Hae-som’s ears pricked as though she had heard something she should not have.
“Pardon? Which section did you say I’m assigned to?”
“Oh, I guess no one told you yet. I heard you’re placed in the main section.”
Even as Jong-im said it, his face showed little relief.
Putting a raw beginner in the main section, the heart of the kitchen, amounted to a death sentence. Jae-geon’s intent was obvious: break her spirit and drive her out.
If she wants to work that badly, I should let her.
So that easy permission had felt suspicious.
If he held a grudge against Ji-won, he could have taken it out on her. Why drag an innocent Hae-som in as a sacrifice?
From the start, offering her an internship had been a hostile design.
Do you even realize how badly you’re being used right now?
Who would end up looking foolish depended on how it ended, and she had no intention of backing down.
Her neck would burn under stares for a while, sure, but…
“Welcome. First time in a kitchen, right?”
“Rookie, your spot’s here.”
She could only hope to cling to the two main chefs with friendly faces and make it through without incident.
“I’m demi Park Hwi. This one’s commis Jam-min.”
“Hey, hyung! You’re wrecking my image right out of the gate calling me Jam-min!”
“You nitpick like a kid, so what else should I call you.”
“Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Yoo Jae-min.”
Hwi looked lean and tall, Jae-min round and boyish. They did not give off a territorial vibe, though that remained to be seen.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Seong Hae-som.”
She shook their hands without dropping her guard, even shooting a look toward Jae-geon’s office.
“….”
Whether it landed remained unclear.
The moment the office door closed, the pressure burst free.
“Chef!”
At the shout, Jae-geon lifted his gaze from the papers.
Han Seung-jun, head of the main section, stood there breathing hard. His reddened face showed every ounce of his displeasure over the intern introduction.
Jae-geon replied with bare indifference.
“What.”
“Putting a novice with no experience in the kitchen, in the main section no less, goes too far. I ask you to reconsider.”
“Managing your team falls under a CDP’s skill set. Are you saying you lack that?”
“She has to grasp things to be taught! What do we do with a student who never set foot in a professional kitchen? We bring her in, break our flow, scatter the team, and we take the hit.”
“Treat her as a stagiaire. Have her run staff meals or errands.”
“Chef!”
All this noise over a two-and-a-half-month intern.
He expected complaints, but even Han Seung-jun, usually as quiet as a temple, raging like this surprised him. Jae-geon pinched his brow.
“Throwing a fit before testing her skill, based on no experience alone, reeks of arrogance and neglect of duty. Save complaints for after service.”
“What can Seong Hae-som prove during service? Even a six-year-old can run errands.”
“She’ll stand at the pass with me today. If she lacks skill, it will show soon enough.”
Seung-jun paced the office with a hand to his forehead, then dropped onto the sofa as though beaten. His face, usually smooth, looked crushed like old newsprint.
“Why the main section?”
For beginners, the usual practice placed them in appetizers or desserts, where processes stayed simpler. Skipping all that and dropping her into main felt extreme even to him.
Jae-geon gave a short laugh and crooked his lips.
“It’s the section that makes you feel your place. She either breaks and leaves or somehow endures. It won’t feel easy.”
“You brought her in planning to drive her out? That fits your nature?”
True enough. The real Jeong Jae-geon would not have bothered with such trouble. He had agreed as though possessed.
The ill-fitting suit, like borrowed clothes, heels slipping on small feet. That flimsy look, paired with words full of nerve.
I wanted to work at Not more than being used as a messenger.
She barely met his eyes, yet spoke of lofty resolve. That must have stirred his curiosity.
When can you start?
Skill checks could come after she arrived. If she proved useless, dish duty would do.
Now that she was here, where was Seong Hae-som? She had teared up when he told her to start.
“…….”
10:30 a.m. Enough time had passed for orientation and changing, yet she had not come to greet him.
Did Ji-won tell her to act that way? Or had courtesy fallen out of fashion?
Jae-geon lifted his gaze from his watch and jerked his chin at Seung-jun.
“End this overreach and get ready for service.”
After spending the morning shut in his office, Jae-geon stepped into the hall with the needed files.
Sunlight poured through the wide windows. His steps wavered for a moment before heading to table ten, where the kitchen lay in full view.
While handling paperwork, he planned to see how the troublesome newcomer settled in. Amid the dark charcoal tones, the white uniform moved with sharp speed.
She fetched needed ingredients, carried used tools to wash, returned to ask what else was required. Even while busy, she kept an eye on the cooking. It looked commendable.
He pressed his lips to the papers and widened his view. Jun-won, the general manager who had just arrived, stood surrounded by chefs, taking a long lecture.
The topic felt easy to guess. Jae-geon cut that interest off and straightened his files.
Profit management and metrics, menu and brand strategy, team management and communication.
Stacks of material awaited review for a sponsor meeting next week. He held no space for backroom chatter.
Freed from the chefs, Jun-won drifted over like a dandelion seed and nodded toward Hae-som.
“Who’s that?”
“Can’t tell by looking?”
“Exactly. She shows up without warning as some intern. That baby-faced kid.”
A profit report flew over in reply. Read it. Jun-won ignored the meaning, propped his arm on it, and pressed on.
“Since when did Jeong Jae-geon care about training juniors enough to bring in an intern? A woman, at that.”
The stress fell square on “woman.” The smile faded from Jae-geon’s face.
“Not an elite through proper channels either. A local four-year student about to graduate, dropped in by parachute. No wonder people talk.”
“I saw potential.”
Potential, or lack of manners. Either way.
“How many with that so-called potential passed through in five years?”
“Maybe her room to grow stands out. Or I decided to trust someone else’s eye.”
“You didn’t bring her in because she caught your eye, right? You know that talk, grooming.”
He shot Jun-won a cold look, but Jun-won kept tracking Hae-som’s path. When their eyes met, he let out a short grunt.
“Then again, your type never went for cute fawns.”
That was the exact point Ji-won aimed for.
He showed no interest in cute, childlike women. A college student ten years younger left no opening at all.
If he ended up rolling in bed with the intern he had cast aside, how would she react? From Ji-won’s view, nothing would humiliate more. A misstep worth considering.
Soft as rice cake, Seong Hae-som would never satisfy as prey, but that made her easier to grab and shake. Maybe stir things further.
For Hae-som, sticking to this side and taking whatever crumbs fell beat getting used and discarded by Ji-won, no?
What twisted impulse drove this, he did not know, yet part of him wanted Hae-som to settle into Not and prove it.
Perhaps too much to expect from a kid trotting around with her apron strings loose.
After a brief look at her young face, Jae-geon returned to his files. Work came first.
- Assistant-level cook who supports the section head
- Entry-level cook, the youngest in the kitchen
- Team leader who oversees a specific kitchen section
- Intern who learns kitchen operations (trainee)