Chapter 593: A Chef Doing His Country Good (4)
Chapter 593: A Chef Doing His Country Good (4)
Her youthfulness had faded—not in the sense of wrinkles or a loss of vitality, but in the disappearance of the ‘immature’ qualities so typical of youth. Minjoon truly missed those traits. Generally, immaturity carried a negative connotation, but Rachel’s version was different. Because of her varied, difficult life, her youthful immaturity had never been unappealing. She was both a beautiful and respectable woman, and he had always liked the youthfulness she carried that belied her age. But what had changed her into someone so fully adult?
The answer was ‘what’—Minjoon. He had made her give up that youthfulness.
“Minjoon!” Rachel called.
Feeling an indescribable mix of loss and guilt, he replied, “Yes.”
“I’m going to take your answer as mine.”
“Pardon?”
“I hope you don’t think I’m being irresponsible. This is just the best answer I’ve come up with.”
She smiled, a little troubled as if recalling what he had said before—how it was she, not anyone else, who needed to realise her own dream. And she hadn’t forgotten a word.
“It’s strange. You’re right. At some point, I got used to running beside the lead runner rather than being the one up front. I told people I was Daniel’s partner, but really, I lived off their warm praise of his talent. When Daniel disappeared, I hid because I wasn’t confident running as the front runner.”
She continued, “As your teacher, I still leaned on you. Even now, I won’t say I don’t crave it. I don’t know how weak I am, but I’ve decided to stop blaming myself for that. I’ve accepted the burden you wanted me to carry. I’m willing to shoulder it if it’s the load I should have taken from the start.”
“Then, have you found the way too?”
“I’m still walking it.”
“Walking won’t solve the problem.”
“Better than not walking at all, isn’t it?”
“That’s true,” he said, bursting into laughter.
Crossing her legs, she said, “I want you as my insurance. I know people tend to grow weak when they depend on others, but even if I do, I hope you understand me, your weak-minded teacher.”
“Well, I don’t know if I can manage since I’m supposed to be your student…”
“I don’t know either. It’s up to you. By the way, this restaurant…”
She looked around the Venice branch of Rose Island. Many subtle changes had been made since the past. Reduced dining tables and an empty dining hall during the day—it felt unfamiliar to them.
Still, it was her restaurant where she and Daniel had built their dreams.
“This restaurant is like a jewel to me,” she said, her voice choked with emotion.
She added, “Actually, it’s not in a great location. Though it sits in front of the beach, the security here isn’t good. I often heard gangsters shooting on the beach at night.”
“But you couldn’t give it up.”
“Nope, I couldn’t. This place was a gem to me. So I’m a little confused now, unsure if it means I’m giving up by letting you have it…”
It was an ironic situation. Rachel, with the most memories in this store, wanted to leave to run a downtown restaurant. Minjoon wanted to inherit this place that held her dreams.
“Downtown Los Angeles is quite close to Santa Monica.”
“So?”
“I don’t think it’s good to have two Rose Island restaurants so near each other.”
“Even if close, it can take up to two hours to get here if there’s traffic.”
“But less than thirty minutes without.”
“Is that closeness really important?”
“If it’s a ramen shop, it’s different. You don’t worry about ramen prices, so no one will drive thirty minutes to the main store if there’s a branch nearby. But with a restaurant, pricing matters. Running the main restaurant, would you want a branch nearby selling the same prices?”
He explained patiently, but she wasn’t embarrassed. She looked into him steadily.
“I think you want to say something else.”
“…”
“Your excuses don’t fool me. Tell me.”
After hesitating, he finally said, “I want to be sure I’m no longer carrying your burden.”
He had hesitated ever since sensing her intentions. His voice was hesitant even now. But it was time to be honest.
“The Rose Island sign no longer suits this Venice store.”
“You’re not putting up the Rose Island sign there?” Lisa asked, a note of surprise in her voice.
Minjoon, sipping the orange juice Ella gave him, nodded.
“It’s Rachel’s responsibility if that store has the sign. Using the same name would complicate things.”
“But even if you don’t own it, things are complicated. You’re the referee of Rose Island, selecting the head chef every four years. If you have no involvement…”
“I can be fairer without involvement. Not using the Rose Island sign doesn’t mean I don’t want to run the restaurant. I’m willing to be its head chef, but I have to choose its new name.”
“And Rachel remains the owner?”
“Yes.”
As they talked, Ella stared blankly, clueless about the conversation. Marco was also puzzled.
Finally, Marco asked quietly, “So, have you decided to work there or not?”
“I haven’t signed a contract yet, but I agreed to work there.”
“Great. Are you moving back to Santa Monica?”
“No, Los Angeles.”
“Los Angeles?”
“Yeah,” he said calmly. “The Rose Island main restaurant will move back to its original location, and I’ll restore it like before.”
“What!?” Marco said loudly, startled. Lisa looked surprised too.
Ella handed him a biscuit, indifferent to the tension. Smiling, he took it.
“What Rachel wants most is to restore Rose Island here to its original glory.”
“Then why does she insist on hiring you?” Lisa asked. “She wanted Minjoon to take over the main store, or rather the Venice branch, believing he could refurbish it like Daniel did. She wants him to do something remarkable even without the Rose Island sign. If you give up on that, what’s the point of your contract?”
A good, ironic point. Rachel had long tried to have Minjoon fill the void Daniel left. But ultimately, it was she—and not Minjoon—who had to manage it all.
Could Minjoon do it? He didn’t agonise. He wasn’t sure it was meaningful even if he did. Would Rachel be happy if he delivered the intended results without her truly challenging things?
“Remember what Rachel said when she moved the main branch downtown? She didn’t want to be trapped by old memories in a new place. Now is the time for her to face those memories again. The downtown branch wasn’t important to her.”
“Okay. It’s good Rachel is back. But what about you, Minjoon? If you take over the downtown branch, what do you get? Of course, you can be head chef…”
Suddenly, Minjoon felt empty. Something was missing. More precisely, he was vague about what Lisa had just pointed out. He neither rejected nor fully accepted Rachel’s hope. How should he define it?