Chapter 39

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

Emily greeted him with a smile, but Cho Min Joon looked at her with a surprised face. This was the first time he met with a judge separately, and it was understandable. Judges were busy people. They appeared just for the missions and then disappeared afterward. They were in a different position from the contestants.

“Why…?”

“I don’t like to beat around the bush, so I’ll get straight to the point. Can I do that?”

“Sure.”

Cho Min Joon gave a short answer. Emily’s smile slowly faded away. She then spoke with a serious look in her eyes.

“Do you have any interest in becoming a food critic?”

“… Pardon?”

Cho Min Joon’s eye twitched in response to the random question. Emily clapped as if she understood and said, “I know. You must be surprised by my random question, but after seeing what you can do, I can’t just sit back.”

“The tasting mission?”

In response, Emily nodded. She continued, “That palate of yours. If you become a food critic, you can become world-famous. Cooking? Palates are important for that as well, but palates are just one of the many things you need to have to be a chef, but if you become a food critic, that’s the most important asset of all.”

He understood what Emily was talking about, but Cho Min Joon’s face remained stiff. Cho Min Joon spoke in a low voice, “I’m a chef. I like to cook.”

“I understand that. I won’t tell you to become a food critic right away, but if you ever consider it, please come see me. I’ll help you grow…”

Emily passed him her business card. Cho Min Joon looked at the card for a while and then sighed while accepting it. Emily smiled apologetically.

“I know it’s confusing to make this offer to someone who wants to become a chef. I’m sorry about that.”

“… I have no intention of giving it up.”

“I hope you don’t. If you know how to enjoy the flavors, that means you can produce it as well. If you continue to grow, you’ll become an amazing chef. I know it.”

Emily then checked her watch. She showed a surprised look on her face as she clapped.

“Oh no! I have to catch a flight. I should go. Don’t feel too pressured. I’m just giving you an option.”

“I don’t feel pressured.”

“That’s good. Phew, I might miss my flight. See you during the next mission. Oh! You were great today by the way.”

Cho Min Joon smiled awkwardly in response. Emily waved as she took off. As he listened to her high heels click-clacking away, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

“Emily loves food critics.”

Cho Min Joon flinched and looked behind him. He then let out a sigh. It was another judge this time. Allan was sitting on the sofa against the wall. Allan flipped a page through his cooking magazine as he said, “And you would become a great food critic.”

“… What’s going on today? I’ve never met the judges outside of the missions.”

“You should know the reason, Min Joon.”

Allan closed his magazine. He actually wanted to say something because this seemed all too set up. Cho Min Joon looked at Allan. Allan’s eyes were so dark that they were hard to look into.

“What do you think about Emily’s offer?”

“About becoming a food critic? I have no reason to even think about it.”

Cho Min Joon answered without hesitation, and he thought Allan would like his answer, but Allan’s face didn’t change. Allan spoke in a low voice, “It’s a good offer.”

“Pardon?”

Cho Min Joon was so taken aback that he answered in a high-pitched voice. Allan continued in a calm voice, “Being a chef is a tough job. You have to work while everybody eats, and if you work too closely with oil, you could get lung cancer even if you don’t smoke. You have to stand in front of the fire in the summer, and you have to put your hands in cold water in the winter.”

“…”

Cho Min Joon listened carefully. He believed that he wasn’t saying all of this to tell that he should be a food critic. That was what he wanted to believe. Allan continued, “But food critics are the opposite. It works very well with you. You have a talent for cooking but not as much as your talent for being a food critic. I feel like you’ll succeed more as a food critic, but…”

Allan got up from the sofa. He put the cooking magazine back on the shelf and said, “I don’t want you to give up on becoming a chef. Despite lung cancer, accidents, fire, and cold, I hope you become a chef. That’s also why I’m here right now. I knew Emily would tempt you like this.”

“… You don’t have to worry. I wasn’t tempted at all. I’m going to become a chef.”

“No, it was. Even if you don’t feel it now, you’ll feel tempted by it sooner or later. That’s how humans are. People who look at fancy dishes think of romantic fantasies about the chefs that cooked it, but it’s actually more painful than romantic. Cooking in a restaurant is different from cooking at home.”

Cho Min Joon didn’t answer. He couldn’t tell him that he once worked as a helper at a restaurant either. It would have been comical for him to pretend like he’s endured all of the hardships in the kitchen. Allan spoke in a quiet voice, as if he was a teacher teaching a student. As someone who used to use that voice, Cho Min Joon was able to sense Allan’s sincerity, so he didn’t say anything.

“I’m not looking down on your passion for cooking. I just know how hard it is.”

“… I have a question.”

“Sure.”

“Why are you so worried about me?”

Cho Min Joon couldn’t help but wonder. Allan just said it himself. He said he had more talent as a food critic than a chef. So why?

Allan answered, “You can’t make what you don’t know. Same with flavors. The more you know about flavors, the more you can produce, and I’m curious to see what kind of dishes you’ll make when you improve. It’s possible…”

Allan didn’t finish his sentence. Cho Min Joon sighed and replied, “I understand why you’re doing this. Thank you for your interest and worry, but you don’t have to worry. I’m still lacking in skill and experience, but…”

Cho Min Joon paused. He then looked into Allan’s dark eyes. A world-famous chef. His eyes were fitting of someone in such a powerful position.

“I know the happiness cooking brings me. The satisfaction I feel when I make a delicious dish and the fun of seeing someone enjoy it. Cooking is the most valuable gift in my life, so I can’t let that go.”

‘A perfect palate, huh?’

Cho Min Joon thought to himself as he headed to his dorm. Should a person have to know flavors to produce it? Those words didn’t make Cho Min Joon happy. He didn’t know flavors. He was just helped by his system. A perfect palate was something Kaya had, not Cho Min Joon.

At that moment, he suddenly wanted a perfect palate. Could his system do that for him? He didn’t know. He didn’t know if his level increased as he became more skilled or if his skills increased as his level increased.

But his thoughts didn’t last long. As soon as he got to the 4th floor, all of the contestants looked at Cho Min Joon. They all looked at him at the same time. Cho Min Joon nervously said, “… I’m a bit busy.”

“That’s weird. We all have the same schedule. Why are you busy when we’re not?”

Kaya mumbled as she sat on the sofa. Her eyes had smoky makeup on it, making her look even more fierce. Chloe tapped on the empty seat beside her and asked, “Aren’t you tired? Come here.”

“I’m not that tired.”

Cho Min Joon sat down on the sofa while grumbling. A young Caucasian man with red hair spoke. His name was Jacob. He had distinct features and was very tall. Cho Min Joon wasn’t very close to him.

“What was that earlier? Do you really have the perfect palate?”

“I guess.”

He couldn’t deny it. Cho Min Joon turned his head. Chloe looked at him with sparkling eyes. Chloe asked, “I’ve always been curious as to what that’s like. How is it? Do you feel happier than us when you eat delicious food?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know how others feel, so how would I know?”

“That’s true… Then are you picky?”

“Not really. You know I eat anything.”

“I thought I knew, but I didn’t know you had such a sensitive tongue. Did you lie to me about liking my food?”

“Of course not. I loved your dishes.”

In response, Chloe sighed out of reassurance. Her face looked like a squirrel or a turtle, but he thought it was cute. He then heard a husky voice scoff, “You’re lucky to have the perfect palate.”

Cho Min Joon scoffed back. If someone else had said it, he would have understood, but it was Kaya Reuters who said that. The one with the real perfect palate. Cho Min Joon assumed she had a perfect palate as well.

The reason for that was because of her gourmet tasting level. Kaya’s gourmet level was 10. But it was uncertain if that really signified her ability to taste perfectly. In the videos of Kaya that Cho Min Joon had seen, there was no sign that she had the perfect palate, but he thought that it would be weird if a person with a 10 in gourmet skills didn’t have the perfect palate.

‘That’s not what’s important right now.’

He had to escape their attention somehow, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

“How did you guess the body parts, too?”

“How do you differentiate between beets and radish?”

“Can you also differentiate different proportions of dough?”

The questions kept on coming, and when it slowed down a little, Kaya sat next to Cho Min Joon and put her fingers on his lips. To be more exact, she put the rice ball in her hands to his lips.

Cho Min Joon closed his lips shut and glared at Kaya. Kaya smiled and whispered, “I made it. Try it. And guess what’s in it.”

“Wait… Ugh.”

As soon as he tried to say something, Kaya stuffed the rice ball in his mouth. Cho Min Joon had no choice but to chew it. As soon as he started chewing it, he plugged his nose. A cold sensation went up to his nose. Kaya smirked.

“Do you know what it is?”

Cho Min Joon kept his nose plugged and didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. Cho Min Joon glared at Kaya with resentment. And in front of his eyes, a window popped up.

[Horseradish Rice Ball]

Freshness: 80%

Origin: (Too many ingredients for an accurate calculation)

Quality: High (Average)

Cooking Skill: 4/10