Bird of the Bistro

I think I've finally found a place to call home. (Part of Clearwell Town)

[zo0ey-blog1]

You’re hiring? [Holly & Zooey]

[miyukimihira]

zo0ey:

Zooey wasn’t sure whether she was reassured or concerned when she found that she recognized almost everything she was faced with. Pretty much every surface was the same, and with a little luck, so too would the storage be. Granted, she wasn’t an expert on the layout of the old kitchen, but she knew at least where the cutlery and utensils had been – the important things, at least.

As she took the book with gentle hands, it didn’t occur to Zooey that she might have more experience than her potential employer. Even if it had, it wouldn’t have made a difference; being in charge was far too stressful for her to consider attempting any kind of takeover.  The only thing on the page she didn’t recognize as a concept was the buchim garu, but if it was in the cupboard, it was probably some kind of dry product. “I’ll have to try it some time,” she murmured, “but it doesn’t look too complicated.”

It didn’t take long for her to find the things she’d need, laying them out to work with. She was more focused on preparing everything efficiently and according to the instructions than she was on her company, but when the time came to actually fry the thing, she had seven to eight minutes of silence to contend with. Which she couldn’t do, not with someone standing here.

“So,” Zooey started, watching the pancake carefully, “do you only serve the recipes in this book?”

Holly did not say much, opting to watch as Zooey carried out each of the task. Granted, the directions were relatively straightforward- anyone with even a small amount of kitchen knowledge could probably find their way through it. But Zooey worked with the confidence of a well seasoned cook.

This was much to Holly’s delight. She had every intention of starting out any new employee as a host and waiter at first, with them slowly working their way into food prep. This was taking that tedious process out of the equation. 

After each correct motion, Holly gave a microscopic nod. Not that Zooey could see her, of course, as she seemed very engulfed in her work. The speed at which she worked, even with an unfamiliar recipe, was certainly conducive to the environment of a restaurant. Not that the bistro was ever swarming with customers.

Hey eyes followed Zooey all the way to the frying pan, where she was able to talk again. She answered her question with a smile, thinking fondly about the book. “No. Some of the recipes are my own. Those are written in my computer- I’ll share them later. The ones in the book are from my mother.” She nodded, making sure Zooey had her eye on the pancake. “I’ve been meaning to expand the menu for a while now. The people here don’t have the most... er, adventurous of taste buds, but I’m sure I can find some things they’ll like.”

[dreamingdrew-deactivated2017050]

First Days-Open

[miyukimihira]

dreamingdrew:

He felt foolish for his previous comment and watched the spectacle still a bit frozen from his own embarrassment. He moved to help her but she had already bent down to pick it up. He promptly resumed his position behind the counter and busied himself with adding up the costs of the two bags trying to shield his own reddened cheeks.

“Uh..It should be…30G..I think..yea” Drew mumbled. He took a deep breath and shook off his embarrassment. If he was still working at the convenience store in Havencrest he would’ve been fired by now. He put on an anxious smile.

“That will be 30G please! Is there anything else you require?”

This’ll be over soon, she told herself, that she would be out of there the moment she paid for the flour. With her current track record, she knew she would have to wait several weeks for her embarrassment to die down, and only then could she return to the general store.

With that thought in mind, she scanned over the shelves. Anything she needed, she would have to get now. 

Holly hardly heard Drew when he told her the total of the order, and she absentmindedly retrieved the right bills from her wallet. 

“What... uh...” She blinked around and searched for words. “What kind of sweet things do you have here. Like, ice cream of something? I feel like I’m gonna need it after this.” 

She laughed in spite of herself and hoped that he shared her sense of humor.

[miyukimihira]

Holly’s Hotteoks {open}

[miyukimihira]

beekeeperofclearwell: 

Admittedly, even living near Havencrest, Thyme wasn’t used to people calling out to her–there was an organized chaos to the city, and even in the suburb she lived in outside of the city, people were friendly with each other.

But simply as it was, she hadn’t gone out much other than to attend classes and work. The move to Clearwell had been a well calculated decision due to how small the town was; it was comfortable on the outside, and so far comfortable on the inside.

She followed Holly inside and proceeded to sit at the designated table. She looked up with a smile on her lips. “I’m Thyme–Tamara, really, but I go by Thyme.” She waited until Holly had sat with her before responding further.

“I’ve been here about… ah, I suppose a week.” She chuckled lightly–chiming and melodic. “I was on my way to the general store.” She let the bag in her hand fall to the floor by her feet, then reached for the fork accompanying the hotteoks.

Did she eat them like pancakes? They… looked like pancakes. She let the side of the fork cut through them and continued to speak. “I was hoping to sell some of my products through the store in town…” She looked back up at Holly quickly, smiling broader this time. “But! I have time to sit here for awhile.”

She brought a bite of the hotteok to her lips to taste.

“Thyme...” Holly hummed thoughtfully. It was a lovely name, although she was unsure of the correct context. “Time as in clock or thyme as in the spice?”

She was not entirely sure if she wanted another customer come in. Holly would enjoy a nice conversation but the way she was sitting almost felt like she was interrogating Thyme. To alleviate this, she stood up and retrieved a cloth and spray bottle from the supply closet. 

In a perfect world, she would have much rather invited her new guest to the apartment upstairs, where she would feel alot more comfortable just being casual. At work, she knew she had to keep up her image as a polite and welcoming hostess. 

Next time, she reassured herself. If she saw Thyme a second time after this, she would invite her to the apartment and wear sweatpants and let herself have a good time.

But she knew she was getting ahead of herself. She barely knew the person, after all. 

When she returned, she noticed Thyme was getting ready to try the hotteoks. Her eyes watched intensely, waiting for what she could only hope would be a favorable reaction. 

[zo0ey-blog1]

You’re hiring? [Holly & Zooey]

[miyukimihira]

zo0ey:

The place was more subdued than Zooey remembered, but that meant nothing, really. Not with a new owner and an entirely new business. She was trying to focus on that, rather than the people around. It generally just made it easier to maintain the only slightly forced smile. She was hoping it’d be written off to nerves as she tried not to get hired based entirely on lies.

Following along, Zooey couldn’t say she heard anything bad about the position. An all round assistant? That sounded much more interesting than being constantly playing the waitress, or constantly in the kitchen. And technically she had twice the qualifications, if that was the case. Maybe there was hope for her, after all.

Zooey spared a glance around the kitchen while coming up with a suitable response, fighting to keep her hands still. “Well, my name is Zooey Nakia. I’ve got my resume here if you want to look over my experience, but I was a cook for a little over four years, and I was a waitress for the old bistro, the one that preceded yours.” She patted the satchel, smile growing slightly. “This is what I’ve learned to do, it’s what I’m best at, really. I’m always ready to try something new. Eager, even. There’s nothing worse than looking at traditional meals and not considering how they could be improved.”

Somewhere between the parlor and the kitchen, Holly resolved that she would probably end up hiring this girl regardless of how the make-shift interview went. It was becoming far too tiring- running this place all by herself. And Zooey, from a quick glance, seemed to have a head on her shoulders.

Not that it was Holly’s only qualification, but the list was remarkably short.

Once in the kitchen, she leaned casually against the counter, nodding every now and again. She was surprised to hear Zooey had worked for the previous owners of the building. She didn’t know how long the restaurant had been vacant before she bought it, but now she had an idea that it might not have been very long. That explained very plainly why the equipment that she “inherited” was all in workable condition. When she thought about it, this was probably a good thing for her potential employee. Holly had changed very little about the kitchen itself, only adding items like a rice cooker and a wine chiller. It was the parlor that had undergone serious renovation. That, and the upstairs apartment.

Tapping a finger to her lips, Holly smiled. “I agree. Tradition is very important but progress depends on bending the rules a little, so to speak.”

She then took Zooey’s resume in her hands and glanced over it. Everything seemed very standard and workable. Although, she wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that Zooey had a over year on her in terms of official cooking experience. Perhaps she just felt protective of her position, and she made a point to ignore the thought.

“Okay. We can talk more, of course, but I’d like you, first, to make something for me.” Holly walked over by by the dishwasher and retrieved a well-loved cookbook from the counter. It was one of the many gifts her mother had given her when she moved out of the city, chock full of the dishes she made for her family. Holly had memorized everything in this book, so she never had cause to bring it out until now, when she handed it to Zooey, flipped to a specific page.

“One of the most important things about this job will be following the recipes. I have no doubt you are a wonderful cook, but, for now, I’d like you to make a serving of Hobakjeon. It’s one of the most popular entrees we serve here, considering this town has lots of vegetarians. Let’s see...” She tapped her lips again and then pointed to parts of the kitchen as she spoke. “The vegetables are in the fridge... flour, sugar, and buchim garu are in the cabinet above the sinks... vinegar and all the rest of the baking supplies in the one to the left of it.”

[zo0ey-blog1]

You’re hiring? [Holly & Zooey]

@hollybird

Zooey had been to exactly two job interviews in her life. The first position she’d been offered immediately. She wasn’t under any illusions that it was because of any particular skill on her part - more that she was very obviously willing to work for minimum wage at the time, and since they just wanted her in the kitchen, she didn’t need to be approachable or friendly. The second position she got by smiling like a somewhat sane person, offering up experience and a quality resume, and the fact that she was new. She’d figured that the owners figured the novelty of a fresh face would bring in more business.

Now, though, it was very much about being approachable and friendly. She’d been left high and dry when the owners of the restaurant she worked for sold their business, and fortunately her savings had been enough to sustain her for a while. Unfortunately, that while was up, and she’d immediately gone job hunting in tiny little Clearwell, resume in the satchel she used for trips to town.

Her old workplace was hiring, which confused her for a moment. More careful examination told her that it was the same building and the same sort of business, but not the same place. No, there was a new owner, whoever had bought it off her former employers, no doubt - and according to the sign in the window, they were hiring.

Taking a moment to psyche herself up, Zooey had paused outside the window. After a minute or so of just trying to breathe, she’d decided this was as good as she was going to get. She was even reasonably neatly dressed, for once, in a blouse covered in polka dots and jeans that didn’t even have grass stains on them.

When the woman behind the counter turned to serve her, Zooey managed a smile. “I saw the sign in the window. You’re hiring?”

[miyukimihira]

“Of course, Miss Clark. It’s always a pleasure to see you.”

Holly bowed slightly and waved to the customer as she took her leave. As usual, during this time of the day, the residents of the town that lived closer to the bistro than the cafe elected to sit down with their morning hot beverage of choice here. It was a peaceful time that she treasured just before the lunch rush.

Her eyes scanned the parlor to see if any of her few customers looked like they needed assistance, and upon declaring that they did not, she made her way over to the cash register to organize her most recent transaction. 

Just as she was finishing up, the bell above the door sent Holly’s head and smile to the entrance. She was about to start her hostess song and dance, but the stranger spoke first...

And she spoke about the help wanted sign.

Here was a moment that Holly had been hoping for, so she took a moment to breath and prep herself for what was sure to be a nerve-filled interaction. She had placed the sign in the window with little expectation. Residents of Clearwell, she found, usually had their lives figured out. It wasn’t like the town was brimming with opportunity, especially not for young women like the one standing before her now.

But that was unimportant right now. What was important was that Holly had a bright face who was interested in helping her out.

“Of course!” She gave a bright smile as she stepped forward to shake the girl’s hand. “Right now I’m looking to hire an all around assistant for the Bistro. I’m Holly Byrd, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Again, she scanned the restaurant for anyone who might need her, but all of the patrons were quietly sipping their tea and minding their own business.

“Let’s go talk in the kitchen, shall we?”

In the short walk over, Holly mulled over what she could ask this new face. To begin she started as simple as she could.

“So ,tell me a little bit about yourself.” 

[dreamingdrew-deactivated2017050]

First Days-Open

[miyukimihira]

dreamingdrew:

He searched among the various crates of produce and cosmetics that would be his chore after the store closed. He made a note to restock the shelves later. The light flickered, yet another thing to be fixed. He finally found a bunch of crates labeled “baking supplies” and looked through them. He grinned as he pulled out 3 beautiful bags of flour. Well they were beautiful to him at least. 

He came out of the back room looking pleased with himself. “How many do you..” he stopped as soon as he saw what was in his customers hand and immediately turned red. 

“um..well..err..” he stumbled as he tried to figure out what to say. They were just condoms, nothing to get rattled about He told himself. “Special night?” He said, then realized how insensitive that was. “S-Sorry that was probably out of line sometimes things just come out” he laughed nervously wishing he could sink into the floor. Stop talking you’re making it worse dummy! His mind scolded.

Holly swore her soul left her body for a split second when the worker came back, alerting her of his presence with a simple question.

Oh, happy day.

“What?!” The first word came out much louder than she intended, so she cleared her throat before she continued. “Oh... no. No not at all. Actually I’m... I’m very single. No need for this!” 

When she was finally able to stop running her mouth, Holly flicked her wrist to toss the condom back into the container, but in her embarrassed haste, she missed the opening completely. And she could only laugh as she bent down to pick it up. What started as a quick trip to replace a supply was turning into one of the most painful interactions she’d had since opening up the bistro. A grown woman getting flustered and clumsy over something so simple. It was laughable, really.

Standing up straight, she tucked a few strands of her hair that had come loose behind her ear. There was no doubt in her mind that her cheeks were the color of roses at this point, but she tried to go on like nothing happened.

“Two bags should tide me over until the next shipment comes in...” She went over the numbers quickly in her head before nodding. “Yeah. That’ll do. How much do I owe you?”

It was a miracle she was able to pull out her wallet successfully, considering the kind of day she was having,

[sheruns-shelifts]

Cats and tea

[dreamingdrew-deactivated2017050]

First Days-Open

[miyukimihira]

dreamingdrew:

He glanced down at her white-powder covered pants and stifled a chuckle.

“Whew I can see that. I think we have some lint rollers in the back, should decently clean up them up. As for your flour..” He came out from behind the counter and went to get some sacks of flour off the shelf. 

“How many did you need?” He asked, looking for the flour, “hm..sugar…grains…coffee..huh that’s odd..” He moved the items around; maybe it was in the back? Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any. 

“Aw man…how can we be out of frickin flour?” He groaned. He went back to the counter sullenly to face the customer. Then he had an idea. 

“I’m gonna go check the back storage real fast, I apologize for the inconvenience!” 

She could feel hints of pink on her cheeks as he observed the aftermath of such a silly mistake. Every chef drops things from time to time, but she much would have preferred something she could have gone the rest of the day without.

As she mulled over this, her eyes absentmindedly followed the worker to the shelf and looked up when he declared he was going to check in the back.

“No problem!” Holly nodded. “Please, take your time.”

Once he was gone, she ran her teeth over her bottom lip and looked around. She usually made arrangements to get supplies shipped in via truck, so she never had much cause to come to the general store. It was a strange mix of rustic and modern, and it made her smile.

“They aren’t kidding when they say they have everything.” She pondered to herself as she meandered around the smaller items that were up by the register. Bubblegum? She hadn’t had that in probably 20 years. Cigars? Definitely not her thing.

The wide assortment of odds and ends put a smile on her face, especially when her sight landed on a small basket of what she could only assume were condoms. With a small laugh, she picked one up and turned it over in her hand. 

Guess cowpoke get laid too. 

[miyukimihira]

Holly’s Hotteoks {open}

[miyukimihira]

beekeeperofclearwell:

“Hotteok.” Thyme repeated the word, a little more comfortable this time, and offered the woman a smile.

Cinnamon and peanuts, that did sound good–and with powdered sugar and ice cream also offered, that sounded even better. Her fingers twisted somewhat against the rough twine handles on her paper bag–she did have a couple of places to stop at, and she did need to start selling her goods in town, but surely it couldn’t hurt to spend time getting to know someone.

She smiled again, then nodded. “That sounds wonderful–but ah, I could pay you, that’s more than fine.” She took a step toward the door, only showing a smidge of hesitance. When it came down to it, despite her being so open and easy to get along with, she did feel shy from time to time. She followed Holly inside, still smiling.

The stranger’s hesitance caused Holly to raise a quick, inquisitive eyebrow. But she understood. It wasn’t every day that a chef pulled a random pedestrian off of the streets and offered them free food. Luckily, this was one of Holly’s favorite parts about living in the country. She would never be able to get away with something like this back in the city where she grew up, even if she owned the place.

Happy that the new patron followed her, she set the platter down on a set table. “I’m Holly, by the way. Holly Byrd. I own this place.”

She continued to speak over her shoulder as she walked briskly into the kitchen and pulled a carton of ice cream out of the freezer. “I’ve been here for about six months, but I don’t get out much. This is kind of my life.” She retrieved a smaller plate from the cabinet and set a healthy scoop of ice cream onto it.

Don’t spill your life story now, Holly joked to herself when she made her way back into the parlor. Don’t ask her if she knows anyone who would want to work as an assistant chef so you can have some semblance of a social life.

“Alright!” Holly sung out, moving two of the hotteoks onto the plate and then setting it on the table. Once standing straight, she let herself observe the person sitting at the table. Considering her whole look as she sat, she was simply the spitting image of the kind of people Holly expected to meet when she moved to Clearwell- elegant in a rustic sort of sense. She didn’t fit into this category at all.

You can take a girl out of the city.

“So~” Holly gave another gentle smile as she sat on the edge of a nearby chair, on leg crossed over the other. “To whom do I owe the pleasure?”

But you can’t take the city out of a girl.  

[dreamingdrew-deactivated2017050]

First Days-Open

Drew slowly blinked awake. He yawned softly, lazily looking over at the digital clock sitting on his nightstand. The numbers stared at his face, 9:45.

It took him a moment. Then he sat up, the sleepiness zapped out of his mind and was replaced with panic. 

“Oh no I’m gonna be late!” 

He quickly pulled on his shirt and pants, and almost dashed out the door before realizing he wasn’t wearing his eye patch. He went into the bathroom but it wasn’t there. He checked his bed, and sure enough, it was hiding under his pillow. After carefully putting it on and quickly brushing his hair, he grabbed his bag and rushed out the door. 

He parked his bike behind the store and rushed to the front. He unlocked the door with shaky hands and went inside. After turning on the light he turned the sign from the “sorry we’re closed” side to the “we’re open!” one. The last step would be to wait behind the counter for a customer, or so the instructions said. This was nothing like his old job at the convenience store back in Havencrest. As soon as the door opened there were people, even before the employees were ready. However this store was dead silent. 

An hour passed. With no manager looking over his shoulder, he was tempted to put in his earbuds. Before he could, he heard the door swing open. He immediately straightened up. A customer! 

“Good Morning! How can I help you today?” 

[miyukimihira]

“Dammit!!’

Holly muttered so her voice wouldn’t carry into the restaurant as she rummaged through the pantry. She had just dropped what she was now realizing to be her only bag of flour all over her black pants. This was just what she needed in the middle of the day.

It wasn’t like she could leave the bistro alone and change- she still had customers. Plus, having flour, an ingredient in half of her dishes, was far more important. So she tied an apron around her waist and finished waiting on the two customers in the hall. Once they left, she replaced her apron with a coat and stuck a “Be Back Soon” sign on the door.

The shopping district was just a quick walk away, which she was quite thankful for. It wasn’t as though she had to rush- she rarely ever got customers during this time of day- but she didn’t exactly have time to spend making a trek halfway across town.

Once she arrived at the general store, she was greeted by a rather enthusiastic man that she had never seen before. She had to blink a few times before offering a pleasant smile. 

“Oh hello! I’m just here to pick up a few bags of flour. We had a bit of a...” She motioned to her slacks, “Well we had an incident.”

[korealookbook]

[miyukimihira]

Holly’s Hotteoks {open}

[miyukimihira]

beekeeperofclearwell: 

Thyme’s eyes were cast down at her feet as she walked; she wasn’t ignoring the people around her, but more she was lost in her mind. Just a bit. When Holly’s voice interrupted her thoughts, she jumped very slightly and came to a stop.

“Ah?” She glanced at Holly, not recognizing the word. “Ho…tok?” Her eyes dropped to Holly’s hands, then back up to her face.

She didn’t have anywhere to be, as far as she knew. She was just on her way to talk to the various shopkeepers here in town. And it had been a bit of time since she’d eaten; if they were free samples, why not? She did need to get to know the people in town anyway.

Light voiced, she finally responded. “You said they’re sweet?”

Holly had to stifle a laugh when the stranger reacted. Now that she had a willing participant, she could relax slightly. Her work would not be going to waste.

“Hotteok.” She enunciated the word with a smile. “They’re like pancakes, but filled with cinnamon and peanuts.”

She held the platter out, but quickly brought it back close to her chest. What was she thinking? Serving these on the street? Sure, they were sold like this back in Korea, but this was different. She had the facilities to make it a nicer experience, so she ought to use them.

“Actually, if you have a few moments to spare, these are much tastier with powdered sugar and a scoop of ice cream.” Holly turned and held open the door of the bistro as to invite the person inside. “It’s my treat.”

[sabonhomeblog]

[miyukimihira]

Holly’s Hotteoks {open}

[miyukimihira]

beekeeperofclearwell:

Coming down the street not too far from where Holly now stood, with a paper bag in hand that clearly held something with a bit of weight, was a tall woman with blonde hair loose about her face, tangled somewhat and falling across her shoulders. She was humming lightly, nothing in particular to note, but nonetheless humming.

She was dressed in a light shawl that started tan and gradated to black, despite the warm Spring weather, and under that she wore a brown, flowing dress that fell past her knees. Her simple pair of black, flat, Mary Jane-style shoes thudded against the concrete of the sidewalk with each step.

In some fashion, she was a bit out of place from the bustle of Clearwell Town’s somewhat busy streets–her fashion seemed just a bit different. Definitely worthy of catching someone’s eye.

Holly rocked back and forth on her feet as she peered around the street. Perhaps there was a more exciting place where she could make more offers, but it wasn’t like she could just leave the restaurant unattended.

So she had to suffice with reaching out to the few passersby that she encountered, but all of them had places to be and passed on the offer.

Their loss, Holly joked to herself after each one.

Just as she was figuring it would be best to just get back into the bistro, someone strolling down the sidewalk caught her eye. She did not recognize them, which was a surprise considering that she had been in this sleepy town for almost six months now. Or maybe she had seen the stranger before. At this point, both possibilities were likely.

Let’s just hope she likes Hotteoks.

“Pardon me!” Holly called out when the stranger came close enough to the restaurant. “I’m giving out free samples of my freshly baked hotteoks. Their perfect for a sweet tooth.”

Her smile was wide as she earnestly hoped that she would finally be able to share her baking with another friendly face. 

[miyukimihira]

Holly’s Hotteoks {open}

If pancakes had eyes, the pile in front of Holly would be winning the staring contest.

A pair of high-energy teenagers had found their way into the bistro, laughing loudly and ordering drinks and. much to the chef’s delight, a large plate of hotteoks. However, midway through the baking process, the quieter of the two realized she lost her wallet and profusely apologized to Holly for wasting her time.

Of course, it was no trouble at all, but now Holly was left with a group order of those perfectly sweet desserts. She figured she could eat a few of them, but by the time she could serve them to another customer, they would be cold.

“Can’t reheat these.” Holly mumbled to herself as she picked up the plate and walked towards the door. “No way no how.”

She swung open the entrance to the bistro, the spring air pleasantly brushing her cheeks. Undeterred, her eyes searched up and down the streets for someone, anyone, to share the delicious treats with.