Like Stacking Legos (part 3)
(Please note that the content of this Korean chapter is found in the old Webnovel chapters 650-651. They broke up the chapters along different points from the Korean chapters, hence the differing numbers.)
The opening of Lotus Bridge could be considered successful in its own way. Naturally, compared to the goal Jo Minjoon and Kaya were targeting, to call this a success would be embarrassing. However, the two of them have finally shed their greed. To be more accurate, they gave up excessive greed. One cannot expect to land everything on the first try, after all.
Rachel once told Jo Minjoon that she envied him because he could clearly see what he needed to do right in front of him.
At first, he did not understand the full weight of what she had said. Jo Minjoon thought, ‘Would it not be better to have already achieved what there is to achieve?’
However, realization of Rachel’s words dawned on him when he was bringing Rosa on board. A level 9 pâtissier! The moment when luck guided what he previously could not even conceive into his grasp was the instant he understood what Rachel had said.
Although it was just the first step, the pleasure he felt upon taking that step forward is difficult to express. It is a pleasure Rachel is no longer capable of feeling since she has already taken almost all the steps that are possible to take. Her last step is one she can probably take when she reaches level 10.
“One’s journey in cooking is a long one,” Jo Minjoon said in a low voice.
“Jill, what does success look like for you?”
They were currently having a simple staff team dinner1. Calling it a staff team dinner is a bit generous. Because where they were gathered was not a particularly special location, but rather, the hall after business was over. The chefs were having their own conversations and Jo Minjoon’s conversation partner was Jill. Jill scratched her head for a bit and then quietly said,
“Being recognized. Having a house everyone can tell is nice, driving a nice car, and having everyone thinking highly of me.”
“Has that always been your goal?”
“Mm… well.”
“A long time ago, I had thought I’d only want to be cooking.”
Now that he has come this far, he remembers his time as the most junior chef in only a bad light. However when he had first taken up that role, he had only felt happiness – even when being persecuted by his seniors. Because he had finally had his dream become reality, he felt pretty courageous and that he had made the most valuable choice in his life.
However, happiness derived from success is never the kind to last that long. The joy of finally having become a chef, even if it was as the most junior chef, quickly faded and he was soon faced with his insignificant reality.
Also, that still repeats to this day. When he had survived to the finals of Grand Chef, when he took 3rd place, when he received people’s praises, when he was scouted by Rachel, when he gained Jo Reggiano’s recognition…….
Where has that happiness gone?
“Seems like that’s no longer true.”
“That’s right. I’m no longer happy with cooking just ordinary food. I want to cook food that sends overwhelming shivers of feeling throughout the taster’s body.”
“More than anyone else’s cooking?”
“Mm…” Jo Minjoon got lost in his thoughts for a moments. It did not take him long to respond.
“A long time ago, I thought that quite often. The thought of becoming the best. It is not like I no longer have those thoughts. However, for me to want to become the best, I need to first want my cooking to be no worse than everyone else’s. To want there to be no faults with my cooking. I did think I wanted to surpass others a while back, but… these days, that thought is not so important.
“Is it because you wish to not feel jealous?”
“Is that how you think of it?”
Jo Minjoon smiled slightly. When he thinks about whether or not he is jealous, he honestly could not quite get it. Compared to a long time ago, he is indeed less conscious of what others think of him. It would not be a stretch to say that his confidence, which had hit rock bottom during his time as the most junior chef, had been fully restored.
‘Jealousy, huh…’
“Is Catherine sleeping?”
“Yeah. After whining for a while, she’s finally sleeping. Guess it’s true that kids want their mommy more than their daddy.”
“Even with that said, it’s your turn at night.”
“I know.”
Anderson grumbled and laid down on the bed. With both of them working, having one of them be Catherine’s primary caretaker is not actually possible. So the two of them has split the responsibility of taking care of Catherine by time of day.
But even with that agreement in place, it does not mean they can relax properly. Even when Janet leaves Catherine in Anderson’s care, she cannot immediately fall asleep. And there were many a time when she could not sleep properly because she felt guilt-ridden towards Anderson and worried about whether it was really okay to leave Anderson with the responsibility.
“Taking care of kids is hell, for sure.”
“Is that something a mom should be saying?”
“I’m putting up with it because we’re raising Catherine. If she was any other kid, I probably wouldn’t have been able to put up with it and given up.”
“How about stopping those unnecessary thoughts right there,” Anderson replied in an exhausted voice and turned off the lamp. The phone’s display Janet had been looking at abruptly began shining brightly. Anderson squinted and said, “Put the phone down. Let’s get some sleep. You need to get something done?”
“No. I was just taking a look at something. I’ll turn it off soon. Don’t worry.”
“What are you looking at?”
“The response to Lotus Bridge’s opening.”
Anderson’s previously lacking interest could not failed to be piqued by that response. He opened his eyes blearily and took a look at Janet’s phone. However, his eyes which were adjusted for the darkness, could only feel pain from the dazzling brightness of the display. He groaned and asked,
“So, how’s the response?”
“Mostly good. Well, that’s only natural given it’s Minjoon and Kaya. There’s no way there’d be a bad response to their cooking, right? There are some mention of problems with the pâtissier but… given what we heard last time, it looks like they hired someone skillful.”
“That’s good.”
“Are you envious?”
Janet took a quick look at Anderson. Janet is conscious of Jo Minjoon as his classmate, but she is not nearly as conscious of him as Anderson is. Anderson is not only Jo Minjoon’s classmate, but also his close friend. Janet’s relationship to Minjoon could not compare to the deep one those two share.
For that reason, Anderson is the one who is the most joyful when seeing Minjoon doing well, but is likewise the one who is unable to be happy. If Anderson had accomplished much by now, perhaps things would have been different for him, but are they not competitors on the same playing field now?
At Janet’s words, Anderson turned to look at her for a bit. There is no husband who wishes to look inferior in the eyes of his wife. However, neither did Anderson wish to put up false bravado under Janet’s gaze. And so his thoughts grew deeper and his response naturally grew deeper.
“Minjoon may be my friend, but I can say he is an incredible man.”
“Don’t think there’s anyone out there who doesn’t know that.”
“However, there were some times when I got angry when I was around Minjoon. Especially when I’m there putting so much effort into clawing my way up and he goes and says so matter-of-fact, ‘Just do it2‘…”
One could think of it as a relationship between a genius and a normal person. However, amusingly, as time passed by, Anderson came to realize that Jon Minjoon is also not some genius. Jo Minjoon had put in just as much effort to reflect all that he has earned.
After realizing that, at some point Anderson stopped getting angry at Jo Minjoon. He no longer grew irritated, nor berated himself for getting jealous needlessly. And that is why he could respond like this now.
“I no longer think about falling behind or getting ahead. I just want to be there together with him wherever he is heading.”
“Isn’t that saying the same thing?”
“No, it’s different.”
“…Sure. If that’s what you think.”
Janet grabbed Anderson’s hand. She is always snapping at him but she is always thankful to him. She knows all too well that it was not a decision for him to come to like a person such as her and then to become her husband.
Anderson had given much to Janet. He gave her comfort and he also gave her happiness. Janet wished to give back in return. A little bit, one step at a time.
“You’re much cooler in my books.”
“Isn’t that natural?”
“Let’s not be competitive with them.”
If this were a while back, he may have asked why she said that. But, now Anderson knew very well what Janet meant by that. Of all people, Janet was the one saying this.
She had been freed from the competitive spirit. And it was not because she had given up on competing.
“…Okay. Let’s just cook.”
“Also…”
At that very moment, when Janet had wanted to say something, a crying sound could be heard from outside the door. A look of despair set on Anderson’s face, but Janet planted a kiss on Anderson’s cheek and smiled slightly.
“Don’t worry. She just woke up for a short while. I’ll go put her back to sleep real quick.”
“…but it’s my turn.”
“You don’t need to be a stickler for the rules. And as you said earlier…”
Janet shrugged her shoulders.
“Catherine seems to want her mommy more than her daddy.”
Actually, Jo Minjoon had a bit of feeling that all of the cooking he had done at Rose Island was practice. In a way, it was a part of the process for preparing to open his own restaurant.
However, now with Lotus Bridge opened, there were a few aspects that are subtly different from what he had in mind. First off, the most noticeable aspect is that Lotus Bridge, itself, has become a kind of practice for him.
Of course, that is only appropriate. If you do anything repeatedly, you can only but consider it practice. However, showing up to the kitchen as the head chef day in and day out gave him a perspective he never had before.
His horizons had broadened. This was a natural result given the difference in status of the sous chef and head chef as well as the difference in the weight of each of their responsibilities.
And so, Jo Minjoon’s skills could only grow and grow differently as each day passed. What was unexpected was his cooking skills. Actually, when he started Lotus Bridge, he was hoping to learn sensory cooking first out of all the requirements to achieve cooking level 9.
Even though he had been scanning each and every recipe collected at Irregular Lab, it was him inspecting and advising the chefs under him on their recipes and cooking that inevitably slowly broadened his horizons.
However, his skills, particularly his cooking skills, were improving faster than he had expected. Jo Minjoon also came to realize that he had been misunderstanding something regarding cooking skills.
As a head chef, Jo Minjoon is not normally doing the cooking himself. Sometimes, he will step in for main menu dishes when a customer has requested additions. Aside from those instances, the only time he handles matters himself is for normal plating.
And during the plating process, he finds himself secretly calculating how much the plating will affect the taste. It is a perspective he never used to see a while back. However, if one thinks about it, plating absolutely affects a dish’s taste. The amount of sauce you put on the plate differs by plating method.
Once he came to understand that, Jo Minjoon became passionate about plating. Once he began treating plating as a part of the cooking process and not simply as a part of the decoration process, his sense for his cooking’s taste and balance naturally became more sensitive and refined.
Benefitting from this, Jo Minjoon’s cooking skills improved a great amount compared to before. If he continues at that rate, he could almost guarantee he would reach 100% in a few years at most.
‘Cooking level 9 is not that far off.’
With that thought, Jo Minjoon became enveloped in hope. He, who had been unable to slough the status of the most junior chef, has finally been able to stand on the same stage as Rachel, at least in terms of numbers. Upon thinking of that, Jo Minjoon already began to become happy about the future that has yet to come.
But it was during this very time when one day he casually, truly without any intent behind it, looked at Kaya. Jo Minjoon could sense something had changed about her.
It was not her hair, skin, or clothes.
It was her level.
It was as if it had always been that from the start, as if it was only natural. Suddenly,
she had reached level 9.
CREDITS:
Original author: 양치기자리
Translator: Comic Seoul
Proofreader: Potato