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Although Min-joon and Kaya were showered with the judges’ praise, none of them gave the pair the perfect score of 10. But the points they gave the pair were the same, namely, 9.5 points. Why didn’t they give 10 points? It was a good score, but at the same time, it made them embarrassed.

Fortunately, before the pair asked why, the judges first opened their mouths.

“The reason why I didn’t give you 10 points is simple. Maybe it’s not that different from other judges’ reasons.”

“What is it?”

“I think you can make it more delicious.”

It might sound weird, depending on how to interpret it. How could that be the reason for a black mark for them? However, Kaya and Min-joon soon understood her words. They sighed.

“That’s what we’re feeling, too. We also felt it had room for improvement.”

“I don’t want to say that this dish is lacking, but one day, you can make it more delicious, based on this. So, I felt I wanted to reserve a higher mark for that dish in the future.”

“Whatever the reason, we’re really happy about the score you gave me now. Thank you.”

“As a judge, it’s been a while since I didn’t like the scoring system of this contest. In the past, I was comfortable because I didn’t have to decide whether to drop someone, but now I am not.”

Asher said in a voice full of regret, “I hate scoring your dish. You understand what I mean, right?”

“Yes, I understand. And thank you for sparing a thought for us like that. You’re all my good customers who have made us motivated to cook.”

Min-joon replied, smiling at them gently. He was sincere without any pretense. The most valuable guests to the chefs were those who appreciated the value of their cooking and their sweat and effort. In that respect, the five judges were very good examples of such guests.

In fact, most cooks know that because they had both happy and painful experiences because of customers. It wasn’t surprising that it was none other than the chefs who knew better than anyone what kind of customer made them happy.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of dishes you two will serve in the quarterfinals,”

Bastien said last.

Given the nature of the competition that determined the survivors according to the score ranking, it would be a bit difficult to discuss the next competition when they were done judging only two pairs until now, but Min-joon and Kaya were different. Their score was 9.5 points. It was definitely one of the best scores in this competition. So, it was extremely unlikely that the two who earned such a high mark would fail in the octofinals.

In fact, none of the judges imagined that Kaya and Min-joon would be dropped out of the competition at this point. Honestly, they felt the pair could advance to at least the semifinals.

“How did they learn cooking?” Theo asked, looking at Enzo as if he could not understand.

With his arms folded, Enzo was watching the pair quietly then said in a heavy voice, “If you have a chance to teach your students later, you will experience it. What I mean is this. You paid more attention to one of the two students and taught him a lot, but the other student who came in later, with little basic training, was much better than the one I cared for more. What would you feel?”

“After all, it all comes down to one’s talent, right?”

“I don’t want to ignore their efforts just by citing talent. Obviously, they put more effort than others think. But you’re right. Even if they don’t try, there are chefs who are better than those who are making more efforts than them.”

“How do I surpass them?” Theo asked in a sincere voice.

After looking at his son, Enzo noticed that he was much more competitive than he thought.

That was what he wanted, but he felt bitter at the same time.

Enzo said in a calm voice, “As you know, I couldn’t surpass him. I didn’t get a chance to beat him.”

At that moment, Theo felt he made a mistake. Come to think of it, he participated in this contest purely because of his father.

‘But is it really because my father wants to vent his long-cherished regrets?’

Suddenly, such a question came to Theo’s mind. It was not because Enzo was not his father but a chef who would be respected by everyone. He had confidence in pursuing his career, and he always put customers first over his greed when it came to cooking. The reason he worked as the sous chef at his father’s restaurant was not because Enzo was his father. He wanted to protect his father’s restaurant, his cuisine and beliefs, and thoughts.

Was it because Enzo still couldn’t overcome his shame or inferiority complex due to his defeat to Daniel? Such questions came to Theo’s mind.

At that moment, Enzo said as if he was muttering, “The chef doesn’t have to look at the ceiling and the floor when cooking. He can just look at the kitchen cook. Don’t you think so?”

“Yeah, you’re right?”

He didn’t have time to think deeply about what it meant, for the judges who already finished evaluating other pairs were approaching them. Theo raised his head and looked at the judges. But he could notice in their eyes the impact Kaya and Min-joon’s dish had on them.

***

“The first place in this contest is Kaya Reuters and Min-joon Cho of the Rose Island team from America. They scored 9.5 points!”

There was no unexpected surprise. There was no miracle. When the judges announced the final score of the second round, it was Kaya and Min-joon who ranked first. The two felt thrilled when all the eyes of the chefs and the audience turned to them.

Kaya smiled satisfactorily and looked around. Honestly, she felt this kind of people’s interest would always be sweet no matter how old she became.

‘This is ridiculous! How can they win twice in a row!’

‘Well, they might be lucky this time... Damn, is it a real possibility that we see the first place being stolen by the pair?’

‘It’s not right to describe it as ‘stolen’. We can’t monopolize the first place. But the US team wins, it’s been a long time since they received the first prize and the French team lost it.’

“On the internet right now, people are blaming the French chefs harshly, warning they would be in big trouble if they lose to the American team.”

Whispering among the audience was heard here and there. In particular, the last one was what the French chefs in this competition were realizing acutely.

Their perception of Kaya and Min-joon was good because Rose Island was widely known in France, and they were also popular there. Of course, in terms of the popularity of chefs in France, they were not that popular, but there were many chefs here who knew the pair.

Even so, there weren’t many French people who would be pleased to see their chefs losing the first place to the American team. There were some French gourmets who wanted to give the American teams a good lesson on this occasion, so they could make some change in their cooking style, but there were not many such gourmets.

‘Are Min-joon and Kaya great because of their affiliation with Rose Island, or are they great because of their popularity?’

“Other chefs from Rose Island are great, too. In particular, that chef from its New York branch is excellent, too. They got 9.25, even though they seemed to make sloppy cooking.”

‘They had the same score as the Enzo and Theo pair, right?’

‘Obviously, Enzo and Theo are doing great, as we expected, but the Min-joon and Kaya pair stand out better than them. ‘

‘Because they’re doing so good. Their synergy couldn’t be better.’

Kaya and Min-joon couldn’t hear clearly what they were saying, but they could feel the atmosphere. They knew that the main topic of this contest was none other than themselves.

‘I have to keep up with this favorable atmosphere.’

Min-joon looked around the venue with a calm and subdued expression. He intended to keep the momentum of winning the previous rounds because once he began to fall behind other chefs, he would lose the momentum. He wanted to avoid the situation where he would be pushed out by others while feeling complacent.

At that moment, Theo approached him then opened his mouth hesitantly, pointing at his plate.

“Can I try that leftover?”

The judges cleanly emptied the dishes served by Min-joon and Kaya. What was left on the plate was some other stuff they couldn’t put on the plates in the beginning.

So, Min-joon asked with an awkward voice, “I don’t think this is a treat for a customer...”

“I’m asking for it as a chef, not as a customer. I’m very curious about the taste of the dish.”

“Oh, I see. Please...”

Min-joon raised his hand as if he couldn’t help it. Theo gladly raised a fork. Many spectators in the stands were watching them, but Min-joon didn’t care because their gaze and gossiping didn’t influence him and his cooking at all.

So, Theo put the leftover ingredients in his mouth. He could understand why the judges praised the pair’s dish so much. And he was surprised again because the way Min-joon and Kaya cooked was something he had never seen before. It was possible to cook artistically, but it was very tough to bring such rough and crude sensibility out of it.

“Well, I was not going to recognize it if your dish is just good enough, but this is so good. I appreciate its taste very much. Great job!”

“Thank you.”

“Maybe Chef Daniel was similar to you when he was here. Now I can understand why people love Chef Daniel and Rose Island so much. Last time, I said I would not lose, but I lost again.”

“I don’t think there is no loser or winner in cooking.”

When he said that, Theo recalled what he had heard from Enzo, who said a chef didn’t have to look at the ceiling or the floor, but a chef just needed to look at the kitchen counter. What Enzo tried to say to him was it was meaningless to differentiate between a good chef and a better chef.

‘If that’s the case...’

For now, he couldn’t make a quick judgment.

He said, looking at Min-joon and Kaya, “Thank you for surprising me all the time. Next time, I want to say that I want to surprise you, but I think I’m full of words with no action, so I’m not going to say anything this time. I just want to say this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think of you as my rivals,” Theo said with a smile.

With Min-joon’s eyebrows up a bit, he continued slowly, “I’m not really trying to make any provocative remarks. I like your cooking. So I want to surpass you...”

“I’m sorry, but his rival is me.”

Someone shouted coldly suddenly. Startled by that voice, Theo turned to the side.

Anderson was looking at Theo with his arms folded.

“His rival is me.”

Watching them, Min-joon mumbled as if he was dumbfounded, “Why are you guys crazy about taking me as your rival?”