Chapter 282: Unexpectedly (2)
Looking around, she said in a lighter voice, “I’m glad the cameraman was not around us. If he had been there, it would have been difficult for us to have a private conversation like this.”
“That’s why I’ve persuaded him not to come along with us this time. I told him I need private time with my family members. It’s really exhausting to get our lives exposed to him all the time.”
“Yes. I was really tired, to be honest with you.”
She giggled then shrugged and said playfully, “But I wish somebody could film our private time, too. If they watch it on TV, they can remember clearly all the time and memories we spend. It is also quite interesting to watch it.”
“Oh, I know you saw the Grand Chef compet.i.tion program often again. But don’t worry. If you arrive in Korea, you will meet some cameramen or general citizens trying to say hi to you. Of course, I don’t know how many will come out to recognize and welcome you.”
“Are we so famous in Korea, too?”
“A little more than you think.”
Kaya shook her head curiously. She wasn’t sure how popular she was. But it wasn’t long before she knew the answer. Several hours later, the plane arrived at Incheon International Airport.
Lots of cameramen and reporters were waiting for their arrival.
“Oh my G.o.d, I didn’t expect so many reporters would greet us like this…”
Even Min-joon was astonished to see a throng of cameramen outside the arrival gate. As a matter of fact, both Min-joon and Kaya enjoyed hundreds of thousands of fans in Starbook. Of course, there might be far more people who knew about them and like them.
However, the number of their Starbook fans was based on all of them in the world, so Min-joon didn’t expect that he and Kaya would draw such big attention in Korea. Although he said they would draw Korean fans’ attention, he didn’t think they would get this much attention at all.
‘Oh my G.o.d…’
It seemed that they were more popular here in Korea than in America, even though both of them were aware that they were popular in Korea.
To put it more accurately, both of them were popular among the Korean internet generation.
In fact, the story about Min-joon was once broadcast on an entertainment program of Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), but the KBS News also reported about him, describing him as ‘a young Korean young man working hard in the United States,’ or ‘the first Korean chef with a perfect palate, unprecedented in the cuisine world.’ Watching the report, senior people nodded happily, saying that Min-joon promoted the national prestige of Korea. But that was all.
But the younger generation reacted differently. At first, they posted all the edited TV scenes featuring Min-joon on the video site with subt.i.tles. Gradually, every recipe he made began to spread, little by little, to everyone interested in cooking.
If that was it, his popularity would not have lasted long. But something extraordinary kept happening to him. During the Hunger Trip, he met the King of Thailand, and after that, he worked at the world’s best restaurant called Rose Island. When the photos of Min-joon posing with celebrities were posted on the internet, even those who didn’t know him well commented, ‘Oh, he must have been very successful.’ At the same time, they naturally remembered him.
While his name was being widely recognized in Korea, Cho Reggiano became an instant success. To express it like a movie poster, it was a dessert that impressed the whole American people. There was no exaggeration in that expression. In fact, Min-joon’s Cho Reggiano was drawing a huge response unprecedented in America.
“What should I do?”
“Zemma, Grace, and Bruce, please go out first. We’ll catch up later after having an interview with the press.”
“Okay. Good job. Now, lady, can I escort you?” Said Bruce.
Bruce tapped Min-joon on the shoulder and reached out to Zemma. She looked at his hand with an awkward expression then hesitantly grabbed it, looking at his smile. Watching them, Min-joon whispered lightly into Kaya’s ears, “I think Bruce will be a good father to you and Zemma.”
“I hope so.”
Normally, Kaya would have said she didn’t need her father. But was it because she knew Bruce was out of earshot, or Zemma’s hand in Bruce’s hand looked so small? Kaya didn’t fake it.
She just revealed her inner feelings about Bruce cautiously.
Min-joon reached out his hand and said, “Shall we go out to meet the reporters, holding our hands like this?”
Kaya raised her finger.
In fact, Min-joon and Kaya’s interview with the press was not scheduled in advance at all.
Both of them had to be exposed to numerous cameras and fans’ smartphones while sitting in the makes.h.i.+ft chairs. Fortunately, it wasn’t an official press conference, so the atmosphere was not that heavy.
One reporter asked, “I recently read the news that you collapsed from overworking. Are you in good health?”
“It’s hard to say that I’m perfectly okay.”
“So, are you going to shake off the acc.u.mulated fatigue during your trip this time?”
“You had better ask Kaya, not me. She first suggested that we take a trip to Korea.”
The reporter paused for a moment then turned to Kaya. Although there was an interpreter, he seemed a little hesitant to ask questions in Korean. In the end, he asked in English, which was not so fluent.
“Um… Kaya, can you tell us why you have decided to come to Korea?”
“Because it’s Min-joon’s home country. Since he can’t take vacation often, I thought if we can’t come this time, it would be extremely difficult to come next time. I was also curious about the place where he lived.”
Even after she was done replying, the reporter couldn’t readily follow up with another question.
This time, another reporter asked in more fluent English, “I’m reporter Kyong-ha Oh with Daily Cooking. Since both of you are chefs, I think it would be appropriate for me to ask questions related to cooking. What do you think of Korean cuisine?”
As soon as he asked the question, Min-joon slightly touched her foot. This was the question she had to answer very carefully. Even if she said a hundred good things but spoke amiss just once, they would only remember it and blame her for the rest of their lives.
Fortunately, Kaya didn’t respond recklessly. She remained silent for some time. The reporter tilted his head with a puzzled expression when her silence lasted. When he was about to prod her again, she opened her mouth.
“I don’t know enough to comment about Korean cuisine. I’ve tried some Korean dishes Min-joon made for me, but even those were modified to suit my taste. So, I’m expecting a lot during my stay here. I’m curious about what kind of dish he can make for me.”
Her reply was better than Min-joon thought.
The reporter looked at him this time and asked, “What do you think, Chef Min-joon?”
“Well, I think…” He blurred for a moment.
Unlike Kaya, he couldn’t reply that he didn’t know Korean food well because he was a Korean anyway. But he didn’t want to give an inflated or dishonest reply. When it came to questions about cooking, he wanted to give a sincere and honest reply because he was a chef.
“Korean food is always homework for me because it’s the Korean food that I’ve eaten the most in my life. Apart from my patriotism, I think that we need a deep understanding of Korean food in order to develop Korean cuisine. During my vacation, I am planning to visit all the famous restaurants here. I want to learn a lot from Korean master chefs.”
“Do you plan to continue to work at Rose Island in the future? I know you have lots of job offers from several hotels and restaurants.”
“At least, I don’t have any plan to resign from Rose Island for now.”
“How about Chef Kaya? There are rumors that Chef Rachel is considering recruiting you.”
“Rumors are just rumors. I’ve not yet discussed it in detail with Chef Rachel.”
For some time, the reporters asked them about their personal stuff.
But what drew their interest the most was the following question.
“I hear that you came with Kaya’s family this time. There are rumors that you have a family get-together to discuss your marriage. Is that true?”
“No. We will probably have a family get-together, but it is not for such purpose.”
The question was so unexpected that Min-joon was very embarra.s.sed.
With a curious look, Kaya whispered into his ears, “What did he ask? According to the interpreter, we’re meeting, but for a different purpose.”
It seemed that the interpreter couldn’t properly interpret the nature of the family meeting.
So, Min-joon whispered to Kaya, “Oh, it’s about the family meeting before our marriage. So, the reporter asked a question about it. I said no.”
“Ah… he’s curious about that.”
Kaya smiled. It was the kind of smile that she made when she thought of something mischievous. She looked back at the reporters and shouted in a confident voice, “I’m going to marry him!”
“I told you, you should not speak amiss,” said Min-joon in a rental car.
Seated in the driver’s seat, he sighed. Kaya accessed the Korean internet site and googled on something then pouted and looked at him.
“Because I don’t know Korean, I don’t know if there is any story about us. Can you take a look?”
“What would you do if you found one? Are you really going to get married?”
“Why? Aren’t you sure?”
She stared at him sharply with her legs crossed.
But he sighed instead of replying. The place they were heading for was an apartment unit that Min-joon’s parents secured in Bundang. They always told him that they would offer it to him when he got married. Come to think of it, he wondered if their parents’ offer made any sense at all because there was little chance that he would settle in Korea. Now that all his networks related to cooking were in America and other countries, he had no clear advantages even if he came back to Korea.
‘Wait a minute. Yeah, my popularity here can be an advantage to me…’
But his immediate big concern right now was marriage.
‘Getting married?’
Each of the reporters there reacted differently. Some just laughed, taking their marriage as a joke, while others quickly reported about it, taking it seriously. The general public also reacted differently. They felt Kaya really liked Min-joon so much that she was hanging on to him.
“You don’t have to tell the reporters about our personal stuff in detail. Kaya, we are not yet public figures…”
“Wow, that bridge is so pretty…”
Spitting out irrelevant words, Kaya lowered the window and looked out blankly.
She was referring to Incheon Bridge, the longest bridge in South Korea. At the same time, it was the most gorgeous and wonderful bridge. The road on the bridge that was so long that one could hardly see the end of it and the iron ropes supporting the bridge. Fortunately, the clear sky lit by the sun that had just risen was not blocked by the dense fog, which was common in Incheon.