God of Cooking

When people lose something, they always get nostalgic about it, such as fallen leaves losing color, autumn losing heat, stadiums losing spectators, etc. That was the case now. The set where the cameramen were gone. Standing in front of the kitchen countertop where the chefs left, Brian blankly stroked a cutting board with no ingredients on it.

‘It’s the end.’

The Grand Chef competition was over, but it just didn’t hit him yet. He wondered if he had the same feeling when the Grand Chef Season 1 ended. Of course, he felt somewhat different this time. He won at that time, but he didn’t this time.

“If you’re thinking of imitating the main character of the tragedy, stop it. I’ve already seen it enough.” Somebody told him gently.

It wasn’t a very familiar voice, but it wasn’t difficult for him to find out who said it to him.

So, he didn’t turn his head. He did not want to. Actually, he couldn’t turn his head. At this moment when he felt most miserable in his life, he didn’t want to show it to that person.

“Go away if you want to make fun of me,” Brian said.

“Would you believe me if I say I’m here to comfort you?”

Brian slowly turned back, biting his lips. He didn’t want to be comforted for now. If it was Min-joon, not anybody else, who wanted to comfort him, Brian didn’t want it. No matter how kindly Min-joon comforted him, Brian would feel it as harassment in the name of kindness.

Min-joon read his mind, though.

So, he smiled lightly and opened his mouth.

“You are quite upset, and I understand. You haven’t lost to anybody recently, right? I guess you were embarrassed, and you couldn’t believe it because you lost suddenly.”

“What the hell is your purpose?”

“Is my purpose important to you? The key is whether you can listen to me or not.”

When he said that, Brian clenched his teeth for a moment and slowly caught his breath. If he showed Min-joon he was angry or depressed, he would reconfirm he lost, after all.

Min-joon was lost in thought for a moment, watching him. He found it hard to answer Brian’s question, namely his purpose of coming to this place. In fact, he just stopped by, feeling Brian might be here. He wanted to see Brian’s face. Of course, he didn’t come here to comfort Brian, nor did he want to tease Brian. It was not pleasant at all for him to see Brian looking depressed because he lost.

“Thank you,” Min-joon said.

“Are you making fun of me now?”

“No, not at all.”

“Then what the hell are you grateful for? Objectively or subjectively, I don’t think I have done anything or said anything you can thank me for.”

“You liked Kaya, right?”

Brian looked even more perplexed at his words. He didn’t understand what the hell Min-joon was talking about. Of course, he rationally understood Min-joon’s point, which was that he expressed gratitude for the fact that he liked Kaya. But why did he have to express gratitude for that?

Even Min-joon seemed confused, saying so.

So, Brian asked as if his answer was ridiculous, “Are you drunk or are you trying to make fun of me in a sophisticated way?”

“No. I just wondered why I was talking to you like this, but now I think I know a little bit. I think I really wanted to say thank you because you appreciated Kaya’s worth.”

Brian looked at him blankly. He still could not understand why Min-joon was being so generous to him who tried to hit on Kaya.

Min-joon said, shrugging, “I don’t really care how you feel about what I have just said. I just wanted to say thank you.”

“I think you’re a freak. Oh, freak is not enough to describe you. I want to call you a fuck*ng son of a b*tch.”

“Well, I’m not as bad enough to be called a son of a b*tch as you who tried to win over my girlfriend.”

Since what he said was correct, Brian could not help but shut up. He didn’t expect Min-joon could spit out four-letter words like him.

Min-joon turned with a smile and said, “If you want to keep playing the main character of the tragedy, please go ahead. Let me leave now.”

“The next time I see you, I won’t be defeated like this.”

“You don’t want to be defeated by what? Cooking or Kaya?”

Min-joon was on edge at the moment when he mentioned Kaya’s name. When Brian could not reply, Min-joon said quickly in perfect English without any foreign accent, “Either way, I don’t think I will see you again. To be honest, I didn’t get close enough to want to see you again. Why don’t we think our meeting right now is our last one?”

“Nope, I won’t let you go without defeating you someday.”

“That’s interesting. I feel the same way now,” Min-joon said calmly.

He looked at Brian quietly, who, in turn, frowned slightly. He hated Min-joon’s expression like that. There was nothing like tension or nervousness in his face. He wanted to take that arrogance out of Min-joon who didn’t regard him as his rival at all.

“It won’t take long. Perhaps at the next Grand Chef, you won’t be complacent.”

“Man, you are so…”

Min-joon Cho hesitated for a moment but spoke out, “You look like a villain.”

***

“I’ve seen you after a long time, but I have to say goodbye now. Time flies like an arrow!”

Emily hugged Min-joon tightly with a sad expression.

He opened his mouth, smiling awkwardly.

“We are in the same business. So, we’ll see each other again. Our main restaurant will reopen soon.”

“Well, I don’t know if I can see you again.”

“Why?” Min-joon asked with a puzzled look.

Emily sighed for a moment then took out a necklace, which she kept inside her jacket.

A ring was hanging in the center of the necklace.

Noticing it, Kaya said, with her eyes flashing momentarily, “Emily, is that…”

“Yes, you got it right. I’ve been proposed to.”

“Oh my God! I can’t believe this.”

With a scream, she approached Emily closely.

As if she was embarrassed, Emily folded her arms and opened her mouth.

“I haven’t put it on my finger yet because the situation is complicated.”

“Oh, I see. Alan is in Italy and you are here in America, Emily. So, it’s hard for you to decide easily. Well, it’s hard to maintain long-distance relationships, but when it comes to long-distance couples…”

Kaya looked at the ring with a regretful expression. At that moment, Min-joon, who was next to her, felt somewhat pressured to hear that.

Joseph smiled and opened his mouth.

“What happens when you get married? Are you flying to Italy or is he coming here?”

“Maybe I’ll have to join him. Otherwise, we may have to live far apart. Alan can’t come because he is running a restaurant in Italy. He is not an employee, but the restaurant’s owner and head chef. He can’t give it up to join me here.”

“Emily, I understand you are traveling often because of your job, right?”

“Well, I was happy about it when I was dating. But I think I may not if I get married. So, our marriage is on hold now. Kaya, Min-joon, don’t ever think of living separately. It’s going to be hard for you in many ways.”

“Well, he hasn’t shown any signs of proposing to me yet.”

When she said that, Min-joon scratched his head awkwardly.

When she was staring at Min-joon, Takeshi said in a sincere voice, “Personally, I would like to see you guys get married and run a restaurant together although I don’t know when.”

“You mean the two of us?”

“Yes. You already know both of you are hitting it off well. If you join hands to run a restaurant, I think you will be able to cook as efficiently as five good chefs, let alone the cost-effective dishes.”

‘And…’ Takeshi narrowed his eyes for a moment. Today, Kaya’s dish was really perfect.

Of course, if somebody asked him if her three-course meal was the best in the world, he might answer differently, but given Kaya’s age and cooking experience, her recipe could not be better, something other chefs could hardly come up with.

‘How could she do it?’

Min-joon had a perfect palate, and he had a world-famous teacher named Rachel Rose. Of course, that alone wouldn’t help everyone have the same cooking skills and sense, but even so, there was definitely something in his skills that he benefited from the two factors.

In the case of Kaya, Takeshi couldn’t really understand how he developed such a wonderful recipe. She had never received any coaching from a teacher. Besides, for the past year since she won the Grand Chef competition, she had been in a situation where she could easily stagnate rather than grow as a chef.

Nevertheless, Kaya’s dish this time certainly improved, compared with it when she was on TV last year. And Takeshi recalled only one thing for her improvement.

‘I guess her interaction with Min-joon must have affected her positively.’

Sometimes, there was a relationship between men called rivals, which would help them grow a lot while they were stimulating each other. Kaya and Min-joon were both rivals and lovers. As much as they stimulated each other, it was natural that their cooking style was similar and that they didn’t stagnate at all.

But if he pointed it out, he would meddle in their matter presumptuously, so he stopped.

Takeshi opened his mouth with a gentle smile.

“Sorry, I think I had the presumption to ask you personal questions. I was so curious about the restaurant you’re going to run in the future.”

“Next time, I want to visit your restaurant, Chef Takeshi. Of course, I’d love to visit Chef Joseph’s restaurant, too. I’ve been thinking of that, but I haven’t until now.”

“Yes, I’ll send you an invitation soon,” Joseph replied with a smile.

After parting with the judges, it was time for Kaya and Min-joon to greet the participants and the team leaders. To put it precisely, there was only one team leader here because Brian didn’t attend.

Laura opened her mouth with a sigh, “Brian, he needs to grow up.”

“Let’s not talk about him since we are parting.”

“Okay. Anyway, next time, I won’t lose like this. I felt really bad today after I lost.”

Laura frankly spoke out what was on her mind.

Kaya smiled brightly at her because she felt rather comfortable being around someone like her who tried to be coy. It was not in her element to beat around the bush or hide her feelings.

“Where are you going now? Los Angeles?”

“No. I’m on vacation for some time. So, I’m going to follow Min-joon for a few days before going back.”