Chapter 549: Reservation (1)
Chapter 549: Reservation (1)
The competition to determine the new head of Rose Island had ended, and the winner was clear—June. She would serve as the head of Rose Island for the next four years.
It was a historic moment, yet none of the camera operators could focus solely on the competition’s final result. They instinctively sensed that the conversation between Rachel and June was far more significant for Rose Island’s future than simply who held the title. Their dialogue, each word they exchanged, captured the essence of their lives and expressed their innermost thoughts. There was something magnificent about that exchange that ordinary chefs could hardly fathom.
“Nah Yujin?” one of the cameramen called her name cautiously. Startled, she turned from the podium where she had been staring and looked at him.
He smiled in understanding. “Why don’t you go and interview the winner?”
“Oh, yeah, I will,” she replied, nodding fervently as if possessed by the idea. Rachel’s conversation with June was over, but the fierce argument they had left a deep impression on her.
Of course, a chef and a reporter were different. It was easier to find differences than similarities between them. But beneath that, they were both human—both striving to grow further and reach the top in their respective companies or organisations. She could understand their feelings of desire, greed, and ambition.
So when she watched Rachel argue with June, she found herself supporting June, not Rachel. People often think of greedy individuals as immature, but Yujin believed it wasn’t greed itself that was immature. It became ugly only when people craved something that belonged to others. She loathed those who recklessly babbled about others’ lives, disparaging their way of living.
“You’re interviewing Minjoon first, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But I really want to interview Chef June.”
It was practically impossible to interview everyone without prior appointments, especially with dozens of reporters clamouring around. Her newspaper supervisor had told her to focus on one person only—Minjoon—although there were many important figures to cover.
It was unusual that while others busied themselves interviewing June, the winner, she was assigned to Minjoon, but that was because she was a Korean reporter. Koreans had little interest in who would win the Rose Island competition. Even Yujin herself felt indifferent.
That’s funny, she thought.
What June had fought so hard to claim was worthless to most spectators. Of course, anyone offered the position of head of Rose Island wouldn’t refuse it. Still, Yujin couldn’t find much meaning in the role, which was why she partly understood Rachel’s insistence that the position wasn’t simply about “honour” or “glory.”
There was no closing ceremony. Rachel said a few formal words, then she and Minjoon stepped down from the podium. Reporters immediately swarmed around Rachel, June, and Minjoon; those unable to get close began interviewing other head chefs who had competed.
More reporters surrounded Minjoon than Yujin had expected. Startled, she pushed her way through. Though lacking years of experience, she was adept at nudging forward, easily breaking through the crowd.
Minjoon was bombarded with questions—some insightful, some downright trivial. Reviewing her prepared questions, a gloomy look crossed her face.
Are you planning to go back to Korea someday?
How does it feel to be established in America as a Korean chef? Do you see potential for Korean food to globalize?
There are rumours Rose Island might open a branch in Korea. What do you think?
Compared to ridiculous queries like “Do you prefer kimchi or bulgogi?”, her questions were appropriate for a correspondent but still irrelevant to a competition that had just ended. How could she be asking about his personal thoughts rather than the contest itself? Such questions reflected the flat indifference Koreans had toward the competition, even when Minjoon was Korean.
She decided she had to ask better questions. Ashamed of her earlier preparation, she raised her microphone high, like holding a wine bottle in a club, and edged closer to Minjoon.
She accidentally touched him.
“Are you Korean?” Minjoon asked.
Now directly in front of him, startled by his question, she quickly looked away and replied, “Yes, I’m Nah Yujin, a reporter with JBC.”
(Translator’s Note: JBC - Korean broadcasting corporation or news outlet. Reflects real-world Korean media organizations, often abbreviated similarly.)
Suddenly, dozens of questions flooded her mind, but she selected one almost without thinking.
Don’t you want to be the master of this competition?
She asked instinctively. Others might have wanted to ask the same but hesitated—such a question could ruin the competition’s atmosphere. The winner was already declared; who else could be this event’s hero? It was undoubtedly absurd to ask, yet she did.
Yujin bit her lip. She’d made a mistake. The question was vague, nearly impossible to answer.
Still, he responded.
June was probably the most shocked by her question, but Minjoon was equally stunned. He had been appointed as a standing judge to evaluate this competition every four years. When Rachel retired, he would likely become the sole judge.
“How can she trust me so much?” Minjoon sighed inwardly. Honestly, he felt burdened. He wasn’t even sure about running a restaurant. Cooking well didn’t guarantee a chef could lead kitchen staff effectively. Running a restaurant involved much more than cooking.
He had once asked Rachel if she realised how dangerous it was to appoint him as a judge. He even told her that if he wished, he could team up with one of the head chefs to take over Rose Island.
Watching him, she smiled as if he were adorable and said she wasn’t worried about such things.
Rachel’s words had deep meaning for him. He wasn’t sure if she truly trusted he wouldn’t do such a thing or if she had already put measures in place to prevent it systematically.
But now wasn’t the time to worry. Standing outside the bar called Rooster and Bull on Lincoln Street, he pondered for a moment. It seemed harder to say what he wanted to the person he was here to meet than to solve any of these problems.
He sighed, then took a deep breath and opened the door.
Beyond the darts players, he could see June sitting blankly at the bar.
“What are you doing here? You look miserable!” he said in a sullen voice.
“That’s why I called you.”
“I thought you were here with Chef Dave.”
“Well, that idiot chickened out and wanted to check my mood.”
“I’m checking your mood right now.”
“But I know you’ll speak your mind if you want to,” she said, sipping brandy.
He ordered a beer and sat beside her. He had never imagined a day when she would look so small.
She cut a sorry figure on her most glorious day—indeed, the very day she had won this competition.
“Do you think I’m chasing a foolish dream?”
“If I thought that, I wouldn’t say I respected you.”
“Then is it Chef Rachel’s fault?”
He couldn’t answer easily. He knew the truth—it was not Rachel’s fault. She did her best. Honestly, he also believed that Rachel’s new system for choosing Rose Island’s head was the best for both Rachel and Rose Island. But it wasn’t the best for June.
“Should I fight against this new system?”
“Well, you said we didn’t have to fight when we want something badly.”
“I did. But I don’t know. Rachel’s so stubborn. Can I break her stubbornness?”
The idea gave him goosebumps. At her lowest moment, she was already thinking of rebuilding everything. By persuading Rachel to abandon the new system, she was trying to rekindle her dream.
Could she do it?