God of Cooking

“Hey, when you hang these socks on the tree, Santa Claus grandpa will leave a gift there.”

“Do you want your socks to have your mother’s happiness?”

“Um…”

Ella fidgeted with her fingers with an embarrassed look. After hesitating for a moment, she cautiously said, “I want Santa grandpa to bring Mom’s happiness in another gift, but I want him to put candy, chocolate, jelly, and dolls in these socks.”

“He’ll grant your wishes, so don’t worry.”

“I hope tomorrow can come as soon as possible.”

Ella spoke pleasantly with a lisp then smiled. He stroked her head and looked around.

He turned his gaze at Havier, who failed to come up with any recipe on the menu for this season’s course.

Min-joon would feel less sorry if there were some other demi chefs who failed like him, but he was the only demi chef who didn’t pass Rachel’s test. Min-joon could not figure out how nervous and uneasy Havier was now.

When he went to the kitchen preparing dishes for dinner guests, Min-joon went to Havier’s side after hesitating for a moment. He thought he had better not touch on his failure to get Rachels’s approval, but Havier was too depressed at the moment. It looked like he would be in trouble or make a big mistake if he kept making dishes with such a mindset.

“Havier.”

“Huh? Ah, Min-joon.”

As always, he smiled at Min-joon brightly. Of course, it was a forced smile. Holding his shoulder, Min-joon said, “Just because the runners start fast doesn’t mean they win. Don’t be impatient. I trust you. I think you’re a good chef and make good food.”

“Are you comforting me?”

“I’m sorry if you feel bad.”

“No, I don’t. Thank you. I thought about it after listening to you. Maybe what I needed was comfort and nothing else.”

“Everyone feels the same way, Later when I fall into a slump, you comfort me. You’re my coworker and friend, right?”

Havier’s eyes trembled for a moment when Min-joon said he was a friend and then softened. Havier said calmly, “Yes, you’re my friend.”

“So, please cheer me on now. I think this evening will be the most difficult time for me since I entered the kitchen.”

“Oh, you said your mother-in-law and father-in-law are coming this evening, right?”

“Man, I’m not even married yet.”

“Whatever. Aren’t you nervous because of Kaya’s family?”

“Well, all the guests are precious to me, but I think there won’t be any more meaningful meals than I serve this time. I’m going to be in charge of the dishes at the most important moment in their lives. Can you find any other time when you are so proud of being a chef but at the same time so scared?”

Havier thought he really meant it because he saw the beads of cold sweat on his forehead.

Obviously, Min-joon was very tense right now.

Havier chuckled and said, “Yea, I know. Working as a cook is difficult for everybody.”

“Even Chef Rachel said the same thing the other day. She said cooking was still difficult for her.”

This time, it was especially difficult for Min-joon because he had to prepare dishes for someone who was more important than anyone else. Min-joon wanted to serve dishes that Kaya’s family could enjoy, but at the same time, he wished his dishes could clear their long rupture at once. He wanted to give them such an occasion because that was all he had.

Great dishes were the best gift he could serve them.

<hr />

Basically, Kaya had a sensitive personality. She made excuses for that by saying she was poor and that she worked in the market in the past. But not all the people in the market had a sensitive personality, so her excuses were not perfect.

As a result, she made the simple conclusion that she was born with a sensitive personality. But that begged the following question—who did she inherit such a personality from?

Definitely, Grace, her mother, didn’t. Of course, Grace also had a temper as strong as Kaya’s, but if Kaya was a wolf, Grace was a bear. The nature of the two animals’ violence was different. Then, who did Kaya inherit her nature from? There was only one answer.

‘Yes, I was also right, as I expected.’

Watching Bruce looking around sharply, Kaya could finally solve the question she had been asking for her life. She resembled Bruce, her father. For example, when he was tense, her father just stared at the passers-by sharply and hardened his face to hide his feelings.

“Are you scared?” Kaya asked.

“No. I’m not scared. Even if I say so, you might not believe me. What do you want? Do you want me to show you how proud I am? Or do you want me to honestly show myself as I am?”

“Well, as you have asked the question, you have already answered it.”

“Oh, I see.”

Although he didn’t ask the question on purpose, he knew he revealed his intentions unwittingly. He nodded with a short sigh.

Kaya said with a smile, “I think I’m dumb because I look like you.”

“Well, I’ve got a lot to say about that misunderstanding, but let me hold it for now.”

Bruce hurt her daughter so much until now that it was hard for him to act naturally as father and daughter as if nothing happened to them. Kaya understood her father, but at the same time, she didn’t like the way he acted as if he was a sinner.

Kaya said annoyingly, “You weren’t there when my mom and I badly needed you as her husband and my dad. Of course, you might have a reason for that, but I think it’s your fault that you created such a situation.”

Kaya paused for a moment. She thought she could talk to him calmly, but she found herself so choked with emotions at the moment. She turned her head away from him because she was embarrassed and ashamed.

After clearing her throat, she continued, “Hmm, oh, I feel like I’m choked because I haven’t drunk water. I don’t want to talk long because my throat hurts. Don’t act like a sinner. I’m not saying this because of you. If you keep saying you are sorry for me, it makes me depressed so much. So, if you have any consideration for me, please listen to me, Dad.”

Actually, she was agonizing over her last words for a moment, but before she thought it over, she said it first unwittingly.

Bruce looked at her daughter, deeply moved. But she turned her eyes from him.

He said, “You’re still calling me Dad…”

“Well, I just called you like that somehow without any particular reason. So, don’t make such a happy expression. I asked you not to make me depressed, but I didn’t say you should look happy like that.”

“Sure, let me keep that in mind.”

He tightened his expression to refrain from looking happy. His stiffened face with an awkward smile made him look funny. The moment she looked at his face, she realized that she still liked her father.

It was not because she was convinced that he was not a bad man. What he told her might contain more fictional factors than facts. But Kaya wanted to trust him, even if his story was exaggerated and fictional. She wanted to love him. She hoped she could love him.

Although she was upset about him, she wanted to forgive and accept him. She had never seen his face until now . So, she thought that the moment she saw him, she would be able to cynically smile and lift her fingers. If one day she heard somebody saying ‘Your father is dead,” she could casually ask, “Oh, really? So what?” But she didn’t, after all.

It wasn’t because of her blood relationship with her father. It was not because she was not cold-hearted. It was a really simple matter. What Kaya longed for was neither melodrama nor tragic drama. Like most movies, she wanted her family drama to end happily ever after.

That was what she wanted seriously.

She said in a calm voice, “When you see mom, you should be ready to kiss your life goodbye. She is extremely mad about you.”

“I guess so…”

“Do not expect her to forgive you. But don’t worry too much. Mom doesn’t have a gun.”

“Huh, that’s really comforting.”

Bruce tried to make a relaxed expression, pretending not to be tense. He might have controlled his facial expression, but he couldn’t hide his wriggling fingers and trembling legs.

Watching him, Kaya was satisfied deep down. She wished he should be nervous and tense. If he looked relaxed and comfortable in this situation, it would definitely make her mother even more upset.

After that, Bruce and Kaya didn’t talk anymore. Was he already so tense that he was spaced out, thinking about the upcoming ordeal? He was blankly looking at the crowd entering Rose Island. Perhaps, he wasn’t even conscious that he needed to keep talking with her daughter until his wife arrived.

But ironically, Kaya felt some relief, discovering that her father was a bag of nerves at the moment. In fact, her father had nothing to fear if he thought he was indifferent to his estranged wife or if he had no empathy at all. Kaya felt that his nervousness itself showed her biological father was still treating her and her mother dearly. She liked it.

‘Am I stuck in miserable thinking right now?’

When she thought about it, she felt a bit upset, but she could not afford to fall into such idle thought because her mother—Grace—appeared in a few minutes. As soon as she came toward him, stomping her feet as if she was rushing toward him, he opened his mouth with an awkward voice, “Grace, it’s been a while…”

He could not continue what he was going to say. She punched him in the chest with her fist hardened through all sorts of chores at the market. He bent over, gasping for breath.

Grace shouted in British English in a harsh tone, “You’re sht, son of a btch!”

Kaya laughed at that.