God of Cooking - Chapter 247 - A sparrow, or a frog, or maybe even a butterfly (3)>

<A sparrow, or a frog, or maybe even a butterfly (3)>

“…So you aren’t willing to get paid?”

It felt amazing to hear initially, but only ended up making things complicated. The company would have little to no leverage against Minjoon’s actions. Of course, there was not much a model could do to begin with, but…

Minjoon nodded. He wasn’t just feeling generous, he actually thought of this as an investment of sorts. The most he could cut from the price of the dish was just a dollar, but even then he didn’t want to take the money. A dollar was still a dollar, after all. Right now, what he needed wasn’t money. It was the recognition of the people.

He was a star chef. A chef known by the masses. It wasn’t like people knew what his private life was like, but they’d soon get a glimpse into it, whether he liked it or not.

He wasn’t trying to use this as marketing. To begin with, the only ones to really benefit from this would be Rose Island, after all. Minjoon really only wanted one thing.

“Occasionally, people ask me if the only reason why I come on television to begin with was because of money.”

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Most of those people probably never actually tried his food. But in any case, Minjoon hated having his passion being questioned more than anything. He wanted to use this as a chance to redeem himself.

“I cook because I want people to be happy. As long as people can become happy with my food… I wouldn’t hesitate to throw away my name for free.”

“…You’re actually very greedy, aren’t you?”

Alex felt the hair behind his back rise up. To think the man could see that far into the future for his own personal profit… Minjoon opened his mouth with a grin on his face.

“I had to think because I was greedy. Most people don’t like greedy people. So what should I do to get everything I want, but also earn the recognition of the people…? I got the answer, then. Plus… There’s something my girlfriend told me.”

Minjoon smiled again.

“That was Kaya’s dream. To help even poor people have a chance at having good food. But my goal in life was to make the best food in the world with the best ingredients in the world. Jo Reggiano won’t completely fulfill my girlfriend’s dream… But it’s progress nevertheless.”

“Really… I don’t know what to say to this.”

They couldn’t sign off the contract immediately. Minjoon’s conditions weren’t that hard to meet, but with him not taking any money… They needed something else. The cameraman turned to Minjoon as Alex walked out of the building.

“You’re really not taking any money?”

“You think I would have lied, then?”

“Hah…”

The cameraman shook his head in amazement. At his root, Minjoon only lived for cooking. Money or people aside, Minjoon really only wanted to make good food that’d make people happy.

‘Just how much do you have to love food?’

The cameraman’s hand tightened.

€

“Did I hear you wrong just now, Alex? He said what now?”

“He said he wouldn’t take the money. But these conditions…”

Alex handed his note forward. Jefferson, the CEO, read the note with a strange look on his face.

“What the heck? He’s just volunteering?”

“I was a bit surprised too. Looks like he really just wants to be a chef.”

“Hmm…”

Jefferson played about with his beard as he read. Alex just looked at the man quietly. The man’s eyes seemed to be filled with emotion.

“What an interesting person. He’s trying to use us. As a waiter trying to serve his food to the world.”

“…So that’s what it is.”

“This is good. He seems like he has a very clear goal in mind. I want to make him mine.”

“So you mean you want to keep this contract going as long as possible?”

Jefferson didn’t answer for a while. Alex wasn’t confused, though. This happened rather frequently with Jefferson. The man didn’t like throwing words out everywhere.

“What do you think money is?”

That didn’t mean the man was easy to understand, though. Alex didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“If I’m to borrow your own words, you’ve always said that money is a promise between me and the other party.”

“Well, it’s a variable that can speed things up. But Minjoon didn’t take that from us.”

“He didn’t seem to want to make money from the dish. And more than anything, I think he said this because he cared for his image.”

“Interesting. He’s far-sighted and patient. How influential do you think he’d be in the future?”

“The marketing department told me chefs have only really been gaining influence, not losing it. More and more chefs are appearing in the media, and more and more people are developing an interest in cooking.”

“What do you think about Minjoon? What do you think he’d be like in a few years?”

The question was too broad. But it didn’t feel very difficult to Alex. For some reason, it wasn’t very hard imagining Minjoon in the future.

“The world will find interest in him. No, they already did. He’s gotten popular with his tongue, and he’s gathered the interest of the food community by working at Rose Island. And now, he’s made a name for himself with Jo Reggiano.”

“The community was interested in him for a reason, after all. You have to get on the ride when it’s just about to begin, otherwise it’s incredibly difficult to try to hop on late in the game. I’d like to make sure I get on properly in that sense, though…”

Jefferson trailed off. He fell into another deep thought for a second before turning to Alex.

“Does he really dislike money?”

“He seemed to want to focus more on cooking itself. Almost like an artist who doesn’t want to sell his work?”

“It’d be hard to give him money, then. Hmm… How’s his private life? Did he seem well off at all?”

“Ah, actually, there’s something that’s been on my mind.”

“What is it?”

Alex shrugged.

“Man doesn’t have a car.”

€

“So you signed the contract?”

“Not yet. If they accept my conditions, I will.”

“Is there really a need in not taking money?”

Javier licked his lips in mock regret. Janet answered in MInjoon’s place.

“He’s probably thought about it a lot. Why would you feel bad for him? It’s not like you’re gonna get money about it.”

“I’m just saying it. Whatever. It’s nothing compared to getting your name spread across all of America.”

Javier sighed as he said it. Janet spoke up with a cold voice.

“Just get to work with your new recipe. We still have a chance to get our stuff on the menu.”

“Maybe they already came?”

“Who the heck knows? Just pretend they haven’t come.”

Javier went back to his station with a saddened look. Janet leaned onto the wall next to Minjoon quietly.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“You know I don’t like saying stuff like this, but…”

“What the hell? Are you trying to creep me out?”

“Don’t worry. I just wanted to compliment you for your decision. It’s kind of dumb, but that was kind of cool.”

Minjoon’s eyes turned wide. He really couldn’t help it. Janet rarely gave her compliments to anyone. This reaction only seemed to have made the woman pissed, though.

“I didn’t want to compliment you, but I would’ve felt dumber if I thought you were cool and didn’t do anything about it. So don’t think anything about it. Especially not stuff like ‘did this girl fall for me?’”

“…That’d be the last thing on my mind.”

“Right. Good.”

Janet went back to her station with a glare. She probably felt embarrassed about saying it herself. Minjoon grabbed his knife with a smile. It’s been pretty hectic the last few weeks, but it wasn’t like he stopped thinking about food. He wanted to test out a new recipe. But right then, one of the waitresses came to speak to him.

“Chef Minjoon, a moment please…”

“Ah, yes. What is it?”

“There’s someone in the hall.”

“Customers? At this time?”

“Well… They’re not customers. They’re here for you.”

“For me?”

Minjoon walked out into the hall with a confused look. He was immediately able to understand what the waitress was talking about. Alex was waving at him nervously. Right next to the man was some dude who looked like a movie star.

“Hello, Minjoon!”

“Hello, Alex.”

“This is Mr. Jefferson. He’s the president of our company.”

“Hello, the name’s Jefferson.”

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”

Minjoon smiled as he shook Jefferson’s hand. The man seemed pretty hard to read for some reason. Minjoon decided to start the conversation himself with a soft voice.

“So what made the president of all people come all the way here? Is it for the contract?”

“Would you believe me if I said I came because I was a fan?”

“I’d find it more believable if you said you came to watch the contract as a fan.”

“Haha. Correct. Well, I want to fix up the contract with you. Ah, if I’m intruding too much during work, I’ll come some other time.”

Minjoon was relatively surprised by that. To think a president of a company would act like this to a mere chef… Minjoon’s smile softened even more as a result.

“I’m fine. We aren’t actually serving right now, after all. But instead of working things out in the hall… Would you mind if we moved?”

“Ah, yes. Where should we go?”

“I don’t want to go anywhere far. Why not just do it in the car?”

A strange smile appeared on Jefferson’s face. The man nodded enthusiastically.

“Sure. Good thing we brought a pretty big car.”

Jefferson took Minjoon to a massive van as he said this. Minjoon looked around the car, still with pieces of plastic on it, with interest.

“You got a new car?”

“Yes. It’s a fresh one. Ah, Alex. Could you hand me that contract?”

“Yes, here it is.”

“Please read it.”

Minjoon read the contract carefully. It agreed to fulfill all of Minjoon’s conditions. There was one more thing, though, which made Minjoon speak up with a confused look.

“‘The Rascoe Company will handle all needs of the contractor.’ What does that mean?”

“It means exactly what it says. If you allow it, we’d love to take care of anything you might need in life from now on. Ah, I’m not thinking of raising the price of Jo Reggiano or anything with this. As long as it’s not too expensive, we’ll fully support your life needs.”

“Why?”

“I want to get on your good side.”

It sounded too humble, especially coming from a president. Jefferson smiled.

“I can’t ignore something this big willy-nilly. I would love it if you considered us your friends. This is a gift in that regard. Could you take it? Ah, and if you accept our services now…”

Jefferson took the car keys out and pointed it at Minjoon.

“I’d like to give you this car.”

<A sparrow, or a frog, or maybe even a butterfly (3)> End.