“I never dated a girl back then. So, don’t worry,” Min-joon replied calmly, walking fast.
Catching up with him hurriedly, Kaya folded her arms.
Then she spoke to him cautiously, “I think your dish is more delicious.”
“Of course.”
“Don’t take it so shamelessly.”
She pouted her lips as if his response was ludicrous. When he was about to say something, he took out his smartphone ringing in his pocket. He hesitated for a moment because the number was unfamiliar.
“Don’t take it. It must be a spam call.”
“Well, I’ll just hang up if it’s a spam call.”
The moment he put his smartphone to his ear, he was not sure if it was a spam call or not because the person on the other line knew exactly who he was.
“Hello, Chef Min-joon Cho. Can I talk to you now?”
“Yes, who is calling, please?”
“My name is Na-bum Yu. I’m in charge of the Korean Food Globalization Team of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.”
“Oh, I see…”
Obviously, it wasn’t a happy voice. As if he was embarrassed, Na-bum paused for a moment then continued cautiously.
“I’m really sorry for calling you so suddenly. I know you are busy, but I’ve contacted you after I noticed that the recipes that Chef Min-joon released this time draw a tremendous response from the general public.”
“Yeah.”
“As you know well, the globalization of Korean food has not been progressing during the past few years. So I think someone needs to lead our efforts, and I think Chef Min-joon will be a good leader who can lead the Korean food industry. >>
“Well, I’m a western food chef.”
Min-joon responded in a confused voice as if he could not understand. At that moment, Na-bum also stopped, which meant that Min-joon’s response made sense.
He continued, “Yes, I know you are a western food chef. But I also know that you have a pretty good understanding of Korean food. And I think the most important thing is your influence as a chef and your cooking talent. If you apply some of your talents to Korean food… Oh, I think I’m asking you for too much over the phone. I would like to tell you more in detail when I meet you. Can I meet you?”
“No. I’m sorry. I’m afraid I can’t.”
Na-bum was at a loss when he flatly declined his offer. In general, it was rare for anybody to respond to such an offer right away, but it was the first time that Na-bum saw somebody rejecting his offer without hesitation.
He tried to calm his embarrassment and asked again, “May I ask why you can’t meet me?”
“Because it’s not my business hours now,” said Min-joon, shrugging.
Of course, Na-bum didn’t understand what he was talking about.
Min-joon then quipped, “I’m on vacation now.”
“Oh, you’re on vacation…” He blurred with an awkward voice. Obviously, he would make Min-joon more irritated if he kept asking for a meeting.
But Min-joon said calmly, “And I would like to remind you again that I can’t comment about Korean food. I don’t want to look arrogant enough to promote Korean food. There are so many Korean chefs who are more excellent and greater than me in the Korean cuisine field. I don’t want to teach a bird to fly. Sorry.”
“I understand what you mean. Can I contact you again next time?”
“I can’t stop you from contacting me. But maybe you won’t persuade me.”
“Alright. I’ll contact you next time. Sorry to interrupt your vacation. Have a nice day.”
“Have a nice day.”
They hung up the phone.
Kaya looked at him with a curious expression and asked, “Who called you?”
“I don’t know him, but he is a government official. He asked me to assist in his efforts to globalize Korean food.”
“So, did you agree?”
“No.”
“Why?”
She tilted her head as if she could hardly understand. He sighed, putting his smartphone back in his pocket.
“There are a lot of chefs here who are better at making Korean food than me. It’s funny for me to act arrogantly before them.”
“You’re making excuses, Min-joon.”
“As a matter of fact, I’ve been tired enough even though I’m on vacation. I don’t want to get tired anymore.”
“That’s a pretty good excuse.” She nodded as if she liked his reply.
He said in a calm voice, “He told me he would contact me again, but I don’t think he would because I clearly said I was not interested.”
“Well, he won’t give up easily. How about it? Care to make a bet on that?”
“If you bet, I know you always lose. You still want to do it?”
“If you’re so confident, do it. I’m sure he will call you again. How about you?”
She asked him to make a bet several times, but he didn’t respond. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if Na-bum would not contact him again.
And his hunch wasn’t wrong. Within a few days after the call, he got another call from Na-bum.
This time, Na-bum directly came to meet him face to face.
“I’m sorry I came here to see you suddenly.”
Na-bum spoke, feeling sorry. Because of that, Min-joon could not show his uncomfortable feelings. His expression did not appear to be a pretense. He was sincerely sorry. Of course, Min-joon didn’t welcome his sudden visit just because he said he was sorry.
“What business brought you here?”
“I wanted to meet you and say hello. In fact, we enjoyed greater publicity for Korean food than our government eyed by pouring a huge amount of money because of your recipe.”
He didn’t exaggerate. In fact, what foreigners knew about Korean food was Korean barbecue bulgogi and kimchi at best until Min-joon’s recipe became widely known.
Of course, Min-joon’s Korean recipe was so good as to beat other Korean recipes, but according to former chef and gourmet reviewer Man-gil Hong, his recipe was easy and popular, and at the same time, it was a dish that reflected the trends of contemporary food.
However, it was also true that his recipe gave Korean food wide publicity, whose effect was greater than hundreds of thousands of dollars they spent. Min-joon was the developer of Cho Reggiano, a young genius who created the dessert that shook America, and a chef with a perfect palate. Not only his existence, but his mere mention of Korean food was worth a huge amount of promotional spending from the Korean government’s position.
‘His own intuition is also…’
Na-bum got more and more nervous. Although Min-joon was prudent and polite, it didn’t mean that he would easily be persuaded. Rather, he would clearly reject any offer that he thought was not in his interest or something he didn’t like. So, Na-bum decided he would desperately try to win over his heart.
“Are you enjoying your vacation?”
Na-bum thought he asked the wrong thing. Checking Min-joon’s stiff expression, he regretted asking it, but it was too late. When he was getting nervous, waiting for his reply, Min-joon looked at Kaya and her family members then answered, “Yes, of course. Since I’m a chef, it’s more fun to go around here and there to eat something delicious than to travel. Fortunately, everyone in my family loves it.”
“Do you have any place in mind?”
“Yes, there’s a restaurant I have in mind right now. They say I can’t make a reservation, so I have to go here and stand in a line. I’m going to leave early. If I’m late by five minutes, I might have to wait 50 minutes to get in.”
Na-bum thought Min-joon wanted him to get out quickly because he was busy now. When Min-joon reacted coldly, he opened his mouth with an awkward smile.
“Since you say you enjoy getting around for good food, can I recommend one restaurant?”
“You want to recommend?”
“I don’t want to bother your vacation. If you hate me, you might not be able to answer my phone later. Hahaha. So I agonized a lot over how to win your heart. Have you heard about the Korean restaurant, Sumokjong?”
His mention of that restaurant impressed Min-joon enough to make him show interest, who didn’t show any change in his expression until a moment ago. Min-joon opened his eyes wide.
Noticing it, Na-bum spoke in a spirited voice, “People say there is no better Korean food restaurant than this one.”
“Are you now suggesting you want to take me there?”
“Yes, of course.”
Min-joon made a perplexed expression as if he could not understand Na-bum’s suggestion. Of course, Min-joon was aware of that restaurant. It had a legendary reputation among Korean chefs.
It was once the largest Korean food restaurant. To put it more accurately, it used to be a high-class restaurant where ladies served wealthy customers with expensive dishes, but today, it turned into an ordinary restaurant.
Sujongmok was also notorious for not accepting customers just because they were rich. They were not allowed to gain access unless they had a positive identification and a good reputation.
“I understand that restaurant was closed, right?”
That was the problem. It had been closed for more than two years.
Na-bum smiled at his question and said, “Yes, that’s right. It’s closed.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about right now. Why are you taking me to a closed restaurant?”
“Like you said, Sumokjong was closed, but its skilled chef is still there. Oh, I’m talking about the head chef.”
At a glance, Min-joon was at a loss for words. Sumokjong, As a kid, he once thought he would visit there one day after achieving success. But it faded from his memory and remained in his fantasy because his dream of success disappeared even before he knew it.
Right now, Na-bum asked to take him to that place and treat him to the dishes that its head chef made in person. No matter how logically he tried to think about Na-bum’s offer, he found it hard to find any more excuses to decline it. Rather, he was thinking of so many excuses to accept his offer, but none to decline it.
Min-joon already decided to accept his offer but agonized for some time. After all, he looked at Na-bum after some hesitation and opened his mouth.
“How many of us can you take there?”
