(Taec)

‘Manager! Manager!’ my walkie-talkie blared.

‘Yeah? What’s up?’ I asked, speaking into the device.

‘Could you come to counter 6? Wooyoung made a mistake with the luggage!’

‘Alright, alright. I’ll be right over!’ I answered with a sigh and started to make my way to the counter.

‘Hmm what’s the issue right now?’ I asked, taking a good look at Woo’s face, as well as my other colleagues.

Woo bit his lower lip, not daring to look into my eyes as I settled my gaze on him, waiting for an answer.

‘Wooyoung misplaced the luggage by accident.’ Minjun accused.

‘I…I…’ Woo tried to explain, but I stopped him and walked behind him. Leaning over him, my fingers languidly clicked a couple of numbers.

‘I…I’m so… sorry,’ he stuttered.

I let out a small chuckle, still leaning over him from behind, and said, ‘it’s okay. Machines makes mistakes, let alone humans. Ah found it. It’s been sent to Germany.’

‘Ger…Germany?’ he bit his lips harder.

‘Yeah, it’s alright, we’ll get our staff there to send it back to the correct country. Cheer up!’ I patted his shoulder, trying to ease him from his worry.

*

‘Do you know who I am?’ A voice shouted.

My head snapped up and my eyes scanned the area, trying to find the source of the commotion.

‘I’m sorry Sir, but you have to queue up. I can’t allow you to check in first.’ Woo firmly replied.

‘Let me ask you again. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?’

Woo shook his head meekly, puzzled by the ‘who I am’ tactic that this man was using. I stealthily walked over before the man could attract more attention and scare that poor boy.

‘Sir, how may I help you?’ I asked politely.

‘Ah, you’re the manager right?’ he asked.

‘Yes I am.’

‘Good, then do you know who I am? This boy here says that he doesn’t know me.’

‘Of course I know you. You’re very famous.’ I said, in an attempt to appease him.

‘Okay, you know I’m famous right? Let me check in first, then.’ He requested.

‘Sir, I’m afraid that’s not possible. Waiting in line is a rule for all the customers that our company serves. So I’m sorry to say that you have to wait in line despite your status. I hope you can be understanding on this part.’ I explained as clearly as I could, hoping that he would be considerate to queue up, and not cause the other customers to wait too long.

‘Wow, your boy here’s so haughty. And you as a manager, even haughtier. Fine, you win. But you can be sure you’ll get it from your boss,’ he threatened, and stormed off.

I turned to Woo and shrugged, signalling for him to get back to work.

‘Taec hyung, you’re so cool,’ he complimented, eyes getting wider in admiration.

‘Nah… go back to work.’ I chuckled.

As I walked off, I swore I heard him say, ‘and you’re really handsome.’

*

‘Argh, I’m so tired,’ I muttered as I sat down on the chair in the staff lounge to nap during my break. My eyes slowly closed and I finally dozed off. I got woken up, unpleasantly (maybe pleasantly), by something creeping around my neck. My eyes snapped open and my entire body just jolted up, and there I saw Woo, his stretched arm disappearing behind me. And I felt something around my neck. My hands flew up to feel what it was. Oh, it was a neck rest pillow. I smiled at him, letting him now that I was grateful towards his kind gesture.

‘Don’t need to thank me, Taec hyung,’ he smiled ever so innocently, ‘I just want you to get addicted slowly.’

He winked and turned around to walk off.

‘Right….’ I mumbled awkwardly.

‘Oh, and Taec hyung?’

‘Huh… yeah?’

‘Do you mind… sending me home today?’ he asked, whilst playing with his fingers, obviously not wanting to make any eye contact with me.

‘Uh… yeah sure, why not?’ I replied with a smile, and stared at his back as he gradually disappeared out of the door.

“Khun ah~ Even though I am not aggressive enough, there are some men who still think I am handsome. In the whole world, perhaps it’s only you who can’t see it.”

*

(Khun)

The vast array of kitchen ware was actually confusing me. Irony huh? A chef that was confused over kitchen ware.

‘Hi Sir, how may I help you?’ the cheerful sales person asked.

‘Er… I’m looking for the signature ultimate knife collection by Paula Deen?’ I replied.

‘The 16-piece set, sir?’

‘Yeah, I think that’s the one.’

‘Alright, it’s over here on this rack, please follow me.’ And she led me towards the rack displaying the knife set I was looking for.

‘Ah alright, thank you. I’ll take a look,’ I smiled, appreciative of her help.

I was about to reach out to the knives on display to check out their quality when I got stopped.

‘Hey.’

I turned my head to the side, and standing next to me was a really gorgeous lady. Alright gorgeous doesn’t actually account for how charming she looked.

‘Yeah?’ I replied, still bewitched by her beauty.

‘If you’re looking for the top grade knife set, I would personally recommend the twin signature knife set by Zwilling Henckels. They are sharper and more durable as compared to the Paula Deen ones,’ she suggested, pointing across the racks of displays to another section.

Still stunned over her loveliness, I didn’t exactly reply her till she started giggling.

‘Oh okay, haha… I’ll check it out. Thank you,’ I replied nervously, finally snapping out of the trance I was in and walked away, not stopping until I felt I was of a safe distance from her.

‘Phew,’ I sighed heavily, letting out all the fluttery feeling that I had just experienced. But darn, she was so alluring.

*

‘Chef~~~~’ Chef Junho sang as he skipped over to my section of the kitchen.

‘Yes, how may I help you?’ I laughed, not removing my eyes from the chopping board.

‘I would like to introduce you to your new sous chef, so you might want to look up from that ugly board.’

I put down my knife, grabbed the cloth that was hanging from my back pocket to wipe my hands, and turned my head. And to my utmost surprise, there in front of me stood the attractive lady I just met at the kitchen ware store.

‘Annyeonghaseyo~ my name’s Tiffany and I’m your new sous chef. Really nice to meet you, and please take care of me.’ She greeted with a cute eye-smile.

‘And I’m Nichkhun, just call me Khun for short. Pleased to be working with such a fine and elegant young lady.’ I smirked.

She could be the one, the one that would win me my bet.

*

‘Chef Khun~’ Tiffany poked her head around the door to my personal office.

‘Yes Chef Tiffany?’ I looked at her, acknowledging her presence before looking back down at my paperwork.

‘The new pastry’s menu has already been done up. Testing-wise, I’ve already done one round, they’re doing the second round right now, so yeap you can go test it once they are done. And also there are a couple of changes to the cold dishes today because the kitchen ran out of some ingredients. I have already suggested a few dishes to cover up for today. Chef Junho says that they are okay, so can we just proceed to cook?’

‘Yeah, if Junho says it’s fine then I should be fine with it as well. And as for the pastry menu, just give me a ring on my mobile once those pastry chefs are done.’ I replied and continued, ‘and thank you Chef Tiffany. It’s only your first day and you’re doing quite a bit.’

‘It’s fine! That’s what a sous chef should do right? Help the head chef,’ she grinned and walked off, leaving me dumbfounded once again. By both her helpfulness and how attractive she was in whatever she was doing.

*

 

(Taec)

It was already way past 11pm. Despite being in a cab, the beams of the streetlamps that lit up the road could be seen dancing around. I looked out of the cab and breathed out heavily. Wooyoung was sleeping soundly, leaning on my shoulder and using my right arm as his bolster. I mean, he was alright, he’d been making rather obvious moves on me and all. The sudden shuffle of his body startled me, my head swiftly turned to take a look at him. He slept. Slept so innocently and soundly.

‘You must have had a long day,’ I mumbled. Unconsciously, my fingertips reached for his face, gently caressing his flawless, soft baby skin.

‘Sir, we’re about to reach your destination,’ the cab driver announced.

I nodded and turned to Woo, not really wanting to wake him up. But I had to, right?

‘Woo…’ I hummed his name as I shook him lightly.

His body stirred, eyes slowly opening, becoming more aware of his surroundings gradually.

The cab pulled over just as Woo was fully awakened.

‘We’re here,’ I said, smiling at how cute he looked when he was disorientated.

‘Ah yeah,’ he looked around, ‘thank you for sending me home, Taec hyung.’

‘You’re welcome,’ I smiled, ‘go on, go home, have a nice hot bath and sleep well.’

‘Ne,’ he smiled and open the door.

Thinking that he had left, I was startled when I felt a warm breath next to me. I turned, only to find my lips an inch away from his. Was he already gonna kiss me?

‘By the way, your shoulder and arm were very comfortable to sleep on,’ he giggled, ‘good night Taec hyung. See you tomorrow.’

And he left.

I let out a loud sigh of relief and told the driver my address before I could do anything else. My heart was thumping, butterflies were in my stomach. Crap, was I falling for him already? But did it matter? It was obvious about how he felt about me, at least it was to me… and he was not that bad. I didn’t mind dating him. All sorts of random thoughts ran through my mind, ‘should I or should I not’s, ‘what if’s, ‘but’s and before I knew it, the cab had arrived at my apartment.

‘Here’re the fees. Keep the change, have a good night sir.’ I handed the money and proceeded to get out of the cab to go home.

A quick shower and I plopped down onto my bed. The emotions I had were in a swirling mess. I closed my eyes. And my phone rang.

I reached for my phone, and smiled at the caller ID.

‘Hello?’

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A/N: yes chapter 3's finally up! So... thoughts? :D