God of Cooking

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Four people, four dreams (3)

As soon as the private jet arrived at the airport, Martin was the first person to greet Sergei and Rachel. Sergei smirked.

” This guy’s not a total asshole after all.”

“… I told you to watch your mouth.”

Rachel kept her distance from Sergei out of embarrassment. For two elders, their conversation was immature and crude. Martin shook their hands with a big smile.

“Thank you for coming all this way. I’m honored to meet you.”

“No need to be honored. Since when do Americans say such flattering things?”

“The names, Sergei and Rachel demand such flattery.”

Martin answered with a smile. He wasn’t exaggerating because it was true. That was how meaningful their names were. Sergei was on TV quite often, and Rachel was the same. They were so desired that Americans wanted to see more of them on TV. When Rachel was briefly shown on TV for the food truck mission, the viewers went wild.

He was already excited about how the viewers would react to their appearance, and that feeling showed on his face. He didn’t have to hide such emotions either. Sergei stroked his beard and said, “Anyway, I haven’t been to Chicago in a long time.”

“I’m sorry, but the mission…”

“Oh, okay. No need to be mannerly. I’m only an asshole to two kinds of people. Those who make shitty food, and those who eat good food without realizing it. You’re not a chef, and you’re not an asshole customer of mine. So… Ah! What are you doing?”

“Act your age.”

Sergei rubbed the knee that was just kicked and grimaced.

“This crazy granny…! I came here at your request!”

“I never asked you to embarrass me.”

“That bitch is crazy! Hey, I’m going to be seventy soon! If I break a bone, it’ll take forever to recover!”

“If a woman can break your bone, you might as well not have any. Stop with the nonsense. I’m too tired for it. Martin, let’s get going. Where’s the car?”

“Oh, right this way.”

Martin escorted them like a waiter. The car he prepared was a large van, but as soon as Sergei got in, it didn’t look big at all. He was tall and fairly large. Sergei looked out the window toward the airport before asking.

“So how many contestants are left now?”

“Four. Would you like me to describe them?”

“Yeah, but make it short.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Martin passed Sergei and Rachel photos. He spoke in a calm voice, “First, let me tell you about Cho Min Joon. He’s famous among the viewers for his perfect palate, and he’s quite skilled as well. He was lacking at first, but he’s been improving throughout the show. And Anderson Russo…”

“I know Anderson. I’m friends with his parents. He’s got potential. Tell me about the other contestants, but simpler than the last one.”

“Yes, Sir. Then moving on to Chloe. She learned how to cook from her mother, and she’s good at making Chinese dishes. Kaya doesn’t favor a particular country, but she tends to specialize in homecooked dishes more than fancy ones. She learned how to cook from the shop owners at a market…”

“Hold up.”

Sergei raised his hand. He knitted his brows.

“She learned from just watching? How does that make sense?”

“Well… She’s very skilled in that aspect. Even in the preliminaries, she left quite the impression with her eel dish.”

“Hm… I doubt she’s that skilled. Food at markets are basically smothered in salt or barbecue sauce. Don’t they just half-ass all the dishes they sell?”

“She was picked as the most likely to win in the beginning, and she’s been proving her worth. Since the other contesants are great as well, she’s not shining as much anymore, but she’s still being called a genius.”

“A genius, eh?”

Sergei stroked his chin and went deep into thought. A moment later, he looked at Rachel.

“Don’t you think that Kaya girl might be more suitable than Cho Min Joon? Rachel, I’m talking about the talent you want. That girl got here from a market with no good food.”

“Same goes for Min Joon. On top of that, he has a perfect palate.”

“Hm, I don’t know. Markets are places where lots of cultures come together, but at the same time, the tongue can easily get used to messy flavors. The fact that she came this far from a place like that… makes me intrigued in her more than a perfect palate.”

In response, Rachel stared at Kaya’s photo even harder. She was set on Cho Min Joon, but after hearing what Sergei had to say, she wondered if she had been overlooked.

“… I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“No need. We’ll just taste their dishes today.”

Sergei grinned.

“We’ll see if they’re good or not.”

***

The producers announced that there would be an evening mission. Kaya stood in front of the mirror and erased her eyeliner.

People thought it was just typical makeup, but as soon as her eyeliner was erased, she was no longer the fierce and scary Kaya Reuters. Her nose was covered in freckles. And her eyes were bright blue. Her lips were thin and light. Her nose was sharp, and her eyes weren’t very deep-set. She looked like a pretty student walking down the street. That was her visual.

‘… I”ll just put on lotion.’

Kaya carefully put lotion on her face. Her face was quite small, so she didn’t need to get another pump of lotion. ‘My face is very economical.’ Kaya smiled and turned away.

As soon as she left the room, Chloe was standing in the hallway. As soon as she saw Chloe’s face, she rubbed her own cheek. Chloe’s face was very smooth. She didn’t have freckles or any imperfections. She had a few moles, but everyone did. The sun shining through the window gave her a better look at Chloe’s face.

Kaya swallowed her jealousy and asked, “The guys aren’t out yet?”

“They must be doing their hair.”

“… How pretty are they trying to look?”

There was an awkward silence. The reason was simple. They were nervous about the upcoming mission. Chloe sighed.

“I wish there weren’t missions”

“Then how does anyone win?”

“If I had to choose between winning and the present… I might pick the latter.”

In response, Kaya opened her mouth before closing it again. As soon as she got herself to open her mouth, she couldn’t look at Chloe in the eyes anymore.

“… Same here.”

Chloe looked at Kaya with surprised eyes. She knew she was opening up, but this was the first time she expressed her feelings directly. Chloe smiled for a moment, but it quickly disappeared. Kaya’s face didn’t look so good. Kaya hesitated before saying, “I’ve never had such a relaxing time before. I feel bad for my mom and sister but I’ve always had it tough. But here, I don’t have to be the head of a household or worry about my next meal. And…. the people.”

Kaya paused, but Chloe knew what she wanted to say next. Chloe held Kaya’s hands. Kaya didn’t refuse.

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to worry about that ever again. No matter what happens, we can keep seeing each other. Right?”

“… Do you think we’ll be able to? We live really far away from each other, and we’ll be busy… Will we see each other?”

“We will.”

Chloe stuck out her fist. “I’ll make sure we do.” Kaya hesitated at first, but slowly stuck out her fist. They bumped fists and Kaya coughed and backed up against the wall. Given her personality, it was hard for her to be honest. Chloe was giggling when Anderson and Cho Min Joon got out of their room.

“Oh, you’re already here.”

“You’re late.”

Chloe puffed up her cheeks. Kaya looked at Cho Min Joon and laughed.

“You didn’t even dress up that much. Why did you take so long?”

“My hair was all messy, so I washed it again.”

“You shouldn’t just come out. I like messy hair.”

“You didn’t see how bad it was.”

In response to Chloe’s remark, Cho Min Joon shook his head. The four of them walked toward the kitchen. They wanted to win, but they didn’t want to part ways. They walked at a pace that suited that feeling. Once they got to the kitchen, they stopped at the same time. Cho Min Joon glanced to the side. They all looked at each other and hesitated to speak. Kaya spoke first in a low voice, “Let’s go.”

The judges were waiting for them in the kitchen. Cho Min Joon glanced around. He heard there was going to be an event, but he didn’t see anything special. Joseph opened his mouth.

“Did you have a good rest?”

“Yes.”

“We hope you have a good time today. But of course, one person won’t be so lucky.”

Cho Min Joon shut his mouth. He started to feel nervous again. Passion, fear, expectation. Many emotions passed through his heart.

“Before we reveal the mission, let’s play a game. We’re going to draw straws.”

Allan stuck out his fist. There were thin pieces of paper within it.

“Three of them are X’s, and only one is an O, and the person who picks the O will be able to pick their teammate.”

Since only 4 of them remained, they saw this coming. Chloe stepped up first, and as soon as she picked a paper, the rest of them didn’t have to move anymore. Chloe’s paper had an O on it. Chloe showed a troubled look on her face. Picking one person also meant she wasn’t going to pick two of them.

“Pick your teammate, Chloe.”

“Okay. One moment, please.”

Chloe thought carefully under the judges’ pressure. She knew who she wanted to pick, but she wasn’t sure if they would make a good team, but the more she thought about it, the more emotional she got. This could be her last mission here, or it could be the last mission for her teammate. Thinking about it that way made the choice easier. Chloe opened her mouth.

“Min Joon. Will you be my teammate?”

Cho Min Joon was a little surprised, but he nodded and smiled, but at that moment, there was someone else who was surprised. The problem wasn’t that Chloe and Cho Min Joon were teammates. Kaya and Anderson stared at each other. As soon as they did, they both thought the same thing.

‘We’re teammates?’