Chapter 129 - Chapter 129: Night in Florence (1)

Things done out of goodwill didn’t always yield good results. As such, Rachel’s well-made dishes brought upon an unexpected and strange situation.

That was what happened with Jeremy. His standards might have gone up too high after Rachels’ back ribs because he criticized every single restaurant he went to.

“The scent is there, but I can’t even taste it properly. They’re scamming their customers.”

Since he was a food critic, that much was understandable. But the problem was that he was telling the chefs in person. If he spoke in English, they wouldn’t have understood as well… But he used his Thai dictionary to dish out all his disses.

Those who were criticized must have held grudges because the day they went to the airport to leave Thailand, clouds covered the skies and then it poured. In the end, their flight got postponed, and the entire cast and filming crew had to wait in the airport’s waiting room.

Cho Min Joon sat in an uncomfortable chair and organized the dishes he ate in Thailand in his notepad. But it wasn’t just the food from Thailand that was written in the notepad. There were also dishes from Brazil, Grand Chef in America, as well as all the recipes, tips, and specialties of different nationalities of foods.

For example, he even wrote down that for Indian foods, peppers were the most preferred spice even for dishes that include fruits. He was shocked when he first heard that. He couldn’t imagine the combination of fruits and peppers from the cultures he had experienced.

Sarah glanced over at Cho Min Joon’s notes and exclaimed in awe.

“You’re very meticulous.”

“Well, I’ve made the decision to become a chef. Since this is the only path I can take now, I should do my best.”

“… A man who does his best. You’re a cool man, Min Joon. Keep going. It makes you look sexy.”

“Is this sexual harassment?”

“When an attractive woman like me does it, it’s temptation, not harassment.”

Sarah then blew a kiss in the air. She thought the way Cho Min Joon dropped his head in embarrassment was adorable. Emily pulled Sarah. Emily sighed.

“Stop bugging this innocent guy.”

“Stop scolding me. I’m not a kid anymore.”

Cho Min Joon watched them as they bickered. What he learned about them after spending time together was that Sarah was very mindful of Emily. At first, it seemed like Sarah was so confident that Emily was losing face, but it also seemed like Emily took care of Sarah like her niece… Sarah was strange. It was as if she looked up to her big sister but pretended it wasn’t true. Their age difference said it all. Sarah was 24 while Emily was 31.

“Hey, look at this.”

Anderson called Cho Min Joon. His finger was pointing at his phone screen. Cho Min Joon looked in and smirked.

“She seems to be doing well.”

It was a photo of Chloe. She was wearing a chicken costume while cooking for little children. After her 5-minute recipe broadcast, she must have gotten a lot of offers. Seeing her smile in front of little children made him happy. Anderson showed him pictures of Marco and Hugo as well before opening his mouth.

“Have you thought about having Starbook?”

“No.”

“There’s no harm in doing it. It’s important to do business with a chef’s image.”

“… I thought you were conservative in that aspect, but you’re pretty liberal.”

“I’m a realist. If it helps you, do it. People will enjoy your food more when they know you. Then why shouldn’t you do it?”

“I can think of a few reasons. You know how it is. For blind tests, they evaluate your food without considering any external factors.”

“That only happens in competitions. In the end, chefs put their image on the plate, too. It’s not just scent and appearance that raises anticipation before the food touches the tongue.”

“I see what you mean. So you want me to try Starbook, huh?”

Anderson played with his screen. All sorts of familiar faces popped up.

“Look. Kaya uses it, too. She doesn’t update it that much, but she already has 100,000 fans.”

“How many do you have?”

“… Oh, I only started recently.”

“So how many?”

In response to Cho Min Joon’s question, Anderson smacked his lips and lowered his head with a sad face.

“2700 people.”

“Oh, that’s a lot. Why do you look so sad?”

“It’s not that much. It’s low compared to the other guys. Chloe already has more than 6000.”

“But you started recently.”

“… To be honest, I started as soon as the competition ended.”

Cho Min Joon couldn’t hold in his laughter in response to his confession. Anderson grimaced.

“What’s so funny?”

“Haha… It’s hilarious. I can’t believe you’re dwelling on this.”

“I’m not dwelling on it.”

Anderson scoffed. Cho Min Joon flashed a smile and said, “It’ll go up eventually. I wonder what would happen if Rachel signed up for Starbook. Maybe she’d get millions of fans.”

“I’m not sure. She’s famous, but she’s also older. Her fans don’t tend to use Starbook…”

“But you’re a young fan.”

“I’m not that common.”

“Come to think of it, why are you so obsessed with Rachel? Well, it’s understandable… But did you go to Rose Island when you were little?”

“Yeah.”

It was a short answer, but Cho Min Joon’s eyes twinkled. He asked with curiosity, “How was it?”

“I can’t describe it in words, but it was shocking… since my tongue was sensitive back then. I can’t tell you any more than that.”

His heart felt just full thinking of that restaurant. It was possible that the restaurant had many 10-point dishes. What kind of Heaven was it? Cho Min Joon was sad he wasn’t born earlier. If he had, he would have gone to that restaurant, and he would have met them. Young Rachel Rose and her husband. He wanted to ask many things, learn a lot, and feel what they had to offer.

But he still had a chance. She wasn’t in her prime, but Rachel was beside him. He remembered what Emily said. That getting Rachel’s attention was a dream. Cho Min Joon didn’t want to lose that opportunity.

Cho Min Joon looked at Rachel. The way he was staring at sleeping Rachel wasn’t normal. Anderson glared at Cho Min Joon, but that was when Martin approached.

“I just got the call that they’ll be back up and running in one hour.”

“Oh, does that mean we can go right away?”

“Yes. Please get ready to leave. If you want to visit the Duty Free Shops, do so right now.”

“Where do we go after Italy?”

“That’s a secret. It’ll be fun to anticipate it. Try to guess.”

“Well, I’m already excited just thinking of where we’re going now. Italy. I like Italian food best out of Europe.”

Cho Min Joon gulped. He was curious about a lot of things. When he went to Italian restaurants in Korea, the chefs changed the dishes so much that he wished what al dente tasted like. Thinking about experiencing such things made his heart pound.

After a chat with the others, the room grew quiet. Some slept while others were on their phones. Cho Min Joon was the latter.

[Me: Are you busy?]

[Kaya: No, I’m on my way to the airport.]

Luckily, the time matched up. They hadn’t texted in a while, so Cho Min Joon continued to text in excitement.

[Me: Are you available for a call?]

[Kaya: Yup.]

[Me: I’ll call you. Wait.]

Cho Min Joon pressed call and put his phone to his ear. When Anderson looked at him strangely, Cho Min Joon smiled and mouthed, ‘Kaya.’ Anderson nodded.

The line rang for a while before he heard a familiar voice. Kaya spoke first. If what came out of her mouth was cooking, it was something that was well matured and roasted.

[I’m tired.]

“Why is that the first thing you say? Are you sleeping properly?”

As soon as Cho Min Joon began talking, Martin wondered who he was talking to. Anderson answered, “It’s Kaya.” Martin’s eyes sparkled and asked for the cameraman to zoom in on Cho Min Joon. Cho Min Joon didn’t realize this and continued to talk, “No, it’s not bedtime yet. What time is it there?”

[It’s nighttime. But don’t tell me to sleep. Who knows when we’ll talk again?]

“What’s so important about calling? Your health comes first.”

[This is the problem. I don’t know when I last had a proper conversation. The only people I see are locals, customers, or other chefs. I feel like I can recharge when I talk to you or the others.]

“Who else do you talk to?”

[The same old. My mom, my sister… and Marco. I can’t seem to reach Chloe very easily, so we just text sometimes.]

“Chloe is busy, too. Anyway, are you okay?”

[I don’t know. They’re not sending me to the hospital, so maybe I’ll end up having some kind of incurable disease.]

Cho Min Joon grimaced. Just the thought of it was unpleasant.

“Don’t say that. So where are you right now?”

[Germany. But I’ll be in Italy in a few hours.]

“… Italy? I’m headed there, too. Are you coming on our show?”

[No. They said there’s a Grand Chef broadcast in Italy. I have to show my face as a winner. I don’t know Italian though.]

“Maybe we can meet.”

[If we’re nearby, sure. We can sneak out at night.]

“I hope we’re close.”

Their conversation didn’t end for a while. 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 50 minutes. Cho Min Joon finally wrapped up when it was time to get on the plane.

“I have to get on the plane now. Get some rest during your flight.”

[Okay. Talk to you later.]

Cho Min Joon only realized everyone was looking at him once he hung up the phone. He asked in an awkward voice, “Is there a problem?”

***

The flight was around 12 hours long, but thanks to the time difference, it was 2 PM when they arrived in Florence. Once they got out of customs, Martin coughed and gathered everyone. He then opened his mouth.

“This is Italy. And today, a special guide will lead you.”

“A special guide?”

Emily asked in a surprised voice. Cho Min Joon thought of Kaya at that moment. Kaya said she was coming to Italy. She said she was coming for the Grand Chef… but maybe? Who knows?

But instead of answering, Martin looked behind him. A man approached them and took off his sunglasses. At that moment, Emily gasped.

“Allan…?!”