Chapter 131 - Chapter 131: Night in Florence

“Shallot, mini cabbage, and sirloin…”

Cho Min Joon continued without hesitation. When ingredients were minced like that, it was even more difficult than the tofu pouch mission from before, but he couldn’t show his weak side. Everyone in the world already knew him as a chef with the perfect palate. That meant that he was the best in history to get ingredients right.

‘If this is what you want…’

He was willing to go along with these games, and what Anderson said at the airport had an influence with his attitude. Starbook. Even if his image was to bring his dishes up, people actually liked that. He might not be winning through cooking alone, but the true objective of a chef was to make customers happy.

If he could find more ways to make customers happy, he thought it was right to pursue them. That was why Cho Min Joon’s voice didn’t waver or hesitate while naming the ingredients that he couldn’t logically taste when minced so thinly.

Every time he got an ingredient right, everybody showed their true emotions on their faces. Emily looked proud as if she was looking at her little brother while Allan nodded as if he knew what was coming.

Rachel stared at Cho Min Joon with touched eyes while Anderson was jealous of the way Rachel was looking at him. On the other hand, Jeremy looked amused… while Sarah was shocked. She crossed out every single ingredient on her list. He got everything right.

It didn’t make sense. Even if he had the perfect palate… how could he get minced ingredients right?

Sarah didn’t think that the producers or Cho Min Joon played tricks on the Grand Chef because they had no reason to, but it was true that she was skeptical about his perfect palate. Of course, he probably had a sensitive palate because he got all the ingredients right inside the tofu pouch. But at the same time, that wasn’t enough to convince her that he had the perfect palate.

She also watched the episode where he reenacted the dessert he ate at Rose Island, but Sarah just assumed Cho Min Joon had a high understanding of food, rather than having a perfect palate.

She couldn’t help it. It made more sense to assume he was good at imitating food than to believe that he knew exactly what was in the food he ate. And the fact that Cho Min Joon himself always said, ‘What I have is a little different from a perfect palate’ also supported her belief.

But that belief tumbled down. It was a different story with the minced ingredients, especially if it was all mashed together like a paste. Nothing could explain this except for a perfect palate.

“The… perfect palate.”

Sarah gasped in awe. She couldn’t deny it, and that wasn’t just her. The specialists who had been arguing against Cho Min Joon’s perfect palate would soon shut their mouths. Unless they were suspicious of the program’s transparency, no one could criticize his perfect palate. The chef behind Sarah asked in a confused voice, “Did he get it all right?”

“Oh, yes. He…. did.”

“Wow…”

His Italian wasn’t fluent, but he was able to understand their exclamations. How could they not be shocked? Sarah glanced at Rachel. Rachel looked at Cho Min Joon with a cheerful look on her face.

Sarah finally understood why Rachel had such high expectations of Cho Min Joon. Sarah had nothing to gain from Cho Min Joon, but just the thought of his future made her heart pound… So if she had the ability to pave his way, it was no wonder Rachel was so excited.

‘He’s really a gem.’

She was fascinated and jealous at the same time, but Sarah’s feelings soon subsided. Jealousy wasn’t going to give her the ability. She mumbled with a jealous voice, “He looks like the star.”

***

“… I can’t believe it.”

That night, Sarah looked at her reflection in the mirror as she mumbled to herself. Emily, who was drying her hair not too far from her, spoke proudly, “I told you. We didn’t exaggerate about his tongue.”

“I believe you… But I didn’t know he was that good.”

“I was pretty surprised, too. This time was different from when he got the ingredients in the tofu pouch right.”

To be honest, Emily was anxious. She couldn’t believe that Cho Min Joon got minced ingredients right. She could understand since he always got the ingredients of sauces right, but she still felt uneasy.

But today, Emily’s anxiousness subsided. Today was the day she became certain of his perfect palate. The fans who supported Cho Min Joon for his perfect palate could now be certain. Emily put down her hairdryer and looked back at Sarah. She looked cute when she was so down, but she couldn’t just let it be.

“Are you sad to be the supporting actress?”

“… I don’t know. At first, I was just excited, but when I saw him get the ingredients right with my own eyes… I don’ t know. I feel like I’m now the extra musician watching Beethoven from the side. Emily, how did you hold it in? This feeling of enervation.”

“There’s no need to feel enerved.”

“Why not?”

“Some people say Beethoven is impressive, but no one says he’s the best. Not because he’s lacking, but because it’s a waste of time to discuss who’s the best in the world.”

“Still… just the thought of being a supporting actress or an extra… makes me sad.”

Emily smirked at Sarah’s anxious face. Emily put lotion on her hands and then rubbed it all over Sarah’s nose. Sarah grimaced.

“What are you doing?”

“There’s already an answer to your question. Those who are called the best in music are usually classical musicians, but do you listen to classical music?”

“… Not really.”

“It’s just like that. It’s true that Cho Min Joon is a genius with a perfect palate, but that doesn’t mean what he tastes and expresses is the correct standard. Taste is variable. All you have to do is show off your colors.”

“My color is a sexy food critic. Sarah thought for a moment before rubbing the lotion on her nose over to her face and looking up at Emily with lukewarm eyes. Emily laughed.

“That lotion is expensive. Rub it in well.”

“… You’re so mean.”

“What do you mean? I even gave you consultation.”

“That’s why. Stop looking cooler than me.”

Sarah then patted her face with a calm look on her face. Rachel, who was watching from the side, smiled.

“I like your friendship.”

“… That’s what I said to Anderson and Kaya before. Now I see how they felt at the time.”

Emily spoke in a bitter voice. Sarah asked out of curiosity, “Come to think of it, Kaya was impressive on that show, too. What’s she like?”

“She’s very talented. She was the best in terms of cooking. Her palate was also really sensitive, but it was shadowed by Cho Min Joon. She even reenacted Allan’s risotto after only tasting it once…”

“Oh, I saw that. Is Kaya close to being a perfect palate, too?”

“What are the chances of two perfect palates popping up at the same time? Get some rest before we go to Allan’s restaurant tomorrow. It’ll be a tiring day.”

Rachel’s face didn’t look comfortable as she listened to the conversation. She remembered what she heard from Cho Min Joon in the past. ‘Kaya is better for you, not me.’ But even if she was interested in Kaya, she was too busy with Grand Chef’s schedule…

‘If possible…’

Rachel got up. Upon seeing her put on a coat, Emily asked with a strange face, “Where are you going?”

“Oh, I just have something to think about.”

She then headed over to the men’s dorm. After pressing the doorbell, she could hear Jeremy’s voice.

[What brings you to the men’s dorm at this hour?]

“Shut up. Is Min Joon asleep? If not, tell him I want to talk to him.”

[He’s out.]

“Is he in the halls or the lounge?”

[No.]

Rachel knitted her brows at the short responses. Jeremy continued in an annoyed voice.

[He left the hotel after getting Martin’s permission. He said he had someone to meet. What was her name? That girl. I totally forgot her name.”

“Girl?”

[You know. The one he talked to at the airport. He’s so crazy about her.]

Rachel gasped.

“Kaya Reuters?”

***

He got a call from Kaya as soon as he washed up and headed to bed. ‘I’m in Florence right now. Can you come out?’ In response, he immediately said yes, and that was when he realized he was in the middle of filming. But course, at night, all he did was sleep, so he didn’t have any obligations…

It was a relief that Martin was a flexible man. When he asked if he could go out, Martin showed a strange smile and said, “I’d normally put a cameraman on you, but since it’s late, I won’t. All sorts of things can happen at night. You’ll come back early, right? I suggest you do. There’s a live filming tomorrow at lunch.”

“… Thank you.”

He spoke in a teasing way, but he looked over it because of his kindness.

Kaya called him out to Ponte Vecchio. It was the only bridge that remained from the Roman era. When Hitler retreated from Venice while fighting with the British Army, all of the bridges in Venice was destroyed, but Vecchio was not, and that explained the beauty of it all.

He saw people walking up and down the strip of street shops. Yellow light shined from the lanterns attached to the buildings, and on top of it was a white moon that shined upon the river.

It was beautiful. He looked around during daylight, but he was too busy eating to enjoy the scenery. Not only that, but Ponte Vecchio was beautiful that night in a different way.

Cho Min Joon looked around him. Most of the people were coupled up, and he noticed a woman along the banister, but she didn’t seem like Kaya. A hoodie, leather jacket, and tight black jeans. That was Kaya’s favorite style… But it didn’t seem like her. The hair that stuck out of the hood was dark brown, not black.

“… Is she not here yet?”

Just as he was about to pick up his phone and call her, the phone on the woman he had just seen rang. Cho Min Joon stopped in his tracks and looked behind him. The woman opened her phone and answered, “Yeah?”

[Yeah?]

The same voice could be heard from his phone as well as the woman. Cho Min Joon walked over without a word. He then stood 10 steps away from her and asked, “Where are you? I don’t see you.”

The woman looked away, and once she saw Cho Min Joon, her head stayed still. Kaya immediately smiled. She spoke with her phone still against her ear, “I’m at Ponte Vecchio, toward the middle. Under the light. There’s a statue beside me, but I don’t know who is it. Is it Leonardo or Dante? Where are you?”

“I’m at Ponte Vecchio. Did you wear a lot? It’s cold out.”

“As you can see… I wore a lot. A hoodie and jacket are enough.”

“Did you come out alone?”

“Do you think I’m important enough to have a bodyguard?”

Kaya smirked as she spoke. Cho Min Joon asked, “When are we going to stop kidding around?”

“I’m not sure. Should I give you a signal?”

“How?”

“Magic wore off at midnight for Cinderella. We need to hear a bell, too. I’ll make the bell ring.”

Kaya held her phone in front of her face. She then put her lips to the microphone. He could hear the sound of her breathing and her lips touching the screen across the phone. He felt as though Kaya’s lips were on his ear.

Smooch. The sound rang for only a while, and the silence lasted a while… But the echo lasted in his ear for a while, as if it was the sound of a bell. Kaya grinned.

“Did the magic wear off?”