Chapter 63 - Backlash (1)

Louise Russell: This is rigged for sure. A person with the perfect palate? That’s too good to be true on a cooking show.

Daniel Wood: Stop making up rumors. The show does well enough without faking anything. Why would they need noise marketing?

Louise Russel: @Daniel Wood There’s no end when it comes to food. Look at the people’s reactions. I know Grand Chef is popular, but has it been this noisy before?

Daniel Wood: @Louise Russell I’m sure we’ll see soon enough if it’s true or not, but don’t deny it when it happens.

AJ Black: If this is true… Wow, I’m at a loss for words. How can he taste all of that? Are there little differences in taste that we can’t sense?

Selena Curry: Seeing how he got all 20 ingredients right, that might be true. I’m jealous. I wish I could taste all of that.

AJ Black: @Selena Curry But do you think all the flavors are good? If he can sense fishy flavors that we don’t notice, it might be hard for him to eat it.

Selena Curry: @AJ Black But it’s an incredible gift as a chef. He can control even the most minor flavors. Of course, the rest of us can’t notice, but I’m sure it has a subconscious effect.

Jacob Shariff: @Selena Curry He’s not impressive as a chef but a food critic. No restaurant can fool around with Min Joon. They’d get nervous if he was evaluating them.

Daniel Wood: The producers must be so happy. They caught a big one while they were out fishing. With a talent like that, he has the potential to be on TV, too.

Nadia Newton: He’ll probably get a lot of commercial deals for food products, too. Celebrities are expensive to cast, but since Min Joon isn’t a celebrity, he won’t be as expensive. Wouldn’t it be desirable if a person with the perfect palate sponsored a food?

Daniel Wood: @Nadia Newton That makes sense. If he maintains his image well, he’ll be worth a lot later on.

Nadia Newton: @Daniel Wood What’s for certain is that Grand Chef caught a big one.

Martin read over all of the comments on the internet. There was an unerasable smile on his face. The response was even better than he expected, and it wasn’t surprising. As soon as Cho Min Joon got all 20 ingredients right, the number of viewers exceeded 7 million. Considering how they couldn’t surpass 5 to 6 million before, this was impressive. This was the most views they ever received in Grand Chef history.

On top of that, when they uploaded Cho Min Joon’s disqualification round on the internet, the response was even greater. The media continued to draw attention to the news. Since the number of views exceeded millions in just a few days, it was just a matter of time before it took over the world.

His phone was ringing off the hook. It wasn’t possible to answer all of them. Most of them went to voice mail while he only answered the most important calls, and a while later, his phone rang again, and when Martin checked the screen, his straight face turned. He sprung up from his car seat and answered the phone.

“R-Rachel Rose! Is that really you?”

[I guess you still haven’t erased my number.]

“Of course not. But why…?”

But he didn’t even have to ask. Everyone who was calling at the moment called with the same objective. First, to check if he really had the perfect palate, and second, to see if they could connect them to Cho Min Joon.

Rachel was no different. Martin calmed his nerves. When he first started Grand Chef, he worked very hard to recruit her. Of course, it backfired, but since he managed to get Allan on the show, he wasn’t all too sad about losing her, so he naturally greeted her with a positive attitude.

[I have a question for you. Please answer honestly.]

“Of course, I won’t lie to you because of Allan.”

[Come to think of it, Allan never told me about this, but I’ll deal with that later…]

At that moment, Martin apologized to Allan in his head.

[Is it true that he has the perfect palate?]

“It’s not an exaggeration.”

At that moment, he heard a sigh on the other line. It sounded as though she desperately hoped Cho Min Joon had the perfect palate. When Martin opened his mouth, Rachel spoke first.

[I want to meet him.]

He expected that. Martin didn’t know what to say. Although he was appearing on the show, he wasn’t able to make any promises without Cho Min Joon’s permission. When he tried to explain that he needed Cho Min Joon’s go-ahead, Rachel said.

[Of course, you’d have to ask him first. I understand, but I’m impatient. I’m the type to have to eat something I want as soon as possible, but I’ll give you a gift. What you film today, you can use it to your heart’s content.]

“… Pardon? What are you talking about…?”

[I’m going to be his customer. I heard that truck is in Madison right now.]

The puzzle pieces all came together in his head. A gift, filming, Min Joon, and truck. Madison. Martin lifted his head in surprise, but all he could see was the ceiling.

“Are you really going to be his customer…?”

[Oh, my plane is about to take off. I’ll tell you the rest later. Have a good day.]

“S-sure…”

Martin stared at his phone blankly. He didn’t understand what was going on.

“Does the viewer rating god love me?”

***

The effect of his perfect palate wasn’t weak at all. Everyone who had an interest in American food all talked about Cho Min Joon, and even those who had nothing to do with him saw Cho Min Joon’s videos.

And Korea was no exception. Just the fact that a Korean person was on Grand Chef made him the topic of conversation.

That meant Lee Hye Sun saw the videos as well. As a result, Cho Min Joon had no choice but to answer his phone at the market.

[… Since when did you have that talent?]

“Since I was little, but I only realized recently that I was different from other people.”

[Sigh… I really don’t understand. People are talking about you, but I feel both happy and nervous. It’s not all good to have all the attention on you. Are you okay?]

“I’m fine so far. Oh, Mom, sorry, but I have to prepare for our next sale. I’ll call you back later.”

[Okay. Good luck. I’m cheering for you.]

“Thank you.”

Cho Min Joon put his phone in his pocket. He was tired. He didn’t get enough sleep, and all the shop owners bothered him. Some of them even said they wanted to try his food…

‘I just need to survive today and tomorrow.’

He had to overcome his tiredness with his mentality. The problem was even his mentality was failing him, but all he had to do was not pass out.

As soon as he got back to the truck, all his team members looked worried. They also sensed how tired Cho Min Joon had been lately. Peter asked, “Are you okay, Min Joon? Why don’t you rest for lunch today? The four of us can handle it.”

“That’s okay. It’s not right for me to rest when you’re not.”

This was a place where they were fighting for their dreams. There was no room for weakness. Anderson spoke with a serious voice, “Just rest. I bought some sandwiches. Eat those.”

“… Thanks.”

Cho Min Joon accepted the sandwich. There was nothing special about it. There was cheese, lettuce, and mustard inside. Since the bread was soft, it felt like he was chewing on rice.

He didn’t know why, but every time he took a bite of the sandwich, his head hurt. Even eating tired him out. Cho Min Joon showed a bitter smile and didn’t finish half of his sandwich.

Regardless of his condition, the sale continued. Cho Min Joon made rice with shaking hands and helped the others with cooking.

Madison was the capital of Wisconsin. Since the city had more than 1 million people, it was considered a large American country.

The truck was parked in between Wisconsin University and downtown. Since there was the Town Hall right beside the university, they thought they would get a lot of government workers and students. At this point, it was the most effective to situate themselves where it was most convenient. After all, Grand Chef had already promoted them as well as they could.

Their team’s norimakis were receiving favorable reviews online. It was possible that the ones leaving them were just fans, but they wouldn’t have said that if the food was bad. They began to gain confidence in their cooking. They knew they could satisfy just about any customer. Joanne asked, “… Do you think we’ll get more customers than usual today?”

“Why? Because of Min Joon?”

“Yeah. I feel like more people will come out of curiosity about Min Joon.”

“I’m not sure. I feel like those who were curious were always curious about us, but then again, we’ll probably get more customers than usual…”

In the end, they got more customers than usual, but it wasn’t overwhelming by any means. The numbers were somewhat similar to the number in Chicago when they first sold their norimakis.

But the response was different. As soon as they saw Cho Min Joon at the register, the customers in line whistled and cheered. Cho Min Joon was taken aback by the passionate response.

“Do you really have the perfect palate?”

“How many points would you give your own norimaki?”

“Don’t you get tired when you eat? Because you’re sensitive.”

“I’m such a big fan! I’m sorry, but can I get your autograph?”

Most of the customers tried to chat up Cho Min Joon. Since it was a university area, there were a lot of young people, but once they calmed down a little, even they noticed just how tired Cho Min Joon looked. That part was a relief. If it wasn’t for his face, more people would have tried to talk with him.

“Min Joon, sorry, but we have to make more rice.”

“Okay, right after these customers.”

Cho Min Joon looked ahead as he answered Joanne. It was a woman with wrinkly skin. If she was a Korean, she would have been over 70, but one never knew with Westerners. Cho Min Joon smiled as he said, “Hello. What would you like?”

“There’s something I want to talk to you about, but you’re busy aren’t you?”

“… I am. We have a lot of customers.”

Cho Min Joon answered with an awkward smile. He didn’t know even grandmothers wanted to talk to him. Anderson, who was making norimakis, glanced over before he dropped his jaw.

“Rachel Rose… Aren’t you Rachel Rose?”

“What? Where?”

In response, the other team members turned their heads in surprise. That was when Cho Min Joon realized the cameramen filming him and her with seriousness. On top of that, even customers were taking photos of them.

‘Is she famous?’

Rachel smiled.

“I guess you don’t know me.”

“… I’m sorry. I don’t know much about American celebrities.”

Some of the customers who heard this laughed. Cho Min Joon didn’t understand their reaction. Did that mean she was a celebrity? Rachel took out her wallet.

“I should probably pay so that the other customers can have their turn. Here.”

“Sure, what would you…”

He stared at what she was handing him with a blank stare. It wasn’t a bill. It was a check. A check for 1000 dollars. Rachel asked, “May I ring the golden bell?”

Cho Min Joon laughed.

“No.”