Kim No Chi Culinary School. Tiffany heaved a great big sigh as she stared at her application form. Just ten minutes left to six. Six is when office workers pack up and go home. Three days had come and gone. Her last hope was six, today. With the song ‘Blue’ playing in the background, Tiffany hit the refresh button over and over again, each time hoping to see a new e-mail in her inbox.

Refresh.

Refresh.

Refresh.

Re—

Tiffany froze, her finger hanging in mid-air. Wait. Was that a new e-mail? She blinked. It was still there, that new, unread e-mail. 

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my Goood!

With a trembling finger, Tiffany clicked. “Dear Tiffany Young, thank you for applying to the esteemed Kim No Chi Culinary School. We are pleased to send you our acceptance of your entry—AHHH!“ She jumped to her feet, hands shaking as she paced up and down her room. “I’m in. I’m in. Oh my God, I’m in!”

omo

“I knew you’d get in. There’s no doubt.” Sooyoung flipped her head with an arrogant toss. “My tips are the best.”

Tiffany smiled at her phone’s camera and giggled. “You’re always the best. Now we need to go shopping for culinary school student outfits.”

Sooyoung’s brow shot up. “Student outfits? Don’t you wear aprons while cooking?”

“Yeah, but the outfit under the apron is important too. I need to have different outfits for different dishes!”

Sooyoung’s laugh came through the phone, loud and clear. “Sure, sure. You know I’d never say no to shopping.”

omo

Charts. Line charts. Bar charts. Pie charts.

Numbers. Percentages. Ratios.

It was as if the room was closing in on her. The walls moving in, the ceiling lowering. The space within was diminishing. Air was becoming scarce. It was getting hard to breathe. And the voices around her were beginning to sound muted.

“Miss Taeyeon?”

“H-Huh?” Taeyeon opened her eyes and sat up straight. Crap! Did I doze off?

“Do you have anything to add?”

Taeyeon tried not to panic. All eyes were on her, including Miss Seo’s, the scariest pair of all. Her heart was practically in as she shook her head. “I don’t.”

Miss Seo turned to her secretary. “I have an important call to make after this meeting. Please bring Miss Taeyeon to meet the leading chef. It is time for her to see the kitchen.”

“I will, Miss Seo.”

“With that, this meeting is officially over,” Miss Seo announced.

With her hands on the table, Taeyeon was about to stand when she realized that no one was moving. What were they waiting for? Didn’t Miss Seo say the meeting was over? She stared at the people around her for a full second before realizing they all had their eyes on Miss Seo. Were they waiting for her to leave first? Were they as afraid of her as she was?

“Back to work, everyone,” said Miss Seo, while rising to her feet. Only then did everybody else stand. But they didn’t move from their seats. Instead, they waited for Miss Seo to leave the room first, before filing out one after another. It was unreal.

“Come with me, Miss Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon followed the secretary down the hallway and into the elevator. Once inside, she felt safe enough to ask, “Is everyone in this school afraid of Miss Seo?”

The secretary nodded solemnly. “Miss Seo is strict and has very high expectations. If any of us do anything wrongly, we’re in for a very long philosophical lecture.”

“A lecture?”

“Trust me. You don’t want to be on the receiving end of it. You’re lucky she didn’t have time for it earlier.”

The doors dinged opened and out they went across the lobby to the other wing. A few doors down the corridor later, the secretary stopped and pointed at the sign that said Kitchen Lab 3. “This is where you will be today. Restrooms are at the end of the corridor.” She pushed the door open and smiled. “Your mentor chef is inside waiting for you.”

“Thank you,” said Taeyeon before entering the kitchen laboratory. “Wow,” she couldn’t help saying out loud as she looked around the spick and span walls and steel counters in the kitchen. There were cooking utensils of every kind hanging on the walls and all sorts of pots, pans, plates and more stacked on the shelves. This was heaven for a training chef.

“Hi! I’m Yoona.”

Taeyeon found herself staring into the starry eyes of a doe. Not a real doe, but a lady pure like a doe. With a perky little nose and pretty lips, her features sat prettily on a lovely egg-shaped canvas of silky smooth. “Wow, you’re so pretty.”

Yoona covered and giggled. “Thank you,” she said and broke into a sweet smile. “Let’s pick out a nice apron for you.”

“I like blue. Do you have a blue apron?”

“We have blue aprons. Here, try this.”

Taeyeon took the plain pastel blue apron from Yoona and slipped it over her head. Yoona went round behind her to tie it and she checked it out in the mirror beside the rack. “Oh, it’s nice. I like it. It’s very chef-like.”

“Great. Now, let’s start your introduction.”

omo

It’s my first day!

Tiffany stood staring at the culinary school, hands clasped and shivering in delight. She could just feel it in her bones. This was the beginning of her dream come true.

Several moments later, she stood at the registration counter clutching her student card like it was her entire world.

“This card will let you into the recipe library and also give you access to our advanced kitchens. But for the time being, you will not need to use them because your course materials are all provided in the welcome package.”

“How do I get my welcome package?”

The receptionist smiled. “You will receive it during your introductory class today. Go to the west wing and look for Kitchen Lab 3 on the third floor. The class begins in an hour so you have lots of time to explore the building.”

Armed with that information, Tiffany made her way to Kitchen Lab 3 without much trouble and knocked on the door. There was no response so she pushed the door open a fraction to peep inside. The lights were on but there didn’t seem to be anyone inside. Stepping in, she looked around, observing the four rows of three tables already set up with ingredients and utensils. Light bounced off the spotless stainless steels, producing sparkles like special effects in a movie. It was mesmerizing and she was bending to look at the utensils when the sound of a door opening distracted her.

“No problem, leave it to me,” the woman was saying to someone as she backed into the room.

Tiffany stepped forward to greet her but the woman turned around unexpectedly and the container she was holding slipped from her hands. She gasped and jumped back as tens of chopsticks spilled and fell onto the floor.

“Argh!” went the woman as she bent to pick them up.

“I’ll help,” said Tiffany as she picked up the ones that had rolled close to her feet.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

Tiffany looked up and gave her a big smile. “I’m Tiffany! I’m a new student here,” she explained as their eyes met. Recognition sparked in that instant. “Wait. I’ve . . . you’re . . .”

The woman stared back at her, round eyes wide open and recalling. “You’re the girl with no experience!” she exclaimed, pointing at Tiffany.

Tiffany gasped and grabbed the hand that was pointing at her. “You’re the friendly one!”

“Er, y-yeah! Tiffany, you’re Tiffany, right?”

“Yeah, yeah! And you’re Miss . . .”

“Taeyeon.”

“Taeyeon,” Tiffany repeated with a smile, her voice hanging in the air between them.

For a moment, all they did was stare. Then Taeyeon broke the eye contact and coughed. “So, is this your class?” she asked while picking up the chopsticks.

“Yes! Are you teaching the class?”

“Ah, no. I’m not a chef. I’m not even good at cooking.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sort of here to learn about the school.”

“Like an intern?”

“Yeah! Like an intern.”

Tiffany smiled. “What a great place to be an intern. Lucky you.”

Taeyeon’s grin was sheepish. “Yeah.”

Another chopstick under a stool caught Tiffany’s eye and she reached for it. Taeyeon must have seen it too, because their hands reached it at the same time. “Oh,” Tiffany exclaimed softly and she smiled into the shy eyes of Taeyeon. “There you go,” she said, handing the chopstick over.

“Thanks.” Taeyeon’s smile was shy too.

They rose from crouching and Tiffany watched as Taeyeon put the lid back on the chopsticks container. “Are you setting up the tables? I’ll help you.”

“Thanks,” Taeyeon said with a smile.

omo

“Hi, everyone!”

Tiffany gasped at the vision standing at the front of the kitchen laboratory. Right before her very eyes was a fairy-like lady, radiating beauty in a soft glow even though there was no additional lighting provided. Her eyes were like windows into paradise, warm and welcoming. And her skin was clear as the sky on a cloudless day. Definitely the prettiest chef teacher she had ever seen. 

“I’m Chef Yoona. I’m here to guide you to success in culinary. Let’s get along well together.”

It took her moments to realize how low her jaw was hanging.

Chef Yoona is so pretty! I’m so lucky to have a pretty chef teacher like Yoona.

“We shall start with a simple omelette. Don’t worry, I will guide you each step of the way.”

Tiffany nodded, determined to be the best apprentice there ever was. She pulled the empty bowl to the middle of the counter and picked up an egg as instructed.

“Crack an egg into the bowl.”

With hesitation, Tiffany held the egg over her bowl. How could she crack the egg? Looking around the counter, she saw a knife in the holder. Wasn’t a knife for cutting things up? Perfect. She put the egg on the counter and gave it a good whack with the knife. It did the trick and Tiffany smiled, proud of herself for succeeding.

“Add a three-finger pinch of salt.”

Oh, that’s easy. Tiffany stuck three fingers out from the middle and dipped them into the little bowl of salt, ready to take over the world.

Wait.

Pinch?

How?

omo

“Your report on the new batch of students, Chef Yoona.”

“As expected, Miss Seo, they are bright and full of potential.” Yoona’s smile dipped a little at the end. “But there is one who might be lagging behind.”

“Who is it?”

“Miss Tiffany Young. She was unable to make a simple omelette today. It looked more like scrambled egg.”

Miss Seo frowned. “Miss Tiffany is the recommendation from Miss Taeyeon, isn’t she?”

“That’s right, Miss Seo,” said Mr Kim. “She claimed responsibility for her recommendation at that time.”

“She is your responsibility now, Miss Taeyeon.”

Taeyeon sat up straight, blinking. She was mildly aware of the reports going on but the details had not sunk in yet. What responsibility?

“What do you plan to do about Miss Tiffany?”

“Uh . . .”

“Our apprentices must not be bad at cooking. Our reputation is at stake.” Miss Seo’s eyes flashed with a steely gleam. “You must be responsible for it.”

“But—”

“That was the promise you made when you recommended her. Now, you must find a solution.”

“A solution . . .”

“Find it.”

omo