N I N E

Word of the Day – “Deglaze”

Over the next couple of days, Miyoung made an effort to move past the kissing incident and forget about it. It wasn’t easy. It was hell to forget about. A big mistake. A poor sense of judgment. Wrong move. Impulsive. It was everything wrong. Holy . If she was smarter, which she obviously wasn’t that day, she could have smacked him to get back at him for making her feel things she knew she shouldn’t be feeling, even for that heart-stopping moment.

It’s easy to get lost when I’m looking into your eyes.

She should have known it was pure bull from the second he opened his mouth. Despite knowing the intentions of the words now, her chest brimmed with emotions just by the thought of it.

Why did he have to speak as if he meant it? Why did he have to look at her like he was actually … getting lost in her eyes? What a ing actor. He’d win an award for it and she’d even applaud him.

She stunned away from her thoughts when her phone vibrated. She fished it out of her pocket and squinted at the screen. Good lord, such cliché. Of course, the second she was pondering about that one person, he’d start calling as if her hatred summoned him. It was like living in her own comedy. Except … it was not ing funny.

“What do you want?” A harsh tone escaped as soon as she picked it up.

“Rude? I thought you’d like the idea of finally meeting Choi Soobin? She’s back from her vacation.”

Miyoung’s expression shifted in a split second, shoulders square and back straight. The real manager had returned, finally. Now, she didn’t have to deal with Doh Kyungsoo in regards to learning the restaurant. Perfect timing! She had been M.I.A on her mission because of the kiss and she was starting to worry that it was affecting her growth within the company.

Before she could even meet Choi Soobin, the woman had already saved her .

She had a good feeling about this.

She drank the remainder of her already cold coffee before setting it down the table. “I’m coming.” There was a long pause on the other end before she heard a loud throat clear from him. “So, about what happened a couple of days ago. I just really hope you won’t say anything to an—“

“Are you kidding me? You’re still thinking about that? Doh Kyungsoo, I’ve lived in a western country for so long, a flimsy kiss isn’t a big deal. I don’t even know if that was an actual kiss, it was dull and sickening, to say the least. As I said, I did that to piss you off. Grow up and move on.”

The man laughed. “Someone seems to have a script already, huh? Are you sure that it’s me who’s still thinking about it? I was talking about my ex-wife, you silly.”

Ex-wife. Right. More things, really important things, happened that day aside from the kiss. Of course, why would a divorced and definitely experienced grown man overthink about a flimsy kiss, as she called it? What was she even worrying about?

He didn’t care. He didn’t worry. He’d forgotten about it already. It was … a relief, right? It should be a relief. It should be a big relief if anything. Now, she can move past it without having to plot something to back herself up. There was nothing to back up. Nothing happened. Nothing … momentous happened, at least not for him.

And it was a good thing.

“I don’t care about your messed up private life and I have better ideas of destroying you other than gossiping like a schoolgirl, alright?” She snapped back.

“Aw, I’m blushing, stop being so sweet.”

She rolled her eyes so hard it hurt her. Why did he always have to have the most destructive one-liners that consistently left her tongue-tied? Instead of embarrassing herself for the second time, she ended the call without bothering to say goodbye. She left some bills on the table, enough for the coffee plus a tip, before gathering herself to leave the café.

A wave of excitement rushed through her as she drove to the restaurant. She couldn’t comprehend exactly what it was. Was she this excited to meet the manager? Or did she actually miss the restaurant? Both were unlikely but she’d take the first one more than the latter option. She’d only ever miss the restaurant once it was finally hers and she wasn’t there just yet.

She had yet to build that sort of connection with the restaurant and its people. Hopefully, it was doable. She wasn’t as friendly as she’d want to be but that didn’t matter in this industry. Business was business. All she needed was to be a good leader, right?

She parked the car at the nearest parking spot she could find. Gazing at her reflection from the rear mirror, she put on her gigantic sunglasses before hopping off the vehicle. Poise. Elegance. Girl boss. Woman. She needed to address who the real boss was between them. If she didn’t, she was going to be the pathetic young daughter of the restaurant owner fresh off university who was never really there.

She didn’t want to come off as weak and vulnerable to the manager as much as possible. A strong impression was what she needed to leave behind.

When she arrived inside, she was welcomed by a few familiar faces. At this point, she had memorized some of them, despite barely knowing their names yet. Shortly after, as she walked deep into the restaurant, a lady approached.

Boring flat shoes. Black slacks. White button-down shirt under a black suit that seemed to match the pants. Short hair pushed back in a low bun and glasses—awfully nerdy thick glasses that barely hid her poorly maintained eyebrows.

This must be … Choi Soobin then? It sure didn’t seem difficult to address authority now. No doubt, Miyoung knew who the boss was.

“Hi! You must be Mr. Ra’s dau—”

Miyoung lifted a palm, stopping the woman. “Ra Miyoung. Just Ra Miyoung.” She faked a smile before offering a handshake. The woman gladly took it and bowed at the same time. There was not a single hint of authority in this woman. If anything, she felt awkward. And for a manager, she sure was bad at making eye contact.

Well, she had to be so good at her job then. It was the only way she could see this working out.

“Anyway, it’s good to finally meet you. The last time I was home, it was Mr. Lee Dongil who managed SCORCH and even then, I was too young to really get to know him.” She skimmed her gaze at the woman again, from head to toe. “How old are you, may I ask? You seem pretty young.”

“I’m twenty-eight, ma’am.”

Her guess in her head was pretty close after all. She thought the woman was around her early thirties but it must be her whole attire that added a couple of years. “Well, anyway, we’re just about to get ready for dinner seating so it’s a perfect time to show you around more. Have you met all the employees yet?” Soobin asked. “Not everyone and not face-to-face yet. Your head chef thought it was a ridiculous thing to do.” Miyoung replied with sarcasm.

“Oh! Don’t worry about it. Since we’re now on a slow hour, I can introduce them—”

The woman’s eyes shifted to a different direction, falling into a pathetic grin as she adjusted her glasses. “He—hey, Baekhyun.” Miyoung whipped her head to look behind and saw the same guy she met a while ago. “Oh, you’re back.” The man approached them with a cheeky smile. Soobin giggled severely while nodding and that was when Miyoung realized the braces.

Oh, god. Adult braces. Really?

The man flashed the manager a wink before looking at her next. His expression changed into a shy smile as he bowed. “Good afternoon, Miss Miyoung.” He greeted and lowered his head to a light friendly bow.

She gave him a nod before focusing her attention back on Soobin who was still grinning hard while looking up at the head bartender. “Uh, Soobin. How about we—hello? Soobin.” Despite only meeting her today, Miyoung didn’t have a choice but to literally shake her away from her daze.

Oh god, she knew what was happening. Soobin obviously had the hots for Baekhyun. Duh.

“Ah? Yes, sure, ma’am, why not?” Soobin replied blankly, still with the same grin plastered on her face