Plot Twist!
Remember to vote if you think Face Jimin is so damn fine that it made your brain do an entire reboot, or if you like apple juice.
---
Y/n
Service sucked.
Y/n had the fortune of being on desserts, which meant eyes should be off her for elimination, but that didn't change how she wanted her team to win to avoid the elimination risk. She liked her teammates, and losing more would be a blow to morale.
But it wasn't looking good.
Y/n helped Diya on fish as best she could, but there was only so much she could do when Ophelia was sinking the meat station with overcooked wellingtons. Mistakes on wellingtons were a massive setback. If too many were bad, they'd have to wait over ten minutes for another batch. That was time they didn't have. Customers waited for over an hour at Hell's Kitchen, and while the wait was worth it, Y/n didn't want customers to go hungry for that long.
"Ophelia!" Gordon shouted, his face scrunched up to the point where Y/n thought even his trusty pencil had an angry wrinkle on it. "Get your shit together!"
"Yes, chef," Ophelia said, wiping the sweat off her head and getting back to work.
Morale wasn't bad at the moment. They had won the challenge that day and got a spa trip out of it, so it wasn't all bad, but when the blue team was kicking their asses during service, that wasn't a good sign. Other than Louis. Y/n could hear Louis screaming from her spot in the red kitchen, that was how loud that wrathful chef was. A good chef, but he had a tendency to get angry.
The good news was the appetizers had gone out smoothly thanks to Karen and Felicia on hot apps and Yuna on the cold. All talented chefs. Karen was older and sometimes moved slower, but having Felicia, someone far younger, to balance her out made for the perfect combo.
Ophelia, though...
A sweet girl. A really, really sweet girl, and in her defense, she could cook, but that service and the previous service were not boding well. Y/n didn't know if Ophelia was getting too in her head or what, but it wasn't great. She had had four entrees sent back.
Four.
Oh, wait. Make it five. Ophelia had another one sent back while Y/n was thinking.
"Get out!" Gordon shouted, and Ophelia dropped her head but obliged. "Y/n, on meat!"
Y/n rushed over to the station and did her best to recover the disaster that was service. To her credit, she managed to do so, after one failed fish from Diya. Then, service concluded. The blue team won and finished service first. That meant it was the red team's turn for elimination, and Y/n wasn't ready for that.
Back in the dorms, Y/n and the team sat around the couch. Some on the floor, some on the sofa. Jimin and Louis were in the kitchen, and Jimin gave her a weak smile she returned while her team discussed the obvious choice.
"I'm sorry," Ophelia said through her tears. "I let you down again."
Karen wrapped an arm around the sobbing girl. "Hey, keep your chin up. You're on Hell's Kitchen. Not just anyone can do that, okay? Be proud of everything you've done. Keep believing, no matter what happens tonight."
The odds were, Ophelia was going home. Who else would it be? Ophelia and Diya were the two obvious picks since no one else had screwed up that night. Ophelia wasn't even a drama queen or anything, so there were no drama reasons to keep her on the show, and she had flubbed two services in a row.
The team took turns hugging Ophelia. Diya got hugs, too, but everyone knew Ophelia was the choice. So, they sat there, waiting, and not too long after, they got called down for elimination.
Gordon stood in the empty dining room. All the tables and chairs were off to the side to allow Gordon room to stand, and there were chairs set up on Gordon's left to sit the blue team. The men took their seats, Jimin staring at Y/n, and her staring back at him. She almost tripped getting into her standing position due to the stare down, so she had to force herself to focus on Ramsay.
"Ladies. Not a good night," he said, and the team shook their heads. "Karen. Who is the red team's first nominee and why."
"Our first nominee is Ophelia, chef. We feel she hurt us tonight."
"You're not wrong. Who is the red team's second nominee and why?"
"Our second nominee is Diya, chef. We feel she could have performed a bit stronger tonight."
"Alright," Gordon said, motioning to Diya and Ophelia. "You two, step forward."
Diya and Ophelia stepped forward and stood in front of Ramsay with their hands behind their backs. Gordon looked between the two before settling on Diya.
"Diya. Why should you stay in Hell's Kitchen?"
"I should stay in Hell's Kitchen because I have so much left to show you, chef. I won't give up, and I'll show you I can bounce back and be better."
A cliche answer. Every participant on the chopping block had said something similar at some point. Watching every season of Hell's Kitchen meant Y/n had heard that answer at least a hundred times. Watching every season of Hell's Kitchen also meant she knew those little talks meant little to nothing. Few chefs had had memorable speeches that saved them.
If Ramsay had a decision, he had a decision.
"Ophelia," Gordon said. "Why should you stay in Hell's Kitchen?"
"I've let my team down twice now, and there's no worse feeling than that. I won't let them down a third time, and I won't let you down a third time, chef."
"You're right about that, Ophelia. Give me your jacket."
Well, okay then.
Ophelia broke down but respected Gordon's wishes nonetheless. She staggered forward, unbuttoned her jacket, and handed it over to her. Gordon shook her hand.
"You have a good heart, Ophelia. Keep your chin up, yeah? Goodnight."
"Goodnight, chef. Thank you." Ophelia turned, and she waved to the team. "Good luck, girls."
"Bye, Ophelia," a few members of the red team said, Y/n included. She waved back to Ophelia, as did the rest of the team, and everyone was quiet.
Yeah, Y/n wanted to win, but it was sad either way. She liked Ophelia. None of the chefs on her team were mean or even bad, so seeing them dwindle was far from what she wanted.
Ophelia left through the front door, and it was quiet for a long moment. And then, Gordon dismissed Diya, and she rushed back to join the rest of her teammates. Y/n stood there and waited for the entire team to be dismissed, but that didn't happen. Gordon sighed and placed his hands on his hips.
"I'm not done yet."
Y/n's eyes widened at that, and she didn't know what the hell to make of that. What kind of plot twist was Gordon about to implement, and why so early in the show? Well, maybe it wasn't that early considering six people had gone home.
"There's someone else who needs to go home," Gordon said, and Y/n stiffened at that.
It couldn't be her, right? She had cooked her ass off during service and salvaged the night. Not to mention she had done fine during the challenge that day and had earned her team a point. Also not to mention she had performed overall well. Every chef made mistakes, but she and Seulgi had made the least, so both of them should be safe. Same with Jimin and Jungkook. Right?
"Louis," Gordon said, interrupting Y/n's thoughts. "Get up here, you."
Louis stood, his athletic build as intimidating as always, and approached Gordon with his hands behind his back. He was quiet the entire time, and Y/n could respect that he took Gordon's words without any talk back or aggression.
"I don't see any passion in you anymore." Gordon shook his head. "Give me your jacket. Your time on Hell's Kitchen is over."
"I'm sorry to disappoint, chef." Louis obliged and handed over the jacket, shaking Gordon's hand and saying goodbye to his shocked team. All of them had bulging eyes and sweat on their foreheads.
Louis disappeared like Ophelia had, and as soon as the front doors were shut behind him, Gordon turned to both teams.
"All your weak links are gone. No more excuses for a bad performance. I expect mistakes, but I want everyone to finish services from here on out. You should be adjusted to the expectations of Hell's Kitchen by now. Clear?" No one protested. Gordon nodded. "Good. Get back to your dorms and get ready for tomorrow."
Both teams retreated up the stairs in silence, no one bothering to say anything due to the surprise of the past five minutes. They entered the dorm in a single line, and Jimin was last, locking the door behind him.
Y/n plopped on the couch and wiped her head, feeling moisture she didn't know was there. Jimin came over and sat with her, same with Seulgi, and Y/n broke their long silence.
"I guess less competition for us, huh?" Her voice was no louder than a mutter.
"I guess," Jimin said, his hand near hers, and she took the initiative to hold his, to which he squeezed her skin. "But I guess no one's safe, huh? Louis wasn't a bad chef. He had an attitude problem, but that was about it. Gordon seems pickier this season."
"I can't blame him," Seulgi said, leaning back and yawning. "He's going to pay someone six figures to be his chef. He should be picky."
"I know, but it's shocking, that's all. A double elimination this early was..."
"Unexpected," Jimin finished Y/n's thought, and she hummed in agreement. "Or maybe we're over-reacting."
"You are," Seulgi said without hesitation. "It's not a big deal. As long as you're still in the competition, who cares? You're in it to win it, not cry when someone gets eliminated. Man up and get ready to cook tomorrow. I want a real challenge, not a distracted baby."
Seulgi got up and departed, and Y/n watched the woman undo her bun and let her silky hair bounce down her back. She went inside the red team's bedroom, like most of the team. Only Felicia was out, in the kitchen and cooking something Y/n couldn't see or smell yet.
"She's right." Y/n shrugged. Seulgi had a point about needing to stay focused. "We need to keep our heads in the game."
"Yeah, I guess, but I don't know, I want to like these people. Maybe gain some connections."
"Well," Y/n said, smiling at him, "you have me. Is that enough?"
"Y/n, you're more than enough." He kissed her forehead and released her hand, getting up to stretch. "If you'll excuse me, I smell like shit, and the last thing I need is Seulgi yelling at me for that again. I'm gonna shower. See you in a bit, wifey."
Y/n couldn't stop her stutters over Jimin's mannerisms, and also the way he kissed her forehead without any hesitation. "Yeah, sure." She cleared her throat. "See you in a bit, uh, hubby."
Jimin smirked and walked off, and Y/n was left alone while everyone else went to their corners of the world. Or, dorm. Y/n's corner was the couch she didn't want to budge from. It was comfy and gave her space to think about all that had happened, but she realized Seulgi's words were good advice: Y/n didn't need to think about the random elimination.
All that mattered was she was still in the competition.
---
Remember to vote, comment, and follow if you think Jimin is so fine he could burn down your house and you'd thank him, or if you like the color purple.
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top