Chapter 135

“I…”

Cho Min Joon began talking in a teary voice before taking another breath. He felt his heart pound. He felt thankful that Rachel made him such an offer.

A big reason behind it was probably his perfect palate, but Cho Min Joon didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t have the power that Rachel thought he had, but he did have something else. If he gave it all he got, he could meet her expectations. That was what he thought. That was what he wanted to think.

“Emily always said that if the people who wanted to learn under you lined up, they would make a circle around the States.”

“Really?”

Rachel glanced at Emily. Emily sipped on her wine with an embarrassed face while Cho Min Joon opened his mouth.

“Some people just line up if they see that there are others in the line. But right now, I have no reason to line up, and you told me to come to you… So it’s very tempting. It’s a temptation that I have no reason to reject.”

“Can I take that as a yes?”

“Yes. That’s a yes.”

Rachel smiled and then proceeded to drink her wine as if nothing had happened. While the others stared at them with blank faces, Kaya put a piece of bread in Cho Min Joon’s mouth.

“Congratulations on your prospective job, but…”

Kaya hesitated before covering her mic with her hand. As soon as he saw that, it reminded him of old times. That time, Kaya told him, ‘Don’t like me.’ Kaya whispered in Cho Min Joon’s ear, “Is it okay to dip this bread in wine?”

“It’s different depending on the country… but probably not. It’s not like the taste would be anything special. You’re better off just taking a bite of the bread and sipping wine.”

“You think…?”

Cho Min Joon also spoke while covering his mouth. While the cast covered their mics, which rarely happened on TV, Martin sighed and smirked.

[Look at their bad hands again. They did the same thing on Grand Chef…]

[What are they talking about? Is there a way to hear in?]

[Are they sharing secrets? How can they say they’re friends after that?]

The viewers expressed their frustration in the chat. Cho Min Joon immediately opened his mouth.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. She’s just…”

Cho Min Joon’s speech got cut off. That was because Kaya blocked his mouth with her hand. While Cho Min Joon opened his eyes wide, Kaya knitted her brows and glared back at him. She then took off her hand and said, “No, don’t say anything.”

“Why not?”

“It’s embarrassing.”

[… What are they talking about that’s so embarrassing?]

[Is that a part of their script?]

It was a relief that the servers appeared at that moment. They exchanged glances and put 7 plates down in front of them. The food on the plates showed off a fascinating appearance. White mozzarella cheese in the form of a baseball. Beside it were herbs that were decorated with flower petals. Kaya was in awe as she asked, “This is cheese, right?”

“Yes. I put a hole in the mozzarella cheese and put Minestrone soup inside. After some time, the heat of the soup makes it inflate like that.”

“What’s Minestrone soup again?”

“It’s an Italian vegetable soup. It’s boiled with vegetables, pasta, and rice. In our case, we like to add orzo pasta. The chicken and vegetable broth seep into the rice-shaped pasta, and the melted mozzarella cheese embraces it all. Try cutting into it.”

Kaya picked up the knife with excitement as if she was cutting a birthday cake. As soon as she cut into the inflated cheese, vapor came out followed by the soup inside which flooded onto the leaves around it. The scent of the cheese and herb as well as the savory smell of the soup mixed together and entered her nose.

She trembled. She then looked at Cho Min Joon with an excited face. Cho Min Joon, who was also cutting into the cheese, smiled back. He understood Kaya’s feelings. She had never been to a proper restaurant in her life. It was no wonder she was excited in front of such carefully made and beautiful dishes.

‘I hope I can take her to a three-star.’

But he knew it would be difficult for him to be the one to take Kaya to a three-star restaurant. After all, the chances were slim that she wouldn’t go to a single three-star restaurant during her schedule with Grand Chef.

Cho Min Joon put the melted cheese and soup in his mouth in sadness. While the clean taste of the chicken broth created the foundation, the flavor of the cheese and chewy orzo was quite charming. Kaya exclaimed, “Wow, this orzo… is the hidden star of the show.”

Cho Min Joon didn’t understand what Kaya meant. The orzo was quite interesting and fresh, but he didn’t think it was good enough to be the star. He was actually touched by the balance between the herbs and cheese, but Allan smiled and said, “You noticed. That orzo was the trickiest part of making this dish. I first thought of making it with rice, but I didn’t want the scent of grains.”

“That’s not the only issue. You probably also thought about the texture. The celery does add a crispy texture, but it was cooked for a while, so it’s soft… The orzo is the only part that’s chewy, so it almost tastes like the main ingredient. Oh, I get it. You didn’t bring it from a soup that was already cooked. You added some Orzo every time a plate was ready, right?”

Kaya spoke in an excited voice. Rachel stared at Kaya with a blank look on her face. She knew people always gave her attention… But Kaya bit her lip in the midst of the silence.

“Never mind if that’s not the case.”

“You’re right. I’m taken aback. I was ready for Cho Min Joon to understand my recipe, but I didn’t expect that from Kaya.”

“I tried to copy him a little. They say friends start to become alike.”

“Not friends. Married couples.”

“… Same thing. I only graduated elementary school. Forgive me.”

[I find Kaya the prettiest when she’s like that.]

[Pitiful = Poor = Feminine = Pretty. Is that it?]

[She said she copied Min Joon, but Kaya has a sensitive tongue, too. No wonder she’s called a genius.]

Rachel watched Kaya playing around with the cheese. Kaya said she was just copying Cho Min Joon… But understanding that much after one taste wasn’t easy. She then remembered Cho Min Joon and Sergei telling her to grab onto her. Rachel opened her mouth. She thought it might’ve been immature, but she couldn’t help her curiosity.

“Kaya. Can you get all the ingredients right?”

“Mozzarella cheese, celery, squash, artichoke, carrot, radish, basil, tomato.”

Rachel gasped. Kaya saw her eyes open so wide that the whites of her eyes showed, and she smirked.

“That’s what I see in front of me.”

“Oh…”

Rachel looked at the plate with relief. She realized that the ingredients Kaya just listed could all be seen on her plate. Kaya added.

“But in terms of things you can’t see… there are peas. It’s hard not to taste it since it’s so strong. If you can’t taste it, you don’t have tastebuds. There’s also lard inside. I can taste some pig fat.”

“That’s impressive already. You have a great palate.”

“… Why can’t I tell those things?”

Sarah mumbled from one side. Emily smiled bitterly and patted her on the back.

“Even if you’re a food critic, you need to have a sensitive tongue for that. I know there are beans inside, but I can’t tell what kind. That’s what’s normal.”

“I’m still jealous. Both sides of the couple have great palates.”

“… We’re not a couple.”

“Oh, my bad. Prospective couple… Sorry, I didn’t mean that. Stop glaring at me.”

[They can’t even call a couple a couple.]

[It’s been years since I haven’t called my wife my wife.]

“Shut up, chat.”

[He’s trying to stop the chat now.]

[He cussed us out… But I want to hear more.]

“… Perverts.”

Kaya sighed and shook her head. At that moment, Cho Min Joon fixed his eye on the servers who were approaching. He couldn’t see what was on the plates yet, but he could see the system window.

[Oil pasta with squid and pak choi]

Freshness: 96%

Origin: (Too many ingredients for an accurate calculation)

Quality: High

Cooking Score: 10/10

‘A pasta of 10 points…?’

On top of that, it was an oil pasta. It was in a category that Cho Min Joon thought was impossible to get a 10. Oil pasta used oil instead of sauce to establish a clean taste, but that was why it was hard to get a complicated taste.

The plates were placed in front of them. Cho Min Joon looked at the pasta as if it was a long-lost lover. It looked pretty normal. It looked green overall, and it wasn’t because of the pak choi in between. They must have used ground basil and olive oil because the oil itself looked green.

At first, he couldn’t see the squid, so he was taken aback, but he later saw that the thin squid was hiding in between the noodles, but he was still confused. He didn’t know what made it a 10-point dish.

As soon as he put some in his mouth, the noodles wriggled around in his mouth like octopus legs. He had never tasted so much elasticity in pasta noodles before.

And once he chewed on the squid and pak choi, he was touched. It was a given that the squid and pak choi gave off special scents, but how did the noodles taste so sweet like wheat?

On top of that, the taste of barley mingled with the other ingredients. Some of the pepper seeds made the oil a little spicy, and the noodles that touched his sensitive tongue and lips made him twitch.

At that moment, he heard a sigh. Cho Min Joon wondered if it was him for a moment, but it wasn’t. It was Kaya beside him chewing on the noodles with her eyes closed.

‘… Come to think of it, this is Kaya’s first 10-point dish.’

Cho Min Joon’s eyes teared up. He didn’t know why he felt so touched by Kaya eating a 10-point dish. He opened his mouth and spoke in a shaking voice, “Is it good?”

Kaya nodded with tears in her eyes. She looked like she could burst into tears at any moment. Cho Min Joon understood. Since she had a more sensitive palate than him, she felt so touched.

Cho Min Joon took out a handkerchief and patted Kaya’s eyes.

“Your makeup will get ruined.”

[He’s crazy.]

[I think they’re crazier than those Hollywood psychos.]

[Are all Korean men like that?]

[I’m Korean and I’m not like that.]

Anderson was in the middle of eating his pasta when he looked at Allan with a frustrated face. Allan, who was watching Cho Min Joon and Kaya, lifted his head. Anderson spoke in a heavy voice, “Do you have any digestive medicine? I feel sick.”