Chapter 183 - Chapter 183: Forestallment (4)

“… She’ll pass down everything to him?”

Alicia looked at Chen in disbelief. Chen shrugged with a relaxed face.

“It’s just a rumor going around. There’s no basis to it. But… doesn’t it sound pretty convincing?”

“Yeah. I feel like I’ve heard something similar. People are saying that once Rachel rose passes away, the Rose Island restaurants will all be passed down to the head chefs. In that case, that could mean Cho Min Joon could get the one in Rose Island…”

“It’s a little too early to be making assumptions, and we don’t know if it’ll just be the Venice location or everything.”

“If what you’re saying is true…”

Alicia looked at Cho Min Joon with a surprised face. It was possible that that young man could take over Rose Island. It was just a guess for now, but it made her excited.

“I did hear that Jeremy has high expectations for that man.”

“… That picky old man?”

“I guess he’s such a flawless gem that not even he can find a flaw.”

Alicia put the last piece of pasta in her mouth. The juices from within the jelly washed away her palate, and she smiled.

“And the jeweler is Rachel Rose.”

***

The tasting came to an end. There was a voting for the dishes, but there was no event announcing the winners in front of the public because it wasn’t a TV show. Rachel announced that the results would be announced at Rose Island, and that led to an expected situation.

“… Kaya hasn’t changed.”

Chloe spoke with a face that was uncertain whether to smile or frown. Cho Min Joon scratched his chin with an embarrassed face. Rachel told Kaya and Chloe that they could take a trip to Rose Island if they wanted. So they entered the hall, and in that small space, the inevitable meetings were rough.

“… Your makeup is so thick.”

“That’s okay. It’s pretty.”

“It’s not even that pretty.”

Ella spoke with a dazed face. As soon as Kaya met Ella, they naturally turned hostile as if they immediately knew how to deal with each other. Kaya heard about Ella through Cho Min Joon, and Ella had already heard about Kaya as well.

And the kitchen staff all watched with interest. Even Rachel and Lisa watched by, but the two of them didn’t mind anybody. Ella was young and so was Kaya. But in a different sense…

“I took 2nd place as the prettiest chef in America.”

But Ella didn’t back down. She confidently said what was on her mind.

“You didn’t get 1st place though. I got prettiest in class in kindergarten.”

“Hey, look at her.”

Kaya opened her mouth while pointing at Chloe.

“Do you think you can be prettier than her?”

First place was Chloe. After all, compared to Kaya, she had a pure charm to her. Of course, it wasn’t based on an accurate survey, but Kaya even bragged about it to Cho Min Joon. ‘Don’t forget. You’re dating the second prettiest girl in the industry.’

Ella glanced over at Chloe. She wriggled her lips with a surprised face. She had a reason to be snotty to Kaya, but she had no reason with Chloe. She didn’t want to be mean either. In the end, Ella went to Cho Min Joon and held his hand.

“Uncle. That woman keeps harassing me.”

“Let go of his hand. That’s my man.”

Kaya walked over and tried to get Ella away, but Ella held onto Cho Min Joon’s hand tightly and refused to let go. Cho Min Joon smiled bitterly and looked at Kaya.

“Kaya, Ella’s a kid. Don’t get so mad.”

“Whose side are you on? Mine or hers?”

“I just don’t want to see my girlfriend fighting with a kid.”

“… You’re making me speechless.”

Kaya backed off with a sad face. Ella stuck out her tongue at her, but the fight didn’t commence. Lisa spoke in a strict tone, “Ella, come here.”

“… I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I didn’t say I was scolding you. But if you stay there, I will. Come here.”

Ella let go of Cho Min Joon with a dejected face and walked toward Lisa. While Lisa disciplined her, Rachel coughed and got everybody’s attention.

“It looks like you all enjoyed the appetizer. Let’s move on to revealing the results. Should I drag it on or just tell you right now?”

Havier shouted.

“Just tell us now, please!”

“I knew it. Young people are so impatient. In that sense, Havier, you’re last.”

“… Pardon?”

Havier looked blank for a second before he smiled as if he knew it was a lie.

“Come on, Chef. Stop tasting. Why am I last?”

“Your anglaise with coffee foam wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t’ impactful. It was more of an amuse-bouche than anything.”

“… That’s a detailed explanation for a joke.”

“It’s not a joke. Good work. I’m sorry, but you won’t get the section you want.”

In response, Janet’s face lit up. It was only her and Havier who wanted the appetizer section, and the fact that he was last meant that she would be the one to pick the appetizer section.

Janet smiled and spoke to Havier, “Thanks for the appetizer section.”

“… Damn it!”

Havier sat in his chair with a disappointed face. At this point, it was a matter of who came 1st. Kaya rested her chin on Cho Min Joon’s shoulder and whispered.

“Are you confident you can get 1st place?”

“… I am, but I want 2nd place.”

“No. Get 1st.”

“Then I have to do molecular cooking.”

“That’s fun. Learn lots and make something for me later.”

Cho Min Joon didn’t answer. He simply looked at Rachel restlessly. Rachel opened her mouth.

“3rd place is Anderson. Good work. I enjoyed your dish the most. It was the perfect vauquelin.”

“Thank you.”

Anderson answered calmly. He didn’t look happy or sad. Since he lost in a competition, he normally would’ve felt disappointed, but as long as Cho Min Joon didn’t take 2nd place and choose the pasta section, that section was his.

At this point, Janet looked nervous. If she took 1st place, she couldn’t take the appetizer section. She didn’t hate molecular cooking, but there was one thing she learned in the last 10 days. Molecular cooking required great attention to detail, and that was…

‘So annoying.’

Molecular cooking was scientific. That meant that the slightest difference in amount could ruin a dish. Of course, that applied to baking as well, but in the case of molecular cooking, there were many other issues.

In the case of Cho Min Joon’s jelly pasta, he had to use a syringe or hose to insert air to get the noodles out. In Janet’s case, she often made mistakes and ended up with many broken noodles.

When doing molecular cooking, they had to be very careful as if they were doing surgery. Compared to other sections, it required a lot of energy and stamina. Cho Min Joon whispered to Kaya.

“If I do molecular cooking, I’ll be too tired to even meet up with you.”

“I don’t say anything when I get called here and there.”

“This is different.”

“Stop being a baby. I’ll recharge you when you’re tired. Like this.”

Kaya kissed Cho Min Joon on the cheek. Cho Min Joon gulped with a surprised face. Even though Chloe had given up, he was worried she would still feel hurt if she saw. Cho Min Joon mumbled in a quiet voice, “People are watching. What are you doing?”

“I’m charging you. And since when do you care about what others think?”

He had nothing to say. Cho Min Joon looked at Rachel. Rachel smiled and said, “Are you done with your love quarrel?”

“… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry. Love is good for artists, and it’ll especially help when you do molecular cooking.”

“Haha, you make it sound like I’m going to be in charge of molecular cooking.”

Rachel answered with a smile.

“Congratulations, you’re 1st place.”

***

“… I’ve never felt so sad about winning 1st place before.”

Cho Min Joon mumbled in a sad voice. It was evening. Cho Min Joon was at Kaya’s dorm, but it wasn’t just them. Anderson, Chloe, and Kaya were there as well.

It couldn’t be helped. Chloe was using the same house as her agent, Anderson lived with Amelia and Fabio, and Cho Min Joon lived with Rachel. Of course, they didn’t hate having guests, but it wasn’t comfortable for them.

So Kaya’s dorm was the best place for them to go. Kaya took a bite of a slice of cheesy pizza and opened her mouth.

“Why? Molecular cooking is awesome. Most people can’t do it if they wanted because they don’t have the equipment, and you can choose which cook you want. It’s great being 1st place.”

“… I wanted to do main or pasta.”

“Don’t even think about it. Pasta’s mine.”

“Shut it, 3rd place.”

Anderson was about to say something with an angry face, but he shut up and drank his Cola. Chloe smiled and said, “I’m so happy that the four of us are together. It reminds me of old times.”

“That sounds weird. It hasn’t even been that long since the competition.”

“But I feel proud. So much has happened.”

“Yeah. Kaya became the Cinderella chef of the country, and Chloe is now the prettiest chef in America.”

“… Stop it. It’s embarrassing.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. Kaya keeps bragging about coming in 2nd.”

Kaya choked on her pizza and jabbed Cho Min Joon in the side. She flushed and shouted, “When did I do that? I never bragged!”

“You even bragged to Ella today.”

“I was just playing along with her childish games. That’s what you’re supposed to do with children!”

“It didn’t seem like that. You were just both children.”

In response, Kaya glared at him. Chloe quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, I’m glad Kaya has a hotel room. I was worried we’d have to roam around on the streets.”

“I”ll probably find my own place soon because I’ll be here for a while, but it’s so expensive around here.”

“It’s hard to find anywhere under 1000 dollars here. It’s better if you share a room with someone… But that’s weird if you don’t know the other person.”

“The only thing I ask for is that they don’t have cockroaches.”

Kaya spoke with an anxious face. She looked back at Cho Min Joon.

“I want Min Joon to be with me. He’ll catch them for me.”

“No. I”ll run away.”

“… Scaredy-cat.”

Kaya grumbled with a sad face. Chloe opened her mouth.

“My agent is getting married soon, so she’ll be leaving soon too. They already bought a house, so I have to look for another place soon.”

“Yeah. I wish we could all live together.”

Silence followed. Kaya rolled her eyes with a dazed face and slowly opened her mouth.

“Min Joon, you’re not going to keep living at Rachel’s house, right?”

“No, I’ll have to move out when I can. I can’t keep putting her out.”

“Anderson, what about you…?”

Kaya, who was looking at Anderson with a mysterious gaze, continued as if she got an idea.

“You said you want to move out from your parents’ place, too.”

“Yeah, I did. So? Wait…”

Kaya nodded. She looked at the three of them with twinkling eyes.

“Do you want to live together?”