“Well, I had a conversation with Peter several times,” Gwen replied.

  Her answer had nothing to do with his question. But he knew she didn’t reply like that without any good reason. Since she mentioned Peter, it’s clear that she had a reason for that. She soon began to continue clearly and slowly.

  “You know it already. He was in a helpless situation. Maybe he’s worse than me. Only people around me knew I was stupid, but everybody was aware that he’s an asshole. But he has changed completely.”


  Min-joon said, “Well, it’s a matter of judgment. You had to fight yourself, but Peter had to fight the world.”


  Which is more difficult, fighting oneself or fighting the world? Is there any correct answer to that question?

  She said, “He’s so foolish,” she said in a dry voice. “Even that foolish guy has struggled hard to survive by all means.”


  For a moment, Gwen pondered over whether or not should confess to him about one thing she recently realized. She wanted to tell her that she didn’t expect to keep her alive thanks to this competition, and that she could find a reason to die, so she could think she did her best while dying.

  But she didn’t dare mention it to him. She would feel better if she did. Perhaps he would comfort her again. But in the process, she would get used to the situation where she told somebody about her suffering and she would get comforted. She didn’t want to make all her relationship with people something like the relationship between the patient and therapist.

  “Peter has changed you……” he said in a strange voice.

  He talked to her as if he was the only one who could solve her tragedy before he knew it.

  He took himself seriously as if he was the protagonist of this situation. No wonder he thought so because in this reversed time frame, he was the only one who knew the unique situation she was in. He thought that only those who knew their forgone conclusion could change their foregone conclusion, too.

  But Gwen’s fate was changed by Peter, not by herself. Peter didn’t even try to save her. He just walked the path he chose. That was all. But that changed her a lot more than Min-joon did with great concern.

  ‘I feel ashamed.’ Min-joon laughed bitterly, but she didn’t ask him why.

  Instead she quietly opened her mouth.

  “So, can your restaurant serve as my insurance? If I don’t win this competition, I want Lotus Bridge to be my home where I can return.”


  “Well, let me give it a thought.”


  “I guess so.”


  “But personally, I don’t think I can find a reason to decline your request.”


  She smiled gently at his reply.

  At that moment he suddenly recalled the faces of Kaya and Janet who were trying to smile with difficulty when he first saw them, which warmed him a lot back then.

  “Thank you. And congratulations on your wedding!” Gwne said.

  “I am not married yet.”


  “I know. But if I am eliminated today, I think this will probably be my last chance to celebrate your wedding.”


  “Don’t worry too much.”


  “I know. It’s funny that I already begin to think about losing.”


  “No, it’s not useless to think about Jill.”


  Shaking his head, he said, “If you want to congratulate me, please come to my wedding ceremony. Will you?”


  “Well, I hear that you will invite only those who are close to you.”


  “Yes, that’s right.”He looked into her eyes. “Is that a problem, buddy?”


  The three judges were gathered on the podium, as always.

  Joseph said quietly, “Well, we’re already at the finals.”


  “Who do you think can win today? Someone who is lucky or competent?”


  “Actually, these finalists are competent, even though their talent is different.”


  As a matter of fact, the judges were of the opinion from the beginning that the most likely winner of this competition was Michael. No wonder they thought so. Aside from the professional chefs, Michael was like a mountain that no other amateur chefs could cross.

  To put it another way, Gwen and Peter had to be professional chefs to beat Michael in this competition.

  “In fact, I’ve got a lot of expectations of Peter,” Min-joon said in a low voice.

  In fact, he felt he owed something to Peter, so he was quite grateful that Peter survived until now. These days, people’s perception of Peter has changed so much that it’s hard to even compare it to what it was. No wonder they believed so, for Peter was so selfish about himself that he didn’t try to survive. He just paid attention to other participants, and at the same time he tried to make his dish as perfect as possible .

  If there was only one downside, it was that Peter wasn’t confident in his own cooking. Min-joon understood him. If he showed a little bit of self-confidence, those who knew him might be critical of him with the impression that he was arrogant. To be honest, Min-joon thought that Peter had to overcome people’s perception of him like that most urgently. Of course, as a chef Peter knew how to evaluate his own cooking. But as things stand now, he might lose confidence, to say the least.

  “So, how would you want to proceed with today’s mission?”Min-joon asked.

  “You mean who should be in charge, right?” Joseph tried to ascertain his point.

  Min-joon nodded. Their mission today was simple. The three contestants would choose one of the judges at random. And they were supposed to make their signature dish in person.

  Kaya’s signature dish was, of course, Six Meats because it was the most popular among her recipes these days.

  Joseph’s signature dish was an appetizer made with mullet. So Joseph’s dish was appetizer while Kaya’s was her main dish. Then Min-joon’s signature dish was inevitably Cho Reggiano, the most popular dessert in America. So each of them would evaluate their own signature dish that each of the three finalists was supposed to make. But Min-joon chose a different dessert from his signature Cho Reggiano.

  “Well, your choice was a bit unexpected. Actually I thought you would choose Cho Reggiano. Of course, it’s rather complicated to prepare for it, but we can give the assigned participant aged cheese for that,” Joseph said.

  “I don’t feel like promoting Cho Reggiano all the time

  To be honest, Min-joon has refrained from cooking Cho Reggiano lately. It was the same when he was invited to something like a special cooking event. Cho Reggiano was such a famous dessert. So much so that people heard about it, even if they didn’t know about him.

  In other words, the worth of Chef Min-Joon could be overshadowed by Cho Reggiano. Of course, when most people heard that Chef Min-joon was the creator of Cho Reggiano, they would respond like ‘Really? This one was made by him?’, but over time they would remember the taste of Cho Reggiano more strongly than Min-joon himself.

  That’s why Min-joon chose a pomegranate dessert this time, which he had made in the past.

  It was a dish filled with pomegranate ice cream inside a pomegranate-shaped candy. He didn’t know who was going to make this dessert, but it’s going to be a big headache for the one assigned to this dessert. The difficulty of its cooking wasn’t that difficult once the assigned participant got used to it, but it wasn’t an easy recipe for the one who would try making it for the first time.

  Soon the three finalists stepped forward. Joseph, who briefly explained to them about the mission, said with a smile, “I think you’ve fully understood today’s mission. You’ll know which recipe each of you guys will be supposed to choose when you follow the judge you are assigned to. Alright. We’ll let you choose the chef according to the rankings of your performance in the last rounds. Peter, you choose first, and Michael, you are the next. Gwen, you are the last. Peter. Have you made up your mind?”


  Peter looked at the three judges for a moment. He suddenly remembered he once failed in the team mission that he belonged to in the past. Who would he work with this time? Who would he want to show his growth? Who would he want to follow as his model?

  His agony didn’t last long. Peter immediately approached Min-joon. Peter opened his mouth in a low voice to him who made a bit of a surprised expression.

  “I’ve always wondered what’s the difference between me and you. In fact, I know the difference. I can’t be compared to you in terms of cooking talent and other things. So I deliberately looked into what you said and did on all the TV programs. I also asked myself why you were loved, but I was hated,” Peter muttered in a calm voice.

  What he said was already too old for him to feel excited or hurt. He didn’t feel shabby any longer, or he wanted to believe so.

  Peter continued, “I want to know how far I lag behind you.”


  Then he held out his hand and said, “Even if I am still in your shadow, I want to find out why.”