Chapter 41

Cho Min Joon avoided Kaya’s eyes and thought carefully. Did Kaya become the team leader last time? He didn’t remember this part.

‘Did everything change because I’m here?’

That was possible. There was such a thing as the Butterfly Effect. It wasn’t strange to think that adding one more ball into the mix changed the results.

Allan opened his mouth.

“We have our two team leaders. Please come on up.”

Jacob Simpson and Kaya Reuters. Allan slowly looked back at them. He then continued, “Are you confident?”

“No.”

Kaya answered without hesitation. Her eyes, which looked fierce enough because of her makeup, looked even fiercer today. People who didn’t know her would have thought she was angry, but Cho Min Joon and Chloe knew. That she was just nervous. Kaya had a personality similar to that of a porcupine. The more scared she got, the sharper her thorns were. She pretended to be strong so that no one would approach her.

‘I wish she’d change that personality of hers.’

Cho Min Joon felt bad for Kaya, but this was no time to rest. Right now, they were getting some rest at Grand Chef, but in the end, her home was in the slums. The reality was the same, but of course, everything would change after the show.

“We’ll have a survey before making our teams. Please stand in front of the team leader you’d like to work with.”

In response, everyone glanced at Kaya and Jacob and then began walking over, and the result was as expected. 6 people behind Jacob and 10 people behind Kaya. Among those 10 were Cho Min Joon, Chloe, Marco, and even Anderson. Cho Min Joon looked at Anderson in surprise. Cho Min Joon quietly whispered, “I didn’t know you’d stand here.”

Anderson and Kaya’s battle structure changed after the 1st and 2nd episodes. At first, they didn’t even acknowledge each other, but they were now rivals. Things shifted. So it was surprising that Anderson wanted to be on Kaya’s team. Anderson answered, “She’s more likely to win.”

His answer was so honest that Cho Min Joon didn’t know what to say. It was as he said. Kaya was a good chef, and the contestants behind her were mostly talented as well. After all, Marco and Chloe were level 7s, and Cho Min Joon was known to have the perfect palate.

On the other hand, Jacob Simpson didn’t get much of the spotlight. His personality was easygoing, but that wasn’t enough to trust him.

Cho Min Joon looked at Jacob Simpson’s stats.

[Jacob Simpson]

Cooking Level: 6

Breadmaking Level: 5

Gourmet (Tasting) Level: 6

Decoration Level: 5

He was a man with average statistics.

‘But being a head chef isn’t all about abilities.’

It was also impossible for Kaya to become the perfect head chef. In that sense, it was possible that Jacob was better off since he had a good personality.

But Cho Min Joon didn’t choose Kaya just because that was more advantageous to him. The reason why he picked Kaya wasn’t because she was better. He was a fan of Kaya’s, and now, she was a friend. He didn’t know how Kaya felt about it, but that was what Cho Min Joon thought.

Cho Min Joon looked at Kaya. What was that porcupine woman thinking? At that moment, Kaya looked over at Cho MinJoon. She asked with her eyes, ‘What are you looking at?’ And Cho Min Joon answered, ‘Nothing.’ Kaya’s eyes were fierce, but they couldn’t start a glaring war because Allan raised his voice.

“Team Leaders, please appeal yourself to the contestants. Who would like to go first?”

Jacob immediately raised his hand. Allan nodded and pointed. Jacob coughed before stepping forward. He then spoke in a loud voice, “My name is Jacob Simpson. Some of you probably don’t remember my name because I haven’t really shown anything special.”

There wasn’t much of a response, but Jacob continued with confidence, “I grew up watching my father working in the kitchen. I’ve never instructed anyone, but I know very well what a leader should look like in the kitchen. Trust me. Then I’ll pay you back.”

That was it. Allan nodded and looked at Kaya.

“Kaya, please come on up.”

Kaya sighed and walked over to the judges. She then turned around toward the contestants. She smacked her lips and then opened them along with suggestive eyes.

“I won’t beg you to come with me. Do what you want.”

“… Is that it?”

“Yes. What else can I say?”

Kaya turned around and walked off, leaving Allan behind, who looked surprised.

Cho Min Joon sighed inside his head. Why did Kaya say that if she cared so much about negative comments online? Was that a defense mechanism? He didn’t know.

Cho Min Joon covered his mic and whispered in Kaya’s ear, “Why are you acting like such a brat?”

“Shut up. You’re not my older brother.”

Kaya spoke in a cold voice. Cho Min Joon asked again, “Are you mad because you think you became the team leader because of me?”

In response, Kaya glared at Cho Min Joon and then shut her lips. Chloe elbowed Cho Min Joon from the side and when he looked over, she shook her head. She was telling him not to provoke her.

Cho Min Joon clicked his tongue. He distanced himself from Kaya and then Chloe whispered in a small voice, “Don’t bother Kaya when she’s sensitive.”

“I’m not…”

“Min Joon, Chloe! Pay attention!”

Allan interrupted their conversation. Chloe flushed her cheeks and shut her mouth. Allan looked at them with strict eyes and then continued, “The team leaders will take turns picking team members. But if the contestant refuses, the chance will go to the other team.”

It was a simple rule. Kaya and Jacob stood in front of the judges. Allan spoke, “Decide on who’ll go first. The person who’ll pick second will be able to take whoever refuses the other person. Who’d like to go first?”

“Me.”

Kaya raised her hand. Allan looked at Jacob. Jacob nodded in agreement. Jacob preferred to go later if that meant he didn’t have to pick first. He didn’t want to pick someone and get rejected.

As soon as Cho Min Joon heard the rules, his head filled with thoughts. What would happen if Jacob picked him? But that didn’t matter. Jacob could just use his one force card, and Cho Min Joon thought of himself as a decent team member. Beyond having the perfect palate, he was a useful weapon.

He was wasting his energy with that worry, and what Kaya said next ended his worries once and for all.

“Min Joon. Come here.

It wasn’t even an offer. She was sure he would come, and Cho Min Joon laughed at that, but then again, when they did the survey, he picked Kaya, but when he noticed her calling him with the same temperamental face, he found it amusing and flattering at the same time. Cho Min Joon nodded.

At that moment, there was someone who was smiling even bigger. It was Martin. Martin smiled as he looked at Kaya and Cho Min Joon through the screen. Their relationship was enough to make the viewers squeal. They had already revealed their relationship through a teaser, and those who watched the 1st episode were already cheering on Cho Min Joon and Kaya.

At first, they were just going to make a loose tie between Kaya and Min Joon, but there were way too many good scenes of them now. Even when Kaya had to do the disqualification mission, and the way Kaya covered his mic and whispered to him was sexy in anyone’s eyes.

But if it was just to that extent, Martin wouldn’t have been this happy. By stressing Cho Min Joon’s perfect palate, which was revealed last mission, as well as Kaya’s genius abilities, the effect would multiply. Martin couldn’t wait for that part to air.

But there was someone who didn’t like the way Martin was acting. It was the youngest producer who was beside him. He sighed and said, “You look way too happy. This is a cooking show. If you focus on dating too much… Our identity could face some harm.”

“If you add a kissing scene in an action film, does it turn into a melodrama? This is the same thing. Just because we add a few sweet scenes doesn’t mean viewers can’t focus on the cooking. We’ll be fine as long as it doesn’t become the main topic.”

Some believed that no other focus should exist in a cooking program except for cooking, but that was just an opinion. Viewers couldn’t be satisfied with just one thing. That also meant that there had to be some entertainment when the contestants were split up into groups or systems.

Since this wasn’t a documentary, it didn’t make sense to be so serious, and Martin wasn’t a fool.

“Those two will keep our viewership ratings up. The producers make the screens, but the scenes are given to us by the contestants. In those scenes, they’re specialists. I think they might be doing this on purpose.”

Martin began rambling out of excitement. The youngest producer shook his head and turned away. Jacob was contemplating his next pick. Allan pressed him in a calm voice, “Jacob. Hurry up and pick. Who will you choose?”

“… One second.”

Jacob knitted his brows and thought hard. He wanted to bring over Cho Min Joon. He needed someone with a perfect palate. That meant he could evaluate everyone’s cooking in a detailed manner.

But Kaya already took Cho Min Joon away. Jacob didn’t know what to do. He thought about every single person who wanted to be on Kaya’s team. He had to pick someone who didn’t want to be on his team for his single force card, and at the same time, they had to be good.

The answer was simple. Chloe and Anderson. They were the most successful candidates at the moment. Other than them, the other popular contestants were Cho Min Joon and Kaya. But Cho Min Joon only started gaining attention recently. Of course, he received a lot of attention when he talked about Kaya, but that was different.

Perfect palate. A talent that everyone imagines, but didn’t think that they had it themselves, but Cho Min Joon had it. He wasn’t normal. Something had to be different about him. He had to think that way. Why else would other talented chefs be asking him to tell them their scores?

But this was meaningless. Jacob only had Anderson and Chloe to choose from. Anderson was good at Caucasian food while Chloe was good at Chinese food. Jacob’s choice leaned to one side. This mission was all about team harmony. In that sense, Caucasian food was better.

“I choose Anderson.”

Anderson flinched, but he didn’t act rudely by showing a dissatisfied face. Cho Min Joon smirked and said, “Bye, Mr. A.”