Like Stacking Legos (part 5)

After Kaya became level 9, there was no sudden change in their kitchen to accompany it. This was only natural given that even though it seems the change from level 8 to 9 should bring an incredible change, in actuality, Kaya had already been at the very peak of level 8 and had simply taken one more step forward.

‘However, my leadership skills have improved, for sure.’

Kaya knew from a long time ago that she has charisma for she did not yield easily to anyone. Of course, having an unyielding personality does not necessarily imply having charisma. However, she somehow had the skill to convince others of her opinions. Also, now as the head chef, she no longer had the need to be convincing others.

And that is why within Lotus Bridge these days, a saying was going around stating that Kaya was the real head chef while Jo Minjoon was like number two. When Jo Minjoon heard that, at first he was at a loss for words, but he unexpectedly did not feel angry. For when they said “number two,” it did not mean he was somehow less competent and that is why he is number two.

He thought that perhaps he, too, would think as they do were he to be in their shoes. The one who captured and set the mood in Lotus Bridge was always Kaya. Jo Minjoon, on the other hand, was the one who very quietly went around to the chefs and patted each one on the back.

Even given that, Jo Minjoon’s image was nothing to scoff at. The one they mostly went to for advice on recipes was Jo Minjoon and not Kaya. And when they went to the office with their recipes, those were the few times when Jo Minjoon would mercilessly discard his usual kindness.

Jo Minjoon was not the type to hurl curses or insult people personally. On the other hand, Jo Minjoon would point out each and every way their dishes fell short. When normal people hear this, they would ask if on the contrary this was showing kindness.

However, excessive kindness is no different from cruelty. The moment they laid their recipes they thought were perfect before Jo Minjoon, the recipes get riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. When one suffers from having not just one issue, but five or six or even as many as ten issues pointed out, one’s lofty pride gets immediately trampled on.

“He’s such a terrible person. Truly. They’re all aggravated,” Jill snickered to herself.

A tall, muscular, black man named Dixon, who is the demi chef in charge of the molecular gastronomy section, looked at Jill and grumbled.

“Jill, don’t describe it as being aggravated. It’s truly… torture. Do you know that feeling? That realization and feeling that the one skill you have such confidence in has been reduced to nothingness?”

“Why wouldn’t I know? I’ve taken my recipes to our head chef and gotten similarly shot down, as well.”

“But, Jill, it feels you have less faults than we do.”

“Is it that important how many faults you have? In the end, it just means you weren’t good enough. Also…”

Jill took a quick look at Dixon. She moved her lips slightly as if it was too much of a hassle to say anything. And spoke with an attitude as if she was being excessively generous.

“You should be thankful that you can experience having these problems pointed out.”

“…Thankful?”

“Do you think, in normal restaurants, the chef would be able to properly point out exactly how your dish falls short? Well, I’m sure they’d be able to do something. But it’d be some jerk unable to tell the difference between subjectivity and objectivity who’d be giving advice. Or some person who thinks it’d be right to teach and force his or her own way of cooking onto others.”

“Don’t you think Chef Minjoon’s advice feels subjective, too?”

“It does. However, he is able to distinguish between his own thoughts and what’s proper. And above all else… his subjectivity is incomparable to some third-rate chef’s.”

Jill grinned laughing a bit. It was not exactly the first time she had done so. Jill was not the type to hold back from smiling at people. However, for some reason, Dixon felt that this smile from Jill was the first time he had seen such a smile. As if this was the first time Jill had truly smiled. As if all her normal smiles had been superficial and fake. That is how different this smile felt.

“I came to this restaurant because I wanted this very thing. I can’t hang out with some jerk I can’t talk to, let alone one who can’t ask for advice, after all. Dixon, treat this opportunity as precious to you. You can only learn how to retreat from those people who have compromised on reality. Even if you try not to listen to them, before you know it, you’ll begin babbling about reality and dreaming of stability. And, did you know? About half of those who dream of stability can’t even properly grasp it.”

Jill’s voice rang out arrogantly. Dixon did not find that particularly unfamiliar. Jill was that type of person. She calculates a person’s class and quality. And even though she does not belittle those who do not dream of success, nor does she try to associate with them.

This is how Jill’s logic goes: what one has now is not important, what is important is whether you are looking toward something. The difference between those views is what ultimately creates the difference in standing. At first, Dixon was uncomfortable with this logic. He felt there could be people who would be happy with gardening or some such in a moderate home. While he does not know for sure if such a person could achieve great success or not, does that necessarily mean one can think of such a person as nothing special?

In the past, Jill had once answered that question that had been tossed out with some nervousness like this:

“Do you have no interest in success? Do you wish only for a moderate life? Then hang out with those kind of people. I’m not saying those people are bad. It’s just that for what I wish to make of myself, those kind of people become a hindrance least of all become help. However, if you wish for success… then look to reality. Dixon, if you want to be in a movie, you don’t go hanging around singers instead of actors. If you want to succeed, you should follow those who know of and pursue success. Like I am following Minjoon.”

Those words, in conclusion, were true. As he looked at Jill, as he looked at Minjoon and Kaya, Dixon was able to somewhat put together a picture of ‘success’ that he had previously only a vague notion of.

He has come to know what success is. He is learning it. He is feeling it. Honestly, he has inevitably come to feel the reality of that saying that there are different levels of standing, for himself. He could see it immediately in Jo Minjoon and Kaya’s perspective on cooking. What looked to him as being ‘one’ appeared to them as ‘many’¹. What he felt was ‘red’ actually shined as a rainbow.

‘…Learning, eh.’

Honestly, when Dixon first came to Lotus Bridge, his head was full of learning cooking. He had no idea he could learn such a thing, as well. However, there is truth to it, to some extent. People resemble their friends and blend into their environment. He could see the importance of environment from just having picked Lotus Bridge to work in out of the many possible restaurants.

So then, what should he be learning?

During that evening pondering over such thoughts, Dixon was able to glimpse an answer to that question.

---

To emphasize again, Jo Minjoon possesses an easy-going personality. He only gets angry when the situation requires it. And normally, he criticizes the person’s actions rather than getting angry at the person themselves.

But on that evening, people saw Jo Minjoon get actually angry for the first time.

The cause was simple. Lotus Bridge, no, rather, all restaurants experience having customers who do not show up. So each, naturally, have their own provisions for dealing with the no-shows. In the case of Lotus Bridge, the basic policy is to cancel the reservation of a customer who is more than 30 minutes late and has not made contact and give that seat to someone who has been waiting in line.

That day proceeded the same. There were no-shows and, of course, there were people waiting in line. The one who replaced the no-show was a young man who had shown up alone. He was dressed in what seemed to be his own way of matching his clothes with a white dress shirt and black jeans, but because the shirt had a checkered pattern on it, it somehow did not give off a luxurious vibe.

And here is where the problem began. The man who came in alone and appeared to be even just slightly perceptive, ordered a single item à la carte. The course menu has six meats. Individually, they cost over 40 dollars. Having this man ordering a single individual dish sitting among all the clientele ordering the full course menu costing hundreds of dollars, was less than ideal.

And that is why from that moment, the attitude of the server, Simon, began to grow a bit twisted. He thought he might even get angry. He loves Lotus Bridge. He thought what Kaya and Jo Minjoon had built up thus far was simply impressive. He considered it pure happiness to be able to fill a server’s role to serve under such people.

And so having this lone man order just a single dish taking up a table and depriving other customers of the opportunity to dine there did not sit well with him.

Of course, he could not let such feelings show on the outside. Such behavior could reflect poorly on Lotus Bridge’s reputation, even. However, it was at that moment when a commotion sounded from the counter area. The cashier called Simon over and sighed.

“Simon, did you put guests at table 7?”

“Just a moment ago. The customer who came by himself. Why?”

“These people… were the ones who originally made the reservation for that table.”

If that was all to be said, he could understand the situation perfectly well. Simon swallowed a sigh down. It was not pleasant to have to handle no-show customers like this. Especially since he had already given their table to another customer.

The no-show customers looked to be a couple, perhaps in their 50’s. Their attire looked nice and their attitude was also clean and humble. Considering the typical image for no-shows, these people appeared excellent.

“Our apologies. My phone battery died and I could not contact you. And then traffic was terrible on the way here… I had totally forgotten what a nightmare L.A. highways are at night.

“Ah, we understand. And we’re very sorry. Our basic policy is to give away the seat if a reservation has not shown up for 30 minutes and we have not received contact. Someone else… has already been seated at the table you two had reserved.”

“Is there anything you can do? We can wait for another table to be free, as well.”

“By the time another table frees up, it would be time for us to close.”

“Ah… is there really no other way? We traveled all the way from San Diego just for Lotus Bridge.”

At those words, Simon immediately felt moved. They had the sincerity and desire to travel just for Lotus Bridge. Simon looked at the cashier and the no-show couple with a momentarily conflicted expression. And it was at that moment that Simon had a thought come to mind.

“…Then, could you wait just a bit? There is a customer who has ordered à la carte. I imagine it won’t be very long for him to finish dining.”

“Really? Oh, thank you! If we can manage to get a table like that, we’d be very happy!”

The couple smiled widely and continue to thank him. Simon looked at the couple and smiled inwardly. Many people believe servers lack a sense of professionalism, but that is not true. In the first place, servers need to have enough knowledge to be able to completely explain every aspect of the menu of a restaurant such as this. They are not simply putting dishes on the table.

He wished to present the cuisine of Lotus Bridge as a present to this couple.

However, this is where things began to go wrong. Even after the six meats had been served, the polite à la carte customer ate sluggishly and did not eat any faster. If that continued, even if he were to vacate the table and the no-show couple were to be seated, it would not be proper for them to be then ordering the chef’s tasting course.

And here began the cause. Simon began lingering around and needlessly interfering with the à la carte customer. He would frequently ask if there was anything the customer needed. At first the customer laughed and said he was fine but as Simon continued to wander around him, he grew increasingly uncomfortable.

And it was at this moment the situation came to a head. In the end, because Simon could no longer hold his patience after looking at the clock, he placed the bill on the customer’s table early. He thought that the tip would be less than normal due to the discomfort he was giving the customer, but his thoughts were already too convoluted to give that any thought.

It was at that very moment a shout rang out.

“Simon, what the hell are you doing, you punk!”

CREDITS:
Original author: 양치기자리
Translator: Comic Seoul
Proofreader: Potato

1. ‘ten’ ↩︎