Until Ein came to help, Mrs. Shin had been juggling seasoning chicken tenders and preparing the orders in a frenetic rush. Meanwhile, Avery busied himself in the dining hall, fulfilling his role as a waiter.
"Oh, Ein, come help me with the preparation," Mrs. Shin waved him over, to two large bowls of egg and flour.
Ein took over with a nod, and Adriel, having had nothing to do all day, eagerly assisted.
Fortunately, Mrs. Shin was too engrossed in her multitasking to notice the seasoning containers levitating as the ghost seasoned the meat before passing it to Ein, who dipped it in egg and flour, and then handed it over to Mrs. Shin.
With the meat sizzling in the hot oil and cutlery clacking, the kitchen was filled with a focused energy. Two humans and a ghost assistant made a great team, and they breezed through the busy hour without a hitch.
As the flow of orders began to wane, Adriel leaned casually against the counter, watching Ein work with a look of amusement.
"Never thought I'd see a hitman wearing an apron," Adriel commented with a smirk. "By the way, yellow's not your color."
Ein ignored him, to which the ghost sighed dramatically. "Forced to work unpaid hours, and now I'm being ignored again."
"Nobody forced you," Ein muttered under his breath.
Mrs. Shin overheard him. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Ein asked cluelessly, pretending he hadn't said anything.
The elderly lady wiped the sweat off her forehead with her forearm, mumbling something about hearing things before excusing herself to take a short break. The two were left alone again.
Ein turned to the ghost. "I'll make a portion for us to take home, that's your reward."
"Sweet chili tenders, please," Adriel put in his order, then thought a bit and pointed at the refrigerated bowls of mixed vegetables behind the glass. "Also, can we take two of those?"
Not in the mood to deny the insistent ghost, Ein nodded.
"Nice! When are we going home?" Adriel shifted his weight from one foot to another impatiently.
"Soon," Ein replied, preparing another batch of chicken.
Not even five minutes later, the ghost grew bored and opened his mouth again. "Your grandma told you to make sure my heartbeat stays consistent. But you didn't check it today."
Ein glanced at him. "How is it?"
"I don't know, I can't tell," Adriel raised his hands obliviously, shrugging.
"Must be fine," Ein concluded dryly, but still kept an eye on his face to make sure.
The ghost hummed, tapping his chest thoughtfully. Then he tilted his head with a light frown to one side, then to the other, seemingly dissatisfied.
"What?" Ein probed, suspicious of the quiet.
"I think it's getting weaker."
"Weaker?" Ein took a step towards him to see it it was true, then remembered he needed a middle object to touch Adriel. He looked around, and his eyes settled on the counter.
The ghost watched as Ein grabbed the kitchen cloth, and cringed. "Ugh, that thing's disgusting," he said, waving his hands. "Don't even think about it, it looks like it was sitting there for days, and it's probably damp too—"
Despite his protests, Ein pressed the cloth against his chest to check his heartbeat through it.
Thump. Thump-thump. Thump.
It was an irregular beat, but still as strong as the last time.
Ein let out a small sigh of relief. He was about to give Adriel an earful for joking about serious things, but as he looked up at the ghost's face, he forgot what he was going to say.
A faint red rising to his cheeks, Adriel had turned his face to the side, trying to hide it. "You're lucky that thing is dry. Otherwise I'd smother you with a pillow in your sleep," he murmured, his soft tone not matching the contents of what he was saying.
Ein kept a straight face, deciding to mess with the ghost for once. "Keep quiet, I'm still checking your heartbeat," he chided, lightly pressing the cloth against the ghost's chest once more.
Adriel huffed, his blush deepening, but the expression on his face turning disgruntled.
"It's fine now, you can stop," he grumbled, his hand twitching as if he wanted to swat the cloth away, yet made no effort to move away.
"You said it weakened. Stand still for a minute so I can see if it changes," Ein told him, moving the cloth to the other side of Adriel's chest as if it were a stethoscope.
Adriel opened his mouth as he was about to protest, but then thought better of it and chose to remain silent. He fidgeted restlessly instead, refusing to look at Ein directly.
"It's a bit racy," Ein pointed out, watching the ghost with a subtle smirk.
"That's a completely normal reaction to you violating my personal space," Adriel muttered, stretching his neck as he tried to lean away without moving.
Ein held in his laugh, feeling some degree of satisfaction in seeing the ghost become embarrassed. With him always so cheeky and never hesitating to tease Ein, it was a fun change to get him back for it once.
Mrs. Shin returned to the kitchen, but stopped upon seeing Ein standing there, holding the kitchen cloth with an extended arm.
Adriel abruptly stepped back, knocking over a pepper grinder. Ein quickly caught it, then waved the cloth around to distract the elderly lady.
"Where did it go..." he murmured, pretending to chase a fly.
"Oh, dear, are the moths back again?" Mrs. Shin asked, squinting as she tried to spot anything flying.
"Yeah, moths," Ein said, glancing at the ghost as he tossed the cloth back onto the counter. "One just got away."
Having slipped off the hook, Adriel laughed shamelessly at Ein's hard work to hide his presence. He leaned over the counter casually, reaching to knock over the salt grinder next, slow and teasing, like an cat fishing for attention.
"Can you catch this too?"
"These pests... Looks like I will have to check the grains again," Mrs. Shin remarked as she went to look through the cabinets.
Ein gave Adriel a microscopic headshake behind Mrs. Shin's back, but it didn't stop the ghost, who pushed the salt container to the edge.
Once it was about to fall off, Ein went swinging with the cloth in the ghost's direction, forcing a chuckle. "There's that moth again."
The ghost yelped and jumped back, not wanting to be whipped with the cloth.
"Who are you calling a moth?" Adriel laughed out loud.
Mrs. Shin watched Ein push the salt container back to its place, then glanced up at the sink behind him. "Maybe they're coming from the drains..." she mused, walking over to check.
Ein shook his head, assuring her, "It was the same moth. It must've wandered in through the window."
The elderly lady nodded, then paused with a scrutinizing look in her eyes, as if she had spotted something on Ein's face.
Puzzled by what she saw, he reached to touch his chin, but she said, "Someone's in a good mood today."
Ein raised his eyebrows, realizing the smile on his lips. He cleared his throat and wiped it off his face. Was he getting too relaxed? Indulging the ghost's teasing and whims? He looked over at Adriel, who was grinning at him impishly from a safe distance.
Mrs. Shin tapped Ein's shoulder before going back to frying. "Don't act all serious now, eh? You've got a kind smile, warms my heart to see it."
A giggle came from the corner. "A kind smileeee," Adriel dragged, sitting down on an old stool.
Ein ignored him, giving a forced but thankful nod to Mrs. Shin.
"The old lady is right, you know. When you smile, you look almost affectionate. It's sweet," Adriel commented, crossing his legs.
Ein felt uncomfortably warm. He quickly busied himself, wiping his hands on his apron. "Stop saying weird things," he muttered as he passed the ghost.
Adriel leaned forward, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Weird things? Is it weird to think you look handsome when you smile?"
Ein frowned, turning away from the nonsensical claims. Why did this ghost always have to poke fun at him?