'What did you mean?' She sent the text, waiting for a minute before walking into the restaurant. She trudged through the door, smelling the food, and her stomach slowly growled. She was already hungry again. It was the wonderful smell of the food. She swallowed hard, looking at the kitchen in the back.
"I already have a plate ready for you." Tae brought it over, his mom laughing.
"He said you would be here early." She continued to laugh while Tae brought the plate over to the table. He pulled Jennie to the table, motioning for her to sit and begin eating. Her plate was hot with rice, soup, and beef on the side. It was cooked to perfection, the first bite making her close her eyes in pure enjoyment.
"This is so good!" She chewed loudly, starting to stuff her face. "Auntie, you always make the best food!" Jennie cheered, taking another spoonful.
"Actually, Tae made it." She smiled and looked at him. Jennie swallowed what was in her mouth before looking back at Tae.
"Well, it's still mom's recipe." He shrugged, sitting down next to Jennie.
"Thanks." She didn't sound too happy, but she smiled softly before looking back up at his mom. Jennie continued eating, taking another bite while Tae stared lovingly at her. His mom smiled, backing away a bit.
"The group should be here around lunchtime. I can take care of everything if you want to rest." Tae smiled at her, watching her eat.
"No, I can help. Auntie, can I get paid for your delicious food?" Jennie chewed as she stared at Tae's mom, who nodded.
"Of course, I actually have a cook scheduled to give you your paycheck at 9 before we close." Her hand landed on top of Jennie's shoulder as she continued to eat. "Have you been well? It's been a while since you last visited me." Her smile showed concern, and Jennie knew this.
"I know. I've been studying too hard." Her voice was soft.
"Well, you can always come by for food. You've always been sweet enough to help, and I owe you so much more food." She kissed the top of Jennie's head. "I'm going to go check on the chefs." She began her walk to the kitchen, leaving Tae and Jennie at the table.
"How is school?" Tae was not much of a studious kid. He always knew that he wanted to take the shop from his mom, so he never tried studying hard. He preferred to study Jennie, always following behind her when they were at school. They always lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same school, and she even tutored him through high school. He always enjoyed being around her, even though she always felt annoyed,
"It's fun! Graduation after this year." She took another bite. "Have you still not thought about going to school?" Jennie constantly tried to influence him to go to culinary school before taking over the family business. Tae just was not one of those people. He always performed at a subpar level, enough to make his mom happy, and Jennie thought that the tutoring was paying off. He was not into applying himself consistently, and unless it would bring Jennie to his side, he was not willing to go.
"Nah, I'm going to take over this place. No need." He brushed it off with a smile, picking up an extra chopstick and putting more beef on Jennie's spoon. "Eat more." She didn't know how to feel, pulling the spoon to her mouth.
It wasn't that Jennie didn't know Tae liked her. She was aware. It was just hard for her to see their friendship develop into anything more. She never had a sibling, so he would always fill the role of an annoying younger brother who just wanted to spend time with her. She knew how he felt, but she never felt that way. But no matter how much she would ignore or turn down his confessions, he would constantly try to make their relationship develop into something more. Jennie finished eating, clearing her plate with her spoon before standing up to head to the kitchen. Tae jumped up, taking the plate from her hand and heading to the kitchen himself, with her following close behind.
"Mom said that she didn't really need help during the morning rush, but she wanted to talk to you." He spoke, walking through the kitchen opening. The chef was inside talking to his mom when the two walked in, making his mom smile, and the chef nudged her.
"Are you guys ready to work?" She asked as Tae put the plate in the sink and moved over to his mom.
"I got things for a while. You ladies take a break." He kissed the top of his mom's forehead, walking to the door where his hand lightly touched Jennie's shoulder. He went to open the shop, turning on the signs and standing at the counter as he waited for customers to come in. His mom opened her arms for Jennie, walking over and getting pulled in for a deep hug.
"You know, I have always been proud to have you as a daughter." She kissed her head and held her tight. Jennie breathed in the hug, her body pressing closer, and she hoped no one would notice the tear that soon fell from her eye. "You know, the more I look at you, you remind me of your mother. She was my best friend." Jennie sniffled a little.
"Really?" She tried to hide the sadness in her voice, but there was no use. His mom pulled her away from her chest, chuckling at the tears that she began to wipe away.
"Yes, really." She kissed Jennie's forehead and hugged her once again. "Have you really been doing well? I've been worried about you living on your own."
"Yes, it's hard. But I know they'd want me to try." Her voice broke at every word, and this made a stray tear fall from Auntie's face.
"Well, I hope I haven't had Tae bothering you too much. I know he is always concerned for you, too, so I send him with the food." She rubbed Jennie's back and then pulled away. "I hate you living there on your own, so it gives me peace of mind when he checks on you." Jennie wiped her face and smiled.
"It's fine. I enjoy the company." She lied but realized how concerned they were for her. She took a breath, looking at Tae, who was helping a customer on the phone. She hadn't realized how much trouble it had caused them. They were so worried.
"Well, good, he is always trying to check up on you." She smiled, then rubbed Jennie's shoulder. "This has always been the hardest day of the year for me, but when I see you, it makes it better." Jennie felt her heart swell, and again, she was on the brink of tears and hoped no one would see.
"Me too." Was all Jennie could say, thinking about everything. Jennie stared at Tae's mom as she patted her head.
"They'd be very happy." She started stroking Jennie's hair and then looked towards Tae, who walked back in.
"Don't make her cry, Mom!" He walked over, pulling both of us in his arms. "My girls can't be sad around me." He held them tight, his heart secretly hearing as he watched the woman he loved cry. He took a deep sigh, embracing them both before letting go.
"We're okay, Tae," Jennie answered, taking a step back. "We just had a moment." She smiled at his mom and then looked to see customers coming in. "Here, I'll go wait at this table." She walked away, and Tae looked at his mother.
"You think she's doing okay?" His mom looked completely concerned, watching Jennie force a smile after seeing that she was just tearing up. She walked closer to the door of the kitchen, her eyes studying her behavior.
"I think she's strong." He was watching her with an admiring look, leaning against the doorway next to his mother. "She has always been strong. That's what I've always loved about her." He spoke those words so dearly, making his mother's head turn towards him. She noticed his longing looks and sighed.
"She gets it from her mother and father." She hit him on the arm. "If only you could read people like your mother or father. Now get back to work." She smiled jokingly, having him kiss her quickly on the forehead before disappearing into the dining room.
Jennie worked hard through the day, trying to make sure she kept up. Obviously, it had been a while since she last worked, but Tae made sure to give her the closer tables. He had made sure that she was never running around but was where she needed to be while he did more of the work. His mother could not help but notice his consistent looks at Jennie. The workday had picked up oddly enough, and the kids were able to keep up. She stood at the cash register and answered the calls as the kids took the groups entering.
After a while, it was time to close the shop as they transitioned from breakfast/lunch to the dinner menu. This gave everyone an hour for their break, both kids retreating to the break room and crashing on the couch.
"I'll go get our food. Mom said she wanted us to rest a bit." He got up and picked up a spare blanket from the corner. "Here, lay down." He instructed Jennie, who listened as Tae put the blanket over her.
"I'm not going to sleep, though." She needed to let him know, at least, but she knew there was no reasoning with him.
"That's fine. I saw you were getting slower." He picked her foot up, pulling her shoes from her feet and covering them up. "I'll go check on the food."He walked softly to the door, turning the lights off before walking out and closing the door behind him. She pulled her phone from her back pocket, opened it, and looked at her messages. She noticed there was one reply, clicking the number, and found herself smiling.
'Why don't I tell you over dinner?' She reread the message, and there was no holding back her smile.
'You don't know me though.' She responded, holding her phone as she tapped her fingers against the screen. She heard a ding, looking at it.
'I know you're Jennie, and I'd like to get to know you. Do you not want to know me?' Her thumbs tapped, thinking about what she should say to that.
'What day?' She found herself sitting up, keeping her legs under the blanket.
'Tomorrow?' She thought about it. She had never let herself do something like this, but something in her wanted to give it a try.
'How about lunch?' She sent the message, placing her phone on the small table in front of the couch.
'Lunch? If I can call it a date, then deal.' She read the message, smiling slightly. This was something that was new, and she listened to her brain. She didn't respond, the door opening before she could think about what she wanted to say. Tae walked into the room, her phone locking as he came in with two plates of food.
"Are you hungry?" He let the door close, turning on the light for them. He placed their food on the table in front of the couch. She raised herself up, placing her legs in front of him and giving him room to sit.
"Starving." She commented, smelling the food in front of her.