God of Cooking – Chapter 270

Translator: Hwarang    Proofreader: Arocks141, Flowingcloud

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<Special Interest (3)>

 

If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁

Jo Minjoon was Jo Minjoon in the end. He wouldn’t post things out of rage. He was logical and calm, but precise to the point where each word permeated with invisible anger.

[Everyone has worries. Those worries may vary from person to person. As a human, a man, as a woman, as an adult, as a child, as a cook, as a lawyer, as a housewife. Even I have worries. As a human being, as a son, as a cook, as a celebrity, sometimes as a customer. When I put that worry in my head I feel a deep sense of responsibility. Those worries mainly change my life, but sometimes they may change other people’s lives. Therefore, the worries cannot be short or without weight.] [However, there are those who take these worries lightly. There are those who do not know the weight of their words. Under the name of freedom, there are people who mistake indulgence as their right. These are the people who do not understand the consequences of their irresponsible speech and behavior.] [I have a friend. To be honest, he is not even a close friend. We were acquaintances during middle school, and when we met again, his face and name were a blur in my mind. When I met this friend again, I got to know what it felt like to have an unexpected encounter on the road. During this encounter, I also learned that another person’s worry could be my worry. We shared our words and our thoughts. Not through words but through cooking.] [But that cooking was trampled by another person’s irresponsible words. Of course, opinions about cooking should be free. What may be the best dish for some, maybe the worst dish for others. Right now, I am not trying to say that the person’s evaluation is wrong. But what I am trying to address right now is careless words that degrade others values and experiences just because they may have a different opinion, evaluation, or maybe even walked a different path. I want to point out the scars that those careless words can cause.] [Cooking is closely attached to our daily life. That’s why everyone is their own gourmet. Whether we want it or not we live our lives having all sorts of food. And the weight of time is substantial. No one should compare the value of time that people spend tasting food to the value of time gourmets spend tasting the food. This should never be the case.] [That is why I am writing this article. Not because someone wrote a few bad comments about my friend who spent his whole life making noodles. It is his right to do so. I am not writing this because he is dismissing me as a novice kid who does not understand the true taste of noodles. There are many people who curse at me and degrade me, but I have neither enough time nor enough interest to react to every single one of those negative comments.] [There is one reason why I am angry. This person is dismissing another gourmet whom he has never seen before because he wants to protect his pride. I am convinced now that he is not evaluating the noodles but reproaching it. I would like to ask all of you how funny it is to be a gourmet who treats cooking with hate.] [Mr. Lee Namhoon. You are wrong]

“…This is the first time I saw Minjoon this mad.”

Kaya reread the words in the Starbook several times with a strange expression. The more she read the calm and well-polished words the more she felt the sharpness of those words. She has seen Jo Minjoon get mad on a couple of occasions. She saw him get mad during a party, and she saw him get mad at her. Although it was through a broadcast, she remembers him getting mad at a thug who was harassing a street vendor in Thailand.

Just by reading the text, Kaya knew that Jo Minjoon was angrier than he has ever been. All those times that he got mad before, he said those words to either defend from further attacks or to further develop them. But this case was different. It was an attack that didn’t stop at just defending.

“Kaya, how do the people overseas receive these comments?”

“Some are just curious… but it seems like the Korean fans are explaining the situation. But if this keeps up, what’s going to happen here in Korea?”

“I don’t know. Some will say it’s refreshing. Others will ask if it is ok for a young person to be so rough on food critique.”

“What does age matter? Can’t young people talk?”

“It’s a thing in Korea. They usually talk about age, but that food critique, they have a large fanbase. I don’t know if he has more fans than my brother, but he is someone who is well respected in Korea.”

“I don’t like it. Why does he have such a light mouth?”

“Well… positions don’t make people. But it creates a sense of authority.”

Jo Ara commented while shrugging her shoulder. Kaya was just looking at the comments with a slight frown on her face. The living room became noisy. When Kaya heard Jo Minjoon’s voice, she went out to the living room and was about to say something to him. But when she saw him smiling apologetically, she didn’t. She didn’t want to worry the rest of the family. So, she bit her lip and said whispered in his ears.

“See me later.”

Jo Minjoon smiled nervously. He was at fault for creating a storm on a trip that was supposed to be calm. He didn’t have anything to say even if Kaya blamed him.

Kaya didn’t say a word when they left his parents’ house. She only opened them when she was laying on top of her bed.

“You know how to get angry.”

“I am also a human.”

“Are you sure you are not going to regret this? You might get more negative comments.”

“The moment we became popular, we were bound to have haters. Why would a few more haters scare me.”

Jo Minjoon said confidently. Kaya was not angry at him, she was just unfamiliar with this side of her boyfriend. To be honest, she had caused more and bigger accidents than he had, so she was a bit worried for him.

“You can resolve this, right?”

“Well, I don’t know whether I have to resolve it or fight it.”

“I don’t know. You think differently than me. But I trust you.”

Listening to Kaya’s words Jo Minjoon put his face on the pillow and didn’t respond. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

“What if I was driven by emotion and put that comment up without thinking.”

Kaya responded.

“Then you need to be punished.”

*********

[The remarks of a famous chef with the absolute taste Jo Minjoon is causing a storm. The starting point of this storm was a simple mention of Pyongyang noodles. After Jo Minjoon praised the noodle, which had been criticized by Mr. Lee Namhoon, a famous critique and a chef in the past, Mr. Lee responded by saying it was not deeply evaluated…]

The TV turned off with a beeping sound. Lee Namhoon had a complicated look so deep that it didn’t have a reflection. He sighed as he stared at the decoration on the wall.

‘What world do we live in that people these days actually believe in the young chef who is said to have absolute taste.’

The first words he left about the noodle wasn’t that harsh of a criticism. To be precise, he just said it wasn’t the same as before. For all he remembered, it was just a comment. However, people were talking as if he said that the noodles were so bad that you can’t even bring it to your mouth.

He knew it was wrong to act out of emotion. He was angry at the fact that the attitude that people had when they put more weight on Jo Minjoon, who was just a rising world star, than his own who had years of experience. Of course, it was like the comment that he left about the noodle shop. But what goes around comes around.

“Professor. I think you should apologize…”

“Did you just say apologize?”

Lee Namhoon looked at his assistant with a cold look. The assistant stepped back with a reserved expression and carefully spoke.

“The odds are against us. Jo Minjoon is a world-famous chef who is getting attention from all over the world. Disregarding the fact that he has the absolute taste, people believe him.”

“So, you want me to bow down and surrender? Is that something you can say?”

“No that’s not what I meant. I meant do you really have to go out when it is raining? Just wait, it will be over soon, and people will lose interest.”

“Do you know how the students are looking at me right now? I am not just a food critic. I am a food critic who was originally a chef. I don’t want to lose face as a food critic, but I especially don’t want to lose face as a chef when it comes to the field of gastronomy.”

It wasn’t that Lee Nahoon’s words didn’t make sense. However, even if Lee Namhoon took a stubborn stance, the result didn’t look too good. So, the assistance spoke again carefully.

“Isn’t it better to give in sometimes? People don’t always point their fingers at the losers. Sometimes they think it is rather cool.”

“That may be so. But we have come too far. If I wanted to give in, I should have done so when Jo Minjoon made the first comment.”

Lee Namhoon glared at the assistant.

“I wasn’t wrong. The noodle was not that good. The broth was not very deep, it didn’t feel rich, it was rather mild. I won’t be discouraged by the taste of that young man who recommends such a crappy noodle.”

The assistant sighed. The story would have been different if Lee Namhoon knew that he was wrong and didn’t want to lose. But it was different. Lee Namhoon didn’t believe that he was wrong. Lee Namhoon bit his lip and slowly spoke.

“Bring me the tablet. I have to write something.”

“What are you going to do now…?”

“I will show you what real food critique is.”

The assistant felt as if someone put heavy weight on him. Lee Namhoon’s stubbornness was not good for him. He was right, that stubbornness didn’t break to the external pressure. But in a situation like this that stubbornness was eating him up.

The assistance couldn’t say anything. Because he knew the stubbornness wouldn’t break. All he could hope for was for Lee Namhoon to overcome the monster-like genius of Jo Minjoon.

“…Here it is.”

“I have been here countless times.”

“I know.”

“I will not bend. I wouldn’t have made it here if I didn’t have the skill. I survived through all sorts of waves. All sorts of cliffs. I am not someone who will be beaten by a child who pretends to have the absolute taste.”

“…What are you thinking?”

“We have to verify.”

Lee Namhoon finished typing.

“Who is right.”

If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁

<Special Interest (3)> End.