Rosaleen

Today is officially the worst day of my life.

Woke up late to work, check.

Had to fight with another woman for a cab, check.

Lost my job, check.

Saw my big time crush propose to his girlfriend, check.

My landlord just informed me my rent is due Friday, check.

I never had one of these days where everything goes wrong. In fact I always thought it was some sort of urban legend. Now I’m pretty sure it is for real. I sat on my sofa in my small apartment and stared at the screen of my television that was off. In my hands, my last check from work. Now I had to dole out my money to pay all my expenses and make it last till the end of the month. I have a little extra money on my bank account; I always saved something there for emergencies. 

Now it seems like I have emergencies. Okay, I have the money to pay for my rent, I have the money to pay for food and my bills, but for how long? I have to go find a job as soon as I wake up tomorrow. Living by myself was a big step in my life, especially because I had to nearly fight my parents to do so. I was eighteen at the time and I wanted to go to college and experience things solo. My parents didn’t agree, of course. Being the only child was hard because all of their attention was directed to me, which could be overwhelming from time to time.

Especially when your parents say you’ll only leave their house when you get married, to them, living alone was the first step to parties all day and night, boys sleeping over, and consequently an unwanted pregnancy at a young age. Boy, if only they knew. College and work was taking over my life, I had zero time for boys, and usually I was so tired that I only wanted to sleep on my free time. I was living by myself for three years and still hadn’t found a boyfriend. And I wasn’t desperate to have one, don’t get me wrong.

My life has been amazing. Okay, I’m tired, I could use some vacation, but I was studying to be a vet, something that I always dreamed of, I got a full scholarship, which meant I paid only for my living, and I had a good part-time job that paid enough for a normal living. Of course I got lonely sometimes, but I was only twenty one years old and had a lot of time ahead of me to worry about getting a boyfriend and later on raise a family. I didn’t want to rush to have it all and end up not managing to deal with college, work, friends and a boyfriend.

Now I’m unemployed because of some cut in the company’s costs and couldn’t even think about asking my parents for help since we weren’t on speaking terms. I would only get an “I told you so” from them. Sighing, I rested against the sofa, thinking of what I would do from now on. My belly growled like a wolf cub. Great. Now I was really hungry. Looking at my last check from work, I decided I deserved a decent meal after the terrible day I just had. My clock tells me it is seven o’clock already. It was time to go find a nice restaurant to eat.

Seokjin

“Stroganoff!” Andrew shouted to me. I sighed.

The kitchen was full stream ahead. It is hot and I am sweating like I’m going to die, today is definitely the hottest day of the year. It is my first week as a chef. I worked for a few years at another restaurant as a cook, aiding the chef, after I graduated from college. The chef from the other restaurant recommended me to the owner of Mamma Mia, a restaurant specialized in pasta and some meat too. The thing is, I was only gathering money and making a name for myself to open my own restaurant, a Korean restaurant, just like my mom always dreamed of.

Not that I didn’t like working at Mamma Mia, far from it, but my day was just straight up messed up. Early today I decided that it would be a good idea to ask Megan, the receptionist, out only to get my hopes ripped apart when she told me blatantly she wasn’t interested in Korean guys, all the while making a disgusted expression eyeing my crotch area. The hell...?

She was clearly implying I had a small only because I’m Korean. Well, I wasn’t uncomfortable or insecure about the length of my , not at all, but being turned out only because of a stereotype always . Good to know what kind of person she is before getting involved with her, right? To complete the hell that was the kitchen, some decided to be picky with my dishes and returned his meal twice already. I nearly went out there to throw the plate on his head when he asked another dish. I had to take a deep breath to keep my temper under control.

I’m not a violent guy, never was, but sometimes I lose my patient, today as one of those days. It was hot, people were talking loud in the kitchen, pacing around fast to attend all of the orders, and I had to make a new dish to “Mr. I don’t have anything better to do besides being a little ”. Another thing that I’m confident about, beyond my , of course, is my cooking skills. I’m good, that was something that I always knew. Everybody who tasted my food told me the same. So having my dishes being returned was utterly annoying.

I finished his dish and sent it outside. The waitress took the plate and gave a little apologetic smile. She knew I was tired and angry for making three dishes for the same nagging guy. I went back to my job, supervising all of my people in the kitchen, I tasted sauces, ate some pasta, felt the aroma of the frying meat, all in time to see the waitress come back with the plate in hands. I felt my blood boil. I dropped the dishcloth on the counter and walked to Cynthia.

“He said it was uncooked.” She shrugged.

“Let me take care of this, okay?” Cynthia nodded and I took the plate from her hands.

I headed outside, trying to keep my cool in front of the customers. I saw his table. A frat guy, for sure. I hated those. He was with his friends, three of them, and they were laughing like they just heard the funniest joke ever. I got closer to the table and stopped in front of it, smiling brightly.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but which one of you is sending the dishes back?” I asked in the most polite tone I could given the situation. One of them, the tallest from what I noticed, straightened his back and cleared his throat. His skin was bronzed and his hair was styled with too much gel.

“That would be me.” He said proudly. “Your dishes , just saying, man. You should think about changing your career.” His friends tried to hold a laugher precariously. I rolled my eyes.

This was a frat prank; probably he was doing this to get accepted in it. I knew because that happened a lot around college when I was studying there. This one was pretty simple compared to some of the things I’ve seen the guys doing. But I wasn’t just going to sit there and let them use me and disturb my job in order to play some prank on me and my co-workers.

“Good to know, man, because now you’re going to pay for the three dishes I made.” I stated. His smile slipped from his face. “This is a serious establishment, so if you think you’re going to come here with your frat friends to play a prank, you’re wrong.” I set the plate in front of him. “Will you need something else?” He shook his head, dumbfounded.

The idiot probably didn’t think he would be charged with the bill if he just complained about the food. This wasn’t a place he could to that. Judging by what he asked, his bill would be over $ 150 bucks for sure. I laughed inwardly for that and felt a little better. 

Rosaleen

I heard some of my co-workers talking about a new place downtown that had amazing pasta, and everybody knows how much I love me some good pasta. I had a little extra money, I also know I should probably save it, but I was hungry and sad, not many good decisions come out of a hungry and sad person. So I decided I was going to spend my money a little.

As soon as I opened the restaurant door, the aroma of frying garlic, oregano and tomato sauce hit my senses. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I was literally in heaven. Except for the fact that when I opened my eyes I looked straight to David, my big time crush who now was an engaged man. God, really? Is it that funny to mess up with me?

I realized I was still at the door like a hungry lunatic and stepped further inside the restaurant. I wasn’t packed, but it was nearly full. Lucky me, it was still two tables available, so I could take one – as far as I could from David, not that he knew who I was to begin with. The restaurant was so cute. It had that dim lighting feel,