“What? Are you going to make Rose Island a Grand Chef house? You and Anderson are already working there, and that’s enough. Then, are you going to join me? You don’t have a position for me. And you have lots of demi chefs,” Kaya said.
“That’s right. But Rachel wants to create a position if you are really interested. Maybe she might be kidding.”
“Hey.”
As if she was displeased, she raised her finger with an awkward smile and said, “Let’s be clear. Just because I like you and live with you, it doesn’t mean that you have to think about my career only from your point of view. And that’s the same for you. When I decide where to work, it’s because there’s a good system or condition like that. If you think I can move to Rose Island just because you are there, you are childish. Don’t put me in a difficult situation.”
“Why do you think I’m childish?”
“Well, you don’t look mature if you think like that. We’re not married yet. We’re still dating. If I have to move to Rose Island because you’re my boyfriend… Hey, you have to distinguish between public and private matters.”
“Yeah, no objection. I agree.”
Since she hit the nail on the head, he had nothing to say. When he responded with a slightly subdued voice, she lifted her toes and pinched his thigh.
He frowned, saying annoyingly, “What are you doing?”
“Yeah. If you don’t like it, just frown like that instead of hiding your feelings.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re upset because you know I don’t want to work with you, right?”
“I’m a man. I’m not upset because of that.”
She smiled at his stiff reply.
He said angrily, “Damn it!”
***
The next day, Jefferson came to meet Min-joon. Actually, Min-joon almost completely forgot about the contract about Cho Reggiano when Jefferson came back with a sample and presented it to him.
“How about it, Min-joon?” Jefferson said confidently as if he was quite optimistic about the sample. Instead of replying, Min-joon slowly put down the spoon. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and shook his head slowly. Unfortunately, he could not give it a pass.
“Nope, this is not enough.”
“Oh, I see…”
Since he came to see Min-joon with great expectations, he was deeply disappointed.
His face immediately turned gloomy, which Min-joon felt was pretty cute for his age.
Min-joon said, feeling sorry for him, “But it’s improved a lot. At least, I can see that you’re using the ingredients of the recipe as instructed.”
“Since I know you have a perfect palate, how can I deceive you?”
“The biggest problem here is that air and foam will eventually break no matter how well you store them. In this case…”
Min-joon paused for a moment and looked at him. Jefferson had been cooperative, but Min-joon felt a bit sorry to say something like this.
“It’s going to get a little more complicated, but why don’t you change the way you are doing now?”
“You mean the cooking method?”
“Since you can’t include a siphon for it, you might want to put the ingredients in foam material, so the customers can make it by themselves. You can sell other stuff as finished products.”
Ramen noodles are already there when they’re on sale, but the consumers should put soup and flakes to boil ramen again. Min-joon thought it might be better if the customers could create the right taste by making a little extra effort. However, it wasn’t easy for him to propose it to Jefferson because it would mean the latter would have to change much of the process that he had been familiar with.
It was not unreasonable that Jefferson’s face stiffened at that moment. But Min-joon did not push him. In his mind, he thought it was a fairly unreasonable proposal.
But when Jefferson opened his mouth again, he said something unexpected, “Would it taste better if I change the cooking method?”
“Can you accept my recommendation?”
“Since you recommended it, I definitely should accept it because I know it’s better.”
“Isn’t it normal that you should convene a meeting with your staff before making the decision? Besides, you have to think of the budget issue…”
“Well, I would lose more money by being obsessed with such trivial things, so it’s better for me to do it right even if I spend more money now.’
Min-joon smiled at him. Although he didn’t know much about business, he liked Jefferson’s flexible attitude.
Min-joon said in a soft voice, “It looks like you are quite different from ordinary businessmen.”
“Do you think so?”
“As you know, businessmen typically would like to make products first to sell. What’s your purpose? Business? Or do you want to make a lot of delicious food more available for the public?”
“Well, we can’t pick the right answer easily in our daily affairs. And you never know people’s minds. I am not that simplistic of a person. Of course, I want to succeed in business. I want to serve the people a little more delicious food. And my biggest dream is to not have any regrets when I look back later. Something like, ‘I wish I had done it properly back then.’ Got it?”
“Yeah, I think you can do it because you’re a good person. I haven’t seen you for a long time, but I can still feel it,” Min-joon said with a smile.
Jefferson smiled broadly, shrugging.
“If a woman said that to me, I would think she might be trying to seduce me. Well, I’m sorry.”
“Okay, that’s enough. So, how long would it take if you changed the process?”
“If I get it done quickly, I can do it in a month. I know Cho Reggiano is in high demand, so I would like to move a little fast and establish my bakery as soon as possible. By the way, how about the restaurant. I heard the news that it was burned.”
“Well, I can’t say that we’re in good shape. But we’re not in the worst situation. It’s not a restaurant, but the chef that is doing the cooking. We are alright, so over time, we will go back to normal.”
“It seems like things keep happening to you all the time.”
Min-joon was not sure if Jefferson was teasing or admiring him now. His shoulders drooped at his mysterious remarks. Looking back, he felt he was exhausted this year, including those events such as the Grand Chef Competition, the Hunger Trip, and the episodes about Rose Island.
And now…
***
“I can’t see Min-joon.”
Havier looked around and muttered in a confused voice.
Janet opened her mouth in a calm voice.
“You said he was going to the factory today to check out Cho Reggiano.”
“Did I? Oh, I want to visit the factory for that kind of stuff. When can I become famous like him?”
“If you want to become famous, you should have attended the Grand Chef Competition from the beginning instead of coming here. Then you might have become as famous as him.”
Janet lifted her finger and pointed at Anderson, sitting loftily on one bench.
He looked at Janet, frowning, and said, “If you’re going to argue with me, just stop it. I don’t feel like it.”
“I’m not going to pick a fight with you, man. By the way, do you have any particular mood for it?”
“No, nothing. Just shut up and just enjoy talking with Havier.”
“Why are you feeling so blue? It seems you always feel under the weather when Min-joon is into something. Then you pretend nothing has happened when he comes back. I don’t like your attitude like that.”
With her arms folded, Janet glanced down at him coldly. When Anderson stared at her with an angry expression, Havier smiled awkwardly and stepped back. It seemed that they were mad at each other. He once tried to mediate between them, but he realized it’s just useless to do so. He turned, leaving them behind.
When Havier disappeared, Anderson growled in a low voice, “What the heck did you want to say to me a little while ago?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you mean I’m jealous of Min-joon?”
“You don’t want to deny that, do you?” Janet coldly snapped, looking down.
He stood up and approached her, saying, with his eyes filled with anger, “I’m his friend.”
“That’s not the reason you can’t feel jealous of him. Rather, that can make you more jealous.”
“That’s enough. Let’s stop talking. I don’t know why I’m talking with you about this.”
“You know what? I’m jealous, too,” Janet mumbled to herself the moment Anderson was about to walk away from her.
He stopped. Without moving at all on the spot, he turned his toes slightly toward her.
She also turned her head to look in the direction he moved, she said with a slightly trembling voice, “I’m jealous of Min-joon. You know he’s so successful that we can’t believe it. I think I can do as well as him, but at the end of the day, I’m a loser. It’s abnormal I can’t feel jealous in a situation like this.”
“What do you want to say?”
“Just feel jealous. If it’s hard, tell him it’s hard for you. Don’t try to play the main character of a tragedy alone. You are so dumb if you try to.”
Anderson seemed to be dumbfounded rather than angry at her harsh response.
Laughing in frustration, he now turned to Janet.
“Are you comforting me now?”
“No. I’m swearing at you because you pretend not to feel hurt.”
“Then, I don’t have to say thank you.”
“Yeah, don’t do it.”
Janet responded cynically and sat on the bench where he stood up.
It was the moment he was going to say something to her when several large trucks began to approach the vacant lot with a big noise, where they were standing. It wasn’t just an ordinary truck. It was a food truck. A familiar face was soon stuck out from the truck. It was Raphael.
“I guess everyone is here. What’s wrong with you guys?” Raphael asked.
“Sous chef, what the heck is all this?”
“Well, this is a means of transportation.”
“It’s not just a truck. It looks like a food truck.”
“Well, a chef should be able to cook anytime, anywhere, right?” Raphael responded casually.
Both Anderson and Janet sighed at the same time. Food trucks were romantic for the cooks, but considering the reality, it was a really tough job for any chef. In Anderson’s case, he knew how hard it was, from his experience in Grand Chef.
“What is your exact plan?”
“Simple.”
It was Rachel who answered. As she got out of the food truck’s passenger seat, she looked at them and said in a calm voice, “We are going to tour Rose Island branches across the country, starting off with the ones near the Los Angeles area. At the same time, we’re planning to cook here on our food truck.”
“Oh, you are going to make street food?”
“What you make on the street is street food. But if you ask if we’re going to make simple dishes like sandwiches only, that’s not true. The cooking section will still be divided. And you guys have to cook like you normally do in a restaurant. Of course, it may be a bit different.”
“Does it make sense? No matter how differently you call it, this is a food truck.”
“We have the equipment and the ingredients. There is nothing impossible. What matters is how much you can perform as usual. Are you not confident?”
When she asked, nobody could answer easily. Right at that moment, Min-joon came, driving a van with a loud engine noise. He got out of the van and looked at her with a blank expression.
“Is this the very situation I am thinking of now?”
“Maybe. How do you like it? Like it? No?”
A smile spread on his face.
“I definitely like it. When do we start? Starting today?”
His reaction was quite a contrast to the others.
Watching Rachel smiling brightly in satisfaction, Jane whispered, “Min-joon, damn workaholic!”
