I was blushing? I don’t blush; I was probably red from the heat.

“I-I’m not blushing,” I stuttered.

“Do your cheeks always burn up like that?” he asked.

“No...”

“Am I too hot to handle?” he teased.

“Just step on it before we’re both late for work,” I sighed. I found it funny how something bad always happens that involves Kikwang whenever I turn down someone’s offer to give me a ride. I really didn’t feel like riding on a motorcycle with someone who was probably going to become my biggest rival.

But the ride felt pretty good. I loved how free I felt, just letting the wind tickle my cheeks. I started to forget about the fact that I was riding alongside Kikwang. I forgot about how much of a douchebag he was and threw my head back. It gave me the same feeling I used to get when I would ride my bike alongside my grandma. Now that she’s stuck in the nursing home, I kind of forgot what that felt like since I haven’t experienced something like this for so many years.

“Yah, why are you loosening your grip?” Kikwang said with a frantic voice. “Do you want to die?”

That was a question I could properly answer in two years.

“Sorry,” I replied, tightly wrapping my arms around him. “I was zoning out for a bit.”

“Clearly,” he scoffed. We drove for a few more minutes before we finally arrived at the restaurant. Kikwang parked in front of the restaurant and said, “We’re here. You can let go now.” We walked into the restaurant together, and Mr.Choi gave us a suspicious look.

“Are you two getting along already?” he chuckled.

“Um...something along those lines,” I mumbled. I grabbed my apron and stood at the front, waiting for customers to walk in. Kikwang grabbed his apron as well and shot me a snobby look before heading to the kitchen.

“Have fun,” I said in a sarcastic tone.

“I’ll have enough fun for the both of us,” he replied, obviously mocking the fact that I’ll be extremely bored by the end of today. As he walked into the kitchen, I plopped myself down on one of the chairs behind the cash register and prepared myself for a nice nap. I wasn’t really expecting this restaurant to have much business, unless we had delivery orders, but even then I highly doubted that we would be bombarded with orders. Now that I think about it, maybe Kikwang will be just as bored as me.

“Hi, Hyosung!” Joon walked in and waved at me. If anyone was going to interrupt my nap, I’m glad it was him.

“Hey, are you here to see Kikwang?” I asked. “I’ll go call him.”

“No, I’m fine,” he replied. “I was just hungry.” I nodded and handed him one of the menus and went back to cash register. As I was about to lay my head down and take a nap, Joon spoke again.

“Er, Hyosung?” he mumbled.

“Mmm?” I murmured, lifting my head up.

“Can I order?” he asked, waving the menu in the air. I didn’t actually think he would bother formally ordering, but I went over to him anyways.

“Yah, Hyosung, you need to be more sociable in front of the customers. You’re dish was good, but not that good. I can easily remove your dish from the menu and find another waitress,” Mr.Choi whispered before sending me off. I sighed and plastered a smile on my face.

“What can I get you?”

“Well, what do you suggest?” he smiled. Ugh, I hate it when people give me answers like that.

“I think you should get anything except for the meals that Kikwang came up with,” I grinned. I felt pretty proud hearing a laugh slip from Joon’s mouth.

“Did you make any of these dishes?” he asked. I nodded and pointed out the noodles I made yesterday. “Then I’ll have that one.”

“Alright, but Kikwang’s cooking it, so I can’t guarantee that it’ll taste as good,” I replied before taking his order to the kitchen. I heard another chuckle from him before walking away, and for some reason I had a smile on my face.

“What are you all happy about?” Kikwang asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Nothing,” I shrugged, playing everything off coolly. “Just make the noodles I made yesterday. Even someone with your limited knowledge could remember how it was done.” I stood there, watching his every move to make sure he was doing it right.

“I know I’m attractive, but you don’t have to observe every little thing that I do,” Kikwang chuckled. “Don’t you have to serve the customers?”

“There’s only one person out there,” I replied. “It’s so boring at the- YAH, WATCH HOW MUCH SOY SAUCE YOU’RE PUTTING IN THERE!”

“WHAT?!” Kikwang yelled, nearly dropping the bottle of soy sauce in his hand. “Yah, what the hell was that for?!”

“Great, you put too much soy sauce in,” I sighed. “Now it’s going to be too salty.”

“Well, whoever ordered this shouldn’t mind,” he shrugged. “I’ll just add more water in.”

“Yah, is this how ‘culinary artist’ is supposed to act?” I retorted. “You’re so stupid. The water will eventually evaporate, and the salt y residue is still going to be there.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be nice to me?” Kikwang grunted.

“We’re supposed to be nice to each other,” I explained. “That includes respecting each other’s criticisms, especially when they involve how good the food tastes.”

“Whatever,” he said, shaking his head in frustration. He held up a spoonful of sugar and looked at me. “Is this enough sugar for you, oh master of fried noodles?”

I rolled my eyes at him and nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

He heaved in a sigh of relief and poured the sugar in. I nearly flipped at what he was doing.

“No, no, no!” I yelled. “You need to sprinkle it around evenly.”

“It all mixes together in the end anyways!” Kikwang snapped. “Stop pissing me off and do your own job. Why do you need to make things so complicated?”

“Why can’t you just do things properly?” I retorted.

“Why are you so worked up about one meal?”

“It needs to be perfect!” I frowned. I really didn’t want Joon to think that I came up with a recipe for disgusting noodles.

“Joon’s there isn’t he?” he smirked. “Ugh, why did he have to order the dish that you made?”

“Yah! Just cook it properly or I’ll-”

“Is everything okay in here?” Mr.Choi said, poking his head through the curtain.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” I smiled. He gave an assuring nod and turned around. I was about to follow him, but Kikwang grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

“Just so you know...” he began, “...Joon has a girlfriend already.”

“So?” I managed to mumble.

“So don’t bother trying to get close to him. I know he’s my friend, but you’re just going to end up falling for him, and in the end, you’re going to have your heart broken,” he said. His voice seemed sterner at this point – was he serious?
“What happened to your confidence about me ending up falling for you?” I sneered. “Don’t you remember our conversation on cliché dramas? The main girl always falls for the bad boy – at least that’s what you said.”

“Are you going to take my word for it or not?” he asked. “Don’t come crying to me when he rejects you. He easily leads girls on.”

“You’re delusional,” I scorned. “I never wanted to be his girlfriend in the first place.” Kikwang clenched his fist around the spoon in his hand and handed the plate of noodles to me. I was starting to get scared of his suddenly serious attitude and scurried off with the food.

“Hyosung-ah, do you mind putting that in a container? I have to leave earlier than I expected,” Joon said, getting up from his seat.

“Okay,” I nodded. “Did something come up?”

“Yeah, my girlfriend wants me to go shopping with her,” he replied. “She hates when I’m late.”

“Oh, you really do have a girlfriend?” I asked. I really thought that Kikwang and my mom were just joking - but I think deep inside, I was actually hoping for it.

“Heh, yeah,” he smiled. “Two years strong now.” I didn’t want to be a joy-killer and not compliment him on his relationship, but all I could do was force a small smile to form. I put the noodles in a container and handed it to him.

“Oh, and tell Kikwang he’s in big sh*t when he tries to sneak my motorcycle back in my garage. He’s not as cunning and sneaky as he thinks,” Joon chuckled. With one last smile, he headed off and drove away. I sighed and slumped in my chair, when Kikwang came up from behind me.

“What did I tell you?” he sighed. “Girl’s like you fall hard so fast. It’s annoying.”

“I never asked for your opinion, you know,” I mumbled. “And I never said I liked Joon. I just met him today.”

“Please, you have that desperate look plastered all over your face,” he mocked. I couldn’t take his ‘jokes’ anymore. If he kept it up, my blood pressure would increase to unbelievable heights and I’d probably explode. I slammed my hands on the table and glared at him.

“Who would fall for a person in one day? I wouldn’t even fall for Joon if I knew him for a whole year,” I retorted.

“That’s because he’d still be with his girlfriend, who I’m sure is a lot better than you. You wouldn’t have stood a chance anyways, unless of course, you’re a home-wrecker.”

“CAN YOU SHUT UP?!” I yelled.

“Yah, Jun Hyosung! What’s gotten in to you?” Mr.Choi said, running in the middle of Kikwang and me.

“He’s the one forcing relationship advice down my throat!” I yelled.

“I thought you were going to try to get along with each other? Do you not want to keep this job?” he asked.

“Just give her a bit more time, sir,” Kikwang interrupted. “I’m sure I can help tame her down a bit.”

“Can you tell Kikwang to stop trying to get me fired?” I grunted. “I wasn’t doing anything to piss him off. Being annoying just comes naturally to him.”

“She’s the one who can’t take a joke, or control her temper,” Kikwang laughed.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Mr.Choi shouted. “This is exactly why you aren’t fit to work in the kitchen yet, Hyosung. You get mad so easily.”

“I do not!” I protested. That probably wasn’t the best time to yell.

“Of course she doesn’t,” Kikwang said sarcastically.

“Don’t you notice how biased you’re being? Why aren’t you saying anything to Kikwang?” I said. “This is a display of ism!”

“Kikwang never raised his voice, but in the last five minutes you’ve managed to release your temper and yell at me several times,” Mr.Choi explained. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could I possibly be the only one to blame for all of this?

“Wow...” I muttered. “...Unbelievable.”

“Now I’m going to ask you one more time, Hyosung,” Mr.Choi began, “Do you want to keep your job?”

At that moment, I made the worst decision of my life and said, “No. I don’t.”

“So you’re quitting? After one day?” he said, his voice filled with awe and shock. I kind of figured that I wouldn’t really last long working at the restaurant, but I definitely hoped I could last for at least my first day on the job. I guess I was wrong.

“I...I guess I am...” I muttered.  I hung up my apron and walked out of the restaurant. I didn’t really know where to head for next, but I definitely wasn’t going to go home and get a lecture from my mom on how wrong it was for me to quit after one day. I heard footsteps behind me and figured it was either the manager or Kikwang, so I quickened my pace.

“Yah, are you stupid?”

“What do you want, Kikwang?” I grunted. “I don’t need any more of your advice.”

“Look, I know you may have gotten pissed off, but you shouldn’t quit just because of one disagreement. You’re going to need a lot more will-power if you’re planning on surviving in the working world.” Believe me, two more years of working isn’t really a big deal.

“Are you seriously blaming me?” I gasped. “Me?”

“You were just being irrational,” he replied. “Are you not used to people messing around with you?”

“I don’t have time to play games, okay? I only have two years to...never mind.”

“Two years?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. “For what?”

“Er...nothing,” I muttered. “That came out wrong.”

“Well, what did you mean to say?” he asked. Kikwang seemed a little more concerned now.

“Well...what I meant to say was...I mean...er...” I kept dragging on my sentence. What was I supposed to say?

“You’re not sick are you?” he asked. “Do you have a terminal illness or something? Is it leukemia? Is it some other type of cancer?”

“I...um...Just get back to work, Kikwang,” I replied. “I’m fine.”

“Yah, Hyosung, if you need help ranting about your sickness, I can-“

“I’m not sick, Kikwang!” I yelled. “Just...leave me alone and go back to work. Oh, and Joon knows that you took his motorcycle without asking.”

“Can you return it for me?” he asked. “He lives ten houses down from yours, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.”

“I thought it was bad for me to talk to a guy who already has a girlfriend,” I murmured.

“Look, just take the stupid bike, okay?” he sighed. “You need a way to get home anyways. I can take the bus or walk.” Kikwang’s sudden change in attitude stirred up all these questions in my mind. Could he actually be a nice person? Maybe this whole ‘cool-guy’ attitude is just a mask to cover up something.

“Um...Thanks,” I said.

“Whatever.” And with that, he walked back into the restaurant. I gave the restaurant a final glance and drove off on the motorcycle.

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yay update~ :D I can't wait until it starts getting around the middle of the story, because honestly, I'm bored of my own writing right now. I'm waiting for the right moment to put certain scenes in :3 

anyways~~ comments would be cool :3 you know, as a self-esteem booster LOL just kidding ^___^ silent readers are cool too (Y)

edit: LOLOL i already lost a subscriber xD