Too Close
Rotten Apple“This is the place?”
“Yep.”
“But it’s a bar!”
Ryeowook grinned and ushered Hyukjae towards the entrance. “I never said it wasn’t a bar.”
“You told me that we were going to a ramen shop! I had my stomach all prepared for the salty broth, crunchy sprouts, slurpy noodles and all!” Hyukjae half complained, though suddenly the thought of crispy Korean fried chicken with cold beer sounded tempting as well. He smacked his lips hungrily. “Ah, food…”
“They sell the best ramen here, hyung. I swear,” the younger officer laughed and pointed to a sign advertising the famous dish in the window. “It’s the best I’ve ever tried around this district.”
Hyukjae squinted at him and let out a chuckle. “Fine, I believe you. Let’s go in then. It’s kinda chilly out here,” he added, rubbing his hands together. “I want some hot Japanese green tea now.”
The duo walked into the bar, and, to Hyukjae’s surprise, was greeted by a very familiar silhouette from behind the counter. There was no mistaking those huge doe eyes and pouty lips on the barista’s face.
Hyukjae recognised him at once. “D.O.? I didn’t know you worked here.”
Said waiter/barista looked up at once and smiled when he saw Hyukjae. “Officer Lee! Fancy seeing you here tonight!” He also waved back at Ryeowook who was waving at him rather awkwardly before answering the elder’s question. “I work night shifts here on the weekends. Actually, I just started about a month ago. The pay is alright, but I love the atmosphere here.”
Hyukjae nodded as he looked around, observing how everyone seemed to be slurping noodles instead of chugging alcohol in the ‘bar’. “I didn’t believe Ryeowookie at first when he said this place is famous for ramen but I guess he’s right for once,” Hyukjae joked, earning a pout from the younger officer. “Do you think you can find us a table for two? It’s rather full in here.”
D.O. smiled back in return. “I have just the place for you. It’s just been cleared a while ago. Follow me.”
The barista/waiter led them to a small table in the back, barely big enough for the duo. D.O. waited till they were both comfortably seated and then went to fetch some menus for them, and a bottle of soju. Hyukjae chuckled when he saw the bottle. “Soju with ramen?”
“It kinda goes well together,” the waiter replied, grinning at him. “May I?”
Hyukjae nodded of course and peered at the menu with Ryeowook. “So many choices, I don’t know which to pick. I’ll just go with whatever you’re having, Wookie ah.”
Ryeowook grinned. “Sure. We’ll just have two of my usual then, and some fried chicken and a kimchi pancake.” He caught Hyukjae’s shocked eyes and chuckled. “It’s my treat, remember? It’s probably the last time I’ll ever get to buy you dinner.”
In his haste to write down the orders, D.O. accidentally spilled the alcohol onto the clean table, splashing some liquid onto Hyukjae’s sleeves and pants. Hyukjae reacted with a yelp and pushed himself away from the table at once, but the damage was already done. D.O. apologised profusely at once and wiped up the mess, looking like a guilty puppy. “I’m so sorry! Ah, I’m always clumsy and spilling stuff like this, wasted a good amount of soju too…”
Hyukjae petted the frantic waiter on his shoulder to calm him down. “It’s alright, D.O. yah, a
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