Like Stacking Legos (part 8)
Jo Minjoon welcomed that confidence of Rachel’s. Honestly, Jo Minjoon did not want much from Rachel except for this attitude: the belief that she can move forward from now on. He knows just what huge of a difference such a simple change can make.
“Of course you’re the best.” Jo Minjoon nodded his head. There was not a single hint of hidden meaning behind that look he was giving her.
It was only natural he felt this way. If Rachel were to pick the best chef in the world, she would, of course, pick Daniel. However, if Jo Minjoon were to pick the best chef in the world, he would pick Rachel, not Daniel. It is not because Daniel’s cooking is completely foreign to him. In fact, he has never tasted Daniel’s cooking himself. Otherwise, he would know about Daniel’s cooking better than any of Daniel’s customers, for he has Daniel’s cooking journal.
‘Daniel, how do you feel about Rachel saying this?’
Suddenly an old theory he had thought of popped into mind. The theory was the true Head of Cooking School1 may be Daniel. Out of all the theories he has come with, this one may be the only one with any likelihood of being true.
He has two facts on hand. Daniel called himself the head of cooking school. And before coming back to the past and acquiring the powers of the system, the Head of Cooking School had told him that he would solve Jo Minjoon’s problems for him.
Of course, depending on how you think about it, you could either consider this sufficient enough evidence or consider it an absurd delusion. And so, Jo Minjoon decided to not think about the identity of the Head of Cooking School. The name of the Head of Cooking School could end up being a MacGuffin2 for the rest of his life.
Right now, he was simply thinking of his mentor. And of that one person who worries about that mentor more than anyone else.
‘Ah.’
He wanted to see Kaya.
When he went home after meeting Rachel, Kaya was not home. When he went to the kitchen, written in white chalk on the chalkboard used for scheduling was a message directed at him.
‘I went over to Chloe’s. -Kaya.’
This was an unplanned visit. Jo Minjoon who was now left alone to spend time by himself out of nowhere stared blankly at the chalkboard and sat down listlessly in the kitchen.
Now that he thinks about it, at some point, he began to not have that many opportunities to be by himself. It had not been that long since he married Kaya, but he had been with her for quite some time now.
Jo Minjoon sat in the kitchen looking around him for a moment. One wall of the kitchen was covered with knives. The various blades they had obtained shone from their positions. Jo Minjoon thought those knives seemed more like decoration. Even chefs without any skills can buy knives if they have the money, but the important aspect of the ones on the wall is close to half were received as gifts.
This is not a surprise. The gift chefs most commonly receive is knives. People have this impression that the luxury item chefs most prefer are knives. And actually, that impression holds true. At least, there is not a single chef Jo Minjoon knows who does not like beautiful knives.
Jo Minjoon began taking each knife one-by-one and examining them. Each and every knife has memories embedded deep within. Among them, two in particular catch his eye the most. One is a rose knife Rachel gave him. It would not be an exaggeration to say that around the time he received this knife was the turning point in his life.
Jo Minjoon wondered if he had not come to work under Rachel, would he still have been able to become the chef he is today. Perhaps not. No matter how impressive one’s skills are or how much one is sought after, things do not always turn out well. Just like how Marco ended up being used in New York.
He has had an incredible stroke of luck to have been taken in by someone who was full of desire to foster his skills instead of to use him.
Thanks to this, even when accounting for the system and surrounding environment, he had achieved a phenomenal level of growth. Although, at the end of such growth, he ultimately was overshadowed by Kaya.
‘Just how do you feel, Kaya?’
Suddenly, Jo Minjoon realized he had never properly sat down with Kaya to talk about cooking. Of course, normally, every single thing they say ends up piling up and each already influences the other in every little aspect of their cooking, but… even though they discuss recipes, they have not talked about cooking.
He wanted to unleash Kaya’s thoughts through conversation and should he perhaps be able to understand her through that discussion, then maybe he would no longer lag behind her.
It is not a matter of being competitive. He wishes to be able to hold within his grasp the world he has not been able to see, the cooking he has not been able to feel, the tastes he has not been able to express. Whenever he feels lacking, he wants to fill that empty void, even just a bit.
Jo Minjoon looked at the next knife. He had received it from Dobby, who had said it was his most precious knife, one he had received from June. How must it have felt to entrust such a precious knife to someone else?
“It must have been difficult,” Jo Minjoon mumbled quietly.
It must be difficult for everyone. For Chloe, who has not found her footing, for Dobby and Anderson who think they have lost to Jo Minjoon, and also for Jo Minjoon, who has to stand by the side of the world’s greatest genius.
Like how it must have been difficult for Rachel because of Daniel.
Jo Minjoon took out Daniel’s cooking journal. Since the pages are old, he handled them with care so he does not ruin them.
Whenever Jo Minjoon reads this journal, a weird feeling comes over him. He has not seen Daniel even once. He has never shared a conversation with Daniel. However, Daniel laid bare his innermost secrets in this journal.
And that is why it is awkward to describe his relationship to Daniel. He may not know exactly what Daniel had been thinking, but he feels almost like Daniel’s friend. A friend who lives with the same worries in mind.
One must wonder what those worries could even be. There is a huge gap between Jo Minjoon and Daniel, who had been the world’s greatest genius.
And that is why Daniel’s journal surprises Jo Minjoon. Daniel had been just like them. He had the same worries about cooking. Every thought he had to figure out how to make something taste even better, Daniel had written down in the journal.
And among what Daniel had written were worries about Rachel, as well.
─ Rachel resents me.
─ And I know what that resentment is about. It will be difficult to address the gap between her and me.
─ Last night, she got drunk and asked just why in the world I came into her life. And after sobering up a bit, she apologized, saying she was sorry and didn’t mean it. I understand that it wasn’t her true feelings, and that at the same time, they were.
─ If she hadn’t been as far behind or if she had been ahead of me instead, would our relationship have been better? Dammit. This sucks.3
It was a lot of rambling, but one thing was for sure: Rachel was not the only one being harmed by her feelings of inferiority — Daniel was also being harmed.
And that is why, when he witnessed Kaya reach level 9, even though he was jealous, he was somehow able to squash it. He did not wish to bring harm to Kaya due to his jealousy, especially when it was due to some notion of a level she cannot even see.
Suddenly, Jo Minjoon looked at the wine in the refrigerator. He is not the type to get drunk, but today he wanted to have a bottle. Perhaps it was because Kaya was not there with him.
He did not feel warm enough.
Rachel probably had to pass such nights as this every night.
On the day he went to Rachel’s restaurant, Kaya went with him. It was pretty late. They headed there the moment Lotus Bridge closed for the day close to 10 at night. The staff, except for Janet, Maya, Isaac, Marco, and Annie, had already all left.
Jo Minjoon asked Rachel with a worried look, “Everyone must be tired. Are you sure about this?”
“Both of you must also be tired. So, sit. Shall we begin?”
“Yes, if you could please.”
Except for where Jo Minjoon and Kaya were sitting in the mess hall, the rest of the lights had been turned off. However, this only accentuated the ambiance.
Kaya mumbled, “When I was young, I had always wanted to play in the amusement park after it closed. Now that I am here, it feels that dream has come true.”
“This is far better than an amusement park. You can only have fun at an amusement park. While here, you can have fun and experience tastes,” Jo Minjoon said chuckling.
Soon, Annie approached them and said exaggeratedly politely, “Mr. and Mrs. Jo, it is our honor to give you a preview of Rose Island’s special course menu.”
“It is our honor to be served by a sommelier past closing time.”
“Once Rachel explained how important today is, all thoughts of heading home flew from mind,” Annie replied, laughing.
Whether it was because she works in the service industry, she looked quite sophisticated with her smile saying as if this effort was nothing. Kaya narrowed her eyes and looked over at Jo Minjoon. Annie is beautiful and males instinctively find their eyes drawn to her. And so, Jo Minjoon had to desperately fight against that instinct at that moment. He pretended to act nonchalantly and looked at the blackboard in Annie’s hands.
“Is the menu written on there?”
“Yes, it is. First…”
Annie began to explain the menu one by one. Jo Minjoon and Kaya, who listened to the explanation, burst out in admiration without being able to tell who had done so first. They could tell just from the explanation how much effort Rachel had poured into this.
From its description alone, one can tell it is an idea that incites interest. With Rachel’s skills, how sophisticatedly would she be able to express that idea? The anticipation for the answer to that question did not last long.
Jo Minjoon took a look at the first amuse-bouche and moaned, “…Take a look at the chip.”
“It’s a work of art,” replied Kaya in a stunned voice.
There was only a single amuse-bouche. Given how Rachel had been including three or even four amuse-bouche in the first course until now, this was a point worthy of paying attention to.
Is she trying to say there is no need for several tastes when a single one will be sufficient to boost your interest to the max? Jo Minjoon looked at the chip before him. He saw a flash in his field of view.
‘Its cooking score is 8.’
However, considering the simplicity of its composition, he felt a score of 8 is pretty incredible. The amuse-bouche that was set forth was a buttermilk chip topped with cherry trout4 roe and whipped cream.
Jo Minjoon slowly put the chip in his mouth and closed his eyes. He agonized briefly over whether he should chew it or let it melt in his mouth. He did not want to lose a moment of this delicious-looking dish.
But if he were to do that, he would not be able to enjoy the burst of taste. The more you want to hold onto a taste, the more you are bound to lose grasp on it.
In the end, Jo Minjoon worked his jaws. The pearls of cherry trout roe burst in his mouth and the whipped cream wrapped itself around the broken pieces of roe. The softness of the whipped cream and the sweetness of the roe exploded into a uniquely light and refreshing taste. It felt like herbs had been used instead of roe.
Combining the whipped cream to the buttermilk chip melting in his mouth, Jo Minjoon became confused as to which part was the cream. The buttermilk chip seemed like it would provide a crunchy texture for a moment, but soon melted away like cotton candy.
Jo Minjoon could feel that moment. Kaya, too, could feel that moment. The intensity of the aftertaste that hit their senses could tell them:
Rachel’s confidence was not unfounded.
She had improved.
CREDITS:
Original author: 양치기자리
Translator: Comic Seoul
Proofreader: Potato
- Reference to chapter 1. Also, usually written as “schoolmaster” instead of “head of ____ school”. The “head of” version was used in chapter 1 to make it distinctly an Internet nickname. ↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin ↩︎
- Actually it is a complaint that he cannot do anything about it. ↩︎
- Also known as masu salmon ↩︎