“……..Why are you looking at us like that?”
Kaya asked with a trembling voice. Jeremy placed a finger in his empty spoon and said while spinning it.
“Your relations.h.i.+p is really good. Taking into account that you are boy and girl.”
“You aren’t planning to do a shabby debate such as ‘is it possible to be friends between a boy and girl?’, right?”
“Haha, i’m old. I don’t have the energy to do such things as debates. Instead, I have something I want to ask you. If it’s not impolite. The two of you, are you really friends? I’m curious because you too are really close taking into account that you are only friends.”
[ I believed that Jeremy would do it from the start.]
[ Please, G.o.d. Just don’t say ‘yes, that’s right.’ to that question……..]
Those kinds of chats immediately raised the scroll. Sera and Emily looked at Jo Minjoon and Kaya with eyes filled with expectation. However Kaya didn’t get perplexed. She raised one brow with a calm att.i.tude.
“Is there a standard as to a friend has to be this close?”
“Of course there’s not, but even so this old man can only see the relations.h.i.+p between you younguns to be progressing and peculiar. Kaya, is there no feelings for the opposite s.e.x? I’m like this because you are really good to see.”
Jeremy was saying everything while laughing. Kaya hesitated with a slightly perplexed expression and slightly turned to look at Jo Minjoon. And Jo Minjoon also smacked his lips for a moment. It was difficult to say, it’s exactly this…….but it certainly was true that there were many times that those feelings came and went. It was then. Anderson opened his mouth.
“What if there is? They won’t even be able to meet.”
Because of the sudden defense, Kaya and Jo Minjoon could let out sighs of relief. Sera slightly glanced and said with a strange voice.
“Ey, what’s important of meeting and not. The important thing is the feeling.”
“What if you have that? If you can’t converse properly and don’t have time to share, it becomes meaningless. People that should be together will, and people who shouldn’t won’t. Stop teasing naive guys.”
At Anderson’s words, Jeremy became an ill tempered old man in an instant. Whether people inside the chat let out sighs or not, Anderson didn’t mind them and pointed in front with a calm voice.
“Bring the next thing.”
[Ah! That Anderson, why is he acting this thoughtlessly?]
[It seems like he’s doing it on purpose…]
[Look at Sera’s expression next to him. She’s really depressed. XD]
[My expression is also like that.]
But after a while, their expressions soon became bright, as if they have never pointed the two of them. The look of the ceviche that came as an appetizer was really pretty. The thinly sliced tuna showed a red colour like an uncooked cow meat and was placed like a tray, and the shrimp meat that was cooked over it was placed like a tower in a pointed way. The apple mint, coconut jelly, and the white foam, etc seemed just like a house and a tree and it felt like watching the tuna placed over was just like watching a village. Sera got amazed and opened her mouth.
“I know that as an epicurean, I will look really bad after saying this but…….. I’m talking about putting things like foam in places like this. Actually, even if it’s big the amount is small so it doesn’t feel that much, so do you know why they put this? Of course, if you are like Jo Minjoon that has an absolute taste, you will even know the effects of that small amount, but normal people wouldn’t feel much. Is it certainly decoration?”
[I agree with that. I have never felt something to be more delicious because there was foam placed on it.]
[Are you ignoring beer foam right now?]
[No, this foam and that foam is different..]
[Actually, I don’t even know if beer foam is that delicious.]
As if it was a question many people had,
“How can that be? Of course, it’s not that it wasn’t thought to be only a decoration. First eat and let’s talk later.”
Rachel talked like that and then put some foam on the shrimp meat and chewed.
“I’m certain. Although people won’t feel the flavor of this foam to be that special, the people that cook this can certainly feel it. What would they have thought when the put this foam? You can think it that way.”
At Rachel’s words the others also started to eat the ceviche. Jo Minjoon thought like he could understand Rachel’s’ words. The moment he ate the tuna along with shrimp, foam and the other herbs, amazingly enough he felt Alan’s thoughts. Rachel, that was looking at Jo Minjoon, opened her mouth.
“Minjoon, can you answer it?”
“Yes. The fishy smell shrimp or fish has, no, it’s vague to even say that it’s fishy. Because it’s closer to the aroma of the sea rather than a bad smell. However, there are cases that the fishy smell is felt more disgustingly when met with other ingredients when it alone was endurable. Just like when you sprinkle salt in watermelon, the sweet flavor strengthens, and with the fishy smell, it gets stronger depending on what you mix it with.”
“You know it well. This lemon foam has the role of bridge between the ingredients. It gets tangled between the flavors, and it’s tying down everything in one place. You guessed it right.”
[I think that Rachel loves Minjoon more than Kaya. Even the light in my grandmother’s eyes wasn’t as hot as that.]
[Won’t he become her real disciple like this? It seemed like Rachel was slowly returning.]
[What if she does. That is over Santa Monica. It’s far, and the price isn’t a joke. Even if I want to go, I can’t.]
[But Jo can feel the flavor well and also expresses it luxuriously. At times, it feels like Jo speaks better english than me.]
“Thank you.”
“Yes?”
“……..Ah, I was talking to the chat. They praised me for speaking well in english.”
Jo Minjoon, that was laughing while looking at the camera, replied in an embarra.s.sed voice while looking at Rachel’s weird face. While the people were laughing, Jo Minjoon looked at Kaya.
“How is it? Does it suit your tastes?”
At Jo Minjoon’s question, Kaya rolled her eyes as if she was thinking for a moment. And soon, put on a smile and replied.
“Yeah, it’s not an unfamiliar.”
“How good”
He didn’t ask her if it was delicious. Because it was obvious that it was. It was 8 points. Jo Minjoon didn’t get that disappointed by the score. Alan’s cooking score was 9, and if he had personally cooked he would be able to make 9 points dishes quite frequently. However, the role of the head chef wasn’t personally cooking. Even if he did so, he wouldn’t be able to cook all the dishes that would get served to the customers by himself.
In the end what a head chef was, was just like what Rachel had shown before, how well you could control people in your kitchen. Even if your cooking level was 7, if you had the power to do so it wasn’t difficult to get the seat of Sous chef. And obviously if his cooking skills were good, it would at most be 5 or 6, and if he was good 7. It could only be like that. So leading them and making this kind of dish already showed Alan’s skills.
‘If I get entrusted to be a head chef……..’
Honestly, he thought it was going to be difficult. Although he had become a head chef once through Grand Chef, actually rather than controlling them, it was more relying on their abilities. It was possible because it was a compet.i.tion, and an unavoidable thing because they were amateurs. Kaya slightly glanced at her surroundings and said.
“The food suits my tastes, but the atmosphere doesn’t. On a high cla.s.s restaurant i’m not accustomed to, and cameras in front of my eyes. There are words pouring from the chat. Ah, you. Please, don’t tie us together just because we are talking. Can’t we even converse?”
Kaya was talking with Jo Minjoon for a moment and then glared at the camera as if she was displeased. Jo Minjoon hurriedly patted her back.
“I thought that your temperament died off, but Kaya Lotus is still Kaya Lotus. Just tell them to tie us off. We won’t die because they do so. That would be better than getting scolded because we got angry at the viewers.”
[ One vote at them, making a scandal before new year.]
[It would be difficult this year. Kaya is being called in many places because of Grand Chef.]
[Then, is this a moment’s opportunity they have to be together? Now that I think like that, it’s quite romantic.]
[But isn’t Minjoon taking her after having talked like that in public?]
[He’s a scary b.a.s.t.a.r.d.]
“…….Everyone. I’m not that gloomy.”
“You are a bit.”
“Ah, how can you also be like that?”
Jo Minjoon said while looking at Kaya with a disappointed face. Kaya smirked and soon, extended her hand and raised Jo Minjoon’s neckband to cover his scar. Jo Minjoon said while laughing awkwardly.
“There’s no need to mind it. Even I don’t do it.”
“You remember what I said about that scar, right? That’s why don’t say things like don’t mind. Because it’s not something to mind or not.”
“……..Now, you are talking about things only you two know?”
Sera forcefully laughed. Jo Minjoon cleared his throat with an embarra.s.sed face. Kaya also flushed as if she had gone far and just touched her hair. Rachel looked at that Kaya and said in a soft voice.
“Kaya. What did you think when eating the ceviche?”
“This ceviche, it just feels like a letter to you?”
“…….Yes?”
At the sudden words, Rachel opened her eyes roundly. Kaya pointed to the emptied plate.
“You said so before. The ingredients placed like a village over the red tuna. Don’t you think of the word ‘Rose Island’?”
At Kaya’s words, Jo Minjoon let out an exclamation. Thinking about it, he thought that it may be possible to interpret it like that. As they looked at Alan, he smiled with an embarra.s.sed face.
“It’s a correct interpretation. Actually, I would have liked it if teacher Rachel realized it…….”
“Wasn’t it a menu you usually sold?”
“That’s right. I wanted to show off wherever I could that I learned below you……And it turned out like this. I would like it if it became a present you liked.”
Rachel endured the tears that came out and pressed her lips. Her wrinkled mouth twitched slowly and soon, she let out a cry like sound and then shut up again. Sera, that was next to her, grabbed Rachel’s shoulders with a worried look. Rachel forcefully smiled as if she was calm and then looked at Alan with teary eyes.
“Thank you Alan. It’s a really cool and good gift.”
“………Don’t cry. It’s not a gift I gave you because I wanted to see your tears.”
Alan said with a regretful voice. The teacher that was once s.h.i.+ning and composed seemed to become weak in front of time. You become weak when you become old. Physically, and emotionally. Could he have thought that that obvious rule would slip off Rachel? Looking at her weak side, he felt pain in his heart.
[Rachel…….It’s good to see her in a while, but the atmosphere became weird.]
[Perhaps it’s because of the memories, or because those memories are already things of the past. But the certain thing is that I really want to drink beer. I’m going to the fridge.]
[I also want to see Daniel. Why do geniuses leave off that early?]
[I was only 10 when the Rose Couple were in activity, but were they really that amazing?]
[I’m answering to the one that said if they were amazing, they were legends. They raised up the level of american restaurants in one go.]
Looking at the chat and Alan’s att.i.tude, Jo Minjoon felt a corner of his heart getting hot. Alan, and everyone were recollecting their memories. A chef that lives off in your memories. No, a chef that can live in your memories. Isn’t that the most complete life for a chef? He thought like that. Jo Minjoon slowly opened his mouth.
“How envious. Rachel, and Alan.”
He wasn’t saying this out of courtesy. At that low voice that was filled with honestly, Rachel turned to look at him with teary eyes. And asked with a strange face. Although her face was still wet at the tears, it wasn’t that bad to hear.
“Why…….?”
“I’m envious of you and your husband that are remembered to be good chefs by everyone without exception, and Alan that could be together with those kind of chefs.”
“Minjoon will also be able to do that soon. You will be able to meet a good chef, and learn properly below them. And personally……I would like it if that person was me.”
“Yes?”
At the sudden words, Jo Minjoon asked back with a perplexed voice. Rachel continued saying with a calm voice.
“I will also return to the kitchen in a little while. And……..”
Rachel’s eyes looked at Jo Minjoon fixedly. Her voice was clearer than her eyes.
“I would like it if you were in my kitchen.”
Jo Minjoon looked at Rachel absentmindedly. As he heard something unexpected at an unexpected situation, he couldn’t organize his thoughts as to how to reply. Only the empty chat appeared over the monitor.
[……..I’m eating frozen pizza and watching the broadcast at the same time. But he’s doing the broadcast and getting a job at the same time.]
< Their live broadcast (2) > End
Translator’s note: Thanks for reading!
PR note:
Translator : Subak
Proofreader : Saihikawa