Jin Woon cut an imposing figure that stood over the older man. A hush of silence fell over the restaurant following the commotion. All the men behind rose from their seats in support of their leader. One of the customers at the nearby table edged away nervously. The burly dude, who by now I had dubbed Gorilla, was furious and his face was all red.

Oh crap, this was not going to be good.

“What do you think you are doing?” Gorilla bellowed; his pride obviously wounded.

The boy did me a favour and now he was going to get his whipped. I face palmed myself and moved close to Jin Woon to nudge him. He seemed to be no pushover – looking like he visited the gym often – however, it was one man versus a whole bunch of monkeys. Well, I did have a black belt; I owed it to him to help him out. Even with two against many, the odds weren’t in his favour.

The boy simply looked casually at Gorilla, “It’s not her fault, why are you making her job so difficult?” Obviously, Jin Woon was keen on playing hero.

The owner, Fei came rushing over. She asked, glaring at me but still smiling at customers, “What’s the problem here?”

The two men ignored my boss and eyed each other. If there was background music playing, this would be one of those drama classical pieces building up to the crescendo. Great, I am so going to get fired. I thought of the damage that would result from a fight and hoped by getting the sack, I was absolved from the responsibility of repayment. Plus, if Kwon found out I caused Jin Woon to get his pretty face whacked, he was never going to let me forget it. As much as I was appreciative, Jin Woon needed to know when to mind his own business.

I heard the screeching of chairs being pushed back. At this, the sidekick on Gorilla’s left pulled his leader’s elbow to whisper something. The that I was oddly anticipating never came. Instead, Gorilla wagged a finger at Jin Woon before spitting on the floor, “You have guts. Let’s go!”

Huh, what did I miss?

My heave of relief was overshadowed by a puzzled feeling as Gorilla and his men made their way out in a swarm. Before I could thank Jin Woon, he disappeared with the resume of activity and I found myself facing a less-than-pleased Fei. Well, I guess I had to look on the bright side – no one got bashed up in the end.  

Now that the drama had passed, I recalled just how much I needed this job. Bowing in apology, I rapidly babbled in Mandarin, “I’m really sorry! Sorry!”

On a good day, Fei wasn’t an unreasonable boss, just highly strung especially when highly stressed, which was like every single night. With her strong grip, Fei hauled me straight to the kitchen by the arm to be screamed at for a good 15 minutes. Oh well, she was paying me after all, so I just looked at the ground and let Fei vent her anger about losing the business of 10 patrons.

When she finally lost her steam, I slipped out to continue waiting tables, delighted that I had escaped from the whole episode relatively unscathed. While I scampered from customer to customer, I couldn’t find Jin Woon amidst the bustle. I tied a rubber band around my last finger in a bid to remind myself to ask Kwon for his contact number after work.

I emerged from the back door into the alley behind the restaurant after knocking off. After the heat of the kitchen and clearing up, the cool night air felt good on my skin. Fiddling with my bicycle lock, there was a rustle in a distance. Man, what was up with tonight? I stiffened my body, getting ready to strike in case someone tried to attack me from behind.

19-year-old meets grisly death in a back alley – I could just picture the headlines tomorrow when they discovered my body. Only to have a firm hand land on my shoulder.

“I didn’t scare you, did I, Amber?”

Swirling around, I came face to, well chest, with Jin Woon. Looking up, I grinned weakly. “Er, you did but it’s alright. Whatcha doing here? I thought you left.”

He helped me straight my bike. “I was afraid those idiots might return to make trouble for you. So thought I wait for you to knock off, just in case.”

What a gentleman. I had to admit that I was a little unnerved and was grateful Jin Woon was so thoughtful, after saving my . “Thank you, Jin Woon. For what you did earlier.”

“It was nothing.”

Despite his indifference, I was brought up to show proper gratitude when I had to. “When are you free? Let me buy you dinner.”

He chuckled, a deep melodious one. “You really shouldn’t splurge your hard-earned money like that. And it is truly hard earned.”

“That won’t do! How about a drink?” We walked along the street with him holding onto my bicycle’s handlebars.

Jin Woon now looked at me curiously with a of his head, a glint of light in his eyes, as though amused by my adamant. “You won’t rest, will you? Sure, when