Chapter 206 - One, two, three (1)

Autumn in California wasn’t that cool. It was the boundary of autumn and summer by Korean weather. A subtle warmth turned into heat in the kitchen. Since the heat was coming from several gas stoves at the same time, it was natural in some way.

But Kaya couldn’t feel the heat right now. The wind from the air conditioner in the kitchen was cold enough, but it wasn’t just because of it. She was too tense to feel the heat because her heart became full when she imagined what was coming pretty soon.

“Kaya, are you okay? You seem nervous.”

George, who was practically the head chef of this restaurant, spoke.

Kaya shook her head slightly and said, “I’m not okay. I’m so nervous.”

“I’m sorry. I wish I had more time to cook your dish more.”

“I don’t want to be upset about my lack of skills. So, keep your mouth shut. Don’t add insult to injury.”

“You just said you didn’t want to be upset, but your voice is pretty harsh.”

Kaya didn’t answer and looked at the hall. How long had it been? Watching the trio approaching the table, Kaya opened her mouth in a tense voice.

“I will be back.”

“Don’t worry about the kitchen and enjoy your meal. I’ll take care of the work here.”

In fact, there was nothing to worry about. What she did as a rule was to provide an attractive front to the customers. But today it was different. There were as many as four menus entirely prepared with Kaya’s recipes among the dishes at the restaurant today.

Kaya went out alone and sat down. She looked at the three and smiled pleasantly.

“Thank you all for coming on my first historic day.”

“I don’t have any reason to reject the meal you treat us to.”

“Anderson, thank you for coming, but don’t be nasty. I think I’ll regret inviting you.”

Kaya slightly frowned.

Min-joon opened his mouth by pressing on her forehead with his fingers.

“Don’t frown. You’ll get wrinkles.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“How can’t I? You’re my girlfriend.”

When he said that, Kaya smiled and kissed his cheek.

Watching them, Anderson and Chloe next to him let out a deep sigh.

They sighed for a different reason, but they had one thing in common. They felt the couple were out of the line. Chloe quickly changed the topic.

“I know you guys are hitting it off very well. Kaya, can you explain the menu?”

“Oh, yes. It’s basically a three-course, but in fact, the customers here don’t care about the course. They just order it.”

“Don’t they care about the course?”

Anderson looked surprised as if he heard something weird.

Kaya said with a nod, “As you know, this restaurant doesn’t have the image of a high-end restaurant. So, customers who come here don’t expect a decent fine dining. It doesn’t mean that there is no three-course menu here, but they usually have a separate menu. The price difference is not so big.”

“So, what’s the menu you made?”

“Appetizer, main, dessert. One each. The course’s name is Original Kaya Course.”

“It sounds rustic.”

Kaya looked sharply at Andeson for his comment then sighed. In fact, Kaya also thought it wasn’t a very attractive name.

Looking at the other two, she opened her mouth.

“Anyway, I want to let you know that what I can claim as my menu for the first time is on the menu. I’m glad to share the day with you.”

“Well, I’m more honored as I’m served by a head chef like you.”

Chloe responded with a soft smile. While the bread was served as pre-dinner bread, Chloe asked Anderson and Min-joon gently, “By the way, is it okay you guys are going outside like this? You’ve got only two days to go before the opening.”

“I’m on vacation today. I’m going to be really busy after opening, so I got the approval, with the assumption that this is my last vacation.”

“Huh? You don’t have any holidays in your restaurant?”

“Well, Sunday is a regular off day, but I have to check my supervisor’s schedule, so I can’t take a break at all. Instead, I have to think about the new menu or something like that.”

“You’re really busy.”

“Well, is there anyone here who is not busy?”

Min-jun shrugged, tearing the bread and putting it in his mouth. Of course, it wasn’t particularly delicious.

Chloe opened her mouth as if something came to her mind.

“Come to think of it, Min-joon, I saw that picture. In the picture, you posed with Rose Island head chefs and Ella. But only Ella really stood out in my eyes.”

“I mean, almost all the reactions in Starbook were about Ella.”

“Who knows she might be the mascot of Rose Island HQ?”

“Maybe.”

“That nasty little girl…”

Kaya frowned and grumbled as if she shuddered to think of Ella.

Min-joon gently pinched Kaya’s cheek with a smile.

“Hey, don’t be upset because of that little girl.”

“It’s because you and Chloe think the world of her when you are so mean to me.”

“Isn’t it because Ella likes Min-joon?” Chloe asked.

“I don’t like it, either. If she’s a kid, she should like her peers. How dare she like my boyfriend?”

Kaya replied, pouting at Chloe’s question.

Right at that moment, the first dish was served. It was soup.

Min-joon, who sniffed the smell slightly, looked back at Kaya and asked, “I think you made it with pumpkin and fruit. Is it a peach? No, it’s a pear, isn’t it?”

“Oh, your sense of smell is more delicate than before.”

“Because I always practice.”

Although Min-joon tried not to express his opinion, he felt pressured by the expectations and gaze of those who were hooked on his perfect palate. In fact, what he had was only a system, not a perfect palate. So, he had no choice but to try to analyze and disassemble the taste, so much so that he was more obsessive than others. The way people would look at him wouldn’t change, so he thought it would be the best option for him to train his tongue so that he could get closer to a perfect palate.

The funny thing was that such efforts didn’t go anywhere. The more he tried to feel it, the more he felt his taste became more sensitive. He developed the sense of smell, in particular. To be precise, it was his sense of smell that he noticed most in the process. It was quite natural, given that the sense of taste and the sense of smell were closely connected, but for him, it was an unexpected development.

“It’s delicious.”

Min-joon nodded after having a bite. The soup clearly showed who a chef named Kaya was. It had a rough and crude look, but it also had a soft texture and warmth hidden inside, with maximum consideration for those who eat it instead of being conceited. It was such a dish.

Min-joon slowly opened his mouth.

“It reminds me of the conversation we had in the past. Kaya, you said you wanted a restaurant where even poor gangsters could come without hesitation. Looking at this menu, I feel you still have the same heart for them.”

Since Kaya herself was a poor gangster, she must know their sadness better than anyone else. Min-joon grabbed her shoulder for a moment and released it.

Kaya said in a calm voice, touching the shoulder that he touched, “Well, I don’t want to serve dishes that make people conceited. Min-joon, you said you liked a restaurant where you could use good ingredients to your heart’s content, right?”

“Well, sort of. You know it’s so frustrating if you can’t use delicious ingredients because you have to match the price. So, I want to use all the ingredients that exist in the world.”

“One thing for sure is that your cooking skills should be excellent. They don’t like mediocre cooks to make expensive dishes with expensive ingredients.”

“Well, you can make a $1,000 dish with 100-dollar ingredients.”

“Try your best. Let me cheer you up,” Kaya said, smiling brightly.

The chefs who glanced at Kaya’s table in the kitchen felt the way she spoke was very unfamiliar to them. In the kitchen, she always behaved like a hedgehog with thorns. How could she smile so nicely at her boyfriend?

Of course, Kaya didn’t feel that the kitchen guys were looking at her strangely.

She was just thrilled while talking with her friends.

Only now could she talk to her ‘friends.’ In fact, before she won the Grand Chef, Kaya was just a loner who didn’t have any friends, let alone a supporter.

“Awesome, Kaya. You’re the first among us to serve your own dish to the customers.”

She really valued their compliment. She never expected the day would come when she had a good conversation with good friends like this in such a good place. So, she could not be happier at this moment.

Kaya slowly opened her mouth, “I could make it because you guys supported me. Actually, I once gave up for a while. It was harder than I thought to come up with a recipe, and I even felt like I was a kid playing a chef rather than a chef. I appreciate your help Min-joon, in particular.”

“Well, you don’t have to thank me for the obvious.”

“If I don’t even say this, I really have nothing I can do for you, guys. So, just shut up and listen when I say I thank you.”

“Hey, don’t you think you’re too harsh as someone who is grateful to us?” quipped Min-joon.

Kaya hugged his neck with a strange smile. Her whispering tickled his neck.

“You want me to say it more harshly?”

“Hey, what are you doing? Don’t you see that there’s a lot of people in front of you?” said Anderson in an annoyed voice. Chloe fanned her face with her hand awkwardly while those at the tables nearby were watching this famous couple showing their love. Even the chefs in the kitchen were watching them.

As if she was surrendering, Kaya released her arms from Min-joon’s neck and raised both hands.

“Would you turn your eyes away from us? It looks like you guys like to watch us secretly.”

“Nope, you guys are not conscious of others’ gazes at all. If you kiss openly like this, you guys will end up being on the internet again. There is no way you can avoid it.”