Chapter 14
Having failed to milk the cow, Tae sought out the gardener who had directed him to the barn. He went up to the bald man, who seemed to be in charge of the others, and asked if he could help plant the bulbs, they were putting in the huge circular flower beds in the front courtyard.
Gardener
Stick to your duties at the barn and get out of our way, young man!" the bald gardener roared.
Tae gave up. Without bothering to explain that he had no duties at the barn, he went in the opposite direction toward the back of the house to seek the only kind of work he was actually has experience in doing—he went to the kitchen.
The head gardener watched him, threw down his trowel, and went to find Mr. Jung
Unobserved, Tae stood just inside the kitchen, where eight servants were busily preparing what appeared to be a luncheon of stew complemented with fresh seasoned vegetables, flaky, newly baked bread, and a half dozen side dishes. Disheartened by his last two attempts to make himself useful, Tae watched until he was absolutely certain he could actually handle this task; then he approached the volatile French chef.
Taehyung
"I would like to help," he said firmly.
French Chef
"Non!" the big man screamed, evidently believing Tae to be a servant in his plain black clothes. "Out! Out! Get out. Go attend your duties."
Tae was heartily sick of being treated like a useless idiot. Very politely, but very firmly, he said,
Taehyung
"I can be of help here, and it is obvious from the way everyone is rushing about that you can use an extra pair of hands."
French Chef
The chef looked ready to explode. "You are not trained," he thundered. "Get out! When Andre needs help, he will ask for it and he will do zee training!"
Taehyung
"There is nothing the least bit complicated about making a stew, monsieur," Tae pointed out, exasperated.
Ignoring his purpling complexion at Tae's casual dismissal of the complexity of his culinary skills, Tae continued in a bright, reasonable tone,
Taehyung
"All one has to do is cut up vegetables on this table here—" he tapped the table beside him. "—and toss them into that kettle there." He pointed to the one hanging above the fire.
An odd, strangled sound emerged from the apoplectic man before he tore off his apron.
French Chef
"In five minutes," he said as he stormed out of the kitchen, "I will have you thrown out of this house!"
In the crackling silence he left behind, Tae looked around at the remaining servants, who were staring at him in frozen horror, their eyes mirroring everything from sympathy to amusement.
Mrs Boon-Mee
"Goodness, boy," a kindly, middle-aged woman said as she wiped flour from her hands onto her apron,
Mrs Boon-Mee
"what possessed you to stir him up? He'll have you thrown out on your ear for this."
Except for the young guy named Shone who looked after Tae's room, this was the first friendly voice Tae had heard from any of the servants in the entire house. Unfortunately, he was so miserable at having created trouble when he only wished to help that the woman's sympathy nearly reduced him to tears.
Mrs Boon-Mee
"Not that you weren't right," the woman continued, with a gentle pat on Tae's arm, "about it bein' that simple to make a stew. Any one of us could carry on without Andre, but his lordship demands the best—and Andre is the best chef in the country. You may as well go and pack your things, for it's certain-sure you'll be turned off the place within the hour."
Tae could scarcely trust his voice enough to reassure the woman on that head.
Taehyung
"I'm a guest here, not a servant—I thought Mrs. Jung would have told you that."
Mrs Boon-Mee
The woman's mouth dropped open. "No, Sir, she did not. The staff isn't permitted to gossip, and Mrs. Jung would be the last to do it, her bein' related by marriage to Mr. Jung, the butler. I knew we had a guest stayin' at the house, but I—" Her eyes darted to Tae's shabby-genteel black clothes and the woman flushed. "May I fix you somethin' to eat?"
Tae's shoulders drooped with frustrated despair.
Taehyung
"No, but I'd—I'd like to make something to ease Mr. Jung swollen jaw. It's a poultice, made of simple ingredients, but it might lessen the pain of his infected tooth."
The woman, who said her name was Mrs. Boon-Mee, showed Tae where to find the ingredients he asked for and Tae went to work, fully expecting "his lordship" to come stalking into the kitchen and publicly humiliate him at any moment.
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