(Taec)

‘Because, if it’s like that, I’ll fall in love with you very quickly.’

My eyes widened, half-stunned over what I just heard. Was that a confession? Did that even count as a confession?

‘Isn’t it more dangerous if you’re being like this?’ I rebutted.

‘Oh? Why?’

I mentally face palmed myself. His naivety and innocence really couldn’t be underestimated.

‘You don’t even know if the person next to you is good or bad and you’re gonna fall for him just like that. Isn’t that more dangerous?’

‘So… you aren’t a good person?’

I frowned and took a good look at him.

‘Wah, then it’s even more fun.’ He exclaimed.

‘You are really naïve, and it’s causing people to worry about you,’ I thought to myself.

‘So then… I can let you protect me well.’ He remarked as though he heard my thoughts.

My eyes widened and right then, Khun’s dad’s words sounded in my head.

‘Come let me teach you,’ his dad started. ‘Hitching a guy is all about good timing. Timing is everything. When dragged for too long, the relationship will burn out, like between you and Khun.’

I smiled to myself, ‘Maybe, being a little faster can be a good thing.’

‘Hmm? What?’ Woo looked up from his plate.

I bit my lips, slightly embarrassed that I actually thought out loud and that Woo heard what I just said. ‘Uh… your food is gonna get cold, quickly eat it.’

‘But… it just came how can it be cold?’ he pouted and mumbled to himself.

I heaved a sigh, this was going to be one really long night.

*

The next day.

‘Congratulations, you have been really successful lately.’

‘Successful?’ I asked my Superior.

‘Yep, a promotion.’

‘Promotion?’ I almost scoffed out loud at what he just revealed to me.

‘Yes, the orders will be announced in the next few days. Congratulations! You’re promoted to be a researcher. This way, you won’t have to continue hiding behind counters, being a ninja and practice endurance techniques with those nonsensical customers.’ He broke into laughter and I couldn’t do much but laugh along with him.

Staring out of the transparent glass panels, I couldn’t help but feel as though a big part of me was going to be missing. I always liked the service-line, even if I had to deal with difficult customers. And now with this promotion, I won’t exactly be able to do what I really enjoy about my job and of course, I won’t be able to see airplanes departing and arriving as easily as before.

‘Is that person in front, the man who is happy to have both career and ‘Taecyeon hyung’ in his hands?’ a voice from behind broke my train of thoughts.

I swiftly turned around only to see Minjun, slowly approaching me.

‘Why would I be happy of those two?’ I ridiculed.

‘You’re gonna be promoted soon, and you’re still not happy?’ He instigated.

‘I’m totally not interested in it, to be honest,’ I sighed.

Minjun closed the gap between us, and place his warm hand on my shoulder. “Are you thinking about your ‘worries’?”

‘What worries?’ I looked at him, puzzled.

He let go of my shoulder and chuckled. ‘I understand. ‘Taecyeon hyung’, ‘Taecyeon hyung.’’

-‘Minjun! Minjun!’ the walkie-talkie blared.

‘Don’t talk nonsense. Woo and I…’

-‘Minjun! Could you come over to counter 7!’

‘I’ll be there in a minute,’ he spoke into the device.

My shoulders sunk, this was really getting out of hand.

‘Let me tell you,’ he said, ‘it’s really simple. Quickly possess those ‘worries’. Then, even if you’re being transferred to the North Pole, you won’t be so depressed about it. Trust me. I’ll go back to work now. Think about it.’ 

I nodded, letting the words that left his mouth, enter from one ear and exiting from the other.

‘Worries…’ I mumbled inaudibly to myself.

I slipped my fingers into the pocket of my pants and pulled out my phone. Pressing on the speed dial I needed to talk to this person, the only person who could bring my sanity back to me.

-‘Hello?’ Khun spoke as soon as he picked up the phone. Clanging of pots and pans, with plenty of shouting in the background could be heard.

‘Hey, are you bus-’

‘Extremely busy.’ He cut me off and hung up.

I sighed again, this time all those burdensome feelings weighing me down even more. I slid the phone away from my ear and kept it in my pocket.

Khun ah, I really don’t know what to do now. Will you help me?

*

(Khun)

‘Hello?’ Picking up the phone almost immediately after one ring.

-‘Hey, are you bus-’

‘Extremely busy.’ I interrupted Taec and hung up, quickly slipping the darn device into my pocket.

It wasn’t unusual for me to do such things to Taec, because I was really busy. I had just learnt from my restaurant manager that I had two sous chef quarrelling in MY kitchen, throwing exotic spices at each other and on floor just to vent their anger out at each other. I stormed into the sacred place where I labelled as my ‘third home’.

‘WHAT THE IS GOING ON IN HERE?’ I hollered, finally getting the two sous chefs to stop whatever they were doing.

Before either could even open their mouths to say anything, I raised my hand up, and said calmly ‘I do not want to hear a single word from both of you. Whose fault or who started this, I don’t give a . I hired you two to cook for my customers and to work for me. If you can’t even behave yourself in MY kitchen, kindly remove your presence because you both are fired and for all the spices and whatever damages that you have caused during your so-called quarrel, my lawyer will contact you both for compensation.’

‘NOW GET YOUR ING OUT OF MY KITCHEN. NOW.’ I screamed, pointing towards the exit. As they both scrambled out of my kitchen, I took a deep breath and looked at my remaining chefs, politely asking them to get back to work after my uproar and walked back to my office. My blood was boiling. I was thoroughly enraged, how could they? Such spices and such expensive kitchenware. How could they have absolutely no respect for the materials they use to make food for people? How could they even use FOOD, sacred food where people in poorer countries have no access to, and use it to vent their anger and frustration at? They aren’t even teenagers, they are freaking working adults with many years of cooking experience, and yet they do not have the basic common sense to respect both the food and me.

‘Looks like I have to look for another two more sous chefs,’ I muttered.

*

‘Bye chef!’

‘Bye chef!’

‘Have a good night chef!’ One by one my chefs knocked on my door, informing me that they were going to leave. I nodded and smiled, acknowledging them.

A knock on the door and a ‘hey’, caught my attention. I looked up and saw Tiffany dressed in her own set of clothes, at my door.

‘Hey,’ I smiled, a little wider.

‘You… alright?’ She asked as she strolled into my office.

‘Mhmm, yeah. I was planning to fire those two anyway, but I just needed a proper reason to do so. Did I scare you?’ I asked cautiously.

She shook her head, and grinned. ‘You simply had to do what you had to do, and you didn’t scare me. Actually, I thought you were really cool to shout at them and all that, though you were a little bipolar.’

‘Bipolar huh?’ I chuckled. ‘If I didn’t scare you then that’s fine. Just worried that I destroyed the ‘nice chef’ image that I’ve painted for myself.’

‘Oh? ‘Nice chef’ image? You mean an angel chef?’ she giggled, ‘because you’ll always be one in my eyes no matter what you do. You’re too cute to be a devil, even if you’re one in disguise.’

I blushed unconsciously. She was really flirting with me.

‘Anyway, I gotta go. Don’t stay too late doing up the new menu! Junho and I are your assistants for a reason, if you really have too many things on your plate, pass on some things to us. I’m not so sure about Junho but I’m definitely more than willing to help you.’

‘Oh and this is for you!’ she pulled out a tumbler and placed it on my work desk before turning around to exit my office.

I reached out for it. Oh it was warm? And there’s something stuck onto the other side? I turned the tumbler around and saw a post it note on it.

‘Just some hot chocolate I managed to boil before shutting down the station. Hope you don’t mind me using your materials.ㅋㅋㅋ  Don’t stay too late ok! And don’t drink so much coffee, hot chocolate isn’t such a bad option either >.

                                                                                                                                                    - Tiffany

And at that moment, the feeling of being pampered by someone… was, honestly, really great.

*

The next morning

‘Put your Hands Up, Put your Hands Up, put, put, put, put, put’ my mobile blasted. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, annoyed to be woken up from my beauty sleep.

‘Hello?’ I mumbled into the phone without looking at the caller id.

‘You’re still in bed chef? It’s time to get up. You have a meeting with the big boss at 10am~’ Tiffany’s voice chimed through the device.

‘Hmm okay, thanks.’

‘See you later then, bye~’

I ended the call and fell back into my warm snuggly bed. Why was she being so nice? A morning call to remind me that I have a meeting later, hot chocolate to accompany through the night. She was just doing her job as my assistant right?

Staring at my phone, I contemplated and hesitated. Pressing the speed dial, I called Taec.

‘Eh, are you bus-’

-‘Extremely busy. Those behind, please don’t push and squeeze!’ he interrupted and hung up.

I took a look at my phone and pouted. The feeling of not being pampered, was really terrible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Hot chocolate for you guyyyyys ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ~  comments are greatly appreciated! :D