Chapter 313 - Dangerous Cohabitation (1)

Deborah mentioned it after thinking about it carefully, but Min-joon was rather calm when he heard it.

He looked at her and said, “So, have you ever lifted your heels?”

Actually, she had never thought about it.

When she looked embarrassed, at a loss for words, he continued, “I think you are closer to that position than me.”

“Why do you think so?”

“You’re a head chef. You’ve been with Rachel for a lot longer than me, and of course, you’ve learned a lot more. So, I feel like you want me to be overly greedy if you ask me to lift my heels when I’m only a beginner in this field.”

“Man, you’re trying to outwit me, Min-joon. Can’t you take my word as meaning that I have high expectations for you?”

She spoke sullenly as if she was complaining.

He said, shrugging, “You may think that way, but you can look at it from my perspective. Anyway, tell me. Have you lifted your heel before?”

“No. I didn’t even think about it.”

“Why?”

“You’re not asking because you don’t know. I was really struggling to maintain the Michelin one star, so I couldn’t afford to think about it. Me taking over the role of Rose Island’s general manager? That’s too much for me.”

“I feel the same. I’ve been appointed a demi chef for about half a year. So, I’ve got to go a long way before I can even dream of becoming the general manager of all the branches. I prefer to focus on the roads and hills in front of me rather than the top of the mountain. Besides, our startline is different. I’m different from other head chefs. I think I’m greedy if I covet that position.”

“Well, if you are competent enough to take over it, you can naturally covet it. You can’t say it’s your excessive greed.”

But he didn’t respond to her remarks. He knew that she was giving him more generous grades than he thought. In fact, most of the people in the world tended to give him better grades when he evaluated himself. And he knew he was dependent on the ability called a “system window”, but other people only thought he was a genius with a perfect palate.

Min-joon moved up and down his lips. Now he also wanted to trust himself as much as others trusted him. Instead of suppressing his own ambition, he wanted to realize his cherished aspirations fully.

And now, he finally opened his mouth. The water that filled the dam of his aspirations overflowed a little.

“I don’t have that ability yet. But someday I will have it by all means.”

***

Food truck and the road to San Francisco.

As always, it was boring to drive on the road. There was no music playing, nor was there an interesting conversation going on inside the truck. And not without reason, since Anderson, Janet, Garrick, and Antonio were in the truck.

Garrick and Antonio didn’t have a calm personality, but since Janet and Anderson kept their mouths shut, they couldn’t even talk.

How long had Min-joon been driving? Finally, Janet grabbed the handle hanging over the passenger seat and opened her mouth.

“Hey, Anderson, I heard you quarreled with Min-joon. Is that true?”

As soon as Anderson heard that, he frowned and kept being silent. He didn’t want to reply.

But Janet didn’t necessarily want his reply either unless it was sincere.

“Hey, look at your age. Why are you still trying to find fault at that age? Just be mature!”

“What the heck? Are you really in the position to tell that to me when I’ve been to the police station because of you?”

“Yep, I think I can. Why? Do you want me to praise you for it?”

“I don’t want to talk with you anymore. Do you know you’re now being hysterical like Kaya?”

“Oh, Kaya, she is attractive. I don’t hate her. If you ask if you want to make friends with her, that’s a different story.”

“Who would want to make friends with you?”

When Anderson made such a sarcastic remark, she tried to rebuke but remained silent instead.

There was another long silence between them. Antonio and Garrick in the back seat couldn’t say anything, looking at each other.

Anderson slowly opened his mouth, “Do I look like a piece of crap?”

Janet seemed to understand how complex thoughts he must have had when he said that.

She looked into every layer of his thoughts. She read and felt it.

Then she said, “Well, being a piece of crap has its own charm.”

“Well, crap is crap. I don’t want anything like what you just have said. I don’t want to look petty like a shrimp, or I don’t want to be greedy like a shark.”

“Then what do you want to be?”

“Nothing. I’m not stupid enough to think about it.”

“You look like a shark,” she quipped.

He glanced at her slightly then grabbed the steering wheel again and looked ahead.

He asked in a blunt voice, “Why?”

“Because you are greedy.”

“Did you say I’m greedy?”

“Yeah. And I like that greed of yours because you keep eating even when you are full. Sharks have nothing to fear in the sea. The way sharks make it in the sea is much better than planktons just floating around without hunting anything.”

“Maybe you’re right. But people don’t like sharks. You know it just by watching the movies.”

“But there are people who like sharks. I like sharks, too.”

Anderson did not respond to her for a long time. He had a lot of thoughts in his mind, but he couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. All kinds of emotions and thoughts got intertwined in his head.

Finally, Anderson opened his mouth.

“I’ve been walking this path since I was a kid. It’s not my choice, but my parents’ choice. As you know, I grew up in an environment that everyone envies.”

“I would swear at you if you want to show off, but I don’t think you don’t. Okay, go ahead.”

“If there were a main character in this world, I thought he would be me because I was fully prepared. I thought all I had to do was just walk. But…”

“You want to say you changed your thinking after seeing Min-joon, right?”

When she said that, he said nothing because he would feel so shabby and cowardly if he admitted it. She didn’t blame him for that. In fact, she understood his feelings, too. When it came to the density of inferiority, jealousy, and ambition, she thought she could beat anybody.

“I understand. Min-joon really sucks because he can get something great done casually as if it’s natural to him”

“Well, I don’t want to say as far as that.”

“You don’t think he sucks?”

“Of course, he sucks.”

“You are on the same page as mine then.”

While he was looking ahead with his eyes narrowing, Janet opened her mouth.

“To be honest, I think you suck, too. You’re always whining when you have everything. Of course, you might disagree with me from your point of view. But that’s the same case with Min-joon.”

“So, you want me to stop complaining and understand him?”

“No, what I mean is I’m going to swear at you if you keep acting like this. Isn’t it fair?”

She teased him, grinning. He sighed at that.

Janet said in a calm voice, “But I’m still better than you.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because at least I haven’t stuck my tail between my legs like a defeated dog. I’ve been growing big while you’re whining and complaining. I don’t want to act like a nerd like you.”

At that moment, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Biting his lips, he reflected on what she just said. A defeated dog. He couldn’t refute her remarks that he stuck his tail between his legs even before he started the fight.

He opened his mouth with a determined voice, “Thank you for nagging me. I’m jolted by what you have said. I’ve got to overcome my obstacle.”

“Who? Min-joon? Or the world?”

Anderson replied as if muttering, “Myself.”

***

When they cited rich cities in the United States, San Francisco was usually singled out, along with New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Just like those living in Los Angeles, the quality of life of those in San Francisco wasn’t that high compared to their income. Although their basic salaries were high, all kinds of prices were also high.

Even though Rachel booked it, Min-joon, who got accustomed to the expensive rental fees in Los Angeles, was shocked to hear from her about the tab for the hotel rooms.

Was it because of the expensive accommodations in San Francisco? On that day, Rachel opened her mouth in a relatively strict voice.

“For three days from today, we will be splitting.”

“Splitting?”

“I plan to divide you into three teams. Two demi chefs will use one truck, and I and one demi chef will use the second truck, and Raphael and another demi chef will use the last one. Cooks can go and join the demi chef they belong to. Got it?”

When she said that, everyone suddenly became noisy. Min-joon looked at the others with a slightly tense expression. Depending on who was partnering with whom, the difficulty of this mission would be a lot different. While he was looking around, his eyes met with Anderson’s. As if they read each other’s mixed feelings, they turned away soon.

Janet asked, looking at Rachel, “How do you divide the teams?”

“I’ve already divided the teams. Havier, you’re partnering with Raphael. Janet, you’re coming with me. And let the other two move together. Got it?”

“Me and Min-joon?” Anderson asked with a trembling voice and looked at Min-joon.

Min-joon also looked at him slightly then turned to Rachel with an unease expression.

Looking at them, Rachel said in a firm voice, “I hate reversing what I said. Why? Is there any reason why you guys can’t partner up?”

“We had a quarrel.”

Anderson replied without any hesitation. Laughing awkwardly, Min-joon looked at him as if he was dumbfounded by his bold decision to reveal it to her.

But she asked, looking into Anderson calmly, “Do you think that you can’t work on the same food truck because you had a quarrel?”

“Yes, because it’s going to be hard for us to go hand in hand. It will be harder for us to serve better food for our customers.”