"Arrrgh."Yuri kicked the empty baskets in the pantry. An attack that gave her pain instead of freeing all the emotion trapped inside. Eyeing the scattered baskets with animosity, Yuri crouched on the floor to rub her sore foot through the black rubber shoes.

She hated losing. She hated falling into another elimination round. Those hatreds, however, felt minuscule against the anger she felt toward Lee Ilhwa. The dessert queen. Her mother.

"Was about to ask if you're okay but those poor baskets answered first." Master Sooman closed the pantry door behind him, coming closer with regret in his eyes. "I'm really sorry, Yuri."

"You invited her?" Yuri asked between gritted teeth.

"It hurts me that you think I would." The senior chef offered his hand which Yuri completely ignored. "The show is designed by a team of producers, mind you. People who don't even blink at my input most of the time."

"You knew that she's coming yet you didn't inform me?" Standing up tall and angry, Yuri glared down at the elder judge. All honorific and respect she had for the man were out the window now. She didn't even care if the man was the very best friend of her late father. She just wanted to fume.

"I thought you want this to be as fair as possible." The regret now replaced by a hint of amusement, the chef grabbed an apple from the box of fruits and rubbed it against his lapel. "No hints. No helps. Only impartiality. Remember?"

"God!" Yuri punched the wall this time, earning herself a pulsating pain in the knuckles.

"You need to calm down." Leaning against the spice cabinet, Master Sooman bit into the apple. "Shooting is resumed in half an hour."

"Nope." Yuri shook her head. "I'm out."

"One step away from top three?"

"I don't care anymore."

"But Ilhwa cares." Chewing slowly before swallowing the small bite, the chef now had his eyes piercing into Yuri's. "We had been trying to invite her since the first season. Why do you think she only agrees to appear now? Why do you think she asked the producers to keep it from the judges until the very last hour?"

Yuri could feel her eyes widen. The anger bubbled within her was threatening to explode.

"She's obviously here to rattle you, Yuri." Master Sooman took another bite. "Your fall into elimination challenge is a stepping stone to triumph for her. Now it's up to you to fall further into her design or not."

"I can't. I'm not-" Words failed Yuri. Tears were threatening to fall. It felt like those days all over again. Those days when everything about her mother was either driving her sad or mad and there was no in-between.

"I'll wait outside." Master Sooman handed Yuri the apple. "You can do this."

"You okay?" Jessica rushed to Yuri's side the moment she saw the girl came out of the pantry. Yuri had been uncharacteristically distracted throughout the first challenge. She had been watching in despair as the sharpness Yuri usually shows turned into unnecessary slips and errors. Yuri even had stormed into the pantry the moment the director yelled cut, something that was so not her.

"I'm fine." Yuri smiled, showing Jessica a half-bitten apple. "Just hungry."

"Are you feeling unwell?" Holding Yuri's hand with her left hand, Jessica used the back of her right hand to feel Yuri's forehead. "You feel warm."

"I'm all warm because of our vigorous activity earlier." Grinning, Yuri bit into the unbitten area of the apple in her hand. "Don't you feel a little hot too right now?"

"Don't tease me." While the usual grin had come back, Jessica still could see something different in Yuri's eyes. Sadness? Anger? The girl was hiding something. Jessica was about to prod further but stopped herself upon seeing Lee Ilhwa coming over. The dessert queen had been one of Jessica's favorite chefs until right now. Something about the way she treated Yuri throughout tonight's challenge didn't really sit well with Jessica.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry you have to fall into the elimination challenge." The woman's touch on Yuri's shoulder seemed so awkward to Jessica's eyes. "I tried to put sensible ingredients into my mystery box but there was no fun in creating something mundane in the kitchen, yes?"

Yuri said nothing. It worried Jessica to see the fire within Yuri's eyes, so she stepped forward and took over. "Your mystery box was brilliant, Chef Lee. I never thought cocoa and salmon would work together but they hella do."

"Ah yes, your cocoa spicy salmon. Marvelous." The chef threw Jessica a wide smile that, again, didn't feel sincere at all. "Use this few minutes break to learn about innovation and creativity from your friend here, Yuri. Trust me, the elimination will be much harder than the mystery box."

"I'm sure Yuri can do it. She's got the talent." A little bit too enthusiastic, Jessica tried to stand up for Yuri. "She was just nervous."

"Sure. Talent. I see a lot of that tonight but nothing can beat real work and focus, don't you think?" Sweeping Yuri a quick glance from head to toe, Chef Ilhwa turned around and left.

"What was that?" Jessica glared at the leaving chef. "Why does she keep downplaying you?"

"She does that to every contestant, Jess."

"No, she does not." Jessica turned at Yuri who just smiled bitterly. "I saw everything from my bench. She side-eyed your sauce when it was bubbling in your pot, she laughed when you dropped your cocoa, she even criticized your sponge cake way too harshly in the end."

"She has the right to."

"Reynold burnt his caramel and she praised him."

"Aren't you used to be that girl who also praised Reynold for everything?"

"Yuri. I'm being serious here." Jessica tip-toed to see Chef Ilhwa whispered something into Shindong's ear. She didn't like the lady at all. "I sense something evil about that woman."

Yuri laughed a little. "Really, Jess? Evil?"

"Soo Ramsay never sugarcoats her critics but she never demeans people like Chef Ilhwa does. That woman goes after the person instead of the dish. Bullying contestant is evil."

"Alright then." With a smile that finally looked true to Jessica's eyes, Yuri rolled up the sleeve of the mint dress shirt she's wearing. "Let me beat that evil for you. Wish me luck."

"That shirt is my lucky shirt. You'll win."

"Lucky shirt?"

"Yes. 100% Proved."

"No wonder you forced me to wear it today." Yuri touched Jessica's cheek. "Thank you, baby. Love you."

"L... Love me?" Jessica blushed.

Yuri gasped, probably realized the words coming out of her lips a split-second too late.

Their eyes met. Both were about to say something when the producer called them out loudly with his mighty megaphone.

"Yuri! Jessica! Stop flirting! We're shooting!"

"Yep. Overwhipped." Chef Ilhwa made a short comment as she passed by Yuri's bench. Yuri, struggling since the beginning of the challenge, tried ignoring it but ended up losing her focus. She stopped twirling the saucepan over the stove and came to the mixer. The egg white and sugar mixture had been nothing but fine a second ago and they were still fine when she looked down into the bowl. Her mother simply disturbed her on purpose.

Groaning, Yuri turned her head to see the woman spoke to Sunny all soft and motherly. The sight hurt her. While she was accustomed to not having the great Lee Ilhwa in her life, she was guilty of craving for that kind of attention.

"Yuri! Sunny! You only need three things to get through this elimination challenge." Master Sooman spoke loudly from behind the benches. "Focus. Focus. And Focus."

"Yuri! Your beurre butter!" Jessica yelled from the gantry.