It was now the peak of the dinner rush, all hands were on deck as the kitchen was bombarded with tickets coming in and going out.

Jongdae was panting and trying to catch is breath as he waited for Kyungsoo to finish garnishing a plate before passing it Hyoyeon to wipe. Three tables down, two to go until dessert thought Jongdae as he glanced over the tickets hanging on the window. He was looking to see where in the line up his last two tables were sitting Ah, two tables in front of them not too shabby Tao, not too shabby. The server looked towards the garmo station to see Kris and Tao flying back and forth from the lo’boy and reaching over one another to grab the corresponding sauces and garnish for the shellfish platters and assorted salads. Three family style plates were lined up on top of the window ready to go, the oysters glistening against the white shaved ice a stark contrast to the red of the half lobster sitting behind them. A few more seconds passed before a bowl of precisely diced medium cut squash and root vegetables sat atop a bed of beautiful mixed greens glistening with champagne vinaigrette. Tao placed the final piece of salami onto the charcuterie board before yelling ORDER UP and pulled down the ticket in front of him and Kris. Jongdae bounced back into action and called for Seulgi to follow him with the items back out to the dining room.

At this moment very moment Junmyeon thought was about to have an aneurism. He took a deep breath before breaking his gaze from Sehun’s terrible excuse of wine service back towards his guests.

He gave them a dazzling smile before launching into the night’s specials mentioning that Oh yes, we do offer A La Carte items off the Pre-Fixe selections and reassuring the couple that Of course Ma’am, we take allergies very seriously here. Rest assured that our chefs will personally cook your child’s cavatelli away from the rest. We have as separate station for gluten free pastas. Mhmm. Not a problem. Excuse me, I’ll be right back.

Junmyeon walked over to the POS system and quickly entered in all the specifications and substitutions for the family. Finally, he was done and now he could go save Sehun from further embarrassment.

Sehun was hovering over a table of four with a bottle of Ferrari Carano struggling to get his wine key into the cork and doing his best not to stumble into the ice chest on his left. The ice chest was swaying precariously due to Sehun’s shifting and the bottle of Australian Sauvignon Blanc was in danger of falling to its demise.

Junmyeon straightened his apron and realigned his cufflinks before putting on a winning smile and walked over to Sehun. He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder and introduced himself to the table, “Welcome back Mr. and Mrs. Huebert, ah I see you’ve brought the kids with you tonight,” Junmyeon nodded to acknowledge the son and daughter before turning back to Sehun, “Sehun chose some great wine for you tonight, allow me to help pour you a taste while he grabs your appetizers.”

Sehun gives the older server a look of appreciation before he bows to the guests and ushers off towards the kitchen. The family smiles at Junmyeon while he effortlessly removes the cork and wipes the mouth of the bottle with a white serviette. He proceeds to serve the ladies first and then the gentlemen and then turns the bottle with the label facing up towards Mr. Huebert, the host of the party. Mr. Huebert nods in satisfaction at the vintage and takes the wine glass by the stem. He swirls the ruby red drink twice before smelling the wine, Junmyeon intersects and adds, “There should be some notes of black cherry, boysenberry, and anise on the nose with a lingering plum finish.”

Mr. Huebert grunts in agreement and takes a sip. His face relaxes into a happy smile and turns to his wife who smiles back happily. “We’ll take another bottle after this one. Thank you Junmyeon.”

Jummyeon bows and lets out a silent sigh of relief happy that he caught up to Sehun at the right time.

On the other side of the dining floor the bar is also booming with business.

Yixing’s entertaining a group of girls out for their bachelorette party and is causing them to break out in a fit of giggles each time he winks at them while he shows of his bartending skills. A flick of the wrist and a scuffle of ice rattling in the shaker, Yixing quickly removes the lid and pours the liquid quickly out while lifting his arms making the stream raise in height. He arches his hand into a slight 45-degree angle creating an arch and as the refracted bar lights hit the liquor different colors glitter and dance on the ladies’ arms. Oohs and Ahhs fill the crowd as Yixing divvies the drinks into their glasses and for the final touch he lights the flower hanging off the side of the rim setting the entire line of glasses ablaze with an orange light that smelled like cinnamon. The ladies squeal in excitement and are happily uploading the entire spectacle onto instragram.

Jongin looks up letting out a frustrated sigh as he continues to stir the drink in hand. Jealous of Yixing getting to take it relatively slower than himself due to the large party, he feels anxious as the ticket machine beeps again as a trail of tickets come flying out. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, and on and on it goes. I am totally in the weeds tonight. Jongin sets down the drink in front of the guest that orders it and turns to grab the trailing tickets before it hits the floor. He pulls each ticket apart and hangs them on the pass so Minseok can start on some. Three limoncello flights, two beer flights, three glasses of house chardonnay, two glasses of the sour beer, two dirty martinis, one on the beach, two mockingbirds, and 10 shots of Don Julio 1942?!?! Jongin’s jaw drops at the last ticket in hand. Holy crap. This table must be ballin’ this vintage is so expensive. An entire bottle is $200. Wow. Seohyun noona’s making bank tonight I hope she tips us out.

Jongin shakes his head as he starts on the second half of the drink orders. Minseok lets out a guttural noise and grabs Jongin by the arm, “Dude, can you take care of these first three? My duo at seat 23 and 24 are insane and I need to see if Hyoyeon can fire their order first. I’m also going back there to pick up seats 10 and 14 to grab their apps, Tao should be done with those charcuterie boards and flatbreads.”

“Yeah hyung, go, I’ll do what I can and try to get Yixing out of those girls’ grips.” nods Jongin.

“Thanks man,” Minseok clasps the back of Jongin’s shoulders before flying off towards the kitchen.

Jongin looks back towards Yixing but no luck, the man’s still stuck in conversation with the ladies. Somewhere someone yells Hey bartender! Jongin lets out a sigh and rushes back into action praying for Yeonhee to stop on by to help.

Yeonhee jogs behind Donghae and grips his elbow as they scurry down the hallway in between the dining room and the kitchen.

“Donghae. We need to talk right now.” Yeonhee hisses.

Donghae turns towards Yeonhee and lets out an exasperated, “What?”

“Mind explaining why you over sat us in the middle of service?! The kitchen was on the brink of collapsing! We’ve literally been in the weeds since 6 o’clock! You know they’re short staffed tonight what with both runners calling out and with Youngtae being on vacation. This isn’t the time to play favorites and let regulars in without abiding by policy! I shouldn’t have to explain this to you, you’re the General Manager!”

Donghae huffs before responding, “Yeonhee, those clients are special. They’re potential investors and I had to let them in because Joowon is breathing down my neck. He owns our entire franchise and when he calls to tell us that important guests are on the way we abide.”

“Not if it’s as last minute as tonight! No prior warning from his part might I add AND on a Saturday night? We barely make it through brunch to transition into dinner as it is what with it being Summer and all. What would you have done if Kyungsoo and the crew couldn’t handle the flow tonight?” Yeonhee exclaimed.

Donghae pinched the space between his eyebrows and sighed, “I get it. But it had to be done. As the General Manager you know I have tough calls to make, even if they seem illogical. The three tables Joowon called in for hardly ate anything. Mainly appetizers and drinks, which thank god because I don’t think Jongin could have handled another round from them if those bachelorette girls hadn’t finally given up on getting Yixing to ditch work to go with them.”

Yeonhee glared at Donghae, “At least Yixing knows how to placate customers by setting boundaries. Joowon would have understood if we told him the situation. He could have come down for an hour if need be. He’s just as dedicated to this establishment as we are however it’s up to you and me to make sure we don’t crash and burn.”

Donghae sighs in defeat, “Again, I understand. The next team meeting is in a week. I’ll bring it up with the upper circle then.”

“If they’re going to keep doing this, we need at least three more employees on the weekends. One more server and two extra food runners. And that’s just FOH, if the kitchen continues to fall short, we’re screwed. Also, Kyungsoo needs more of a heads up about unscheduled guests so he can make sure there’s enough food to get through the night.” Yeonhee pressed.

Donghae just sighs and waves Yeonhee off. He straightens his tie and clears his throat looking a little overwhelmed. “Well, at least business is good.”

“Donghae there won’t be a business if we can’t keep up with the demand.” Yeonhee said firmly.

“Alright. Calm down, I’ll talk to Joowon. I’m jetting off for the night, see you Monday.” Donghae dismissed himself and Yeonhee in one swell swoop and walked away.

Yeonhee looked at him in contempt, angry that he had to play the “emotional card” that men always did to women in the middle of conversations. She rubs her face in frustration before muttering under her breath going home at 9:30pm on a Saturday night what an .

Baekhyun is hiding in the server room by the bar. He’s trying to calm himself down while adding the finishing touches on the 3 lattes in front of him. The door swings open startling him so bad that he ruins the leaf being drawn.

“AACK!” Baekhyun screams while flinging the small carafe of steamed milk into the air which lands on Jongin’s shoulder.

“OW! What the heck hyung!” Jongin exclaims.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry Jongin!” Baekhyun screams as he hurridly dots away on Jongin’s shoulder with a wet rag.

“Hyung. Hyung. Stop. Hyung, it’s fine, it’s gone. Oh my god Baekhyun hyung stop it!!!” Jongin swats Baekhyun’s hands away and flings the wet rag onto the counter besides the two.

“What is wrong with you, hyung!” Jongin says through his teeth trying to keep quiet so the customers outside don’t hear them talking.

Baekhyun sighs and reaches for the rag to place back into the sani-bucket. He runs a hand through his hair and says, “It’s table 52… A girl I used to know is there and well to put it nicely, she’s kind of tipsy and is angry at me?”

Jongin throws the older boy a quizzical look before a small o shape pops on his face, “Oh. Taeyeon noona is here?"

Baekhyun shudders and shuts his eyes, “SHH! Don’t say her name out loud!”

Jongin stares at his hyung in disbelief, “Uh. Dude, it’s just Taeyeon noona not Voldemort.”

Baekhyun huffs in annoyance and again fixes his already perfect hair, “She’s getting kind of rowdy and she’s with two of her other friends that may or may not have gone out with me a few years back.”

Jongin’s jaw drops and he lets out a long whistle, “Damn hyung. I didn’t know you were that much of a player.”

Baekhyun swipes the side of Jongin’s head.

“Ow! Hyung what the hell!” Jongin whines.

“Ugh, just move Jongin, I have to go deliver these lattes to those uh, ladies. Can’t have them over intoxicated right?” Baekhyun says sheepishly as he picks up the tray and pushes out the door.

Baekhyun makes his way across the floor and stops halfway at the fireplace to assess the scene in front of him. Taeyeon and the two other girls are humming now all squeezed into the booth seating on the other side of the table arms slung around each other with their eyes closed. The other tables are looking at the three skeptically wondering if the three women were still sober. Junmyeon shoots Baekhyun a glare and mouths Get over there now! Caffeinate them you idiot!

Baekhyun nods yes and approaches the table. He clears his throat to announce his presence causing the humming to cease.

“A latte with almond milk for the lady in pink, a soy latte for the lady in black, and finally a latte with skim milk for Taeyeon-ssi.” Baekhyun says with a tight-lipped smile. He folds his arms across his chest and the black tray disappears under his left arm.

The two girls mutter their thanks while Taeyeon shoots him a pearly white smile.

“Thanks, Baekhyun,” She bats her eyelashes at him and coos, “Hey, is there any way we can get three orders of those adorable and delicious chocolate mousse dome cakes? You know the ones with purple flowers?”

Baekhyun gulps and chuckles nervously, “Unfortunately Chef Hyeri took them off menu. We do have a new passionfruit and mango mousse cake though! It’s delicious and in season. I like how light and airy the mousse is and it’s tart too which is perfect for this warm weather.”

Taeyeon’s expression visibly falls. “Oh,” she says dejectedly, “I was really hoping to see that beautiful little cake again. I mean the last time I was here I remember you were able to get it for me even if it was off menu.”

Baekhyun laughs it off awkwardly but just shrugs, “Sorry Taeyeon-ssi. We really don’t have them anymore.”

Taeyeon nods, “Alright. We’ll try that passionfruit thing you mentioned and an order of anything chocolate you have.”

Baekhyun nods as he scribbles the order on his pad. “Be right back!” he says as he’s already walking off away from Taeyeon’s sad gaze.

Sehun twirls his wine key in his hand shaking his head disappointedly at Baekhyun, “Sigh. Baekhyun hyung reaaaaally messed up.”

Junmyeon smacks his head with a check book. “Stop standing in the middle of the floor twirling your wine key! It doesn’t look good. You should be decrumbing tables or refilling waters, not just stand and do nothing.”

Sehun rolls his eyes and mocks, “Yes hyung, whatever you say hyung.

Junmyeon smacks him again before inputting the payment into the system. He senses Sehun still standing there and turns to question him when Sehun says, “Hyung, why didn’t you go for Taeyeon-ssi after the whole thing fizzled with Baekhyun hyung?”

Junmyeon was majorly confused nay bewildered at Sehun’s sudden inquiry.

“What!” He scoffs, “I was never into her!”

Sehun tilts his head to the right and lets out an, “Oh, I just thought you liked her since you always watched her whenever she’d come in.”

Junmyeon blushes a deep red and shakes his head signaling a hard NO before ignoring the younger server and focusing back on his work.

Sehun shrugs and stares at Junmyeon muttering to himself before walking away to help Jongdae serve a table of five their entrees. It looked like he made it just in time too since Jongdae’s arm was shaking and the curved Bolognese dish was quivering at the impact.

Chanyeol wipes the sweat off his face with the sleeves of his chef whites. He glances at the clock, it’s now 10pm and they still have two tickets hanging in the window. He sighs and glances down the line looking at his teammates on either side of him. They look so sad he thought while sautéing a pan risotto with his right hand and a pan of garden vegetables in his left. Maybe it’s time for Sharkyeol part two! He grins that goofy grins of his, the one that spreads from ear to ear before bellowing out a loud MOOOOWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH. OOOOOOOOOOO-WAAAAAAAAAAA-WUUUUUUUU-HAHHHHHHH-EEEE-OHHHHH-WOMMMMM.

Minah jumps startled by his deep bass voice booming out of nowhere while Jae lets out a strangled noise. Tao and Kris just stare at each other while shrugging communicating telepathically because clearly Chanyeol hyung’s out of his god damn mind.

Nah, Kris’s eyes seem to say He thinks he’s being funny. Tao throws Kris a look of disbelief before his eyes gleam in response Funny? He thinks this is funny? He sounds like a lost soul haunting about for eternity.

Kris just shrugs again before finishing up the last three Cesar salads and two prosciutto flatbreads. He glances back towards Chanyeol who’s now sauteing extra vigoursly, shaking the pans as the flames from below threaten to engulf the tops completely while he lets out yet another deathly sounding wail.

Tao shakes his head and cracks a smile You’re so weird Chanyeol hyung, so very, very weird.

Kyungsoo snaps his head up from the expo station and raises an eyebrow at Chanyeol’s back while the continues.

“Uhh. Chanyeol?” He starts.

Chanyeol stops immediately and looks over his should at his Soo Chef. His eyes glistening with happiness as he says, “Yes Soo?”

Kyungsoo mutters, “Uh. I hope you’re refering to Sous and not Soo, as in my name.”

Chanyeol clears his throat and nods his head, “Yup. Of course Soo Chef.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t believe him in the slightest and rolls his eyes before continuing, “Can you stop making those demented whale songs?”

Minah, Tao, and Kris erupt into laughter while Chanyeol’s face falls and shouts, “Hey! Demented! I was doing exactly what Dory did in Finding Nemo!”

“That’s what you were going for?” Tao exclaims, “Dude, you sounded like you were dying like this entire day I thought you were going to bail on us and go home sick.”

Chanyeol looks up in disbelief and splutters, “Ohpshaw whaaat? I was trying to lighten the mood! Everyone seemed so tense and stressed. I know we’ve had it rough tonight but come on!”

Hyeri chimes in, “Chanyeol, honestly, I thought you were on the verge of a breakdown. I mean it’s understandable! You’ve pulled 3 doubles in a row. How you’re not burnt out is beyond me.”

Yoona nods in agreement before commenting, “Yeah Chanyeol sunbae, I thought you were upset the entire day and were making those noises as a way to cope with the exhaustion.

Chanyeol just gapes at his team before shaking his head. He turns removes both pans from the heat and begins plating his dishes. “Yah, you ungrateful hoobaes, I’m never going to try to make you laugh again.”