F O R T Y

Word of the Day – “Chiffon”

Kyungsoo surveyed the five huge shopping bags that were set on the couch when he came in. The brands Chanel, Kate Spade and Prada stinging his vision as he mouthed the words out. He couldn’t even take away his gaze for a second to watch Chef walk around the bags to peek at each one of them like the nosy little cat that he was.

When the cat eventually jumped into one of the bags, Kyungsoo had no choice but to take him out quickly and that finally gave him a clearer vision of what it was inside. A purse. He checked another bag and he was sure those were two boxes of shoes while the other bag seemingly contained clothes.

“Good lord, Ra Miyoung.” His hand made its way to his forehead, feeling the headache settling in quickly.

Miyoung appeared from the kitchen, holding a plate that she was wiping with a cloth. “Oh, you’re home! I bought us some take-out. It’s my treat, I got my first paycheck!” She wiggled her eyebrows and set the plate on the table before skipping towards him. “How was everything today? Did you finally decide on whom to go with from all the applicants for the manager’s position? Or are you still hoping you could steal Soobin from SCORCH, you sly ?” She teased.

Kyungsoo tried to focus on the shopping bags again as he faintly pointed at them. “Uhm—I’m just wondering—” He paused, hesitating. Was he in any position to decide on what she should do with her paycheck? He wasn’t that kind of boyfriend. He wasn’t controlling.

But … was he supposed to just enable her then?

“What?” Miyoung asked, quickly losing her smile as she waited for him to continue. Kyungsoo grew even more conflicted as silence filled the entire apartment. “Anyway, I got us some steaks from Manhattan Grill. I’m just finishing the dishes and then we can eat, okay? You can go ahead and change or take a shower first if you want. I’ll prepare the food.” She nudged him before turning around and walking away.

Kyungsoo closed his eyes and sighed, collecting every ounce of emotional strength he had left. “Miyoung, did you at least make a budget for your other important bills before you shopped and bought food from such an expensive restaurant?” The words slipped out unwillingly as he frowned.

Miyoung’s shoulders visibly tensed up as she spun on him, a pout instantly morphing her bright expression away “Uhm, well about that, I just thought maybe since this is—”

“Your phone bill, your credit card bill, your car insurance, gas, groceries and other necessities—did you take care of that first?” Kyungsoo asked, cautious with every word.

He felt extremely bad for even asking such a question. He didn’t want to be this kind of person at all but what else could he possibly do? All he wanted was to help her and be a good example to her, especially because he was much older. He should know better.

Miyoung’s lips parted as if she was about to say something but she swallowed the words back in while scratching her head. “Well, I get paid bi-weekly and I just thought I could just worry about that on the next paycheck and then—I don’t know, —I ed it up, sorry—I didn’t think of that, I guess.” As if realization hit her slowly, her fingers dug into her hair as she pushed them back.

“Okay—don’t worry, come here.” Kyungsoo softened up immediately, already expecting the reaction. “I’m not nagging you, okay? I understand, you got excited. You worked hard for that money—of course, you’d be excited to treat yourself, right? I’ve been there, trust me.” He slipped his fingers on her cheeks, her jaw with his thumb as he made her look up at him. “But since I’ve been there, I also know that it’s the kind of thing that you end up regretting later on when it comes back, biting you on the and you realize you only have a cent left in your account because you got too comfortable, you know? I don’t want that to happen to you when you can prevent it.” He explained.

Miyoung’s shoulders dropped as she nodded, leaning more against his palm. “I’ll get a refund for the stuff I got.” She said, pointing at the shopping bags.

“No, no, no, it’s okay. I’m not trying to say that you should just never treat yourself. It’s still up to you, I just want you to think ahead for the next time. Especially because you’re gonna start looking for a place to move into and you’d surely need to save up for a deposit, right?” Kyungsoo pulled her face closer and pressed his lips on her forehead, staying there for a few seconds before leaning down to kiss her on the lips.

Sighing, he broke away quickly and leaned his forehead against hers. “I feel like I’m pinching myself every time I get reminded that you eventually have to move away because I told you to. But I know that you need it and—” A solemn smile formed on his lips as he pulled her ever closer. “I just feel so conflicted with myself sometimes. One part of me is so selfish and just wants you all for myself but then the other part is being so goddamn open-minded and telling you to live your adulthood the way you should.”

Miyoung rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Should I beg you to just let me stay with you then, Mr. Future Restaurant Owner?” She teased.

“Don’t do that, I might give in and be a ing Sugar Daddy to you full-time.” Kyungsoo chuckled.

“Oh, for ’s sake.” Miyoung slapped him on the chest and laughed hysterically. “As I said before, you’re too stingy to be a Sugar Daddy anyway. I’m gonna make a career of my own and Sugar myself later on.” She turned around to the couch and grabbed all of the shopping bags. “I know you said I can just be careful next time and I can keep these but I’m deciding for myself now while I can still prevent it, like you said. So, I choose to return them. I’ll do that first thing tomorrow after work.” Miyoung winked at him before throwing the bags on the corner of the couch, on the floor.

“But!” She then raised a finger. “I won’t return the food, obviously because I probably cannot. So, let’s just enjoy them, shall we?” She asked.

Proud. Fascinated. . Head-over-heels. Emotions fluttered in Kyungsoo’s chest as he watched his girlfriend walk back into the kitchen. Although Miyoung had a mild boo-boo tonight with her impulsive shopping galore, she had immensely matured ever since she moved in with him and he couldn’t be prouder of what she had become.

If only Wonsuk would be a ing man and contact her, he’d see how much she’d grown without him.

Despite Miyoung not saying anything, Kyungsoo could never ignore the sadness in her eyes that would peek out once in a while. He knew deep down inside of her; she was still waiting for some kind of reconciliation. Or some kind of initiative from the father she grew up knowing. 

But there had been nothing. Not a single effort from the man who owed her some big explanation and apology.

Kyungsoo couldn’t even confess about the truth that Wonsuk had contacted him a few days ago asking if they could meet up and talk after over two months of silence—to which he was yet to respond to. It would break Miyoung’s heart to know that her father made an effort to reach him first. Not her. Not his daughter. Blood-related or not, Miyoung was still Wonsuk’s child and until he addressed the truth and confessed, he could never take away that right from her.

“Their steak is a bomb, you’ve tried it before, right?” Miyoung stepped out of the kitchen with the food bag hugged around her arms. She fished out the containers and prepared the food on the plates, using a fork and tongs. Kyungsoo forced a smile as he followed her to the table, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. “You cheater. I thought my steak was the best?” He said, pressing his lips on the crook of her neck.

Miyoung released a staggered laugh. “Say that once The Alley Cat is open, smartass. Right now, the best steak is unavailable so I have to go with the second-best, right?” She turned her head to look at him with a smile.

“Ugh, fine.” Kyungsoo gave up, his gaze falling to her lips. His hands moved around her waist and he started her tummy in a sensual way. “Uh-oh, I know that look. Not right now, I’m hungry already. Let’s eat first.” Miyoung pushed him off before insisting he sat down. “Anyway, as I was asking before, had you found a suitable manager? Babe, you don’t want to hire one the last-minute cause you’ll have a harder time doing everything yourself when you open in a few months.” She brought up the topic once again.

Kyungsoo grabbed the steak knife and fork and leaned his wrists on the table on either side of the plate, as Miyoung placed the food on it.

“Is it really that weird and rude if I try to recruit Soobin? I like the way she works. What if she agrees if I call her?” He asked, looking up at Miyoung with hopeful eyes.

As expected, his girlfriend threw the same reaction and rolled her eyes. “Okay, Mr. Vengeance Is Mine. Calm down. You don’t involve other people in this. Soobin has a stable and full-time job at my dad’s restaurant. She will turn you down.” She hissed before plopping on the chair across from him. “And besides, I thought you want to keep this on the down-low until you open to avoid conflicts? If you do that, my father and your former co-worker slash friends would surely find out.” She added.

“Well, I kind of—” Kyungsoo swallowed hard as he tried not to laugh in defeat. “I kind of told Minho about my plans. I asked if he would be interested.” He admitted.

Miyoung was silent for a moment and Kyungsoo feared that he had gone overboard with this. He wanted this to be a clean and fair competition and maybe trying to recruit the opponent’s team members may not be the cleanest way to start. But in his defence, he treated the SCORCH staff as family and of course, he felt that it was normal if he wanted to continue to work with them.

But perhaps, it was now certainly impossible.

“What did he say?” Miyoung asked as she took her first bite of the steak.

Kyungsoo sighed and set the utensils down again and stretching his arms on the back of his head