Chapter 62 - Chapter 62: Customer and customer (3)

As soon as Cho Min Joon handed a bill to the female customer from the register, the other customers jeered. The woman looked at them with sharp eyes.

“What’s this about? Why are you jeering at me for? I can’t believe this…”

“Ma’am.”

Cho Min Joon said in a quiet voice. The woman turned her head and then flinched. The reason was because he gave her a very cold gaze. She was furious that he was giving her the coldest look she had ever been given in her life.

“Thank you for trusting your meal with such lacking chefs. I apologize that we disappointed you. I understand that you’re disappointed in me, but you shouldn’t take it out on other customers.”

“… Ha, haha… Are you trying to preach on me right now?”

“Not at all. This is something everybody knows, so I’m sure you know it, too. That’s why…”

Before he could finish, the woman threw the Norimaki into the trash. Cho Min Joon used his eyes to stop the guards from acting upon it. He then put the Norimaki into his mouth and chewed.

People looked at Cho Min Joon with widened eyes. They had no idea what he was trying to do. Cho Min Joon spoke in a calm voice, “I can’t taste the tuna because it’s Tandoori chicken.”

“Tandoori! I hate Indians! That’s not food. That’s garbage.”

At this point, he didn’t even get mad. Cho Min Joon sighed and took out a bill from the register. He then said, “Here are your 2 dollars. Take it.”

The vibe was weird. The woman yelled while Cho Min Joon had no choice but to give her a refund, but it almost looked like Cho Min Joon was forcing her to take the money. The customers in the line filmed it with their cameras. This sight was probably going to be uploaded all over the internet that night.

The woman hesitantly took the bills. Cho Min Joon bowed his head with respect.

“I apologize once again.”

Someone clapped. Then other people joined in, making it very noisy. The woman smirked and left the crowd with an anxious look on her face. Cho Min Joon apologized to the man he was serving.

“I apologize for the disruption.”

“There are a lot of druggies on this street. As a local, I’m sorry.”

Cho Min Joon smiled, but it wasn’t directed at him. It was just a smile.

“What would you like?”

***

“Do you remember that customer 3 days ago? She’s the topic of conversation online.”

In response to the youngest producer, Cho Min Joon just shrugged. He had a feeling it would be talked about afterward.

“There are so many incidents in this large country. It’s fascinating that one run-in with a customer can become such a big issue.”

“That’s because you’re a star, Min Joon. While Grand Chef airs, you’ll be a star, but of course, after that… It all depends on you.”

That was what the youngest producer, Robert Banks said. Cho Min Joon nodded in response. Robert wasn’t going to let him rest. This was his first interview as a producer. As a result, Robert seemed quite nervous. After all, he had the most passionate look on his face from Cho Min Joon’s perspective.

‘I’m tired though.’

For the last 5 days since the food truck mission began, Cho Min Joon slept as if he fainted, but he was never fully rested, and as a result, his body felt heavy. He didn’t think he felt pressured, but his heart was heavily burdened. That was when Robert caught on that Cho Min Joon had dark circles around his eyes and rough skin. He carefully asked, “Are you sick?”

“… I’m just a little tired.”

“Cheer up. You’ll just have to withstand 2 more days until you can rest.”

It was a formal method of comfort. Cho Min Joon smiled bitterly and fumbled his fingers. His previously stitched-up finger didn’t normally hurt, but when he was tired, there was a poking sensation in it.

“Which team do you think will do the best job? I’m not talking about your confidence as a leader, so don’t worry.”

“… I’m not sure. Beyond confidence, I think our team is likely to win. I heard Hugo’s team went for a café themed food truck, but baking comes with limits inside a truck, so they went with a luxurious theme, but it’s obvious from seeing the internet’s response. Many are complaining of how expensive it is. Most people expect food truck food to be cheap. I think that’s what pulls them back.”

“Seeing how you’re responding right away, you must’ve thought about this beforehand. Then what about Chloe’s team? How do you think you’ll beat them?”

Cho Min Joon smiled tiredly.

“Same reason. I heard they’re selling skewers and sandwiches. They take longer to make than Kimbap. Since that would tire them out, they can’t work all day. Although, that applies to us as well… But in terms of how much we sell, I think our team is way ahead.”

“So you’re saying you have the confidence to win. Okay, Min Joon. You can go now. You look way too tired. Get some rest, but then again, you probably can’t rest right away anyway.”

Robert was right. The 6th episode of Grand Chef was going to air soon. No matter how tired he was, he had to tune in to the broadcast. It wasn’t just Cho Min Joon. Not a single contestant missed out on any episodes.

As soon as he entered the motel room, he saw all the team members gathered together.

“Did it start?”

“Soon.”

Anderson answered in an uninterested voice. Cho Min Joon sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the screen.

The 6th episode was going to cover the vegetarian mission. It was the mission that led Cho Min Joon to the disqualification round. It was also the moment where it was revealed that he had the perfect palate.

“Viewers are going to go crazy for this episode.”

Joanne spoke in nervousness. Cho Min Joon didn’t answer and kept his eyes fixed on the screen. The show began.

The producers must have picked Cho Min Joon as the focus because Cho Min Joon’s face filled the screen. He said in a serious voice.

[Ever since I was little, I thought cooks were cool. It’s possible that it’s something I liked as a kid as well as something I couldn’t go after as an adult. Childhood dreams feel childish in a sense. ‘I only want to become a chef because I don’t know the reality, and I’m still immature.’ That’s what I kept saying to myself, but that wasn’t true. It wasn’t a foolish dream. It was the only way I could be myself.]

After that, snippets of Cho Min Joon cooking followed. All the dishes he cooked on his own as well as with Kaya. Anderson gulped. Not because the food on the screen looked delicious. The way it was portrayed made the viewer tense with the help of the BGM.

Before the vegetarian mission was announced, the camera zoomed in on Cho Min Joon cooking. It almost made people wonder if too much focus was put on him, but it made sense considering what was to come next. Not even Anderson could deny it. Even he was shocked.

[It looks like Min Joon is making a full Korean meal, not just one dish.]

[A full Korean meal… Is there enough time?]

Cho Min Joon was so serious that he didn’t even answer the judges’ question. Cho Min Joon was surprised. He didn’t even know the judges were talking to him then Joanne asked, “How could you ignore the judges like that?”

“… I was so focused that I didn’t even notice them.”

“You were that focused on seaweed soup and Bibimbap? Didn’t you know it’d be hard to pass with that?”

Cho Min Joon didn’t answer and kept his eyes fixed on the screen. Joanne grumbled, “He’s ignoring me, too, now.” Peter, who was listening, spoke in a quiet voice, “It was probably for the best.”

“What?”

“It was for the best. It’s only because he was almost disqualified that his perfect palate was revealed. If not, we never would’ve found out…”

“You’re right.”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

Anderson glared at Joanne and Peter. The evaluations began. Praise of Chloe’s cooking finished, and after another contestant was Cho Min Joon’s turn.

However, everyone knew the results. The judges spoke amongst each other for a while after tasting Cho Min Joon’s dishes. Peter looked at his phone for the internet response. The broadcast was live, so not many people were posting, but the ones that were posted were positive. They all knew Cho min Joon was in the food truck mission. They knew they didn’t have to worry since he wasn’t disqualified.

‘That wasn’t the explosive part though.’

It wasn’t even him who had the perfect palate, but he couldn’t wait to see how people would react to Cho Min Joon’s ability.

It wasn’t just Peter who thought this way. Joanne and Anderson also looked forward to it. Ivanna just sat blankly as usual, but it was more normal to be excited for the outcome even if it wasn’t about them.

If they were this excited, what about the person directly involved? Anderson looked at Cho Min Joon with curiosity, but Cho Min Joon looked calm. Actually, he just looked tired. He had a tough couple of days, but to think he looked like that ahead of his life’s climax. Anderson looked to him with worry.

[I’m sorry. You’re up for disqualification.]

Joseph’s voice made Andreson’s head turn. The evaluations continued, and then the 8 contestants up for disqualification gathered.

The mission of tasting tofu pouches. It was a mission where getting 5 ingredients right was decent. Most of the contestants finished with getting 5 ingredients right, and when Danny, the 7th contestant, got 11 ingredients right, everybody cheered, and then it was Cho Min Joon’s turn.

What he had said in the past was recalled on the screen. Even the good things that the judges and contestants said about him were added, and then it was after that. Cho Min Joon recited the ingredients without any hesitation.

And the result was as they all remembered. He got 20 out of the 20 ingredients right. The screen showed the shocked faces of the judges and contestants, and the contestants were making the same face as they watched it. At that moment, Cho Min Joon’s perfect palate began trending in online portals.

Anderson wondered what Cho Min Joon looked like and glanced over. He then smirked… because he was asleep.

***

There was a place that was well known as a “big hand” in the food industry. It was Rose Island. Rose Island was a restaurant, but unlike normal restaurants, there was a reason why this one was known as a “big hand” in the industry. Rose Island had 37 branches, and with all of the Michelin stars combined, they had 27.

And the owner Rachel Rose had many rumors about her going around. People called her kind at times but ill-tempered and cold at other times. All sorts of rumors went around, at this point, she was just an old woman who was sniffling while sitting in a chair.

Sixty. She was too old to be crying so much. Rachel never thought of herself as old, but she knew she wasn’t a young girl either, but at this moment, her heart fluttered like a little girl. Her eyes were fixed on the TV screen in front of her, and on the screen was Cho Min Joon getting 20 out of the 20 ingredients right.

“… Issac, Issac!”

“Yes, Head Chef.”

“Stop calling me that. I haven’t worked in the kitchen forever.”

“You’re still my forever head chef, Ma’am.”

Rachel glared at her secretary, who was growing old with her. Issac looked at Rachel with confused eyes. He had been by her side for 40 years, but she had never shown so much emotion since her husband passed away, so he was happy. The old woman looked excited for once. Issac smiled.

“What’s the matter…?”

“Grand Chef. I need to get in contact with the program’s producers. No, I need to go there myself.”

“Why?”

“I’ll tell you the details later, Issac. What’s important is that I have to meet that young man. As soon as possible.”

“Sure, I’ll look into it.”

Issac answered respectfully before leaving the room. Rachel looked at the screen with her mouth shut. She then said the contestant’s name with a rough voice.

“Min… Joon.”