God of Cooking

Chapter 209: One, two, three (4)

“If you’re up, just wash your face. Let me prepare breakfast this morning.”

Kaya went into the bathroom, pouting. She washed up roughly and immediately hugged his belly from behind. Then she said, imitating a thick voice like a man.

“Is my baby in this?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh, no. Don’t look back. My swollen face hasn’t yet eased. You might not notice it if you see my face while I’m asleep, but you will be pretty shocked when you look at my bare face.”

“Well, I’ve seen your bare face quite a lot of times.”

“Forget them all. It’s not me. What are you making?”

Perhaps because she put her chin on his shoulder, her pronunciation was a bit blurry.

He answered with a calm voice, “Omelet rice. I’ve cooked rice, so I just need to put eggs on it.”

“I ate a lot of omelets when I was a kid. When I just fried eggs, it seemed that the amount was small, so I wanted to increase it a little.”

“You don’t like it very much now, right?”

“No, not really. Painful memories aren’t necessarily bad memories. Of course, it would be terrible if I had to go back to those days.”

She looked at his omelet with a wistful expression. She saw him checking and controlling the heat because no pores or color appeared on the surface of the omelet. He was excellent at holding a frying pan to push the egg in the corner before completing the omelet.

She opened her mouth.

“Last time I saw the chefs on a cooking program making omelets for breakfast, they failed.”

“Actually, if you are not used to making it often usually, you can make mistakes even if you’re a chef. To be honest, head chefs tend to be more clumsy than when they were demi-chefs. Since they don’t even work in front of the countertop, they tend to be clumsy over time.”

“I don’t want to be like them. After all, I like a chef who moves his hand rather than the one who prefers to talk.”

“I used to think so, too, but when I met Chef Rachel, I changed my perception a little bit. Oh, it’s all done.”

Min-joon placed the second omelet on the fried rice and took two plates to the table.

She looked around and sat next to him.

“What about Anderson?”

“Well, he said he is out for some morning workout and will grab a hamburger after that.”

“Really? He’s quick-witted today. In fact, I wanted to be with you alone today.”

“I don’t think he went out because of us. I guess he must be nervous, too. He would be more nervous than me. Coming under Rachel’s wing was what Anderson dreamed of since he was a child. So, it’s a very meaningful event for him.”

“Oh, yeah, today is the opening day. Are you nervous too?”

“I’m thrilled rather than nervous. It’s my first time working as a real chef. Not as a cooking contestant, but as a chef in the kitchen I come to start serving customers.”

“Sorry. I really wanted to go to your restaurant today. Then I’m sure I’m going to be your first customer, right?”

“Don’t be greedy for such trivial stuff like ‘the first.’ Probably, you’ve already taken away all the important titles in my life.”

Kaya turned up her mouth slightly and kissed his neck.

“You bet. To say the least, I’m the only one who let you get a burn.”

“Well, don’t you think it’s strange to say that it’s an important title?”

“It’s important. Why not? It means you were so concerned about me as to get burned, right?”

“It looks like the event back then was more meaningful to you than I thought.”

“Yeah, you were the first to get burned because of me. Maybe that was like a trigger. I mean it triggered me, to be honest with you.”

As soon as she said it, Min-joon pressed his face against hers and kissed her.

There were people who could warm each other’s hearts just by being together.

Kaya and Min-joon were in that league.

She whispered in a slightly excited look, “Blow your customers away with your dishes. Got it? Can you promise me?”

“Sure, I promise,” he replied, “I’m going to blow them away.”

***

Rachel looked out the window after opening the blinds.

There were still two more hours left until the opening. However, there were already some people hanging around outside the restaurant. Of course, there were more reporters than them, who were on standby to take pictures of the customers getting into the restaurant.

‘In the end, this day has come.’

A sigh flowed out of Rachel’s mouth. She felt a sense of tension coming up.

Was she nervous because of excitement and anticipation? Or was she nervous because of fear? There was nothing to fear. Her preparation was perfect, and she was ready to change.

As a matter of fact, she already changed enough.

“Isaac, what time is it now?”

“It’s 10:20. You’ve got 40 minutes left until the opening.”

“Oh, I see.”

Rachel closed her mouth again and looked outward. Isaac said nothing. He didn’t say anything like comforting or blaming her.

Eventually, Rachel had no choice but to say, “Thank you, Isaac, for helping a pathetic woman like me come as far as here today.”

“I’ve never helped you. I’ve just watched you from the side.”

“If you think about it, Isaac, you have dedicated your whole life to Rose Island. Maybe you had to be more upset with me than Jack. But why didn’t you get upset with me?”

“Because there was someone who was angrier than me.”

“Who was it?”

Instead of answering, Isaac stared at Rachel.

Rachel, who waited for his answer, realized the meaning of his gaze belatedly.

She opened her mouth with a slightly trembling voice.

“You’re saying I was getting angrier with myself?”

“Yes, that’s right. You punished yourself. Didn’t you live in seclusion for ten years? I wonder how an executive chef like you could be stuck at home for ten years. Don’t you think it’s so preposterous?”

There was one thing that people who didn’t know the situation misunderstood about Rachel. They misunderstood that she might have an introverted or eccentric personality. In fact, she didn’t. Of course, if they called it like that, she had nothing to defend herself. As a matter of fact, her personality was pretty unique.

Nonetheless, Rachel spent the past ten years alone. It was not because she felt comfortable living like that. It was a time of sorrow and pain, and it was a trial to her. Time became a flame, and loneliness became a hammer to beat her. The longer she was alone, the more painful it was for her.

Isaac opened his mouth.

“But you have never wanted to give up, right? You wanted to get over it, but you just didn’t have the confidence. Maybe I should have been hard on you much more, but you looked too exhausted back then.”

“Thank you. Isaac. You are the best gift I have ever had.”

“It’s been a long time since you praised me like that.”

“Maybe that’s right. It wasn’t because I didn’t appreciate your help. I’ve taken your help for granted for so long. As you know, those children who are not mature enough feel that they don’t need to be grateful to their parents.”

“You admit that you haven’t been mature until now, right?.”

“Well, I think I have to act like an adult from now on. I’m already 60 years old.”

Looking outside, she could see customers slowly entering the restaurant. The restaurant has not opened yet, but they might want to enjoy the mood after taking their seats in advance.

Rachel removed her hand from the blinds.

Isaac opened his mouth in a calm voice, “It reminds me of the time when Chef Daniel was here. There were so many people back then.”

“That guy was never nervous. He was not only excellent in cooking but also very bold like a monster. Every day was a challenge for everybody, but he enjoyed it.”

“I’ve got one concern. Can I tell you about it?”

“I don’t really want to hear your worries at this moment, but Isaac, let me listen because it’s worthwhile. What is it?”

“Don’t be too conscious of Chef Daniel. Even though you started this restaurant with him, you can’t put this restaurant under your influence forever. Someday, there will be another new head chef here, and he will have a kitchen of his own, I guess.”

It was quite unusual for Isaac to give her advice like this because he didn’t try to interfere with her unless absolutely needed. It was not unreasonable that she was a little bit embarrassed.

But she nodded as if she understood it.

“Well, I think I was trapped in Daniel’s shadow for too long since you mentioned him.”

“You will overcome it. And you should overcome it.”

“I know that a chef who mimics others can only be a second-rate chef. Although I know it, I was silly enough to follow him for such a long time. I guess I still love him a lot. I think I’m so foolish, but I don’t hate it that much.”

Issac smiled gently at her reply.

She looked at Isaac with a smile and said, “It would have been nice if you had had a partner, too. Then, I think you can soften your stiffened face a little more.”

“I’ve learned the lesson from two of you that there are more difficult things than good things when you have a partner. And my partner is my work. Rose Island is all of me.”

“Yeah. Today is a day that is also meaningful to you. I can promise. I will never ruin this restaurant.”

“Then, let’s get up. Now it’s time to go to the kitchen. As you move along, show your face to the customers, too. They will love you a lot, especially on a special day like today.”

“Alright.”

Rachel got up. She was about to grab the doorknob when Isaac said as if something came to his mind, “You’re mistaken about one thing.”

“Mistaken?”

“He might not like me if he knew I’m saying this, but I’ll tell you. In fact, Chef Daniel was also a nervous man. He was always tense and afraid of what people said about him, but he never wanted you to notice it. So, he confided in me with respect to all his worries. After all, he wasn’t Superman. He was a husband who wanted to be Superman. There was no perfect person in this world.

Rachel didn’t say anything or move for a moment. An expression mixed with crying, joy, and anger was on her face for a brief moment. After all, she said in a subdued voice, “Oh, was he? I see.”

Rachel took a deep breath and counted, ‘One, two, three.’

She opened the doorknob.