Chapter 133 - Chapter 133: Live Broadcast (1)

By the time they finished exchanging greetings, Martin opened his mouth.

“Let me explain one more time. You’re not at Olive Island to just have a meal. The broadcast will be live on the internet, and many people will be watching.”

“Is there anything we should be careful of?”

“Just don’t use swear words. It’d be nice if you made it entertaining, but that’s not something that can be controlled. Please just be yourself.”

Following the short introduction, they all entered Olive Island. Just as Rachel was about to sit down, she saw a photo on the wall. It was a photo of young Allan with her and a man standing on each side. The quality was poor, but it was enough to bring back old memories.

Jeremy glanced at Rachel. He clicked his tongue and said, “Stop dwelling over a dead man.”

“… Why shouldn’t I? He was my husband.”

“He made you suffer through life, and he’s still making you suffer after death. I told you your life would get tiring if you married Daniel.”

“It was tiring, but it was also fun and happy. That’s all I needed.”

Rachel answered with a stern voice and took her eyes off of the picture. Her eyes still looked emotional, but she smiled gracefully as she sat down.

“Long time no see, Kaya. Come to think of it, I’ve never congratulated you on your win. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Kaya answered with a smile. Cho Min Joon watched Kaya from the side. They had just seen each other, but he thought she changed a lot. She was no longer the rebellious girl he once knew. She was more mature… and feminine.

Sarah coughed and opened her mouth.

“It’s nice to meet you. You’re just as beautiful in person. Is it because you’re young?”

“… If that’s the reason, what am I?”

Emily mumbled in a sad voice. Jeremy asked in a sly voice, “I heard you were together all night… Didn’t you know you’d see each other today?”

“No. My agent has a bad personality.”

Kaya answered as she glared at her agent. When she said she would meet Cho Min Joon, all her agent asked was, ‘Are you sure?’ Cho Min Joon looked over at her.

“You must be tired.”

“You, too.”

They clinked their water glasses and sipped it. Anderson watched as he shook his head. As for Sarah, she smirked at Anderson.

“Are they always like this?”

“I thought you saw the show. It’s exactly like what you’ve seen.”

“… I thought it was all for show.”

It was as if she was watching a youth romance drama. Since they fooled around in a fresh way, it wasn’t tiring to watch… But she couldn’t help but feel jealous. Sarah smiled and looked at Anderson.

“Anderson, should we imitate those two?”

“I like being single.”

“I didn’t say we’d do it for real. Just pretend.”

Sarah stuck out her lip. That was when Martin approached and opened his mouth.

“Like I said, today’s lunch will be broadcasted live. There are already 120,000 viewers. Are you ready?”

“One moment. Let me check my makeup.”

Sarah took out a mirror. Kaya looked at Cho Min Joon instead.

“Is my makeup okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

Kaya nodded with a shrewd face. A moment later, Martin called out.

“Live broadcast in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”

“Hello, everyone. This is Hunger Trip.”

Since there was no studio audience, no cheering could be heard. But the chat log of many netizens flooded down from Martin’s screen.

[Oh, it’s starting.]

[I haven’t seen Rachel Rose in a long time.]

[Huh? What’s Reuters doing there?]

[She’s a guest, apparently.]

[I saw her on other shows, but it’s cool seeing her with Cho Min Joon again.]

While the chat continued, the servers brought them bread and ciabatta. And at the same time, Allan approached and opened his mouth with confidence.

“This is our first pride in the restaurant. It’s ciabatta which is roasted while maintaining the right humidity and temperature every day. This green butter was made with ground basil, and the one on the right is goat cheese garlic butter, and this over here is a sauce made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.”

“The shape of the butter is beautiful.”

Kaya spoke with a fascinated voice. Just as she said, the bread and butter showed interesting forms. It wasn’t certain if they used a cutter or if they made it themselves, but the goat butter was in the shape of a goat while the basil butter was in the shape of a leaf.

At that moment, Sarah cut the butter without hesitation. In the neck, to be exact. Kaya, who was admiring the butter, stared at Sarah with shock. Sarah was putting the goat butter on her ciabatta when she flinched and looked back at Kaya.

“Uh… Did I do something wrong?”

“… No.”

Kaya hesitated before putting goat butter on her piece of ciabatta as well. Her sad face only lasted for a moment. A smile soon melted over Kaya’s face. She mumbled happily, “This is delicious…”

“The bread and butter are nice.”

Cho Min Joon mumbled in a calm voice. The ciabatta bread was a 7 while the butter was also a 7. But as soon as he put the butter on the bread, the scores changed.

[Goat Cheese Garlic Butter on Ciabatta]

Freshness: 98%

Origin: (Too many ingredients for an accurate calculation)

Quality: high

Cooking Score: 8/10

Just by putting butter on it, the score rose. That meant that combination was perfection, and the basil butter was no exception. While the sommelier approached and poured them wine, Allan glanced at Cho Min Jin and asked, “Min Joon, what do you think about the butter? Do you know what it’s made of?”

“Go easy on me, Allan. I’ve been getting that question all day every day.”

“With great power comes great responsibility. That’s what Spiderman’s uncle said. Since God gifted you with that ability, you need to handle the annoyance. Just like how I’m handling the possibility of you stealing my recipe.”

“… I’ll just start with the proportions of the ingredients. The ratio of goat cheese and butter is 1:1. And you added about one spoon of butter for the garlic. You roasted it and added black pepper. Am I wrong?”

Everyone else looked at Allan with an uneasy face compared to Cho Min Joon. Allan shook his head and laughed.

“I’d better get ready to have all my recipes stolen today.”

“Don’t worry. It’s hard to read when it’s too difficult.”

He wasn’t lying. He could only read the recipes of dishes that were lower than his tasting level. The chat blew up.

[Wow, the perfect palate!]

[I wish I was like that.]

[Look at Rachel’s eyes. She looks so proud.]

[Kaya’s eyes, too. It looks like they’re dating.]

Cho Min Joon glanced over at Allan. His eyes were calm, but they soon looked surprised.

[Allan Craig]

Cooking Level: 9

Baking Level: 6

Tasting Level: 9

Decoration Level: 7

‘… His levels went up.’

Allan used to be an 8 in cooking. Since he was a three-star chef, it was foolish to think he would remain stagnant, but he didn’t think he could level up so soon.

He felt jealous, but he also respected him and anticipated his dishes. It was possible that one of his dishes could be a 10. That thought made him salivate.

He sipped his wine. The wine tasted sweet because it was an appetizer. He could tell it was of high quality because it didn’t taste bitter at all. He looked at Kaya and spoke in a low voice, “There are a lot of things that are required to perfect a restaurant’s structure. The chefs and waiters are basic, but you also need sommeliers, patissiers, and food coordinators.”

“Do you really need a food coordinator?”

“That’s what I thought, too. But I changed my mind after seeing Rachel carve potatoes. The plate completely transformed thanks to her knife skills.”

“How good was it?”

“Oh, wait. I have photos.”

Cho Min Joon took out his phone. Kaya leaned in and looked into the screen. Emily spoke in a serious voice, “Kaya! Min Joon! The viewers are telling you to stop having fun all on your own!”

“Oh yeah, this is live. Sorry.”

[Lol, those two are so cute.]

[They should get married. If this was a drama, I’d wait for the ending.]

[Who’s prettiest among Sarah, Emily, and Kaya? I think it’s Kaya.]

[In terms of face, Emily. Sarah has the bod, but Kaya has the vibe.]

They felt as though they could see the viewers in person. Sarah spoke in a bitter voice, “This is weird to see in real life.”

She wasn’t talking about the chat. Her eyes were pointed at Kaya and Cho Min Joon. She knew he was close to Kaya, but was it because they were especially polite in front of her? Kaya’s attitude looked refreshing.

“You’ll get used to it.”

Emily answered with a calm face. Rachel and Anderson were enjoying their bread without a care in the world. And Jeremy was a casual type, so he was just drinking his wine.

“I’m the only outsider.”

Why was it that the Ciabatta suddenly tasted bitter? Luckily, the dish that came out after comforted her sense of alienation. Seven spoons were placed in front of them. They must have put decoration above the function because the handle was curved like high heels.

And on the spoon was a candied mandarin, beets, and sugared oranges, and underneath it was pink cream.

Cho Min Joon put the amuse bouche in his mouth. The system windows exploded, and so did the flavors. The cooking score was 8, and the flavors were not disappointing.

The bitter taste of the beets was embraced by the orange, and he could taste lemon and tomato in the pink cream underneath. The way the mandarin broke in between his teeth and the pieces spread in his mouth like herbs made him feel amused as if he was stealing someone else’s food.

That peculiar taste made Cho Min Joon’s face twitch. Her eyes, lips, and nose all trembled, and the cameraman filmed it all.

[Wow… look at his face.]

[I think he’s the best at expressing flavors with his face.]

[Of course. He can taste better than all the other chefs.]

Cho Min Joon didn’t pay attention to the chat. Just like how the starved knew the worth of food the best, those who only tasted bad food all his life couldn’t help but have sensitive tastebuds. Some might just think, ‘Wow, not bad.’ But for him, he was touched beyond words.

Even if he had a sensitive taste, Kaya’s was more accurate. But at the same time, he strongly believed that in terms of being able to enjoy food, he could do it just as well as her.

He smiled and looked back at Kaya. Kaya was also making a similar expression with the food in her mouth.

“This is good.”

“Kaya, have you gone to any other Michelin star restaurants after Grand Chef?”

“No, this is the first. That’s why I’m so excited. Can’t you tell?”

“I can. That’s why I’m asking. I really wished you were there when I went to a three-star restaurant alone.”

“I was really jealous that time. I still haven’t been to a three-star restaurant. I’ll go one day.”

“Like I said before. Let’s not just go to one. Let’s start one. You can do it.”

“Yeah. You, too.”

Kaya smiled. The wrinkles underneath her smokey makeup looked pretty. Cho Min Joon, who admired her face for a moment, realized that it was quiet around them. He looked around. They were all staring at the two of them.

And the chat expressed their feelings for them.

[Why are they doing this to us?]