Absinthe novel Chapter 45

I thought it was the warmth of the sunlight that woke me up. But I realized it was Jiwoo's lips on my cheeks that did.

"Sorry, did I disturb your sleep?" he asked.

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. Jiwoo waited for me to sit upright before doing the same, and I noticed his eyes were still on me.

"What?" I asked.

"I think I'm in love with you," he said.

I burst out laughing. "What time is it?"

"It's just a few minutes past six."

I glanced around and saw that the place was covered in thick mist, which made the air cold, and the sun was mostly obscured by fluffy clouds.

I jumped out of the pickup truck with Jiwoo following closely behind. I ran to the thick growth on the side of the road until I was near the edge of the cliff. I sat there feeling breathless and reveled in the sight. A few rays of the sun pierced through the clouds and showered certain spots of the mountainside with bursts of orange light.

I felt Jiwoo sit behind me, enveloping me in an embrace.

"It's beautiful," I commented.

"You're fishing for compliments," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"You know how I'd respond to that. I did so last night."

"I just said that the scenery is beautiful," I protested.

"You are beautiful," Jiwoo said as he buried his face in my shoulder.

It was then that I remembered how he had said the same thing last night. I didn't move. I wanted to stay there for as long as I could.

"Hey, Jiwoo," I said, realizing that I hadn't properly acknowledged how he had kept me company yesterday. "Thank you for everything."

Jiwoo tightened his embrace before he let go and faced me. And then he inched slowly forward until his lips were almost touching mine. I knew better than to move, but I did. I met his lips until he parted mine and we were kissing again.

We must have dozed off because we were lying on the grass when I woke up to Nico's complaints.

"Jesus! I thought something bad happened to you guys! I searched for you everywhere, and the car was empty!"

"Sorry, man," Jiwoo said, helping me to my feet.

"I'm never going to help you with your schemes again," Nico declared.

"Hey! No fair!" Jiwoo complained loudly.

"Let's go back," Nico said. "We only have this afternoon to practice for tomorrow's lunch challenge."

Fuck, I'd totally forgotten about that. I hadn't thought of what dish to cook!

Jiwoo must have noticed the look of panic on my face because he leaned in and whispered, "You'll do great. I know it."

Back at the villa, I spent the entire afternoon racking my brains as to what I could possibly serve for dessert. I could smell what Jiwoo was cooking in the kitchen, and it was amazing. The guy really knew his way around aromas and flavors.

At around 6 in the evening, Jiwoo sat beside me and invited me out for dinner. I still hadn't come up with a dish. But I figured I could take a break from brainstorming, so I reluctantly agreed. We met with the other two at the central restaurant.

We all ate in silence. For the first time since our arrival, the food wasn't chicken anymore. I happened to glance at the small painting across our table, and the landscape depicted in it was oddly familiar.

Nico followed my gaze and said, "That's where I found you guys this morning. It's the cliff side of the place where this asshole plotted to have a night out with you."

"Hey!" Jiwoo protested.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Vivi asked. "I saw that place on our first morning here. The surroundings were epic with all that fog and the sunrise!"

And then something dawned on me.

"Guys!" I said. "I know what to cook!"

The following morning, I was first in the kitchen because the dessert I planned for had a lot of elements that had to be made in advance.

A few minutes past 9, Nico arrived and started working on his dish. Vivi and Jiwoo came in 30 minutes later, so the kitchen was suddenly busy with all four of us doing what looked like four or five things at the same time. I could feel the eyes of the head chef darting left and right.

By 11, we finished all the necessary preparations and decided to have an early lunch. We were all famished for not having had breakfast.

At 11:30, we were back in the kitchen to finalize everything. At 12, the head chef announced that Chef Maxwell was already seated together with the chosen panel of judges.

"We're good," Vivi responded. "Starters coming in the next five."

The head chef turned on the TV on the wall that I knew was used to monitor the activity in the dining hall. Only this time, the camera was focused on one table alone.

I could clearly see Maxwell sitting with three people I didn't know. One of them was a lady in her mid-50s dressed in business formal attire. Beside her was an old man, probably in his 80s. The last judge was a young lady wearing a floral outfit.

We saw Vivi's food being served. Once the cloche was lifted, all of them at the table applauded in delight.

"I made raviolis," Vivi told us. "I laminated some flower petals and herbs into the pasta sheets, and the filling is made of goat cheese and sautéed local mushrooms."

"And the broth?" Jiwoo asked.

"I made a consommé from the goat bone broth I'd been cooking since last night."

"Genius!" I heard Nico say. "We're off to a brilliant start."

Chef Maxwell and the judges cleaned their plates in no time, and after a few moments, Jiwoo's soup dish was brought out.