Chapter 4

 

Jaejoong was never so unhappy in her life.

 

“Behind!” Hissed Yuri, who Jaejoong nearly crashed into when she took a step back. Narrowly avoiding the spill of hot food & burning plates, she flashed one last smile at her table before disappearing into the kitchen.

 

Today was a nightmare.

 

It had started out that way, too. She woke up & got to her morning job late. Her boss yelled at her & she spilled coffee all over a brand new sweater. She had to wear the damn thing all day! When she finally made it home, it was a huge sigh of relief. She cooked a small dinner & watched television. Her boss at the morning job had pitied her after three hours in that damn sweater so she actually caught a break before heading towards Bang’s.

 

Of course, she fell asleep on the couch, woke up to her fire alarm because of the smoking saucepan & then had to calm all of the neighbors on her floor down but then she smelled the burnt food. So hungry & losing time fast, Jaejoong jumped into the shower. By the time she got out, she had fifteen minutes to be on her way to Bang’s so as to not be late.

 

She was late.

 

Her long black hair was wet.

 

Now that she was at work, her hair was dry & was a massive frizz-ball.

 

Her makeup? Non-existent as of today.

 

She looked like crap! She felt like crap & all Jaejoong wanted to do was go home & sleep!

 

“Hands!” Hara’s familiar voice yelled in the kitchen, & Jaejoong went over to help. The younger woman smiled at her slowly as if she knew something secretive, “You okay there, Joongie?”

“That’s a terrible nickname & I’m fine.” Jaejoong replied, trying really hard not to roll her eyes, “Just a few more hours & I can sleep.”

 

Hara nodded & the two of them headed out to table thirty-six to hand out the dinners. After asking if they wanted fresh ground pepper, the long dark brown-haired girl pulled on Jaejoong’s sleeve & dragged her to a corner of the restaurant, “Are you sure you are okay? I mean, your boy toy hasn’t shown up & you have been a bit frazzled since.”

 

Jaejoong frowned. No, she had not. She distinctly remembered noticing her guests lack of return but it wasn’t bothersome.

 

Okay, maybe it was a bit disappointing. The guy was attractive, nice &...She had been thinking. She had been thinking about Nichkhun’s words, the fact that they were true & that maybe it wouldn’t hurt to actually date again. Of course, then he never came back. It had been three weeks already. Normally, by this time, she had see him at least eight or three times.

 

Realizing that Hara was still waiting for an answer, Jaejoong plastered on a smile & nodded, “I’m okay, Hara, really I’m & it’s not because of Yunho Oppa, I promise. He was just a recurring guest.”

 

Hara looked at her funny before nodding slowly, “Right, a recurring guest. That’s what they call it these days, huh?” & really? Jaejoong was just too tired to argue.

 

“Jaejoong, there you are.” Taeyeon said, rushing up to her with big brown eyes, “Your table, six, just spilled coffee everywhere. I dealt with most of it but you probably want to talk to them.”

 

“ my life!” Jaejoong moaned, slapping the hand on her face. Why couldn’t today just be a simple, easy night? It was sunday night, that’s why.

 

Sundays at Bang’s steakhouse & bar were the sketchiest by far. The restaurant could be as dead as a grave or busier than most fridays. It was the variable that managers hated to deal with & servers hated to work. Currently, this sunday was a busy one.

 

Hurrying over to the table, she saw the two guys & one girl looking rather sheepish when she arrived.

 

“Hey, is everything okay? Are you hurt?” Jaejoong asked, eyeing the balls of linen napkins & dripping glasses. The girl shook her head, “No, the coffee went to the side luckily. I was just wondering if I could get another?” “Absolutely.” Jaejoong replied, already grabbing the napkins & finished plates & glasses. When the table was mostly clear, she smiled & then cleaned up in the back. She placed the order in the machine & then went to work at pouring it.

 

Last time she Yunho, he had ordered a last minute coffee. It was probably because of the overwhelming amount of alcohol she had given him that night. He had smiled at her when she gave it to him. Jaejoong wondered if the girl would smile if she gave it to her.

 

Grabbing a wet dishcloth from the back & with the coffee in a tray on her other hand, Jaejoong exited the kitchen & headed towards her table.

 

“You can’t get me.”

 

Jaejoong’s eyes widened. Those were never good words to hear at a restaurant while holding a tray of steaming liquid. It meant that children were around & on the loose. She tried to watch & pay more attention but all of a sudden, a small kid burst out from under an empty table & landed right in her path so as not to crush him, she spun around sharply & hit the wall, the tray smashing into it & falling all over her.

 

“!” Jaejoong screamed, dropping the tray & ripping the white charter club three-quarter-sleeve linen button-down top off of her body. Thank goodness she had been smarter than this morning & wore a creamsicle cherry blossom printed shirttail tank top underneath. Suddenly, a rush of bodies were around her, the parents of the children, one of the guys from the table she was bringing the burning coffee to &...

 

ing hell!

 

“Let me see.” The words were quick & efficient & Jaejoong didn’t even process before she realized it was Yunho. He was back, already had his hands on her stomach. A call from Taeyeon was behind her, something mumbled about getting Kyunghee.

 

The coffee burned like a son of a , so hot she wanted to curl up if she was positive it wouldn’t make it hurt more. She was pretty sure it would hurt more.

 

“Are you okay?” An older man asked, his hands protectively around the little boy that made her spill the burning liquid all over herself in the first place.

 

Jaejoong opened to speak but found that a deep, male & clearly pissed as voice was already talking!

 

“What the hell do you think?!” Yunho snapped, glaring at the man, “Maybe if you watched your kids at a restaurant that clearly isn’t meant for them to run around in, this wouldn’t have happened!”

 

“That’s enough!” Jaejoong hissed, ignoring the flash of pain in her stomach when it clenched, “Sir, I’m fine, really.”

 

Yunho scoffed, “Yeah, that’s why you are going to get blister on your chest where you only had one layer of clothes, damn woman!”

 

“Excuse me?” Jaejoong’s mouth probably dropped to the floor.

 

“What is going on here?” Kyunghee firmly interrupted, stepping between the concerned parents & Jaejoong. Yunho was awkwardly pushed aside, hands draping across her midsection as he backed off.

 

“Kyunghee, it’s fine. I just need to be checked on.” Jaejoong murmured, flinching when Yunho’s hands touched a particularly painful spot, “I didn’t want to hit the kid so I spun & the coffee spilled all over me.” With the wet cloth she had in her hand before cleaning the mess, she dabbed at her chest. She was definitely going to be red.

 

“We are very sorry.” The mother gushed, looking over at the waitress worriedly.

 

“Jaejoong, go to the back with Taeyeon & get fixed up. I will handle this.” Kyunghee said, opening her arms to push the family back to their table, “Taeyeon, can you make sure that Hara picks up her tables for the moment until I figure things out?”

 

Taeyeon nodded, touching Jaejoong’s arm lightly & tugging her back into the kitchen.

 

“Jaejoong.” Yunho said, stepping forward with concerned eyes, “Let me help.”

 

This was just too weird, “Uh...I’m not sure you can be back there.” She said, frowning “Look, I will come find you okay?”

 

So, maybe she was a bit dizzy right now. That had to be the reason she said that. Otherwise, why the hell would she go find him?! She had been burned, for sake!

 

The kitchen was busy with life but Yuri stopped immediately the moment she saw Jaejoong covered in coffee, “Oh my god, are you okay?” Yuri asked, brown almond-shaped eyes wide in horror, “You are burned.”

 

“It’s fine.” Jaejoong replied, lightly pulling at the tank top she was still wearing.

 

Yuri had none of it, following both, Taeyeon & Jaejoong to the back where the medical kit was. Taeyeon wet a cloth with cool water, soaking it for a bit before lightly dabbing at her red, milky, soft white skin. The burn didn’t look that bad but it certainly wasn’t a small area. It covered most of her chest & small spots on her stomach that were mostly saved by her top.

 

“Can you bandage her up?” Taeyeon asked suddenly, spotting Hara walking into the kitchen, “I need to tell Hara to pick up on Jaejoong’s tables.”

 

Yuri nodded, removing the gauze from the kit & spreading it out to match the size, “What happened?”

 

“Some kid ran in my way & I was going to trip on them so I spun around & managed to spill the coffee all over me.” Jaejoong sighed, rubbing her face with the palm of her hand, “To make things worse, Yunho Oppa’s here & he snapped at the parents.”

 

Looking up sharply, Yuri grinned, “He’s back?”

 

“This is not the time to be thinking about my love life.” Jaejoong pointed out.

 

“Or your lack of one.” Yuri fired back, shaking her head lightly as she placed the gauze bandage over the red burn. Getting the tape, she gently attached it to her skin & patted it down for good measure, “Are you okay now? I have some ibuprofen if you had like.”

 

“I had love some.” Jaejoong replied, “What about your tables?”

 

“All of them have already got their entrees. I will check on them in a minute so it’s no big deal.” Yuri said, smiling “You are probably not going to work the rest of the night, you know.”

 

Jaejoong nodded, figuring that the moment Kyunghee was free, she had release Jaejoong from her duties. At least she could go home now & sleep like she planned on.

 

‘After I see Yunho Oppa.’ She thought.

 

“Here you go.” Yuri said, snapping Jaejoong out of her thoughts as she placed the pills in her hand, “Just take it easy alright?”

 

“Yes, mom.” Jaejoong joked, rolling her eyes & swallowing the pills, “I will text you later.”

 

The moment Yuri walked away, Kyunghee & Hara entered the kitchen, zeroing in on her, “Go home!” Kyunghee ordered, giving her a stern look, “I have got all your tables covered & talk to them all! You are free to leave!”

 

“Thanks, Kyunghee.” Jaejoong sighed, smiling a bit, “Will you punch me out?”

 

When the manager nodded, Jaejoong went into the back room & changed into a cool mix blue sky shirt & black serene stretch side zip crop pants, groaning when she realized she had, yet again, no top to go underneath her shirt. With her bag & lodis accessories capistrano casey medium tote purse in hand, Jaejoong waved at a few of her co-workers & headed to Yunho’s table.

 

When she got there, he was already gone.

 

It was a strange feeling, disappointment. She didn’t particularly like it.

 

‘Don’t be stupid!’ Jaejoong chided herself, ‘Go sleep if off to a bad day.’

 

“Joongie?” Hara interrupted, stepping close into her space, grinning “Table fifty-two.”

 

Frowning, Jaejoong watched as Hara walked away. Was Yunho at a different table? Why?

 

Probably for threatening to kill the customers. It seemed more than likely.

 

Table fifty-two was one of the more secluded booths in the restaurant. It was tucked in the very back & was used rarely because the air vents were strange in the area & it was always too cold or too hot. At first, she was sure it was too cold. She could practically feel the difference the moments she climbed five steps.

 

Of course then, Jaejoong saw him smirking at her & it was quite amazingly hot.

 

“What the hell are you doing back here?!” Jaejoong asked, frowning & stepped towards the plush booth. Yunho’s smirked widened, flashing a bit of his pearly white teeth, “Isn’t the bad language for a server?”

 

“I’m not working.” Jaejoong responded immediately, looking around nonetheless in case anyone heard her, “Seriously, why did you move here?”

 

The man shrugged, picking up a soon & dipping it into the mango pudding dessert, “Well, since you are off work but I wanted to talk to you, your manager moved me so we could chat & it wouldn’t look like you got off work solely to be with me.”

 

Jaejoong rolled her eyes, “I got off because I was burned, you idiot!”

 

Holding up his hands defensively, the man continued to smirk, “I don’t make up the rules, your manager does. She’s quite the stern thing I will admit but man, she’s wicked at getting down!”

 

“I will tell her that.” Jaejoong said dryly, “Is that all you are having tonight? Dessert?”

 

Yunho nodded, wrapping his lips around the spoon & eating the pudding, “Here, I have got two spoons. Finish it with m