While he was discussing it, Min-joon suddenly felt strange. He naturally thought that Michael and Gwen would compete for the championship of this competition, after all. Even though Peter and Hugo were variables that could affect the rankings, he didn’t take them seriously because he really thought the championship this time was reserved for either Gwen or Michael.
But now, the variable named Peter had survived until now. And that variable was a big threat to Michael. It could change his fate in this competition.
And it totally depended on the judges whether the variable named Peter could sway their judgment.
‘If Peter can survive…’
If Peter survived, he could also change Gwen’s fate. Min-joon was sure of it. Actually, that was what happened to him and Kaya at the Grand Chef a couple of years ago.
But the judges here had to be fair. Michael failed to bring out the taste of the pineapple properly, and Peter failed to get the shape of the toffee right. Which of them deserved to survive this round?
Their discussion didn’t last long. All of them already made their own conclusion on the dishes prepared by the three finalists. The appearance of food was important in cooking, but the most important thing was its taste.
Again, Peter was a variable here.
Variables made a difference in this competition.
Michael was a perfect guy.
As far as his life was concerned, he really lived a life that was not inferior to anybody’s.
In that respect, defeat or failure was pretty unfamiliar to him.
And he was ready for the first failure in his life.
“You have been eliminated, Michael. It’s time to go back to your routine life.”
The judges politely notified him of his failure. In fact, Michael thought he would not be afraid of such a failure. But the moment the judges informed him of his elimination, he felt really shabby, which he had never felt before.
Why did he think it would be alright even if he failed? He thought he would make some good memories by participating in the Grand Chef competition. Just because others were better than him, he didn’t have to feel inferior. He knew he was still learning cooking, so he could not be the best chef in the world. He was, after all, a physicist.
From the perspective of Gwen or Peter, they might feel a bit sorry for his failure, but that was it.
But that was not what Michael was feeling deep down. Even though he kept comforting himself by muttering, ‘I’m okay,’ he was not okay. He really felt sorry he was eliminated.
At that moment, Min-joon approached him and looked at him blankly.
Michael said with a bitter smile, “Are you here to say goodbye?”
“Well, sort of.”
“I’m a bit frustrated.”
Michael didn’t hide his feelings. It would be childish if he pretended not to regret it or pretended to be strong in this situation.
Min-joon opened his mouth slowly.
“To be honest, I don’t like your attitude toward cooking, but I think there should be a chef like you somewhere in the world.”
“I’m not a chef.”
“But you feel like a chef, right?”
Feeling like a chef? At that moment, Michael uttered ‘Ah!’ before he knew it.
He could understand why he came to feel regrets. While mingling with the participants who wanted to be chefs at the Grand Chef House, maybe he regarded himself as a chef.
But he wasn’t. That was his own illusion. Now that he was forced out of the illusion and knew his place, it was only natural that he felt more regrets.
“Are you serious about becoming a chef?” Min-joon asked.
In fact, this was a matter that he had to pay attention to. Originally, Michael planned to be a chef after winning the Grand Chef competition even though he was a physicist. He would be doing both jobs. People regarded Michael’s restaurant as just another hobby for a boring genius, but Min-joon didn’t think so. No matter how eccentric Michael was, it would be impossible for him to devote himself to a restaurant just for fun.
Basically, working at the restaurant was hard. It was by no means an easy task for anybody to put up with years of cutting and heating, not to mention hot oil and shouting. In the end, only those who love to cook could survive as chefs.
Michael was a man who loved cooking in one way or another. He would continue to love cooking. So Min-joon wanted to stop his current failure, something he never expected in his life, from discouraging him.
“Do you think I can be a chef?”
“I think I don’t have to answer your question.”
In terms of his potential to be a chef, it would be difficult to find someone like Michael in the world. The advantage of his smartness was his unique strength that could not be compared with an ordinary talent.
“I don’t care about my potential.”
Even though he himself asked Min-joon about his potential, Michael spoke bluntly like that.
Obviously, he was still feeling pretty bitter about his elimination. Min-joon looked at him for a moment. If he wanted to go back to his life as a physicist, there was nothing Min-joon could do about him. After all, it was his judgment call as far as his life was concerned.
Actually, that was what Allan, Emily, and Joseph told Min-joon when the latter was a participant of the Grand Chef.
Just like he felt when they told him that, Michael took Min-joon’s words seriously.
“Well, you will see it someday…”
***
Min-joon felt heavy on his shoulders. Was it because his clothes were tight or did he sleep wrong? He looked at the mirror and massaged his shoulders. He then left the break room again.
The weather was dry, as always. Feeling as if his nostrils were drying up, he looked around the restaurant. He thought he had to set up a proper humidification system.
‘I wonder if it’s expensive…’
He let out a sigh. Even though he and Kaya were comfortably off, it was true that they should be worried about the expenses of the furnishings of his new restaurant located in the poshest area of Los Angeles.
‘Well, Kaya could afford it.’
He didn’t remember how much she earned, but he clearly knew that she made a lot by selling her signature Six Meats.
He sat down at the table alone, which was right next to the window. When he sat in this seat, he felt like he was June. She already reflected on her success in her New York office, looking at the streets. While looking down at the streets of Los Angeles, he felt her inside him. He felt even success, which he would have to achieve in the future.
‘Is this landscape fit for me?’
He thought about his past for a moment. If he had continued to work as a schoolteacher, all he could look down at would have at best been a school playground. What if he had been a chef without looking back on time? Did he perhaps die while waiting for people’s recognition that would never come along his way? Or did he somehow get all of these things that he achieved until now?
He could not know what would have happened to him. So what he could do was to feel this happiness right now as fully as possible. At the same time, he felt a bit sorry because the change he made made him happy, but there must be people whose lives changed because of it.
For example, Michael was one such example, because he failed in this competition.
On the other hand, Kaya was different. Originally, she wasn’t planning to establish something like Lotus Bridge, but she aggressively ran a restaurant like Irregular Labs to captivate American gourmets. But she was going to run a new restaurant with Min-joon. They didn’t make the decision to run their own restaurant as chefs. Min-joon made the judgment as a man, while Kaya did so as a woman.
“What are you doing there? Are you imitating Gatsby?”
With her arms folded, Kaya asked him. Min-joon slowly turned his head. He smiled, watching her in a black chef suit.
“Well, sort of. Shall we cook?”
“That’s why we’re here. We have to set up the menu,” he said in a calm voice.
She nodded with a lively expression. For the past several days she was pretty busy serving as a judge at the Grand Chef competition as well as working as a Choters Guild judge. Nonetheless, she didn’t seem tired at all.
Min-joon understood her feelings. This was the moment when they chose the menu of their restaurant for the first time. Of course, they shouldn’t compare it with that of Irregular Lab because they wanted to make the best food they wanted to, regardless of the price.
The two headed straight to the kitchen. In fact, they already had all the recipes ready. The problem was combining those recipes to create a menu they would recommend.
“Let me repeat that. You have to include Cho Reggiano and Six Meats in the menu,” he said. Kaya pursed her lips at his words. As a matter of fact, they developed these signature dishes a long time ago. So she didn’t think they were not fit for the new menu of their new restaurant.
