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“Table 8, ready for pick-up.”The dish glistened in the light as it was picked up for service, one of many leaving the kitchen during lunch time. The waiter carefully placed the dishes where they belonged, stopping by emptied tables to pick up the ones which had done their part.On the other side of the restaurant, the owner made his rounds, greeting regular customers while making sure everything was smoothly operated. As he did so, his eyes landed on a figure at one of the tables. It was a man, in his late twenties, sitting alone and quietly eating his meal. He had seen him before, always sitting at the same table and ordering the same dish, twice a week. The man was a regular customer, but not someone who the staff had interacted much with. He let his eyes rest on the man for a while longer, before making his way to the kitchen to help his staff.“How’s it going, Taek?”The waiter flashed him a smile, nodding towards the dining room. “Jaehyun just served the last order for now. Another successful day boss.”Joochan shook his head, a smile playing at his lips. Most of his employees, although older than him, insisted on calling him boss, no matter how many times he rejected the title. Jaehyun, who he knew since they were toddlers, was the main instigator.Joochan scanned the room once again, eyes stopping at the man he had been watching earlier. He had never really paid much attention to him before. However, something about the man today caught his attention.“What do you know about him?”Youngtaek side-eyed him, obviously confused by the sudden question. “Don’t tell me you don’t recognise a regular?”“I know that much. I mean, what’s his name, what does he do? Why is he always alone?”“That- I don’t know. I think his surname is Choi.”Joochan hummed, and shifted his gaze away, losing himself in his thoughts. Youngtaek looked at him suspiciously, half-reclining on the counter, mumbling to himself. “What’s with the sudden curiosity?”Maybe it was the way the man seemed lost in thought but still appreciating the food in front of him, or the way he kept taking notes on his small notebook. Joochan was almost embarrassed at how long he had stared at that note-taking hand.“What’s going on?” Jaehyun asked as he neared the counter.Youngtaek called him over, whispering in his ear about Joochan’s questions. The waiters whispered in between them, as if their boss wasn’t staring daggers at them.“Having fun gossiping?”A sly smile made its way to Youngtaek’s lips, who excused himself, returning to the kitchen.Jaehyun, on the other hand, laid his hand on his friend’s shoulder, peeking at the man he had been staring at.“He’s your type?”Joochan shoved him, blush creeping up his cheeks. “It’s inappropriate to insinuate that.”“Okay, then why don’t you just go there? You talk to dozens of customers. He’s a regular, if you’re that curious just go greet him.”Right. He could do that.With a smile on his face, Joochan made his way to the man's table. “Hello, is everything to your liking?”The man looked up, surprised by the sudden attention. His black disheveled hair fell in front of his eyes, just as Joochan noticed the way they seemed to sparkle in the sunlight filtering through the windows."Yes, thank you. Everything is delicious as always." the man replied, his voice soft and composed.Joochan couldn't help but smile wider. "I'm glad to hear that. I'm Hong Joochan, the owner."The man hesitated for a moment before answering, "Choi Sungyoon."“Well, Sungyoon, is there anything I can get you? On the house, of course."Sungyoon's eyes widened at the offer, but he promptly shook his head. "No, no need for that, thank you. I'm quite content with the usual service."Joochan was intrigued but he refrained from asking anything else, not only out of respect for his customer, but also to avoid being overly nosy.“Well then, I hope you enjoy the rest of your meal.”“Thank you...” Sungyoon offered him a gentle smile, “Joochan. Hope you have a nice day.”
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"What's his problem?""I have no idea." Youngtaek scrunched his nose and looked away, as if he couldn’t stand looking at his friend.Seungmin leaned agaisnt the kitchen counter, baffled at what he was witnessing. Had their boss finally gone insane?Joochan paced around the kitchen, giggling to himself. It wasn't his imagination plotting against him, right? That man had spoken his name in such a soft tone that Joochan could swear it almost made him go mad.'Hope you have a nice day'? Joochan would have a great day even, the best of days!!Jaehyun joined his colleagues, squinting his eyes at the image of his friend, smiling to himself like an idiot. "He's become stupid."If it were anyone else, the restaurant's staff wouldn't dare judge them so openly, but everyone had a good relationship with the owner, enough to ridicule him in moments such as this one.Joochan kept replaying that last sentence over and over again in his head. What was this weird obsession with Choi Sungyoon? Was it even allowed for him to obsess over a customer? Why so sudden? Joochan couldn't help but accept that Sungyoon really was charming, despite the disheveled bad hair and caloused hands, he looked so elegant, almost prince-like. How can someone be this handsome???It was an oddly funny scene, restaurant closed for the afternoon with no one left but a group of staff looking at their boss pulling his hair out in frustration amidst random giggling.Surely it would be alright, right? Not alright!! More than a day had passed since then and Joochan was still stuck on that small interaction. He himself didn’t know why, okay!Wasn’t his reaction weird? A customer had done no more than telling him his name and wishing him a good day, which was very common, so why was Joochan so affected? And why had Joochan gone to him in the first place??“It’s your fault!”Jaehyun’s eyes widened and he turned to look at his best friend, who replied by pointing to himself. “You’re blaming me?”Joochan nodded with a pout, which was followed by Seungmin’s laugh.“The reason?”“He’s the one who told me to go talk to that man.”“So it’s really because of that customer?” Youngtaek reached for his wallet, taking out a banknote and giving it to Jaehyun. “Damn it.”Joochan watched the exchange, eyes narrowing. They had made a bet?? Not only that, these were the people he employed! They should save him some face, no?Jaehyun half-hugged him, as if consoling a child. “It’s okay friend, you’ll get over this.”He didn’t understand it himself, how could he have, as a gentleman, stared at a customer like that? How could he have been so affected over a few words? Shameful, shameful, shameful!It was nearing the end of the week when Sungyoon returned to the restaurant. Joochan tried to act as usual but he couldn’t focus. How could he pretend he wasn’t expecting anything, that he wasn’t always checking the door before his arrival?Joochan couldn’t help but watch him enter, which didn’t go unnoticed. Sungyoon nodded his head in acknowledgement and showed him a light smile, before making his way to his usual table. Next thing Joochan knew, he was back at the kitchen.“What’s wrong?”Joochan shook his head, taking a fruit basket from Jaehyun’s arms. “I’ll take care of this, cover for me in the dinning room.”Jaehyun didn’t try to fight him and did as told. He didn’t take long to understand.He neared the table where the man sat, ready to ask him what he’d like to order, despite already knowing the answer.The man, however, seemed to be a bit distracted. “Is anything wrong, Sir?”Sungyoon snapped out of it, apologizing to the waiter for being distracted. He had been looking around the dinning room and hadn’t noticed when the other approached.“Are you looking for someone?”As if caught red-handed, Sungyoon’s cheeks grew light pink in color and he ran his hand through his hair to hide his reaction. “Oh, no, not at all. I’ll have the usual.”Jaehyun refrained from saying anything further, showing only a knowing smile before returning to the kitchen.Sungyoon glanced around the room once more before looking back at his notepad. It seemed he would be lacking inspiration.He had clearly seen Joochan when he entered but where did the owner who spent lunch time chatting with clients and serving drinks go? Could it be Joochan had found him unpleasant when they last spoke? Sungyoon quietly thought through his words that day. It couldn’t be, could it?