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Chapter 565: Reservation (5)

There were numerous videos about Min-joon circulating among many people, which showed him scolding the head chefs at the recent Rose Island competition. Obviously, he was not different from them when he first participated in the Grand Chef competition, but he had been growing remarkably since then. And he finally climbed to the position of a Grand Chef judge. In that respect, he deserved to be their idol. And he actually became their idol.

“Now, we are going to begin the Grand Chef finals!”

As soon as the emcee announced that, they cheered loudly enough to shake the entire kitchen.

Amid the thunderous noise that almost shook his body Min-joon blankly enjoyed the shock.

He didn’t know why they shouted so loudly. They probably shouted because they were happy to be here, they could be a fan of the judges, and Min-joon, in particular. Or they might not be his fans.

But it didn’t matter anyway.

The youngest chef of the Rose Island kitchen, who secretly grew his dream as a great chef in the corner of the kitchen and shouted in frustration, had now reached the position that could make him walk among the cheering participants.

Everybody talked about change. People expected change from anyone. They forced it and turn away from it at the same time. No matter what, they told others to change, pointing out their bad things, but when they were required to change, too, they felt uncomfortable.

But if he was different from ordinary chefs, he managed to change the situation he was in.

He didn’t think he could do it by chance or simply because he was lucky. Opportunities were given to everyone. So, a person’s worth could be different, depending on whether he or she seized the opportunity or not.

Min-joon had enhanced his worth greatly.

He could confirm it in the eyes of these participants. He smiled in satisfaction. He felt the same way as they did when he first participated in the Grand Chef finals.

Finally, Joseph opened his mouth.

“Everyone here has come here with their own dream. Some of you want to become world-renowned chefs, and others just want to open a small restaurant. Maybe some have come here to make good memories about their participation itself. Maybe, but it doesn’t matter either way. Just by being here, you’ve proven that you’re confident in cooking.”

When he said that, the participants clenched their fists with confidence or excitement.

Min-joon recognized and understood them. At this moment, they would feel as though they had accomplished everything in their lives. But they would find out soon that they were only small fries, and that this competition was really the beginning of their long journey.

This time, Kaya said with a smile, “As you know, Grand Chef’s popularity has soared since the season when Min-joon and I attended it. Thanks to that, the prize money you can take has increased a lot. The winner takes $500,000! That’s a whopping $200,000 higher than the previous winner. I think the winner should treat us to a nice dinner!”

Even though she had a much shorter cooking experience than Joseph, the way she spoke to them was much more arrogant. But most of the people here knew that it wasn’t because she was arrogant but because she expressed her affection for them roughly.

Their eyes now turned to Min-joon. They seemed to expect him to say something to cheer them up greatly, and actually, there was something in the prepared script that he was supposed to mention.

‘What’s in this script is no fun...’

Even though the script was well written by somebody else from the Grand Chef, Min-joon felt it was close to something like a concept, which was too polite and prudent in tone. In any case, he was supposed to meet them face-to-face regularly for the next several months. He didn’t want to start engaging them like this.

“It’s going to be tough,” he said.

He did not want to heighten their excitement any longer. As if they were thrown cold water, they looked at him blankly. But he did not care. It had been a while since he stopped paying attention to what others thought about him.

He continued slowly, “Some people will find that they cook better than they think, but most of you will know your limits more clearly. You will hit a wall.”

He took a deep breath for a moment before continuing.

“Actually, I got depressed over and over again during this competition. As you all know, this woman next to me was an incredible genius. She still is. I came here to cook, but I found myself comparing myself to someone else.”

Frowning at him a bit as if she heard it first, Kaya looked at him. Actually, he couldn’t confide it to her because he felt ashamed. Of course, he once told her about it. But it was when she first said she was envious of him that he used that occasion to confide in her. Whenever he said that, he thought his words would also comfort him to some extent. But the fact that he openly mentioned it to them, what he confided in her was not a lie. He was not the type of person who would tell lies openly like this.

“You will probably feel the same way as I do. You’ll find that cooking isn’t just about fun. The moment you start making your hobby a job, you’ll start to feel gradually that your skills, which are good enough for your hobby, are lacking in many aspects. It’s like a minor league player that can’t adapt well in the major league, and you’ll realize that someone next to you is far ahead of you. But don’t give up.” He asked for their change. “The only thing you get from giving up is helpless peace.”

He continued, “Kaya and I didn’t give up. I don’t think I need to explain to you about our results at the Grand Chef last time.”

A person who was overcome with defeatism might want to argue with Min-joon, pointing out that they could say that because they had already succeeded, and that there were more people who couldn’t succeed despite their desperate efforts.

But Min-joon wanted to respond to their dispute by saying that they were mistaken about their efforts. He wanted to say that just because a person put their butt on the chair, it didn’t mean they studied. But when many students were asked how many hours they studied a day, they usually mentioned how long they were at the table, not how long they actually studied.

That was only their self-solace. Min-joon did not acknowledge their superficial effort. He didn’t want to defend the cowards who said that they did their best when they actually idled away their time.

Maybe he was wrong. He didn’t know how they would take his words. But he just said what he wanted to say.

He thought the fact he was speaking to them right now was the evidence of his success.

And that was why he could say what he wanted to say like this, ‘If you hadn’t succeeded, they would have ignored you. But they would have clapped their hands fervently if you had succeeded.’

***

“You’ve changed a lot.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. It looks like you’ve established yourself firmly.”

During the interview, Martin looked at Min-joon with a smile.

Aside from his proven cooking skills, what impressed Martin was that Min-joon was giving off a different aura than before. In the past, Min-joon was a person who had no self-confidence. He seemed to be satisfied with what he had, and he didn’t seem to pursue any goal in his life.

However, he was different now. He looked like a man with lots of gravitas, and when he said something light, his words carry authority. He was obviously influenced by June rather than Rachel. In some respects, he learned social life from June. Until he met June, he was concerned with cooking, but after he met her, he knew how to make good use of the situation he was in.

“Lots of chefs envy you, Min-joon,” Martin said quietly.

Min-joon scratched his nose with an embarrassed expression. Actually, he felt it, too. It was Min-joon who was the most popular judge out of him, Kaya, and Joseph, an original judge.

And he could roughly guess the reason. It wasn’t because he accomplished a lot. It was because he became a celebrity in the cooking world even when he didn’t win the Grand Chef competition like Kaya. In that respect, it was not unreasonable that they felt a sense of companionship with him.

Martin said with a mischievous smile, “By the way, I think this season is going to be pretty fun for you because you might not have expected that guy to participate again.

“Are you talking about Peter?” Min-joon asked with an uneasy expression.

Martin grinned. Like he said, Peter participated in this contest. He was an Indian chef who was scolded a lot by Min-joon, not to mention those who watched the Grand Chef.

To be honest, he was not a welcome participant from Min-joon’s point of view. Even though Min-joon buried the hatchet, he still had some bad blood toward him. Besides, Min-joon was an ordinary participant like him before, but Min-joon was now a judge of this competition. As a judge, he felt a bit sorry for being overbearing toward Peter. But he didn’t want to do the amiable to Peter.

And it wasn’t just Peter who came back to this competition.

“I didn’t even know Hugo would come back.”

Hugo, who advanced to the finals of the Grand Chef competition with him, landed a job at various restaurants but was fired because of his friction with the kitchen staff. So, he wanted to use the Grand Chef competition to regain his honor.