Chapter 261 - Swallow, frog, maybe butterfly (3)

The next morning. Min-joon, Kaya, and Anderson were sitting around a table in a cafe.

After eating Cho Reggiano there, she nodded.

“Oh, this cafe cares about your guidance about the different maturation periods of cheese.”

“There are a lot of customers here. I guess the owner can afford to do so.”

“Well, at decent cafes or restaurants, they can use a lump of Parmigiano Reggiano for a few weeks. It’s hard to buy several pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano for just Cho Reggiano.”

“Can’t they make the cheese small or cut it to pieces?”

“They don’t usually do that. It’s cumbersome. You know well how hard it is. It’s hard even to cut just one. Besides, you can’t cut the cheese at random like they do in a factory.”

“Anyway, it feels good to see them making Cho Reggiano properly even at a cafe like this,” said Min-joon, smiling at Kaya and Anderson.

But Anderson said with a sigh, “Next time, I’ll make it, something like this.”

“Let me name your dish. How about Anderson rice cake?”

“I’m not going to make something like rice cake,” Anderson said angrily.

Min-joon smiled at him. Anyway, he felt good because he didn’t see any fatigue on Anderson’s face that he noticed earlier. He understood Anderson’s feelings. He was in a jealous mood when he discovered that Kaya and Anderson’s cooking skills went up to Level 8.

‘I guess that’s why we are friends because we can exchange feelings like this.’

At the same time, they were rivals, of course.

At that moment, a grandmother and a little girl dressed up in pretty dull clothes were entering the cafe. She was about Ella’s age. Shortly after the waitress left an order number on the table, she left a plate of Cho Reggiano in front of them.

‘Are they sharing the dessert?’

Min-joon thought so, but he was wrong. Only the girl was eating it. Her grandmother just smiled and watched her enjoying the dessert.

Watching them, Min-joon was suddenly moved to tears. Maybe he might be mistaken about them. The girl’s grandma might simply didn’t like cheese, or maybe she already ate something else. Maybe it was not because she didn’t have money but simply because she didn’t want to eat it.

Even if the two could afford two desserts, there were people who couldn’t do so in this society. Usually, Cho Reggiano was between $20 and $40 per plate. Given that they could buy a $5 large-size sandwich for two, they might feel Cho Reggiano was a luxurious dish.

“Hey, are you bothered by the two?” Kaya asked gently.

Min-joon was not the type who liked to meddle in other people’s affairs, but when it came to cooking, he was a generous philanthropist. Kaya could understand how he was feeling now.

He said in a bitter voice, “You once told me you wanted to make the poor people enjoy the dishes as good as those served at high-end restaurants, right?”

“I think I said something similar.”

“Well, sometimes I totally agree with you on that. But at the same time, there is something I feel uncomfortable about it. To make a cheap dish, you only have to use cheap ingredients, so in the end, you will have a lot of obstacles when you try to develop a new recipe. ”

“I know how you feel about it. As a matter of fact, I often think of it, too, these days.”

“How nice would it be if I could have my cake and eat it!”

Kaya and Min-joon sighed at the same time.

Looking at them, Anderson said in a sulky voice, “Hey, I’ve got an idea.”

“What’s that?” Kaya asked, frowning, as she could not understand.

But Anderson said firmly, “Let me repeat. I’ve got an idea.”

***

“Ah, Min-joon!”

Alex, the sales manager of Lascos Bakery, waved at him, smiling brightly. Min-joon also smiled at him then approached him and sat down next to him.

“Have I kept you waiting long?”

“No. I didn’t wait that long. By the way, I was surprised a lot because you rejected my offer so firmly that I thought you would never call me again. I was agonizing how to win your heart back…”

“Well, I changed my mind. As you know, parents have a responsibility for their children as much as they have the right to take care of them. I felt I was a bit irresponsible at the time.”

When Min-joon said that, Alex rolled his eyes upward as if he could not understand.

Min-joon said in a calm voice, “I’ve got a few conditions. If you can meet them, I’ll seriously consider your offer to use me as your model.”

“Sure. If you ask to pick the moon, I will gladly fly and pick it up for you. Please tell me about your conditions.”

“First of all, you have to make the dessert according to my recipe. You have to comply with the maturation period of the ingredients, but also, the way you cook it.”

“Oh, let me ask you this one. How about a mix? There’s no better way to cut prices than that.”

“But if you mix it, its taste is supposed to change, depending on the individual chef’s skills, after all. As you know, this is not like instant ramen or hot cake that you can make just by mixing a little water and turning off the heat after cooking. Of course, it’s good for those who are good at cooking, but I hope even those who are poor at cooking can also access it easily and cheaply.”

Alex nodded at his explanation.

“That’s a good suggestion. In fact, making delicious dishes cheap is an ideal goal that any food company pursues. What’s your second condition?”

“I hope that I can always check the status of the factory whenever I want. And until I am satisfied, I hope that you can keep revising the cooking process.”

“That’s not difficult, either. The best quality is really important.”

“Lastly, it’s the price.”

Min-joon’s eyes shone seriously as if he was firm on that condition. Because of his sharp gaze, Alex momentarily thought that Min-joon was trying to bring up his model fee. But he didn’t mention anything about it.

A little later, Min-joon opened his mouth in a heavy voice.

“I hope there are no people who can’t enjoy this because it’s expensive. Cho Reggiano is definitely a gourmet meal in terms of ingredients and cooking methods, but I want everyone to eat it when they want to. I thought your bakery could do it, so I decided to become a model.

You can always ask for my advice on the cooking method.”

“Yes. I understand. But you have not yet mentioned your model fee.”

“Oh, yes. The model fee. That’s important.”

Although he emphasized it, Min-joon seemed to be not so interested in it, given his detached gaze. But Alex was really curious whether he was really not greedy for money or he pretended not to be greedy. Unless he was not conscious of the cameraman who was filming his every move, he could not say that, as if he was not interested in money.

But Alex got the answer in no time.

Min-joon said in a quiet voice, “Make it cheap and delicious. It should be so delicious that even gourmets can feel the same way. So, please make sure all the customers can be happy about it.”

“… Min-joon, that’s not your model fee.”

At that question, Min-joon smiled at that moment. Alex had never seen such a great smile in his life. Min-joon said, “Well, people’s satisfaction is my model fee.”

“You mean you won’t receive your model fee?”

Alex felt great when he suggested he would be a free model for his bakery. But he began to agonize a bit when he pondered over it deeply. If they didn’t pay the model fee, they couldn’t claim any responsibility for Min-joon if something went wrong. Of course, as far as a model’s responsibility was concerned, it usually involved the model’s words or actions that could negatively affect the product.

But Min-joon nodded calmly. He didn’t want the model fee just because he was generous. In fact, he thought modeling for the bakery was sort of an investment.

It was perfectly okay for him to receive the model fee. It might be only a dollar of difference whether he received the model fee or not, but he didn’t want to receive it. Even if the difference was just one dollar, it was still there. So, it was more valuable for him to receive the support and love of the general public than focus on the model fee.

He was a star chef. To be precise, he was a chef known to the public. Not all of his personal life was exposed, but any information related to his life as a chef would be known anyway.

He wasn’t trying to use this for marketing. Even if he did, Rose Island would benefit, not him.

Of course, he would be happy about it, but there was one thing Min-joon wanted to have through his modeling activities.

“Sometimes, there are people who ask me about it. Most of them don’t know my situation in detail, but they asked me the reason I was on TV shows was because I wanted to make money. Lots of people asked that.”

In fact, those who asked such questions would never come to Rose Island, but Min-joon didn’t want people anywhere to misunderstand him or doubt his motivation. So, he wanted to use this occasion to make clear his intention.

“I cook because I want people to be happy with my food. Even if it’s an industrial product that comes out wrapped in plastic bags, I am willing to put my name on it if it’s really of good quality and can make them happy…”

“I thought you are not greedy, but you really are!” said Alex jokingly.

At the same time, he even felt goosebumps at the thought that Min-joon would already try to get hold of his intangible future value when he could make lots of money right now.

But Min-joon said with a bright smile, “I had to think about it because I’m greedy. People hate greedy people. So, I thought, ‘How should I get everything I want to have and make them smile at the same time?’ Then I got the answer. And my girlfriend…”

Having said that, Min-joon smiled for a moment before continuing, “That was Kaya’s dream. She wanted to let the poor eat as happy and satisfying meals as the wealthy. On the other hand, my goal was to make the best food out of the best ingredients in the world. Of course, Cho Reggiano alone would not realize Kaya’s dream of a cheap and perfect meal, but she and I have found some common goal here.”

“You bet… Well, I really don’t know how to respond in a situation like this.”

Min-joon and Alex could not sign the contract right away.

Min-joon’s contract terms and conditions were not difficult, but Min-joon’s promise he would not receive his model fee meant Alex needed a completely different contract from the current one.