"Sungmin-ssi has been talking so much about your food since this morning," he said in his perfectly composed manager voice. "And our company has been looking to hire a new chef..."
I froze. My jaw nearly hit the floor.
He did NOT just go straight to the proposal!
"Ah-uh—" I stammered, my eyes darting from Junwoo to Ajumma like a malfunctioning robot. " Gwa-jang-nim, maybe we can, uh, taste first, and then—"
But it was too late. Ajumma's face lit up, her eyes sparkling. "A chef? Oh my! That's quite an opportunity!"
Beside me, Minjae is doing a terrible job hiding his grin behind his hand. Bongseon is nodding along like she is taking notes of the recent product sale report, while sneakily glancing at Junwoo's side profile every few seconds, pretending it was part of her evaluation.
I sighed internally.
Of course. Miss "Professional at work" Kang Bongseon, my best partner and friend in the entire company, is completely captivated by the very man who drives me insane on a weekly basis. The brat, who makes me break into a cold sweat every time I'm two minutes late, while she insists, "he only does that because he's invested in you, Sungmin-ah."
Yeah, invested in my blood pressure, maybe.
Honestly, I should get hazard pay for this.
But then again, watching Bongseon's obvious crush on Junwoo was always a little entertaining. But right now I'm in no mood for it.
"Maybe we should eat first," I blurted, my hands flailing a little as I tried to redirect the conversation before Junwoo could start offering contracts before even tasting food, and ruin my life. "We can, uh, discuss everything later. We've got plenty of time."
I turned to Minjae for backup, and that traitor immediately nodded far too enthusiastically and said, "Yeah, yeah, we have lots of time infact a whole lifetime, you see." I shot him a glare sharp enough to slice onions, but he just grinned at me like the smug golden retriever he is.
Ajumma, bless her kind heart, just laughed. "Aigoo, you boys are funny. Alright, sit, sit! I'll send someone with the menu." She said, giving a pat on Minjae's shoulder before she walked away.
We all walked to an empty 4-member low table. Today it's emptier than yesterday. I slumped into my seat, rubbing the back of my neck and closing my eyes to ease the tension. For now, maybe I could survive this meal without any nerve-wracking happenings.
But who knows, maybe god had a different plan; just as I opened my eyes with a sigh and turned my head in the kitchen, the door swung open, and there he was... Kwon Joohawn is wiping his hands on the apron. His eyes were still empty, and the hollowness around his eyes didn't look different from last night; if anything, it was deeper, like someone had carved a little more out of him while he slept. His pristine lips are slightly parted as he chats with his aunt, the way people do when they're halfway somewhere else.
"Oh Joohawn hyung!!!" Minjae's voice popped like a firecracker, making me nearly jump out of my skin. My hair literally prickled up like a scared cat. If and only if we weren't in public and in front of Junwoo, I would have undoubtedly smacked his head for that shout.
Joohawn turned his head at Minjae's shout, but his eyes first met mine, or I thought, as Minjae is sitting next to me. If Joohawn hadn't moved his eyes alittle side, I would have thought he was really looking at Minjae, not at me. Whatever, that short moment of staring was enough to make my heart drop to my stomach. I could feel my face flush with embarrassment as I quickly looked away, trying to ignore the sudden rush of emotions.
"Minjae," Joohwan's lips parted as he said Minjae's name. There isn't any smile on his face, not even on his lips. But when my eyes drifted to Minjae, he had that huge angelic grin on his face, his pearly teeth displayed like in a toothpaste ad. I looked back at Joohwan, taking my eyes from Minjae, and he was already staring at me without a blink, no smile, nothing.
Joohwan Pov:
I just got out of the kitchen, as my aunt is taking too long to come back from the storeroom, and it's almost time for customers to come up. Though ours is not so famous, there were some local customers and some regulars who got here to feed themselves for lunch.
Our prices were low, but the food is homely; that's what I have always heard from customers.
homely...
I used to hate those words, and as time passed by, now I guess I'm used to them.
That quite reminded me of that guy who dragged me to the bridge and flashed.
Oh -wait, what's that guy name again...? Sun...Min...ah... Sungmin.
I didn't remember his name at first and thought it felt familiar, but lately it's been showing up in my thoughts even though I didn't ask for it. The way he mumbled my name at the bridge when he saw me for the first time—maybe that's because he must have remembered me from Noochan or whatever.
And then the way he just got frozen when he kept the spoonful in his mouth, the way his eye got wide, and the way that reaction reminded me of Yoonsuh. He irritates me, first for making me feel useless for not letting me die, and then for...praising my cooking. Giving something I didn't ask for.
Hope.
I don't want it. I don't deserve it. I pushed it away. But for some stupid reason, it kept coming back to me again and again.
I sighed deeply, shaking my head to clear it. The thoughts that were consuming me, the new thoughts, the hope, the familiarity of Sungmin—they are quite distracting me from my—
"Joohwan-ah," Aunt's voice came beside me from the counter, and I didn't notice that I had already walked to the counter. "Ah, you are here; there is something I need to talk to you about," She said, pulling me back to earth.
Great. Just what I needed. Another lecture? Another reminder of why I shouldn't live this life, why I should let go of the regret, guilt, grief, or dread for those I lost, though I had the chance to save him if I were a bit earlier.
No matter how much those lectures and yells were just to make me move on, they always reminded me of how much of a burden I was on my family, and reminded me that I should have just jumped right there.
Anyway, it's been two days since that night, and she still hasn't run out of things to yell about. I braced myself, already preparing to endure it. I nodded silently, signaling for her to continue. At least this would be quicker than her emotional speeches.
"We have an offer," She said.
"Offer?"
She smiled; for the first time, I had seen it so bright, because whenever she smiled, that was always to light up, but this one was just huge, like she made me get out of the room without yelling outside my room.
"From a company where Minjae works? You remember him, right? Taekyung's best friend," She said with glee.
A company? For what? I thought.
Yeah, I do know that guy, the one whose smile would just swallow his eyes, a best friend since Taekyung's middle school. I heard it from Taekyung and Noochan talking about him working at a food corporation. I just don't remember the company name, as I wasn't invested in the conversation that day.
My dry lips parted, but before I could ask Aunt what she meant by "offer," a loud, cheerful voice exploded through our restaurant:
"Joohwan Hyung!!!"
I almost flinched at how loud the volume of that person's voice was. That's way too loud for this hour and quite cheerful; it kind of reminded me of Taekyung. I already recognized the voice; a small part of me was prepared to be disappointed. And I am, but not by much. It's Minjae, Taekyung's best friend, and they sure share the same energy.
When I turned to look at him, my gaze first fell on the person I thought I would not see again after he had lunch in my restaurant, which I thought was a coincidence.
Sungmin?
He glared at Minjae's loud, cheerful voice, and when he turned back, his eyes met mine; as if his breath hitched, he stopped moving, and his eyes held that nervousness I hadn't seen yesterday or at the bridge. But why now?
Aunt shook very softly as if pulling me back by grabbing my arm. I tore my gaze from his and looked at my aunt, who nodded towards them and said, "Go take their orders and prepare the food. Just don't mess up on purpose. I know you are a good chef, but..." she pressed her lips as if she were about to spit something, shaking her head with a sigh. "Just go now," she added, turning me to go.
Mess it up on purpose? Why the hell would I—
Oh—
Because she still thinks I hate cooking for strangers. Of course, she's not entirely wrong.
I suck in some air, forcing my feet forward. Minjae had his endless sunshine smile. I noticed there are two others; The guy looked like he ran on cold brew and ego, while the woman seemed seconds away from combusting from nerves, and then there he is, Sungmin.
He avoided my eyes this time, fiddling with the edge of the menu. And for some stupid reason, that annoyed me more than it should have. Yesterday, he tried to make up a conversation like he had no problem talking to me when he destroyed my plan, and now he couldn't even look at me?
"Hyung, how are you? It's been long; I mean, though I hear of you from Taekyung, it's good to see you again." Minjae talked very casually and was very friendly. I nodded, agreeing with his words.
"Yeah, how are you doing?" I asked him flatly.
And as if he already knew how I would respond, he smiled. "Good, and I heard that your cooking is also delicious from Sungmin hyung. I hope you know him. I mean, Aunt would have already talked about him, or Taekwang would have, as his brother is his student and he visited your restaurant yesterday, right?" he said, his eyes going to Sungmin, who now looked at me with a smile that was flashing his teeth and kind of looked apologetic, or so I felt.
And I'm sure Minjae must have known about that bridge incident, too, because why not? After all, Taekyung would share every detail with him every day like a news update. Brave of you, Minjae, that you are not trying to bring it up.
"Yes, I am," I replied shortly.
Then, as if trying to stop further conversation, the man who sat across from Sungmin said, "Come on, Mr. Team leader, let's have the order first; we have a lot of time to greet, isn't that right, Sungmin-ssi?" he said, giving a smirk. The way he emphasized the last part. It didn't just sound polite. It sounded mocking, like teasing, as if he exactly knew where to press to make Sungmin squirm.
And sure enough, Sungmin let out a nervous little laugh. "Haha... yes, yes," he said; his shoulders were stiff, and he couldn't even look in my direction.
"What would you like to order?" I said I was not interested in their drama.
The man smiled at me, way too cheerfully. "We'll start with tteokgalbi, two plates. And Kimchi jjigae, one pot. Oh, and jeyuk bokkeum. Make it spicy."
I noted down their order, underlining jeyuk bokkeum and marking it as extra spicy.
Minjae lifted his hand like he was being ignored, and I turned my eye to him. "Ah-Doenjang jjigae for me, please. Extra tofu."
"Galbitang." The woman said in a high pitch, as if she were excited.
Then all eyes shifted to sungmin, as he was the only one who hadn't ordered yet, he looked up at the silence around him looking over people around him and then, as if realizing that he was the only one left, he turned to me and said, " I would like to have Jeonju Bibimbap," he said with a small smile the same order from yesterday.
I nodded, noting it down. Before I could walk away, Minjae called out—
"Hyung, wait a second!"
I stopped, annoyed already.
"I almost forgot to introduce them," he said, like this was some kind of reunion no one asked for. "These are my teammates. I know you might not care, but you should at least know who they are." He didn't wait for me to respond. He never does. "This is Han Sungmin hyung, assistant manager. That's Jun Junwoo, our Manager, and Kang Bongseon, our teammate."
Junwoo gave a stiff bow, Bongseon waved politely, and Sungmin... just looked small.
I didn't say a word. Just flipped my notepad closed and headed to the kitchen.
All I wonder is what's with the offer...