Burns & Bad Pasta

Washed up and dressed in a spare uniform that was a size too big, JongDae inched towards the woman. Ready to duck just in case she wanted to hit him like she threatened she would, the young man cleared his throat. “What do you want to me to do?”

Without even looking up, the blonde reached under the work station and chucked a slip of paper on the counter. “Sign and date it and then hand it to the girl behind the front desk.”

Reading over the words, JongDae felt his body start to panic. “This is a form for the Chef’s course.”

“Well done, at least you can read.”

“Why do I have to sign this?”

“Because if covers my on health and safty.”

“That’s it?” He quirked his brow at the coldness.

“That was the most important thing.” Throwing a bowl of seasoned chicken strips in the wok, the blonde stepped back when the flame grew as oil hit it. “While you’re training, you get paid a line cook’s wage, which happens to be more than your ty waiter’s one.”

Noticing the wage information, JongDae’s eyes lit up. “If a line cook gets paid this much, how much do you get?”

“More than you.” Flicking her wrist to turn the meat over, the woman glanced up. “What are you loitering for, hurry up!”

Snatching the piece of paper, JongDae ran. “I’m going.”

2:30pm had took it’s time in arriving. At this time - one of the slowest points of the day, the work force had divided in half in order for them to take lunch in turns. JongDae warily shuffled outside via the fire exit, to the two tables shaded by parasols where a handful of his co-workers were sat. One of the tables were full, the other seating a single person, the demon that the rest were avoiding.

Tightening his grip on the tupperwear box his lunch was in, the man heaved a breath and forced himself to speak. “Can I sit down?” Not saying a word, the woman gestured for him to sit as she continued to mess with her phone.

JongDae sat facing the blonde and popped the lid off the small box. Digging in, he momentarily forgot the pain he’d endured that morning because he’d just exchanged one torture for another. He’d cut himself three times, onions had made his eyes water and he’d even wiped his eyes while remnants of chillies were still on his hands. He’d caught his finger under a mallet and even burned the underside of his forearm while taking something from the oven.

Back when he was a waiter - yesterday and all of the times before - he used to joke with the others that worked the front that the cooks didn’t have it as hard as them. He wanted to change his opinion. And that woman, the one he found to be named EunHee, was on a whole different level. The chefs, line and dessert alike all had their own specific jobs - but she had to oversee it all and fix their mistakes without a break. She was in charge of not only the production of food, but also the preperation, the cleanliness of their habitat and the safety of everyone around her. He really couldn’t blame her for being a bad tempered bitc-

“Is your arm still stinging?” The husk of her words brought him back to the real world.

Looking down at the funky coloured mar and the swollen redness surrounding it, JongDae was half tempted to prod at it to check. There was no need to though, as soon as his eyes had landed on it, he remembered the burning sensation throbbing out from it. “It’s not as bad as before.”

Pulling her purse onto her knees, she dropped a caton of cigarettes and a lighter onto the table. Continuing her rooting, her hand soon reemerged with a a white package. “Put some of that on it.”

Accepting the tube, the man inspected it. “It’s hand and nail cream.”

“And surprisingly, it sooths burns.” Lighting her vice, she turned away so that the smoke didn;’t blow towards her company. “I don’t know how much of that I’ve used when I first started.”

Halfway through undoing the lid, JongDae became curious. “How long have you been doing this?”

“I started pretty early. I took a few classes during high school and then went straight to culinary school.” Going back to her phone and rapidly typing away, the woman hummed in thought. “I’m almost twenty five, so around ten years.”

“That’s a long time to do one thing.” He answered as he applied the ointment.

Throwing her phone down on the worktop, she shrugged. “It’s the only thing in my life I’ve ever been able to stick with. I can’t even hold a boyfriend for more than two months.” She laughed at her own honesty.

It was then that JongDae felt like he’d been kicked in the chest. The woman sat across from his was beautiful. She’d been storming around a humid kitchen, yelling like a mad woman and scowling at anyone who happened to meet her line of sight, but now, she was different. When she smiled, there was a completely different air about her. He may even be able to forgive her dirty habit of smoking if she smiled forever.

“Have you finished?”

JongDae blinked. EunHee was staring at him with a cigarette in her right hand as she held out the left expectanly. “Sorry. Thank you.” He returned the magic cream which had near-instantly stopped the burning, just like she said.

“You’d better hurry and finish your food. We’re going back inside in ten minutes.”

Eyes widening, he wondered. “Aren’t you eating?”

Her phone vibrated and she picked it up. “I’ll grab something after work.” Again, she viciously tapped at the screen and then placed it screen down in front of her.

“We finish at 7:30!”

“I finish at eight. I have paperwork to do.”

Narrowing his brows, JongDae shook his head. “There’s not many places around here that stay open past that time.”

“Really?”

“Are you not local?”

Scratching the top of her head, the blonde explained. “I moved here three days ago. I haven’t had a chance to look around because I’been busy unpacking.”

“Did you move just for this job?”

“No, I moved for personal reasons.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry when you don’t even know what happened?”

“Euhhh...”

“Forget it,” Smiling as she flicked her ash in the tray she’d moved to the bench beside her, EunHee stretched her arms above her head. “I’ve done twelve hour shifts with nothing to eat, I’ll be fine.”

Her words seem to fizzle out as his eyes landed on the buttons straining around her full s. “That’s amazing.” His tone grew airy.

“Come on, it’s not fair to make the others wait.”

Snapping to attention, JongDae began wolfing down the overdone pasta and bland tomato sauce. Almost choking on it, he nudged the dish across the table. “Please taste that and tell me what’s wrong with it.”

By the look on his face, EunHee could gather that it was less than satisfactory. Still, never being one to turn down the opportunity to teach someone how to improve their cooking, she accepted the challenge. Rather than taking a pack of the throw-away chopsticks that were placed out in a tray, she took the metal ones from her company’s hand. “Thanks for the food.” Diving straight into it, the blonde picked up a tube of sticky pasta with a slice of mushroom clung to it. Putting it in , she bagan to chew. And with each chew, her scowl grew deeper.

Expression changing with each second, the woman tried to fathom what the concotion was made up from. “Whut’s et s’pposed ta beh?”

Palms flat on the cold metal table, JongDae waited intently. “Tomato and mushroom pasta.”

A look of surprise washed over the woman’s face. A look that almost wiped off the clear urge of wanting to spit the food out. “I shee.” Forcing herself to swallow, EunHee pushed the food back to its owner and then handed over the chopsticks. “It was aweful.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, the slighly younger male’s head dropped. “I know, right. What could I do to improve it?”

“Throw it in the trash.”

Initially pricked by hurt, the man cracked with laughter. “It was really bad, wasn’t it?”

“The worst pasta I’ve ever tasted.” Pulling a face as she poked her tongue out to let it breathe, the blonde shook her head. “Do you like to cook?”

Pressing the lid back onto the box, the man thought about it. Gormless look on his face, he held up his hands. “I think I’d like it a whole lot more if I didn’t poison myself every time I ate something I made myself.”

“I think you’re probably right.” Chuckling, EunHee stubbed out the end of her vice. Collecting her belongings, she made for the door a few yards away. “Don’t keep the others waiting.”

Updated: 2nd June 214 - 00:44