Back of the house
The back of the restaurant was an area strictly reserved for the staff members. The front of the house was the area accessible to customers, the reception, and the dining hall.
Clatter!
As they walked past the kitchen, Rin and Alvin could hear the muffled rush of the busy workstation. The clattering of utensils, the sharp sizzling of oil, and a gruff voice of an old man educating a junior chef.
"Who taught you how to hold a knife? Even the toddler of my son can hold it better than you. But with how incompetent he is, I don't think I will ever see him get married let alone play with his grandkids."
The passing waiter entered the kitchen, allowing the voice to escape the room. Even though the man spoke in a harsh berating tone, his words caused a wave of laughter to burst out inside the kitchen.
Hearing the outburst and the vibe inside, both Alvin and Rin exchanged stifled laughter. Rin moved past the kitchen and made her way towards the resting area. This area was both a locker room and a place for the staff members to rest.
It was a cozy space where staff could catch their breath, the wooden ceiling and supports in the corner added a sweet scent to the room.
Entering the room, Rin noticed that it was empty and heaved a sigh of relief inwardly.
Alvin on the other hand noticed that she was still holding his hand, taking the opportunity, he decided to tease the young woman, "How long are you going to drag me, manager?"
Rin realized that she was still holding on to his hand protectively. But instead of releasing his hand, she tightened her hold on it. She looked at the man who was older than her in age and spoke softly, "I am sorry you had to go through that… again."
Seeing the pained look in her eyes, Alvin could only smile wryly, "Who is the older one here?" he chuckled, rubbing the lobe of her right ear with the practiced move. Rin did not flinch under his touch and listened to him as he continued speaking, "There is nothing for you to be sorry about. Do you think I like it when you face a situation like that but we cannot silence everyone or change their opinion about us."
Rin visibly flinched when he revealed how much he knew about her situation, "Did he tell you that?" She frowned with a bit of annoyance but it was not directed at Alvin.
Alvin smiled and took his hand back, "Matsuoka is my friend and as much of a brother to me as he is to you." Pausing, he put on a serious expression before asking, "Do you think even if he did not tell me anything I would not know about it? You get all enraged for me but when it comes to yourself why do act like this…"
Alvin sighed when he got no reply from now-meek Rin, she had lowered her head and stood there with her hand behind her back, rubbing against her expensive Kimono.
Knowing that he wouldn't be getting any reply from her, Alvin changed the topic, "Anyways, what did you bring me here for?"
"Ah! I almost forgot," Rin jumped back, skipping to Alvin's locker, "as you know Big Brother is busy in the kitchen, so he asked me to give this to you."
Watching how she opened the locker without him even giving her the keys, beads of cold sweat appeared on Alvin's face but he looked away, acting as if nothing had happened.
Unaware of Alvin's thoughts, Rin turned around and raised her hands to reveal the contents of the box she was holding. Inside the box was freshly baked garlic bread.
The moment she opened the box, Alvin had long stopped thinking about the drama that had just happened, his mind was fully assaulted by the sweet scent of the bread. The beautifully charred garlic shreds on the stuffed folds, made him drool by just looking at them.
Rin chuckled at his familiar reaction, he knew how much he liked the stuffed garlic bread, especially the one made by her brother as her father refused to cook it for him. Even though she knew how to cook this dish, she felt it was not as good as her brother's.
"Yep. Stuffed garlic bread, extra cheese, no jalapeños. Made by big brother Matsuoka himself." She presented the bread without skipping a beat but the truth was she baked it herself but there was no need for Alvin to know that.
Alvin snapped out of his daze and looked at Rin in suspicion, "Wait… that old man let him cook something that wasn't on the menu?" looking back at the dish that was now in his hand, he thought, 'I call it cap, with how stuck up that old man is, he will not compromise with his principle even if someone placed a gun on his head.'
"Of course… He did not!" Rin snorted in amusement, but even she agreed with his words, That lunatic would rather come back from the grave to stop it. Matsuoka had to use the oven in my office to cook it."
The garlic bread in Alvin's hands almost slipped when he heard her speaking like that about her own father. He glared at her for almost making him commit a sinful act.
But her words did make him imagine a bony hand coming out of the grave, only to smack Matsuoka's head.
"I can totally imagine him doing that." Alvin laughed, he looked at Rin and expressed his gratitude. "Thanks, Rin."
"Mhmm," shaking her head, she replied, "There is no need for that, I only gave it to you. It was my big brother who made it. Besides, if you want to do something, why not cook me a warm meal after we go back home."
"Sure thing," Alvin smirked and decided to cook this little sister of his a very special egg-based dish.
Rin beamed at his agreement and turned around to leave, not before flashing him a warm smile, "You can enjoy your meal here, I will go and handle the work I left to deal with that scum." there was something warm about the way she smiled, something that softened the usually sharp edges of her demeanor.
As she left the room, Alvin shook his head and looked at the bread in his hands, " little girl, you forgot that the old man would not even allow his son to leave the kitchen for bathroom breaks, let alone do some odd work."
Even though the bread was now cold, Alvin felt his heart warming up. He could not help but look forward to their late-night dinner back home.