God of Cooking

Chapter 113: The winner’s scale (2) God of Cooking
Name：God of Cooking
The sights of the chefs got fixed on Kaya. And she looked at them as if there was a problem.

“What are those eyes?”
“……You are saying such a thing with such a calm expression.”
“There are lot more things being said about me, will this much be a problem?”
“Good. I like your ambition. And I also like your dish.”
He said while pointing at the langostin. Kaya smirked.

“I told you. That it was made by the chef I admire the most.”
“But that admiration, is that possible? He got eliminated earlier than you. In conclusion that means that he’s a worse cook than you…… If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to admire him.”

At those words, Kaya’s eyes became sharp.

“The reason why disciples admire their teacher isn’t always because they are better than them. In the first place, Minjoon has many talents I don’t. The reason why he got eliminated earlier than me is…… he was just unlucky. Because he was a foreigner.”
“I don’t know about anything else, but I agree on what you said about admiring but not being better than themselves. There are teachers that even if they have good skills, they aren’t admirable at all. And there are also teachers that although they don’t have skills, they are admirable. I……..”

California glanced at New York. New York didn’t return the sight, but it could be seen that he was quite aware of it.

“Well, I have a noncommitted teacher.”
“Hey! I brought you up that didn’t even have experience and raised you well……..!”
“Why don’t I have experience? It had already been 10 years since I have washed the dishes instead of my mom.”
“So you broke the dishes like that? Originally, I shouldn’t even have given you your salary!”
“The dishes were really slippery……”

California started to eat the pure with an expression as if it was really unfair. New York frowned as if he couldn’t hold it.

Kaya quietly left the table. She didn’t know why she felt good today. Regardless of being a day that she has to be nervous more than ever, she felt peace in her heart.

In the other side, Anderson couldn’t do so. But of course, it wasn’t that he was showing his lacking side. He led the kitchen more cool headedly than ever, and there were no flaws on the food. However, you couldn’t see leisure in his face at all. Perhaps, it would be more obvious in Anderson’s situation. It was a moment where his life would be decided. It was a place that even if you wanted to feel comfortable, you couldn’t.

Kaya rested her neck on the back of the sofa and stared at the ceiling. The lamp was emitting light like usual, but she didn’t know why it felt like it was shining more than usual. She felt dizzy. Was it because she did many things in a short time? Chloe put a biscuit in Kaya’s mouth. Kaya turned her head with an absent minded expression while still having the biscuit in her mouth.

“You look like you need some sugar. Eat for now.”
“Aieuuuueoi.”
“Don’t speak while having something in your mouth.”

Chloe snickered and pressed the biscuit. Kaya barely gulped it down and said.

“Ughhhhh……..”

But of course it was closer to a moan rather than words. Just how much strength did she lose that it seemed like she didn’t even have the strength to close her mouth again.

Kaya opened her mouth absent mindedly and did nothing. She really did nothing. Rolling her eyes, blinking, and she didn’t even breathe. How many seconds could she have been like that? When Chloe counted about 30 seconds inwardly, Kaya roughly took in some breaths.

“…….Are you fine?”
“Not at all. But it’s fortunate that today is the last day.”
“What are you going to do after the competition?”
“I wonder. First, I will pay the debt of my mom with the 300 thousand dollars…… And will I move to another house? But with 300 thousand dollars it would even be difficult to get a house with only one bedroom.”
“You can go to another state instead of New York. There’s also Georgia.”
“I don’t know. If my mother would want to leave New York. Although it was tedious, it’s the place that we lived almost half of our lives.”
“So what?”

Anderson cutted her words. He looked at Kaya as if it was nonsense.

“Why are you talking like you have certainly won?”
“When did I?”
“The moment you started to talk about the 300 thousand dollars means that you will win.”
“I don’t know. If after you win you say ’Ah, actually the genuine winner in this competition is Kaya Lotus. I will not only give the glory of this victory to Kaya Lotus, but also the prize to her.’ “
“…….Rather, the future where Alan and Emily marries each other will be more realistic.”

Kaya didn’t reply back. It seemed like all her energy depleted with copying Anderson right before. Only after a long while did Kaya speak with a split voice, like someone that sang for quite a few hours.

“I didn’t even cook but why am I this tired?”
“I’m also like that. It’s normal.”

Anderson replied with an impertinent voice. Hugo opened his voice.

“I saw an interview a chef realized a while ago. People think that the role of head chef is easy because they don’t grab the pan or knife and just have to check the dish. However leading the kitchen depletes your energy more than you think, and in your head you have to consider everything related to the kitchen. And that’s why you can’t feel comfortable…… Actually, when I became team leader, I felt the same way. So how will you feel if it’s a day like today?”
“You two have done well. You were cool.”

Jo Minjoon smiled brightly and said. It was the truth. Their looks of running towards their dreams shone. And he felt his heart getting warmer just with being able to stand together with them on the same place. But of course it wasn’t that he didn’t feel thirst. Because he was still half a step behind them. However, he believed that he would be able to catch up to them soon. No, he was determined to do so.

However there was no need to feel distressed. If he had a friend he could consider an objective, wasn’t it a blessing? But in the case he wouldn’t be able to catch up to them for all his life, interpreted in a good way, that would be a dream of chasing them for all their lives.

“I’m dying of curiousness as to what the chefs would be talking about right now.”
“They would be praising me.”
“They will. But they will praise me even more.”

Even while exhausted, Anderson and Kaya glared at each other. Jo Minjoon smiled bitterly. In the end, would there not be a gentle relationship between the two? Perhaps, he got a thought that they would live like Rachel and Serguei in mutual dislike for all their lives. It was then. A staff approached and yelled.

“The two finalists, go to the kitchen.”
“……..Yes.”

Anderson replied heavily and stood up. Kaya seemed to be more exhausted rather than being nervous of the results. Jo Minjoon looked at Kaya.

“You will win.”
“…….I know.”
It was only for a moment, but Kaya’s voice sank heavily. However, that really was for only a moment, and the next instant Kaya was already up. And then started to walk. The moment the low beige shoes stepped on the next tile, Jo Minjoon unconsciously extended his leg on the crack in front of his leg.

However, as he extended his leg while sitting down, the tip of his leg just trembled at the end of the squared tile. If he didn’t get up, he wouldn’t be able to step on the tile. But now, it wasn’t the time for him nor Chloe to stand up. The only authorized ones to stand up now were Anderson and Kaya. Only they could move forward. But of course, one will end up walking even more than the other…..

‘I also have to get up.’

Jo Minjoon clenched his fists. His body felt tickly. At that moment, Chloe placed her hand above Jo Minjoon’s fist. Jo Minjoon slowly turned his head. At that short instant he wondered about taking off his hand, but looking at the smile in Chloe’s mouth, he couldn’t do so.

The reason she wrapped his fist was solely because of consideration. It was because of the usual gentleness. Shaking off her hand was the same as shaking off her consideration and gentleness. You wouldn’t know about other people, but he couldn’t do so. He was a person he couldn’t do so. Chloe opened her mouth.

“It’s not the end.”

At those words, the unexpected stifling sensation melted down in an instant. Jo Minjoon smiled as if he couldn’t cope with it. He loosened his fist. Chloe’s took off her hand, and Jo Minjoon opened his mouth.

“Right. It’s only the start.”

< The winner’s scale (2) > End