Chapter 238 - Sometimes friend, sometimes enemy
"If you need help, tell me anytime. I want…" Said Zemma.
"Hey, Zemma. Don't talk to Min-joon. He's really a bad guy."
Kaya suddenly intervened and grabbed her arm and pulled it.
Zemma laughed awkwardly and looked back at Kaya.
"Sis, can't you have a lover's quarrel later?"
"Lover's quarrel? No way! That guy is really… Hey!"
Kaya screamed, looking back.
At that moment, Grace slapped Kaya's back so hard that Zemma heard it.
Grace looked at Kaya with a stern expression and said, "I told you clearly you should be nice to Min-joon, right?. Don't show your f*cking personality to him. Got it?"
"Mom, I've already shown him the worst of my personality! I can't play coy with him forever."
"Have you ever done so?"
"Yes! In the past, I brushed my teeth and applied lotion when I was with him. I'm still doing it even now."
"Wow, you've come a long way, Kaya. Anyway, be nice to him. If you have a quarrel with him, I think it's your fault."
"You are my Mom, right?"
"Because I'm your Mom, I can tell you exactly. If something goes wrong, I think you are to blame, not him."
Kaya stared at Grace with a dissatisfied expression, but she approached Min-joon casually and said, "I'm always sorry for my immature daughter. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing fine. Kaya is so nice to me. She is cooking even Korean dishes for fear I might be homesick. This morning she cooked a very spicy burrito for me."
"That's why you got even with that girl with eyebags."
"You bet. I like you Grace so much!"
Kaya made a terrifying expression, watching the two chatting in a cheerful mood, but unfortunately, they didn't care about her at all.
Kaya pledged deep down, 'Min-joon, I will get even with you by all means.'
***
[Chocolate with banana cream]
Freshness: 89%
Origin: (There are several ingredients, so it is hidden)
Quality: High
Cooking score: 7/10
[Chocolate with unripened durian]
Freshness: 83%
Origin: (There are several ingredients, so it is hidden)
Quality: Low
Cooking score: 2/10
'It's clever. Kaya.'
Holding back the urge to burst into laughter, Min-joon looked into the chocolate box.
Since Christmas, Kaya had always been on the offensive stance to get even with him.
The chocolate box before his eyes was a case in point. Most of them were perfectly normal chocolates, but only one of them was put in unripened durian, which would taste terrible the moment he ate it. However, he had never been duped off. Actually, he made it a rule to check her dishes for him at the system window first since he was burned by the Habanero pepper.
Min-joon asked with an air of innocence, "Any fake chocolate mixed here?"
"You know how to get away with it no matter what. I just gave up."
"So, you are not mad anymore, right?"
At that moment, Kaya hesitated, but was she trying to catch him off guard?
She made an excessively gentle smile then hugged him.
"If you still stay upset, how can I hug you like this?"
However, he was still wary of her. He was surprised to see her pretending to be innocent.
He put his hand to the chocolate box. She looked at him rather impatiently.
He put chocolate in his mouth and chewed it.
She spoke to him casually, "How does it taste?"
"It tastes good. You put fried bananas here? It has a strong taste of bananas rather than cream."
"Yes, it was fried. I'm glad you like it."
Kaya smiled gently, thinking, 'Yeah, just keep enjoying it. When you suddenly get exposed to the disgusting taste of unripened durian while expecting the sweet taste of bananas, you'll be shocked even more.'
At that moment, Min-joon put a piece of chocolate into her mouth.
"You try it, too. It's really delicious."
"Oh, I have to lose weight."
"Just try one. You won't gain weight with just one chocolate bar."
At his suggestion, she hesitated for a moment then bit the chocolate in her mouth. Of the 30 chocolate bars, only one had unripened durian. Thinking like that, she bit it. Suddenly her face stiffened. As if he didn't know anything, he looked at her casually and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. It's really delicious."
"I agree."
But she hastily swallowed the chocolate then reached out to pick another chocolate to rinse her mouth. But he closed the box quickly.
She looked at him with a frown.
He said, "You said you're on a diet. So, don't eat it anymore."
"Just one more, please…"
"You are going to eat them all if you have one more."
Since her plan failed, she could not tell him she was going to have him eat that unripened durian. She got cold sweat a bit, then stood up with an uncomfortable expression.
"My stomach hurts. Let me go to the restroom."
"Yeah, go ahead."
Min-joon smiled at her, who was making a beeline to the restroom. He heard the sound of faucet water, then her throwing out. Since she had a keen taste, she would have a hard time soothing her stomach by now.
'That's why you should be nice to me, Kaya.'
Of course, he knew she didn't do it with malicious intent. A little later, she came back and sighed.
Min-joon asked with a smile, "Are you feeling better?"
"Just a little bit. Take this."
She responded with a harsh voice and threw something in front of him. It was a small box.
He asked curiously, "What is this?"
"Birthday present. Yesterday, I didn't give it to you because I was somewhere else."
"Oh…"
It was December 30. Yesterday was his birthday. He looked at it for a moment then slowly unpacked it. And he chuckled.
"It's a business card."
On the business card sparkling in silver was written a number of things with a sign of Rose Island as follows.
< 3rd place in 3rd season of Grand Chef competition (lost to Kaya Reuters.)
He had a perfect palate.
He is working as a demi-chef at the Rose Island main store (most successful).
Currently owned by Kaya Reuters.>
"What the heck is ?"
"Don't you see it? It's a business card."
"Do you really want me to show it to everyone?"
"Of course. It's for distribution, not collection. What the heck, you are not happy now?"
"Oh, I'm happy, but…"
"Then, shut up and give me a hug of thanks. I have to go out now."
Having said that, she opened her arms. He hugged her tightly with a sigh.
He said in a heavy voice, "Why are you so busy at the end of the year?"
"As you know, a grand chef like me is almost like an entertainer. When they are busy, we're not, but we are busy when they are not."
"Well, I guess I've never seen you not busy"
"Thank you for saying that."
"Isn't it hard for you?"
Instead of answering, she kissed his cheek then got out of his arms.
"Let me go now."
"Goodbye. And…"
He moved his lips a bit. He felt it so hard to say this particular word when he expressed everything to her freely. She kissed his lips gently with a smile then said something he wanted to say a moment ago, "I love you."
Even before he replied, she closed the door and left. He slowly leaned over the sofa, feeling as if he was emaciated.
"I feel so different compared to that time."
It was right before he turned 30. Back then, he was peeling off garlic in a restaurant, with nobody he could rely on. At least for now, he was with his lover, Kaya, but he was just alone at that time.
Even though it was around the end of the year, Min-joon had hardly anything to do. Rachel once again let her staff take a long break instead of holding a party. At the same time, she gave them two days of paid vacation leave on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Given that Jan. 2 was Sunday, they were virtually given a three-day holiday.
'What are you going to do for 3 days?'
Anderson asked Min-joon if he would come to a party held at his parents' restaurant, but frankly, he didn't like the Western party culture. He preferred a calm and quiet atmosphere to the party noise.
So, it was Rose Island that he naturally found peace of mind. He thought he could enjoy his own free time at the kitchen comfortably with nobody around at this time of the year. But he was mistaken. There was somebody in the kitchen when he got there.
"Havier?"
"Oh, Min-joon?"
Havier, who was standing at the kitchen counter, looked a bit embarrassed to see him.
Min-joon glanced at the kitchen counter slightly. There were some pieces of paper on which he wrote down his recipe, and there were all kinds of colored sauces around the food grinder as if he agonized over the sauces.
"What are you doing here at year-end?"
"I told you already. I would do it myself. So, I thought I couldn't lag behind you guys anymore."
As if he was so weak to raise his voice, it was pretty subdued. Min-joon could understand his position because he, Janet, and Anderson devised their own recipe in only three days at Rachel's order that they should prepare it by Jan. 10. But Havier could not come up with one yet.
It was really strange. When he was trying to develop a menu by himself, he couldn't do it even for a month, but the moment he worked with his coworkers, he hit upon a recipe idea in just three days.
Of course, considering the ingredient composition, they had to tailor their common recipe to Haviers's. That was why Havier felt more pressured because he didn't want to do them a disservice. If he can't come up with his own recipe…
Havier said, "I'm sorry. I'm still thinking about it. Please understand if I don't say anything."
Min-joon looked at him without responding. Probably, it would be difficult for Havier to accept the current situation when he was falling behind the other three. So, he might want to catch up with them by all means. So, Min-joon could not offer to help him right now.
At that moment, Havier shouted, startled, "Hey, Min-joon, what are you doing?!"
Surprisingly, Min-joon was dipping the sauce strewn on the sink and putting it in his mouth. Min-joon said in a calm voice, "Avocado puree sauce would go better with turkey. But it's a very common taste. This is a composition that you can taste right away at a local sandwich shop. And as for this soy sauce, you put an orange, but I don't get any taste of orange. Unless you fix it, it won't appeal…"
"What the hell are you…"
"I don't think you want to hear my advice on the recipe idea, but I can give you my own feedback on it, like I did to others. So, don't try to stop me."
Havier was trying to reply, but he bit his lips as if he was choked with emotions.
Min-joon waited for him to open his mouth.
Finally, Havier slowly opened his mouth, "I'm too stupid, right?"
Sometimes you have to be stupid. And I support you for that. So, don't blame yourself. It's hard, but don't feel hard. I'll help you."
"Oh, why are you trying to help me?"
"Because we are friends," said Min-joon immediately.
Then he looked Havier in the eye and said, "If someone like you is struggling, how can't I help him?"