Chapter 123 - Chapter 123: Street Stall Inside a Bag (1)

A sigh filled the room. Kaya laid her back against a huge pillow. Her calves were throbbing, and her forehead felt hot, but her physical pain came second to her emotional fatigue.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she remembered what happened in New York before coming to Brisbane. When she headed home, an unwelcomed face came to see her. It was Tess Gilly, who had left mean comments about her online. At first, her family blocked her out, but Kaya didn’t want to avoid her.

And the conversation that followed was quite calm. Tess looked around the tiny room with bored eyes. She then scoffed and smiled with her guard up.

“It looks like you’ll leave this pathetic house. You’ve made it, Kaya Reuters.”

“I don’t need your acknowledgment.”

“Stop acting like that. We were friends once.”

“Yeah. But in the past.”

“There is one thing that’s still in the present.”

Tess then lifted the hair that covered the right side of her face. Along her chin was a scar that appeared to have been caused by a knife. Tess breathed in heavily and then continued, “This scar will never be in the past.”

“What is it that you want to say? No, what do you want from me?”

There was neither sympathy or compassion in Kaya’s voice. There was a scar on Tess Gilly’s face, but Kaya was left with a scar in her life and soul. Kaya spoke in a cold voice, “Are you still saying that scar was my fault?”

“You pushed me. I fell over, and my chin got scraped off a corner. Am I wrong?”

“No, but you did forget one part. You should tell the whole story. You took one of your fake friends and tried to lynch me.”

“… You were the one who asked for it.”

Tess was looking at Kaya with resentful eyes, as if she truly believed she was the victim. Kaya answered in a scornful voice, “Sexual assault criminals say the same thing. They say the victim enticed them. That they did nothing wrong. You’re just like them. Still…”

“You used to be my only friend. The others were all fake. You were the only one who had character. You know Kaya. That’s why I still hate you now. You made me lose a friend.”

Her eyes shook like crazy. That’s when Kaya realized Tess’ hands were shaking on top of the table. As soon as she noticed, Tess quickly took her arms back and got up from her seat.

“I don’t want to see you succeed, and I hate people thinking you’re a good person, but I won’t post mean comments anymore. It annoys me to be the topic of people’s gossip. Also.”

Tess looked Kaya in the eyes and grinned.

“I know you, and I’m going to bring you down no matter what. I look forward to seeing how far you go, and one more thing. I have some good news for you. You saw Jessica Prada last time, right? That woman who talked to you. There’s something that woman told me.”

Tess whispered in Kaya’s ears. At that moment, Kaya’s face froze up. Even while Tess left as if she had won, Kaya couldn’t even throw her a cuss word.

She was still mad about that. She felt a little better after talking to Cho Min Joon… But she still felt heavy because she couldn’t vent. However, she couldn’t say that. She didn’t want to. She was an adult. She wasn’t a kid anymore. She felt bad always relying on him. Kaya turned her body and hugged her pillow.

“… Yeah. It’d be weird if my life worked out so easily.”

She could still hear what Tess said before she left.

‘Congratulations. Your father is looking for you.’

***

The time passed by so quickly that it was hard to believe how short a day was. The next evening, Cho Min Joon got on the plane with a full belly. He wasn’t going home already. He was moving onto their next destination.

No one knew they would travel again after just two days, so everybody was surprised, but Martin answered in a calm voice. Brazil was simply a taster for the show’s opening.

The day before, he tried calling Kaya again, but she didn’t answer. But it was a very busy time for Kaya. After all, she had to participate in all the events related to Grand Chef around the world.

“Min Joon, where have you traveled to before?”

“I’ve never been anywhere except America. Oh, I guess Brazil is one of them now.”

“Then I guess you’ve never been to where we’re going now.”

“No.”

“It’ll be fun. The street stalls are the most advanced there.”

Cho Min Joon gulped instead of answering. He thought of food stalls. To be honest, the owners of food stalls weren’t amazing chefs, but there wasn’t a single time he regretted eating something at a street stall. Perhaps, it was easier to be satisfied since he tried it with low expectations.

It was possible that street stalls possessed the most basic qualities of cooking. Those who visited street stalls were busy and hungry, and they were able to enjoy just about any dish. For a simple meal, there was no place better than a street stall.

The restaurant that Rachel introduced them that morning came to mind. He thought of the not-so-good Feijoa. No matter what kind of amazing dish Cho Min Joon made, even if it was worth 10 points… they would say this just a few days later, ‘Douglas, can you give me some Feijoa?’

He didn’t agree that it was okay for food to taste bad, but he learned that a dish contained a lot more than just flavor. A warm sentiment that fancy restaurants didn’t have. He was jealous of it.

‘Is there a restaurant that has everything?’

He knew that there was no such thing. That was what Cho Min Joon’s common sense told him. When Kaya said she wanted to sell cheap but good-quality food, he was the one who thought she needed to be more realistic.

Cho Min Joon looked back at Rachel in the back seat. Perhaps, she had the answer, but he didn’t ask. She had her eyes closed as if she was tired. And Anderson, who sat beside her, raised his eyebrow at Cho Min Joon. Cho Min Joon shook his head and sat back in his seat.

“Do you have something to ask her?”

“I just suddenly remembered something. I was wondering if there’s a way to open a restaurant that contains a positive element between the dish and customers.”

“What an admirable worry. I wish I could give you an answer, but all I know how to do is eat.”

“Emily, do you have anything like that? The perfect restaurant of your dreams.”

In response, Emily closed her eyes and groaned. It took her a while before she could answer. It wasn’t because her thoughts were long. The plane was ascending into the air. Cho Min Joon grinned. He was like a kid in the way that every time he went up on a plane, he felt excited.

Emily was the opposite. She grabbed onto her armrests with a scared look on her face, and she finally sighed once the plane stabilized.

“I’m scared of stuff like this. This is why I don’t ride roller coasters… So where were we?”

“A restaurant you wish existed.”

“Hm… A restaurant that has dishes from all around the world, but there’s no point since you could never eat all of it at once.”

“Who knows? Maybe it makes sense if you go there often, but there’s also no need to go the same restaurant all the time.”

“It’s possible if it was close to home. A place where I can eat anything I want that’s close to home. Are you interested in opening a restaurant like that?”

Cho Min Joon thought for a moment. It wasn’t a bad proposal. However…

“That’s too difficult. No, it’s impossible. Even if I could master all the dishes from around the world… it’s impossible for anyone to supply all those ingredients fresh.”

“Come on, you can’t talk reality when we’re thinking dreams. You’re no fun.”

In response, Cho Min Joon smirked. She was much too old to be dreaming rather than thinking about reality, but he didn’t hate it. Emily asked, “You still want to be a chef, right?”

“It’s as clear as the fact that you have blonde hair.”

“Oh, I dyed it.”

Cho Min Joon dropped his jaw. Emily smiled and continued,

“I’m just kidding. Don’t look at me like that.”

“… I didn’t know what to say for a second.”

“Anyway, it’s good to hear that your dream still stands. I was hoping I didn’t lure you away from your own path.”

Emily then yawned. Cho Min Joon asked, “Are you sleepy?”

“I am… But thinking of eating street food once we get off makes me feel excited. Don’t you, Min Joon?”

“Excited…?”

Cho Min Joon put his hand on his chest. He then nodded.

“Yes, I guess I am. If I had to choose between texture, scent, and flavor, I tend to value scent the most. That’s what makes the biggest difference in a dish, and that place is the hotspot for scents.”

“That’s not what I expected to hear from the perfect palate.”

“… Anyway, I’m worried about the language. At least people in Brazil could speak some English.”

“Just use body language.”

Emily twisted her hands around and made a funny face.

Time passed. 20 hours with one transfer. Three plane meals and one snack. After five glasses of drinks, they landed in the country of tasting.

The free country, the tasting country, the fun country.

Thailand.