God of Cooking

Chapter 259

< A Healthy Flavor (3) >

It felt like all the sleep got driven away from Minjoon. He started to sit up a little, partly because of how scary Rachel sounded right there. Chloe tried to help him up, but Kaya was a little faster. She pressed down Minjoon’s shoulders lightly.

“Sit down. You’re a patient, so don’t try to stand up.”
“…I’m a patient right now?”
“Yeah, you are. Stay still. The doctor said you need rest.”
“I feel like just lying down while all of you stare at me is only going to give me stress, though…”

Kaya looked around a bit after hearing that. The room was completely filled with not only the kitchen staff, but also Minjoon’s friends and customers. Kaya opened her mouth firmly.

“If you aren’t close enough to share a drink with Minjoon, please step outside. I’m thankful that you’re so worried about him, but he needs rest right now.”

Chloe started to get a strange feeling when she heard what Kaya said. She put her mouth next to Kaya’s ear to whisper.

“Wait, but Minjoon doesn’t drink.”
“Yeah, I’m saying if you don’t even know that, you should get out,” Kaya whispered back.

Minjoon still seemed very confused, as if he didn’t know what was going on. That calm, all-knowing face of his was colored with nervousness right now. Kaya always thought looking at that face would make her feel victorious, so why did she feel so hurt when she actually saw it? Kaya sighed, and turned to look at Anderson.

“Anderson, you should explain what’s going on to him. There’s too much going on in my head to say anything.”
“…You’re telling me that, despite being the only one talking all this time?”
“Shut it.”

Kaya turned to grab Minjoon’s hand. Anderson opened his mouth annoyedly.

“You collapsed. In the kitchen.”
“…What about the customers? Was there any issues with the food?”
“That’s the first thing you worry about?”
“I mean, what’s more important than that?”
“The people here.”

Anderson raised his hand and pointed at those around him. There were a bunch of people standing, all with different clothes, hair, expressions and postures. The one thing tying all of them together was the worry on their faces.

“You worry people this much, and the first thing your mind floats to is the restaurant? Are you serious right now?”

Minjoon finally understood what was going on. He chewed on his lips for a bit before trying to carefully sit back up again. Kaya narrowed her eyes, but she didn’t try to stop him anymore. Minjoon opened his mouth with a lowered voice.

“I’m sorry for worrying all of you.”
“…Is your body doing alright?”
“Yes. I think I’m okay. My waist does hurt a little though, probably from sleeping so long…”
“I’ll leave the talking for later, since you just woke up.”
“Can’t we just do it now? You’re making me feel nervous…”
“You still haven’t realized what you’ve done, have you?”

Minjoon lowered his head. Rachel wordlessly pat his head.

“You should rest. I left you to your own devices for too long, since you were doing so well by yourself. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, teacher, please don’t say you’re sorry. You’re making me feel even more regretful.”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying this. So rest up, and recover quickly. What I can do with you for that is…”

Rachel took out a piece of paper. There was a lot of stuff written on it, but one word stood out to him in particular: vacation. Minjoon looked up at Rachel with a shocked expression. But before he could say anything, Rachel spoke first.

“No objections. This is rest. You can either think of this as punishment or a short nap.”
“…I’ll think of it as both. I’m sorry. But how long do I rest?”
“Ten days. But if you’re still being like this after ten days, I’m not going to let you back inside.”

Minjoon smiled awkwardly. Afterwards, he had to greet several people for a while. If Kaya didn’t stop them in the middle, he probably would’ve had to talk for at least half the day.

“Please stop. He might collapse again if you try to talk to him one by one. You should just go all at once.”
“Minjoon, Minjoon, good luck! Should be good.”
“…Are you trying to kill me with embarrassment?”

Minjoon tried to voice his disapproval, but Kaya wasn’t listening. She raised her fingers. Three, two, one.

“Minjoon, Minjoon, good luck!”

€

Ellie Foster: If it was a movie, he’d get diagnosed with an incurable disease right there.
└ David Goldberg: Do you really have to say that to a patient?
└ Ellie Foster: @David Goldberg Did I sound like I was wishing the guy death? Cuz that wasn’t the case at all.

Bill Cosby: I hope he recovers quickly. I love his food. I thought he might pass away just like Daniel right there. Thank goodness he just overworked himself.

Nick Colson: I want to see him cook again. He definitely looks better in his chef’s uniform than a patient’s one.
└ Bill Cosby: If a chef’s uniform didn’t fit on a person who’s passionate enough to overwork himself, that’d just be a cruel joke. I agree. I hope to see him again soon.
└ Nick Colson: @Bill Cosby I’ve never visited Rose Island because of work. But I did try Jo Reggiano somewhere else. It was pretty delicious. Delicious enough to put eating his food on my bucket list. I hope he stays healthy. At least until I can eat his food.

“…Thank goodness there aren’t any offensive texts.”
“Why would people say insults when you’re sick?”
“Some people always see the bad in the things that you do.”

Kaya muttered to herself coldly. Minjoon sighed, and turned off his notebook. Kaya handed him a cup. It looked like a drink, but the thing was oddly red.

[Prairie Egg] Freshness: 98%
Source: (The ingredients have been hidden)
Quality: High
Score: 5/10
“…Prairie Egg?”
“Oh, you know? Drink it.”
“What’s this?”
“You know the name, but you don’t even know what goes inside?”

Kaya looked at Minjoon oddly, making him avoid her gaze. Kaya sighed, and opened her mouth.

“People drink this when they have a hangover. It’s tomato juice with vinegar, egg, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. I also added soy sauce, though.”
“…Are you trying to make me drink food waste?”
“It’s good for you.”
“I don’t have a hangover, though.”
“Well, whatever. Just drink it, holding it’s hurting my arm.”

She was arguing with odd logic. But he didn’t want her to keep holding the drink up for him, so Minjoon downed it all in one gulp.

“…Not good.”
“Give me that.”

Kaya took the glass and went somewhere else. After a while, she came back to the room with a bowl in her arms. The smell of it made Minjoon swallow his saliva. Kaya grinned looking at him.

“I heard you guys eat this when you’re sick in Korea?”
“You made this yourself?”
“You always made it for me when I was sick. What, can’t I cook something for you? If you’re telling me I can’t cook for someone I like despite learning it for such a long time, I’d hate everything.”
“Me too.”

Minjoon smiled, and raised his hands. There was white chicken ripped to pieces floating on top of the pumpkin porridge. He thought she might’ve used either marsala powder or pumpkin for this, but it seemed to be neither. The porridge smelled too complex for that.
No, not just complex. The aroma of this thing was almost assaulting his nostrils. Minjoon turned to

“You added saffron?”
“Yeah.”
“Hah…”

Minjoon smiled dumbly. Saffron. The most expensive spice in the world. It was something too expensive to be used on something like porridge. When Minjoon looked at Kaya disapprovingly, the woman spoke to him calmly.

“Rachel gave me it. She told me to feed you.”
“…Did you really have to put it in porridge, though?”
“Wasn’t that your culture? I thought you guys liked soup more than anything.”
“That’s true, but… We usually focus on the flavor of the rice and other ingredients working in harmony when we make porridge.”
“Shut up and eat. I made it. It’s special.”
“Okay.”

At this point, if he complained further, he’d only be insulting Kaya and the saffron. Minjoon set aside the opinions in his head and took a bite. He immediately grinned.

“It’s good.”
“Of course. Who do you think made this?”

Kaya grinned with a shrug. He didn’t just say this to make her feel good. He thought the saffron would get buried in the rest of the porridge, but it was managing to shine through quite well.

‘8/10, huh.’

It probably took a lot of work to make a simple porridge like this. Minjoon carefully read the recipe. As soon as he did, he realized just how much work Kaya put into this.

“You made stock with chicken bones, and you cooked the meat sous vide? You didn’t use the machine, so it’s not perfect, but yeah, it’s soft. You filtered the stock multiple times… And then boiled rice in it. Why did you put so much work into this?”
“…You know you seem like a monster sometimes?”
“Hey, don’t call me that, it’s hurtful.”

Kaya sat down quietly, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Hey, don’t do that, you’re heavy.”
“…Do you really have to say that? With this vibe?”
“What vibe?”
“Don’t you want to say something sweet and lovely to me instead?”
“I do.”
“So why’s your reaction so dry?”

Kaya complained annoyedly. Minjoon smiled, and kissed Kaya in the lips. Kaya frowned.

“Are you trying to end it with just that? Do you think your kiss is worth that much?”
“What should I do, then?”
“Let’s travel.”

What the. As Minjoon tried to think of why the two of them should travel, Kaya took something out of her pocket. Minjoon’s eyes started trembling violently. Kaya calmly opened her mouth.

“I got vacation myself. Four tickets. Want to come?”
“…Are you joking?”
“I don’t joke.”

Kaya waved the tickets in front of him with a curt reply. Minjoon’s eyes followed the tickets slowly left and right. Kaya was holding the tickets to South Korea.