Chapter 1

Jaejoong had never been more bored in her entire life.

“It’s so dead.” Junsu yawned, resting her hips against the host stand.

“Really dead.” Haeri agreed, nodding her head & looking at Jaejoong with a small smile, “This is what we get for working on Wednesdays.”

“It’s so hit or miss. We either get slammed with customers or we are so dead its like the grave.” Taeyeon murmured, leaning against the back wall. She looked around the front entrance quickly, making sure no managers were around so she could cross her arms.

Jaejoong nodded without saying anything, preferring to stare out of the glass doors at the rain falling in a steady mist. It was eight-thirty at night & the restaurant still wasn’t close for another two hour & a half. The bar was open even later so Jaejoong made a mental note that she was glad she worked in the dining room most weekdays. Bang’s steakhouse & bar was a fine dining restaurant chain that was famously known for its expensive prices but unbelievably good food. Jaejoong had worked there for a couple of years, paying for her clothing in high school & now rent & groceries in university. She worked Monday to Thursday & switched being a bartender or a dining room server on Saturdays.

“Why haven’t you been cut yet?” Haeri asked, nudging Jaejoong & giving her an inquisitive look, “I thought you opened today.”

“I traded with Yuri for a close.” Jaejoong explained, sighing “I wanted to make more money for my trip next month.”

“Oh, where are you going?” Taeyeon asked, huddling on the other side of Jaejoong & effectively trapping her between the three chatty hostesses.

“My best friend’s wedding.” Jaejoong replied, with a small smile, “She’s marrying the man opposite to that of her dreams.” Laughing to herself with the strange looks that the other three were giving her, Jaejoong shook her head, “It’s complicated but they are perfect for each other in almost every way.”

“Okay then.” Junsu murmured, looking at the other hostesses with an odd look, “Well, at least you will have fun. Are you a bridesmaid?”

“Maid of honor.” Jaejoong corrected, smiling “I’m throwing the most wicked bachelorette party though. Sekyung will be so embarrassed with all of the male strippers I hired.”

“I bet.” Haeri giggled.

Jaejoong looked out of the door again, to see that a couple were walking in. One was a tall, short, dark brown hair man with a handsome oval-shaped face & toned muscles. His black city v-neck shirt clung to his upper body from the rain & his washed garment dyed skinny jeans hung a little lower than intended. The woman beside him looked extremely displeased, patting her long straight hair. She looked like a model, wearing a oval neck cut, black white stripe skater dress & stunning pair of black cara low-rise heels.

“Table fifty-nine.” Junsu murmured, looking at Jaejoong & watching as the server left for the kitchen, “Honestly? You think they had prefer the dining room over the bar? The woman is dressed like she wants to go clubbing.” Taeyeon pointed out, trying to hide her smile as the couple approached.

The woman looked at the bar longingly while the male rolled his brown, almond-shaped eyes, at her, “Table for two, dining room.” He said firmly, narrowing his eyes at Taeyeon who had to turn around because she was giggling so much.

“Haeri will show you to your table.” Junsu said, with a smile, nudging the other hostesses, “Enjoy your meal.” “But Yunho Oppa.” The woman started, trailing off with a small sigh before being tugged along.

“Thank you.” He said, looking at Junsu gratefully before being led to their table.

Haeri smiled as she walked to the far back of the restaurant. Since there were so few people at this time of the night, the dining room was generally empty. She led them up a small set of stairs before waving her arm towards a large four-person booth.

“Well, this is quaint.” The woman said sharply, taking her place in the booth & giving a tight smile to Haeri. Having seated her fair share of rude men & women, Haeri gave back her best smile & waited until the man named Yunho was seated before handing them both a menu. Taking the extra cutlery, Haeri looked at both guests, “Your server, Jaejoong, will be taking care of you this evening. Enjoy your meal.” She said kindly, leaving without looking back at the snide woman.

Jaejoong watched Haeri’s oval-shaped face in amusement as the girl walked past, “Who’s worse? The man or the woman?”

“The woman.” Haeri said, grinning “I almost feel bad for him.”

Jaejoong murmured something before following the path Haeri just travelled back towards the booth. She took a brief moment to watch the couple interact. The woman was making comments too soft for her to hear but the distinct sound of his gruff voice snapping back at her led her to believe this wasn’t a willing meal. Making her way to the booth, she smiled at both of them, “Hi, how are you?” She asked politely.

It could have been her imagination but the man’s open stare might have lasted just a bit too long, “Fine, thank you.” He said, cutting off the woman whose mouth was wide open to talk.

“Great. Well, my name is Jaejoong & I will be taking care of you this evening. Can I start you both off with some drinks?”

“I will have a vodka please.” The woman said quickly, before the man could cut her off, “Yunho Oppa will have the same.”

The man, Yunho, barked out a laugh, “That’s funny, Sunyoung.” He told her, looking from the woman back to Jaejoong, “What do you have on tap?”

Listing off the multiple beers, Jaejoong took in a deep breath at the end, grinning. Yunho picked his drink quickly.

“I will be right back with your drinks.” Jaejoong said sweetly, turning around. At least with the alcohol these two seemed interested in consuming, she had make a decent tip on a high bill.

Jaejoong made her way to the bar out front, smiling at the bartender, Junho, Junsu’s fraternal twin brother, while she gave him her order, “How are the ladies tonight?” Jaejoong asked, laughing at Junho’s barely concealed wince.

“They are fine. The night is still young so we will see how quickly that changes.” Junho grinned at her, giving her the vodka before moving onto the beer, “& how are your tables? Are we dead in the dining room?”

“Almost.” Jaejoong answered, thinking of the very few tables inside. There were only three other servers on besides herself which signalled a very slow wednesday night. She took the beer when it was offered to her before giving one last smile & walking off. As she made her way back to the table with Yunho & Sunyoung, she tried not to trip when she saw the clearly pissed off looks of both individuals, “Great.” She whispered sarcastically.

Anger generally led to bad tips, even if she had nothing to do with it.

“Here you go.” She said, as a way of greeting, waiting for them both of pull back before settling the alcohol down in front of them. Both of their menus were still open & by the looks on their faces, they hadn’t even given it a look, “So, is it your first time at Bang’s?” Her managers preferred Bang’s steakhouse & bar but she felt that was far too overdone.

“My first.” Sunyoung & Yunho said in unison, calmly but without looking at her.

“Alright. Well then, welcome.” Jaejoong said, plastering on the smile that wasn’t really fake & wasn’t really genuine. Generally, she never had to fake a smile unless a table was overly difficult & while this table seemed easy, the couple looked like they were going to strangle each other at any moment, “If you open the first part of the menu on your right hand side, you can see the new feature we have currently. Every item on the menu is a special dish where a percentage of the proceeds go to our children’s foundation. If you are looking for something to fill you up, I would definitely recommend the t-bone. It is thirteen ounces of marinated, tender steak that we will cook to any degree you wish. If you had prefer something smaller, I would definitely recommend the filet minion. Generally, our sides are a baked potato with grilled vegetables but you can switch them around for sweet potato fries, a twice-baked potato or steamed asparagus.”

Sunyoung merely looked at her, a small smile tilting her reddish pink thick lips, “Do you have that memorized?” “Not even close.” Jaejoong replied honestly, “I sell to the individual customer, not the general public.” It was true. If she was serving a table of men, she would