Chaeryeong and Yuna came down to the restaurant later that night to pay me a visit. Yeji had of course told them everything that had happened with Jisu and the Mr. just to invite the two into teasing to me. Their eyes lit up and their lips curved up into mischievous smiles when Yeji had told them about the beautiful girl I was just maybe a little, tiny bit lovestrucked by.

Yuna began hopping up and down throwing kitty punches at me while chanting, “Who is it! Who is it! Who is it! Who is it! Ryujin!!!”

“I didn’t think you could like anyone besides your cats.”, Chaeryeong jokes. “What school did she come from?”, she furtherly questions.

I point up the road to the gigantic school with the massive, pristine gate. Big, luscious trees towered around the campus. All the locals knew the school was the epitome of class and status. The campus itself exudes wealth.

“There?! She goes to Bugil High School?!”, Chaeryeong exclaims with utter shock. Bugil High School is the name of the school up the road. The school is a private boarding school that is funded by one of the largest business conglomerates in Korea.

“Oh, my tutor is from Bugil High School!”, Yuna interjects. “Maybe I could ask my tutor if she knows your lover, Ryujin.”, Yuna chuckles and winks at me.

“Oh my God, you guys are unbearable! No, please don’t tell your tutor anything. I don’t even have a chance with her because, first of all, I think she has a boyfriend and, second of all, her pinky toe is probably richer than my whole entire family heritage.”, I say exasperatedly. “So, why would a girl like that want to be with a girl like me.”

Yeji slaps the back of my head with slight force causing me yelp and rub the back of my head.

“What the was that for!”, I yell at Yeji.

“My best friend is not going to stand around here talk down on herself. Ryujin, whoever that rich girl is she’s not worth more than you. In fact, you would be the one too good for her, not the other way around.”, Yeji says in a softer tone. I could always count on Yeji to cheer me up and boost my confidence. A part of me is really glad I started to work at her ty restaurant because I gained such a loyal, caring friend.

“Yeah, she’s right. You are the number one actress in our school! Probably will become the number one actress in Korea some day, too. “, Chaeryeong says and smiles at me. Yuna nods her head in agreeance.

At school, I am part of the theater department, which has been growing in status amongst Korean high schools ever since I had joined the program. Not to brag, but I have won multiple awards in competitions for our school in acting and our school plays have been selling out tickets even amongst the locals; plays which I almost always play the lead role. Acting was my passion and it was something I was admittedly skilled at. I have been planning to audition at some agencies to become a trainee for acting.

After hanging out together at the restaurant, Yeji’s parents came to close up and the rest of us went home.

____________________________________________________________________________

As I said, when I saw Jisu yesterday I thought that was going to be the last time I saw the attractive girl. However, I was mistaken. Like, really mistaken.

Jisu came into the restaurant... every. single. day.

She would come into the restaurant order the same nasty meal every day and just sit there by herself. Then, the sickest part, she would actually eat the food. I would just panic everytime she would come in even though she came everyday at the same time, so I knew when she was coming. I would just get Yeji or some other workers go and serve her because I was too nervous to do so.

Jisu was starting to turn into a regular just like all the rest of the old farts who were our regulars. Yeji was seriously questioning Jisu’s mental health because the girl would actually eat the nasty meals we cook up in our easy bake oven. One day Yeji even remarked to Ryujin if the girl even has existing taste buds anymore.

It was Saturday night and on Saturday nights it was Yeji and I’s turn to work the graveyard shift. We keep the restaurant open on Saturday nights just to catch any drunk old men who are drunk enough to pay for our food. Jisu would usually arrive at the beginning of my shift, but it had been a couple of hours and she still hasn’t popped up. I assumed that maybe she came by earlier or she was just not going to come in today.

Yeji our mini TV by the front counter to pass time while we wait for any stranglers. Flipping through channels, she decided to stay on the local news channel while the reporter was in the middle of her report.

“--Everyone please be careful of a robber on the loose who is armed and dangerous. The unidentified culprit has been robbing local shops and restaurants by gun point for the past week usually around 12 AM to 4 AM. I highly suggest to be cautious and to maybe close up early. Thank you.”, the reporter finished her update on the story and moved on to the next news story of the night.

I swiveled my head towards Yeji after hearing the report and she just stared back at me, dumbfounded.

“Uh, Yeji, should we maybe close the restaurant?”, I nervously say.

Yeji just quickly nods her head and goes to search for the keys. After about 20 minutes of Yeji roaming around the restaurant she comes back to me.

“I lost the keys.”

“What do you mean you lost the keys?”

“I lost them.”

“Are you a moron?!”

The two of us bicker and argue with one another for a good couple of minutes until I see a strange, omniscient figure approaching the restaurant.

“Y-Y-Yeji…. Look.”, I shove Yeji and point outside the window.

The restaurant’s windows aren’t made of real glass, it is made out of that cheap, dirty plastic stuff that you can’t really see clearly out of. So, I couldn’t make out the details of the strange figure. They were wearing dark clothes and was calmly walking to the entrance. My heart was hammering against my chest and Yeji was hiding behind the counter. My mind was racing as to what to do as the figure placed their hand on the door.

The door slowly opens and the person walks in. I throw my hands in front of me and screech out terror,

“WE ARE POOR! WE HAVE NO MONEY! DON’T KILL US PLEASE!!!”

Expecting a harsh voice and some gunshots, all I hear in return is a small, soft voice.

“Excuse me?”, the soft voice floats in the air.

I finally unshield my eyes and look at the stranger. It was no stranger, but Jisu herself. I kick Yeji under the counter inducing her to peer over the counter and sighs in relief.

“Thank the Lord, it’s just you.”, Yeji lets out in relief.

The girl who usually brings me so much nerves and tensions actually made me feel a pang of relief and relaxation for once.

Jisu continues to look at the both of us confusedly, but goes to sit down at her usual spot as always. I look at the clock and it reads: 12:57 AM. Why the hell would someone come to eat at this god awful restaurant at nearly 1 AM in the morning… it’s just not realistic.

Yeji walks over to Jisu’s table to seriously question the girl’s sanity.

“Why do you keep coming this restaurant?”

“Because I like it.”, Jisu responds.

Yeji responds with a face of horror, which causes to Jisu to chuckle softly which then causes me to melt into a useless puddle on the floor.

“What do you like about it?!”, Yeji further questions

Jisu ponders and looks around for a little until finally responding with, “The ambiance.”

…

Yeji and I stare at each other and we practically communicate through our eyes, ‘The ambiance… the ambiance…. AMBIANCE..?”

We both stare at our dangling IKEA lamps, dirty plastic mirrors, broken tile floor, and, last but not least, our easy bake oven sitting in our kitchen.  Yeji strides back into the kitchen and points at me.

“You go tend to her today.”, Yeji deadpans.

I feel my body tense up again, “What, why?”

“Because even though you are the one who clearly like her, you never have even spoken a single word to her. Also, I think she comes into this damn restaurant because of you!”

“Me!? Don’t be ridiculous, Yeji.”, I counter.

“I don’t know, maybe she’s your secret admirer! Who knows?”, Yeji jokes. “Anyways, go talk to her, coward.”, Yeji shoves me out.

I slowly make my way to Jisu’s table basically quaking in my boots. I finally make it to her table and she looks up at me. The biggest smile forms on her and I suddenly think having a smile that cute should be against the law.

“You are finally serving me.”, Jisu plainly states with her smile still plastered on her face.

“Yes…”, a couple seconds pass slowly.

“Well, are you going to take my order?”, Jisu questions playfully.

“Huh?.. Oh, yeah!”, I jolt straight up and I can already feel hot blood flushing through my face. “Are you going to take the regular?”

“No, it seems a bit too late to eat that..”, Jisu ponders. (Well, no , it is 1 AM, I think.)

“I will have 2 herbal teas.”, Jisu answers. I jot down the order and look back at her. We just kind of stare at each other for a minute. She shoots me a questioning look and I realize that I actually need to move my feet to prepare her order. I turn quickly and robotically walk to the kitchen. Yeji awaits in the kitchen for me with a knowing, smug look.

“You’re so smooth.”, Yeji sarcastically remarks. “I know you have never had a girlfriend before, but I didn’t think you were this much of a panic gay.”

Leaving me no time to comeback at her, she takes out two cups of hot water out of the easy bake oven and drops teabags into them. She hands them quickly over to me.

Slowly, but surely, I make way back to Jisu’s table and I set the two teacups in front of her. “Enjoy your tea.”, I say to her without directly looking into her eyes. I begin to make my return to the kitchen until her soft voice stops me right in my tracks.

“Where are you going?”, she sweetly questions. I just stare back at her dumbly. She continues, “I ordered this tea for the both of us. You really think I was going to drink two teas by myself?”

The machinery of my brain is now suddenly kicking into overdrive in order to process what Jisu has just said. Jisu wants to drink tea with me. Me, Shin Ryujin. Jisu and Ryujin drinking tea. Together. After my brain catches up to speed, I finally proceed to accept her request.

I sit down across from her and she welcomes me with her bright smile. She really has to stop doing that smiling thing or I might actually lose my mind. However, a random surge of courage comes over me and I decide to start the conversation first.

“So, why did you want to drink tea with me?”, I began and then I interjected with, “--If you don’t mind me asking.”

Jisu perks up at my question, “I actually been meaning to speak with you for awhile ever since I first came into the restaurant.” I shoot her a exaggerated, questioning look and she continues with her statement, “At first, I wanted to sincerely apologize for the way my, uh, friend, had acted towards you, but you had never came to serve me. I continued to come restaurant and eventually I became attached to the restaurant. So, I just started coming everyday out of habit.”, she states. I took notice at how Jisu mentioned Mr. as her “friend” and not her boyfriend, but something about the way she said it still threw me off a bit. However, I returned back to the subject at hand.

“You became attached to the restaurant… Jisu, I don’t know if you have noticed, but this is literally a 1 star rated restaurant.”, I deadpan.

Jisu has an amused look on her face and she smirks. “How do you know my name?”, she shoots at me.

My eyes widen at panic because I didn’t want Jisu to think I was some obsessed stalker and so I blurted out, “I overheard the guy you were with call you Jisu! I swear I don’t stalk you!”

Jisu just laughs and with her hand over mouth she looks at me, “I was just joking with you, Ryujin.”

“Oh, haha, I knew that.’, I say fake confidently. Replaying her sentence over my head, I had an epiphany. How does Jisu know my name?

“Wait how do--”, Jisu interrupted my question by pointing to the culprit behind the counter who was none other than Yeji. Yeji gives me a sly smile and darts into the back of the kitchen.

Jisu continues on with the momentum, “Anyways, firstly, I would like apologize for the actions of my friend, San.”

So, San was his name. It didn’t really matter to me because I am still going to call him Mr. in my head, but, whatever. At the mention of Mr. , my nervousness was starting to become replaced with irritation, but I didn’t want to look irritated in front of Jisu, so I controlled myself.

“You shouldn’t have to apologize on his behalf, but I accept the apology, anyways. Thanks.”, I say curtly.

I add on, “You said you became attached to restaurant, but why?” I had to ask her because I was sincerely confused as to what compelled the brown haired girl to come here.

“The atmosphere here, it’s relaxing. It feels like its own little world that is free of presentation or care. It’s just is what it is.” Jisu looks over to the homeless man in the corner who is drawing pictures of astronaut cats on the floor tiles with crayola.

“It’s refreshing.”, she concludes.

I stare back at her and retort, “You are joking again, right?”

Jisu immediately responds, “No! I don’t know how to exactly explain it, but I often feel as if I am stuck in a lifestyle of people who try so hard to keep up appearances and facades…”, her voice slightly dies down a bit. “I just want to escape the expensive buildings and dormitories. I want to escape from people who I can’t really tell what their true intentions are. This place has a sense of authenticity to me, I guess.”, she ends with a slight smile, but I could see the traces of sadness that lied behind her eyes.

“I think I get it.”, I simply answered. Jisu had a look of joy on her face for a moment, perhaps at the prospect of somebody understanding her thoughts for once, but the joy depicted on her face was immediately killed when an abrupt ringing emitted from her cellphone. Jisu looked down at the call and her eyes morphed into a discreet mixture of sadness and fear.

“What is it?”, I question her.

“Sorry, Ryujin, but I have to go.”, she rises from her seat and makes her way to the exit.

Before she steps out of the restaurant she looks back at me hesitantly and says, “It was really nice talking to you. Like, actually.”

Seeing walk out so abruptly caused a stupid pang sadness to spread around me. I have barely talked to the girl, but for some reason I felt so sad to see her go. In the middle of my stupidity, before she could walk out completely, I called out to her, “Are you going to come back tomorrow?”

Jisu at first seemed surprised by my question, but after the initial surprise she gives a small smile and nods.