK KOO: Instead of all that pretentious cooking, I’d rather eat fried chicken.
Nopeman: Nope.
JK KOO: @Nopeman It’s my opinion. Why are you arguing with me?
Nopeman: Nope.
Wardo: It is delicious! I see! A lewd weed. Help!
Kim Yeongchan: It’d be fun if he actually won. A foreigner would end up taking all the prize money.
Lee Joohee: But if he wins over there, wouldn’t he just settle there? If he makes a name for himself, he wouldn’t have much reason to come back to Korea.
Kim Yeongchan: @Lee Joohee You never know. He might come back because he misses home. Though even I think he’d be better off staying there.
Nopeman: @Kim Yeongchan Nope.
Kimchipepperman: It’d be great if Kaya and Jo Minjoon ended up together.
Jo Minjoon stopped scrolling.
Contrary to what he had feared, the reactions in Korea were fairly positive, and plenty of people were talking about things other than him. If he was being honest, part of him felt slightly disappointed that he was not receiving more attention, but it was probably for the best. The more attention a person received, the more likely it was to bring trouble along with the good.
“Are those Koreans?” Kaya, who had been sneaking glances at his screen from time to time, finally asked in a low voice.
Jo Minjoon nodded.
She hesitated before asking more cautiously, “Are they saying anything about me?”
“Not much.”
In truth, they were saying quite a lot about her. The problem was that almost all of it involved her relationship with Jo Minjoon, which made it too embarrassing to repeat in front of her.
Kaya looked visibly relieved.
Jo Minjoon smiled bitterly. “Are you really that worried?”
“Nobody likes being cursed at.”
“Then act a little gentler when the cameras are on you. Half your haters would probably disappear.”
“Forget it. Then I wouldn’t be me.”
“If you put it that way, I’ve got nothing else to say.”
Jo Minjoon turned off the screen and looked up.
They were in the kitchen, where all the contestants had gathered. This time, however, they were not there for a meal. Another mission was about to begin.
The missions did not follow a fixed schedule. Sometimes they came only two days apart; other times, seven days might pass before the next one. The judges and production staff had to arrange everything around filming, so there was no avoiding it, but waiting around without knowing when the next challenge would begin was always irritating.
That was why the contestants waiting for the judges looked somewhat relieved rather than burdened. At least the waiting was finally over.
Hugo, standing beside Minjoon, asked nervously, “What do you think the mission will be?”
“I don’t know. I feel like we’ve already gone through most of the obvious themes. Maybe it’ll be individual cooking this time, with them deciding the cooking method and ingredients for us.”
“I’d like to do something like Texas barbecue.”
“You’d have to watch it for twenty-four hours straight. You still want that?”
“That’s true.” Hugo readily admitted defeat and shrugged.
At that moment, the doors at the back of the kitchen slowly opened.
The contestants swallowed nervously and turned towards them, but something was different from usual.
There were fewer judges.
More precisely, Joseph and Alan were nowhere to be seen.
Only Emily entered.
She stepped onto the stage, cleared her throat, and adjusted her voice. The contestants watched her curiously, while Emily smiled pleasantly.
“Hello, everyone. Even though it’s been a while since I last saw you, somehow it doesn’t feel very long.”
Emily slowly looked over the contestants one by one. When her gaze reached Jo Minjoon, her smile became noticeably brighter.
Minjoon ignored it.
Ever since she had suggested that he become an food critic, an awkwardness had settled between them. It was not exactly hostility, but neither of them seemed entirely comfortable around the other. Then again, they had barely spoken even before that.
“Today, you’ll have to choose between Alan and Joseph. Let me make one thing clear beforehand: this is not a team mission. So choose carefully. You don’t have to worry about which teammate might mess things up, because, once again, this is not a team mission.”
The moment Jo Minjoon heard that, he had a vague idea of what kind of mission this might be. Perhaps the contestants would be divided according to dishes chosen beforehand—something each judge preferred or specialised in. He faintly remembered seeing a challenge like that before.
“You’ll learn the details after you choose. Anyone who wants Alan should go out to the garden. Anyone choosing Joseph should remain right here. I’ll give you exactly one minute.”
No one spoke.
Every contestant immediately began calculating in their head.
What kind of challenge could this be?
Which choice would give them the better chance?
A minute passed quickly.
Emily raised her voice. “Choose!”
Jo Minjoon moved.