Krystal POV

"Soojung! Are you done washing those dishes yet?" One of my co-workers, Luna, calls out to me across the kitchen. I finish washing the remnants of food off the plate I'm holding, nodding in approval.

"Yes, I am. Is that all for today?" I ask, a tinge of hopefulness in my voice. It's long past closing time of this restaurant and my body is about to give in to fatigue.

"Not so fast. We need someone to empty the trash there." Amber, another co-worker, points over at the tall pile of garbage in the can. She smirks at me. "It's your lucky day, Soojung." I resist the urge to groan and make my way over. However, my feet suddenly go out from under me and I slip, hitting my head on the tiled floor.

"Aish, watch where you're going, pabo! Can't you see I'm mopping up here?  Some of us actually want to go home, you know." Sulli glares at me. I tilt my head down as a sign of apology and slowly stand, walking (cautiously) towards the bin. I finally reach it and tie up the loose ends of the bag, careful not to drop any piece of trash and risk getting another death stare by Sulli again. The contents wreak so strongly, causing me to gag. As a result, I in a breath and head out the door into the alleyway, towards the dumpster.

"There's my favorite girl!" A familiar voice shouts as I toss the bag in and turn to see Kai with a wide grin on his face. I raise an eyebrow.

"What are you doing back here?" I ask instead of greeting him. Kai shrugs and glances over his shoulder.

"Sehun and I were waiting for you out front, but we heard some noise coming from here. I wanted to check it out, but Sehun, being the coward he is, stayed behind. And yet, I'm glad my curiosity got the best of me." He winks at me. I scoff.

"Haven't you heard the saying, 'curiosity killed the cat?' It could've been some psycho criminal on the loose." I cross my arms over my chest. Kai puts his hands up.

"My point is, I'm relieved it's you and not some psycho criminal on the loose. Besides, you shouldn't be out here alone." I catch a hint of frustration in his protective tone.

"Well, you're with me now, aren't you?" I say sarcastically, causing his expression to brighten for reasons unknown to me. Before he can respond, a scolding voice sounds behind us.

"Yah, Jung Soojung!" I whirl around to see Victoria, the restaurant manager, with an angry expression on her face. "You think flirting with your boyfriend will earn you your paycheck? Hurry up!" I frown.

"He's not my boyfriend. He's...." I drift off midsentence for Victoria has already headed inside, but I don't miss Kai slumping his shoulders in disappointment. I turn back to him. "Great, now look what you've done! I'm probably about to get fired. Again!"

"Sorry, Krystal. Though in my defense, you're the one who decided to stay and chat," Kai counters playfully. I have nothing to say to that, so I'm prepared to walk away before he grabs my wrist. I grit my teeth.

"What now? If you're trying to get me in more trouble, I'm not in the mood." I attempt to pull away, but his grip is too strong.

"No, I didn't mean to do that by the wa