Chapter 182 - Chapter 182: Forestallment (3)

Chloe smiled while listening to Cho Min Joon’s shaking voice. She missed his eyes that shook when he was taken aback. She wanted to hear his cautious, friendly, soft, and deep voice.

The two of them tried to act like nothing happened after the Grand Chef, but that wasn’t possible. But that didn’t mean Cho Min Joon avoided Chloe’s calls. He was actually more caring, and he was cautious in responding to her texts more than ever.

And she was thankful for it. That meant Cho Min Joon cherished her very much. But at the same time, she felt pained. The fact that the person she liked was unable to be comfortable around her… wasn’t what she wanted.

“Long time no see. How have you been?”

So Chloe tried to sound as calm as possible. If Chloe happened to be a little stronger, she couldn’t be friendlier… But she didn’t. She couldn’t. Cho Min Joon sat next to Chloe and opened his mouth.

“What brings you here? You should’ve called.”

“I didn’t want you to get nervous. Your pasta is delicious. Wait, is it called jelly?”

“You can call it pasta. The jelly is just the ingredient.”

Chloe nodded and put the pasta in her mouth. Cho Min Joon thought for a moment. He wondered what he could say to break the awkwardness, but he didn’t think anything could change the vibe.

“Congrats. I heard you’re dating Kaya.”

“Yeah.”

“Just so you know, I’m not saying it just out of formality. I’m really happy for you. Both you and Kaya are precious friends to me.”

It didn’t look forced because Chloe truly felt that way.

When Chloe first found out Cho Min Joon and Kaya were dating, her heart broke. She couldn’t help it. Of course, she knew something was going on between the two, but that didn’t mean she felt anxious about it.

At first, she didn’t have the confidence to see them. It’s not like she did anything wrong, but she felt embarrassed. She even considered just stopping contacting them and living her life as usual. But she couldn’t do that. Just like she just told Cho Min Joon, they were precious friends.

So Chloe had no choice but to say.

“Don’t worry, Min Joon. I’m not as innocent and pure as you think. I’m going to take back as much as I gave you. So…”

Chloe’s lips stopped for a moment. Her lips sparkled due to the tint. But Cho Min Joon wasn’t staring at her lips for that reason. The slight tremor in her lips was saying much more than her words.

“Don’t worry about me from now on. It’s been a long time. So my heart has changed, too.”

“Okay.”

He gave a light answer, but that didn’t mean he thought lightly of Chloe. That was actually the most respect he could give her. It was clear that Chloe was worried that she would lose the friendship he had with them, and Cho Min Joon couldn’t step on that heart of hers.

At that moment…

“Min Joon! How could you type that on… Huh? Chloe?”

He heard a familiar voice from behind him. Cho Min Joon felt his heart sink for a moment and turned around awkwardly. It wasn’t like he was cheating, but just being with Chloe made him feel like he did something wrong.

Luckily, Kaya was so surprised by Chloe that she didn’t even notice Cho Min Joon’s face. Kaya teared up and pushed Cho Min Joon aside to sit next to Chloe.

“What’s this? You always said you were too busy to hang out with me.”

“S-sorry.”

“I was busy too, but still, I’m happy to see you.”

Kaya then gave Chloe a hug. Chloe wrapped her hands around Kaya with a surprised face. She didn’t know Kaya would appear. And she felt sorry whenever Kaya was around. After all, she was after his man once. Cho Min Joon looked at Kaya and asked, “I thought you were going to Dallas for the weekend. Are you back already? It’s still Sunday.”

“I came back early because I missed you.”

Kaya answered with a grin. Chloe watched them with a shocked face. Rather than jealously, she was just taken aback. Even if they were dating, she never expected Kaya to show her affection publicly.

“Min Joon! What are you doing?”

“… Oh, I’d better get back to work. Kaya, sorry. How about you catch up with Chloe? I’ll see you afterward.”

“Oh, I want some jelly, too.”

“Okay. Wait here.”

Kaya watched Cho Min Joon’s backside and smiled before looking back at Chloe.

“Now that you’re here, will I see you more often?”

“Yeah, of course. But I’m really busy. I barely managed to make time for this today. What about you, Kaya?”

“I’m busy, too… but I’m happy I’m not wasting my life away. You know how I lived before this.”

“I don’t think you wasted your life back then either. You worked hard, and that’s how you became a great chef. Also…”

Chloe glanced at Cho Min Joon. He was smiling at customers and explaining the menu. He must’ve forgotten about Chloe because his eyes were full of passion for cooking. Chloe calmly continued, “You have a great boyfriend now, too.”

“Hm… yeah. He’s pretty great, huh?”

“If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve snatched him right up.”

“No. Min Joon’s mine.”

Chloe smiled. She didn’t let her sadness show. She intended to keep her promise with Cho Min Joon. She couldn’t do anything about her real feelings, but she didn’t want anything to show on the outside.

“Yeah, Min Joon is all yours.”

***

“Whose dish was the most impressionable?”

Rafael opened his mouth. Beside him was Rachel, Jack, Lisa, and Ella. Ella looked like she wanted to answer, but she knew not to speak up in front of adults. Lisa pat Ella on the head and opened her mouth.

“To be honest, there wasn’t one person who left the strongest impression. After all, molecular cooking is a tricky thing. I’m sure those who tasted the dishes feel the same way. But if I have to pick out a difference, I should look for it in flavor rather than impression.

“Mom, I liked the jelly that Uncle made.”

Ella whispered in Lisa’s ear. She was such a sweet girl that Lisa kissed her on the cheek. Ella opened her eyes wide and opened her mouth.

“Which one did you like, Mom?”

“Hm…”

Lisa looked around at the empty plates. All four of them were good. The textures were good, and it was clear they researched hard for the recipes. But as a breadmaker, she felt like one of them stood out.

“I liked the saffron cream anglaise that Havier made. I think it’d go great with bread.”

“I didn’t like that.”

“That’s because you’re still young. You’ll be able to appreciate it later on in life.”

“… You always call me young. I’m all grown up.”

Ella puffed up her cheeks and stuck out her lip. Jack opened his mouth.

“I’ve never experienced molecular cooking before… But it was refreshing. I can see why Rachel’s interested in it. She’s never liked staying still and doing nothing.”

“So which one did you like the most?”

“I agree with Lisa. As a breadmaker, I can’t help but be drawn to cream.”

“I liked the film ravioli that Janet made. Film is something that’s hard to use as a beginner… So I’m proud that she attempted it. Rachel, which one did you like?”

Rachel opened her mouth.

“I…”

***

While Rachel and the others discussed the demi chefs’ dishes, there was another evaluation being held elsewhere. Of course, since this was a tasting event, everybody was evaluating the food.

But the two of them were different. A man and a woman in their 30s. They didn’t look like a couple, but they had a common characteristic. Their attitude about food.

First of all, they didn’t think after tasting the food like the others. First, they tried to appreciate the beauty of the dishes before enjoying the scent. And it was only after that that their tongues were blessed.

Their attitude about flavor was different, too. When normal people were discussing whether the food was good or bad, the two of them shared a conversation like this. The Asian man with a fedora on his bald head opened his mouth.

“Personally, I can tell a lot of work was put into this ravioli. Alicia, what do you think?”

“I can tell their decoration isn’t only beautiful but realistic, too. The baby greens around the side aren’t just there for decoration. They made up for the strange texture between the crispy peanuts and the mushy ravioli with the leaves. How clever and experienced. That female chef made this, right?”

“Yeah. Do you like it?”

“That’s a little iffy. To be honest, they learned molecular cooking in 10 days. That’s more impressive than anything. If you ask if it’s okay, I’d nod. If they can do this much in 10 days, imagine how good they’ll be when the restaurant opens. What’s interesting is…”

Alicia smiled. She looked at the plates on the table with interested eyes.

“These were all made by demi chefs, not the sous chef but the demi chefs. What my superiors said was right. There’s something different about Rose Island, Chen.”

“We’ve finally done it. We don’t have to say we’ve never been to the main Rose Island anymore.”

Chen’s eyes watered up. Alicia nodded.

“Yes, but I want to see with my eyes. The true side of the restaurant that has three stars going on four. I hope it’s still the same as before.”

“It’s Rachel Rose and Rafael Yoon. And there’s even the perfect palate, Cho Min Joon. Don’t you think they’ll do something great together?”

Chen put Cho Min Joon’s spaghetti in his mouth. He then trembled with happiness. He couldn’t find a single flaw in his spaghetti, lasagna, or his ravioli. The texture of the jelly and the seasoning of the ingredients. On top of that, even what he used as a garnish was worthy of a Michelin star restaurant.

“… Wow, this man definitely does have the perfect palate. How else could he express flavors like this? I think they could put Cho Min Joon’s dishes on the menu right now. As a real appetizer, not an amuse-bouche.”

“I’m surprised. If he can do this in 10 days at age 21… Imagine what he’ll do later on.”

“Rose Island has always had cooking geniuses. The reason why everyone from Rose Island succeeded is because they never accepted anyone who was lesser talented,” Chen mumbled in a shaking voice.

“But the only genius that Rachel recruited herself is Cho Min Joon. What do you think that means?”

“Does that mean he’s that talented?”

“Yeah. Her best pupil, and how do most mentors treat their best pupil?”

Alicia tilted her head, but it didn’t take long before her face looked surprised. She mumbled, “No way… Rose Island?”

“Rachel Rose is 60, and she has no children.”

Chen turned his head, and his eyes followed Cho Min Joon who was walking about. He continued in a meaningful voice, “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s thinking of passing everything down to him.”