Tonight had been the dreaded night my appa came to my umma to beg for money.. or better said, to claim the money he needed..
I heard everything, although I tried not to listen..
I know there is no love between my parents, but it still hurts me to hear them hurt each other.. even if it’s only words.
I think words can hurt a lot more than physical pain.

As soon as I saw the sky grew lighter, because the morning was coming, I got up from the hard bed in my small room.
I don’t know till how late my appa had been here, arguing with my umma, but I know they had made it very difficult for me to sleep.
My back was broken from tossing and turning on the hard mattress..
My arms were a little sore from pushing the musty smelling cushion against my head to shut out the sounds.
I had gotten used to the sounds of pain, pleasure or torture, the sounds of a brothel, so it felt like I didn’t hear them anymore..
But I think I’ll never get that much used to my parent’s yells, I think I can never not hear them.
Besides, they always use me as their excuse for needing the money, or not giving the money..

I crawled off the bed, stretched my barely rested legs and yawned.
For the first time since I can remember, I wondered whether I looked good enough..
There was no mirror in my room, or in any room I was allowed to go into in the brothel.
Only the bathroom had a small mirror, but it was dirty, damaged with rust and only big enough to see my head and my shoulders reflected.

The brothel had a kitchen and small eating hall, customers of the brothel could buy and consume meals there, es could only pay their meal and take it to their rooms.. By no means could they sit with the customers to eat!
In the kitchen of the brothel worked a young woman. I knew I had always been the light in her day.
She was my noona by 7 years, when I was little I used to watch her cook, I spend whole days seeing her working in the kitchen..
Nowadays I would only visit her early in the morning, when all the ‘flowers’ of the brothel go to sleep.
She always gives me something to eat in the morning, without me having to pay for it.
Today was not any different..
As soon as she saw me entering the kitchen, she put some food on a plate and handed it to me with a smile.
I nodded in reply and returned the smile.
We never talked.. because she was mute.. but we did communicate, in actions, gestures and sign language.

As soon as I finished the meal, I rushed off to the CeOX building.
I hope I wasn’t too late.
I had put on my best clothes, but I knew that I looked like a poor man none the less..

At the CeOX building’s entrance I couldn’t help but smile.
I had a purpose to go in there, I worked at the CeOX building now!
I went up to the restaurant manager, surely I would need a uniform..
The manager looked really busy when he gave me my uniform, it was a size too big, but I didn’t ask for a new one, since I was happy enough that I could even work here.
Besides, manager Park would only get irritated if I’d bother him again.
‘You, food boy.. Bring this to table four, that’s the table in the corner, next to the window.. When you put it down, look at the customer and don’t forget to say: “Please, enjoy your meal!” Oh, and smile! You should always smile!’
I nodded as I tried to remember all the directions one of the waiters had given me.

The tray of food I had to carry was really heavy.
I didn’t know food could be this heavy, let alone that it could look this delicious..
If I was a little bit more comfortable, I would have sneaked a little food of the tray, just to taste this heavenly cookery.

As I approached table four, I saw the customers were really wealthy..
It were two men in neat suits and they seemed very serious and business-like.
I felt like they were much more then I could ever be, I felt how great a difference there was between them and me.
How could I ever look them in the face and smile?
I put the tray on the table, bowed low and said in a humble voice the words I was told to say..

~ ChangMin’s POV.

Hmm.. The restaurant doesn’t look like it’s worth any Michelin Stars at all!
It’s messy and look at the staff, like they asked the most trashy types to work here..
If I become the manager of CeOX, this restaurant will undergo a lot of changes!
A luxurious shopping mall can’t have such a louzy restaurant..

Take that food runner that served us for once..
He looks like he borrowed his appa’s working clothes, serves the delicacies like he’s giving food to his dog and his nails look so dirty, like he has dug a hole in the ground just before!

~ End of ChangMin’s POV.

It wasn’t going well, my first day was really hectic and I kept forgetting which table was which..
I made a terrible mistake too..
When I had to carry a tray full of beverages, I made the whole lot fall on the ground, because I took one glass off and lost the balance..
Unfortunately there was a glass of red wine on the tray and it had spilled its contents on the white clothes of a female..
I apologized like mad, but they were totally not amused.
I was sure this meant the end of me working here, but much to my surprise, the manager just shrugged and told me to be there again tomorrow..

________~END OF CHAPTER 3~________