When I turn up to work this morning, its unusually quiet. The absence of people reminds me of the first time I walked through this very same door just a few days ago. What is even weirder however is the lack of my coworkers' presence too.

Usually when I arrive, Jennie is cleaning the bar, or sweeping the floor, or is somewhere else where you can easily spot her when you walk in. Ji-eun is always in the kitchen, helping Nichkhun to prepare what they can before opening time rolls around. The radio silence upon opening the door was slightly unnerving, to say the least.

I call out as I enter, "Hello? Guys I'm here!" And to my relief, I hear a muffled response coming from somewhere in the depths of the restaurant. Thank goodness; Nichkhun made it on time this morning.

"Khun, where are you?" I shout again, closing the door behind me. I don't really need to ask, because he'll be where he always is at this early hour. My thoughts are confirmed when I round the corner and peek into the kitchen.

Unusually though, where the kitchen is usually an organized affair (it's practically where Khun lives, after all), today its very much the opposite. Unprepared food lay strewn about the countertops, and Khun wanders around aimlessly picking up various utensils without really knowing what he wants to do. I watch as he slams his hands down on the countertop, causing harsh vibrations to resonate through its metal frame, and he grits his teeth in frustration.

Its a new side I haven't seen to him before, and part of me wants to just watch him curiously. However, I think better of it, and speak up.

"Khun?" I don't quite whisper, but I'm not very loud either. Something in me doesn't want to rock the boat any further than it clearly already has been. He looks at me with disdain, and his eyes seem almost pleading, his expression worn out and tired.

"Don't ask." He mumbles, as he closes his eyes and lets out an exasperated sigh. Although he has said it, its as if he can sense the impending question on my lips regardless, and he explains, "Jennie quit on me this morning, something about her family, and Ji-eun appears to have caught the flu."

"So you've been here all alone all morning?" I ask. My voice is soft and empathetic, I hope to bring him some comfort with my words, although I've always been bad at consoling people. "You've done all this on your own...?"

Khun nods at me whilst frowning, pushing himself up from where he still leant against the counter. He stares around at the mess in the kitchen, and I can see that he really doesn't know what to do. He really is an exceptional chef, but its not like he can run a whole restaurant by himself without his staff to help.

I found myself blurting out my response before I had a chance to even think about what I was saying - but I didn't regret it.

"I'll help you."

"What? Youngie, you don't know the first thing about food, how can you help me cook?" He gives me the most incredulous look. I guess he had a point, since I'd told him about the few times I had attempted to cook something for my parent's occasional dinner parties.

I reach over to pat his shoulder, squeezing it to comfort him (I really couldn't help it, honestly) and said, "I think I could give it a go. It's only following instructions. And I'm learning from surely the best chef in Paris."

He finally smiles at that, his mouth twitching upwards as he looks down at the floor. Its the first time I've seen him looking anything but confident and charismatic. "Well... I don't know about that..." I look at the side of his face, the rest of it is hidden away from me, and I observe that his cheeks have become redder - clearly not used to such flattering compliments.

"I mean it, you know!" I laugh, and then I urge him to show me how to prepare the simplest dishes. I might not have the skill-set required to produce some of the incredible flavors that Nichkhun is capable of, but I can handle a tomato soup. 

Over the course of the morning, I learn how to do many things. I also learn that there's no more attractive quality within Khun than watching his eyes light up as he explains his passion. I watch his expression change from one of stress and disappointment, to one of extreme joy, and I swear he becomes even more alluring when he's swiftly moving around the kitchen. Its his realm, after all.

At one point, I catch him looking at me out of the corner of my eye, staring at me with a strange look upon his face. I couldn't quite place what he was thinking, but he seemed almost as if he was contemplating something. I turn my own head, and meet his gaze.

"What?" I ask through an awkward chuckle, continuing to roll the dough out in front of me. Nichkhun had shown me a while ago, and although I had started clumsily, I'd picked it up so fast that I could now roll sheet after sheet with great efficiency.

Khun shook his head, his famed eye-smile (famed to me anyway) now reinstated upon his face. I can't lie, his kind expressions are enough to make one's heart flutter, and I even occasionally find myself weak at the knees. Not that I would ever tell him that.

"I don't know why you doubt your skills so much, Woo. You're a natural," he continues to watch my movements closely, leaning on the shelf next to where I am working. I thank him, not without a stutter, and hope he's telling the truth and not just being nice to me. He seems to sense my hesitation, and grabs my forearm, stopping me from rolling the paper thin sheet of pastry.

"Wooyoungie." I look at him when he mentions my name and he stares at me seriously, "I mean it." His words sound exactly like the ones I spoke to him not just a few hours ago and I chuckle. So this is what it feels like to be on the receiving end of an honestly heartfelt compliment.

"You should work with me..."

His suggestion confuses me and I start to point out his glaringly obvious error, "But I already--"

"--as my apprentice." He cuts me off mid sentence, and I just cast my eyes over his lanky frame as if he's gone mad. He continues, "You have a natural gift, Wooyoung. You should utilize it."

"But you've already got Ji-eun." I point out, but he shakes his head when I mention the young woman.

"She's already mastered most of what I can teach her. So I'm going to need to take someone else under my wing soon enough."

I gape at him, my mouth opening but no sound escaping. Never in my life have I been offered such an opportunity, but I don't really know how I'm supposed to respond. As I stare at the man in front of me, however, I soon realize that this could be the life changing event I've been seeking ever since I left Korea all those weeks ago.

Nichkhun, in his kindly ways, laughed, placing his hands on both my shoulders, "Oh, just say yes, Woo!"

"Fine, fine! Yes, why not!"