God of Cooking

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Night in Florence (4)

Kaya hung up her phone. That might have been the easiest way to make the magic wear off. Kaya walked over to him as she knocked on the phone that was still placed against her ear.

“Is anyone inside?”

“… Yeah.”

“Why do you have that dumb look on your face? Was that too much for our naïve little man with the perfect palate?”

“Do you act like this with the others, too?”

“Stop being so strict… Okay, fine. I’ll stop.”

Kaya acted like she was comforting a disobedient kid. Cho Min Joon was flustered. Since when was Kaya so relaxed around him? Cho Min Joon glanced at her brown hair and asked, “Did you dye it?”

“Yeah. I even have a coordinator now. Didn’t I tell you?”

“No. But you look pretty. I like you better with black hair though.”

“If you don’t pay attention, you can’t even tell the difference. It’s still dark.”

Kaya twisted her hair with her fingers. As Cho Min Joon watched, he mumbled, “Should I dye my hair, too?” At that moment, Kaya showed a straight face and said, “No. Never. If you do that, I’ll dye my hair blonde.”

“… Why not?”

“Because I don’t want you to. I like you with black hair.”

Despite Kaya’s tantrum, she smiled instead of looking annoyed. Did she look pretty no matter what because it had been such a long time? Cho Min Joon pinched Kaya’s cheek without realizing it. Kaya glared at his hand.

“What’s this for?”

“You’re acting like a kid, so I’ll treat you like one. It’s your fault.”

“Take your hands off me.”

As soon as he did, Kaya glared up at him and rubbed her cheeks.

“That hurt.”

“Sorry.”

“… You always apologize right away. I can’t even get mad.”

They bickered back and forth for a while. Some could hear it as meaningless jabber, but they weren’t doing it to pass the time. They both needed meaningless chats about their daily lives. That was what they missed the most.

It felt as though their small talk made them feel so warm that they could endure their tiredness and the cold. They were two hands apart from each other, but their words and hearts were touching.

“Are you going to Allen’s restaurant tomorrow?”

“Yeah. At around lunch.”

“Lucky. I want to go, too.”

“… Do you have the time?”

“No. That’s why I want to go.”

Kaya hung on the banister with a sad look on her face. Cho Min Joon stood by her, ready to catch her if something were to happen. Kaya turned her head while still hanging on the banister. She then stared at Cho Min Joon without a word. Kaya reached out her hand.

Rather than grabbing her hand, Cho Min Joon decided to keep looking at her. Kaya shook her arm and asked, “Can you hold my hand?”

She wasn’t asking because she felt like she was going to fall, but Cho Min Joon held her hand without a word. Their cold hands made their own hands twitch, but their blood warmed up the other person’s hand. Kaya felt the heat and opened her mouth.

“I’ve never wanted to hold people’s hands so much before. I never liked handshakes either. What’s funny is that I hold many hands, but no one holds on tight like this.”

“Are you scared?”

“… Yeah. I want to bluff in front of you, but I’d rather be more honest. I’m scared. I just lived as a dust in the wind before, but now, the world is all looking at me. I thought that meant I succeded… But it’s not all fun.”

Kaya grabbed on tightly onto Cho Min Joon’s hand. She then pointed at her left hand with her right.

“I’m scared, but now that someone’s holding my hand… I feel relieved. It’s not like you hugged me or anything. It’s funny, huh?”

Cho Min Joon continued to stare at Kaya without a world. As if it was a coincidence, the moon happened to shine behind her head. The moonlight scattered in between her hair, and it made him rub his eyes.

“What happened with what you talked about last time? You said something was going to happen.”

“It hasn’t happened yet, so don’t worry.”

“Can I ask what it’s about?”

“I told you. If I tell you, I’ll end up relying on you and becoming weak. I don’t want that, so I’d rather not…

Kaya took her body off of the banister. She stood up straight and put her hands in her pockets. When her hoodie pulled down, her hood wrapped tightly around her head before bouncing off like an elastic. He noticed her different hair color. Just like her different hair, she was different as well.

“I don’t want to. I want to be an adult. I know I’m not yet, so I need to work harder. I do…”

Kaya’s eyes looked toward her own hands. Their hands were intertwined, so it was hard to tell which finger belonged to who. Kaya took a breath and spoke in a shaking voice, “It’s hard to let go of this hand.”

She didn’t intend on going this far, but after not seeing Cho Min Joon for weeks, she finally realized it. She realized it once she was in the real world. That he meant a lot more to her than she imagined.

That was why she held his hand. She thought it only took a moment, but that wasn’t true. Once their hands touched, she realized that she didn’t want to hold on to it only for a moment because she didn’t want to let go.

‘I should’ve known…’

Kaya raised her eyebrow, but her eyes were shaking with tears, and those two eyes looked at Cho Min Joon. She wasn’t sure if it was just his Asian features or if he really felt that way… but his straight face looked cruel to her.

She didn’t want to look at his face. She could have closed her eyes or turned her head but Kaya didn’t, she couldn’t. Just as Cho Min Joon let go of her hand, he embraced her. She felt Cho Min Joon’s chin on her neck. Cho Min Joon’s voice made the inside of Kaya’s hood feel warm.

“Don’t be scared.”

In a calm and comforting way. When she heard his voice, Kaya felt like all of her anxiousness melted away. She felt like she was back home. Not that she ever felt comfortable at home.

Kaya embraced his back. Just as she put her cheek against his neck, she felt something weird. And she soon realized that the texture was the burn scar he had on his neck.

Kaya pushed Cho Min Joon’s shoulders away. She could see the burn scar clearly underneath the street lamp. She spoke in a rough voice,

“I told you, right? That you’re the most precious to me besides my family.”

“Yeah.”

“I was lying.”

Cho Min Joon didn’t have a chance to feel taken aback by it. Kaya put her face against his neck. Or so he thought. But that wasn’t it. Kaya kissed his burn mark. In between her shaking lips came out a warm breath, and before that warmth disappeared, her lips touched his scar.

The sound of her smooch reminded him of smacking lips after tasting a dish. Kaya slowly took her head away and looked up at him with her long eyelashes.

“You’re just as precious as my family.”

She smiled.

“My heart will never change the way that scar will never disappear.”

***

Back at the dorm, the entire cast knew that Cho Min Joon was out in the middle of the night. Anderson, who was going to ask him what happened once he got back, fell asleep on the sofa, and the others looked for Cho Min Joon as soon as it was morning.

“… He’s still not back?”

Sarah asked in a shocked voice. Jeremy laughed.

“It’s obvious what happened if a man didn’t come back all night long.”

“… Jeremy. Don’t talk so carelessly at your age. Even if that’s true, you shouldn’t say that in front of everyone.”

“Who cares? You used to say whatever you wanted back in the day. Why are you acting so tame now?”

“Please shut up.”

Jeremy snickered as he was implying, ‘See? She’s always like that.’ At that moment, Cho Min Joon carefully appeared. He smiled awkwardly.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

“You’re very late. Did you get any sleep?”

“Yes, I took a nap on the bench… What’s that look for?”

Cho Min Joon thought strangely of Emily’s dropped jaw. Sarah smiled and spoke in a subtle voice, “I don’t hate that you have a free lifestyle.”

“… What’s wrong with taking a nap on the bench?”

“I’m sorry?”

Sarah looked at Cho Min Joon. Cho Min Joon looked back. They were both confused, and it was Anderson who jumped in next.

“Did you talk all night long?”

“Yeah. Then we dozed off on the bench. We had a lot to talk about.”

“I bet.”

Anderson nodded in understanding. He wasn’t even curious. He simply asked to resolve the misunderstanding in the room. And Cho Min Joon didn’t want to admit it, but Kaya was on the innocent side in contrast to her looks.

Sarah and Emily exchanged glances. Anderson and Cho Min Joon weren’t sure if they understood it right. Sarah then asked in a dazed voice, “So nothing happened?”

“Pardon?”

“N-never mind.”

As soon as they met eyes, she felt embarrassed about what she thought. Jeremy coughed and said, “Don’t make such rash predictions.”

They went to a pizza place nearby for breakfast. Allan wasn’t there because they agreed to have lunch at Allan’s place. It was hard for a head chef to be gone for long.

‘A pizza for breakfast?’

It seemed strange. Three Korean pancakes didn’t feel like much, but with pizza, even half a pan felt like too much. Even if the dough was thin.

Sarah ordered the margarita pizza and explained, “In Italy, even skinny women are expected to finish a pan of pizza. Just like how you don’t share a hamburger.”

“Well, seeing how it’s thinner and smaller than American pizza, I understand… But I feel like it’s too much for breakfast. In my country, three or four people share a pan of pizza, and we don’t have it for breakfast.”

“Pizza is healthy for you as breakfast.”

He felt fascinated by Sarah. It wasn’t just food that was different in various countries. Eating habits, attitudes about ingredients, and even how bodies reacted to the food were different. Even with pizza and cheese, Koreans would feel bloated all day after having it for breakfast.

And Cho Min Joon was no exception. Once they finished breakfast, Cho Min Joon got into the car with low blood pressure. He didn’t take cheese well, and the flour on top made him feel under the weather.

‘I wonder if Kaya ate breakfast.’

Since they both stayed up all night, she was probably tired as well. He should’ve sent her back earlier, but it was hard because it was so good to see her. Cho Min Joon took out his phone.

[Me: Aren’t you tired?]

[Kaya: I took a nap in the car. I think we have to film at a restaurant again. I’ll take another nap while eating.]

[Me: … Sorry. I kept you for too long.]

[Kaya: It wasn’t just you. I wanted to be there, too. I’m going to sleep. Let’s text later.]

He didn’t expect the replies to come so quickly, but Kaya cut off the conversation. Cho Min Joon intentionally didn’t send her any replies. He was tired, too. Cho Min Joon closed his eyes, and Andreson, who was driving, opened his mouth.

“Doesn’t Allan’s restaurant look like something that copied Rachel’s? Olive Island.”

“… Probably. I retired before Allan was a head chef… And I wasn’t ready to give a restaurant to a kid, but seeing how he left a trace of me and my husband at his restaurant, he’s a good kid.”

“You’re probably the only one who can treat Allan like a kid.”

Emily smirked as she replied.

That’s when they arrived at Allan’s Olive Island. Martin asked them to wait in front of the restaurant. When they all looked at him strangely, Martin smiled and said, “I don’t know which country this is from, but they say food tastes better when you share. I’m sure the six of you can share well, but if we add a few more forks and knives, the meal might taste even better.”

“… Why is the introduction so long today?”

“There will be a special guest today.”

Guest. That word made Cho Min Joon’s eyebrow twitch. He suddenly thought of a guess, but he didn’t want it to be right. If he was right, his all-nighter would become meaningless.

But as soon as Cho Min Joon met eyes with Martin, he was certain. That his guess was right. Martin pointed behind him. A woman with a gray sweater and thick smokey makeup was looking at him with an absurd face. Martin opened his mouth.

“The winner of Grand Chef, Kaya Reuters!”