“What did you say? Who is doing what?” Janet asked, loosening her crossed legs and leaning forward.

  Maya said in an embarrassed voice, “They are getting married……”


  “Yeah, I know that. I’m asking what you said next.”


  “Oh, you mean she got pregnant?”


  “I’ve never heard of that before,” she said, frowning.

  Actually, she heard from Kaya a few days ago, who could not hide her excitement, that she would get married to Min-joon soon. She was so excited that Janet wondered how she could put up with staying unmarried to him for such a long time.

  But Janet didn’t hear Kaya mention her pregnancy back then. Of course, she didn’t want to ask Kaya about it first because she might give the impression that Kaya was hurriedly getting married because of her pregnancy.

  As far as she knew, however, Kaya was not the woman who would care about trifling things. Besides, if Kaya had been forced to get married because of her pregnancy, she would not have told Janet about the news about her marriage in such a happy voice.

  “Are you sure? It looks like it’s a groundless rumor.”


  “Well, the author of this post has presented some background for his argument,” Maya said, making an awkward expression. It seemed that she didn’t want to mention it.

  So Janet cut to the chase right away, “What is it?”


  “Well……”


  A little later, Maya told her about some ‘evidence’ presented by netizens. Janet, who was listening to it blankly, frowned as if she had heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.

  “They’re crazy bastards.”


  “As you know, the internet is teeming with idiots who are spreading such rumors.”


  Even though she didn’t do anything wrong, Maya hesitantly replied, surprised by Janet’s violent reaction. Janet hardened her face after sneering at them for a moment because she felt so bad. “Would you like something to drink?”


  “Do you have any lemonade?”


  “Sure.”


  Rose Island, where Janet was a sous chef and Maya a cook, was the best restaurant in the world, so it was unthinkable that they didn’t have any lemonade. Shortly afterward, Maya came back with lemonade and a glass of mojito. Of course, she didn’t add any alcohol to it.

  As Janet took a sip of the cold lemonade, she muttered quietly, “Kaya must be very angry.”


  “Well, she might burst into laughter when she finds this rumor, but I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. Aside from Kaya, Chef Min-joon is very good at handling this kind of stuff.”


  ‘I’m not worried, either, but I doubt it this time.’


  Janet stood up with a bitter smile. Today was an important day for Rose Island because she heard that the Michelin Inspectors were visiting Rose Island. Last time, Rose Island didn’t receive due stars because of the fire accident, but it was different this time.

  ‘Three stars by all means!’


  If Rose Island didn’t receive three stars, she thought it was a disgrace for the world’s best restaurant. As long as this was Rachel’s restaurant, any star less than three was meaningless.

  Janet took her breath, thinking today, Rose Island would be able to regain her old glory.

  “How should I punish these damned bastards?”


  Kaya was now looking into the computer screen with glaring eyes. The scene of her scrolling up or down the screen with the mouse with her feet up on the chair and one of her arms wrapped around her leg was even terrifying.

  Normally, Min-joon would have pointed out her posture in terms of her fitness and appearance. But he could not this time. Even if she was looking at the computer while standing in her hand, he wouldn’t have said anything.

  Rumors about her were circulating on the internet. The rumors were nothing alarming. According to the rumors, Kaya and Min-joon were not involved in any illegal or immoral activities. They were just typical rumors that accompanied celebrities when their marriage was in the news.

  The rumor was about Kaya’s pregnancy.

  ‘The life of a real celebrity is ……’


  After all, the lives of celebrities were an inexhaustible supply of good jokes for ordinary people.

  Probably, the difference between celebrities and ordinary people was that the gossip that could have been confined to only a few people would spread widely when they were celebrities.

  Moreover, celebrities had a higher chance of being wrongly charged because of groundless and false rumors.

  That was the case of the rumor that Kaya was pregnant.

  “Calm down, Kaya,” Min-joon said, gently wrapping her shoulders with his arms.

  She clenched her fist over the mouse, then she hugged his waist. She would not care if the rumors were only about her pregnancy. But there were other absurd and outrageous rumors about her pregnancy, namely, the alleged evidence about it.

  In general, it was impossible for the netizens to present any evidence because she was not pregnant at all. However, one netizen argued that he could find out whether she was pregnant or not. What he referred to was the so-called baby bump of a pregnant woman.

  After all, those curious about her started to entertain that funny game one by one. As if they were pleasant and funny, they started comparing all of Kaya’s photos circulating on the internet one by one. Then they calculated the proper proportions of her forearms, cheeks, and thighs, comparing them before and after. Min-joon was not sure whether he should laugh it away or be angry about them.

  At that moment, Kaya was no longer a human to them. It wasn’t that she was treated inhumanely. They no longer took into account a woman named Kaya. They were more enthusiastic about the fun game itself, where these nameless thugs were only concerned whether she had a baby bump or not. They were no more than bizarre nerds who showed off their mathematical and biological knowledge for trivial things like the baby bump of a woman.

  That was what angered Kaya all the more. Rather than being misunderstood that she was pregnant, she hated the fact that these jerks that were picking a fight with her now were being praised for their plausible predictions about her pregnancy.

  She gently touched her stomach. Suddenly, she felt that she really gained weight. And she felt it was funny that she was taking what they argued on the internet seriously.

  “You’re still pretty.”


  “Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”


  “Because you might be wondering what I think,” he said with a smile.

  But she made a disappointed expression. At that moment, she was thinking about something while looking at her belly, but she could not bring herself to express it.

  He nudged his hand under her fist and stroked her pot belly.

  “You are still slender, Kaya.”


  “Don’t make fun of me.”


  “I’m afraid our lives will always be like this,” he said, hugging her belly and waist tightly. Then he raised her chin over her shoulder.

  She suddenly felt something strange. Since he leaned toward her, she was supposed to feel heavy because of his weight, but she felt relieved a lot.

  “What are you doing now?”


  “Because we are so great,” said Min-joon in a calm voice.

  Actually, he thought for a moment why they were in a situation like this. At first, he thought it was because he and Kaya were famous. But that wasn’t the answer. He had to figure out first why they were famous. Was it because they participated in the Grand Chef? That was not the answer, either, for not all the participants in the competition became as famous as them. Then there was only one answer, which was that they were big names in the restaurant industry. It had nothing to do with their overconfidence or inflated sense of pride. That was the reality. He used to joke around telling people that he was like the world soccer player Messi in the cooking field, but he thought he didn’t have to think it was just a joke. In fact, he realized that it couldn’t be a joke.

  “What I mean is that every little thing we do will get people’s attention. That’s not surprising at all because our words and deeds have such a big influence on the cooking industry. We are not just two ordinary chefs. We’re the symbol of this country’s youth.”


  For now, their youth was their wealth. To compare them to a star, the most beautiful shining comet was all they could reach. But they had still a lot of time left before they could become a galaxy, not a comet, like Rachel Rose.

  People would talk a lot while looking at the comet. But just as the comet didn’t care about what kind of wishes they expressed while looking at it, they should be more composed and stable. In other words, a giant chef needed a giant’s mindset. Even if an ordinary man could not withstand such a mindset, they had to take it because what they wanted was not an ordinary life.

  “You have to be bold.”


  “I know.”


  “So, the most sophisticated response we can take for now is to just ignore them. As long as you don’t interfere with what they are talking about, we don’t have to care no matter what they say.”


  “I know that, too.”


  But knowing the answer is not always the answer. He also knew that, too.

  So he had no choice but to respond, “Alright. Then, let’s try to make them realize who we are.”


  In an instant, the genre of her life became something like a comedy. Then all she needed to do was to take it back.

  “I’m not going to make fun of you anymore,” he said.