God of Cooking

Some people have a prejudice that the rich were living a life of vanity while the poor find their own happiness in poverty. But in reality, it wasn't. At times, too much wealth made a person's soul sick but so did poverty.

It was not easy for everyone to find happiness in non-possession. Whipping could make the horse run, but it could make the horse just give up and fall down. Moreover, if they were physically handicapped, life could be harsh for them. How harsh would it have been for those who live a life without a "carrot."

'… Oh, Kaya's family had a carrot in their lives.'

The existence of her family might have been a "carrot" in Kaya's life. That was why she could grow up as a nice girl as she was now.

Min-joon looked at Grace and said, "You're awesome, Grace."

"Huh? How come you are flattering me?"

"Well, that's how I feel about you now. It wouldn't have been easy for you to raise two daughters so well in such a difficult situation."

Was she embarrassed by Min-joon's sudden accolade?

Grace couldn't respond quickly, just looking at him blankly. Then she was moved to tears at the thought of her hard times in the past. Bruce reached out to pat her on the shoulder, but he put down his arm after fidgeting with his fingers several times. Did he think he didn't even deserve to comfort her? A little later, Grace breathed out, as if she calmed down, and smiled at Min-joon.

"Sorry, Min-joon. When I hear it in a situation like this, which is not so funny, I'm just touched by what you have just said."

She met her husband after almost 20 years. No, she could not call him her husband now. He appeared again, saying he had success only recently. The reason he ran away was simple. With business failure, he had an enormous debt, which made him run away, leaving his family behind.

That was what Grace already knew, so she didn't care about it. Whatever excuse he made, he was bad because he eventually ran away. She thought so, and she wanted to think like that. She didn't want to think about defending him because he wasn't.

But he came back, like Moses, who killed one of his people and ran away only to return as the savior of the Israelis.

Instead of a cane in his hand like Moses, Bruce came back, holding the fruit of success. He was now different from what he was. He could take Grace, Kaya, and Zemma to the promised land, peace, and abundance. But that rather made Grace anxious.

She said in a trembling voice, "Bruce, let me admit it. You've succeeded. You can do more for Kaya than I can. I could have Kaya walk side by side, but you can run with her on your back."

At that moment, Kaya shouted, looking at her sharply, "Mom!"

But Grace didn't look back at her. That was what bothered her the most. She knew she could not help Kaya financially, but she could take it. But it tormented her when she thought that Bruce, who didn't appear before them for the past 20 years, could take care of her better than her as a parent. It hurt her as if she was hit by a hammer.

After listening to Grace, Bruce carefully opened his mouth.

"Grace, I've never thought I could do better or helpful than you. I've never toyed with such a weird idea."

"Why do you say it's a weird idea? Isn't it realistic?"

"No. It's not realistic at all. Yeah, my wallet is fat. If she wants, I can buy Kaya a car and a house. But even if I give her everything in the world, I can't make up for even one day of the numerous days you shared love with her. I know that's what raising children are all about."

She did not respond to him.

Kaya quietly opened her mouth. Her black smokey makeup and frowned eyes made her look like a bad gangster in the back alley, what she said was soothing.

"Mom, do you remember the Italian restaurant in the market?"

"Yes, I do. They promoted that the chef was Italian, but he was actually Finnish. They were swindlers."

"Their dishes sucked. Al dante noodles were swollen when served, and come to think of it, the tomato sauce they served must have been made from canned, not raw tomatoes. The pizza dough was so tough that I guess they made it with baguette crusts."

"Yes, that's true. Why are you saying that now?"

"But I miss that restaurant," Kaya said with a smile with her eyes trembling.

She began to reminisce about their visit to the restaurant.

"Looking back, I've never felt better going there with you after work. Of course, I've been to know lots of high-end restaurants, but I still miss that taste of the dishes served there. Maybe I'll miss the taste no matter what dish I have in the future. And you were there, Mom, but my father was not. You can't change him for anything. So, don't have a weird thought. If you keep thinking…"

Kaya stopped talking as if she was choked. She then looked up, sniffing. Zemma reached out and hugged her. Zemma's eyes were a bit wet as if she felt sad when reminded of her family's hard times.

Grace moved her lips a bit then lowered her head.

"… Oh, I'm sorry."

Min-joon was not sure if this kind of situation was good or bitter or painful for them, but he was convinced that they needed to go through it anyway. He slowly turned back. There were still many customers in the hall. Although he wanted to be with them, he was supposed to be in the kitchen, not here.

'After all, all people must have a place suitable for themselves.'

He could just hope that they could be together from now on and that they were happy.

He headed to the next table and smiled at the customers, holding a kettle.

"Did you enjoy the dishes?"

<hr />

Grace and Bruce could not clear their misunderstanding, conflicts, and hatred by just having one meal at Rose Island. They needed some more time. It was comforting that they now thought more about happiness, not suffering.

While Bruce was taking Grace and Zemma to the hotel they were staying at, Grace said to Kaya, "You have to meet a good man to avoid repeating my life."

"Min-joon is a good man. Mom, you know him well."

"Of course, he is. But I'm not sure about the next guy you might meet."

"Why are you saying it as if I'm going to break up with Min-joon?"

"It's good if you're dating him all your life, but it isn't so common that you get married to the man you are dating now."

"I'm going to get married to him by all means. Otherwise, I'm going to stay single. So, keep it in mind."

"You bet!" Grace laughed.

Zemma smiled faintly while Kaya was staring at Grace with a sullen expression.

"I would feel great if you married Min-joon."

"Don't worry. It won't take long. I'm going to have a baby, too. I've even decided on a name. Arnold if it's a boy. If it's a girl, I can't remember it right now."

"How many children are you going to have?"

"Just two. I think it would be hard to have more. Working and raising children is hard."

"They might think you're already married if you say that."

Grace looked at Kaya as if she was dumbfounded. Kaya smiled.

Who said a woman would become beautiful if she loved someone? Grace now agreed with that. She liked everything about Kaya, ranging from her smile, lips to her eyes.

Grace said with a sigh "I don't know why you're the second prettiest chef. In my eyes, you're prettier than Chloe."

"Chloe's mom would think that Chloe is prettier than me. Don't worry about that. Ranking isn't important. What matters is Min-joon thinks I'm the prettiest."

"Does he really think so?"

"Sure."

"You have to be careful when living together. It's hardest to show your best all the time when you live together. You are not burping in front of him any time, right?"

"No!" Kaya responded confidently.

Tracing her memory for a moment, she said a bit diffidently, "I think I am not."

Grace sighed, thinking Kaya was sometimes mature but still immature like a child.

They arrived at the hotel.

Looking back at Kaya once more, Grace said, "I trust you. Can I?"

"Yeah, so don't worry."

Having said that, Kaya turned to go back home. She had a lot on her mind. Marriage and children. These two words didn't look real for her now, but at the end of the day, she would face the reality.

When she arrived home, Min-joon was just entering the house.

Anderson dropped him off then left again without greeting her.

Kaya asked in a confused voice, "What the heck?' Where is he going?"

"He said he had an appointment. Well, I don't know."

"Isn't he going out because of us?"

"I guess so. I told him he didn't have to, but it looks like he has an appointment."

"That's weird. He has a date on Christmas Eve? You don't know who she is?"

"I didn't ask him…" He smiled awkwardly.

Kaya, who was thinking of his possible date candidates, smiled and nudged his back.

"Good for him! Isn't it good for him to be with someone tonight? Let's go in. It's cold."

Shortly afterward, the two lay on their beds. A show program was playing on TV on the side.

The MC of the show was familiar to Min-joon because he visited Rose Island a few times and talked with Min-joon about it.

Min-joon asked in a quiet voice, "How about your mother?"

"She's okay. My mom isn't that weak. You don't have to worry."

"How about you?"

"Well, I have a different idea."

She then rummaged through her handbag then took out a pair of red socks for Christmas.

He said, grinning at her, "Is there my gift in it?"

"No, it's empty."

"Then why did you buy it. You don't really believe in Santa Claus."

"I bought it for another use, but I don't think I need to use it because Anderson is not here."

Min-joon looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Rather than quenching his curiosity, she said, "Looking at my parents' meeting today, I've come to think about how to repeat their mistake. I mean, how can we maintain a loving relationship instead of hurting each other."

"So, do you have the answer?"

"Yeah. It's really cliche. We just trust each other. You know what the officiant repeats all the time. 'You trust each other, love each other, and don't betray each other until you get old and die.' But…" Kaya momentarily strained her voice.

She said in a subdued voice, "I thought I didn't really trust me and us."

"Why?"

"There is something we haven't done yet."

Actually, there were so many things they didn't do, so it was hard for him to understand what she was talking about. However, he looked at her, wondering about her real intentions.

As if she couldn't meet his eyes, she turned her gaze to the door then picked up the Christmas socks.

"I bought these socks to hang on that doorknob today."

Only then could he understand what she said. She glanced sideways at him and opened her mouth with some hesitation, "Shall we walk?"

Her shy voice meant a lot. At the same time, it was simple.

He said yes. After hearing his reply, she did nothing for a moment then got up and went toward the door.

And the door was closed with the red Christmas socks on the doorknob.