Chapter 196 - Chapter 196: In Front of the Starting Line (2)

“What kind of stupid question is that?”

Kaya looked at Anderson in shock. Anderson glared.

“Why? Is the answer clear?”

“Of course. I…”

“Wait. Stop right there.”

Anderson raised his hand. He glanced at Cho Min Joon in front of the pot.

“You two answer me at the same time. Who’s going to share a room with Min Joon? Let’s see if your precious boyfriend thinks the same way.”

“… Why would we think differently?”

“I don’t know. People are all different.”

Kaya glared at Anderson with big eyes. Anderson grinned and opened his mouth. The way he was speaking was bothering her.

“Should we make a bet? You don’t have to if you’re not confident.”

“I’m full of confidence. Bring it on.”

“Great. Then what’s the prize?”

Kaya thought for a moment. She then opened her mouth with a confident voice.

“Dishes. No, dishes, garbage, and cleaning. All of it. How’s that?”

“For how long?”

“For as long as we live together.”

Kaya glared at Anderson as if she was really that confident. But unfortunately, Cho Min Joon had no idea what Kaya was going to say. Did she think it was a given that they would share a room since they were dating? But they weren’t quite that close yet.

But it didn’t seem like it would be a given for him to share a room with Anderson either because they were dating. It was weird for him to sleep with a friend and leave his girlfriend alone.

Cho Min Joon’s head was busy. He never used his mind so much before, not even when he came up with recipes. Anderson opened his mouth.

“I’ll count to three. You have to answer at the same time. If you think I should share with Min Joon, hold up a fork. If you think it should be you two, hold up a spoon. Got it?”

“Sure. Count.”

Kaya gulped. Anderson also clenched with a nervous face. This was a problem. Whose side would God take? After a moment of silence, Anderson counted.

“… Three, two, one!”

“Spoon!”

“Fork!”

And their voices didn’t line up. Cho Min Joon and Kaya looked at each other. Kaya glared at Cho Min Joon with resentful eyes. Cho Min Joon shouted fork while Kaya shouted Spoon. Cho Min Joon looked away from Kaya’s eyes.

“No way. What is this… Min Joon? Are you serious? You like that guy better?”

“No, that’s not why… I didn’t think you would actually want to share a room.”

“It’s obvious. We’re dating! Why would we sleep separately?”

“Oh, I need to remove the foam.”

“Hey, we’re talking here!”

Cho Min Joon removed the foam from the broth without listening. Anderson looked at Kaya huffing and puffing and gave her a cold smile.

“Thanks, Kaya. You get to do the dishes, clean, and take out the garbage. You’re so diligent.”

“… Are you serious?”

“Of course. You’re the one who decided on it. But it’s up to you. I won’t criticize you for being a coward.”

“Don’t even say that yet. I didn’t say anything. I’m good at fighting, you know!”

“Jeez, I’m so scared. If you want to do it, that’s fine, too. Thanks, Maid.”

Kaya lifted her fist. Anderson calmly walked out.

“I’m off. I’m sleepy.”

“Traitor. He’s just leaving.”

“He never asked me to make broth. I came here myself.”

Anderson answered in a firm voice and left the kitchen. Kaya stuck out her lip and sat on a chair.

“That stingy bastard. He’ll probably meet a girl just as stingy as him one day.”

“Maybe he was being considerate… by giving us time alone?”

“Ha, that should’ve been me. Our dignified Min Joon wants to share a room with Anderson instead of me.”

“… Stop it. You know what I meant.”

“No, I don’t.”

Kaya put her arm on the armrest and tilted her head. She then mumbled in a sad voice. Dishes, cleaning, and garbage… Cho Min Joon sighed and said, “I’ll help you. Don’t worry.”

“Don’t. This is my doing. So I should take responsibility.”

“Okay then.”

Cho Min Joon didn’t hesitate. Kaya glared at the back of Cho Min Joon’s head with resentful eyes. Cho Min Joon spoke without even looking back, “Why did you even say that if you were going to glare?”

“Huh? How did you know I was glaring?”

“I know you.”

“Then you should’ve known what I was going to choose.”

“Maybe I did.”

Cho Min Joon answered in a nonchalant way. Kaya grumbled.

“You sure know how to talk the talk.”

“Hey, not many chefs can. It’s beneficial to be able to talk my way in and out of things, right?”

Kaya just watched Cho Min Joon’s head. He wasn’t cooking anything special. He was just boiling broth and removing the foam. But for some reason, the back of his head looked cool. He looked lovable and soft. Kaya slowly opened her mouth.

“How much did I succeed as a chef?”

“… I don’t think either of us is at that stage yet.”

“I’m not talking about grand success. I just feel like I’m falling behind. While you work in the kitchen, I spend most of my time in the hall. I show my face, take photos, give autographs. On top of that, I shamelessly accept compliments on the recipes I didn’t even make on my own… I feel like a con artist.”

At that moment, Cho Min Joon’s hands stopped. But he didn’t look back. He could’ve hugged her and comforted her. But he didn’t, he couldn’t. That was like going to someone who had a cold and saying, ‘That’s okay. You’re actually not sick.’ Even if it was hard… the shot had to be given. The rotten area needed to be removed. Cho Min Joon opened his mouth. He picked up the scalpel for the heart.

“Kaya, what are you frustrated about? That you can’t be in the kitchen or because you have to be Grand Chef’s mascot for a year?”

“Both.”

“Why are you frustrated?”

“I told you. I’m not a cook or a celebrity right now. It’s iffy. I’d rather just be like Chloe and be a full-out celebrity. I’m not anything right now. No, I’m not doing anything. That’s what I hate.”

Cho Min Joon quietly picked up his ladle. The ladle slowly scooped out the foam to a bowl. Cho Min Joon slowly opened his mouth again.

“Kaya, you’re a better chef than you think. You said your recipes aren’t perfect, right? And that’s why you can’t get better. I’m sure you’re lacking as a head chef. That’s a given. Then what do you think you should do right now?”

“… What do you mean?”

“What you want to do is cook, right? Then train. Come up with recipes, research, and try to become a real head chef. Make the kitchen yours. And even if you can’t succeed… the effort will take you somewhere. Are you doing that right now?”

Kaya didn’t answer, she couldn’t. Like Cho Min Joon said, Kaya wasn’t making that effort. Cho Min Joon continued, “A champion can’t get a championship belt if they don’t take up the challenge. Kaya, if you want to complain, do it after you actually try. Cry after getting beat up by your opponent. Then I’ll comfort you. But not now, Kaya. I don’t like that you’re crying when you didn’t even attempt anything.”

“… I never cried.”

“Yeah, don’t.”

Kaya got up and hugged Cho Min Joon from the back. Her two arms pushed through his armpits and hugged him tight. Kaya whispered in a low voice, “You’re mean. You’re so strict.”

“So don’t act like a child.”

“I’m still a kid. I’m a teenager.”

“… I guess you’re right.”

Cho Min Joon put his ladle down and turned around. He kissed Kaya on the forehead and smiled.

“Don’t you think I would’ve made a good teacher?”

Kaya smirked.

“You probably would’ve quit to become a chef.”

***

Her body felt heavy. She wasn’t sure if she was breathing or if she could lift her fingers. She felt like her eyes opened from sleeping, but by the time she came to her senses, the world was dark.

By the time she escaped the iffy world, what Kaya saw first was a round face. Ella’s face was right in front of hers. Kaya rubbed her eyes and stretched.

“Yawn… Ella, what are you doing here?”

She sounded tired and sleepy. Ella flipped her hair. In her arms was the doll that Chloe autographed.

“I came back from kindergarten!”

“Kindergarten? It’s still morning.”

“No, it’s not. It’s the afternoon.”

Ella stuttered and immediately corrected herself. But Kaya didn’t think Ella was cute or foolish. She blankly took out her phone. But it wouldn’t turn on. It was out of batteries. Kaya looked at Ella with a nervous face

“Ella, do you have a phone?”

“No, I’m not allowed yet.”

“Then a watch?”

“I don’t know. It’s past 2 though.”

She wasn’t talking about 2 in the morning. Kaya grabbed her forehead and sighed. She was late. She was so late that she didn’t even rush. Cho Min Joon’s voice was still clear in her head, but she was late on her first day.

Kaya got up with a sad face. It was a mistake to stay up all night. She put her head down on the table to get some rest, but she somehow woke up on the sofa. Did Cho Min Joon put her there? Kaya looked back at Ella.

“What’s Min Joon doing?”

“Cooking.”

“… Still?”

Kaya looked worried. If she was this tired, she couldn’t imagine how tired he must’ve been. But she didn’t resent him for not waking her up. After all, that was her responsibility.

As soon as she left the office, she could smell the savory broth. She didn’t smell anything fishy. Since he continued to take out the oil and foam, it was a given… But she was even more worried knowing how much care he put into it.

“H-hello, Kaya.”

“Oh, hello.”

Kaya answered the cooks’ greetings and headed to the hall. Cho Min Joon was there. When he looked at Kaya, he smiled tiredly.

“Oh, Kaya. You woke up?”

“… Did you get any sleep?”

“That’s okay. I’m fine. I called your agent. I said you’re not feeling well.”

“Why are you worrying about me? You look like you could faint.”

Kaya sounded a little mad. Rafael whispered in Janet’s ear.

“The rumors were right. Cho Min Joon is whipped.”

“I don’t know. I thought it was the opposite.”

“Really?”

Janet looked at Kaya and Cho Min Joon instead of answering. Rafael turned that way as well. Cho Min Joon smiled softly and sat next to Kaya.

“Get mad at me later and taste this first. It won’t be too heavy. I materialized the broth and put beef wrapped in lasagne inside. I also added nutmeg powder and salt. Try it.”

He couldn’t scold her when she looked like she was excited to eat. Kaya opened her mouth and accepted the food. It was fascinating. To be more exact, the texture was interesting. It looked like jelly, but it tasted different. It was like water with structure. The broth melted in her mouth, and the beef wrapped in lasagne was chewy and delicious.

But the deepest of all was the taste of the broth. How could it taste like this from time and care alone? While the taste of Asian cuisine melted in her mouth, the lasagne and the beef elevated the flavors. Kaya forgot about her worry and expressed her awe.

“You should add this to your menu. It’s really good.”

“That might be hard. It’s not easy making broth.”

“… That’s true. Then why did you make it? You can’t even sell it.”

Cho Min Joon laughed instead of answering. Kaya grimaced.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Well, you said I was wasting my time yesterday, but now you’re sad I can’t sell it. Isn’t it funny? Time and care actually shows.”

Kaya thought about what he just said. Those words didn’t sound light. And her answer was heavier than usual as well.

“I hope we pour that much time and care into our relationship, too.”

Cho Min Joon held Kaya’s hand.

“We’ll boil it until the meat falls off the bones.”