*Hagumi Megumin's POV*
//April 10, 2040//Tuesday//
"I'm off, Dad!"
"Take care, Hagumi. Don't push yourself too hard at work."
"Thanks!"
My name is Hagumi Megumin. I am 18 years old, and I'm working as a chef in a five-star Japanese Restaurant here in Nagoya.
"SERVICE!!!!"
And this will also be my last day here at work.
"MEGUMIN! HOW LONG FOR THE TEMPURA?!"
"IT'S COMING CHEF!"
Every day at work was like a battlefield where people are coming inside the restaurant constantly. There's no room for rest, especially at dinner service.
A lot of the chefs here in the kitchen have been relying on me ever since I've been working here.
"MEGUMIN! FILLET THE SALMON!"
"MEGUMIN! CLEAN THE PANS PLEASE!"
"COMING RIGHT UP!"
Yep, they really are relying on me all the time. It's not like I'm upset at them for giving me most of the work, but rather, I am happy that they keep on giving me some things to do.
It improves the way I handle a lot of pressure, and how I can manage a lot of things at once.
"Chef! Table three is waiting for a while now." The head waiter said.
"SHIT! OI! WHERE IS THE SUSHI THAT TABLE 3 ORDERED?! WHY ARE WE TAKING A LONG TIME FOR JUST A FUCKING SUSHI?!"
"CHEF! WE STILL HAVE NOT MADE IT YET!"
"SERVICE PLEASE!!"
I gave the head chef the Sushi that I made quickly. He checked every detail on the sushi that I made and looked at me after.
"Nicely done, Megumin… SERVICE!!!"
The head waiter received the sushi that I made, and I quickly started cooking the rest of the orders for our customers.
Dinner service ended, and all of us began cleaning the whole kitchen. The kitchen staff here are really terrifying, but all of their attitudes change when our work is over.
"MEGUMIN! WE WILL MISS YOU!!!"
At service, they were really terrifying individuals that will make you cry if you are making a lot of mistakes. When I was still new here in this kitchen, all of them were yelling at me, because of how clumsy I was.
But as time passes by, I got attached to everyone else, and they are nice people who are soft on the inside.
"MEGUMIN!!! DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO LEAVE THIS PLACE TO STUDY?!"
"Hehehe… Sorry, I really need to."
The reason why I am leaving this place is that I will be going to Saitei University, an elite school where all the talented people in a specific field go. They said that it provides the students with a lot of advanced skills, and lectures that can hone their abilities even more.
"MEGUMIN!!! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! YOU REALLY HAVE BEEN A GREAT CHEF!!!" Our head chef said.
After the dinner service, our head chef made us food as a celebration for my departure. All of us enjoyed it like there is no tomorrow.
I really will miss this place. I have learned a lot here, and it feels like this was my second home since I first worked here.
"THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!! I'LL BE GOING NOW!!!"
"TAKE CARE!!!"
I left the restaurant and took a look at the place one more time. It really was a great experience working here. I went home, and my dad is already asleep. I took a bath, went to bed, and took a rest.
//April 11, 2040//Wednesday//
Morning came, and I woke up to prepare for our breakfast.
"Time to make breakfast."
Our breakfast for today will be porridge since that is what my dad usually likes every Wednesday.
Oh yeah, let me talk about my past for a little bit. I was an orphan once, and he adopted me when I was still little.
Dad was a famous head chef in a Michelin Star Restaurant when he was still in his prime, but now because of old age, he could not work anymore. That is why I decided to work so I can support him. But my dad told me to enroll at Saitei University to hone my skills to become a better chef.
"Oh, that smells good, Hagumi."
"Thanks, Dad."
We both ate our porridge, and it looks like he really liked it.
"Remember the first time you made porridge? It really was bland, and I almost threw it out. HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Geeez! stop it, Dad!"
My dad is still energetic at his age. Sometimes, he always tries to do the silliest things.
I remembered when he baked my birthday cake when I was still in middle school, and it tasted really salty because he intentionally put salt in it rather than sugar. I helped him do household chores and tried experimenting with new recipes after then my dad will try to bother me when I am doing recipes which makes it really annoying sometimes. But in the end, both of us will have a good laugh.
Nighttime came, and I went outside to look at the stars.
"Sigh… Two more days, and I will be going to a university rather than working at the restaurant."
"Oh, Hagumi."
My dad saw me outside and sat beside where I was resting.
"Why are you still awake? I thought you were going to sleep?" I asked.
"Well, I know that my daughter will be going to an elite school on Friday. Are you nervous?"
"I guess so… I will miss the people at the restaurant that I have been working with for a long time."
"Hagumi, did you know why I adopted you in the first place?"
This is the first time my father has opened this kind of conversation to me.
I knew that he was not my biological father, but he still treated me like a real father would do to his daughter.
But ever since he adopted me, I always wondered why I am the one he chose back then.
"Why is it?"
"Hagumi, as you may know, I'm a head chef in a Michelin Star restaurant, right? Did you know that I can see from the first look who the chefs are that are burning with passion?"
"How did you know who was passionate from the ones who aren't?"
"From their eyes, Hagumi. Their eyes. When I first visited the orphanage, I saw a child who has been burning with a passion for cooking. She played with a lot of kitchen toys, and the girl was really helpful to the children she was with, and that was you, Hagumi."
It's been a long time since me, and my Dad have a talk like this. I began tearing up from the things he was saying.
"Hagumi, did you know why I gave you the name Hagumi, and what it means?"
"What is it, Dad?"
"It means fruit and kindness. You have a kind heart, and the fruit you have been carrying your whole life has been maturing as you grow older, Hagumi. I remembered the first time I let you hold a knife, and you had a big cut in your feet when you dropped it."
"Yeah, I was really a bit clumsy back then. You even yelled at me when I cried."
"HAHAHAHA!! I have been a strict chef in my whole life after all!"
That's right, my dad has been very strict with me when it comes to cooking.
Every time I make a mistake, he always yells at me to the point where I start crying, and he doesn't even care about it. But thanks to that, I am now a great chef taught by an amazing father.
I started tearing up from the things my dad told me. My time in the orphanage was really fun, but there was this emptiness inside my heart.
That's right, I wanted to have a family who will take care of me, and guide me to the right way. For a long time, I had been yearning for that feeling, and dad came into my life.
He may not have been the perfect father figure, he always yelled at me for every mistake I made in the kitchen, he pulled a lot of pranks at me, he laughed like a child when I told him the hardships I had been dealing with at the restaurant. But, even if he did all those things, he never left my side, and he guided me to become the person who I am just like what I wanted when I was a child.
"Hagumi… You will be going to the apartment you found near the university tomorrow, am I right?"
"Yeah…"
Dad looked at me, and he knew right away that I was worried about him when I left this place.
Yesterday I left the restaurant which is my second home, and the chefs who have been teaching me for all these years. Then tomorrow is the day that I will be leaving my first home and the person who supported me the most.
"I will be fine. Don't worry about me too much. But, I have one last thing to teach you as your father, and also as a chef, Hagumi."
"What is it, Dad?"
"Always remember, the people you are cooking for, people who are nice, who really appreciate the food you give them, those who act rude, and who are a pain to deal with, remember to give them the best dish you can make with a big cheerful smile on your face. As a chef, the greatest thing you can see from them are their smiles while enjoying the food that you have put your whole heart, and effort into. That is what I believed in when I first started as a chef. I believe you can do the same thing, Hagumi. You are my daughter after all!"
My tears began flowing from my eyes as I remember the memories the two of us had from the first time I saw him, to this day.
All of those things were coming back to me again. I embraced my dad and cried out loud. I will not be seeing him for a long time. I really wanted to stay in this place and do what I usually do all the time.
"Hagumi, no need to cry. It's not like I'm going to die."
"That's not the point, Dad! Why should I go to that school? What I am doing is enough, right? I really don't want to go!"
"Hagumi, there are still a lot of things that you will learn from now on. If you ever go back to this place again, make me the best dish that you can give me with all the things you have learned there."
"I WILL DAD!!!"
Dad hugged me tightly, and I still kept on crying and crying.
//April 12, 2040//Thursday//
The time has come, and I am about to leave this place. My dad escorted me to the entrance to our town, and there I saw the chefs I worked with waiting for me.
"OIII!!! MEGUMIN!!!"
"EEH!? WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING HERE?!" I asked.
"The boss told us that we will open the place later in the afternoon. We wanted to see you leave after all."
"EEEH?! EVEN THE HEAD CHEF IS IN HERE?!"
"Ehem."
My dad called all of the chefs' attention, and they all looked at him. From being some gutsy, confident people, they turned like some puppies who were shaking at their master when they saw him.
"IT'S BEEN A WHILE BOSS!!!"
"B-BOSS?!"
All of the chefs greeted and bowed down to him like a yakuza group greeting their leader. What's the connection between my dad, and them?
"Ah, Hagumi. You were working with these guys?"
"Yes. Did you know them?"
"Well, I'm the one who trained them to become great chefs after all."
"EEEEEH?!"
That explains the similarities of how dad and the chefs treat me when I make a mistake. Then that means…
Yikes! All the things that I told my dad about my struggles in the restaurant, would be trouble for all of them.
"B-BOSS… IS M-MEGUMIN YOUR… DAUGHTER?" The head chef asked.
"I heard from Hagumi that you have been treating her very harshly."
"EEEEP!"
Here it is, my dad gave them his serious stare. His stare alone can make someone kneel down to him because of how terrifying it is.
"WELL! HOW NICE OF YOU TO DO THAT TO HAGUMI!!! IT LOOKS LIKE YOU APPLIED ALL THE THINGS I TAUGHT TO YOU PEOPLE! HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Dad patted them all in the back, and all of them were surprised by his reaction.
Sigh… You saw the people who have been treating you harshly at work, and you praised them for that? Where can you see a parent like that? only my father can do it. But that's okay.
I laughed at how my father treats them, and even the chefs are also confused about how to react.
"Well! I'm off!"
"MEGUMIN!!! WE WILL MISS YOU!!!"
All of the chefs started crying, and even the people around were startled to see huge grown muscular men weeping in tears. I can't blame the people though. Anyone will be shocked to see this kind of scene.
We could hear the sound of the bus coming, and the chefs were crying even louder. This is kind of embarrassing.
When I was about to walk away, my dad suddenly called me, and I looked at him.
"Stay safe, Hagumi..."
I started tearing up again because of what my dad told me. I took a deep breath, and shouted these words to the people who I think were my family for all these years.
"THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!"
The people around the town looked at me and smiled at what they witnessed.
The bus came, I entered inside, and sat down in a seat. I looked at the window to see all of the chefs who were crying while waving their goodbyes at me.
My dad also looked me in the eyes and gave a gentle smile. That is how I left my hometown to hone my skills, at Saitei University.
I was a little excited to meet the new people that I will be interacting with, and all the new skills that will be taught to us.
But that is what I thought…