Chapter 3

Wednesday came after much prayer & much begging for the universe to be kind to her. She could only handle so much. She had two jobs to balance out rent, bills & old student loans. She worked from eight in the morning to typically midnight, depending on whether Bang’s was busy or dead.

For some unknown reason, Jaejoong was positive that she should get to work early. There was no particular thought in mind that screamed it but Yunho’s see you on wednesday had left her feeling anxious & excited & more than just a little confused.

What sort of guy brought in a new woman every week, only to ask for the same female server over & over again, & practically pay her rent for her each night in tips? In Jaejoong’s world, it just didn’t make sense.

It did make sense the moment she stepped into Bang’s steakhouse & bar thirty minutes before her start time, “Jaejoong.” Junsu called, smiling & waving the girl closer, “Come here, we must talk.”

Watching Junsu warily, Jaejoong slowly made her way over, “I know that look. It’s the complicated table-turning look. Should I be worried?” Peering at the board which held a basic map of the dining room floor, she searched for her section. Seconds later, she found it with all of her tables covered in rs.

“A reservation?” Jaejoong asked, raising her thick brows, “I never get those. Kyunghee knows I hate them.”

“It’s Yunho-Sshi’s’s reservation.”

Oh well, that made sense. It was how he knew she would be working. He made a reservation requesting her section, that was all. It wasn’t nearly as worrying as Jaejoong originally thought it was, “How many?”

“Fifteen people, all adults, one bill.” Junsu smiled, “It’s going to be a good table. Kyunghee was practically jumping for joy when Yunho-Sshi asked to make it.”

Jaejoong frowned, wondering when he even made it. She sighed, deciding that the information wasn’t that important, “Wait, fifteen people?” She asked, letting her frown deepen, “Don’t tables bigger than eight covers need more than just one server? Isn’t that the general rule?”

Junsu nodded sadly, “Yeah, that was the rule until Yunho-Sshi broke it. He likes to point out very often how competent you are.”

Perfect. This was just bloody perfect.

There was a reason that Bang’s steakhouse & bar was able to charge such high prices & give such astounding service because each server didn’t have a million tables. The general rule was each server was to have no more than three. With the huge mark up in prices, servers generally saw greater tips than those who worked at lower quality restaurants with over five tables at a time. One would think that the numbers couldn’t add up like that but apparently the good-natured service of the waiter & their time & care for the table was what brought in the big bucks.

‘Fifteen people.’ Jaejoong thought tiredly. It’s not like she couldn’t handle that if the tables were all separated out. It was just fifteen people demanding a million different drinks, appetizers, salads, entrees & desserts all at the same time screamed potential disaster, especially with the level of service Bang’s demanded.

!

Hurriedly, she got ready in the back, barely waving to Nichkhun who called out her name. She had to get ready. She got dresses as quickly as possible. She studied the board next, checking out who was managing & if there were any problems with food quality. Filling up a mug next with boiling water, she grabbed a filter cloth & ran to her section. Every single glass in her section was to be shined & she did so dutifully as Junsu came to set up the fifteen-person reservation with menus.

“Are they here yet?” Jaejoong asked, looking at Junsu with wide eyes.

Junsu grinned, “Well, your boy toy is here but I think he’s the first.”

Jaejoong scowled, “He’s not my boy toy, just a really nice customer.”

Junsu nodded, giving her a look that clearly stated she didn’t believe a word she said.

“I’m serious.” Jaejoong sighed, finishing the last glass & putting down the cloth & mug of steaming water, “He’s nice but that’s it.”

“Uh huh.” Junsu replied, not looking at her, “You don’t start for another eighty minutes but if more start coming in, I will seat them.”

Jaejoong nodded, looking around the restaurant. It had just opened an hour ago so the dinner rush had yet to hit. A couple servers were working, Nichkhun, Yuri, Junho among her friends & so far everything was running smoothly. As long as it stayed that way & there would be people to help her then she was sure the night would be fine. It was Yunho’s table so while his guest were most likely trouble he would be nice enough to her. Speaking of Yunho, should she go & say hi? That would be the polite thing to do, wouldn’t it? Yes, she’s served him three times now & he’s demanded her section so the least she could do to her helpful, pay-for-rent customer is to greet him individually. Yes, that’s the polite thing to do.

Smoothing out her apron, Jaejoong shook her head at herself before heading towards the front. Junsu was standing idly at the host stand, waiting for someone to arrive. Yunho was just to the side near the bar top, Junho frowning at him. When he saw Jaejoong he pointed at Yunho, raising a thick brow. Clearly, Hara or Yuri had been talking to him.

Rolling her eyes, she ignored Junho’s chuckle before heading towards Yunho’s way, watching as the man smirked as she got near, “Hey.” She murmured, smiling shyly. How was she supposed to address the guy?

Why was he so hot?

Well, she never blatantly thought that before.

That’s not a good sign.

“Hi.” Yunho greeted, crossing his arms & tilting his head while his eyes were gazing into hers intently, “I hope you are ready for this.”

“I was born ready.” Jaejoong replied, grinning. It was strange, how it was almost natural for her to speak with him, “Are you?”

Yunho scowled, “I wish today wasn’t going to happen, really.” He replied, “It’s a company dinner. We managed to get this job we have been working our asses off for so drinks were more than necessary.”

“Ah, drunken co-workers aren’t always the most fun.” Jaejoong said, nodding. Actually, she tended to disagree. Drinking with her friends here were probably some of the best times of her life. Yunho didn’t need to know that though.

“Oh, no.” He corrected, shaking his head roughly, “It’s not the co-workers, mostly my family that’s decided to join.”

Jaejoong could have died, “It can’t be that bad.” ‘Please don’t let it be that bad? I want an easy night. I have to get up at three tomorrow morning.’

“Oh, it’s bad. The devil is easier to deal with than them.”

‘!’

Yunho must have notice the horrid expression on her oval-shaped face because he chuckled, sticking his hands in his pockets while looking down at the door, “Yeah, I don’t like it anymore than you do.”

“Oh, I don’t mean.” Well, ! The idea of coming over to talked to him was to be polite, not to offend him about his family. At least he didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he agreed, “Any tips on how to keep them happy?” She asked, smiling meekly.

Yunho looked up at her, raising a thick brow, “If I knew, I had tell you.”

‘Ah. So, he has one of those families.’

Suddenly, a rather loud & booming voice came in. A tall man with short brownish black hair & dark brown, almond-shaped eyes came over, “Yunniebear, what are you doing here so early?”

“It’s my company dinner remember?” Yunho asked sarcastically, rolling his brown, almond-shaped eyes, “You ing moron!”

Jaejoong frowned. People didn’t normally associate like that, “I’m going to go make sure everything is set up. Junsu will bring you in whenever you are ready.”

Just then, the man looked at her, almost startled by her appearance, “Whoa. Wait just a second there, sweetheart.”

Yunho’s face instantly turned from annoyed to just plain pissed off.

Jaejoong looked questioningly at him, “Yes, can I help you?”

The man smiled, his flawless, milky white skin crinkling at the corner of his eyes, making him look nearly adorable if his smile wasn’t so leering, “Hi there, I’m Park Jeongsu aka Leeteuk. You can help me by giving me your phone number.”

It wasn’t the worst line Jaejoong had ever heard. Actually, Jaejoong didn’t think it was a line at all. Wondering if it was a joke, she looked at Yunho who seemed about ready to kill the man.

“Um...I will keep the number.” Jaejoong said quietly, unsure of what to do given Leeteuk’s intense looks & Yunho’s rather enraged behavior, “But thanks?” She cringed at how it sounded like a question but quickly turned around & ran into the kitchen.

She nearly bumped into Nichkhun, “Hey, Jaejoong.” He said brightly, flashing a big smile at her, “How are you doing?”

“I’m not sure.” She answered, unable to stop the half-smile for spreading across her face at seeing her co-worker, “Ask me again, in an hour.”

“Oh.” Nichkhun said, turning to the computer & inputting an order, “I thought you had be dead by then considering you have a massive party to deal with alone.”

Jaejoong laughed, “You know me too well.”

Five minutes later, & she was back at the table, standing there frozen with Nichkhun & Yuri behind her, “Wow, that is going to majorly .” Yuri said, whispering into her ear so not to be heard, “They look rambunctious.”

“That one girl is sitting on the other guy’s lap.” Jaejoong replied, giving Yuri a sharp glare, “People don’t do that at fancy restaurants. If you want to make out, go to mcdonald’s or a movie theatre. There are standards.” Nichkhun almost giggled, “At least your boy toy is there.”

“Oh, not you, too.” Jaejoong sighed, “He’s not my boy toy.”

“Seohyun didn’t think so.” Nichkhun replied.

“I don’t either.” Yuri added, grinning from ear to ear, “& Hara is pretty sure he’s in love with you.”

“I hate all of you.”

Yuri smacked her arm lightly, “Nah, you love us. Give us a shout if you need help running anything okay?”

Smiling at them both, Jaejoong waited for a couple more seconds before approaching th