Chapter 94: Four People, Four Dreams (2)
Chapter 94: Four People, Four Dreams (2)
The moment Jo Minjoon met Chloe’s eyes, a certain possibility flashed through his mind. His gaze sharpened.
Could it be?
As a man, he could hardly help imagining useless things. Even so, Jo Minjoon immediately tried to deny the thought. Chloe was gentle and warm towards everyone. If he misunderstood her kindness, that would be the worst and meanest thing he could do.
Kaya slightly parted her lips. “So where are you going to open that restaurant?”
“I don’t know yet. I suppose it’ll depend on the circumstances.”
“Even so, won’t it be in the US?”
“Probably. Unless you become as successful as Rachel or Joseph and start opening branches in other countries... I don’t think there’d be much reason to go somewhere else. Ah, I suppose Minjoon’s situation is a little different?” Chloe glanced at Jo Minjoon as she asked.
He shrugged. Seeing how casually she spoke to him, he decided that what he had sensed earlier must simply have been a misunderstanding.
“There’s a good chance I’ll go back to Korea.”
“Come to the United States. I told you to immigrate.”
“...Why are you so obsessed with immigration these days? I feel like you’ve been saying that word a lot more often.”
At his words, Kaya simply glared at him without answering. Instead, she began stuffing a sandwich into her mouth until her cheeks were full.
Chloe could vaguely guess why Kaya was acting that way and smiled faintly.
“It seems like Kaya’s worried about you being in Korea.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, for one thing, it’s a country under an armistice. Regardless of what the reality is like, from Kaya’s point of view, it probably seems dangerous.”
At those words, Jo Minjoon let out a deep sigh. Of course, the impression of a place could be completely different depending on whether you were looking at it from the inside or outside, but did she really need to worry this much?
Kaya seized the opportunity and spoke seriously. “Get a job at an American restaurant. I heard you can get citizenship if you work somewhere for a few years.”
“...Kaya. I appreciate you worrying about me, but the situation you’re imagining is completely different from reality. There isn’t a single person in Korea worrying every day that war might break out.”
“I worry.”
Silence fell for a moment.
Only then did Kaya realise that her words could be interpreted differently. Even so, she made no attempt to take them back. It was true that she worried about him.
Anderson made a spiteful remark. “The devoted wife has spoken.”
“You want to get beaten? Shut your mouth.”
“Oh my. Such a foul-mouthed devoted wife.”
Even when Kaya threatened him with her fork, Anderson refused to stop.
Kaya glared at him for a moment, then smirked and shrugged. Anderson frowned, but Kaya no longer even looked at him, as though he was not worth arguing with.
“Anyway, Minjoon, think about it. Even putting the possibility of war aside, you’re much more popular in the US. You said yourself that you want to become a successful chef. If that’s the case, wouldn’t this be the best place for you?”
“I know that, but... isn’t that something I should worry about after seeing how Grand Chef ends?”
“Why worry about the result? I’m going to win anyway.”
At Kaya’s words, Anderson’s eyes sharpened. “I can’t let that pass. You think you can beat me?”
“Have you ever made a nine-point dish?”
At Kaya’s words, Anderson’s face froze like stone.
Kaya smirked. “I got nine points at On the Lake. Minjoon told me himself. And Chloe got one during the buffet mission, right? But you still haven’t.”
“...Don’t get full of yourself over something you achieved through luck. And his scoring system isn’t absolute.”
“And yet you still haven’t managed to get nine points from that supposedly unreliable system. You don’t even have luck on your side. So stop acting tough and sit quietly.”
Anderson’s lips trembled. He abruptly stood up. “I’m going back to the car.”
“Put up with it, Anderson. Kaya’s still a kid. Be the bigger person.”
“I don’t like kids.”
Even when Jo Minjoon tried to stop him, Anderson walked away without looking back.
Kaya pouted and muttered after him. “Kids don’t like you either.”
-
“Slowly. Do it slowly.”
“Stop exaggerating.”
Kaya’s hand moved towards the gauze around Jo Minjoon’s neck. She looked far more nervous than he did. As she carefully peeled the gauze away, it tugged at his skin. Kaya let out a quiet sigh.
“At least the blisters seem to have gone down a little.”
“It’s already been a week.” Jo Minjoon frowned as he replied.
The exposed skin on his neck trembled faintly at the unfamiliar sensation of air after being covered for so long. Kaya slowly placed a hand on his shoulder. Her soft palm was trembling too.
“It hurt, didn’t it?”
“I told you, you don’t need to feel guilty.”
“I’m not feeling guilty. I’m worried about you.”
“You don’t need to worry either. It already happened. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”
“Will the scar stay?”
At that question, even Jo Minjoon could not answer immediately. The doctor had already said it would be difficult to avoid scarring.
He forced a laugh. “There’s nothing wrong with a man having a glorious scar.”
“...I’m sorry.”
“I told you that you don’t need to apologise.”
Whenever he saw Kaya’s vulnerable side, Jo Minjoon felt something strange. To him, she had once been a strong and flawless idol. Yet every time she showed the fragility of an ordinary girl, it felt as though she had opened her heart to him.
“But did you think about it?”
“...Are we talking about immigration again?”
“You said last time that you’d think about it.”
“It’s not something I can decide after thinking about it for only a few days. I need to think about it seriously.”
“My sister liked you.” The words came out of nowhere. Jo Minjoon stared at her as if asking what she meant. Kaya shrugged. “My mum liked you too. She said you seemed nice.”
“...Why are you suddenly telling me that?”
“What about your family? Have they said anything about me?”
“Hmm. They ask me things sometimes, but we’re not really the kind of family that talks on the phone for ages. Well... they did ask me whether we were actually dating.”
“And what did you tell them?”
Kaya narrowed her eyes at him. Jo Minjoon gave a strained laugh.
“What else could I have told them? I told them the truth.”
“So what’s the truth?”
Jo Minjoon raised an eyebrow. Kaya stared back intensely, as though asking what he was looking at.
“No, I’m just asking. I’m curious.”
“I told them you were a close friend. You’re not going to complain anymore if I call you my friend, are you?”
“...Not anymore.” Kaya replied sullenly. She smacked her lips for a moment before continuing. “Did they say anything about Chloe?”
“Not really. Chloe and I haven’t appeared together that much on the broadcast. You and I are together so often that it’s almost strange.”
“What’s strange about it?”
Jo Minjoon stood up. Kaya, who had been sitting with her legs twisted together, hurriedly got to her feet and staggered.
Jo Minjoon caught her by the arm. “Slow down. Look at Chloe. See how feminine she is.”
“So you’re comparing me to her now? Then you should become more masculine too. I told you to build some muscle.”
“I am. I’m going to the gym now.”
“You’re going after an entire week.”
“...I couldn’t go because of my injury. Stop nagging me. Besides, it’s not like I’m that different.”
“But you’re not muscular.”
Jo Minjoon shut his mouth tightly.
The moment they entered the gym, Anderson looked at them and gave them an incredulous look.
“Did you two fight?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Because you both have the faces of people who just had an argument.”
Instead of answering, Jo Minjoon merely shrugged.
Chloe wiped the sweat from her forehead and drank some water. “We don’t have much time left together. Let’s spend it pleasantly.”
“Now that you put it that way, I feel depressed.”
“Heehee, sorry.” Chloe smiled broadly.
Anderson opened his mouth. “The semifinals will probably be a team mission, right?”
“Probably.”
“Come to think of it, Martin said something last time that put me in a bad mood.”
“What did he say?”
Kaya answered. “That there would be an unexpected event. So we shouldn’t be surprised.”
-
A plane was flying over Lake Michigan towards Chicago. If someone owned a private plane, people would naturally imagine romantic things: travel, international business, or simply the envy of being able to fly through the sky whenever you pleased.
At that moment, however, Rachel Rose felt none of that romance.
The reason could be confirmed with her eyes, nose, and ears.
It was the old man sitting in front of her.
A huge white man who resembled a bear, with brown hair streaked with blond and a beard of a similar colour, was devouring his in-flight meal with astonishing enthusiasm. The words private plane, ordinarily associated with wealth and luxury, seemed to lose all their glamour as she watched him eat.
“Serguei. If you’re a chef, at least show some manners when you eat. You haven’t changed at all.”
“Burp. Don’t act so refined. What, now that you’re old, you suddenly want to behave like some noble lady? Sorry, but I can’t do anything that makes me want to puke. Besides, this food isn’t good enough to deserve manners.”
His rough, heavy voice carried a thick Russian accent.
Rachel hesitated for a moment before putting a piece of biscuit into her mouth. Considering the dishes she would soon have to taste, filling her stomach now was foolish, but watching Serguei eat had somehow made her hungry. As she had grown older, she rarely felt much hunger anymore. Perhaps sitting opposite such a voracious eater had affected her.
She slowly let the biscuit dissolve in her mouth and said, “What’s wrong with the food? You should be grateful an in-flight meal is this good. Failing to change as you grow older is embarrassing enough, but remaining a brat even after getting old is worse.”
“Ha. Beethoven and Van Gogh were brats too. Being uncompromising isn’t a flaw in an artist.”
“Beethoven and Van Gogh didn’t live as long as you have.”
Serguei did not argue. Instead, he grabbed a large portion of salad. Not with a fork, but with chopsticks. Rachel looked at the enormous amount trapped between them and smirked.
“There’s nothing better than chopsticks when you want to grab a ridiculous amount of food at once. I suppose a fork is too stingy for you. You really... How did you ever become a chef?”
“How? Because I like eating.”
Gulp.
Rachel stared at the amount of salad he had shoved into his mouth, so much that it seemed impossible for him to taste anything properly, and looked thoroughly disgusted.
To think that this man was the representative of the famous Season Madbadge, a restaurant comparable to Rose Island. Younger chefs might find Serguei’s rugged appearance masculine and impressive, but... Rachel simply could not understand it.
“So, what are you planning to do? After that old man Daniel died, you went into hiding like an idiot.”
“...You still haven’t fixed that awful habit of saying exactly what comes into your head.”
“It’s true. The only thing that bastard was perfect at was cooking... but at the same time, he was also a perfect fool. So yes, you were an idiot for falling apart just because that one bastard died.”
He said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, leaving Rachel without even the energy to become angry.
“There’s a child who caught my eye.” Rachel paused. “...Put your little finger down. If you keep acting that vulgar, even I’ll get angry.”
“Hehe... It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the great Rachel Rose show her true nature.”
“This is exactly why your wife keeps calling me.”
“What? What does she say?”
“Keeping the contents of a consultation confidential is basic courtesy. So keep that foul-smelling mouth of yours shut. Did you watch the broadcast?”
“I barely had time to eat, so when would I have had time to watch television? Ah, are you talking about that boy? The one with the absolute palate?”
Rachel nodded.
Serguei nodded as though he understood. “I can see why you’d be interested. So how good is he?”
“I still don’t know.” Rachel’s gaze became calm. “I’ll find out today.”
“He’d better be nervous. There’s nothing more troublesome than trying to satisfy the palate of an old hag.”
“He’ll be able to.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Rachel’s eyes remained tranquil. “Because if he can’t, I’m going to develop that ability in him myself and make sure he acquires it.”