“Are you kidding me?”
At Jae-geon’s sudden outburst, curious eyes turned to him all at once.
Seong Hae-som, a trainee cook with only two months of experience, had requested a tasting from the head chef.
The reactions were split precisely in two. The moderate faction, thinking, ‘I can’t even gauge how badly Seong Hae-som wants to succeed,’ and the hardline faction, thinking, ‘She’s gotten way too bold, thinking the chef’s doting on her.’
It was as if an unprecedented event had occurred, and every section was in a state of disarray. Jae-geon, dismissing the commotion with a cold gaze, met Hae-som’s eyes directly.
“I’m asking you. Does tasting seem like a joke to you?”
Hae-som’s heart sank with a sudden thud.
It was a homework assignment Jae-geon had thrown at her after their field trip to Farm to Table. It wasn’t even an official test, and she was merely a lowly trainee.
She hadn’t expected him to evaluate her so harsh, and her bewilderment didn’t easily fade.
Besides, who was he? Wasn’t he the same person who, just this morning, had been sucking her dry like picking the flesh off a cutlassfish?
Is this the same person… really?
Her mind was so hazy, she felt like she was dreaming. But as long as she was with him, there was no time for dreams, so Hae-som quickly straightened her scattered thoughts.
“No, Chef.”
Jae-geon, who had been shooting her disapproving glances, pinched the appetizer plate with tweezers.
“Fig brûlée. Isn’t the dish you’re assisting with sea urchin brûlée? Don’t you know the recipes overlap?”
“I apologize, Chef.”
“Give me three reasons why I should eat and evaluate this garbage, which lacks novelty, has terrible ingredient compatibility, and even poor decorating.”
A dumbfounded sound came from over her shoulder. It wasn’t Hae-som who had made the noise, but the groans of the observing chefs.
They seemed to pity Hae-som, thinking, ‘Why is he treating her like this, even though she’s not even a proper chef?’
However, this kind of rough treatment was exactly what Hae-som had wanted.
She needed to be criticized sharply and pushed around relentlessly to improve.
Moreover, since when had he ever been kind to her? It was better this way than if he had looked at her with icy eyes, deeming her pathetic.
Hae-som steeled her resolve and sharpened her pen nib on the corner of her recipe notebook.
Recipes cannot be mixed or duplicated. Novelty, Compatibility, Decoration: X
Appetizer, Entrée, Main, Dessert. She had only passed the appetizer hurdle of the scheduled lecture. The road ahead was still long.
As expected, Jae-geon’s blunt honesty struck her like a harpoon.
“Since these are seasonal autumn ingredients, it looks like you’ve just shoved some grilled gizzard shad into the figs. The enzyme ficin in figs has a tenderizing effect, which completely destroys the fish flesh’s structure. It’ll all melt before it’s served to the customer. Understand? …What on earth did you learn at school?”
She glanced briefly at Hwi and Jae-min, who were biting their nails in shock, then turned her attention back to her notebook.
Figs and fish are the worst combination. Apply school theory to practice.
The subsequent harsh words were translated into valuable feedback in Hae-som’s notebook.
Main garnish must have at least 3 components – starch, vegetable, and a focal point.
For dessert, abandon the notion that it must be sweet. Find unsweetened desserts.
By the time she finished writing, Jae-geon, who had been exuding coldness, was already gone. Jun-won, realizing a bit late that something had happened, had dragged Jae-geon away.
The breath held in tension erupted from all sides like bombs. Hae-som, however, was calmly reviewing the content she had written and Jae-geon’s advice, checking for any differences.
The chefs surrounding her chimed in with their own words.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Would you be okay if you were her? You might not believe it right now, but that’s just the chef’s way of showing affection. Don’t take it to heart; just shake it off.”
“Is it really that easy to just shake off? Our hearts are pounding just listening to it.”
“Still, you have to admit he’s cold-blooded. How can he say such harsh things while looking at that cute face!”
Hwi and Jae-min, Hae-som’s close friends, were there, but even the other chefs she hadn’t spoken to much offered words of comfort, perhaps feeling a sense of camaraderie.
Of course, there were always those who would seize the opportunity to confirm the rumors.
“Weren’t you two dating? Did it break off already?”
“Did the chef dump you on his own? Or is it the other way around, the chef got dumped, and that’s why he’s acting like this?”
“Whoa, really?”
“That’s it, I’m getting goosebumps.”
Cutting short their speculative gossip, Hae-som fixed her gaze on her recipe notebook.
What are some unsweetened desserts?
This was a moment when she needed the dessert CDP, Woon-seop.
Jun-won, still annoyed tidying his disheveled appearance, suddenly shot a glare.
“You buffalo.”
Clearly, Jun-won was the one holding Jae-geon back, but he himself seemed more flustered. Jae-geon looked down at his pristine chef’s uniform and let out a soft laugh.
“You should have known when and where to interfere.”
“Are you just going to stand by and watch me get berated in front of everyone?”
Even though he had spoken calmly, without emotion, just landing jabs, it had caused this much of a scene. Cha Ji-won had rushed over like a furious mother-in-law, and the onlookers’ faces were all pale.
Amidst the chaos, Hae-som to his surprise was calm. She recorded the problems and contemplated improvements, her eyes softly closing.
Perhaps the harsher he pushed her, the more satisfied she seemed.
Though this wasn’t an good example, the deeper and faster he inserted, the more honestly she responded.
The more ruthlessly he thrust, the more she trembled with ecstasy. Each time she leaned her full weight, she seemed to feel a sense of relief, her eyes gradually losing focus.
The woman, limp in his rough grip, suddenly requested.
‘Faster.’
‘Faster.’
‘Deeper.’
In other words… Seong Hae-som was, from the beginning, the type to be aroused by being dominated. Though she didn’t seem to realize it yet.
Jun-won, recalling the tasting where only the parties involved seemed blank, shuddered.
“Why on earth would you pick on her like that, when she’s not even a full-time employee, just a trainee? If you’d pushed a little harder, she would have cried.”
“The moment she starts crying, she’s out.”
“You seemed fine for a while, so why are you tormenting her again? Is it because of Yoo Eun-seong?”
“Do I look like someone who interferes with personal feelings and bullies their subordinates?”
“Yeah, totally.”
Ignoring Jun-won’s final remark, Jae-geon brought up a schedule in his mind.
“That’s Seong Hae-som’s preference, so don’t interfere. Just make a spot for me on the 14th.”
Jun-won scowled at the sudden change of topic.
“What?”
“The chef is coming.”
“Who?”
“Jean Jacques.”
Jun-won leaped in place.
“Why is that old man suddenly coming here! He didn’t even budge when we sent him love calls!”
When the restaurant first opened, when it received its first Michelin star, then its second, and its third. Not had kept sent invitations.
He had ignored them, offering no even perfunctory reply, so Jun-won’s shock was makes sense. Jae-geon responded calmly.
“He probably craves Korean food.”
“Not because he wants to bully his protégé with personal feelings, like someone else?”
Given his nasty temper, it seemed plausible. Jae-geon didn’t deny it.
“How many people?”
Come to think of it, he hadn’t asked that either. One interpreter, one guide, one secretary, one agent, and maybe six spots, just in case he brings a lover.
“Six.”
“That many?”
“Let’s say the maximum for now.”
Jun-won, who had opened the calendar on his phone screen and was recording, suddenly clicked his tongue.
“Ah, I have a bad feeling about this.”
“About what?”
“I just have a bad feeling. It’s also suspicious that Cha Ji-won is being unusually quiet.”
Is he a fortune teller or something?
Jae-geon ignored his intuition and left the office. The kitchen was deserted, as if everyone had gone to eat.
Only Woon-seop and Hae-som remained, both too focus putting their heads together.
“Team Leader Seop, what would be some unsweetened desserts?”
“Hmm. Sherbet?”
“Sherbet tastes sour, but isn’t its sugar content actually very high?”
“That’s true. What else… Pies?”
“But the filling is also really sweet.”
It was strange how happy she was by this conspiracy of characters.
