God of Cooking

"So, did you introduce your friend to Lisa?"

"Yes. I guess if Lisa likes him, she will hire him. I am not sure if he can work only at Lisa's bakery or here at Rose Island. Either way, it would be good for my friend. Come to think of it now, I've got a lot on my mind."

"What do you mean?"

"I wonder if it was really alright for me to bring him over here. He is my friend, but he has his own life and goal. I wonder if I have messed up with the voyage of his life."

"How many do you think there are who can lead a life as they plan it? If you can reach out, just do it. It totally depends on the other party whether he or she takes it or not. It's the other person's choice to take it. And they have to be responsible for taking it," Rachel said, smiling lovingly.

Smiling at her slightly, he said again with some concern, "Well, I wonder if it was okay for me to introduce him to Lisa like this. Lisa told me she was thinking of asking her acquaintances to introduce some good baker candidates to her, so I may have overstepped here."

"Well, that's Lisa's matter, not yours. You don't have to worry. By the way, you remember the Michelin Guide Inspectors are coming here right? We don't make any difference even if they come here, but I think we have to prepare at least one menu once they are here. Do you have any recipe in mind?"

"Yes, I have one."

"Oh, what is it?"

Instead of replying, Min-joon smiled at her.

She made a sullen expression on purpose then said, "So, you don't want to even tell me about it?"

"I'm sorry. I'm really confident about this recipe. I'll definitely show it to you after I succeed in it. I want to give you a surprise."

"Okay, I'll wait. But don't keep me waiting for too long. Older people aren't very patient. If it takes too long, I can come here and peek into what you're cooking."

"Oh, I can't keep you waiting too long of course. I'm going to do it quickly. And I'm confident."

Min-joon's eyes were shining in strong conviction and confidence. She liked the look of confidence in his eyes, which she could not find in any other young man. She thought he could cast such a gaze because he had the right mindset, armed with good talent and hope.

'How considerate it was of him to help his friend in need when he himself was so busy taking care of himself,' she thought to herself.

Although she didn't express her feelings to him, she really appreciated his warm considerations for his friend.

At the same time, she had high expectations for Min-joon this time.

Every chef knew it but would forget it too often. The head chef alone wouldn't take care of all the kitchen work. The head chef could be said to have taken the first toward doing his role properly when he took good care of not only the kitchen staff but also the merchants supplying the ingredients.

'If Min-joon doesn't lose his warm personality, he can definitely become a head chef loved by everyone.'

Of course, when she thought of 'everyone,' they definitely included the customers.

That evening, there were many customers at Rose Island, who wanted to see Min-joon in particular, so much so that they wanted to meet him more than Rachel. It was not because of his dishes but because of the news about Kaya's stalker case.

"You have a great girlfriend, Min-joon!"

"Ahaha. Thank you."

"Seriously, oh my gosh! How come your girlfriend can knock down a stalker? I want to meet a girl like that."

"It looks like the woman next to you is your girlfriend. Why don't you look at her expression."

"Oops! Bella, don't misunderstand me. I was kidding…"

They kept chatting and cracking jokes like that. If Min-joon had been an ordinary chef, they would not have shown such a big interest. But his popularity as well as his polite interview with the crazy reporters at the scene seemed to stimulate their interest in him all the more. Besides, there were lots of young female customers who wanted to show Min-joon's way of caring about his girlfriend to their boyfriends.

Among the female customers was the Chinese woman named Delia, who Janet warned Min-joon to be wary of. But Min-joon could not treat her lightly because he had never seen her riding roughshod over him.

"Hello, I'm glad to see you again," said Min-joon.

"Yeah, I should come here more often. The menu changes more or less each time I come over here. I hear you made pomegranate dessert, right?"

"Yes, do you like it?"

"Sure. It's amazing that you express your idea in it like art? I wish I had it on Christmas. Who knows, a ring might be inside it. It would be just nice if you can give it to your girlfriend."

"Well, unfortunately, my girlfriend says she hates a ring taken from food."

"Oh, that makes sense. I know your girlfriend. She is from a poor district in New York, right? I understand why she hates anybody playing with food."

Instead of responding, Min-joon smiled awkwardly. He was not sure if she meant well, but he didn't want to chime in with her when it was obvious that she wanted to look down on Kaya.

As if she read his mind, the woman who was next to Delia sighed. She was the same woman who was with Delia last time.

Looking at him, she apologized instead and said, "I'm sorry. She is rude like this. Besides, she is pretty insensitive to what others think about her."

"Why? Did I do anything wrong?" Demanded Delia.

"Come on, Delia. That's enough. Just shut up!"

"Dang it. You are always blaming me. I don't think I put my foot in it."

Delia grumbled then put her hand under her chin and smiled at him.

Her smile was seductive but repulsive at the same time.

"Anyway, I really like a guy like Min-joon. Oh, if I say it like that, you might misunderstand. I mean a chef like Min-joon. No, I would say a male chef like Min-joon. A woman chef like him sucks. She must be strong-minded and rude. Our hotel's head chef was a woman, but she really sucks. She was such a poor chef, but she talked back to me whenever I complained."

"Well, any chef has his or her own cooking philosophy. It seems to me that she was just trying to keep her cooking principle rather than talking back to you. Delia, why don't you be a little more generous enough to understand her."

Normally, Min-joon would not express his opinion no matter how disgusting Delia was or how rude she was, but given how much the female chef, whose name or face he didn't know, must have been humiliated, he could not just remain silent, for he was the same chef as she.

He expected Delia to stiffen her face but she didn't.

Instead, she smiled brightly and tapped him on the back of his arm.

"Wow, you remember my name. I love it. Min-joon, can you call my name again?"

"Sure, Ms. Delia."

"Oh, good. I'm so happy that you call my name like this. I wish you could call my name every day. Ah, I think I can scout you as the head chef of my hotel. How much do you make here?"

It was really an unexpected question. Nobody would have thought she would ask such a question. He grew so stiff with embarrassment that he couldn't say anything.

Delia shook her hand, laughing heartily.

"Oh, no. You don't need to tell me. That's your privacy. Let me just tell you this. I can give you a better salary than you receive here."

Having said that, she spread her two fingers.

With a sigh, he said, "Ms. Delia, I'm not cooking here for money right now. Even if you give me a salary twice as high as I receive here, I won't take your offer. I'm learning at Rose Island, and that's something that you can't buy with money."

"Wow, you're so cool as expected. That's true. If a person can buy something with money, it's too unattractive. But Min-joon, I think you are mistaken about one point."

With a seductive voice, she made an offer that would be too attractive for anyone, "Not twice, but twenty times. I'll give you a salary 20 times as high as what you make here."

Then she looked at him with a tempting expression.

But there was no change in his expression when she mentioned such a big salary.

She was not sure if he had a pure soul, who was not swayed by money, or whether he was too surprised to respond.

Either way, it didn't matter. Delia looked at him with a smile.

He said in a quiet voice, "Why are you making such an offer?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm asking you why you are trying to invest such a huge sum of money in me? I'm only a demi-chef. Of course, the rank of a chef depends on where he works, but I don't think my skills are worth enough to claim such a huge amount."

"I like you. Don't you think that's enough?"

"Receiving 20 items as high as what I make here, yeah, that's a lot of money. I can buy a house with that money in a year. But you know, I didn't become a chef to make money alone. I just wanted to cook. If you spend such a huge sum for my salary, what about the kitchen?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I'm thinking of separating the money for the kitchen and the budget for you."

Min-joon laughed tepidly then shook his head slowly.

The cameraman was filming all his words and actions at the moment.

"I work in the kitchen. So, I have to make money by working in the kitchen. I can't receive any money you give me personally. Most of all, I love the restaurant where I work right now. I'm probably not going to leave this restaurant for some time. I'm sorry."

Although he used honorific language to her, his voice was stern and cold at that moment.

However, it seemed that she didn't feel offended. As if she liked him all the more, she said with a smile, "Oh, thanks for declining my offer. It's cool of you to reject my offer rather than accept it."

"Delia, stop trying to put out a feeler with empty words. Don't you know you are very rude to him right now?"

"Got it. Let me shut up."

Delia crossed her fingers over her lips and raised her wine glass.

Min-joon slightly bowed to her then left the table.

Watching him quietly, Delia drank the wine and said, "The more I see him, the more I like him. Terry, what do you think of that guy?"

"As they say, don't even look up a tree you can't climb. Just give up!"

"A tree you can't climb? Are you serious? Are you saying there's a tree that I can't climb?"