Chapter 510: Glimpse of One’s Back (3)
Chapter 510: Glimpse of One’s Back (3)
Just as Lisa wished, they shared a warm meal in a cosy atmosphere. Except for Anderson and Rachel, who were working at the time, everyone gathered together, enjoying the dinner as though it were a Thanksgiving feast.
When the meal ended, Minjoon excused himself and headed to Jack’s room, saying he wanted to talk.
Jack observed, “I don’t think we’ve ever spoken alone like this before.”
“Exactly, which is why I think I need to talk with you more from now on.”
Jack sighed, “Well, I’m not sure how much time I’ll have for that. But why do you want to talk with me now?”
Minjoon almost pointed out the “time” Jack mentioned but stopped himself; dwelling on it would only deepen their sorrow. Instead, he moved straight to the point. “I suddenly got curious about Chef Daniel.”
“Daniel? Why now?”
“I want to know if I really can’t surpass him.”
Minjoon’s eyes shone with seriousness. At that moment, neither Lisa’s illness nor Jack’s health crossed his mind. Jack looked into those eyes quietly. He saw in Minjoon the same passion and ambition he had once seen in Rachel and June.
Slowly, he spoke, “Who do you resemble more, Daniel or Rachel?”
“I can’t say well. I don’t really know Chef Daniel.”
“What I can tell you for certain is that you don’t resemble Daniel,” Jack said calmly.
Minjoon’s expression stiffened slightly at that.
Jack continued, “Daniel never worried about people like you. I mean, he didn’t care whether he could be better than other chefs.”
“So, he was focused on cooking itself, rather than being conscious of others?”
“Nope, he always thought he was the best.”
Minjoon’s mouth opened slightly at the unexpected answer. Jack smiled, recalling Daniel fondly.
“Yeah, he was that kind of guy. Even when he wasn’t yet competent enough to open his own restaurant, he believed he was better than all the giants of the culinary world. He wasn’t just confident—he was almost arrogant. But I didn’t hate his confidence or arrogance; even his blunders made me think he was cool.”
“Wow, he was a swagger!”
“Haha, yeah, like a rapper. Maybe it was the power of his words or just his talent, but Daniel really became the best chef in the world. I don’t know when or how it happened, but it all came about naturally.”
“When Isaac told me about Daniel, he didn’t sound too fond of him. He said Daniel made Chef Rachel’s life difficult in many ways.”
“That was because I was a liberal guy. As a woman, not as a chef, Rachel wanted to lean on Daniel. She hoped she could rely on him. But as you might have guessed, he wasn’t that kind of man. Even after they were married, he often invited me to go to clubs. Of course, nothing happened there, but Rachel was quite upset. Well, I later went to clubs with Rachel too.”
Minjoon found stories like Jack’s surprisingly interesting. He smiled while listening to the nostalgic tales about Daniel.
Suddenly, Jack asked meaningfully, “But what you’re really curious about isn’t what kind of person he was, but what kind of chef he was.”
“Yeah. Can you tell me?”
“Well, he was really useless as a head chef; he had no interest in running the restaurant or managing it. He was eager to show his customers the dishes he thought were the best. So, he left all the kitchen work to Rachel and spent most of his time explaining his dishes and new menus to customers every day.”
“That means he loved cooking that much.”
“Yeah, I think so. If he wanted to cook something, he would do it no matter what. He didn’t care about reality or calculations. He never longed to be a chef like anyone else, nor did he say he wanted to be like any particular chef. He overcame everything purely by believing he was the best chef. That’s why I said you don’t resemble Daniel. If you were Daniel, you wouldn’t be asking those questions in the first place. If he were in your shoes, I’d tell him to just ignore it and say, ‘Hey Daniel, don’t get pushed around by such an old-fashioned guy.’ Haha.”
While listening, Minjoon smiled bitterly, almost unconsciously. There might be no right or wrong in personality, but Minjoon thought Daniel was cool. Hearing Jack’s stories, he wanted to live like Daniel, even though he knew Daniel himself wouldn’t have reacted like this.
“Do you want to surpass Daniel?” Jack asked.
“Yeah.”
“If so, don’t try to be like Daniel. Daniel can’t beat Daniel. And someone who tries to be like Daniel won’t either. Just because many compare you to Daniel, you don’t need to be conscious of him.”
Jack patted Minjoon on the shoulder. When his thin, large hand touched him, Minjoon felt comfort. Despite being worn out by illness and age, Jack was still a giant.
“You have to beat Daniel by being yourself. The reason Rachel didn’t tell you much about Daniel was because she saw that in you.”
And Daniel was the one even Jack, a giant chef himself, admired.
Jack spoke in a faint voice, “Come to think of it, I have to beat that friend of mine at least once before I die.”
“How will you do it?”
“You’ll find out soon. Oh, wait a minute.”
Jack turned to a bookshelf and pulled out an old, leather-bound hardcover book.
“This was a gift from Daniel. It’s also a notebook he kept, jotting down recipes he conceived throughout his life...”
Minjoon noticed something strange. He wasn’t listening carefully to Jack’s words but stared blankly at the book’s cover.
Noticing Minjoon’s suspicious look, Jack said with an embarrassed grin, “Well, just bear with his naming sense. He made it a long time ago when he was young but liked the name even more as he got older.”
The cover bore a phrase surprisingly familiar.
Jack said, “Yorikyoju, or Culinary Sect Founder>. It’s kind of awkward, isn’t it?”
(Translator’s Note: Yorikyoju — Literally “Culinary Sect Founder” or “Culinary Sect Leader” in Korean. The term combines (yori, meaning cooking or cuisine) and (gyoju, meaning sect leader or founder). Historically, has religious connotations referring to a founder of a sect. Reflects a traditional reverence concept found in Korean culture.)
Yorikyoju, or Culinary Sect Leader?
Why was that on the book cover? Minjoon stared blankly, as though seeing something unbelievable.
Yorikyoju...
That chef was the very person who had brought him this far and given him the opportunity. That chef had made him confront the system and revived his dying dream. Was that person really Daniel?
Minjoon accepted the journal as if possessed by a ghost. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it before. Who was Yorikyoju? He hadn’t cared much about how the miracles were possible, only why Daniel was chosen among so many chefs worldwide.
Maybe it was impossible to conclude Daniel was Yorikyoju based on the name alone. The title Culinary Sect Leader was far from ordinary, and the Korean translation, Yorikyoju, might not be entirely precise.
If Daniel was the Yorikyoju Minjoon imagined, he felt he could solve the many puzzles that had troubled him. He understood why Rachel had placed so much hope in him.
“You must feel good about this, don’t you?” Jack asked.
Startled, Minjoon looked quickly at Jack but didn’t answer. More accurately, he hadn’t realised he needed to respond, his mind heavy with thoughts. Jack interpreted this differently.
Jack smiled and nodded. “Well, if you’re a chef, you should treat this book like a treasure.”
“Ah, thank you so much. But are you sure it’s alright to give this to me?”
“It’s better to give it to someone who can use it than leave it in my coffin. Daniel said the same thing. One day, he told me I could pass it to someone I liked. If Daniel were alive today, he’d have hit it off with you and found joy every day.”
“Thanks. I’ll treasure it.”