F O R T Y – T W O

Word of the Day – “Flake”

The tug on his chest overwhelmed him when one of the staff came into the kitchen letting him know about the particular guest he had been so waiting for—or not waiting for at all. Ra Wonsuk. Suddenly, he thought this was all but a brilliant idea. There was no way that this could make things any better for them. “Okay, did you call Miyoung too? She’s in the office talking to her co-workers on the phone.” Kyungsoo stood up, smoothed his button-down shirt and his dried lips. Once. Twice. Three times.

He felt cold and warm at the same time—not the good kind of warm. It was uncomfortable. It was nerve-wracking.

It wasn’t anything he expected to feel.

Damn, he was nervous of reuniting with his now competitor who was once his biggest inspiration, his idol … and the only parent figure he’d ever had.

“I can do this.” He whispered to himself as he stared at the stainless-steel doors of the kitchen. He heard every tick of his watch as he blankly stared at it while he held onto the door handles without moving. He cleared his throat once. Twice. Three times. And again. “I can do this.” He squeezed his eyes for a moment before fluttering them wide open as if doing so will clear his vision any better.

God, he needed glasses already. He could feel it coming along with his age.

With one last glance at his watch, for no apparent reason, he pushed the doors open and headed out. His eyes roamed from the perfectly lines tables, three of them currently occupied by Baekhyun’s family, two of his culinary school friends and Soobin’s mom. Then his gaze continued on until it arrived at the very corner by the entrance. There he was. Ra Wonsuk. With his handy-dandy assistant.

And Miyoung was right there, facing her father. And Kyungsoo couldn’t figure out what she was feeling at the moment. All he could see was the back of her head. Was she okay? Was she crying? How long have they been talking?

When his girlfriend turned around, Kyungsoo realized that there was another person that she was initially blocking from his line of sight.

Wait.

That person.

What was happening?

Kyungsoo met his girlfriend’s concerned eyes and that told him that he was right. He wasn’t hallucinating. It was real. The person was real. She was real. His whole body tingled with an incredible amount of pain and confusion. “Oh, Doh Kyungsoo, there you are.” Wonsuk spoke but his voice sounded like an echo at the back of Kyungsoo’s head. The man approached him as his assistant and the other person followed behind.

“Why—” The words barely came out of Kyungsoo’s mouth as his lips continued moving without a sound.

Miyoung stood right in front of him and held his arms, that’s when he realized that he had turned completely cold. Her touch was boiling hot on his skin. He flinched when Wonsuk patted his arm quickly. “You know, son, this has been a project of mine for a long time before things went—you know.” The man spoke with confidence and fake kindness.

Kyungsoo felt his chest shaking as he struggled to take each breath. “Kyungsoo, I’ll handle this, get back in.” Miyoung hushed while trying to push him back into the kitchen.

Wonsuk cleared his throat loudly before placing his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder again. “I finally found her for you and I thought, since you’re opening your first restaurant, this moment would be crucial. She can't miss her own son's first business? Right? Especially for you. I know how long you’ve been waiting for her approval.” Kyungsoo was too weak to even protest when Wonsuk pulled him closer.

“Dad, stop, what are you doing—” Miyoung tried to pull him back but Kyungsoo was already frozen on his new position. Right in front of them. Right in front of her.

Her. His mother. She was right here. In front of him.

In his restaurant.

“Hello there. Long time no see, huh?” The woman spoke, twitching her shoulders once as if she didn’t even want to be here at all. “Oh yes, about that, I just found out that you already met her once, Kyungsoo? Why did you never tell me that?” Wonsuk frowned for a second before smiling and patting his back. “Anyway, she was resistant at first but—” He then leaned closer to Kyungsoo’s ear. “Nothing money can’t do, right? Thank me later, buddy.” He whispered and laughed.

“Dad, just stop! Why are you doing this?” Miyoung stood in front of Kyungsoo and held him up from behind.

Wonsuk looked at his daughter with comprehension. “Sweetie, we have our own thing to settle so why don’t you leave the reunited mother-and-son alone and we go somewhere else to talk, hm?” He asked. At this point, Kyungsoo could sense everybody’s eyes on them.

Wonsuk looked at him and smiled. “Anyway, congratulations on your restaurant. I must say … this place looks pretty second-hand, was vintage your theme? Am I wrong? A lot of things in here were once thrown away and forgotten, no? Very … suitable for you.” The subtle smirk on his face grew but only Kyungsoo could see it. It was meant directly for him.

Soobin, being the manager, took care of approaching each guest and distracting them as the discreet commotion happened at one corner.

“Come on, sweetie. I know I owe you a lot of explanation and I’m finally ready to give you just that. I just … needed time, you see.” Wonsuk’s face softened as he looked down at Miyoung. Kyungsoo felt his girlfriend’s grip on his arms tighten, her hands trembling on him. “Go.” He heard himself whisper. Nothing should ever stop Miyoung from receiving the acknowledgment that she deserved. Not even this.

“Miyoung, please, just give your old man a chance?” Wonsuk pleaded.

Kyungsoo met Miyoung’s eyes when she turned to look at him. Don’t leave me here, he wanted to say. But that would be selfish of him, wouldn’t it? She had to go. She had to hear what the man had to say.

He looked towards his mother again whose expression never faltered.

She looked bored. She looked just as uninterested as she was when he first met her. He was already aware that the woman never cared, long before this moment happened. But he didn’t want to see it again. Not on the first launch day of his restaurant. Not on such a special day for him where he was supposed to be happy and excited. Not ever.

“Miyoung, please, just go talk to him first,” Kyungsoo said, pressing her shoulders to lightly push her off. “I’ll be fine here.” He added even though he clearly knew he wasn’t going to be fine. Not at all. Not when the first person to neglect him was right in front of him, still actively neglecting him as she blankly looked around while picking on her fingernails as if she was listening to the most boring presentation ever.

When Kyungsoo felt Miyoung’s grip loosen on him, he felt even colder. And when she stood away from him, completely eliminating the barrier he initially had with his mother, he felt sick to his stomach.

“Please? Let’s talk outside, sweetie.” Wonsuk held her hand and pulled her to him. Kyungsoo felt himself shudder in fear when Miyoung took her first step along with her father. It felt like she was going away forever. Like she wasn’t coming back anymore.

“So, anyway,” Kyungsoo’s mother spoke. “I gave birth to you, how about serving me free food? This is yours, right? Technically, this place wouldn’t have existed if not for me. Also, that old man drove me here all the way from Daegu, we don’t want to waste that, right?” She laughed sarcastically. “So, where do I sit? You serve alcohol here, right?” She asked, impatiently scratching her neck as if she was receiving the worst customer service of her entire life.

Kyungsoo felt suffocated as he looked back at her. No words were able to come out of his mouth no matter how much he tried.

“Hello, miss! Why don’t we sit you here at the bar? A server will be there for you to take your order shortly, alright? I’m Baekhyun, The Alley Cat’s head bartender at your service! And did I hear you say alcohol? That’s my forte, I will take care of that for you, don’t worry.” Baekhyun came into t