Chapter 56: Travelling, Cooking and Business (2)
Chapter 56: Travelling, Cooking and Business (2)
The judges did not waste any more time and soon left. Jo Minjoon gave a light laugh and looked over his teammates. His eyes briefly met Kaya’s even though she was on another team, but the moment their gazes crossed, she turned her head away. Was she angry?
Anderson, who had followed Jo Minjoon’s gaze, asked teasingly, “Why? Regretting your choice?”
“No, I don’t regret it. I just felt a chill run down my spine.”
“Then why did you pick me? That’s not like you. You should’ve just kept up your usual love line.”
“I picked you partly because I didn’t want that. The more people see us together, the more exhausting it gets.”
“You’re talking as if there’s really nothing going on between the two of you.”
“Because there isn’t.” Jo Minjoon answered without the slightest hesitation.
His expression was completely matter-of-fact, and that response actually made Anderson pause.
Was there really nothing between them?
Truthfully, Anderson had never thought the television programme was making everything up. Although he had not personally witnessed every interaction between them, Jo Minjoon and Kaya seemed unusually close. Their relationship felt too deep to dismiss as ordinary friendship.
Yet Jo Minjoon’s reaction was so unequivocal that Anderson began to wonder if he had been mistaken.
Joanne, who was standing beside them, laughed. “If he says there’s nothing, then there probably isn’t. Anderson, don’t pry too much. This isn’t something that’ll get solved just because everyone around them keeps overthinking it.”
“It became like this because you people keep acting as if there’s something between us. The broadcast does it too,” Jo Minjoon complained.
“You’ve got that backwards, Minjoon. We don’t act this way and make you look suspicious. You act suspicious first, so we react to it.”
Jo Minjoon considered how to answer, then simply changed the subject. “We can talk about that ridiculous love line later. For now, let’s go look at the truck.”
He walked ahead, and his teammates exchanged amused looks before following him.
The food truck was just as spacious inside as it had looked from the outside. Jo Minjoon surveyed the interior with the awkward fascination of someone inspecting a newly rented home. There was not much cooking equipment installed yet. Naturally, they could not decide what tools they needed before choosing what they were going to cook.
Sitting down on a chair fixed against one wall, Jo Minjoon said, “It’s bigger than I expected.”
“It needs to be this big if we’re actually going to cook in here. So what should we make?” Anderson asked.
“I don’t know…… Sandwiches? Is that too ordinary?”
“Being ordinary isn’t necessarily bad, but we need to remember the point of the mission. In the end, we have to run a business and make as much money as possible. I think sandwiches alone might be a little weak.”
At Anderson’s observation, Jo Minjoon fell silent and thought it over. Broadly speaking, there were two possible approaches: sell a large quantity cheaply, or sell a small quantity at a high price. Considering that people who approached a food truck were unlikely to expect a luxurious meal, the first option seemed more suitable.
“Let’s keep it inexpensive. Around five dollars sounds good. And I think we should focus on a single main item.”
From what he remembered, the team that had won this mission originally had been Anderson’s. Or had it been Kaya’s? The two of them had been on the same team then, so the memory had blurred together. As for the menu……
Was it a Spanish omelette? No, I think it was something else……
Even though he had watched the programme more than once, his memories of the team missions were vague. The dishes he remembered most clearly tended to be the ones tied to memorable stories.
Besides, relying on the future would not necessarily help him here. The teams were different this time. He needed to design a menu based on the teammates he actually had.
At that moment, Peter, who had been quietly watching everyone else, spoke cautiously. “What about steak?”
“If you mean beef, it’ll be difficult. The cost won’t work. There probably won’t be many people willing to pay tens of dollars for food from a truck.”
“What if we use chicken breast instead? We could serve it with salad.”
“It’s not bad…… but it still feels like something’s missing.” Jo Minjoon rubbed his clean-shaven chin in thought.
Joanne made a thoughtful hmm sound. “First, what comes to mind when you think of food trucks? Kebab, takoyaki, hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches……”
(Translator’s Note: Kebab —A broad family of grilled or roasted dishes originating across the Middle East and neighbouring regions. The word and associated cooking traditions spread widely through Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and later Ottoman cuisines. In modern usage, “kebab” can refer to numerous preparations rather than a single specific dish.)
(Translator’s Note: Takoyaki —A Japanese street food consisting of spherical batter pieces traditionally filled with diced octopus and cooked in a moulded pan. It originated in Osaka and is generally credited to street-food vendor Tomekichi Endo in 1935, who developed it from earlier batter-based snacks such as radioyaki)
“There’s also fried chicken and pizza,” Jo Minjoon said. “But honestly, I don’t think those two would be very competitive. People can just order pizza for delivery, and I don’t think there’s much reason for them to go searching for a food truck specifically for it.”
“So are we limited to the things I just listed? There isn’t anything else?”
“Let’s think a little longer.”
They did not need to decide immediately. That entire day had been given to them for preparation, and the actual business would not begin until the following day.
Ivanna, who had been sitting quietly with her mouth shut, finally spoke. With short brown curls and freckles across her face, she talked so little that it sometimes made people wonder whether she had any intention of speaking at all.
“Shaved ice. Gelato. I like those.”
“It’s April. In the eastern part of the country, winter hasn’t completely gone yet. It’s probably still too early for most people to want cold desserts.”
“Ice cream is still delicious even when it’s cold.”
“It is, but it might be too risky. I think we should avoid cold food.”
Ivanna returned to her usual absent-minded expression and looked down at the floor.
Anderson said, “Ice cream would be difficult for the reason you mentioned, but I do think we should sell a drink alongside the food. A non-alcoholic cocktail, freshly squeezed juice, or even tea could work.”
“The drink would depend on the food.”
At that moment, a dish came to Jo Minjoon’s mind. It was extremely familiar to him, but probably unfamiliar to the others. After hesitating briefly, he said, “What about kimbap?”
(Translator’s Note: Kimbap — A Korean dish made by spreading cooked rice over dried laver (gim), adding fillings, and rolling it before slicing. Common fillings include egg, carrot, cucumber, pickled radish, burdock root, and meat. Modern kimbap developed during the twentieth century and became one of South Korea’s most familiar portable meals. Unlike Japanese sushi rice, Korean kimbap rice is normally seasoned with sesame oil and salt rather than rice vinegar.)
“Kimbap? What’s that?”
“Mm…… You spread rice over laver, put other ingredients on top, then roll it up.”
“Oh, isn’t that sushi? You see something like that quite often when you order sushi at a Japanese restaurant.”
“Yes, that. Norimaki. If you take out the vinegar and sugar and season it with sesame oil instead, you can think of it as being similar to kimbap. They look almost the same.”
(Translator’s Note: Norimaki— A category of Japanese rolled sushi in which vinegared rice and fillings are wrapped in dried nori seaweed. Rolled sushi developed during Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868), particularly after sheet nori became increasingly available. Although visually similar to Korean kimbap, norimaki generally uses vinegar-seasoned sushi rice.)
Jo Minjoon felt a little disappointed that they did not know what kimbap was, though there was nothing particularly surprising about it. From his perspective, it almost seemed funny that they could not distinguish kimbap from sushi, but naturally, they had grown up with a completely different food culture.
He thought for a moment before continuing. “Norimaki-style rolls would be hard to beat in terms of cost. What do you think? Joanne, you know what they are, right?”
“Yes. I’ve eaten them quite a lot because I really like Japanese food. Hmm. They’re simple, easy to sell, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea. We can make them in advance too, and the flavour would be unfamiliar enough to be interesting. Though I don’t know whether customers would actually find it that unfamiliar these days. Almost everyone has tried sushi at least once. What do you think?”
Joanne looked towards Ivanna.
Ivanna slowly rolled her eyes upwards before nodding. “I think it’ll be fine.”
“……You know what kind of food we’re talking about, right?”
“Yes. One of my friends is Japanese.”
“Peter, what about you?”
“I’ve never tried it. I don’t really like fish.”
“It isn’t sushi with raw fish. It’s just rice, laver, and other fillings. Hmm. I think it could work really well. Especially because once we prepare it, it’ll be easy to sell.”
Jo Minjoon nodded. One of the biggest advantages of kimbap and sushi rolls was that they did not have to be served piping hot. If customers suddenly crowded around the truck, they would not have to panic and cook every portion from scratch. That alone seemed to solve half the difficulties of operating a food truck.
Anderson looked around the group. “So are we settling on that as the main idea?”
“Yes. We’ll have to think about what tea to serve with it too. Lemon tea, citron tea, green tea, black tea…… It might be good to prepare at least three kinds and let customers choose.”
(Translator’s Note: Citron tea —A Korean drink made by mixing hot water with yuja-cheong, a preserve of sliced yuja citrus combined with sugar or honey. Yuja reached Korea from China centuries ago and became established in southern coastal regions. Yujacha is especially associated with cold-weather drinking and is valued for its strong citrus aroma)
“We’ll need to go to the market once the recipe is settled.”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.” Jo Minjoon turned and looked over the empty interior of the truck. “First, let’s decide what cookware we need.”
[Kaya: Traitor. Go ruin yourself.]
That night, Jo Minjoon was cleaning and inspecting the cookware when the message arrived. He laughed as he looked at the screen. For a moment, he wondered what reply would make Kaya even angrier, but then realised how childish that thought was and found himself inexplicably amused.
Joanne noticed his expression and gave him a wicked grin. “You’re messaging each other again?”
“Don’t say again. This is the first message I’ve received. Look at this. Is this still somehow because of the way we behave? You people are the ones making it look suspicious.”
“I wooooonder. The fact that you’re messaging at all is already suspicious. Look around. None of us are messaging people on the other teams right now. You aren’t either, are you? Have you sent anything to anyone besides Kaya?”
“……No, but it’s not even that kind of message. Look at the screen. ‘Traitor. Go ruin yourself.’ Where exactly is the romance in that?”
“Romance looks different depending on the person. From where I’m standing, you two are already halfway there.”
Joanne clasped her hands together and clapped in an exaggeratedly irritating manner. Jo Minjoon shook his head wearily. “Just finish cleaning the fryer. There’s still grime in it. Are you planning to keep fooling around?”
“You only act strict at times like this. I’m not even going to be able to tease you any more because you’re scary!”
“……You say that as if teasing me is some kind of basic human right.”
“Hmph. Forget it.” Joanne turned away with her lips pursed and began scrubbing the fryer much more aggressively.
Jo Minjoon sighed and was about to turn away when he heard a sharp, “Ah,” followed by silence.
It was Peter.
He was looking down at his hand with a frown.
Jo Minjoon immediately put down his scrubbing brush and hurried over. “What happened, Peter? Did you hurt yourself?”
“……No. It’s just a small cut.”
“Let me see your hand.”
Peter sighed and held it out.
Jo Minjoon’s expression immediately became serious. The cut across Peter’s palm was fairly deep. It was not as deep as the wound on Jo Minjoon’s thumb, but it was nearly three times as long.
“Hey, this isn’t just a small cut. Why are you standing around instead of going to the doctor? No, stay here. I’ll bring him.”
“Wa—wait……”
Ignoring Peter, Jo Minjoon hurried down from the truck and searched for the doctor. When the doctor saw him coming, he looked dumbfounded.
“Why are you looking for me? Did your wound open again?”
“No. It’s not me. One of my teammates cut his hand with a knife.”
“Oh dear…… All right. Wait a moment.”
The doctor quickly gathered his medical supplies and followed him back. By the time they reached Peter, he was gripping his wrist tightly in an attempt to slow the bleeding, but his palm was already covered in blood.
While the doctor treated him, Peter stared dejectedly at the floor.
Jo Minjoon felt increasingly uncomfortable watching him. It did not look as though Peter was simply upset about the injury.
By the time Peter’s hand had been treated and he had gone outside to rest, the others had finished checking the cookware. Jo Minjoon looked out of the truck and saw Peter sitting alone in a daze. He walked over and sat beside him, but Peter did not even turn his head.
Frustrated, Jo Minjoon finally spoke. “Why are you so depressed?”
“………What are you talking about?”
“Even your voice sounds like it’s buried six feet underground. If this is still because of what happened before, stop worrying about it. I don’t care about it any more. It’s over. People make mistakes while cooking.”
“I’m not like this because of that.”
“Whether it is or not, you just admitted that you’re depressed.”
Peter bit his lip. Like many Indians Jo Minjoon had met, his features were strong and stubborn, which somehow made the sight of him sitting there silently even more frustrating.
Jo Minjoon rubbed his forehead. “What is it? I’m your team leader, so I need to know if there’s something wrong. Are you really not going to tell me?”
“Just……” Peter opened his mouth, then closed it again. He sighed with an exhausted expression and remained silent for a long time before finally speaking in a strained voice. “I keep wondering what I’m even doing here. If the scene where Kaya and I fought gets broadcast, I’m going to look like a complete bastard, and I’ll get thousands of hateful comments. No restaurant is going to want to hire a chef with that kind of reputation. And more than anything…… I don’t have any confidence that I can actually do anything here. Not just here. Anywhere. I’m the kind of person who only causes trouble, just like I did that day.”
Jo Minjoon did not answer immediately. It was not that he felt no sympathy, nor was it that he felt frustrated. In truth, he simply was not close enough to Peter to understand him deeply. But the fact that Peter was willing to confess these feelings to someone he barely knew meant he had probably been carrying them alone for a long time.
So Jo Minjoon answered honestly. “If I comfort you right now, whatever I say will probably just be something people are supposed to say in situations like this. I wouldn’t be saying it specifically for you. I’d probably only be saying it because I wanted to feel like a good person. If you still want to hear that kind of thing, I can say it. Do you?”
“………If you put it like that, who would say yes?”
“That’s why I asked. I knew you wouldn’t want it. I’m not going to comfort you, and I don’t particularly want to. Ah, don’t misunderstand me. It’s not because I think badly of you. I don’t know about Kaya, but for me, everything ended that day after I said what I had to say.”
Jo Minjoon paused and took a breath. The sun was beginning to set, staining the horizon red. His own face had taken on a similar colour, whether from the light or because his blood pressure was rising.
“I like cooking. That’s why I came all the way here. I want to take my first proper step into this world, and because of that, I’m happier right now than I’ve ever been. But what about you? You came here too. That means you like cooking as well. So why are you wasting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity worrying about confidence and hateful comments? Ah, right. I understand that your image could get worse. Martin isn’t the kind of person who’ll edit that scene out. But if you were going to worry about that, you shouldn’t have caused the incident in the first place.”
“I didn’t do it because I wanted to. I…… I know. I’m bad with people. Because of my personality, I was bullied at school, and I never had anyone I could really call a friend. It’s the same here. I’m always alone. Everyone I’ve met ends up disliking me. And now, through television, people all over the world are going to know who I am. They’re going to hate me too. Do you understand? Not just Americans. The whole world is going to hate me!”
“So what?” Jo Minjoon’s eye twitched slightly.
Peter glared at him as though angered by the answer, but all he could do was bite his lip.
Jo Minjoon continued in a sharper voice. “So what if they hate you? Just because they decide you’re a villain, are you going to live like one because that’s what they expect? I’ll be honest. I don’t understand what it’s like to be in your position. I haven’t lived the way you have, and I don’t think the way you do. But if I were you, I’d fight. Not with my fists. With my cooking. Even if they hated me, I’d make food they couldn’t hate. Because that’s something I could actually do. What about you? What are you going to do? Give up because everyone hates you and you don’t have any friends? Fine. Do it. I’m not going to stop you.”
Peter looked as though he might burst into tears at any moment, but pride seemed to be the only thing holding them back.
He was twenty-four, if Jo Minjoon remembered correctly. Still young. And in some ways, his mentality seemed even younger than his age.
Jo Minjoon sighed. “If you can’t give up, then stop sulking. I’m not going to tell you not to care about the hateful comments. I couldn’t do that either. But don’t use them as an excuse to throw away your dream. You’ve survived in this competition until now. Like you said, maybe you’re not very sociable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t cook. Of course, you did screw up a little that day.”
Jo Minjoon smirked and gave him a slap on the back.
Peter jerked in surprise and touched the spot before lowering his gaze to his feet. After a moment, a faint laugh escaped him.
Silence settled between them for a while. The sun disappeared lower beyond the horizon, and darkness slowly gathered around them. Eventually, Peter spoke again, his voice uncertain.
“Do you think I…… can do it?”
“If you try. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Winning…… Do you think I could win too?”
“No.”
Peter stared at him blankly, completely unprepared for the cold answer.
Jo Minjoon replied in the same blunt tone as before.
“Victory is mine.”