God of Cooking

Kaya, who remained tight-lipped for a moment, was lost in thought. To be honest, Chloe’s question was not new to her at all. Chasing one’s dream while homeless? Kaya was once in a similar situation although she was a little different from Chloe’s friend.

“I wasn’t much different from her in the past. Of course, I had a house, but she was homeless, which was a big difference, of course. But it was hard to say that I lived decently. So, I had no choice but to have a dream, even if that’s absurd, but that’s my reality. And it was the only way I could turn away reality.”

“Yeah, your case is subtly different from her.”

First, their premises were different. Kaya had to pursue a dream because of her harsh reality, while Chloe’s friend deliberately took a difficult path for her dream. So, their choices and thinking about their dreams were different.

Kaya asked subtly, “Since you ask me like that, it seems you are in the same situation as your friend, right?”

“I envy you, Kaya.”

“Why? Don’t flatter me.”

“Really. I envy all of you a lot. Probably no one in the world envy you like me.”

It wasn’t just Kaya’s talent that she envied. Kaya turned to Chloe for a moment. She opened her mouth as if she was trying to say something, but she went quiet again and smiled awkwardly.

“I don’t want to say with an air of pretense like you, so don’t tell me like that if you don’t want to have any losses.”

“How heartless of you!”

“Well, it’s not new at all that they call me heartless.”

It was the moment Kaya sometimes showed her abrasive way of speaking.

Chloe opened her mouth in a calm voice.

“I was just curious about this for some time. In other words, I want to be the main character of a movie, but if I don’t have the ability to be a star or anything like that… If that’s the case, should I be content with being a supporting role for the rest of my life, or should I struggle to be a star by all means?”

“Well, do you think there is such a star in reality?” Kaya asked in a quiet voice.

Chloe looked at her quietly as if she wanted Kaya to continue.

Kaya said in a calm voice, “You can easily see them if you go to places like Beverly Hills or Grove. These parvenus are going around, with their whole body decorated with all kinds of luxury goods. Don’t you think they are desperately shouting to everybody, ‘I’m rich, so I can wear these. I’m valuable, so you have to respect and envy me.’ Well, I guess I’m twisted, but that’s what I think. People like expensive cars and expensive clothes. Why? Because nobody recognizes them if they don’t do it. But we can’t see if they’re really that rich without looking into their bank accounts.”

“But what does that have to do with a protagonist?”

“Well, the rich are a class that ordinary people adore. But they don’t think they’re the main characters. That’s what I’ve observed from them. They want to believe that they are the main characters, but they can’t believe confidently that they are the main characters of this world or their lives, so there are too many begging for respect with their money.”

“Are you sure these guys who think they’re protagonists don’t feel it?”

“Everyone is living as a supporting actor. I’m not sure if I’m the main character or a supporting actor.”

“In my eyes, you look like a protagonist.”

Chloe smiled beautifully. It was a pretty and soft smile. Kaya tapped her on the forehead gently. “Then, knock me down. At that moment, you’ll be the main character.”

***

While Chloe and Kaya went out to buy some sandwiches, Min-joon and Anderson just didn’t keep silent. They clearly had a conversation, but their dialogue was rather disconnected.

“I decided to go back to Los Angeles with Havier. Maybe I won’t see you competing in the semi-finals.”

“I see. What a pity!”

“By the way, I don’t think I won’t see you for long.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I won’t be with you for long,” Anderson replied in a low voice.

At that moment, Min-joon’s expression hardened. He knew someday he would part with Anderson, but he didn’t want to think about it.

“Yeah, I understand. We must part anyway someday.”

In fact, Anderson and Min-joon were chefs who deserved the position of sous chef. If they went back to Rose Island after the contest, Rachel would give both of them the sous chef position.

And one of them would head out for Rose Island’s branch in that capacity because there was only one position available at Rose Island’s main restaurant.

If Anderson had to leave the main store, Rachel, other demi-chefs, and cooks, Min-joon felt like he would be so sad that he could not even compare it to what he felt when graduating from high school or college.

Cho Min-joon muttered as if he felt sad thinking about it, “Well, I hate that you’re leaving Rose Island.”

Anderson didn’t reply. There was silence between them for a moment, but they didn’t feel awkward. It wasn’t that they had nothing to say. However, They had so many mixed feelings toward each other that they could not bring themselves to say a word for now.

At last, Min-joon muttered, “If you think about it, we haven’t been apart from each other. I haven’t met Kaya often these days, but I’ve been stuck with you for so long, including our time at the Grand Chef competition, Hunger Trip and Rose Island.”

“Yeah, you’re right. How sticky our relations have been for so long!”

“Hey, I am sad if you keep talking like that.”

“Well, when we become head chefs and have our own restaurant, it would be okay for us to live next door.”

When Anderson said that, Min-joon smiled happily like a child.

The moment Anderson scratched his ears as if he was embarrassed, Kaya and Chloe returned. The smells of rich mustard, mayonnaise, and onion sauce gently tickled the tip of their noses.

“So, did you guys talked a lot?”

“Nothing much. Let me look at the sandwiches. What did you choose?”

“I bought a variety of sandwiches, so you guys can eat your fill.”

“Oh, some of these are grilled sandwiches.”

Min-joon picked up a sandwich. It wasn’t an ordinary sandwich. The bread baked with Italian herbs and ground garlic had a savory scent that would be okay for bread alone, and inside the sandwich were finely chopped lamb, Swiss cheese, onion sauce, cilantro and lettuce, tomatoes and olives.

‘The cooking score is 6 points.’

However, it was good enough as a sandwich. Min-joon took a big bite of the sandwich. The flavor of the vegetables and the pungent scent of Swiss cheese mixed with the fatty taste of the lamb meat and the sweetness of the onion sauce were very attractive.

‘A simple dish has the charm of simple cooking on its own’

A dish based on complex thoughts and techniques sometimes made a chef exhausted.

Sometimes it wasn’t a great dessert like Cho Reggiano, but a simple carrot cake that stimulated people’s appetite a lot.

Come to think of it, Min-joon wondered if it would be better for his life to be simple just like what was happening now, for everybody around Min-joon and Anderson thought too much about cooking. Of course, it would be better than having no idea at all, but Min-joon wanted to enjoy it at this moment and day by day. He wanted to have expectations, not worries.

Min-joon opened his mouth again to take another bite. The simple sandwich tasted so delicious.

***

Since Janet first returned to the United States as soon as she was eliminated from the contest, Anderson suddenly felt alone. Actually, the one he could mingle with over drinks was Janet, who enjoyed alcohol the most among his colleagues at Rose Island. Of course, Chloe, Kaya, and Havier drank, but they usually drank only at parties. They didn’t bother to go to a bar like Anderson and Janet.

It didn’t mean that Anderson enjoyed going to a bar alone, for he really could not stand the noisy atmosphere of a bar unless he had somebody to talk with. Considering that he usually visited a bar only when he had something to think about deeply, he really didn’t enjoy going to a bar alone.

With his drinking partner Janet gone, Anderson just bought some alcohol and ingredients and returned to the hotel. He couldn’t feel Kaya and Min-joon were around. They must have been asleep or went out somewhere.

What Anderson bought now was tomatoes. He already knew how Min-joon made the dish in the contest today. He felt like he was imitating the way Chloe did, but he needed some side dishes anyway for his drink.

‘Man, I didn’t enjoy snacks for my drinks before…’ He thought with a silly grin.

Born and raised in the Western world, Anderson actually did not feel any special affection for things like the snack culture in other countries. When he stopped by a bar, he just drank whiskey or beer without any snacks. But at some point, he started to drink with snacks, another evidence that he had been influenced by Min-joon.

Anderson slowly began to trim the tomatoes. Since he knew the recipe, he was confident of making tomato tartar more properly than Min-joon, for he bought fully matured tomatoes while Min-joon brought the partially matured tomatoes in the pantry.

The sound of him chopping tomatoes with a sharp knife on the cutting board rang silently.

Did she wake up because of the chopping noise? Or did she plan to come out?

Chloe, who carefully opened the door so that he could not notice it, said with a smile, “You said you would go to a bar, right?”

“Well, I couldn’t find a bar where I could enjoy drinking alone.”

“Uh, you bought white wine. Sweet?”

“No, dry.”

“It’s perfect. Let me join you. I think it would be pretty good to eat it with that tomato.”

“Then, help me.”

“Sure.”

Chloe tied her hair tight and put on an apron.

She chuckled and said, “Don’t you remember you told me I tended to follow Min-joon’s way of cooking too much, but you are doing the same!”

“Don’t make fun of me. I can imitate one sometimes. You are imitating all of his dishes all the time.”

“What’s wrong about that? You can have Min-joon as your teacher.”

“I don’t want to. Does it make sense to have a teacher-student relationship between friends?”

“That’s true. Anyway, there is a lot I can learn from Min-joon. Isn’t it good to learn even from a friend if you can find something to learn?”

But Anderson did not answer.

Chloe sighed, heating the milk over low heat to make the curd.

“Gosh, if I go back to Los Angeles now, I have nothing to do. I have to find a job at a restaurant as soon as possible. Isn’t there any opening available in Rose Island?”

“No. And when Rachel wants to hire somebody, she usually interviews the candidate first.”

“Shall I open a restaurant myself? Oh, no… I’m not yet competent enough to open a restaurant.”

“I don’t think it’s bad to open your restaurant. There are not many chefs who are better than you.”

“Thanks for flattering me, but if I open a restaurant and make and sell my dishes, I can’t learn from anyone.”

“Well, you can’t help it.”

“What are you going to do?”

Anderson stopped moving his hands at that question.

After pausing for a moment, he said, “If I get the position of sous chef at Rose Island, I’m going to stay there. But if I have to keep working as a demi chef…” He tried to be calm, but he couldn’t hide his genuine feelings. “I’ll quit as a demi chef at Rose Island…”