Chapter 165 - Chapter 165: Declaration of War (2)

‘The real Rose Island has arrived.’

Most Americans had heard of Rose Island. The American chains had 12 stars altogether, and in the whole world, they collected 37 stars in total. All the head chefs who were a pupil of the Rose couple were so close that they were even referred to as the ‘Rose Army.’

But What made Rose Island famous wasn’t their numbers or their friendship. In order to make Rose Island known, the Rose couple had to be acknowledged, and the pupil under them had no intention of dirtying their reputation. Since not a single Rose Island location didn’t have stars, the public inevitably had a lot of respect for Rose Island.

For that reason, the fact that the main restaurant closed was a tragedy. The older customers as well as food critics called it the best Rose Island, and not even the chefs denied it. For that reason, the food critics must’ve been desperate to taste their food again.

But the situation was different now. Rachel Rose had just announced to everyone gathered in front of the Rose Island in Venice that she was going to hold an open audition. And as the judges, Rachel Rose, the runner-up winner of Grand Chef, Anderson Russo, and the famously perfect palate, Cho Min Joon, were set to appear. While everyone wondered if Rachel Rose could overcome her 10-year break…

Janine Fisher: Anyone who auditions will get disqualified. It’s the world-famous chef, perfect palate, and Anderson judging.

Yulia Lott: It doesn’t seem like Anderson would be that hard to impress.

Janine Fisher: @Yulia Lott Look at how he normally is. He’ll probably diss them like crazy.

“… That’s what they’re saying. What do you think?”

Cho Min Joon showed Anderson the screen with a smile. Anderson read the comment and scoffed.

“What are they talking about? You cuss more than I do.”

“When?”

“Don’t you remember what you said to Peter?”

“Peter? Oh yeah.”

He remembered who he was talking about. The person who got cussed out after fighting with Kaya. Cho Min Joon asked with curiosity, “Do you know what he’s been up to these days?”

“I think he’s laying low now. He got a lot of hate back then after showing his personality. Unless they want noise marketing, I doubt any restaurant would hire him.”

“… That makes me feel bad. If it was anywhere else, they would’ve just ignored what he did. But he did that during a broadcast.”

What did he say to Peter when he was depressed? Something about accepting all the hate and using it to grow, was it? But he didn’t know if he really took in that advice.

“How’s Kaya? Do you talk to her these days?”

“… Huh? Since when do you ask about Kaya?”

“I’m just worried about you. I haven’t been seeing her in the chats.”

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s bottling up something inside again. I don’t think she’s been talking to any of the guys lately.”

Cho Min Joon sighed with a frustrated face. It was possible from past experience that she just didn’t want to worry anyone, but he didn’t like that.

[Me: Are you busy?]

Cho Min Joon stared at his phone screen. Since she didn’t answer his calls either, he felt like he was losing something. Anderson glanced over at Cho Min Joon. He remembered something Amelia said on their way back.

‘See? Isn’t it hard out in the real world?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘No matter what you think, me and your father love you the most. But Rachel’s not like that. Are you confident you can win her over?’

He hated the fact that he couldn’t answer that question with confidence.

***

There were only three days until the audition. Cho Min Joon’s daily routine was simple. Aside from exercising to keep his stamina up, he spent all his time in the kitchen of Rose Island. And as for the work at Rose Island, it was simple. He cooked and ate. And between those two things, Cho Min Joon usually ate more than he cooked.

“Hm… Try this carrot soup with red wine and bread.”

“I don’t like the combination. Unless the bitterness of the wine makes the soup more sweet, I don’t think it’ll taste good together.”

“Do you think we should fix the soup? Or should I fix the bread?”

“There’s no need for that. Just give me the butter bread.”

In response, Lisa handed him a butter roll. Cho Min Joon ripped off a piece and ate it with the carrot soup.

“How is it?”

“It’s perfect. If you improve the soup a little, we could serve these to customers. But as of right now, it’s a little too plain.”

In response, Lisa also tried the butter roll with the carrot soup. But instead of pouring it on, she simply dipped it. Lisa nodded.

“This is much better. I feel like the soft taste of the butter goes perfectly with the sweet carrot. No wonder they call you the perfect palate.”

“… Any chef can do this, Lisa. It just seems that way because of my nickname.”

“I like that you’re modest. I’m impressed. I’d be so shy if I were you.”

Aside from her emotionless face, her words were friendly and kind. Cho Min Joon smiled.

“You’re impressive, too. You make bread first thing in the morning, and after you do all of that, you come here to work in the evenings. When do you sleep?”

“I might look really hardworking, but I sleep just fine. I sleep while the bread is baking and while I wait for the batter to mature.”

“sounds like you’re hardworking to me.”

In response, Lisa shrugged. At that moment, they heard small footsteps from the hall. When she approached, Ella had her chin propped up on the counter while wearing a yellow dress and looking in their direction.

“What is it, Ella?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Hm, Lisa. What do we do?”

“Let’s just have lunch together then. When will Anderson and Rachel be back?”

“It takes at least an hour to go shopping… So it’s probably best that we eat first.”

That was how the meal began. There was only the soup that they had made already, but Cho Min Joon was a chef. It wasn’t hard for him to make a steak or pasta in just under 10 minutes.

The meal that resulted was a simple course meal. Caesar salad, carrot soup, Vongole pasta, and tenderloin steak with cheese cream sauce. Cho Min Joon had to move back and forth between the table and kitchen a few times, but seeing Ella eating with a smile washed his tiredness away.

“You must be so happy to have such a beautiful daughter. I’m jealous.”

“Why? You’re good-looking, and your girlfriend is beautiful. I’m sure you’ll have a beautiful child together.”

“… My girlfriend?”

“Oh, Anderson told me you might deny it if I talked about Kaya Reuters.”

In response, Cho Min Joon put a piece of steak in his mouth with an awkward look on his face. While the cheese cream softened his palate, the meaty scent from the tenderloin steak reminded him of a refined and American dish. Lisa opened her mouth.

“That has cheese in it. Is that okay? I thought you weren’t good with cheese.”

“I’ll have to train myself. How can I be picky as a chef? As long as it’s not an allergy, I should try to get used to it.”

At that moment, Cho Min Joon noticed Ella sniffling and almost crying. Cho Min Joon opened his eyes wide and looked at Ella.

“What’s wrong, Ella? Is something stuck in your throat?”

Ella didn’t answer and continued to wipe her tears away. She then sniffled and looked at Lisa. Ella asked in a trembling voice that sounded shocked and pitiful, “Mom, does Min Joon… have a girlfriend…?”

“Yeah, he does.”

Some moms would’ve just lied since she was crying, but Lisa answered honestly without hesitation. And as a result, Ella cried harder. Cho Min Joon didn’t know if he should be happy or sad as he looked at Ella.

Ella stepped down from her chair. She approached Cho Min Joon and glared at him. He did nothing wrong, but she looked at him as if he was a sinner. Ella grabbed his hands and asked, “Min Joon, are you going to marry her?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Ella doesn’t want you to get married… But if you really want to, I’ll let you go. Ella can hold it in.”

“Blow your nose first. Here.”

Cho Min Joon put a napkin on Ella’s nose. Ella blew her nose and then wriggled her lips with her cheeks flushed.

She looked adorable. What was she saying as such a little girl? As soon as Cho Min Joon sat Ella down on his lap, Lisa calmly said, “You stole my daughter’s heart.”

“I guess I’m more popular than I thought.”

“I heard kids like good people. I guess that’s what you are, Min Joon. Kaya’s lucky to have you. Although I’ve never met her before.”

“I haven’t seen her in a while either. Maybe a month ago? She hasn’t contacted me in a week either.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know if she’s busy or… Never mind. I shouldn’t talk about Kaya behind her back.”

Cho Min Joon spoke in a sad voice. Lisa took a sip of water while deep in thought and then continued in a slow manner, “Don’t overthink it. There are only two reasons why a woman isn’t answering you. She’s either not interested In you… Or she’s sending you a signal to call her. Did you do something wrong recently?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then there’s your answer. Call her.”

“But she’s not answering my calls or texts. I don’t know if she’s busy or ignoring me… It’s probably the latter. She still has to look at her phone once a week no matter how busy she is.”

He got an idea of the reason. Kaya said it herself last time. That she didn’t want to rely on him or burden him. He didn’t know what the right answer was. He wasn’t sure if he should respect Kaya’s wishes or comfort her anyway. Lisa smirked.

“Well, one tihng’s for sure. No man worries about stuff like that if they’re not in a relationship. Why do you keep denying it? What changes if you accept it?”

“… If we’re not in a relationship, there’s no reason to have a hard time being apart.”

“That’s a weird way of thinking because you look like you are having a hard time.”

Cho Min Joon smiled in response. He liked hearing that because that was proof that his feelings were real.

Yeah. He had to acknowledge it. Cho Min Joon liked Kaya as a chef, a role model, and a woman. At first, he wasn’t sure if he was just a fan. But he was sure now. Even if he was a fan, he was so passionate about her…

“You’re right.”

“That you’re having a hard time?”

“No, my feelings. You’re right.”

“I know.”

Lisa smiled for the first time but Ella didn’t. She chewed on her meat with a miserable face before pushing her plate away and planting her face on the table. That must’ve been Ella’s way of expressing her discomfort.

Lisa had to see her daughter get rejected at a very young age. Lisa sighed and hugged Ella.

“Don’t be too anxious and trust her. I don’t know why she’s not contacting you, but she might feel more touched by seeing you trust her than you trying to comfort her. But since I don’t know her in person, don’t listen to everything I say.”

“Of course.”

Cho Min Joon picked up his phone. He then began typing out a thoughtful text. He then closed his phone. Cho Min Joon smiled and looked back at Lisa.

“Thank you for your advice.”

“May I ask what you said to her?”

“No.”

Cho Min Joon pointed at Ella and whispered in a playful voice, “Children under the age of 7 shouldn’t hear it.”

***

“What should we do?”

The agent looked at Kaya with a stiff face. Kaya looked at her own face in the mirror without a word. She once thought she had a pretty face, but it just looked unlikable at this point.

‘Is there a trace of him… in this face?’

“Kaya?”

“… Send him back. I don’t want to see him.”

“Are you sure? This is the second time.”

“Then I’ll answer for the second time. My father has died a long time ago, so tell the fake one to go away!”

“… Okay.”

The agent left the kitchen with a dark face. Kaya bit down on her lip. She thought she could push off the problem by avoiding his calls, but her biological father showed up at her fan signing and twice at that.

Her phone rang. Kaya looked at her phone and showed a faint smile. The familiar name was saying warm words to her.

[Cho Min Joon: I don’t believe in Santa Claus, but I believe you’ll overcome this.]

Kaya put her phone to her chest and leaned back in her chair. Her eyes were shaking due to her fatigue.

“Okay… I will.”