Chapter 93: Four People, Four Dreams (1)
Chapter 93: Four People, Four Dreams (1)
Aside from Jo Minjoon, there was one other person who could not sleep that night: Chloe. She lay in bed, closing and opening her eyes several times, and before she knew it, the sky had already begun to brighten. In the end, she changed into her sports clothes and went out to the garden. She thought that if she worked up a sweat, she might be able to think more clearly.
That thought was only half right. Once she exercised until her lungs and heart ached and her muscles felt ready to tear, her cleared mind only made room for even more useless thoughts.
Looking up at the ash-blue sky, Chloe wondered, Is it dawn? Morning? The thought lingered. She did not know whether there was any need to distinguish this moment as dawn or morning, or whether it could only be called the boundary between the two.
And that train of thought naturally turned towards herself. Just where was she standing, as a cook and as a girl? She was not firmly standing anywhere. Everything was uncertain. She remembered the words Ivanna had said before leaving.
Don’t be scared, Chloe. I’ll be cheering for you.
There was no need to think about what she was afraid of. It was too obvious. How had Ivanna understood her so well? It was surprising. Chloe really was uncertain, though perhaps indecisive was a better word. About cooking... and about her feelings towards Jo Minjoon.
Last night, when Kaya said she would stay at the hospital, why had Chloe been unable to say anything? You go and rest. I’ll stay. Those words had filled her chest, yet she had not managed to say them. Was it because she thought it was only natural for Kaya to do it? Because Jo Minjoon had been injured because of Kaya, so Kaya should naturally be the one beside him?
...Idiot.
Rather than being considerate of someone else, she had simply surrendered something that could have been hers. And every time she gave something up, it meant losing something that might otherwise have become hers. Chloe had been accustomed to that kind of life since childhood: yielding, consideration, and loss.
Perhaps her environment had helped shape that sort of personality. Being gentle meant constantly being conscious of the people around you. Chloe had been like that since she was young. The Asian blood in her and her appearance had made it difficult for her to blend in. She was not white, nor was she Chinese.
Perhaps if she had been less attractive, she really would have been excluded. Fortunately, Chloe had a very pretty face. At the same time, she knew how to read the atmosphere around her. She never made others uncomfortable, and by showing consideration they had never expected, she created a good impression of herself. People who did not know her simply thought she had a naturally good temperament, but in truth, it was her way of struggling.
A struggle not to be hated.
By the time she stopped feeling exhausted by that kind of life, Chloe felt as though she had forgotten who she was, what she wanted, and what sort of life she wanted to live. People liked the gentle, kind side of her, but Chloe herself could not like it.
She did not want to lose this time. She did not want it taken from her. Of course, something that had never belonged to her could not really be stolen... but if she still had any opportunities left, she wanted to take every one of them.
That was how she truly felt.
“Finished exercising?”
At the blunt voice, Chloe turned around. Anderson was standing there looking at her.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead. “I can finish now if I want. Why?”
“We have to go see Kaya and Minjoon.”
“...Right. I’ll wash up quickly and come.”
“You.” Chloe stopped walking. Anderson looked at her with dry eyes. “If you’re going to keep wearing that tortured expression, why don’t you just confront her?”
Chloe stared at Anderson. From his expression, she could vaguely guess what he meant. She laughed bitterly. “I thought I was hiding it, but everyone seems to know. Is it really that obvious?”
“It can’t help being obvious. Do you know how brightly you smile whenever you’re beside him? Whether it’s fake or not, anyone can tell. That’s all.”
“If only it were fake...” Chloe stopped herself. “No. Forget I said that. I used to wish it were fake, but not anymore.” She gave a miserable smile.
Anderson frowned and spoke in a deliberately nasty tone. “Then stop making that pathetic face. Why are you acting like you’ve already lost?”
“...Do you think I can win?”
Anderson frowned. “Why are you asking me?”
-
Their stay in the hospital room lasted only one night. Throughout that time, Kaya stayed beside Jo Minjoon. For her, perhaps it was responsibility, or perhaps guilt. No, the latter was probably more likely. Directly or indirectly, it was true that Jo Minjoon had been injured because of her.
He had already told her there was no need to apologise, that it was nobody’s fault and had simply been an accident, but Kaya had not responded. Instead, she took hold of Jo Minjoon’s arm.
His face twitched. “My neck is injured, not my legs. You don’t need to support me.”
“...Now that you mention it, you’re right. Do you have enough strength?”
“Do I really need that much strength? At least I can walk.”
At that, Kaya let go of his arm.
Anderson, who had brought the car around to the car park, waved at them. Chloe was sitting in the passenger seat.
Jo Minjoon looked apologetic. “You didn’t have to come all the way here.”
“Shut up. Patients should keep their mouths shut.” Anderson replied cynically.
Jo Minjoon laughed awkwardly. Chloe rolled down the window and leaned her upper body out, smiling brightly.
“Hurry up and get in! Let’s go on an outing.”
“...An outing?”
“How much longer are the four of us going to be together? We should have fun while we still have the chance. If we miss this opportunity, it’ll be difficult to get out of the Grand Chef house again. We already packed lunch.”
At Chloe’s words, Jo Minjoon smiled bitterly. Only then did he truly realise that just four of them remained. It meant they had survived well up to this point, but it also meant that other people’s dreams had been shattered. Of course, the satisfaction and happiness he felt were greater than the regret, but that did not make the regret disappear.
Jo Minjoon had just climbed into the car when he suddenly felt something cold against his neck. Startled, he turned around and saw Kaya pressing a finger lightly against his skin.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking your temperature. They said if the heat rises, it’s better to take off the gauze and gently press ice against it.”
“I’m fine.”
“Stop pretending you’re fine just because you’re a man. Nobody can be fine after getting hurt. Maybe if you had some muscles. But someone as frail as you...”
“...I’m going to start exercising just because that feels unfair.”
Ignoring Jo Minjoon’s aggrieved expression, Kaya turned away and looked towards Chloe.
“Where are we going?”
“Lake Michigan. Somewhere without many people.”
“...Hmm. What about food?”
Instead of answering, Chloe lifted her hand. She was holding a large lunch box. Kaya nodded.
After parking near the lake, they got out of the car. Just as Chloe had said, there were not many people around. A few could be seen in the distance, but they were far enough away that there was no need to be wary of them.
It was June, and the weather was warm. Jo Minjoon took off his shoes. The sensation of warm sand slipping between his bare toes felt surprisingly pleasant. Whether because of the sand or the sunlight, it was not especially cold even though they were wearing only shirts.
“I don’t like the feeling of sand.” Kaya frowned and grumbled.
Chloe widened her eyes. “You don’t like it? I come here specifically because I like stepping on sand.”
“I don’t know. It feels like tiny bugs are crawling between my toes.” Kaya shuddered.
There was not even a grassy spot nearby. Rather than a lakeshore, the place looked more like a beach. In the end, they could only sit down on a flat patch of sand.
The moment they opened the lunch box, Jo Minjoon exclaimed. “This... is kimbap?”
It was not even norimaki. Judging by the smell of sesame oil, it was unmistakably Korean kimbap.
Chloe smiled awkwardly. “I thought that after getting hurt, you might start missing food from home. But I didn’t know what kind of Korean food I should make. I heard you made this with Anderson last time, so I asked him for help and we made it together.”
“...Thank you.” Jo Minjoon looked genuinely moved.
And kimbap was not the only thing in the lunch box. There were sandwiches, Chinese-style fried dishes, steamed dumplings, salad, fruit, and more. Nothing was particularly extravagant, but for a packed lunch, it could hardly have been better. The sandwich, filled with cured ham, cheese, avocado, and other ingredients, was not especially fancy, but the flavours were rich and satisfying. The fried food was crisp, while the dumplings had a pleasantly chewy texture that immediately made it clear they had been handmade.
Kaya chewed on a dumpling and opened her mouth. “All of this... how...”
“Finish chewing before you speak.” Jo Minjoon covered Kaya’s mouth and scolded her.
Kaya narrowed her eyes at him, swallowed the dumpling, then continued. “How did you make all of this? Wasn’t it difficult? These all take a lot of work.”
“How hard can it be when you’re going on an outing?”
Once they had eaten their fill, the conversation gradually became deeper and more serious. Jo Minjoon asked, “What kind of restaurant do you all want to open? Anderson, you’re obviously planning to inherit your parents’ restaurant, right?”
“I’m fifty-fifty about it. I used to think I would, but the more time passes, the more my thoughts change. There’s certainly meaning in continuing what my parents built... but people are usually like that. Rather than continuing something someone else started, they want to build something of their own.”
“I understand what you mean.” Chloe nodded.
If you inherited a restaurant from someone else, the feeling that it was truly yours might inevitably be weaker. Of course, some people would prefer preserving something valuable rather than insisting on starting from nothing.
She turned to Jo Minjoon. “Minjoon, what kind of restaurant do you want to open?”
“...To be honest, I’ve never seriously thought about it. I only ever thought that I wanted to become a chef. I still haven’t decided what kind of chef I want to be. Fusion, Italian, Spanish... I still don’t know. So it’s difficult to say what kind of restaurant I want. Well...” Jo Minjoon scratched his nose, looking slightly embarrassed. “I have thought about one thing. A restaurant with maybe five tables, where I cook only when customers place an order. There’s something romantic about that. Building up a group of regular customers, having that peaceful atmosphere. But I don’t think I’ll actually end up working in a place like that.”
“...Why?”
“Because aside from the romance, there isn’t much left. Maybe this sounds materialistic... but I want to climb to the very top of this world. I’ll be honest. I want to become a chef at a luxury restaurant. Like Rachel Rose of Rose Island, or Judge Joseph. I want to reach the highest place.”
Some chefs might care only about making food taste good. Of course, that was the most basic requirement and something that always had to be fulfilled. The real issue was satisfaction. A chef working in a cheap restaurant could possess the same skill as one working in an expensive restaurant. The difference was that the cost and quality of the ingredients were reflected in the price.
That was why customers at expensive restaurants could only become more sensitive and demanding. It was easy to compare it to family. Nobody would stop you from practising with a cheap ingredient like eggs, but if you wanted to practise using an expensive ingredient like lobster or beef tongue, people would hesitate. Those ingredients were too valuable to entrust lightly to a child.
Jo Minjoon wanted to become the kind of chef people would never hesitate to trust with any ingredient. He wanted to climb to a place where the entire world acknowledged him, where nobody questioned whether his food would taste good.
Then Kaya spoke. “I don’t want that.”
“...What?”
“Dividing restaurants into high-class and low-class. How much difference can there really be? I... just want to open a restaurant everyone can go to. Not a restaurant people can only look at and envy... but somewhere anyone can come. A place where poor bastards can eat too, not just rich pigs.”
Realistically, it would be difficult. Operating expenses, ingredient costs, and the most basic issue of all, labour costs. Taking all of those into account, opening a genuinely good restaurant while keeping prices low would force you to sacrifice something. And considering Kaya’s talent, Jo Minjoon could not help feeling that it would be a waste.
Chloe cleared her throat. “Ahem. Recently, I figured mine out.”
“What?”
“What kind of restaurant I want to open. So... I...” Embarrassed, Chloe ran her fingers through the sand. Just like her flushed cheeks, reddish sand clung to her hands like flour. Her shy gaze briefly moved towards Jo Minjoon before dropping back to the lunch boxes. “I want to do what Anderson’s parents did. They run a restaurant as a married couple, right? I... want to do that too. With the person I love.”