XiuLay

-----------MINSEOK’s POV

The night was clear, the moon was full, and the streets were buzzing with bunches of people and blaring horns. The nightlife in Seoul was at its peak as Kim Minseok walked along the sidewalk, glancing down at his phone every so often to check the directions he was given by one of his good friends; he was told by his buddy, and roommate, Xi Luhan that there was a great Chinese restaurant not too far away from their dorm, so he decided to check it out. The eating place is called Laymaxing (pronounced Lay-may-shing), and they supposedly bring in Chefs from all over China to try and bring in a different East-Asian taste; tonight’s chef has come all the way from Hunan, China to cook at this restaurant.

The smell of delicious noodles and meat wafted through the air as he stood in front of the entrance to the Chinese eatery. He checked the name on the sign above the door, and then name on the bright screen of his phone, and grinned and strolled through the open doors when he noticed that the two names matched perfectly.

He was instantly greeted by a smiling waitress; her uniform was clean with no wrinkles, her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, and she held a hand full of menu’s in her small hands. “Good evening! Welcome to Laymaxing; how many are in your party?” Minseok smiled as he told the woman it was only him. She eyed him up and down shamelessly and smiled to herself as she curled a finger, beckoning him to follow her to his table.

The interior was decorated with warm browns, reds and golds. The tables were a dark shade of mahogany and the chairs matched perfectly with red cushions and gold tinsels that wrapped around the legs. There was also a black stage on the far left wall with a baby grand piano with a matching black drum set and a microphone. The pianist was playing something up-beat, but calming as the room hummed with sound of chitter chatter and laughter; it was almost a full house.

Once he was seated, Minseok smiled and reached for the menu that was handed to him. “My name is Oh Han Ri, and I’ll be your server.” She ended her introduction with a wink that Minseok raised his eyebrows in amusement towards. “Tonight’s special is Bin-Tang Xiang-Lian, Dong’an Ziji, and Mala Ziji. Can I start you off with a glass of water?” Minseok nodded with a smile. The waitress nodded her head as she jotted the simple order on her sticker decorated notepad. The flirty waitress sashayed away as Minseok looked through the menu; a lot of things caught his eye, but the name that made his stomach grumble was the traditional Baozi.

Since it’s a different chef every time, maybe the taste will be different too.

When Han Ri returned with his water, Minseok politely gave her his order. She scribbled his meal down on her pad before she took the menu that her customer handed her. “You’re all set. If you need anything else, just wave me over~” Minseok nodded his head as he tried to stifle the smirk on his lips.

A few of the waiters jogged over to the stage; two of them taking previous pianist on the piano bench, another taking a seat behind a drum set and the last one taking hold of the microphone.

“-sting, testing- one two. Alright, good evening you guys! How is everyone doing tonight?” The crowd clapped and cheered; the sophisticated atmosphere of the eatery taking on a new feeling as though it was on some kind of game show instead of a fancy restaurant.

The crowd cheered enthusiastically, the other waiters came around with rolls of raffle tickets in their hands. “Alright guys, this is how tonight is going to go,” The pair at the piano started running their fingers across the keys in a playful manner, the drummer following suit as they laughed and played their instruments avidly. “Our fellow servers are selling raffle tickets for $1. For those of you who are new here, listen close!” The band started playing quieter, the music speeding up in tempo, creating an intensified ambience. “Tonight’s raffling will only have 3 winners; they can either win a free meal here at Laymaxing, a gift card of $25 at any place of their choosing, or the S3B!!” The entire house went nuts at the naming of the last prize.

Minseok couldn’t help but get riled up himself as he cheered with the many people around him, a grin decorating his face as he clapped at the list of awards. Han Ri managed to weasel her way around the other tables and pop up beside Minseok’s table. “Would you like to buy a ticket? Only $1~” She sang, waving the thick roll in a tempting manner. Pulling out his wallet, the wide-eyed college student pulled out two singles and handed them to his waitress, “I’ll take two, please.” The waitress smiled as she unraveled the two strips of gold tags and handed them both to her patron in exchange for the two bills. Minseok nodded to her in thanks, but as she turned away, he called her attention again. “Wait, quick question; what’s a S3B?” The waitress smiled and flipped her bangs in a sensual fashion, “I’ll tell you in just a moment; let me go turn the money in and get your order.” As his waitress left, Minseok looked up at the band that was still laughing and playing harmonically with one another; the music now turning into something with an airy vibe.

Some of the people got up from their seats and started dancing, others started clapping along with the beat and humming with the piano melody. Minseok glanced down at his golden tickets and read their numbers: 032618 and 990176. The numbers seemed kind of random, so he sighed as he set the tickets down next to his chopsticks and napkin.

The numbers are kind of all over the place; I don’t think I’m going to win anything tonight.

When the MC guy got back on the microphone, things started calming down, but the music was continuous. “Thank you all so much for waiting patiently, and a special thanks to those who purchased their tickets! All of the stubs are in, so now it’s time to start the raffle!” The crowd cheered as two other waiters brought up a huge spinning sphere that was containing a bunch of golden tickets. The group on stage started setting up the raffle ball while a random waitress hopped up on the stage, counted the piano duo and drummer off, and started singing a popular tune.

Han Ri twisted and turned her way back to Minseok’s table, pushing a grey cart in front of her with plates of food scattered on its metal surface.

Lying his food and side dishes out on the table for him, Han Ri began explain what the final prize was, “Okay, so, the S3B is also known as the Super-Special-Secret-Bonus; hence S-3-B. Laymaxing never has the same chef for a term of six months. So whenever we get a new cook, they are the ones that give the idea for the S3B. When someone’s name is pulled for that prize, they get to do something special that the new cook chose for the night!” Minseok nodded as he processed the information given to him. “Oh, and here are some extra napkins for you~” After setting the napkins down, Han Ri twinkled her fingers in his direction as she walked away.  When he reached for a napkin to set on his lap, he noticed that the second serviette had a phone number with Han Ri’s name and hearts drawn all over the place.

How doesn’t she notice I’m not interested?

(When Minseok figured out that he was gay, he was kicked out of his parent’s house almost immediately; he couldn’t afford to live on the campus of his college, so he managed to room with a good friend of his. Luhan lives with his boyfriend Sehun, so after hearing about Minseok’s predicament with his parents, he didn’t give Minseok moving in a second thought.)

Seeing all the food in front of him made Minseok’s stomach growl viciously, so he grabbed his chopsticks, rubbed them together and gave thanks until they broke apart. He managed to grab two Baozi in one go, and as he was chewing the soft buns, he was drizzling some of his side dishes in sweet and sour sauce.

“Alright, now that everything’s ready, who wants to win some prizes?” The waiter called enthusiastically. Since everyone one was starting to eat, most people just clapped vigorously because their mouths were stuffed with food.

“Alright, the winner for the ‘Free Meal’ is… ticket number 4-3-7-8-4-2!” Someone stood abruptly and held their ticket high in the air as they screamed bloody murder. People around them cheered for the winner happily-even Minseok pumped his fist as the eager ajumma ran up to the stage.

Once the woman had her coupon given to her with the waiter’s approval signature on it, she took her seat. “Congratulations Mrs. Kang Eun Sook!” The waiter took a moment to clap for her before he took the lever of the sphere in his hand for the second time. “Alright, whose lucky number is going to win next?” He asked as he pushed the lever, causing the sphere to spin, mix, and shuffle the golden tickets contained within it. “And the winner of the $25 gift card is… Mrs. Do Swi Chen!!” Another woman in an elegant black dress stood, shouting and clapping her hands feverishly as she made her way to the platform. With her ticket in hand, she accepted the card and got the location of her card sorted out.

The final drawing was being made, and Minseok wasn’t paying a bit of attention as he cleared his last side dish. He sat back with a satisfied sigh and set his sticks down to rub his full belly.

Oh, that hit the spot- it tasted lot better than I expected, haha.

As he stacked his bowls absentmindedly, the woman went back to her seat with her small card and the MC clapped for her again.

The piano stopped playing and the drummer gave an earnest drum roll. “And now, the moment everyone’s been waiting for!” The crowd practically roared with excitement as Minseok fidgeted in his seat; the atmosphere having changed in intensity and eagerness all of a sudden. “It’s time to raffle off the SUPER-SPECIAL-SECRET-BONUS!!!!” It was as though Minseok was at a concert for the entire restaurant screamed and clapped in anticipation at the giveaway of the final award.

It’s just a prize, what could be so important? It’s probably helping the chef do the dishes anyway...

Minseok chuckled at his own dry joke and picked up his tickets; he had a wonderful meal, and now he was getting one hell of a show. The waiter took a step towards the end of the stage as he started speaking again. “Now, how about I give you guys an even bigger treat, eh? I’ll let the food-man himself introduce his own personalized prize. I give you, Mr. Zhang Yixing!!” If the crowd was loud before, it was nothing compared to how it was as a man clad in black slacks, a purple button up and a white apron climbed the short stairs of the stage.

He waved to the crowd as though he were the president and bowed respectfully to each corner of the restaurant. The chef nodded his head at the musicians and shook hands with the MC as he was handed the microphone. It wasn’t until Minseok heard a new voice that he started to pay attention again; his mind had started wandering to what he might be able to do after the event was over.

“Thank you so much for coming out tonight guys!” The crowd cheered as the Chef smiled and nodded to whomever he made eye contact with. “My name is Zhang Yixing, and I hope you guys enjoyed your food! I enjoyed cooking for you all tonight, so I hope I get to see all of you again!” The crowd responded with cheers and shouts as Yixing bowed to each table. “Alright, who wants to win the S3B?” Everyone shouted and clapped in anticipation of the prize that was about to be won.

Everyone except for Minseok.

He was mesmerized by the way the chef’s hips swayed when he first walked up the stage stairs, the way his lips moved against the grey part of the microphone- even the way his petite hands held the black stem of the wireless voice projector had him practically breathless.

I have to win the S3B. I have to.

With newfound determination, Minseok watched as Yixing turned the sphere over and over, taunting the crowd exponentially with the golden tickets fluttering within the raffle ball. Running his hand across the cloth of the table, Minseok felt around for his tickets without taking his eyes off of the chef who took out one of the many golden tokens.

“Alright, “ Yixing spoke into the microphone, his lips grazing the tip of the little device which made it a little hard for the college student to focus on the numbers on his tickets. “The final numbers are…9-9-0-1-7-8!” When Yixing looked up he came face to face with a quiet crowd. People looked around at one another, but no one stood screaming their hearts out at winning the infamous S3B.

Minseok looked down at his numbers and saw that he was off by only one digit: 9-9-0-1-7-6.

Yixing frowned in the most adorable way as he looked around, then he looked at the waiter with a dear-God-please-help-me written all over his face. The waiter smiled awkwardly as he looked from Yixing to the ticket and the smile turned humble almost instantly; he pointed down at the little gold strip and Yixing looked as though he swallowed something bitter. “I’m so sorry, I made a mistake...” Yixing blushed, a bright shade of red coloring his cheeks as he cleared his throat to continue, “The numbers are 9-9-0-1-7-6.” Still no one stood and cheered.

Minseok looked from his first ticket to the second and his heart practically stopped in his chest.

Those are my numbers…

Minseok stood slowly as he held his ticket up, waving it back and forth to draw the attention of those on the stage. There was a brief pause as everyone looked at him, then the people around him started cheering, and it was as though the positive attitude was infectious as people whistled and shouted in congratulations.

Minseok never tore his eyes from the Hunan chef as he moderately made his way to the stage.

-----------YIXING’s POV

The kitchen was alive and bustling when a couple of waiters popped in with orders. Instead of shouting random foods while the chef and sub-chefs were busy ladling sauces, boiling noodles, and frying meats, they simply placed the small sheet paper on a hanging assembly line. The guest chef, Zhang Yixing, wasn’t from Korea, so the way things were being run was a definite change for him; back at home, people shouted orders and piled up written meals on the nearest table, so things were a little more turbulent in Hunan than here. So since things were a lot more organized here in Seoul, he hasn’t messed up anyone’s order yet.

Yixing has mostly been cooking the specialties of the night, so when he saw an order of traditional Baozi, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. As he was preparing the multi-bun dish, he hummed to the melody of the music that was being played on the other side of the swinging door.

The sub-chefs were placing other orders on the trays labeled ‘Finished’ so that when the servers returned, they could just cart out their food without any hesitation. When Yixing finished lifting the last Baozi out of the steamer, he heard lots of cheering and screaming; he was aware that the prizes being given out at this restaurant were a big hit, but he didn’t think things would get this rowdy. The noise wasn’t a bother to him- not even in the slightest- if anything, it was spirit lifting, and quite exciting.

A waiter came in without an order and made a bee line towards the visiting chef. “Good evening Mr. Zhang. I just came in to inform you that you will be needed on the stage in about 7 minutes. You will be announcing the S3B prize winner for tonight, so prepare yourself.” Yixing felt the blood drain from his face as he nodded at the waiter’s words.

(Yixing was never good at giving any kind of public speech what-so-ever; he would always tense up and stutter whenever he was presented in front of a large crown. It didn’t matter how many classes he took in the past- the stage fright would always find a way to get at him. He had gotten better at it over the years because he had to speak in a lot of meetings to get keep his family restaurant at home open, so he could relatively stable at times, but judging by the sound of the group of people outside of the kitchen, now was not one of those times.)

The server smiled humbly at the chef’s ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ expression, “You don’t need to worry; the crowd is positive and lively, so you shouldn’t be too troubled about speaking to them.” The reassurance made the Chinese man a little more at ease, but he couldn’t help the flip flop that happened in his gut.

Yixing noticed the name tag on the waiter’s left ; since he’s going to be here for the next six months, he should try and get to know everyone a little better. “Thank you, Go Jim Sang sshi.” The waiter smiled genuinely and bowed his head as he exited the kitchen.

…

“Now, how about I give you guys an even bigger treat, eh? I’ll let the food-man himself introduce his own personalized prize.” Yixing fixed the collar of his button up and unruffled his food splattered apron.  “I give you, Mr. Zhang Yixing!!” The crowd was electric as the chef ascended the stairs, waving his hands to the crowd to try and shake off the small nerves that made his stomach churn.

Wow, it looks like there are a lot more people up here from when I was standing on the ground…

The chef bowed to each corner of the restaurant and to the band behind him. He dipped his head at the MC and took the microphone that was extended to him.
 
“Thank you so much for coming out tonight guys!” Yixing said nervously as the crowd cheered animatedly. The Chef smiled and nodded to whomever he made eyes contact with as he took a deep breath to steady himself. “My name is Zhang Yixing, and I hope you guys are enjoying the food! I enjoyed cooking for you all tonight, so I hope I get see all of you again soon!” The crowd responded with cheers and shouts as Yixing bowed- yet again- to group of people before him. “Alright, who wants to win the Super-Special-Secret-Bonus?” Everyone shouted and clapped in anticipation of the prize that was about to be won.

Yixing held the microphone away from his mouth as he was told the simple instructions on how to execute the raffle; spin the wheel until you think you will go deaf from the screaming crowd, slowly pull out a ticket until you feel you can cut the tension with a knife, and call out the numbers loud and clear. Oh- and don’t be too surprised when someone starts screaming; it’s usually a good thing!

Once the golden ticket was in Yixing’s calloused hands, he glanced at the numbers as he called them out, “The final numbers are…9-9-0-1-7-8!” When Yixing looked up he came face to face with a quiet crowd. People looked around at one another, but no one stood screaming their hearts at winning the S3B.

Yixing couldn’t hide the slight frown that took over his gentle features as he looked around. He turned to look at the waiter that stood next to him with a desperate look on his face. The waiter smiled awkwardly as he stepped closer to the nervous chef and looked from Yixing to the ticket clutched in a death grip in his hand. The smile turned from awkward to humble almost instantly when he pointed down at the little gold strip. Yixing looked down at where the waiter was pointing and found that he read the last number wrong.

Embarrassment overwhelmed the foreign cook as looked up at the multitude of waiting people. He shifted his eyes to stare at the ticket so that he wouldn’t have to look at the disappointed looks on everyone’s face. “I’m so sorry, I made a mistake...” Yixing blushed, a bright shade of red tinting his cheeks as he cleared his throat to continue, “The numbers are 9-9-0-1-7-6. I apologize.” Still no one stood or cheered- not even a single clap.

They hate me. I’ve ruined the business for this restaurant because the chef can’t read numbers. How great does that sound!

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone slowly rise to their feet.

Maybe they’re leaving…

Relief hit Yixing in waves as the man held his golden ticket up, waving it back and forth as though to assure the flustered chef that everything was going to be okay. But the part that still had Yixing on edge was that no one was cheering for the winner. Then all of a sudden, the people sitting at the tables around the successor started clapping, then the table around them started whistling and things only went uphill form there.

When the man made his way to the stage, Yixing couldn’t take his eyes off of him; he wasn’t able to see him clearly due to the bright stage lights, but now that he was coming closer into view, the man was attractive.

“Congratulations on the win! What’s your name sir?” The MC asked lively. “My name is Kim Minseok.” “Let’s give another round of applause for Mr. Kim Minseok!!” The MC started to take charge after the crowd died down a little, so Yixing had some time to gawk openly at the winner; he had the cutest pair of bushy eyebrows that went perfectly with his big brown eyes, he was wearing a white button up with a black dress jacket and some blue skinny jeans that hugged him all the right ways. 

“So, Mr. Zhang Yixing, what prize has our customer won tonight?” When Yixing looked over at his winner, he came eye to eye with him and he couldn’t hide the blush he felt grow in the tips of his ears. “Mr. Kim, you have won the Super-Special-Secret-Bonus, which is-“ The drummer started a drum roll that startled Yixing at first, but he smiled at the musician and turned back to Minseok. “‘Cooking Time with the Chef’!”

There was a lot of oooh-ing and ahh-ing from the vibrant crowd and even a few disappointed shouts from the lady customers; nonetheless, the entire eatery roared with applause and congratulations at the winning of the final prize.





-END-












 

Ahhhh, XiuLay~ ~ :D
WHAT DID YOU GUSY THINK???
there was supposed to be in this one, but the storyline ended up being way too long. Sorry loves ;3;
There’s only 3 OTP’s left!! Which one should I do next?
Please stick with me, and I’ll do better on updating- I promise❤

Featured Hunan dishes (yes they are real)
Bin-Tang Xiang-Lian > Lotus seeds in Rock Sugar Syrup
Dong’an Ziji > Dong’an Chicken
Mala Ziji > Mala Chicken

⭐Fun fact! Zhang Yixing (Lay) was really born in Hunan, China! ⭐

/make sure you comment/