One - Turn the tables
My First Love, My Arch Enemy
#Su Eora#
"Eora," Hyunmi, my cousin who helps me at the shop taps my shoulder when I just put down a place of Swiss Roll on the table.
"Hmm?" I turn to her with a polite smile.
Her parents have been a really great help for me ever since I started this shop six months ago, right after I graduated from college, so I need to treat her politely even though she is younger than me. She just returns from student exchange program in Japan and now she is working as part time waitress in my shop.
She leans closer and whispers to me, "How could you hire such a handsome and charming guy? Can I have his number?"
My smile vanishes within a second. I sigh and hold her shoulders firmly, "Listen to me. Do not fall for his trap. He is evil. He is tricky. He is-"
"Ah, Eora, who are you talking about?" Kyuhyun appears right behind me. He is holding three empty plates on his hands while his lips form a perfect curve. "Sounds like you really hate this person."
I quickly purse my lips and hand the Swiss Roll to Hyunmi, "Table number 7. Now. Go, go."
I turn my body and head to the kitchen to check my tiramisu cake. I know it's far from done but I just want to avoid Kyuhyun.
"Why are you following me?" I snap at him when we reach the kitchen; he is right behind me.
"I'm going to wash the dishes," he shows me the empty plates. "Or do you want to split the kitchen so I don't need to see your face?"
"Yah, Cho Kyuhyun!" I groan with frustration. "I am your boss here!"
"And I am the one who knows your secret here," he hits my weakness spot. He starts to wash the plate, "So you better watch your mouth, Eora."
Great. He turns the tables all around again.
This guy is unbelievable!
--- Flashback : 2 months ago ---
"I guess I can't help it. I need to see your face everyday, don't I? Tsk," he sounded really disappointed. "Life is cruel."
"W-What?" I blinked with confusion. "What do you mean, Kyuhyun?"
"Well, since I don't have a choice, I think I'm going to stick around for a while until I find another job," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Am I going to start the job today or what?"
"Hang on," I ignored his question. "What made you say things like that? Why do I feel that you don't like to meet me?"
"Why do I need to be happy meeting you again?" he raised his eyebrow. "It's a nightmare, Su Eora."
Yes, he was definitely the Cho Kyuhyun, the one who happened to be my first love.
But his attitude was so not him.
My first love supposed to be a gentle and lovable boy who gave adorable smile whenever he looked at me. He loved cakes and sweet things and I promised myself that someday I would bake a cake for him.
I knew him because he was my classmate and he was my neighbour so we spent most of our times together. He studied overseas when I attended junior high school. I never kept in touch again with him but even after years passed by, I remembered my own promise.
With the help from my parents who lived in Berlin, they supported me to start my own shop. After I graduated from college, I started the shop under the name "Sweetest Queen", because Kyuhyun once called me 'Queen' and he loved sweets.
"What did I do to you?" I complained, feeling sad at the same time. "I don't remember I did something bad to you!"
"Oh, so you don't remember?" he raised his eyebrow. "You know, I think I remember about your diary. Yes, you gave me when I left to New York. You wrote about your love to me and-"
I covered his mouth with my hand to stop him from spoiling my embarassing secret. Why did I even hand him my own diary?! How could I be that stupid when I was eleven years old?!
"Love?" Dongwoon blurted out with disbelief tone. He looked at Kyuhyun with cold eyes. "Who is this?"
"Ah, is this your boyfriend?" Kyuhyun pulled away from me and smirked. "You have a good taste for a desperately romantic girl."
"He is not my boyfriend!" I groaned, feeling my face was burning already. "He was my junior in college. That's all."
"Good," Kyuhyun turned to me again with his devilish smile, "because I will pity him if he has a girl like you as his girlfriend."
"You don't need to work here if you hate her so much," Dongwoon pulled my wrist so I took a step farther from Kyuhyun. "What's the point of working with this pathetic girl then?"
Was he trying to defend me or what?!
"Like I said, I don't have a choice," Kyuhyun shrugged. "I will work here until I find a new job. Until that day you're going to have me as your waiter or..."
He put his index finger on his lips, "...I will reveal your secret to the public."
Thinking about how many stupid things I've written on that ridiculous diary, I immediately agreed with his term, "Fine! You're hired!"
--- Flashback : end ---
"Welcome!" Kyuhyun greets the customer with his usual fake charming smile. With that kind of smile, who will believe me that he is actually really cruel?
He refuses to wash the dishes if I have closed the shop. He doesn't want to clean the floor if there are only two of us.
He shows his angel side in front of everyone except me. He hides his devil side from everyone except me. Why do I deserve this kind of torture?!
The bell jingles again and Dongwoon steps in with his favorite headphone hanging on his shoulders.
Well, at least he is the one who believes me when I nag about Kyuhyun.
Unfortunately he is no different than Kyuhyun in one and another way.
#Son Dongwoon#
"I'm done for today," I stand up and head to the door; I need to eat something now.
"W-Wait, Dongwoon!" my manager calls me desperately. "You only need to record the one last song. Let's finish it today."
"I'm hungry," that's all I say to him. I storm out from the recording room and start playing my iPod so I don't need to hear him calling me to return for the last song.
Being a mysterious pianist has its own advantages and disadvantages. While I can roam around without worrying about fans, I need to work without gaining the attention from the press which is actually really disturbing.
If it's not because of my mother's request, I would never agree to be a pianist. At least she agreed to have me hide my identity.
I open the door and Eora is standing in front of me with a plate of black forest cake, my favorite one. There is no smile on her face, unlike when another customer enters her shop.
Without saying anything to her, I walk to the empty table at the corner of the shop, the one which she always puts 'reserved' board but actually I am the only one who will sit there.
An unfamiliar girl approaches me with the menu book, "Can I help you?"
Is this girl new?
"I'll take care of him, Hyunmi," Eora pats her shoulder twice and smiles. "Please take a plate of sponge cake to table number 10."
The girl named Hyunmi nods slightly to me and then leaves to serve the order. Eora stares at me, "Do you want to order the usual menu?"
I don't answer her but she understands me well enough after knowing me for more than two years. She sighs and mumbles, "Fine, I'll take the black forest and hot coffee for you."
As I watch her walk to prepare my order, my eyes stop at the man who is serving a table with cheerful smile.
It's been two months but I still don't get it; why does he still want to work for Eora if he hates her? Eora doesn't even know why he hates her though.
Our eyes meet and he flashes me a smirk before taking care of another table. This guy is totally unpredictable.
As much as I want to help Eora to get rid of this man, I am too clueless to do something. It's not that I don't care about Eora but I don't know what I can do to help her because she is the one who agreed to let him work here.
"Here," Eora puts down two slices of black forest cake and a cup of hot coffee in front of me. "Do you need anything else?"
"No," I answer shortly and take a sip of the hot coffee.
"Can you say 'thank you, noona' just for once?" there she goes with her usual complaint. "You're two years younger than me!"
"Don't you have work to do?" I bite the cake and ignore her.
"Unbelievable," she groans and back to her work, heading to the kitchen; probably checking for her other cakes.
Eora was my senior when I was in college. She heard me when I was playing a piano during a festival and she wanted to know me better. She followed me everywhere, assuring me that I was talented that if I stopped playing piano, the world would be sad.
After she graduated, the tables were turned. I become the one who follows her here and there, visiting her shop every day. While I'm still studying in college and she is focusing on her work, even though she keeps nagging when we meet, she never asks me to leave her alone.
That's why I never get bored to eat her cakes, taste her coffee, and see her face.
"So what if you're older than me?" I murmur to myself. "I am not a little kid."
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Author's Note:
"Turn the tables" is a phrase which means "Reverse the positions of adversaries. The phrases is often used when the weaker position subsequently becomes dominant".
____________________
Author's Note:
"Turn the tables" is a phrase which means "Reverse the positions of adversaries. The phrases is often used when the weaker position subsequently becomes dominant".
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