A pale hand fumbled along the end of the window. The waiting room was dark, but one man was sitting on the sofa. It was Cho Min Joon. The TV in front of him was playing a comedy show, but Cho Min Joon wasnt looking that way. He was way too focused on the phone in his hand.

Carl Casper: They should just turn Grand Chef into Dating Chef. I dont even know what Im watching anymore.

Anna Tompson: I agree. Whether they look good together or not, I want to watch a cooking show.

Olivia Wesiz: @Anna Tompson Its not like a few scenes of them being nice changes the show entirely. I liked it.

Dawnbreaker: I want catfish. Why am I salivating over what Ive never tried before?

Meridia: I agree. Itd be great for breakfast.

Harry Miller: Who do you think will win? In my opinion

Kuroki Yui: Why are you trailing off? Im rooting for Anderson. He looks talented, and I like his cold and handsome look.

Bootes: I like Chloe. Shes cute and pretty. I just want her to win. I like her.

Jessica Wood: @Kuroki Yui I think Hugo and Carlos are better looking than Anderson. Theyre more manly. Oh yeah, the Asian guys not bad either. The guy who ate with Kaya at the end. Whats his name?

Kuroki Yui: @Jessica Wood Its Min Joon. I feel like he looks like that other chef, and rather than being too fancy, his cooking looks simple.

April: @Kuroki Yui Clean? Him? His catfish dish looked like shit. Allan is much cleaner in that sense.

Sansa Stark: Am I the only one who thinks Marcos cute?

N N: The world is wide with lots of different preferences.

Ariana Sommer: Min Joon and Kaya look good together. They look like high school sweethearts.

Katy Jones: Tell them to get it together. They should be cooking, not dating.

Yujin Smith: @Katy Jones Well, were saying theyre dating, but all they really did was cook and share their food. Maybe we should talk with the producer instead.

You were the one who told Kaya not to read those.

He heard a voice. Cho Min Joon looked behind him. Chloe was looking at him like a tattletale little sister. Cho Min Joon turned off his phone. He then looked in a different direction. Cho Min Joon asked, Why are you here at this hour?

I could ask you the same thing. Why arent you sleeping?

Im not sure

Cho Min Joon trailed off and let his thoughts wander. He thought about Chloes voice. Unlike her pretty and cute appearance, Chloes voice was fairly deep and rough, but it was different from a husky voice. That kind of voice actually suited Kaya. While Kaya sounded like she had a cough, Chloe sounded like she had a stuffy nose.

What am I thinking?

Cho Min Joon shook his head. Chloe asked in a suspicious voice.

You just thought of something weird, didnt you?

How did you know?

Thats what happens when a person goes silent.

Chloe took a seat. Chloe then spoke in a careful manner, People always know how to make things up. Just because you shared food, youre dating now. Thats not true though, right?

Well, it is a TV show.

In response, Chloe smiled. She said, Come to think of it, you were supposed to call your parents if you passed today, but the mission is tomorrow. Are you sad?

I dont know. I didnt think about it, but thanks for worrying.

Im not worried I just feel like Im looking at myself.

Why? Your mother isnt against you cooking.

Cho Min Joon didnt say parents because he was wiser than that. Kids of divorced parents said they didnt care, but they actually felt hurt by some of the things they heard. Chloe caught on to Cho Min Joons consideration and smiled.

Thats not the issue. Its not that I have a bad relationship with my parents, but I cant really express how I really feel with them. I know how hard that is.

Cho Min Joon fumbled his fingers in silence. He never thought about how hard that was, but once he thought about it, Chloe was right. It was hard to keep secrets from his parents.

Why are you here anyway? All the comments about you are positive, so that cant be it.

Im human, too, you know. I cant sleep because of the comments, so I went to work out. I feel like there are lots of others like that. If you knock on anyones door, theyre probably not sleeping.

Youre probably right. I wonder how Kayas doing.

Shes probably reading them, too. Marco looked at them before he fell asleep, and Hugos probably lashing out at them online.

Anderson probably didnt even check because of his pride.

No, I feel like hes the type to actually check every comment.

Gossiping about others made them feel a little better, but at the end of ones worry was another. Cho Min Joon sighed and said, I wonder if Peters better.

He changed the recipe earlier. Hes going to do Tandoori chicken now. Well have to see, but I think itll be better.

Do you think I was wrong to tell him it was 5 points?

I think it was worth a 5, too. Maybe someone else would have sugarcoated it for him, but were chefs. But then again, maybe were not there yet, but were working towards it, right? I think chefs need to be honest. If we cant overcome the truth

Chloe trailed off and then smiled, and Cho Min Joon knew what that smile meant. Chloe was unable to finish, so Cho Min Joon helped her out.

Yeah. That means we have no right to be chefs.

For many of you, today is probably your first day serving real customers.

Allan spoke. The kitchen had a different vibe than usual. Normally, there were two lines of cooking stations, but it was now set up in the shape of a square. This was done because it was a team mission, and the contestants were already split up into their respective teams.

Ill keep it short. I hope that just the fact that these are your first customers will motivate you enough. Please do a good job and present them with delicious dishes. Thats it for me. Please get ready!

8:45 in the morning. The mission began before they could even have breakfast. They had no choice. After all, the customers were set to arrive at noon for lunch. In order to prepare properly, they needed at least 2 hours.

Are you ready?

In response to Kayas question, everybody nodded. Kaya showed a face that resembled a female warrior as she said, Lets go over the recipes one more time. Carlos will make bagels with banana cream cheese, and Min Joon will make crab bisque soup. As for the mains, Chloe will make grilled bass, and

Kaya stopped there. She looked at Peter. Peter didnt look at her and simply stared at the ground. Kayas eye twitched, but she didnt make her feelings show as she continued, Peter will make Tandoori chicken breast, and Hugo will make Ossobuco. Ossobuco is delicious. Do it just like last time, Hugo.

Yes, Maam.

Hugo saluted with his response. Cho Min Joon nodded inside his head. Hugos Ossobuco was delicious. An Italian dish that was made with calf cartilage and white wine. As expected from an Italian dish, the flavors were deep. The cooking score was 7, but the flavors were much better than that.

Joanne will make Caprese salad, Tony will make Choco Mochi, and Ivanna will make orange sherbert. Ivanna, dont forget to serve it as soon as its done, and Min Joon, you know you have to help serve, too, right?

Yeah.

Great. Then were ready. Lets begin!

In response, everybody began gathering their materials. The same went for Cho Min Joon. He needed the same ingredients he used the night before with his team members.

When he peeled the crab and took out the meat, Kaya came and watched him do it. Cho Min Joon asked in a quiet voice, Hows Peter? Do you think its going well?

Im not sure. I feel like he might mess up if I go there.

You should still take a look. Maybe he wants to make up.

Okay.

Kaya approached Peter with an unwilling face. She wasnt happy about it, but it was best for them to speak. Cho Min Joon focused on his cooking. Since he had to make a large amount of bisque this time, it came with different pros and cons.

The good part was that he could make the flavor even deeper. Just like all soups, bisque soup was the best when it was boiled for as long as possible.

But the bad part was that it was hard to work with. Even if the soup was burning at the bottom, scents were hard to detect with such large amounts. For a chef who had been smelling his bisque soup for a few hours, it was hard to smell anything burnt because he was desensitized.

Of course, Cho Min Joon could use his system to check on his status, but it would be too late by the time it finished cooking. No mistakes were tolerated, and as a result, Cho Min Joons arm couldnt stop stirring.

As a result, the final crab bisque soup was perfect in quality. Cho Min Joon looked at his soup with satisfaction.

All he had to do now was maintain the temperature before handing it out to customers. It wasnt favorably looked upon to make it all at once in a large amount, but restaurants couldnt help it. If they made soups as they went, they were never able to get the timing right.

The customers have arrived! Start serving!

Allan shouted in a sharp voice. Carlos began moving his bagels and handmade banana cream cheese. After that was Cho Min Joons turn. He began moving his crab bisque soup with a gueridon. Some of the customers recognized Cho Min Joon and nodded. Some of them even pointed.

He felt shy for some reason, and a smile appeared on his face without knowing. He wanted to keep a straight face, but he couldnt hold back. Cho Min Joon approached with an awkward smile. At the first table was a couple. Cho Min Joon served them his lobster bisque soup.

This is lobster bisque soup. Please enjoy the soup first before you move on to the crab meat.

Did you make this yourself?

Yes, I did.

Oh, this feels weird. I salivated when I saw you making catfish meatball soup, but this looks even better. Right, Clark?

Hm Ive never had raw crab meat before.

The man named Clark looked at the soup with a difficult face. Cho Min Joon smiled as he said, You wont taste anything fishy in here.

Please try the soup first.

Clark grabbed his spoon in hesitation. Cho Min Joon watched with a nervous look on his face. The spoon entered his mouth. Clark closed his eyes to experience the flavors and then opened his eyes again for another bite. He took three bites before the crab meat was placed on top as well. He chewed on the crab meat before his eyes jolted wide.

Wow This is crazy. The crab meat melts like cheese. How? This is delicious.

I agree. This is delicious. Thank you.

Cho Min Joon flashed a smile. He had never felt this happy before. His heart pounded. Hearing that his food was delicious from a customer rather than a judge felt different.

At that moment, the woman smiled as she asked, Is this how you won over Kayas heart?

Cho Min Joon answered with a laugh, She did say it was delicious.