Chapter 22
After Sorim took over her parents’ recipe book, the kitchen at the restaurant Le Dosage began to feel more alive.
It was a small change, but everyone could feel it.
The biggest change was Sorim herself.
The youngest staff member, who had only prepared ingredients in a corner, finally started cooking with a pan after two years.
“Chef, may I say something?”
After the lunch rush ended and things calmed down, Sorim walked up to Chef Nam Taeyoung.
Normally, she would have hesitated.
But today, she didn’t want to step back.
Taehwa’s reaction the night before had given her courage.
Taeyoung was looking at his tablet. He lifted only his eyes to look at her.
“What is it?”
Sorim took out a small container from her pocket.
It was the shallot sauce she had made the night before.
“For the steak sauce this season… instead of the red wine sauce, what if we try this?”
Nam Taeyoung raised his eyebrows in surprise.
This was the first time since she joined that the youngest staff member had shared an opinion about the menu.
He stared straight into Sorim’s eyes.
They were not timid like before.
They were firm and confident.
“Let me try it.”
Nam Taeyoung tasted the sauce.
His eyebrows slowly pulled together.
The longer the silence lasted, the heavier the air felt.
Sorim clenched her fists.
Even if he rejected it, that was fine.
What mattered was that she tried.
She was not someone’s shadow anymore.
She was trying something as Yoon Sorim.
“…Huh.”
Nam Taeyoung let out a short laugh and shook his head.
“This is unexpected.”
“…Is it bad?”
“No. This is exactly your father’s style. Chef Vincent used to cook like this.”
Surprise and nostalgia filled his eyes.
“They say blood doesn’t lie. Did you inherit his touch too? I didn’t know you could bring out this much sweetness from shallots.”
Nam Taeyoung rarely gave praise, so Sorim’s face lit up.
This felt different from Taehwa’s compliment the night before.
Being recognized by a professional made her heart race.
“Alright. Let’s use this starting from tonight’s dinner. I’ll tell everyone. You’ll make it yourself.”
“Me? But I’m still the youngest—”
“A good cook is a chef. Being the youngest doesn’t matter. Are you not confident?”
“…No! I can do it!”
Sorim answered firmly.
That evening, Sorim’s sauce received an explosive response from the customers.
Every time empty plates came back, and every time the hall manager said,
“The sauce is amazing,”
her heart swelled with pride.
Being recognized not as a substitute or a tool, but as Chef Yoon Sorim, made her happier than she could explain.
This feeling was nothing like wearing luxury clothes or jewelry that Taehwa bought for her.
As closing time came, even the last plate returned clean.
The kitchen staff smiled and tapped Sorim’s shoulder.
“Wow, youngest. You’re incredible. Today’s sauce reaction was the best ever.”
“Good job, Yoon Sorim.”
Nam Taeyoung walked up to Sorim, who was soaked in sweat, and tapped her shoulder.
The usually sharp and cold chef was showing a faint smile.
“I honestly didn’t expect much, but it was good. If Vincent were alive, he would’ve loved it.”
“…Thank you, Chef. This is all because you gave me a chance.”
“You grabbed the chance yourself. Keep doing this. Do what you can do.”
Nam Taeyoung messed up Sorim’s hair kindly.
Sorim smiled brightly at this rough but warm gesture from her strict mentor.
“I’ll work hard!”
Her smile was brighter than ever.
It was completely different from the small, careful smile she showed in front of Taehwa.
This was a pure, genuine smile.
Clink—
The sound of the restaurant door opening echoed.
It was closing time. They weren’t accepting customers.
The staff looked toward the entrance in confusion.
“I’m sorry, we’re clo— huh?”
The hall manager stopped mid-sentence.
The man standing there had an overwhelming presence.
A perfectly fitted dark navy suit.
One hand in his pocket.
A relaxed but arrogant posture.
It was Song Taehwa.
“…!”
Sorim’s eyes widened when she saw him arrive without warning.
His gaze was fixed on Sorim, who was smiling and facing Nam Taeyoung.
“Vice President Song Taehwa?”
Nam Taeyoung tilted his head.
His hand, which had been on Sorim’s head, was now resting on her shoulder.
“…Taehwa?”
Taehwa’s face looked calm as usual, but Sorim noticed something different.
He seemed irritated.
Then, he walked in quickly.
The sound of his shoes echoed loudly and sharply.
The air in the restaurant froze.
Without even looking at Nam Taeyoung, Taehwa stepped in front of Sorim and knocked Nam Taeyoung’s arm off her shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
“Uh, wait. I haven’t even changed clothes—”
“It doesn’t matter.”
He was forceful.
Holding Sorim’s hand, Taehwa pulled her outside without giving her time to say goodbye.
Nam Taeyoung and the staff stared after them in shock.
“Get in.”
Taehwa opened the passenger door and pushed Sorim inside.
Bang.
The door slammed shut harshly.
He got into the driver’s seat and started the engine roughly.
“…What’s wrong? Did something happen? Why did you come all the way here?”
Sorim asked carefully.
Instead of answering, Taehwa pressed the accelerator.
The car shot forward.
After driving for a while, the car finally stopped at a red light.
Taehwa tightened his grip on the steering wheel and spoke.
“Looks like you had fun.”
“What?”
“You looked very happy. Laughing, joking, getting your head patted.”
His voice was sharp.
“Ah… The chef praised me. The sauce I made today got a great response.”
“Praised?”
Taehwa frowned.
“You were smiling like that just because some low-level chef praised you?”
“…Don’t talk like that. He’s like a mentor to me.”
“Mentor or not, I hate other men touching you.”
Taehwa turned to look at her.
In his dark eyes was a clear sense of possessiveness.
But Sorim did not mistake it for love.
It was just greed—
the anger of someone who hates others touching what he thinks belongs to him.
“You’ve never smiled like that in front of me.”
Taehwa muttered.
At that moment, his possessiveness became clear.
He realized that he did not fully own Sorim.
Her smile, her passion, even the food she poured her heart into—
none of it belonged only to him.
Accepting that was not easy.
What started as a simple marriage contract was now bothering him deeply.
He was a man who hated small problems disturbing his life.
Then the solution was simple.
He would completely claim her.
“…What?”
“At home, you always look nervous and careful. Outside, you’re a totally different person.”
The smile Sorim showed outside shocked him.
More than when he gave her an unlimited credit card.
More than when he gave her a custom diamond necklace.
She looked brightest standing in that old kitchen.
And what made it worse—
Another man was enjoying that bright version of her.
A man hiding behind the excuse of being her “mentor.”
