Chapter 232 - No more lonely on Christmas
"Chef, they're here!"
Even before they had several customers in the hall, Maya whispered in Min-joon's ear in an excited voice. He turned his head. Kaya, who entered the hall, was looking at him.
After exchanging glances briefly, he turned his head back to the kitchen counter.
Maya asked in a sullen voice, "How come your reaction is so tepid?"
"Then, do you want me to run wildly in excitement?"
"Oh that's not what I mean. I just want to tell you the way you reacted a moment ago was too lukewarm, given you were expecting this event so much.."
"I'm going to do my best because I've been expecting it as you said. Don't get carried away too much. You might ruin the dish. By the way, you look more excited than me right now."
"Well, other people's stories are supposed to be more interesting than mine, be it their love story or their lives."
"I have to agree. But stay alert before you get interested. We're involved in the lives of our customers coming to this restaurant a lot, be it small or big. Feel responsible for it."
"I'm feeling it. You're good in every way, but I don't like the way you try to preach to me like that."
Maya pouted her lips.
Min-joon said with a sigh, "Hey, that carrot with the citron candy on it, have you hardened it properly?"
"Of course. You mean like this… Uh?"
"Don't you know that if it hardens so quickly, there's more falling off than sticking to it? Since you are distracted like this, you are not doing the basics properly. Just focus!"
"I got it, Chef."
Min-joon looked at Kaya's table for a moment. He wanted to celebrate their get-together, but he found Bruce's face turning white while Grace was full of anger. But Min-joon wasn't worried.
No matter how hot the fire was burning in their hearts, the cuisine of Rose Island was delicious enough to cool the heat. So he believed that they would restore calm peace as well because delicious dishes were a magic that ruled people's minds more easily than expected.
'I want to be a wizard as good as Gandalf today.'
It was a moment when magic was more desperately needed than ever. Min-joon had never been more grateful than today that he was a molecular cooking demi-chef. He was involved in almost all menus involving molecular cuisine, small or large, which meant that he could handle the whole course in one way or another.
Numerous expected cooking scores, finished cooking scores, and composition scores came to his mind, let alone lots of windows showing the praise of his excellent cooking and the increase in his cooking skills.
However, at this moment, what he concentrated on right now was the turkey that was slowly cooking in the sous vide machine, or the broth jelly which was cooling off on the mold after boiling. Of course, what he anticipated the most was dessert.
He asked, looking at Maya, "You can't take what I prepared for Kaya's table to some other table, got it?"
"I know, don't worry."
To serve the tables where they requested desserts already, Min-joon held a kettle of hot jam and headed to other tables.
He smiled at the customers kindly and said, "Do you enjoy eating?"
"Yes. Very much… Uh? Min-joon! You came here in person?"
"I would like to treat you to a cup of special tea. Would you like to break this pomegranate?"
"It's too pretty to break it…"
When the customer hesitated for a moment then lifted the fork to break the pomegranate, the toffee candy clothes broke then the pomegranate powder and jellies in it were revealed.
The woman customer burst into happy laughter at the jelly that had eggs like real pomegranate.
"It's so cute. Chef Rachel is amazing, too. She still has this kind of girlish sensibility."
"Sorry, but I made it. An artist, male and female, sometimes needs a girly sensibility."
"Are you saying now you're an artist?"
When the customer asked teasingly, Min-joon smiled silently and tilted the kettle.
The customer was embarrassed instantly. Why was he pouring tea over the dessert?
As soon as she was confused, the hot pomegranate jam came into contact with the cold ice cream and extracted smoke. It was a fatally attractive showmanship.
"Wow, this is really an art…!"
"If you try the taste, you will be more surprised with admiration."
When he said that, the customers hurriedly lifted their spoons. Pomegranate jam and jellies, sticky and firm, were placed on top of it, along with powdered ice cream and sugary toffee candy crumbs.
The moment they put the dessert into their mouth, they couldn't really say anything.
The healthy sweet and sour taste that only fruits have, the temperature difference between hot and cold, and the soft and frail texture of the jelly fascinated their appetite in an instant.
All they could show was relish in it blankly.
'Is this really a dessert made by Min-joon, not Rachel Rose?'
The prices of the course served at Rose Island were by no means cheap. It was so expensive that ordinary customers must be ready to go hungry for some time to pay for it. Therefore, most of the people who came to this place to enjoy the dishes were affluent gourmets. Almost all the gourmets didn't spare money for delicious experiences.
So, these customers could clearly judge the quality of this dessert easily. It was sensuous, innovative, and seasoned. Everyone who ate Min-joon's dessert thought so.
'Is Rachel Rose's training so great? If not, his…'
There were a lot of people who had such a question, but none of them dared to ask Min-joon directly. After strongly impressing them with his original dessert, Min-joon could finally head to the table he wanted to serve.
Kaya smiled gently and looked at him.
"Are you here?"
"Congratulations on getting together like this! Did you enjoy your meal?"
"It tasted good. But you know, no matter how delicious the dish is, it doesn't taste good if you eat it with an annoying person," said Grace, glancing at Bruce.
Min-joon smiled bitterly. Even the kitchen guys could clearly feel that the atmosphere of Kaya's table was good. And it was natural that they were in a good mood because they could not solve the problem even if they pretended to smile and laugh.
"I wanted to do something for you, but the only thing I could do was cooking. So I prepared it. Even though I can't give you the answer to your problem, I want to prepare a table where you can sit and solve the problem."
Having said that, he put down a plate of pomegranate dessert.
What he served on Kaya's table was different from the one served at other tables.
Of course, the ingredients were the same. The word 'ordeal' was written on the surface of the toffee with a knife scratch.
Grace asked in a trembling voice, "You mean we have to swallow an 'ordeal'?"
"No. Break it. Take a fork and stab it relentlessly."
When he said that, Grace hesitated for a moment then raised a fork. However, when she saw the word 'ordeal,' it seemed that she got so upset again. She hit it hard with the fork, which shattered the toffee into pieces, revealing its inside. And there was also a special gift for them. Letters made of pomegranate jelly.
Zemma blankly read it. "Happi… ness?"
The ordeal was broken like that. As always, what followed was happiness.
Of course, that dish alone didn't make a dramatic change in their mood.
But, at least, it gave them an occasion for them to have a breathing space, which had been denied for a while, for Grace laughed, at last.
As if she could not help it, she looked at Min-joon with a lovely expression, then smiled at Kaya brightly.
"Kaya, you met a really childish guy."
"I fell in love with his childish attraction because I am also childish."
"Didn't you tell me you liked him because he was mature?"
Min-joon looked at Kaya with a sullen expression. Kaya smiled and beckoned to him to come closer. Feeling a bit nervous, he approached her. Then Kaya reached out and pinched his cheeks.
What happened afterward was too obvious. Kaya pulled his hair, and shortly afterward, Min-joon looked around, blushing. Customers were looking at them, giggling at him, let alone the kitchen staff, Grace, and Bruce.
Min-joon balked at Kaya, silencing his voice, "What are you doing in my workplace?"
"Well, it's more thrilling to do it in a place where you are not supposed to do it."
"You must be thrilled, but I…"
"What's the matter? If you're trying to act like a child, it's too late."
"Hey, you told me to act like a pure boy last time…"
"Because you are not a boy, I'm emphasizing it now."
Today, Kaya was such an eloquent speaker. Unable to find some proper response, he stared at her with a sulky expression.
Kaya asked, grinning at him, "It tasted like pomegranate, didn't it?"
At first, Min-joon got confused because he didn't understand her question.
When he thought about it for a moment, it was obvious what kind of answer she expected from him. He suddenly felt embarrassed, avoiding her gaze by fanning with his hands.
It would be unthinkable in Korea for her to ask him like this, for it would be really embarrassing to him if Kaya's parents noticed that he had coordinated with her about the surprise dish in advance.
'Dang it! I'm embarrassed by this kind of American soul.'
Fortunately, either Bruce or Grace didn't feel uncomfortable about this embarrassing situation.
It was rather Zemma who felt uneasy. In some respects, she seemed even more shy rather than uneasy because she didn't like it. By now, Zemma should have gone to high school, so it was natural she showed such a reaction as a teenage girl.
'I never thought the situation would unfold like this…'
Min-joon felt a bit embarrassed by Kaya's tactless question, but he achieved his goal because his dessert made the atmosphere of Kaya's dining table good anyway.
Min-joon looked at Zemma and asked, "How about the dish, Zemma? Did you enjoy the meal today?"
"Yeah. It was as good as the dish my sister made for me."
"Oh, it looks like you are saying my dish is the most delicious in the world."
Zemma smiled. Anybody watching her mouth trembling when she spoke might think her smile was unnatural, but Min-joon thought there was no more beautiful than her smile.