Chapter 344 - You Can’t Touch Pitch Without Being Defiled (5)

It wasn’t just Laura that cast a pitiful glance at Brian. Anyone who cared about Brian in that place felt the same way. At last, he began to chew Kaya and Min-joon’s dishes. He slowly moved his chin up or down before stopping in no time. He didn’t say anything, though. So, Laura cautiously placed her hand on his shoulder and asked, “Brian, what’s wrong? Anything wrong with the food?”

Brian didn’t answer. He stared into the air instead of gazing at the dish, Laura, or the kitchen counter. Like a blind man, his two eyes wandered from place to place. It seemed that he was in utter confusion, with an audible scream coming out of his mouth.

In short, he was overwhelmed by Kaya’s dish that he thought was perfect. The moment his tongue touched the venison, he immediately felt that its texture, which was softly torn when he chewed it, the sour and refreshing scent of the Juniper berry seasoning on the outside of the meat, and the red wine sauce gently mixed with the orange scent of clementine puree were just perfect.

He could find no fault with the taste and texture of the venison. Although this kind of recipe was far from original, it was almost impossible for an ordinary chef to bring out this kind of taste with the existing ingredients.

Aside from its harmony and artistry of the ingredient, Kaya’s cuisine was delicious. He found Min-joon’s cooking elaborate and meticulous while Kaya’s dish clearly showed her cooking talent. A delicious dish. A dish that brought out the best taste from the simple recipe. He was convinced that in terms of taste alone, this dish was the most delicious in the world even though there might be numerous dishes with similar tastes.

‘Wow, I just can’t believe how Kaya Reuters could make such a delicious dish like this…’

He was troubled by several things at the moment. He heard often that she was a talented chef. According to the rumors, she was once a young girl who cultivated her cooking skills in the market, which were excellent enough to make her win the Grand Chef competition last year. So, he felt her life, which was like that of a female warrior in the movie, was beautiful.

But he never thought she was so competent like this. Of course, he was aware she was good at cooking, but he just thought she was as good as him, or a tad better than him. But he had never imagined even in his dream that she was so good a chef like this.

Obviously, he could not surpass Kaya’s cooking skills. He felt almost the same way when he saw Min-joon cooking. So, he was rather confused when he heard Min-joon muttering ‘I wanted to make a dish that I could show to Kaya proudly,’ because as far as he knew, Min-joon’s cooking level was way beyond that of any other chef at his age, including Kaya.

But at this moment, Brian fully understood why Min-joon said that because she could make such a wonderful dish while she was drunk. Maybe it was because she was drunk that she could come up with such a fantastic recipe. But that meant she had such great potential because it was impossible for any chef to develop this kind of recipe unconsciously.

That was why Kaya and Min-joon were a great couple who could click with each other so well.

Brian had no choice but to realize it once again. He wondered if he could find chefs at his or her age who could be as competent as the two. They met by chance and also fell in love by chance. As if to prove that, their cooking was flawless from start to finish. Besides, he discovered another important thing.

‘Yeah, her cooking style looks a lot like his.’

Brian wore a bitter expression on his face. The final results they pursued or the way they cooked were different from each other a lot. But in terms of the fundamental skills, Min-joon and Kaya’s dishes had a lot in common in terms of them bringing out the taste. For example, when they added a puree made of fruits or vegetables to the meat or created a variety of textures from one meat, they showed a common approach.

Just as Min-joon chopped the duck tenderloin and then put the legs on it, Kaya cooked the venison in the Sous vide machine before roasting its skin in a steak style again. Her method wasn’t a very special process, nor was it necessary. But she stuck with that method. It meant she wasn’t happy to bring out only one taste of the meat. The fact that the two affected each other in cooking was clearly visible in such a trifling area.

“Brian,” Laura whispered.

“I’m fine. I know what’s going on.”

Brian replied in a subdued voice at her reminder. The participants in the Grand Chef for this season gathered around Kaya to gain her attention avidly as if they were looking at a world top star on whom they had a crush.

Watching Kaya and Min-joon in the limelight, Brian looked down.

“Man, they are making me so miserable.”

“You don’t have to think so,” said Laura.

Despite her comforting words, he didn’t look good.

She said with a sigh, “Hey, try to look bright. You are a team leader here. If you start your mission today at lunch, your team members will trust and follow you only. How can you beat her if you are already dejected like that?”

“I know…”

“I don’t think this is the first time you were dumped by a girl, given your age. Just stay calm. If you don’t want to look miserable like you said, you had better forget about her once and for all. That’s the best option for you now. Just cleanly break with her.”

When she said that, he clenched his fist. He knew he lost too much. But he didn’t want to lose in the final contest. Brian mumbled something, “Yeah, let me forget about her completely.”

He looked at Laura and said, “I’m going to win by all means this time.”

She shrugged and said, “I already told you that you should not look defeated from the beginning. But I didn’t say you could beat her.”

***

By lunch time, all the participants had to stand in front of the kitchen counters. Watching dozens of production crew moving around here and there with cameras, Min-joon quietly reminisced about what happened right here one year ago. At that time, he stood right there before the kitchen countertop as one of the participants, but he was here as an observer now.

Standing next to Min-joon, Kaya looked at the participants who were grouped into several teams. Their team leaders didn’t yet enter the hall.

Min-joon asked in a calm voice, “I won’t be here again for some time after today.”

“You bet. So, I’m definitely going to win. I don’t want to leave this place as a loser in my memory.”

“I guess your team members are pretty much relieved to have you as their leader.”

“Well, I haven’t lost since I’ve been to the Grand Chef competition. Oh, I think I failed in one mission. You helped me at that time.”

“It’s you who asked for my help back then. I was a little surprised at that time because I didn’t know you would choose me and ask for my help.”

“Well, it’s because I thought you were close to me.”

Certainly, he would have felt uncomfortable hearing her saying that only a few months ago, but this time, he didn’t because they were much closer now.

He opened his mouth in a soft voice, “Thank you for calling me back then. I don’t think there are not many times when I found myself focused on cooking as much as I did back then.”

“You must have been hooked on me back then, right?”

“Well, I don’t know about that.”

“Hey, why are you trying to be innocent? You really did. I could feel you glancing at me oftentimes everyday. That’s why I sent you a signal that you should not have a crush on me, though it was meaningless anyway.”

He annoyingly looked at her as if he was not persuaded by what she just said.

Of course, he was conscious of Kaya a lot at that time, but the reason he did so at that time was a little different from now. But he couldn’t tell her about it, so he kept letting out a sigh.

At that moment, the cameraman began to turn the camera lens to them, so they naturally stopped talking anymore.

Shortly afterward, Kaya was called out, and Martin cast a glance at Min-joon.

When Min-joon asked why, Martin pointed to the door for a moment instead of answering. Eventually, he was also called out, and Martin smiled at a cameraman.

The cameraman said, “I think it would be okay for me to interview you for a minute.”

“What kind of interview?” Min-joon asked.

“It won’t be long. Are you available?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Who do you think will win?”

Min-joon smiled at his question because the answer was too obvious. No matter what they thought, he had only one answer to that question, given his romantic relationship with Kaya.

“Of course, Kaya.”

“Wow, you answer without any hesitation.”

“Why do you think I had a crush on Kaya?”

“Well, I’m not an expert on romance, so let me think about it for a moment. Because she is pretty?”

“Of course, she’s pretty, but she has lots of outstanding strength. For example, let me mention her talent. I’ve never seen anyone more talented in cooking than her. And I think my perception like that won’t change in the future. She is a chef that I have the most expectations for in the world. I’m not saying this because she is my girlfriend.”

He was serious because he knew clearly what the future held up for her.

So, in Martin’s eyes, his confidence in her seemed even mysterious because he wondered how it was possible for him to place total trust in her like that.

Min-joon said in a calm voice, “I can tell you this clearly. She is going to leave this place as the winner today.”

But Martin thought to himself, ‘Man, he’s doing both sides of the conversation. How can he be so sure?’