Chapter 590: Between Envy and Disappointment (2)
Gwen turned because she intended to take a look at Kaya again, but she saw somebody else, to her surprise. She saw Min-joon, who was holding Kaya’s hand and smiling at her gently. He was watching Kaya on the screen with a warm expression as if he was happy about just looking at her.
The moment she saw his face, she stared blankly at him, forgetting for a moment that she was sneaking a glance at him at the moment.
Only then did she realize that it was not the Grand Chef competition that really changed Kaya’s life.
‘It’s that person...’
Min-joon changed everything about her. He dragged her life thrown into the gutter into the most beautiful garden in the world.
Gwen knew she had no person like Min-joon, though.
Her heart was beating anxiously. Some anxiety beyond her description overtook her. She clenched her fists. She then chewed the skin next to her fingernails. She thought she didn’t have to be pessimistic. She was determined that she would change on the occasion of this competition. She thought all her misfortunes until now would be over when this competition was over.
She looked at the TV again. At that moment, the TV screen that showed all the cooking competitions she participated in was showing the Paris International Culinary Competition. With the flower crowns around their necks, Kaya and Min-joon, who won the competition, were smiling the brightest smile in the world, holding their hands together, on the podium in the venue where hundreds of famed chefs were gathered.
The next moment the screen immediately showed Min-joon. Following his appearance at the Paris International Culinary Competition, he was seen participating in the Grand Chef Season 3. He said he just liked cooking, adding that he lived a successful life if he could live a life dedicated to cooking.
That scene made even Min-joon watching it a strange feeling.
“Man, I didn’t know I said it at that time.”
“You don’t think so now?”
“Well, I’m greedier than before, as you know.”
As a matter of fact, he could not be satisfied with just cooking. Obviously, his innocence back then was great, but he could not just affirm and keep up with the same attitude he had in life back then. He recognized that he changed.
Of course, he couldn’t judge quickly if that was a positive or negative change. He was just walking the path he decided to.
Soon the TV screen showed his past. His passion for coming to this country, empty-handed but with the determination to cook, was highlighted, followed by all the great achievements he made until now, such as his perfect palate, Cho Reggiano, being the winner of the Paris International Culinary Competition, being a representative of Choters Guide, and all the good reviews he received until now.
Among them was Rachel’s testimony about him in an interview. When she said in the interview that he would certainly be a chef that would change the future of the American cooking scene, Min-joon felt rather embarrassed. So much so that he could hardly look at the participants here. He felt as if his mother was boasting about him before his friend’s mother.
After that, the screen showed Min-joon, Kaya, and Joseph traveling around the United States to evaluate people’s cuisine in the preliminary round.
What stood out most in the various scenes was Gwen and Michael. Hugo and Peter drew lots of attention by participating in the Grand Chef competition again. But the most important thing about this show was who was going to win, so the producer of this program, Martin, had no choice but to make the program focused on the most likely winner of this competition.
Of course, Gwen and Michael had no problems at all as the newsmaker for this show in terms of their personal stories and background. But when Gwen was seen showing her cuisine and telling her story in the preliminary round, Min-joon felt a strange sense of insecurity, which soon turned out to be true.
“Who are you cheering for the most?”
“Gwen Queen.”
When Min-joon answered like that, many of the participants turned to him as if they could not understand. It was nothing new that he was cheering for Gwen, but they were embarrassed by the superlative ‘the most.’
They noticed he gave favoritism to her while they were participating in this competition, but they didn’t know he was cheering for her openly. Gwen stared blankly at him. To be honest, she found he was difficult to deal with. Although he said he would cheer for her, he treated her somewhat more coldly than others. So much so that she pondered over whether she made a mistake. So, it was no wonder she was so surprised now.
She clenched her fist.
‘Why?’
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The show broadcast was over. Participants formed their own groups and went out to eat or went to sleep. Of course, Min-joon and Kaya couldn’t afford to do so. Actually, they had to take time out to come to this place as judges of this competition, even though they were very busy. So they packed their stuff and got ready to leave the Grand Chef House right away.
It was at that moment when Gwen visited Min-joon. As she glanced at Kaya and Min-joon hesitantly, he walked over to her first.
“Do you have anything to say to me?”
“Well, what you said about me in the interview...”
Checking Kaya’s expression first, she opened her mouth quietly. Kaya glanced at them quickly, but she wasn’t paying much attention.
So Min-joon opened his mouth with his arms crossed.
“Is there anything that has bothered you?”
“Oh, not really. There’s no problem, but I’m just curious why you are cheering for me.”
In fact, he once told her he cheered for her, hoping she would like to cook. But in today’s interview, she noticed that he was also cheering for her to win.
Why did he want her to win? What moved him to support her as the likely winner?
He once told her that there was no soul in her dish. He said her dish was just a clever mix of good recipes. Unlike Michael, she was far from a chef.
Then, why did he still support her?
He gave her a short and clear answer to her question.
“Because I feel so sorry for your potential.”
He was sympathetic toward her. Even though Gwen expected such an answer, she also found herself regretting something. She knew he noticed her real worth that she could not find. He noticed it, but she didn’t.
Min-joon opened his mouth with a calm voice.
“You have talent as a chef. You have the qualities as a chef. You said you hoped you could make this contest a turning point in your life. What you like will be a real turning point in your life.”
“Even if you said in the interview that you would cheer for me to win?”
At that moment, he was at a loss for words because what he said was clearly contrary to what he emphasized until now. But he could not tell her he felt like he would die if he didn’t tell her that he would cheer for her.
In the end, he repeated what he had told her a little while ago.
He knew it was not inconsiderate for him to repeat it.
“Because I feel so sorry for you.”
“Do you think I’m so miserable?’
“I’d be lying if I say you are not because you were probably the most unhappy right before you participated in this competition.”
“You are so honest about your feelings.”
“Even if I pretended not to be honest, you would notice it anyway. Don’t you think being honest about my feelings is better than me trying to be hypocritical?”
“Yes. That’s why I feel much more relaxed now.”
Gwen smiled at him. He thought her smile was ugly because it showed that she was neither happy nor sad. She was smiling awkwardly as if she almost gave up the hope of winning this competition.
“What if you don’t win?” he asked.
But she didn’t answer for a moment because she had never thought about it.
She had never thought that she would have no future if she failed.
But he discovered immediately what she meant by her silence. So he got mad again.
He said, “Prepare for the situation where you would not win. Don’t just focus on thinking that your life would be ruined if you failed.”
“Are you done talking with her?”
At that moment, Kaya cut in out of the blue. He nodded at her.
But Gwen looked a little confused. He acted like someone who read her mind exactly. Since he cooked well, could he figure out how others who didn’t cook well were thinking?
When she was lost in such foolish thoughts, he said to Kaya, “Yeah, I’m done.”
He gave Gwen some advice, and that was it.
Now it was time for her to start all over again.