When Min-joon came back after eating in Paris Park, it was already dark with the sun setting red. He thought that the sky was like the scales of a red sea bream.
‘How would it feel if he could cook that sky? Am I getting too sentimental?’
However, it was quite difficult for him to not get sentimental while watching the Paris scenes. People in Paris had been so familiar with this because they lived there, but for a man like him, who used to look at the concrete buildings in Los Angeles and the rusty ladders and stairs attached to the walls of an apartment building, the various architectures in Paris were quite an impressive scene.
“Hey, you guys were so elated today,” Janet said, untying her hair. Min-joon turned to her.
She crossed her legs while sitting on the couch.
She said, “Are you going to deny what I just said?”
“No. I have nothing to say.”
“I like you guys being confident. I’m not telling you that you should hide it. I’m not telling you that you should not hold your heads high. But remember that Theo is our enemy. He’s our rival. It’s not good for you to show him too much about you.”
At first glance, what she said seemed reasonable. But Min-joon was rather bothered by her words. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but he felt there was something wrong in her remarks.
Anderson exactly pointed it out by saying, “If you’re going to find your rival, aren’t we rivals against each other, too”
As if she was speechless for a moment, she couldn’t reply. Anderson was right. It was not just Theo, but themselves that they had to be wary of, given the current situation. As for Theo and Enzo, they would never see them once they flew back to America after the competition was over, but they would be destined to see each other at Rose Island everyday.
With Janet keeping silent for a moment, Havier opened his mouth with a smile.
“We are friends, not competitors. I’m touched!”
“Hey, what the heck are you talking about? Touched? For what? We know the situation, and we know each other. So, we don’t have to be wary of each other.”
“Man, don’t try to make excuses!”
“Let me hit the sack!”
Janet sprang to her feet then headed for her bedroom. To put it precisely, she was about to move when Havier stopped her. If he had not held her, she would have stepped into the bedroom by now. She looked down at her wrist he was holding. He made a smile at her cold eyes.
“I’m sorry, Janet. Just stay.”
When she sat down on the couch again as if she was resigned, Chloe looked at Kaya.
She asked with a curious expression, “By the way, when did you practice this?”
“You mean how to figure out the recipe?”
“Yeah. I knew well that your sense of taste was excellent, but I didn’t know you were so good like this.”
“Well, when I was at Grand Chef, I had to go around the world’s restaurants to the point that I was sick and tired of going abroad. At that time, I thought I would try to imitate Min-joon instead of putting the food in my mouth thoughtlessly. And it paid off!”
“Can you explain a little more? I’m getting more curious now.”
Chloe looked at Kaya blankly. Kaya scratched her chin with a sullen expression.
Min-joon quickly closed his eyes and erased her expressions from his memory because she looked ugly at that moment.
“Yeah, I made it! They say lovers are becoming alike. Maybe that’s why I made it.”
“When I see you guys, you look like people in a different world.”
“Let me think you mean well,” Kaya said with a sigh.
Then she leaned her head on Min-joon’s shoulder and opened his mouth.
“I’m hungry.”
“We just finished eating an hour ago, right?”
“It tastes good there, but it’s not a big dish. Anway, French guys are stingy.”
“Man, you guys emptied more than 10 plates, so it’s natural you got a small dish.”
“Well, I think they didn’t serve a big dish, even considering that. Hey, Min-joon, you want to make some food?”
“You seem to…”
At that moment, Min-joon wanted to remind Kaya she seemed to gain weight, but he couldn’t.
He was aware that in Korea, there were lots of men who went into big trouble for having said that to their wives or lovers. Although Kaya was an American and this was Paris, he knew mentioning somebody’s weight was taboo anywhere.
He didn’t care much because he watched her gaining weight little by little everyday, but since she was with Chloe now, he had no choice but to compare the two. Unlike Kaya who didn’t pay any particular attention to her weight, Chloe took care of her body professionally like an entertainer.
Given that Chloe kept her body in nice shape even before she became an entertainer, he could not help but compare Kaya with her. He glanced down at his own body. He wasn’t gaining weight because he was working so hard that the people around him said he was overworking everyday.
“Shall we do some exercise?” Kaya said, narrowing her eyes.
“Are you sure? You just said you were hungry, right?”
When Min-joon avoided her gaze, Anderson opened his mouth with a sullen voice.
“Shut up and look at this.”
“What?”
“Look at this!”
Anderson held out the phone. What appeared on the screen was the scene of them at the Paris International Cooking Competition. The voices of the judges in the video with the subtitle in English were heard clearly. It was their own conversation that participants like them could not bear to hear because what they revealed was rather shocking.
<< It seems like the participants in this game are just terrific. >>
<< That’s why I’m reluctant to be a judge in this contest because there are some chefs who can make better dishes than me. I can’t save my face. >>
<< Well, I was amazed when I heard that Chef Enzo would attend this contest this time. In fact, he is famous enough to think even his victory here is not an honor at all. >>
<< Actually, as a chef, he is Paris’s pride. So, I’m excited and worried. I hope that his pride won’t get hurt. >>
<< It looks like you are very much biased as a judge if you say so. >>
<< Well, I’m French even though I’m a judge. Please understand me even if I am cheering for French participants. >>
His pride being hurt? The moment Min-joon heard that, he could understand how big a burden Enzo and Theo were carrying on their shoulders. Enzo and Theo were fighting for the pride of France while those from Rose Island were fighting for their future. And at the same time, they also had some personal reasons, namely to overcome Enzo’s defeat to Daniel.
‘Honestly, this contest is meaningful to him’
It was Daniel who defeated Enzo. Although Min-joon was treated as Rachel’s prospective successor these days, it was hard for Enzo to regard him as Daniel’s student. Did Enzo want to regain his pride by beating Min-joon? Was that his only motivation? He was a chef with a lifelong cooking experience. Min-joon wondered about it.
<< In this contest, those participants from abroad are especially drawing lots of attention. >>
<< Right. Asian cooking chefs are noteworthy, but Rose Island chefs are attracting the most attention. >>
<< Oh my God! So many guys from Rose Island have survived in this contest! Anyway, three pairs have advanced to the finals when you talk about their main restaurant. >>
<< Are they demi chefs? I really can’t believe it. I’m just curious, too. Obviously, with such excellent skills, there must have been a lot of restaurant owners who tried to hire them with better conditions. I would not be surprised if they took over the position of head chefs. >>
<< What I can’t believe is that three of them don’t have professional careers or their cooking career is less than a year. >>
<< Who are the three? >>
<< Min-joon, Kaya, and Chloe. >>
When they saw Asher astonished to hear that, other judges became embarrassed because he was clearly praising the three. Asher shook his head and muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.
<< It’s ridiculous that even Min-joon is one of them. No matter how carefully I look at him cooking, I can’t believe he has been cooking for just one year, given his fantastic skills. >>
<< Can you tell me one more surprise? >>
<< Sure. I don’t think I’ll be surprised anymore. >>
<< He has a perfect taste. >>
<< Oh, I heard that. >>
<< Then, you know how fantastic he is? >>
<<No idea. Tell me.>>
Asher asked in a slightly cautious voice as if he was starting to become anxious again.
Sophie responded with a mischievous smile.
<< If he goes to your restaurant, he can analyze more than half of the recipes of the dishes you serve him. Got it? >>
<< Bullsh*t. That’s total nonsense. Do you think I’m going to be fooled by such a lie? >>
<< If you are curious, go and check him later. >>
<< I don’t have to because that’s just unthinkable. >>
But Min-joon could do that, and even Kaya could do that, too.
As if she was moved, Kaya thought to herself, ‘Well, I didn’t know they thought the world of what I did.’
Of course, what she did was amazing. If figuring out the recipe was so easy, they would not write anything like “secret” on the recipes at the restaurants famed for delicious food.
Min-joon looked at Kaya. Suddenly, he recalled the condition of cooking level 9. Kaya’s gastronomic level was 10. If all the conditions they needed to level up were the same, Kaya already had that pan-national gastronomic view. Perhaps her market life had served as gifted education for her, for she could see all kinds of food in the market, regardless of the nationality of the foods.
‘Shall I go to that market someday?’
He felt that if he spent several weeks and months in the market, he would also increase his gastronomic level. Even though Kaya’s sense of taste was incomparable to that of the average person, it was certain that the market also influenced her gastronomic level.
When the video was over, it seemed like they were more or less encouraged. Although Min-joon and Kaya received the most praise, Anderson, Chloe, Janet, and Javier were also praised. Even all the compliments they had received while working at Rose Island were not as impressive as the judges’ praise.
“Their evaluation is better than we thought,” Chloe said in a touching voice.
It was natural that she felt so because she was always feeling a subtle sense of defeat toward chefs. Although she was more known and made more money than others, she sometimes felt ordinary chefs were cooler because she could not even interact with customers.
Now, she even thought that she might be walking on the path stained with an expedient, compared with other chefs. But the judges’ unbiased praise cleared her anxiety because they didn’t have to take pains to praise her without any reason. These judges who evaluated chefs’ dishes more harshly than anybody else praised her cooking!
