Hello everyone!

So I am posting this to talk about some corrections for Chapter 9. I made a mistake with one of the writings. As corrected, a veal is not a deer, but a baby cow. The chapter has already been updated with the changes! Nothing to the storyline has changed.

Reconciliation was the best word to describe Sunggyu and Woohyun's relationship. Everything led up to their defining moment in the kitchen last Thursday. Neither one wanted to admit it, but working together brought back a lot of lost memories they had before high school, and it only helped them realize that a part of them wanted to bring them back. With Sunggyu's 5th week waiting at Guk Pan, the two have seen much better days. Interactions were a lot friendlier at work and at school, and their relationship went from a one-word basis to actual conversations. Things were looking up for Sunggyu and Woohyun, and it could only get better from here.

Sort of.

"Sunggyu!" Woohyun stormed out the back of the restaurant, where Sunggyu was taking his 30 minute break. 

"What did I do now?!" Sunggyu took his cigarette out of his mouth and groaned. 

Woohyun reached into his pocket to expose Sunggyu a fishy smelling cigarette, soaked in broth. He waved it in his face.

"That's where I put that! I was wondering where that was. I placed it behind my ear but it must have fallen off!" Sunggyu answered like a matter-of-fact. He took the cigarette as if nothing terrible happened and put it behind his ear, still wet with tilapia broth.

"Are you kidding me right now? A kid got that order! Now we had to give him the soup for free. You're lucky our restaurant wasn't reported, idiot!" Woohyun was doing his best to control his anger, holding his hands behind his back and keeping his mouth shut to avoid anymore confrontation.

His nagging will be the death of me! "Sheesh!" Sunggyu threw his current lit up cigarette on the ground and crushed it with the heel of his shoe. "I'll apologize!" He pushed Woohyun out of the way and headed for the door to return back inside. "And stop nagging me! All you do is complain, complain, complain!"

"I'll nag you as much as I want if you keep this up! 5 weeks working here, I would expect that you would have learned from everything by now. Sunggyu, it's only Sunday. You better not act like this when we have our school fundraiser this Friday!" Woohyun followed Sunggyu to exit, holding the door for him.

"Of course, I don't want to ruin your precious fundraiser to earn money for a merry-go-ing-round!" Sunggyu barked, walking back into the kitchen. 

"We haven't decided on rides yet, but when we do it's going to be wonderful and merry-go-ing-TASTIC!"

Woohyun took the back door and slammed it closed behind him.

(((())))

Unfortunately, not all relationships were working out well.

Sungyeol avoided any interaction with Dongwoo all of last week, and now he was going into his second week where he had not said a word to him. He did not even look at him when they shared class together. It came to a point that Sungyeol would try to run to class early to sit next to any person he could find before Dongwoo would come to class. In much more desperate measures, when a history project was announced in class, Sungyeol accepted Hayoung's invitation to be her partner in less than a second. Sungyeol was too embarrassed to be around him, and quite frankly he thought Dongwoo hated him.

Since Myungsoo made fun of him for drinking, he was surprised that no one else was talking about it around school.

In fact, the reality was no one else at the school knew of Sungyeol’s drinking habits that weekend. 

Sungyeol almost thought that everyone would be talking about him, and Myungsoo would tell the world his most kept secret. He was grateful but at the same time wary of his surroundings, keeping a close eye on the people around him and Sunggyu to make sure he did not blab a single word. Sunggyu is still disrespectful for even telling his friends.

Walking down the hallways, Sungyeol passed by the clear windows of the dance classroom. On Mondays the breakdancing club conducted a weekly event during lunchtime called a cypher, which was a solo freestyle battle where anyone could join in at any time. Through the windows, Sungyeol spotted Dongwoo on the side clapping his hands to the music while he was watching Hoya dancing to Jay Park's "I Like 2 Party". Hoya had an undeniable flow in his movements that made him the undisputable best dancer at their school.

Dongwoo looked like he was having a great time.

He doesn’t need me to hang out with.  Sungyeol sighed, going about his way to his locker and prepare for the next class.

Dongwoo bobbed his head to the beats of the song, enchanted by how well his movements went to a very fun song.  He was having a great time, just joining the breakdance club last Wednesday instead of going to Woohyun’s student council meeting. At the corner of his eye, he noticed a tall lanky student watching him from the window with such a forlorn look. The student walked away as Dongwoo turned his head to see who it was.

Sungyeol.

What Sungyeol did not know was just as much he tried to ignore Dongwoo that week, Dongwoo did the exact same thing. Whenever he was hanging out with Woohyun or Hayoung, he ran away to do something else when he saw Sungyeol come by. When their history class was in the works of choosing partners for a project, he found a random person to go with instead of Sungyeol. In fact, he insisted and practically begged on his knees that Hayoung went with Sungyeol so that he would have to find someone else. Sungyeol and Hayoung had an interest in each other anyways, so he thought he was doing them a favor by putting them together.

The problem was, Dongwoo had a secret bottled up inside of him, and he wanted to reflect on it all before he confronted Sungyeol about it.

Seeing him int he hallway, Dongwoo thought there was no better moment than now to address it. He ran out of the classroom and followed him. “Sungyeol!”

Sungyeol turned around and saw Dongwoo running towards him. “Oh no.” Sungyeol walked a little faster and pretended he did not hear his name.

“Hey!” Dongwoo ran faster to get to him, reaching his hand out to grab onto Sungyeol’s arm and stop him at the side of the hallway.

The second Dongwoo grabbed him, Sungyeol immediately tensed him and felt every nerve in his body. He was shaking, trying to avoid any eye contact with him. “Hey Dongwoo,” he answered softly, making a whistling song to try to make things less awkward. Of course, whenever Sungyeol tried to alleviate any awkwardness he turned into the awkwardness.

“Look, can we talk about something?” Dongwoo asked, loosening his grip.

No, I don’t want to hear how much you hate me! “Yeah.” For him, it was as if Dongwoo was an estranged friend he lost contact with for years. Coming face-to-face with him for the first time in a while, it prompted Sungyeol to also admit some things. “I have something to say also.”

“You can go first,” Dongwoo insisted.

“Me, first?!” Sungyeol’s mouth was open, but not a single word came out. He stuttered his words, his hands shaking because Dongwoo was staring at him. Dongwoo was expecting something, and Sungyeol was not sure if he could deliver. “I’m sorry that you had to take care of me during the baseball game. It was my first time drinking, and I didn’t control myself. I’m sorry if you didn’t have fun.”

“What?” Dongwoo was confused.

"I said that I'm sorry about throwing up."

“Wait, you’re sorry about that?”

“Um.” Am I supposed to be sorry about something else?? “I guess so.”

Dongwoo shook his head. “No, Sungyeol, I’m not mad at that at all!”

Sungyeol’s eyes lit up. “You’re not?"

“No! Wait.” Dongwoo was putting pieces together. “Did you think that when I was avoiding you?”

“You were avoiding me?” Sungyeol scratched his head. “I was avoiding you!”

"I can't believe you were avoiding me for that!" Dongwoo laughed and suddenly felt comfortable around Sungyeol. "I was never mad that I had to take care of you!"

Dongwoo and Sungyeol laughed at how foolish they were dodging each other all of last week. The both of them lightened up, their preassumptions for each other proven otherwise.

“So why were you avoiding me then?” Sungyeol questioned, his laugh slowly dying down with curiosity.

The mood changed, and Dongwoo was still laughing hysterically to the point that his response was choppy. “Oh wow, I can’t believe this happened!” Dongwoo’s heart was beating faster, gaining a lot more confidence to talk to Sungyeol even though he was having anxiety of the secret he was going to reveal. “So it all started last Monday, when I actually told Hoya and Myungsoo that you were drinking with me…”

“Wait a minute.” Sungyeol put his hand out to stop Dongwoo from talking. His face paled up, his expression changed from sheer enjoyment to a stalemate. “You what?”

“I was at the lockers when Hoya and Myungsoo came by, and they were making fun of…”

“You told them I was drinking with you?!” Sungyeol bit his tongue, betrayed that Dongwoo would spread such a humiliating thing to them. Especially them.

“Wait, what’s wrong?” Dongwoo frowned.

“What’s wrong was that I didn’t want that going around the school, and knowing them they probably told everyone! And maybe Hayoung even knows too.” It was really hard for Sungyeol to get angry, and never did he think it would be because of Dongwoo. “They taunted me all of last week!”

“Hayoung?” Dongwoo forgot that she was even still in his picture, and it made him very uncomfortable now that she was the topic. All he knew was that he needed to cheer Sungyeol up, and fast. “I don’t think anyone else at this school knows.” Dongwoo promised, understanding that spilling about the weekend may not have been the greatest idea. Especially to Hoya and Myungsoo, who Dongwoo himself despised. He had a good reason though, and all he had to do was explain. “I don’t think Hayoung knows, either. I’ve talked to her and she never asked me anything. She’s your partner and she hasn’t said anything, right?”

“That’s not the point! The point is why would you tell them of all people that happened?” Sungyeol's eyes watered up, looking like he was going to cry.

Dongwoo was discouraged with how angry Sungyeol was with him. “Well, that brings me to what I wanted to tell you. I can explain this!"

“I don’t want to hear it. You know, drinking with you was a terrible idea. I thought we were friends and that you were selfless. I don’t want to be around people like you who would sell their friends out like this.” Sungyeol ended their conversation at that, ramming his shoulder into Dongwoo before he walked away. "OW!" Sungyeol grabbed onto his shoulder, in pain from hitting one of Dongwoo's bones. He decided that he needed to shut Dongwoo out of his life completely, and obviously Dongwoo had no loyalty for him. In the moment, Sungyeol was furious and did not even allow Dongwoo to explain his side.

Dongwoo watched as Sungyeol walked away without even getting to tell him what he really had to say. He dragged his foot on the floor, creating different shapes in hopes that his sadness would go away. He did not anticipate how big of an issue this would be, and with the repercussions he understood why Sungyeol would be angry.

If you stayed to listen, you would know that I said that because I was sticking up for you.

Dongwoo took all the blame for the end of their friendship.

(((())))

Two days before Guk Pan's fundraiser, Sunggyu and Woohyun posted signs outside the store to advertise the event. 20% of all money earned Friday dinner will go towards the school fair and as school president, Woohyun was suffering the anxiety of having a successful event at his brother's restaurant. Though many people knew around school were aware of Woohyun working at Guk Pan, only a few have actually eaten there.

"Tape," Woohyun called out.

They stood on opposite sides of the doors to cover the wall. Woohyun stuck his hand out like a hook, waiting for the tape to come towards him. Sunggyu had the roll of tape in his hands, twirling it around his hands and concentrating on Woohyun's hand. Sunggyu his lips and practiced tossing the tape to Woohyun without letting go. After getting the hang of his wrist, Sunggyu tossed the tape into the air at the perfect projection. The roll spun in the air multiple times before landing perfectly on Woohyun's hands, ringing down to his elbow.

"Thanks." Woohyun held a poster up with his elbow and used his teeth to rip a piece of tape off.

"No problem, I am just about done." Sunggyu pressed the corner of his last poster and sighed. The poster was of a bowl of pork broth steaming up with different color fix ins of pork meat, green onion, noodles, corn, and cilantro to top it off. All of this next to a glass of water. Sunggyu remembers this very well, because he had to take a picture of it last Saturday for printing out. Boohyun was very critical on having the best image for the restaurant, so Sunggyu and Woohyun spent more than an hour of their shift taking the bowl of soup around the restaurant to find the best lighting.

In the end, the posters came out very well.

"That's a really nice poster, Sunggyu," a voice came from the behind him.

"Thanks dad, we printed them out last Sunday." Wait a minute... "Dad?!" Sunggyu turned around to find his father standing right behind him with seven different coworkers. This all came to a surprise, especially since Sunggyu never formally told his parents that he worked. Not like he ever had time, since he never saw them at home. "How did you find this place?"

"Well when your mom and Yangha did the laundry they found the apron you were wearing right now." Sunggyu's dad pointed at his chest, which had the Guk Pan logo on it. "I didn't know you worked."

I had to do something when you cut me off. "Well, now you know."

Sunggyu acted a little hostile towards his dad, trying to be nice but at the same time holding some resentment for being the reason he was here. Let alone, holding some resentment that he would show up out of nowhere for service. 

"Can we get a table for eight?" Sunggyu's dad asked.

Sunggyu nodded obediently. "You can follow me inside."

Woohyun finished the last of the posters, slapping one final edge to stick it.

"Woohyun?" Sunggyu's dad called out, distracted when he heard the slapping sound.

Woohyun turned to find Sunggyu's dad standing exquisitely in a pressed suit with seven other people who did the same. There was only one place Woohyun ever saw Sunggyu's dad, and it was at  his own house after practice and baseball games. Sunggyu never went straight home because the coaches did not allow for him to walk alone without parental supervision. Because of that, Woohyun's parents offered to bring Sunggyu to their place until Sunggyu's dad could pick him up. Woohyun only saw Mr. Kim when he was standing at their doorstep, and seeing him now at his restaurant was quite strange. "Mr. Kim, how are you?" he bowed in front of him.

"Im fine. I decided to bring some of us here to try out this restaurant, and see Sunggyu's waiting skills in action." 

"Follow me inside," Sunggyu insisted, wanting to get over the fact that his dad and coworkers would visit Guk Pan. Every person his father brought knew about Sunggyu and the reputation he had, and quite frankly Sunggyu could care less about their judgments and opinions. All they did was judge behind the scenes with his own father, but they were never actually there to see it in action. Sunggyu held the door open for all of them and led them to a table in the middle of the restaurant. He passed out eight menus. "I'm going to get waters for all of you," he stated as he walked away.

Woohyun came back into the restaurant and watched from the entrance how Sunggyu's attitude suddenly changed when his dad came around. Sunggyu's jitters took over, almost knocking down a stack of cups behind the counter. Woohyun could see that in Sunggyu's eyes, he was concentrating more at this job than ever before. Sunggyu was never book smart and at the level that his parents were as business and economic proficienados, but he was definitely street smart and excelled in a lot of other things: one of them being baseball. Woohyun always knew that Sunggyu wished one day that his parents would watch at least one game of his. That never happened, but it did not come to a surprise at all. Now that Mr. Kim was there, it was a different setting for Sunggyu. Woohyun could see a fire in his eyes of harbored feelings of anger and that of determination. Sunggyu wanted to impress his father as a waiter and show him what he was capable of.

Sunggyu carried a tray of eight glasses back to their table and placed it in front of each person, not a single drop of water fallen from the bring. He flashed a fake smile. "I'm here to take your orders now."

(((())))

Sunggyu took the last of the empty bowls of soup and stacked them in Woohyun's arms for the kitchen sink. His father and his Kim Computers Inc. employees relaxed in their seats with their full pudgy stomachs protruding out in pleasure. It was a delicious meal, and all of them were quite impressed with the quality of soup at an affordable price than many other restaurants, especially since they were all used to fine dining.

Sunggyu ended his shift in 5 minutes, and all he had left to do was clean up. "Anything else I can do for all of you?" Sunggyu asked politely, grabbing the used up napkins on the table.

"No, thank you son." Mr. Kim fixed his tie. 

"Alright." Sunggyu created a ball with the napkins and threw it on top of the stack of bowls Woohyun was holding. He motioned for the both of them to head out into the kitchen.

"Sunggyu."

Sunggyu and Woohyun almost got away until Mr. Kim called him back. They both turned around.

"I'm very impressed with your service," Sunggyu's father praised.

Sunggyu was reluctant to smile. "Really?" This was one of a few compliments Sunggyu had ever received from his dad, and a tinge of satisfaction flashed on his face. 

"This job fits you well. Keep up the good work." They all rose from their table and left for the door. All eight of them were more than content with the meals, walking out with joyful hearts and warm stomachs.

Did that actually happen? "Wow, my dad told me I was doing a good job." Sunggyu watched as his father left the restaurant. 

"Honestly, I can't believe your dad was even here." Woohyun hugged the stack of bowls and caught Sunggyu staring at the door. 

"Probably the last time I'll see him in a long time," Sunggyu mumbled to himself, turning back around to head to the kitchen. He left without Woohyun following him.

Woohyun could tell that his dad's sudden appearance was eating him up on many different levels.

Sunggyu was bothered by everything, and even with his dad's positive reinforcement a part of him was incomplete. The anger was burning up inside of him, and all he wanted to do was explode. He thought that hearing those words that he was doing a good job was all he needed. You can't pretend that you care about my performance at school and come home once in months to ground me from money allowance, let alone you can't come in here and eat one meal at my job and tell yourself that's good parenting. You can't do that... His shift was almost over, and so was he thinking about his dad. 

"You know Sunggyu, after you pay for the car accident you don't have to quit," Woohyun suggested. 

Sunggyu stopped right before he entered the kitchen. He turned around to look at Woohyun holding a stack of eight bowls in his arms in the middle of the restaurant. "What?"

"I said..." ... that I want you to stay here. I want to continue working with you idiot. I don't want you to be alone. Woohyun took a deep breath and walked towards him. "You should continue working here after you pay off the car accident. I can use the helping hands here all year round." Woohyun shoved the stack of bowls into his stomach and walked into the kitchen, leaving the cleanup job for Sunggyu. "If you're doing a good job, why leave?" The door closed behind Woohyun just as he finished asking the question. 

Sunggyu stood by the kitchen door, holding a stack of bussed bowls, utensils, and napkins that belonged to his father and his coworkers. Woohyun's words shook him up, and he knew that there was a double meaning to his statement. Maybe I should stay here after I pay off the car accident... I mean Hak Yeon. Sunggyu shrugged his shoulders, putting the idea to the side for now and entering the kitchen to drop all the dishes.

He was not required to wash any dishes, so he did the bare minimum of soaking them in water and washed his own hands before leaving the kitchen area.  His shift was over, and after the ordeal with his father all he wanted to do was leave as soon as possible. "Bye everyone."

"Bye Sunggyu," Boohyun and Woohyun yelled in unison, carrying a new shipment of bowls for the restaurant. 

Sunggyu tore his apron off and whisked away in the cool spring air as his shift ended. Waiting for his dad was enough, but for him the moment where Woohyun asked him to stay at Guk Pan was more frustrating than anything that happened during his shift. It reminded him of when he spent his days at Woohyun's house before his parents picked him up after baseball practice. Sunggyu smiled at the thought of old times coming back, but he tried to wipe them away after remembering the reason why he was at Guk Pan in the first place. He was caught in a moment of vulnerability, and now that he liked it here he knew deep in his heart that things would not end well if he stayed. For him, and for Woohyun. 

I was doing a good job at baseball, and I left. I don't want to leave Woohyun, but I might have to.

Sunggyu's back pocket vibrated.

Sunggyu took his phone out, sliding through the screen to check his texts. Of course, his favorite person in the world would text him as he expressed these thoughts.

"We need to talk tomorrow," from Cha Hak Yeon.