Chapter 9: On 92nd Street in New York (5)
Chapter 9: On 92nd Street in New York (5)
“Jelly?” Jessie asked again.
It was not because she did not know what jelly was, but because the idea had simply never crossed her mind. Of course, she knew Lucas liked jelly. It was not as though he had built and run a jelly factory for no reason. Even so, she had never thought of making some herself and giving it to him as a present. To her, it had always seemed a little like making a pizza and giving it to the owner of a pizza shop.
But now that she thought about it, the situation was different. The jelly factory was gone, and the jelly Lucas had loved so much was no longer around him.
If she made some jelly for the Lucas he was now…
Thinking that, Jessie lifted her head and looked at Jo Minjoon. Her deep blue, double-lidded eyes stared at him steadily. To Jessie, Jo Minjoon was a strange person. He was someone she had only just met, yet he was asking her to make jelly for her father. A strange person indeed, and yet somehow she felt she could trust him. She did not know why. Perhaps that very strangeness made him seem more trustworthy.
“…But I don’t know how to make it.”
“It’s okay. I do.”
In truth, Jo Minjoon did not know enough about making jelly to say that with such confidence. Still, he thought the act of making it was more important than how good it tasted. The fact that Jessie herself had made it for her father would already give it meaning.
As he thought that, Jo Minjoon suddenly realised something. Even if the dish itself was the same, food could become something completely different depending on who made it.
What kind of mindset should I have when I cook?
The question suddenly surfaced in his mind, but this was not the time to dwell on it. The kitchen belonged to Jane, but he thought she would understand. Even if she did not and ended up scolding him for using it without permission, that was a separate matter. Whatever happened, helping repair the relationship between father and daughter was more important.
“For now, can you bring some fruit? Juice is fine too if there isn’t any.”
“I think we have some apples. But they probably aren’t ripe yet.”
“Then that’s even better. When making jelly, less-ripe fruit works better.”
“Oh…”
Jessie nodded and brought over the apples. She also brought some sugar. There was no gelatin, but that did not matter. Jo Minjoon knew another way to make it work.
“Didn’t you ever make jelly when you were younger?”
“I did. But I liked eating it more than making it.”
“That’s fine. If you make something you already like eating, it’s bound to turn out better.”
Jo Minjoon smiled brightly. Jessie glanced at him and asked, “Mister, are you a chef?”
“No. I’m trying to become one.”
“Are you sure you can make it properly?”
“Why? Are you worried it won’t taste good?”
Jessie kept her mouth shut instead of answering. Jo Minjoon handed her the knife and, seeing her puzzled expression, explained, “Cut the apple into four pieces and remove the seeds. Then divide each piece again, but don’t peel the skin off.”
“Why not the skin?”
“Because there’s pectin in it. That’ll take the place of the gelatin.”
(Translator’s Note: Pectin — A naturally occurring polysaccharide found in plant cell walls, with particularly useful concentrations in many fruit skins and less-ripe fruits. When heated with sufficient sugar and acid, pectin forms a gel, allowing fruit jelly to set without gelatin. Pectin was first isolated and described in the early nineteenth century, with the name coined by French chemist Henri Braconnot in 1825.)
The skin and the flesh directly beneath it contained much of the pectin needed to make jelly.
“You can do that much, right?”
“…That much is easy.”
Jessie answered as though warning him not to underestimate her and picked up the knife. Her handling of it, however, was clumsy. She held the apple with one hand and tried to cut it with the other, but the blade became stuck halfway through. Even then, she did not think to press down on the spine of the knife with her free hand.
“You should push down on the back of the knife with your other hand. Yes. Like that.”
Even after Jessie finished cutting the apples, Jo Minjoon did not step in. There would be little meaning in it if he made the jelly himself. Jessie had to make it herself, for her father and for herself.
“Now put the apples in the pot and add enough water so the tops are still sticking out slightly. Then cook them over low heat.”
“Are you seriously going to make me do everything?”
“Do you want me to help?”
“…Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll do it.”
Jessie poured in the water as instructed. In truth, this was one of the stages where beginners often made mistakes, and Jo Minjoon himself had made the same mistake before. If too much water was added, people tended to think they could simply boil it down later until the excess moisture evaporated, but adding too much water in the first place could ruin the fruit. The amount of water used could therefore determine whether the jelly succeeded or failed.
Jo Minjoon quietly watched as the water in the pot gradually began to simmer.
“What do I do now?”
“Wait a little longer. Once the apples start getting soft, mash them. But first, let’s prepare for the next step. Can you bring a cotton cloth and a bowl?”
“Okay.”
Jessie seemed to have resigned herself to following his instructions. After placing the cotton cloth and bowl beside the table, she and Jo Minjoon stood in silence watching the pot.
“High school?” Jo Minjoon asked first.
“No. I start high school next year. What about you, Mister?”
“It’s Minjoon, not Mister. I’m a university student. Come to think of it, we never properly introduced ourselves.”
“…Jessie Dean. Where are you from, Mister? Japan?”
“Where do you think I’m from?”
“Hmm. China, maybe Korea. Japanese people don’t seem as calm as you.”
Jo Minjoon nodded, trying to imagine what sort of image Jessie had of Japanese people.
“I’m Korean. And I’m travelling.”
“I don’t understand why people like New York so much. It’s not like there’s that much to see.”
“You don’t always realise the value of something that’s been beside you all your life.”
He had not said that with only New York in mind, and Jessie understood the meaning beneath his words. Her voice became calmer.
“I want you to know that this doesn’t mean I’m forgiving Dad.”
“You don’t have to. But can’t you at least try to understand him? Everything he spent his life dreaming about collapsed in an instant. In a situation like that, not every father can be Superman.”
Jessie nodded and fell silent. After a while, she finally spoke again.
“Even so, every daughter wants her father to be Superman.”
She was right.
Jo Minjoon picked up the spoon beside him and held it in front of her eyes. Moving it in circles, he said, “Even Superman has times when he wants to hide. If you’ve seen Spider-Man, you should understand that.”
Jessie laughed, then looked down at the floor with a bitter expression.
“Enough with the Superman talk. Start stirring the pot slowly. The apples should be soft by now. Mash the flesh with the ladle.”
“Okay.”
Her voice was softer than before. Jessie removed the lid from the pot and began stirring with the ladle. The apples bubbled gently as a sweet, fresh aroma rose into the air, gradually becoming almost jam-like.
Once most of the flesh had been mashed, Jo Minjoon spread the damp cotton cloth over the bowl.
“Pour everything from the pot into the bowl. Slowly.”
Jessie tilted the pot. Mashed fruit and juice poured from the lip of the pot and gathered on top of the cloth. Then Jessie reached for the cloth and tried to squeeze it.
“No!”
“Y-Yes? Why?”
“If you squeeze it, the pulp will pass through the cloth and the mixture will turn cloudy. Just let the juice drip through naturally.”
“…Mm. That’s going to take a while.”
“You need patience when making jelly.”
Jessie sighed, but in the end, she had no choice but to wait for the juice to filter naturally through the cloth. After that, everything went smoothly. Sugar was added to the strained juice at a four-to-three ratio and mixed thoroughly, then the mixture was boiled while being stirred until the jelly began to slide heavily from the spoon. After that, it only needed to be poured into a container and left to cool.
By the time they had finished everything, it was already past one in the morning. Jessie stretched, her eyes heavy with sleep.
“How was it?” Jo Minjoon asked with a smile. “Cooking for someone else.”
“I don’t know. It feels like I accomplished something. And surprisingly, it helped relieve some stress.”
“Congratulations. You’ve taken your first step.”
Jessie wondered what kind of first step he meant. A first step towards understanding her father, or a first step towards cooking? She was curious, but she could not bring herself to ask. If she asked something like that, she felt as though she would be treated like a child who could not understand hidden meanings, and somehow, she did not want Jo Minjoon to see her as a child.
Morning came, and sunlight filtering through the iron railings melted the snow piled along them.
Lucas slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the back of his wife’s neck, a sight both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Warmth spread through him as he looked at her, but the moment he remembered Jessie’s furious expression from the previous night, the smile vanished from his face.
He sighed. He had no idea how to ease his daughter’s anger, and no answer came to mind. With heavy steps, Lucas left the bedroom.
He thought a glass of water might help clear his head, but when he opened the refrigerator, he noticed something strange. Beside the water bottle sat a large container wrapped in paper. Whatever was inside was unmistakably jelly, and handmade jelly at that.
“It’s apple jelly.”
“Jessie…!”
Jessie stood nearby, her eyes swollen from crying. Could his daughter really have made this jelly for him? Lucas stared at her in confusion.
“Just eat it first,” Jessie said bluntly. “It was hard making it in the middle of the night.”
“R-Right.”
Lucas took a bite of the jelly, his own eyes beginning to sting. It was slightly imperfect, but for something homemade, it was undeniably good. In the first place, however, quality was not even important. He could barely taste it properly.
“It’s delicious. It’s really delicious.”
“…Fine, then.”
Jessie started to turn away, but at that moment, Lucas hugged her. Jessie did not push him away. Lucas fought back his tears and tried to speak, but no sound came out; all that escaped him was a choked sob. Jessie’s eyes filled with tears as well, though she pretended to remain calm.
Watching them, Jo Minjoon quietly turned away. He wanted to leave that moment to the two of them, but instead found himself looking directly into Jane’s tear-filled eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Jo Minjoon said with an awkward smile. “I used your kitchen without permission.”
“…It’s all right. Thank you for helping my child make the most delicious dish that’s ever come out of this kitchen.”
Jo Minjoon smiled at her words and turned back. The jelly’s Cooking Score appeared before his eyes, but he did not look at it. There was no need, because that jelly did not need to be judged by points.
“It’s one of the greatest dishes I’ve ever seen in my life.”