January 2012

“Two bowls of Jajangmyeon please,” a guy in a black hoodie ordered. You worked part-time as a waitress in a local noodle shop in Seoul.

“Two bowls? For one person? Woah. He must be hungry,” you thought as you took note of his order. “Would you like anything else?” you asked.

“A bottle of soju…” he said reluctantly.

You eyed him questioningly. He had his hood on so you couldn’t see if he was old enough to drink alcohol. “Are you even old enough to drink alcohol?” you interrogated him.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever,” he said arrogantly.

You rolled your eyes. Great… Costumers like him again.

“So I take it you would want to order something else?” you asked exasperatedly.

“You tell me,” he asked sarcastically. “What else is good to drink then?”

You sighed. “Would you like a coke instead?”

“Sure,” he said nonchalantly.

You gave him his order. “I’ll get your payment after you eat,” you reminded him.

“Yeah, yeah,” he replied in a bored tone, and immediately dug in his first bowl of noodles.

“Enjoy eating,” you said pretending to be sincere. “Jerk,” you mentally added.

The sarcastic guy finished eating so you approached him. “It looks like you’re already done eating…” you started.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said searching for his wallet. For once his face expressed something other than sarcasm. “Uh, uh…” he said while frantically searching in his pockets.

“Excuse me, may I please get your payment?” you asked again.

“Can’t you see I’m still looking for my wallet?” he snapped.

“Well so~rry,” you thought as you rolled your eyes.

“Aigoo~,” he said after giving up looking for his wallet. “Do you have a phone? I think I need to call my manager…” he asked still managing to pull up a smile.

You felt outraged. *What the heck is up with this guy?! A manager?! HAH! Who does he think he is? An idol?!* You shot him a look. “Actually, we have another way of dealing with unpaid customers here,” you smugly said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You watched the hoodie guy in the kitchen. He was wearing a bright pink apron and yellow rubber gloves. The guy was cleaning up the dishes while you were keeping an eye on him. He didn’t have any other option. Instead of letting him call his ‘manager’, you call yours. That was the policy in the noodle shop you worked in. People need to work for the dishes they haven’t paid for.

He was giving off a look of disgust while rinsing the plates in the sink. “Aish~!,” he cursed loud enough so you can hear. “I didn’t even use these dishes! Why do I have to wash them?!,” he groaned.

You rolled your eyes and pretended not to hear him. *Then maybe next time you should check your wallet before you order.*

“Yah, you,” he said, rudely calling for your attention.

You look at him to see his eyebrows furrowed. “Yes?” you said in a sarcastic tone.

“When will you let me go?”he asked arrogantly.

You sighed. *This guy is really getting on my nerves*. “Listen, do you think I like being around a guy like you?”

He shrugged his shoulders and smirked. “Maybe.”

“What?!” you responded now fuming. “You know what? Rather than complaining just work faster. I can’t stand being around you anyway,” you mumbled the last part.

The guy pulled off his gloves and apron. “I’m done.”

You looked over at his station. All the dishes were clean. You just gave a nod.

“Excuse me, I’m gonna set my order now!” a voice from outside called. “Please wait,” you hollered to the person.

“Can I go now? Because of this, I’m going to be late for my training,” the hoodie guy complained.

“Sure,” you shrugged and left before him, not believing a word he said.  *Training? Pshh.*

The guy glared at you. “Aish. This woman,” he sighed in exasperation. *She must be living in the stone age. Desn’t she know who I am? JB? Im JaeBeom?* He scoffed. *One of these days, she is going to regret what she made me do.*

“JongChae-ah, the orders are ready,” the head cook called.

“Coming!” you responded quickly.

*JongChae, huh?* JB thought before leaving the shop. *I will get my revenge one you.*

You took the orders. “You know, the guy who didn’t pay for his food looked familiar,” the cook started.

“You don’t say?” you mused as you got the tray on your hands.  *I don’t know who he was, I shouldn’t even care.*

“Yeah, plus he looked murderous before he left,” the cook continued.

“Heh,” was your only response before you went to the table who ordered. *Stuck-up and arrogant. I hope I never see him again.*