"How about here?" asked Harin pointing to what's got to be the 10th restaurant.
"Song Kang's Place" I read out loud, "sounds homey and friendly. Okay" I said walking towards it.
"Seriously? You chose here out of all the other restaurants?" she asked exasperatedly.
"Yes Harin. High class 5 star restaurants portions are too small and the prices are too high. Song Kang's food sounds like it was made with love. A grandmothers love" I said shrugging.
"You're reasoning sometimes puzzles me but whatever you say. I trust your judgement" she said as we walked hand in hand into the homey restaurant.
The walls were painted a mahogany brown with wooden furniture. The overall vibe of the of the place was so peaceful and calming. There was a lounge area where in the center was a small water fountain with fishes in it. I pulled Harin towards it to get a closer look.
"Ouu yum do we choose our fish from here?" she asked eyeing the poor fishes hungrily.
"Harin!" I said as I smacked her gently on the arm. I swear I don't know what to do with her sometimes.
"Whaaaattt? I was just asking" she said rubbing the place on her arm where I slapped her.
"Best behaviors please" I scolded.
"Okay okay mom" she said mockingly.
I rolled my eyes at her antics and shortly after a male waiter who looked around our age walked up to us smiling politely, "Hello. Welcome to 'Song Kang's Place' my name is Taejoon how may I be of service?"
"Yes so good evening Mister Joon I have a question about these fishes here. Are they for sale?" piped up Harin from her place beside me.
"No I am afraid ma'am that they are only for display" he replied chuckling.
"Sir please to ignore her she always goes around making trouble" I said sending death glares to Harin and she responded by sticking her tongue out at me. Such a child.
Despite Harin's behavior Taejoon still smiled at us ,"Right. So the fishes aren't for sale but I can guarantee you the food on our menu will make you forget about them."
Harin licked her lips, "They better because I have been eyeing that one fish and have been thinking of how I want it to be cooked."
"Right this way please. I will take you to a table where you can look over the menu" he said motioning for us to follow him.
He lead us a booth which can occupy 4 people. I'm not complaining though for the more space the better.
"Here are the menus" he said handing them to us.
"Thank you I said" smiling. I seem to be smiling a lot today.
He gave me another smile in return and told us to call him whenever we decide and left to attend to another customer.
I turned to look at Harin and saw her already staring at me with a stupid grin on her face. She is seriously annoying today.
"What?" I asked getting annoyed by her stupid face.
"Nothing" she sang turning her eyes to her menu in front of her, "it's just that Mr. Lover Boy has a crush" she said her grin returning.
"What?!" I exclaimed which resulted in me getting looks from dining customers, "Sorry" I mouthed. Turning back to Harin and speaking more softly, "What do you mean?"
Giving me a sad look, "Oh Tally you poor poor thing. How naïve can you be?" She shook her head out of pity. " Mr. Taejoon over there has clearly never seen a dark girl so beautiful so he has no control over his attraction" she shrugged leaning back into her seat.
I picked up my menu and rolled my eyes, "Harin I think you need food and fast for you are obviously seeing things."
Obviously I am not the naïve one.
"Whatever you say but I can clearly see what is right in front of me" she said turning her head towards where Taejoon was.
Our eyes met and he quickly looked away seemingly blushing.
"See" Harin said in a sort of "I told you so" voice.
"He doesn't have a crush. He was making sure we didn't need anything hence why he was staring. I said pushing the thought of him actually liking me aside.
"Mmmm whatever you say" she said waving me off and giving up.
I looked back over to where Taejoon was taking a customer's order and he was quite beautiful. He had such a friendly and polite smile which matched with the aura of the place. He seemed like such a nice guy unlike Shiwoo.
Shiwoo.
My mind drifted to him. I was doing so well on not thinking about him and now I've slipped.
My stomach grumbled causing people to send looks my way. Harin instead of being a good friend and comfort me instead laughed which drew more attention. I even saw Taejoon laughing oh God.
I covered my face with the menu and kicked Harin under the desk.
"Ouch!" she yelled out in pain. Now it was my turn to laugh.
I skimmed through the menu and finally decided on Fries and barbequed wings. Everything on the menu looked great but Harin was paying and my conscience wouldn't allow me to eat her out of a home and besides, rent is almost due. My living accommodations have been covered by the scholarship as well as other expenses. Harin is a daddy's girl and her family is well of so she also didn't need to worry but I was still conscious on how our money is spent. Harin doesn't worry so I worry for her.
"Are you ready to order?" I asked placing my menu down on the table.
"Hmm yeah. Sure" she replied also placing her menu down.
I raised my hand signaling Taejoon over.
"Have we all decided?" he asked politely again. He was obviously well raised.
"Umm yes actually so I would like a large serving of fries with a platter of mild barbequed chicken please and for you Harin?" I asked
"I will take the chicken pasta with a chicken rap and a large serving of fries please" she said smiling.
For a small girls she eats a lot. I wish I had her metabolism.
"Okay and for the drink?" he asked as he made scribbles on his note pad.
"One Pina colada for me with alcohol, Soju and a glass of water" replied Harin
"I would like a glass of water extra ice and a Strawberry daiquiri please. Virgin" I replied
"Just like her" snorted Harin.
I kicked Harin extra hard this time and she yelped. I saw Taejoon's face turned red from her remark and I also felt my face heating up. I swear I am going to murder her and bury her 12 feet no 24 feet under.
Taejoon cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head and asked "would that be all?"
"Yes that's it for now" replied Harin coyly.
"Okay sit tight while the chef prepares your meal" he said retreating to what must be the kitchen. I turned to face Harin and shot daggers at her.
"What?" she feigned innocence.
"I'm going to kill you" I gritted hands on both sides of my face desperately trying to hide my embarrassment.
"Come on a girl just wanna have fun" she smiled sweetly.
The sweet aroma distracted me from my thoughts of murder until it shifted to thoughts of Shiwoo.
Again.