Excitement rushing through every fiber of my body. Today is my first day working night shift and I can't describe the excitement. Not just me, my trainee friends, Lucas and Jaehyun, are feeling pumped from the new challenge and we can't stop discussing about our anticipation among ourselves. 

"Oh yeah, Areum, are you okay though?"

I turn to Lucas with a questioning look, "Huh?"

"You had a really bad stomachache last night before we left Chef Oh's place, you forgot?" A playful grin spreads across his face, "Have you forgotten? You even told us to leave first because you might take a while. Are you okay?"

My brain finally starts functioning as I try to recall the events from last night. I had to lie that I had a stomachache so that I can use that as an excuse to chase my friends away. I mean, if not how am I going to escape from them? They can't know that I actually live there, well, aside for Mina. 

"Oh...Oh yeah! I am," I laugh sheepishly, "Chef Oh's has a really nice bathroom."

"I am so envious of you guys! I wish I was there too..." Traces of envy can be heard from Jaehyun's voice and he looks really sad for not being able to make it yesterday.

Lucas hangs his arm around Jaehyun's shoulder, "It's okay, hyung, we can always go there again next time! Chef Oh's mum is the coolest and most chill mother ever! So different from Chef Oh," He whispers the last sentence, "She says we can go visit her anytime!"

"Really? That's awesome!"

My smile falters upon hearing the guys' conversation. Oh no, please don't come visit again. One show is tiring enough for me to retire from my part-time acting career, I don't know if I can put on another show if they really come visit Mrs Oh again. Spare me a life!

"What are you guys talking about? Lucas, you look so excited."

Baekhyun, who appears in front of us suddenly, asks in his cheerful voice. Leaning one side of his body against the work station, he glances at the three of us, who will be working with him tonight, with a charming smile lingering on his face. His smile gets me everytime and I shouldn't be staring at him like I want to devour him because we are at work, but I can't take my eyes off him. Baekhyun seems to catch my stare and his lips stretch into a wider smile - a little scandalous to keep stealing glances at each other huh? He knows that I have a weak spot for him and that's why, he enjoys teasing me.

"Oh, we visited Chef Oh's place yesterday and his mother is so cool!"

"Is that so?" Baekhyun returns another question to Lucas, but his eyes are still fixed on me, "Glad you guys enjoyed your weekend because the following months are going to be real tough. But don't worry, you guys are in good hands working under me. Also, I would like to introduce the two junior chefs next to me."

Only then, I realise that there are two other chefs next to us and I wonder if they have caught the suspicious behaviour between Baekhyun and me. Well, they don't seem like the observant type, so I guess I am safe? I try to not make it obvious but it's just so hard to not stare at a masterpiece like Byun Baekhyun for longer than I should. Plus that attractive smile and captivating eyes of his, how can I take my eyes off him?

"This is Mark and this is Taeil. They are my very capable juniors and you guys will be assisting them and me for today, so let's hope we will have a great time together!"

"Yes, Chef Byun."

"Areum, pass me the salt."

Hurriedly, I check the condiments next to me before picking up the salt and handing it to Baekhyun, who is busy stirring the pasta and the sauce in his pan. Honestly, I have never really watched the way Baekhyun cooks at work and he looks so freaking hot, with his brows frowning in concentration. The veins along his forearm look like they are going to pop out anytime soon and he looks really y with beads of perspiration running down his face. Should I help him to wipe his perspiration? But it may seem like I am crossing the line if I do that.

"If you continue to stare at me, your sauce is going to be burned," Baekhyun smirks, winking at me.

I snap out of my trance and switch my gaze back to the sauce in panic. Holy , what was I doing? How long did I spend staring at Baekhyun? That's so unprofessional of me! The kitchen is bustling with orders and everyone is busy at work while I am day dreaming away! Get your together, Park Areum!

"Areum, can you pass me the chopped onions?" 

I hear a soft and gentle voice from my left, so soft that it almost drowns in the noise surrounding the kitchen. It was an instruction from Chef Taeil, who looks bashful as he extends his hand to me shyly. I nod, and I pass the bowl of onions to him.

"Thank you," He bows slightly, politeness flowing in his voice. Compared to Chef Mark, who seems to share the same braincell as Lucas, Chef Taeil is indeed more reserved, and I barely hear exchange of word between Chef Taeil and Jaehyun. Although the three of us are assigned to help whoever that needs help in the team, Lucas is paired with Chef Mark, Jaehyun is paired with Chef Taeil, while I am paired with Baekhyun. Not sure if Baekhyun has done that out of favourtism. 

"Chef Byun, the sauce is done."

I inform Baekhyun, whose features soften upon making eye contact with me, and the guy comes to me to check on the cream, before nodding in satisfaction, "Good job, Areum." After giving the pasta a final stir, Baekhyun pours the pasta onto the white porcelain plate before adding two asparagus on the side. Then, he suddenly comes behind me.

"Baekhyun, what are you doing?" I hiss as I can feel his body against my back and my heart starts drumming like mad at this proximity. 

"Relax, doll," Baekhyun chuckles, and I can feel his hot breath tickling my neck. How do I relax with Baekhyun making body contact with me? "As you know, plating is very important in fine dining so I am going to teach you how to drizzle the lemongrass cream sauce to give the dish a final touch in an artistic way."

The moment Baekhyun puts his hand on my forearm gently, I can see tiny sparks dancing on my skin and my brain has jumped out of the window officially. Wrapping his slender fingers around my wrist, he controls my hand to do a circular motion, pouring the sauce from the ladle bit by bit on the pasta.

"Slow and steady..."

Did you hear that, my dear heart? You need to slow down and stop ramming everywhere, trying to blast your way out of my chest.

"There you have it!"

Baekhyun takes a step away from me and my breathing returns to normal. That was... intense. 

"T-Thank you, Chef Byun," I am too embarrassed to meet his eyes. 

"You are welcome, Areum," A chuckle escapes from him before he tells Jaehyun to pass the dish, that is ready to be served, to the waitress. When Baekhyun is out of my sight, I quickly fan myself to cool down my flushing cheeks. And right then, my eyes fleet to Sehun, and our orbs meet at the same time. There is something wavering in his eyes, but I can't pinpoint what it is exactly. All I can tell is that his gaze seems a little colder than yesterday. Out of friendliness, I flash a broad smile to him and even though I am not expecting Sehun to reciprocate, I feel like someone just poured a bucket of cold water on me when he tears his frigid eyes that lack emotions from me. He was okay yesterday and I don't remember offending him in any way today, why he is displaying such animosity to me again? 

One of the downsides of this job is probably the cleaning part. After the restaurant closes, apparently, the lowest ranking, aka the apprentices, are required to stay to wash all the kitchenware that were used by the junior and senior chefs and clean up the kitchen before we call it a day. We are just like the minions of the kitchen; no matter how tired and unwilling we are to do the cleaning after a long day at work, we can only it up. That's the part and parcel of working in the kitchen. Thankfully, I am not alone, I have Jaehyun, Lucas, Jennie, Somi, and Joowon with me and that makes my job less tedious I guess. We all look at one another, with a look of bore but at the same time, we try to send positivity to one another to push ourselves to finish the cleaning as soon as we can. All for one, and one for all.

"Bye kids, see you guys tomorrow!"

"Fighting! Y'all will get used to it."

The junior chefs bid goodbye to us and compared to us, they look so much more alive, seemingly gloating in happiness because they now have minions to clean up the kitchen for them and they don't have to get their hands dirty anymore.

Suddenly, I feel a presence behind me and I peer over my own shoulder to see who slipped a piece of paper into my back pocket. It was Baekhyun. He gives me a sneaky smile before making a move, in case the other trainees notice our suspicious behaviour. Removing one of the gloves from my hand, I reach for my back pocket and open the folded paper to see what Baekhyun has written inside.

"Come to my place after you end work. Oppa will make nice food for you~ My apartment code is 0811. See you, doll."

It's really sweet of Baekhyun to cook for me despite a long day at work. Also, 0811? That's my birthday. Did Baekhyun set my birthday as his door code or was it just a coincidence? It seems like Baekhyun always have me on his mind and that warms up my heart in bliss. But also, it makes me feel bad that he didn't come across my mind the past weekend because I was busy tackling Oh Sehun. 

"What is that?" 

I startle when another voice travels to my ear and I crush the paper in my fist and hide it from Jongin, "Nothing."

"Tch, I already saw what is written on the love letter. You gonna meet Baekhyun hyung later?" Jongin points at the clock hanging on the wall, "It's already 11pm. Are you planning to stay over at his place?" His brow in a teasing manner.

"No, I will just hang out with him for a while and go home," I put on my glove and resume the washing so I can finish my job as quickly as I can and not make Baekhyun wait for too long.

"Sure, we shall see then. I wanted to ask if you want to hitch a ride but I guess," Jongin shrugs, "Since I am being casted aside, I am leaving then. See you tomorrow, babe."

I click my tongue in annoyance, "What tomorrow? I am coming home tonight!" I emphasise, dismissing whatever inappropriate thoughts Jongin has in his mind. I promised Sehun that I will respect our engagement and I will not get into any funny business with Baekhyun, I can't break our mutual agreement.

Glad that I am good with roads and I remember where Baekhyun stays, so it didn't take me long to find his apartment. Scrubbing and cleaning for close to two hours got my hands, back, and feet aching like an old woman. Okay no, my grandma will be offended by my words and she will beg to differ because she is still very strong and physically fit despite in her seventies. While I am the opposite of her, I am 23 but my body functions like a 60. I guess, it's just my problem. 

Arriving at Baekhyun's apartment, I key in the passcode and the door unlocks. He really did set 0811 as his pin. Whether it's intentional or coincidental, I can't deny the fluttering feeling that Baekhyu