God of Cooking

<The Start of a Change (3)>

He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Jo Minjoon’s face started to harden as Justin looked away ashamed, unable to look at the former in the face. Jo Minjoon looked around the room before grabbing Justin by the arm and dragging him to a corner. He looked at Justin with a serious expression.

“What did you say? Can you be more specific?”

“It is…Well, I am not sure… I was the last one out of the restaurant, and I don’t remember if I turned off the stove properly… So…”

Justin looked like he was about to cry. Jo Minjoon bit his lips and stared at Justin for a long time. His mind was complicated. As a result, his response was simple.

“You are not certain, right?”

“…yes.”

“Then don’t bring it up.”

Jo Minjoon said in a cautious tone. Justin looked at Jo Minjoon more confused than before. Jo Minjoon who had his arms crossed said again in a cautious tone.

“Why are you trying to make people confused when it is not even certain. Just sit tight and don’t create more problems when things are unsure.”

“Can I really do that?”

“You will only cause more problems. If you don’t want to make any enemies then just drop it.”

That was the correct solution. Since it was not certain, they couldn’t blame him or be angry at him. What would happen to the environment if they blamed him now but later found out that he was not the culprit.

“Then what should I do now?”

“First, don’t blame yourself. How can you blame yourself without any evidence? If the result from the investigation says that the cause of the fire was due to the stove, maybe you can blame yourself. But we don’t know the results yet. So why are you blaming yourself? It is not a good thing for your mind or your body.”

Even with all of Jo Minjoon’s advice Justin still looked conflicted. It wasn’t a light topic that could be eased after a few words of advice. Jo Minjoon sighed. It was important to know whether Justin caused the fire or not. But Rachel’s condition took precedence.

He didn’t know how much pain and sadness was hidden within the tough front that she displayed. He didn’t want to add fuel to the fire with Justin’s comment.

So, Jo Minjoon said again in a cautionary tone

“Don’t act prematurely.”

*********

“How was Korea?”

Rachel smiled as she asked in a calm voice. He tried his best to smile as he replied.

“It was good. I learned that there was a deeper taste to certain dishes that I thought I knew, I also learned new tastes that I never knew before.”

“I asked you about your vacation, but you replied with cooking first.”

“Enjoying food is the best vacation.”

“I advised you to take a break. But all you thought about was cooking. I don’t know if I should be angry with you or if I should say you are you.”

“You don’t have the energy to be angry.”

“You are right… I don’t have the energy to be angry.”

Rachel laughed bitterly. Jo Minjoon carefully grabbed Rachel’s hand. Her wrinkled and small hand was colder than he imagined. Rachel smiled apologetically.

“I wanted to let you get some rest, but I made you even more restless.”

“It’s alright. It can be a chance to learn something new.”

“Is your body alright?”

“…I want to say yes. But I am not sure.”

Jo Minjoon sighed. Rachel said in a regretful tone.

“If she wasn’t tied to Grand Chef, I could have brought her as well.”

“…Are you talking about Kaya? Is it because she is my girlfriend?”

“No. I wouldn’t think so. I also covet her.”

With a surprised look, Jo Minjoon nodded in agreement with what Rachel said. In truth, the one that Rachel wanted was Kaya not him. She had better taste and better cooking skills than he had. Although he boasts a better understanding of the composition of recipes…

‘What sort of sight can we see if Kaya returned to the kitchen.’

Just the thought got him excited. Although she hasn’t had the opportunity to properly step into a kitchen, her cooking skills were getting sharper rather than getting dull. He could tell from the dishes that she made at home. The strength to balance both simplicity and art. She was able to make sandwiches that look like a menu from a high-quality restaurant. Which was a feat he couldn’t easily imitate.

“I think it would be great if Kaya could come into our restaurant. Have you thought about it?”

“Well. I need to see the situation. I need to make room if she says she wants to come. How is she? What does she think?”

“I don’t know. I have talked to her about it yet.”

“New season of Grand Chef is starting soon, how much time does she have remaining?”

“Her contract will end by the time we reopen.”

Jo Minjoon tried to avoid talking about the fire as much as possible in front of Rachel. He didn’t want to touch her scars. Seeing this, Rachel lightly smiled.

“It seems that I am always worrying you.”

“What?”

“You are too obvious trying to avoid saying fire. You don’t need to do that. I won’t deny that I am weak. But it is a reason for me to stand back up and walk forward. So, you don’t need to worry about me.”

“…but isn’t it painful?”

“The world is a painful place. It is funny thinking about it. I started cooking to be happy but cooking sometimes drives me further away from happiness.”

Rachel looked out the window. He wanted to know what she was looking at. What was in her sight? Before he could even ask, she spoke.

“Minjoon. How about you? Are you happy walking this path, or does it feel painful?”

“I am happy.”

“I see.”

Rachel nodded. Jo Minjoon added with a stuffy voice.

“It’s all thanks to you teacher. Because you were here, I didn’t have to worry about my path, I could walk proudly without going astray.”

“That’s good to know.”

“There is someone that I met during my Korea trip. I told you about him. Chef Hong.”

“Yes, I do remember.”

“He has the same worry as you. He was cooking without knowing if he was driven by dream or by greed. And he seems to be suffering just like you. It pained me… watching him. Because he reminded me of you.”

Rachel couldn’t say anything. It is something difficult to say. Knowing this Jo Minjoon continued as if he didn’t want an answer.

“So, I decided. Although I cannot stand in front of the path you are walking, I will stand right behind you, supporting you. So, wait for me. I will get there eventually.”

It was like a heartfelt confession to a lover. Rachel stared at Jo Minjoon with an expression that couldn’t be read. Then she slowly hugged him and said.

“I am sorry. Can I hug you for a bit?”

Jo Minjoon replied in a low voice.

“You can hug me forever.”

****************

“…You are going to bounce around the different branches?”

Kaya asked in a confused tone. Jo Minjoon shook his head and replied.

“No, I only plan on going to places that I believe have problems. Preferably I think it is a good idea to visit all the branches, but the emphasis is on the branches that are having problems.”

“That’s not the point. So, I won’t be able to see you for how many months?”

“You will still see me. Since we can facetime.”

“That means we won’t be able to cuddle.”

Kaya’s face was distorted, looking both angry and sad. She put her hand on Jo Minjoon’s face. He removed her hand from his face.

“You licked your finger after eating the cookies.”

“Are you saying that my hand is dirty?”

“Can I lick my finger and touch your face?”

“…You are too much. We won’t be able to see each other for a while.”

Kaya replied, pouting her lips. Jo Minjoon pinched her lip as he shook his head.

“I am not leaving right away. There are some things I need to do before leaving, the earliest that I’ll leave is in a few days, and the latest would be a week.”

“You are still leaving. Oh, man. What am I going to do in this empty house?”

“Clean, wash, cook.”

“…Do you want to die?”

Kaya’s eyes became sharp as those of the big cats. Jo Minjoon looked around the house. The radiator on the wall, the carpet on the floor, it felt like he lived here his whole life.

“It could be lonely for a few months.”

“Call frequently.”

“You think I won’t? We texted whenever we got the chance during the Food Trip.”

“But…”

“Your contract with Grand Chef will end pretty soon.”

She was feeling the passage of time by watching the trailers for the new season of Grand Chef on TV. Kaya nodded with a sigh.

“I got calls from many places, but I don’t know where to go. I want to stay in LA. Are they rebuilding in the same location?”

“I don’t know. They might or they might not. There are talks about rebuilding, or moving to different locations. The location wasn’t the best. It looks beautiful during the day, but there are too many homeless during the night.”

Some of the talks that he heard sounded right, but others sounded like bullshit. Kaya sighed as she shook her head.

“So, you might leave LA?”

“We probably won’t…First, it’s because of Lisa. Her bakery is here. Second, taking different things into consideration, we might leave Santa Monica and move more inwards towards the center of LA.”

“So, I need to put more thought in deciding which restaurant I am going to go to. I don’t want to be too apart from you.”

Kaya frowned as if she was worried. Looking at Kaya, Jo Minjoon asked her the question.

“What if you apply for Rose Island?”