Between Stability and Transformation (part 6)
Jo Minjoon’s hands were shaking violently. While he knew that displaying an excessive reaction here could possibly be misconstrued, he found himself completely unable to repress the flood of emotions that were overcoming him.
It had been a long journey. No, actually, perhaps it could be seen as not having taken all that long. If you consider the sheer number of people who have been struggling for a long time after they hit level 8, hitting level 9 after only a few years of hitting 8 could be considered pretty quick.
However, Jo Minjoon had not experienced a single moment of peace of mind with that speed. Neither had he been so pessimistic as to fall into the belief that he was incompetent. He simply was bearing with having to see Kaya—his wife, partner, and rival. Having to see how much further ahead his rival stood is what Jo Minjoon had to constantly bear witness to.
Jo Minjoon had truly felt a variety of emotions when faced with the obvious difference in levels shown to him. He had even been in awe of Kaya’s talent, and it made him restless. While looking at his sensory cooking progress stuck at 99% and not moving, he had been afraid that this was what Edison had been saying was that 1% inspiration. If that inspiration had been gifted to such an incredible genius as Kaya, then Jo Minjoon would have had to pour in infinitely more effort to accumulate 1% of that inspiration.
And during that time, Kaya would have made even further progress.
It had been an extremely distressing time. Lotus Bridge was being dual-led by two head chefs. However, if it had been made known there was an obvious difference in skills between the two head chefs, would there have been any point in the dual leader system?
Jo Minjoon had to get stronger at the very least for the sake of Lotus Bridge. He could not afford to lag behind Kaya.
It was a laughable matter. Jo Minjoon had been taking the existence of Lotus Bridge for granted as one does the house in which one does one’s daily activities, but he had to be even more stressed than he had been when competing in order to protect those very daily activities.
That may be the reason why ‘daily activities’ carried such warm echoes with it.
Jo Minjoon lifted his head. Gwen was looking at him with a bit of a confused expression. That was understandable, for after tasting her dish, Jo Minjoon suddenly had a look of being overwhelmed on his face. She could not be sure if that meant there had been something wrong with her dish. On the flip side, it was difficult to think that maybe she had done something right with the dish instead. She knew very well what level her dish was. Her dish was not so emotionally moving as to produce that type of look on his face.
“Gwen,” Jo Minjoon spoke.
Gwen was again astonished. Jo Minjoon’s voice was so emotionally charged it sounded like he was trying to swallow his tears. Jo Minjoon laughed awkwardly as if aware he sounded embarrassing, and after noticing Kaya glance at him, he cleared his throat.
“Ahem… Gwen. What were you thinking about while creating this dish?”
“Well, I was just thinking I had to make something that tastes good.”
“…And what about the taste of fish?”
“Ah, that…”
Gwen twisted a strand of hair around her finger as if she had completely forgotten about it.
“I thought it was a bit of a waste to try and eliminate most of the sea bass’ unique aroma and the same for just leaving it alone. That’s why I thought that if I made it with curry it would go well with that aroma. People can’t stand disgusting smells but they can handle exotic aromas, right?”
“So you thought to express the sea bass’ aroma as an exotic aroma instead.”
“It was difficult.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m sure it was.”
Jo Minjoon nodded his head in understanding. It had surely not been an easy direction to think of.
Jo Minjoon had gone through a similar process in the past. It had started with the fishy smell back then. It was back during a time when he had not yet properly pulled all his skills together. At that time, he had chosen to try and erase the fishy smell. He had not thought to either erase it or leave it be.
However, after he had properly developed a full understanding of cooking, Jo Minjoon had learned to compare the fishy smell with the fish’s natural taste. He was also able to cultivate the skills to preserve the natural taste of the fish. Because of this, he had thought he had finally fully understood cooking with fish.
But he was wrong. He had taken a much too simple of an approach. A fish’s taste and its fishy smell may lie within different domains, but they do share a portion of it even if it is small.
In the end, it was a matter of taste. If you eat a dish covered in salt, its salty taste would naturally be its drawback, but if it had been a dish with just the right amount of salt, it would have been a different story.
The fishy smell is a similar case. Gwen had considered them all drawbacks and deliberately left it to mix with the aroma of curry. In that instant, the fishy smell left a completely different impression. Of course, depending on the person, someone may still consider it disgusting, but if the person had even a slight tolerance for the fishy smell, the person would be able to taste the fishy smell’s flavor in this dish.
‘…Kaya, so you knew about things like this as well.’
He was not thinking that Kaya had failed to tell him even though she already knew. Kaya had shown him this quite enough already. Well, not just Kaya, but Rachel, June, etc. had all shown him this enough. However, even while being shown it, he had failed to feel it. Because he had not been interested in it. The harmony of the fishy smell was just one of many strengths they had in their cooking’s arsenal.
However, this case was different. Gwen’s shortcomings had instead become Jo Minjoon’s boon. Because Gwen was well aware of her lack of skill, she had decided to emphasize the taste in this dish… and had decided to understand the special characteristics of the fishy smell.
Because it was a dish with a single prominent strength, Jo Minjoon was able to completely focus on the special characteristic of the fishy smell. What he came to realize was not just simply a way of leveraging the fishy smell.
He had completely changed what he thought of tastes he had previously considered ‘failures.’ Even a burnt taste can sometimes draw out a dish’s flavor. The moment he had decided to accept the tastes of food he had not intended to handle or tastes he had intended to avoid… was the moment the breadth of Jo Minjoon’s understanding of gastronomy had doubled, no, tripled.
Jo Minjoon turned to look at Kaya.
“What do you think?”
“This dish? It’s pretty good at catering to one’s senses. Looks like she used her brain well for it. A dish that is lackluster but intuitive is far better than one that is awkwardly fancy.”
“Let’s put it on the menu.”
“Sorry…?”
The one who had responded to Jo Minjoon was not Kaya but Gwen. While she had thought there could be a possibility of it being added to the menu, she had not been expecting him to do so without even the slightest of hesitation. Did that mean her dish was that special in Jo Minjoon’s eyes?
“You brought it here to have it put on the menu, no?”
“Th-That’s right, but…”
“You’ve become quite smart, Gwen.”
Jo Minjoon was grinning widely and looked at Gwen. This was not his usual simple smile of kindness. His entire face was expressing how full of happiness he was. She was not sure if his happiness was because of her growth, but Gwen felt embarrassed by it and lowered her head.
“I am unable to say which of our demi chefs is the smartest. It is a sensitive subject, after all. However, I can say at least this much. Gwen, I know you have absorbed all I have said to you.”
Gwen nodded inwardly to herself. It was as Jo Minjoon had said. She had not missed a single word Jo Minjoon had uttered. In fact, her being able to make this dish was thanks to him. Do not let the taste of the fish be overpowered by the taste of the sauce. Let it blind in with the sauce. Preserve the natural taste of each ingredient. What you are pursuing through that is not simply texture.
Gwen would probably find it unbelievable that it was thanks to her dish that Jo Minjoon had been able to take a step forward in growth. She would probably say that she had simply been following what he had taught her, so why was he, in turn, learning from that?
“You had made a bet, right?” Kaya asked after putting another bite of the sea bass in her mouth.
Steaming the bass was a stroke of genius. The outside of the flesh was moist and soft, enabling it to blend in exquisitely with the soft texture of the curry. The lack of a crispy texture could bore one’s senses, but that should not be an issue by adjusting the amount.
Gwen nodded her head.
“Yes, with Lewis.”
“I was wondering what an in-office romance would be like. That’s a shame.”
“You won’t have to worry about that.”
“Oh, why? Don’t tell me you like him?”
“No. Because I have absolutely no interest in him. If I had somehow lost to him, I would have gone on a date with him as promised, but it would have ended there and not gone any further.”
“That’s a good attitude. We shouldn’t let men sway us too easily.”
Said the woman who had no experience in relationships outside the one she had with Jo Minjoon.
Jo Minjoon said quietly, “As you know already, the portion of the profits generated from this recipe will be going to you. Are you ready to receive a bit of a bonus after such a long time?”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
“Not at all. It’s as it should be.”
“No, that’s not what I mean… Thank you for bringing me this far.”
Gwen’s smile was of pure happiness. Jo Minjoon and Kaya, of course, was momentarily at a loss for words upon seeing her smile. After Grand Chef had concluded, there were not many instances, even after Gwen had come to Lotus Bridge, when she would smile so brightly as that.
While she had smiled in the past, it was nothing like today’s. Gwen behaved in her daily life like something was always chasing her and when happy, she would not believe in that happiness.
But seeing her smile now, there would not be a single person in the world who would say she was living an unfortunate life. An unfortunate person would not be capable of such a smile as that. It was that type of smile. It was that type of look.
“That is what I want to say right back to you,” Jo Minjoon replied in a low voice.
“After coming here to Lotus Bridge, you have never once been lazy. You have done all that was asked of you. You lived up to our expectations and you’ve shown the most progress. Gwen, thank you for coming to Lotus Bridge.”
“Normally I hate it when he gets all sentimental, but…”
Kaya said with a slight hint of provocation while looking at Jo Minjoon. Then she turned to Gwen.
“I agree with what he said. Gwen. I feel fortunate that you’re here. It may be a bit cringeworthy to say stuff like this when we’re going to continue working with each other, but still. I don’t think I’ll get a chance to say it if not now.”
Jo Minjoon patted Kaya’s head as if she had said something cute. Kaya’s eyes opened wide, but Jo Minjoon paid her no heed.
When he had first brought Gwen here, Jo Minjoon was more concerned about her life than her abilities. He thought that if he could save her life by having her there, then would that not be sufficient enough compensation?
At some point, however, Jo Minjoon stopped worrying that Gwen would possibly take her own life. Because Gwen had shown her will to live. If someone had been there to offer a hand, then Gwen would clearly not have been derailed.
‘If I think about it, this is incredible.’
Jo Minjoon had, in fact, been looking to Lewis to fill up that last 1% and not to Gwen. In the end, that 1% had come back to him by way of the person he had helped. From someone he had placed no such expectations on.
Gwen soon left the office. Kaya murmured in the now quiet office, “Looks like you gained something?”
Her words sent chills up his spine. He knew Kaya still had no idea about the system, but in that moment her words made it sound like she knew of something. However, Kaya’s words were probably about inspiration. Jo Minjoon quietly nodded his head.
“Yeah. A lot.”
He was now also level 9. Having reached the peak of the world’s chefs, his skills were not lacking.
“It’ll become more relaxing now.”
The time for hibernation had ended.
It was now time to rise.
“…You did it?” Lewis asked quietly.
The one who had asked may have been Lewis, but the entire kitchen staff were looking for the response. Instead of replying, Gwen showed the completely empty dish. Lewis clenched his fists, and the rest of the kitchen staff broke out into cheers.
Pretending to be terrified, Jill muttered, “She must have really not wanted to go on a date with Lewis.”
CREDITS:
Original author: 양치기자리
Translator: Comic Seoul
Proofreader: Potato