Chapter 579: Between Envy and Disappointment (3)
Chapter 579: Between Envy and Disappointment (3)
When Minjoon boarded a plane for America for the first time, he enjoyed flying. He liked the sensation of his body being pulled downward, like riding a roller coaster as the plane took off, and the muffled silence at high altitude. But after so many flights that he lost count, he began to find flying troublesome and tedious. He felt uneasy and restless; time dragged. Thinking about having to fly every week, he wondered if it was really worth it.
“Businessmen who fly frequently sure have a miserable life,” he thought with a dry chuckle.
These businessmen spent more days in the air than on solid ground. When Minjoon first heard about them, he imagined their lives as glamorous and enviable. But in reality, it wasn’t like that. Even in first class, they never felt truly comfortable flying. The sky might be beautiful to look at, but it was not a place for people to live.
That restless feeling stirred unpleasant memories. He thought of Hugo.
“No fun in his dish…”
How would Hugo feel if he were in that position, hearing such criticism? How miserable would it be to face the reality of not even satisfying the friends he regarded as rivals? Maybe Hugo was in this state even before deciding to enter the competition again.
“I just feel sorry for Hugo,” Kaya murmured blankly, as if she felt the same.
Minjoon glanced at her briefly before speaking. “Hugo will get through this too.”
“Yeah, he hasn’t been eliminated yet.”
Minjoon even considered the possibility that he himself could be eliminated. Aside from lacking fun, their dishes were excellent. But the cuisine itself was nothing special. Even if the chef of a humble neighbourhood restaurant, where people just drop by to satisfy hunger, appeared on a TV cooking show, few would expect anything remarkable.
No chef enjoyed seeing customers visit merely to fill their stomachs. They should create dishes that made people feel as if they were receiving a gift. Dishes that made customers happy to be alive simply because they could enjoy that food. That was the kind of chef Minjoon aspired to be.
Hugo was a chef, too. So hearing his dish described as “no fun” must have felt more brutal than elimination itself. To say his cooking was not fun was a harsher judgment than outright rejection.
“Fun…”
Lately, Minjoon hadn’t thought much about it. At some point, he stopped caring about fun, taking it for granted and focusing solely on perfecting his dishes. He felt somewhat arrogant these days.
As these thoughts overwhelmed him, he rubbed his neck with both hands just as Kaya reached out to massage it. He closed his eyes and leaned against her shoulder, enjoying the relief.
“Well, it’s exhausting.”
“Yeah, I guess so. We’ve been working too hard lately. And expecting too much.”
He didn’t deny it. He was very different from the man who appeared in Season 3 of Grand Chef. Above all, he had grown greedier.
But he knew one thing clearly: being greedier didn’t equate to being happier.
Minjoon felt weary. He closed his eyes, recalling old friends. Suddenly, he missed them.
“I taught you to say Daddy. Say Daddy!”
“Da…da…”
“Yeah, you’re almost there!”
“Daa…”
Catherine gurgled with delight as Anderson praised her adorably. Janet watched her husband smile faintly, shaking her head — he expected far too much from a baby who couldn’t even coo properly yet.
Yet, whenever Catherine tried to say “Daddy,” Janet’s expression hardened. To her, the baby should say “Mom” first.
“Stop teasing Catherine. I’m afraid she might choke on all that gurgling.”
“Do you think I’m teasing her now?”
“It doesn’t matter how you see it. The problem is she’s gurgling too much. Come out here with Catherine in your arms. I’ll feed her some baby food. Please put her in the chair.”
Although he looked reluctant, Anderson got up immediately. Before Catherine, he’d never moved once after lying down in bed. But now, whenever Janet mentioned their baby’s name, he busied himself with Catherine so much that Janet sometimes felt he cared more about their child than about her. She wondered if she should be jealous.
Lost in such childish thoughts, she turned her head so Anderson couldn’t see her smile.
They were so busy these days, yet Janet was happier than she had ever been. Anderson was just as busy. Since both were often away from home in the evenings, they hired a babysitter for several hours. This didn’t mean they neglected Catherine. Natural sleep deprivation plagued them; whatever break time they had was usually spent thinking about their daughter.
Janet found something strange about their married life. They’d married for love, but now their focus was the baby rather than themselves. All Janet had done was give birth to Catherine, yet before marrying, she hadn’t considered children much, nor how drastically a baby would affect her life.
At first, she’d been scared that Catherine would change her life, but now she knew that wasn’t true. She didn’t need to think logically about it. The point was, she no longer felt gloomy day by day as before marriage. Instead, she was genuinely happy. Wasn’t that enough? Though she couldn’t quench some lofty ambitions beforehand, she was starting to fulfil them now.
Seated at the dining table, Anderson and Janet began a simple breakfast. Their meals were always straightforward: well-baked omelettes and pancakes, maple syrup and whipped cream, bacon and sausages.
“It looks like Minjoon and Kaya are having a great time at the Grand Chef competition,” Janet said first. Anderson responded while gently pulling the spoon from Catherine’s adorable mouth.
“I guess so. People like them a lot.”
“Well, it seems they were just ordinary chefs in Los Angeles.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“They’ll be back soon, though.”
“Really? Any news?”
“Not exactly news to you, but you know the original Rose Island? They’re remodelling it now.”
At that, Anderson looked away from Catherine and met Janet’s eyes. Catherine waved her hand, demanding attention, but Anderson was struck by the news — it was surprising.
“So Minjoon said he’d come back?”
“Not exactly. It seems Rachel’s remodelling it for some purpose.”
“Man, she still loves him…”
Anderson smiled bitterly. Even though he thought he had moved past it, Rachel’s lingering favouritism toward Minjoon had long been a thorn in his side.
He glanced at Janet slyly, aware she might be jealous — especially since she was working alongside Rachel as sous chef at Rose Island now. Rachel had been preparing to reopen Rose Island on Venice Street after renovations, with plans to make Minjoon head chef.
Anderson understood Rachel’s decision. He had to admit Minjoon was ahead of both him and Janet. It wasn’t just Minjoon’s popularity with the public but his overwhelming cooking talent that compelled Anderson’s respect.
Suddenly, Anderson looked down at the dining table. It was morning; they’d just woken up, both tired and without appetite. Yet their simple breakfast — hardly something a chef might cook — somehow stirred something deep within his subconscious.