Spread-out Wings (1)

<< Hello! This is today’s entertainment news. For the first news item, lately, cooking shows have swept through the nation as the hottest trend. The popular chefs who appear on these shows are called ‘star chefs’ and boast the popularity of a celebrity. Among those is a Korean chef who has been receiving a lot of attention lately. He had traveled to the United States empty-handed and is now considered a national chef in the United States. At one time, he had become momentarily famous by appearing on Grand Chef and showcasing his absolute sense of taste. This person is Chef Jo Minjoon. >>

<< What you see on the screen now is the line in front of Lotus Bridge. Sometimes seen among those waiting in this long line are some Koreans as well. Chef Jo Minjoon has recently acquired some fame in Korea. After that, the number of his Korean customers jumped up. >>

Oh Sunggu : Even though I live in LA, I never really thought about coming to Lotus Bridge. But after seeing Chef Jo Minjoon appear on TV that time, I thought I should try this place out.

Lee Mijin : If you did not make a reservation, you have to stand in this line and wait, but there are a lot of times you won’t be able to even get in to eat. The line only gets shorter if someone has canceled their reservation.

<< Even though Koreans have only come to be aware of them recently, Lotus Bridge and Chef Jo Minjoon had actually already been receiving attention for several years. >>

Sara Kates : Lotus Bridge had already been famous among gourmets from the old days. That is, before they received Michelin stars. In fact, even before he set up his own restaurant, he was already famous. Grand Chef and Jo Reggiano contributed the most to that. Of course, the Paris International Culinary Competition is more recognized among gourmets than Grand Chef, but that is not something as well known among the populace.

Kaya Lotus : Minjoon? Mm… as a chef, I acknowledge him. Minjoon is perhaps the best partner I could have met in my entire life. His cuisine is challenging and artistic… and delicious.

Actually, this is the most important aspect. That his food is delicious.

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Kim Sunwoo : I watched Grand Chef season 3 before coming here, and man, that was freaking awesome. Someone who had never learned cooking before or worked in it before cooked better than a basic chef. A typical person being carried by talent.

└ Lee Hyunjin : Even though he was blessed by talent, Chef Jo Minjoon didn’t rise to that level being carried by his talent. Whenever chefs who interact with him mention him, what they always say is how passionate he is. They had never seen him rest when it came to cooking. And even during Grand Chef, he would come out at night to cook by himself a lot.

Han Sungim : I was so shocked seeing Theresa Page sing at Chef Jo Minjoon’s wedding. Even though he’s so well-known outside of Korea, he’s hardly known inside the country.

Kim Ahyoung : It’d be nice if he appeared on a program in Korea, too. Did he not want to?

“…I probably can’t,” Jo Minjoon mumbled in a low voice.

Even when they were being filmed in LA, he could not really appear on the program. Going back and forth between Korea to appear on a show would be impossible.

Kaya glanced at Jo Minjoon and asked, “Are you reading comments again?”

“I was just reading some.”

“Aren’t there any troll posts?”

“While there are some, they’re pretty rare.”

“Well, those aren’t worth worrying over then.”

Kaya shrugged her shoulders. It had been a few years since they had become famous. Having a few trolls around only made them laugh at this point.

“We’ve had quite a lot of alumni contact us.”

“Did they normally in the past?”

“Of course not.”

“That must be awkward.”

“Yeah, probably.”

While there are some people who do not particularly like such contact, this was not the case for Jo Minjoon. They ultimately all contact him with good intentions. They did not really stand to gain anything from contacting him about his success when he was in such a faraway land.

He was sure they had hesitated quite a bit before contacting him, too. After not having contacted him in so long, suddenly sending him a message out of the blue without mustering up the courage for it would have been difficult. So since they had gathered that courage, he did not want to look upon them as having ulterior motives for contacting him.

It was just a bit awkward. Even until a while ago, people would look at Jo Minjoon only as a normal student, and since he had made an effort to study hard and became a schoolteacher, then they only thought his life had turned out well.

However, now things were different. People no longer looked at Jo Minjoon as a normal person. They saw him as different from others. This aspect fascinated him a bit. To them, it wasn’t that Jo Minjoon had succeeded and became different from others, but rather that he was different from others, which led to his success.

But is that really true? Is Jo Minjoon really different from other people? While people were asking those questions, Jo Minjoon could not confirm it. He was just a normal person who had lamented missing out on a chance to pursue his dreams.

Of course, Jo Minjoon did go chasing his dreams, even if a bit late. He would have probably been successful in his own right as a chef back then, even if not as successful as he is now.

However, even taking that into consideration, Jo Minjoon’s friends and other people would point to Jo Minjoon’s success and say that his path was one only special people could walk. Jo Minjoon did not particularly agree with that thought. He was not special. When he walks the path he is walking, until the light shows him the way, Jo Minjoon is shaking from fear like anyone else. If people had seen Jo Minjoon back then, they would not have said he was special. They would have said he was odd because the results did not match his efforts.

‘I suppose they needed some excuse.’

If they could not make an excuse, they would not have been able to endure the life of being buried under the harshness of reality. That is why when Jo Minjoon looks at those people who tell him, ‘You are different,’ he actually feels sorry for them.

In any case, this was not the time to be concerning himself over that. Jo Minjoon took a look at his watch. Kaya may not have been making it obvious, but she, too, was peeking at the time whenever she had the chance.

It was close to the time when a welcome guest was to arrive.

It was Lisa.

---

When Jo Minjoon was made known to Korea, the Koreans did not simply cheer at his success. They were also curious about how he lived his life. And the easiest way to understand who this Jo Minjoon person was through the existence of Ella.

When Koreans first came to know of Ella’s existence, they were bewildered at first. They had wondered if Jo Minjoon and Kaya had such a big kid already at their ages. Naturally, it did not take long for Ella’s story to get out. They learned about Lisa’s disease and how Kaya and Jo Minjoon were more than willing to take care of her daughter solely based on her having been their colleague. Their decision to do so made the hearts of the Koreans ache.

Jo Minjoon looked at Ella. She was sitting between Jo Minjoon and Kaya, wearing an unreadable expression. Honestly, Jo Minjoon was unable to properly read Ella’s emotions. There were some delicate aspects to a child’s heart, and honestly, Ella’s situation was too complicated.

Of course, even within such a complicated situation, there was something to be certain of. That was Ella wanted to be by Lisa’s side somehow. No matter how much love was built by being by Jo Minjoon and Kaya’s side, it could not compare to Lisa.

It was not easy for them to understand that this act of her returning to Lisa meant leaving them.

“Ella. Why do you look so cranky?” Jo Minjoon squatted down in front of Ella and asked.

Ella put her hands on her knees and bowed her head. While her appearance doing so could be considered cute, the suffering she was feeling could not be considered as such.

“I’m not cranky.”

Even while saying that, she was swinging her legs in such a way that anyone would think she was upset. Jo Minjoon placed a hand on Ella’s head and said, “Are you happy your mom’s back or not happy?”

“Happy.”

“Then you should smile. Why do you look like you’re going to cry?”

“I don’t look like I’m going to cry.”

Even while saying so, Ella was taking the back of her hand and rubbing her eyes fiercely. Perhaps she thought by doing so it would hide the tears in her eyes.

“I packed all her things.”

While Ella was sitting there, Kaya had placed a box on top of all the suitcases piled up in the living room. Upon hearing that, Ella’s expression darkened further. Ella looked at Jo Minjoon, then slowly looked over at Kaya. Her face was scrunched up like she had something to say but soon she was grasping her knees tightly once more.

Honestly, Ella did not really know why she was feeling this way right now. She was going to be living with Lisa from now on. There was nothing sad or troubling about that part.

However, upon looking up at Jo Minjoon’s face again, it felt like somewhere deep inside her chest, tears were welling up and threatening to spill out. She knew this was the cause of her suffering.

In fact, Ella had always been getting ready to not be able to live with Lisa. She wanted Lisa to win her battle against her disease, but even the young Ella knew that things never panned out the way you wanted in this world.

There would be a time when Lisa would not be able to come back. What was Ella to do at that point? What could she do? Somehow she thought they may even agree to that since the two of them were good people. However, her presence would only be a burden for the two of them because she was not a child they had borne themselves.

That is why Ella was thinking of other answers. She thought she could maybe even live with Rachel, since Rachel was a close friend of Jack. Perhaps she would take Ella in.

Luckily, she did not keep those thoughts for very long because Jo Minjoon and Kaya had never once shown any signs that her presence was an annoyance to them. Rather, the two of them never once thought of her as an obligation or duty. They naturally accepted her as a part of their family.

If they were to immediately head out to shop, the two of them liked to find clothes to buy for Ella first. Ella’s very existence was happiness for them. Because she was aware of this, Ella shed her fear. She could shed her fear.

She thought that maybe it would be okay if she lived with Jo Minjoon and Kaya like this for the rest of her life. She even thought that her place could even be here.

However, ultimately, all her thoughts had now become unnecessary delusions. Lisa was coming back. Ella was going back. The memories she had collected with Jo Minjoon and Kaya would now remain memories. They were no longer her family.

That was right. They were not her family.

“Wa, kuk······.”

Ella held her breath and began to weep. Jo Minjoon held Ella without saying a word. As if she could no longer bear it, Ella hugged Jo Minjoon’s body and cried for a long time.

Jo Minjoon did not ask Ella for an explanation. Ella also did not explain to Jo Minjoon why she was sad. She was sad simply because she was sad, since they were already her family.

When Lisa arrived, Ella’s tears had already dried up. Seeing Ella’s red eyes, Lisa smiled gently. She did not need to ask why Ella had cried.

“Ella. Mommy’s here.”

At those words, Ella immediately ran into Lisa’s embrace. It was a beautiful scene. However, that beautiful scene was also somehow a bit bitter. Jo Minjoon looked back at Kaya. Kaya was not even smiling but had a look on her face like she was regretting something.

“Uncle. Kaya.”

Ella looked at Jo Minjoon and Kaya. Ella said quietly, “Thank you.”

They did not tell her that she did not need to say thank you. Kaya looked like she would cry any second. However, she did not shed any tears. Whether it was because of her pride or if it was out of consideration for Lisa and Ella was unknown. She was just that type of person.

On that day, Ella left.

Also that evening, that sleepless evening, Kaya asked with an emotion-filled voice, “Should we have a child?”

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