Yuri heard the first knock on the door, covered her head with the pillow, and proceeded to ignore the rest until the knocking sound became so incessant the pillow didn't help anymore. Standing up, she checked the mirror only to see a miserable reflection of herself.

"Wait a minute." She said to the door, guessing it was Jessica knocking on the other side. Like it or not, it was time for her to stop ignoring Jessica. It was time for her to open up and tell the truth. A quick wash of her face and one hurried ponytail later, Yuri mustered a small smile while opening the door.

"Finally." It was Master Sooman's cheeky grin that greeted Yuri. Walking past her like they were the best of friends, the man briskly made a beeline into the room.

"Who said you can come in?" Annoyed, Yuri closed the door and leaned on it.

"My rusty knees." The senior chef seated himself on one of the beds. "Another minute of waiting and they would have crumbled."

"I'm giving the competition up," Yuri said with no preamble, staring at the void on the wall above Master Sooman's head. "I'll come to the studio tomorrow and explain everything to everyone before the shoot."

"I'm afraid there's no tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"Reynold filed a formal complaint to the production house this morning."

"Does he know?"

"About what?"

"About me?" Yuri rubbed her face. "About my parents?"

"Probably but that doesn't matter."

"How can you say that? These lies are all based on that fact alone."

"What lies?"

"This whole game we're playing."

"I'm not playing. Never was. Never will. It's you and your mother that treats this as a game."

"Oh, you're washing your hands clean now? You got me into this competition!"

"I've done nothing wrong."

Frustrated, Yuri was all but stomping her feet on the floor. "Yeah, right."

"Let's not wasting our time debating technicalities. Everybody is waiting for us downstairs." Master Sooman stood up, leveling his gaze with Yuri.

"Oh, they are going to witch hunt me now? Nice." She couldn't stand the look in those eyes. The sad, worrying look, she had often seen in her late father's eyes. Shifting away from the door, Yuri threw her gaze somewhere else.

"I won't let them." His left hand on the doorknob, Master Sooman touched Yuri's shoulder with his right one. "One last question though. Do you really want to quit?"

"Yes." Yuri shrugged the hand away. One of her fondest memory as a child was having Master Sooman teaching her how to make a perfect omelet as her father watched from the dining table. It pained her so much to realize that she could have lived a happy life if her disappointment toward her mother didn't take over everything. It hurt to imagine everything that could have been if she had stayed close to her father.

"Fine. Let's go."

Jessica watched as Yuri slowly walked down the stairs behind Master Sooman. Reynold's words swirled in her mind.

"She was the only child of Baek Jimin."

"She probably entered the competition unfairly. Lee Soman and her father were bestfriends."

"Lee Ilhwa is her mother. Yuri must have had help on the last challenge. Sunny's elimination was completely unjustified."

"No wonder she distanced herself so much from the rest of us. She probably got insider tips every time"

As everybody took their seat in the living area of the dorm, Jessica tried hard to make eye contact with Yuri. Too bad the girl kept on looking down as if already owning up to her mistake.

"Please look at me," Jessica whispered inwardly, wanting to sit by Yuri's side so bad. "Please tell me this is all lie."

Yuri didn't even spare her a quick glance. A fact that hurt Jessica more than all the stuff Reynold had told her a few minutes ago. Still, with doubt started growing in her heart, Jessica decided not to judge too quickly. Yuri probably had her own reason. There was probably a whole different story behind this.

"Alright, everybody. Now that we all gathered, let's start this little meeting." The pretty woman sitting in the middle of the couch spoke rather too cheerily for the gloomy occasion. "My name is Kim Hyoyeon, I am one of the executive producers. Mr. Ferguson here is the casting director of the show, both of us are here on behalf of the production house. This morning, Mr. Poernomo. Ummm... may I address you as Reynold?" She asked Reynold who then nodded. "Thank you. This morning, Reynold contacted us accusing another contestant of cheating and imploring us to take immediate action. Per standard operation procedure, I then gathered us all here to talk about it."

Jessica glanced at Reynold. The guy didn't warn her about this meeting yet she understood his reason. Cheating is not something she could easily forgive herself.

"Reynold, would you be kind enough to shed the light on what your complaint is about?" The blonde producer nodded her head at Reynold.

"There were suspicious circumstances on the last challenge that made me curious on who Yuri actually is. I did a little investigation last night and found out that she's the sole heiress of the most prominent family in the fine dining industry. The same family has a connection with one of the judges. In fact, Yuri's mother was actually the guest judge on the last challenge. Therefore, I demand you to kick Yuri out of this competition before the next challenge commences."

"You want us to kick Yuri out because of her parents?" Master Sooman coolly leaned back on the headrest of his chair.

"Absolutely. With that glittery background, her application should have been rejected in the first place."

Not even changing his relaxed stance, Master Sooman turned his head at the two other judges. "Shindong, may I please have you recite the restrictions we have for every applicant wanting to enter the competition?"

"First," Shindong cleared his throat. "Applicant must be 18 years old or older by January 10th this year."

"How old you are Yuri? All those creases on your brows say 35 to me." Master Sooman tilted his chin toward Yuri.

"I'll be twenty-eight this December." Yuri finally opened . Jessica used the chance to steal a glance. Their eyes met for a short second before Yuri focused back on the floor.

"Second, the applicant must be a citizen or legal permanent resident of this country." Shindong continued.

"I believe that box is ticked too." Master Sooman threw Reynold a quick glance. "Next."

"Applicant cannot currently work as a professional chef and cannot have ever worked as a professional chef."

"Mr. Ferguson, does Yuri meet this criterion too?"

Jessica watched as the casting director nodded slowly.

"Bull." Reynold crossed his arms on his chest. "Her father owned the Red Lotus and its franchise around the world. Her mother is the famed queen of dessert! Kwon Yuri is as good as any professional chef."

"Her parents' occupation doesn't define her professionality. Yuri has never worked as a professional chef. Period. It's not her fault that her family background makes her a better cook in the kitchen. It's the similar privilege as the cooking courses Jessica took or the culinary academy you attended prior to the show."

"How about her ties to you?" Reynold threw Master Sooman a sharp one.

"Her late father, may his soul rest in peace, was my best friend. That's all."

"That's all you said? It translates to her advantages on every challenge."

"Judges are not allowed to give personal hint, Reynold. I never do."

"It put your appraisal of her dish into question. Who knows if you have played favorites inside? If you have chosen to ignore any of her flaws because you know her beforehand?"

"Even if I have, there are two other judges and a whole production team that would have stood against me."

"Bull! What if the other judges and the production team are all behind this too."

"Careful there, Reynold." Soo Ramsay tilted her head a little. "Defamation lawsuit is not easy to bear."

"See? You guys even gang up on me now. I'm calling my lawyer."

"Oh dear, it doesn't have to go that far." In a knowing smile, Kim Hyoyeon interjected. "Mr. Ferguson, had Yuri's background been checked before she was allowed into the top 100?"

"Yes. Her file said she was an art school graduate from New York that just came back to this country last year. No culinary school or course ever attended. There's an aunt listed as next of kin. Yuri claimed to mostly live alone abroad since high school and all her documents supported it."

"The team didn't cross-check her parents?"

"We have stopped digging that deep since season four. The applicants have a say on which part of their life they want to reveal to the camera." The casting director rubbed his chin. "The only background story Yuri willed to provide was about her aunt so we only worked on that. We shot her background video in a humble apartment at the outskirt of Seobuk-gu, I was there. I met her aunt too, a kind lady owning three acres of a strawberry farm. Nothing about Yuri screamed Baek Jimin's daughter at that time."

"Are you saying that you completely missed the fact that she's the daughter of two culinary moguls?" Reynold snorted.

"I have to regretfully admit that I did." The casting director raises his eyebrows at Yuri, asking a silent question. "Had we been privy about this information, we would have milked it for viewer ratings, mind you."

"I didn't even know Chef Baek has a daughter," Shindong mumbled.

"True." Soo Ramsay added in a small smile. "Most culinary people know about the complicated relationship he had with Ilhwa but a daughter as talented as Yuri? Damn. It's a hidden fact even my state-of-the-art gossip radar failed to unearth."

"Right." Kim Hyoyeon sighed. "See Reynold? We were also in the blind here. And Master Sooman is right, having two farmers as parents do not guarantee you an immediate skill to grow rice."

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