Chapter 294: Things that Have Changed (2)

His mind just wandered at that moment. At first, he thought he could be purely happy with Dong-hyok’s change, but he felt something like bitterness deep down. He knew he could not make a pure smile at the head chef, faced with his kindness mixed with his own interests and calculations

Min-joon was silent for a while after ordering the meal.

Looking at him slightly, Kaya opened her mouth.

“Why are you looking so emaciated?”

“Do I look like that?”

“Your eyes drooped, your mouth is turned up a bit, and you’ve been fiddling with a fork for no reason.”

“Do you think you are Sherlock Holmes? How can you read my mind just by seeing those signs?”

“Your expression is so clear that anyone can read it.”

Min-joon did not answer. Meanwhile, pre-dinner bread was served. It was a relatively soft baguette.

‘The cooking score is 7…’

The bread was impressive to him because he got used to the bread that Lisa and Marco made. Still, he thought the bread might taste special because it wasn’t made by the baker of this restaurant, but the head chef. However, Min-joon didn’t look bright when he saw the soup made with onions, cheese, and curry.

‘6 points.’

In some cases, the cooking score didn’t reflect the taste of the dish accurately. He hoped the score was not right, but when he put the soup in his mouth, it didn’t taste good enough. Of course, soup itself was difficult to leave a strong impression on the customer, but the problem was Dong-hyok, the head chef. Though he was not yet, he would be one of the most famous chefs in Korea thanks to his appearances on TV.

Of course, Dong-hyok could improve his cooking skills over time, but given his fame in the future, his current dish was far from good. At that moment, he asked with a look of expectation, “Does it taste good?”

Min-joon replied briefly, “Yes, sort of.”

When Min-joon replied shortly, he looked embarrassed momentarily. When he saw Min-joon on TV, he was kind, gentle and polite, but he was now rather tough and even sensitive.

‘Is it because there is no cameraman around him? Or does he want to focus on the dish? Oh, he collapsed recently, and he had a dispute with Nam-hoon Lee. It’s natural he feels under the weather now,’ Dong-hyok thought to himself.

Dong-hyok was thinking of some excuses for his dish at the moment. He was confident the soup would taste good because he paid particular attention to making it, conscious of Min-joon. He made sure the onion should not be crushed, and he took out the oven-baked cheese in the most appropriate condition without taking his eyes off of it for a moment.

However, Min-joon didn’t feel it was that delicious. To put it more accurately, it tasted delicious, but he was not satisfied with it.

‘Is it because I’ve been accustomed to really good dishes?’

Of course, that was not true. Some of the Korean dishes he enjoyed here were much better than he expected. For example, Pyongyang cold noodles and ox head rice soup were excellent. But the current soup before him tasted just okay.

He turned to Kaya and asked, “How do you feel.”

He thought she would show the same reaction because she was more picky about the taste than him.

But she reacted differently, to his surprise.

“Very fresh.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, that’s right. Look at the menus now. It’s pure European taste without any improvement or change. Of course, it’s got some localized taste. But I think this is enough to bring out the original taste.”

“But why do you think it’s so fresh?”

“You said this is a famous place. Besides, it’s popular among people. So, I think this is very fresh, given that they can make such good dishes without going through any improvement.”

Min-joon looked down at the onion soup again. It was definitely far from the type of soup that made him feel fresh. With chicken and vegetable broth, lightly caramelized onions were mixed with mozzarella cheese, which was rather chewy and rough in texture. This onion soup tasted okay, but it was far from special or fresh.

But it was true that the onion soup was different from the typical onion soup.

“Oh, come to think of it, I’m in Korea now.”

In fact, European style dishes were no different in Korea. Only a few years ago in America, there was a craze for something European, so even some restaurant owners coined the words of European origin for signs of their restaurants. Even now, such a craze still existed.

Such a craze was now in the offing in Korea, too. Lots of restaurant owners yearned for something European. They thought that the kind of European dish that didn’t go through any improvement or localization would look fresh and great to the customers. When Min-joon thought about it, he felt the current soup might be better than he thought.

Min-joon and Kaya kept enjoying the meal. Salad dressed with a mix of mustard, vinegar, cooking oil, salt, and pepper. Besides, French-style salad with a mixture of soft-boiled eggs and sour cream. A puree mignon marinated in apricot sauce with fusilli. Steak with fried radish and foie gras paté, etc.

Every time he served a different dish, Dong-hyok asked Min-joon and Kaya. At first, Min-joon answered with an awkward expression, but as time passed, he got more comfortable about replying to his questions. He was a cruel guy, and Min-joon thought so. And his dishes weren’t that glamorous, compared to his arrogance.

But Min-joon didn’t want to badmouth his dishes. He didn’t want to sneer or mock him. Maybe that was the best dish he could make. Min-joon thought that if he did his best, that was enough.

Was it because of that? Min-joon was not swayed when Dong-hyok asked when he was leaving.

“How about the food here? I made it by putting a lot of effort into it. Did it taste good?”

“Yeah, it tasted good.”

“Man, your feedback is too short. Oh, sorry to push a customer like you like this. I’m so curious about how someone with a perfect palate like you can evaluate my dish. Oh, have you already analyzed my recipes?”

Min-joon smiled lightly to suggest he didn’t want to reply. Fortunately, Dong-hyok noticed it.

He grumbled deep down, ‘Man, it’s so hard to get his feedback. I wonder if he didn’t like my dishes..’

To be honest, Dong-hyok felt frustrated with his attitude, but he couldn’t express it. He was too tough for a chef like Dong-hyok to deal with. Why? First of all, Min-joon’s stardom was incomparable to any other chef in the Korean cuisine circles, secondly, he had a perfect palate that nobody had, and thirdly, he was the top world chef Rachel Rose’s student.

The fact that he was Rachel’s student carried a significant weight in the western cuisine world. It wasn’t just because of a more systematic system in place there that Korean chefs went abroad to learn the cooking methods of western food. The mere fact that they just learned the western food at a certain restaurant in a foreign country, or they learned western food abroad changed the people’s perception of them in an instant to the extent that they were called sophisticated chefs.

In that respect, Min-joon was overwhelmingly sophisticated, compared with any chef in Korea and abroad. In the Western gastronomic world, American restaurants generally tended to be ignored because they couldn’t make really delicious dishes. But Rose Island was an exception because Rachel and her students’ status was widely recognized around the world.

When Min-joon became Rachel’s student, there were high expectations of him in the Korean gastronomic world. Some of them speculated that there might be a Korean branch of Rose Island in the future. Even now, they didn’t give up such expectations. To put it more accurately, their expectations were rising more.

“Are you coming again?”

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t live here in Korea.”

“Please stop by when you come to Korea again. I’ll make delicious dishes for you.”

Min-joon smiled again at him. At that moment, Dong-hyok looked at Kaya and said hello to her in clumsy English. The corners of her mouth quirked with indifference.

She said with a nod, “See you again.”

They were about to get out of the restaurant when sous chef Yu-sok Park came out and approached him. Surprised a bit, Min-joon stopped. In fact, the one who harassed him most was Yu-sok, not Dong-hyok. Unlike Dong-hyok who was often on a TV cuisine show, Min-joon had to always be in the same kitchen with Yu-sok, and for that reason, he was always exposed to Yu-sok’s hysterical hot temper.

“Chef Min-joon, can I get your autograph?”

Min-joon could hardly accept his innocent expression, who looked at him with pure eyes sparkling like a child. Min-joon nodded with an awkward expression. Smiling broadly, he handed a pen and paper to Min-joon.

Min-joon asked in a quiet voice, “May I ask your name?”

“Ah, Yu-sok Park.”

“What should I say here?”

“Well, you can just put down something like, ‘I wish you can be a good chef.’ That’s enough.”

“Oh, there is no ink in this pen.”

“Ah! Wait a minute. I’ll give you a new pen.”

Yu-sok hurriedly looked for another pen then went to the counter to get a pen.

Min-joon started to write down with a bitter smile, when he opened his mouth, looking at Min-joon and Kaya, “I really respect both of you. I always thought I wanted to be like you, especially Chef Min-joon.”

“Why me?”

“Because you are a male chef like me.”

Min-joon smiled at his classic answer. As he was happy when Min-joon smiled at his joke, Yu-sok made a broader smile on his lips. Min-joon found his smile rather uncomfortable. It was the situation only that had changed, but Yu-sok’s hardened feelings toward him were eased up.

‘Man, it’s me who has changed a lot.’

Maybe it was Min-joon’s situation that had changed.

As soon as he was done singing his own autograph, Kaya also put down her name beside it.

While Yu-sok was smiling cheerfully, Min-joon offered to shake hands with him with a bitter smile.

“I hope you can be a chef who is nice to your juniors.”

“Why do you emphasize that?”

“Because such a chef is the best chef.”

When Min-joon said that, Yu-sok was still confused, not knowing how to understand his point.

When Yu-sok held his hand, Min-joon grabbed it and said, “Okay, you have promised to be nice to your junior chefs, right?”

“Oh, yes. I will keep it in mind!”

“See you next time. Hope we can be better chefs when we meet next time.”

That was Min-joon’s last message to the restaurant. After descending the stairs, he looked at the restaurant building for a while.

Watching him curiously, Kaya folded his arms and asked, “Were you dumped by a girl here?”

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“Because your eyes look so depressed like a man with a broken heart. What’s wrong with you?”

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