synopsis: things are really awkward and uncertain between yeonju and beomwoo after their first kiss. beomwoo taking yeonju out on a date
warnings: fluff, inspired by the drama a little. basically ep. 5 but without the ex making an appearance.
It is the midnight after the food truck contest, and Yeon-ju sits idly by her bedside with her prized ddakji. She smiled. The atmosphere took her back to visiting carnival shows during the summer of her first year in culinary school in America. The awful tan-lines. The food trucks. The agony of waiting in line. She took it all in.
Despite her tiny victory against the neighbourhood kids, she basks in her team's disappointment when La Lecel left with the grand prize, guilt eating away at her. Myungsook and Chunseung were gutted. She looks outside her frosty window, hoping they were not beating themselves up over the loss.
I should have worked harder if I knew the stakes.
She, of all people know that you cannot ever expect the universe, unless tampered, to do your bidding. You are better off celebrating the smaller things that are just as significant. Being runner-up to a Michelin star restaurant is an accomplishment in itself. Jungjae raised enough money for its repairs, and we now know what we can do in the future to allow Jungjae to prosper. Chunseung even ran out of business cards to hand out, returning customers are to be expected. Beomwoo must be happy with that.
Beomwoo.
The memories of a few hours ago flashed back in her mind. Taking his hand and fleeing the scene just like that. It felt as though they were flying. And then, all in one moment. His scent. His warmth. His touch. Yeonju slowly lifts her fingers to her lips, softly imitating the moment repeatedly and shutting her eyes.
A sharp pain suddenly hits her, and she instantly clenches her head.
God. That damnâŚ
She was doing a good job forgetting all about it, but now its up and coming to bother her, for the rest of the night. The kiss would be the least of her problems if she had not been caught by her staff, head-butting Beomwoo and fleeing the scene without another word. All that and she has yet to apologise or give a reasonable explanation. She groaned. What a mess.
She swore to herself she would have called in sick, but those fools were not to be trusted alone. She could be gone for one day, and the entire town is against them.
I must face it head-on and shut it down. There is nothing between us. It was all one mistake.
Yeonju tossed and turned through her frustration, but to no avail, she could not fall asleep.
Damn you, Han Beom-woo. She grits.
The sun rises and Yeonju is sitting upright in bed. The dark eye-bags seeping into her skin. She tossed and turned the whole night right up to now. She has to make the commute to work in 3 hours. There is no way she can handle an entire workday in this condition, and this situation on top of that. She begged, begged, and begged.
Please God, let me get some sleep.
At last, she went to sleep, at 5:53AM.
Beomwoo was the only present staff accompanying the repairpersons. His muscles strained lifting the brand-new furniture pieces as if his body did not ache from the weekend-long festival. Lifting a tabletop with one of the men, his gaze hovered to the kitchen. He thought back to the conversation with his brother.
Would he be so petty to get back at me to burn down a restaurant in the countryside?
It did not make any sense.
As he pondered, he misstepped, causing his carry partner to stumble.
âAh, Hyung, be careful with that!â
Chun-seung rushes in and save the table right before it drops on their feet.
As Beomwoo comes back to earth, he realises that he almost caused an accident. He quickly fixes himself upright to continue carrying without hurting himself.
âChun-seung, thank you.â
Beomwoo and Chun-seung bring the table-top inside as the repairperson brushes himself off. Myungsook arrives right after.
âYou know, he used to treat these tables he bought like his children. Look where that led him.â She snickers behind them.
Sh thinks back to the hysterical laugh he let out after she dropped kimchi on the brand-new white marble, after he repeatedly said not to eat while on the job. She is surprised that the same man is now being so careless about this furniture he so deeply cared for. She earned a side-eye from the manager for that comment.
After setting the table down, Chun-seung and Myungsook huddle together and start whispering about who knows what. Beomwoo is used to being singled out by now so he does not question it, but he can guess what it is about.
âWhereâs Chef Mo?â He clears his throat.
They both turned their attention to him.
âChef Mo? Shouldnât you know of her whereabouts?â Myungsook responded, giggling and Chun-seung joining her and even making eyebrows in Beomwooâs direction.
âYeah! Why, why would we know?â
âYou two are moving too fast, you two!â
Beomwoo sighed, turning the opposite way and smiling.
âLook, heâs blushing!â Chunseung points manically.
âWell, I donât know where she is, okay? I was the first to arrive here. Maybe, sheâs still tired from last nightâŚâ Beomwoo trails. Chunseung lets out a chortle leading into a girly shriek. He earned a slap on his nape from Myungsook for that.
âWe didnât do anything; she went straight home.â Beomwoo shut him down, rubbing his nose. âAh, does it look crooked to you? I donât know how someone could be so cruel.â He sulks. It all happened so fast. He was so irritated with himself for feeling this way that he went in for the kill without thought, and thatâs where it got him. He cops nothing but silence.
The door flies open as do their heads. Speak of the devil.
âChef Mo!â
She hurries in, looking around at the repairs and quickly rushing to the kitchen.
âAh, the repairs are finished. Great, everything looks great now off to work everyoneâ Yeonju hurried, tying her apron up in her path, not looking at their faces.
Chunseung tuts, approaching her.
âTardiness is a bad habit, Yeonju.â
He got another slap on the nape, but nothing from Yeonju.
Yeonju slides on her sun-visor and heads to the garden without a word, leaving everyone stunned.
âWhat was that?â Myungsook said. âAnyone else felt that cold draft?â She hugs herself while shivering.
âCertainly not something you do seeing someone you shared a kiss with.â Chunseung nudges, looking at Beomwoo.
Beomwoo feels just as frozen and confused. He doesnât quite know what to do in this situation, he canât exactly recall being rejected like this back in Seoul.
What do I do?
He looks back at both of them, nodding slowly and catching up to Yeonju as his course of action. The pair rush to the window to eavesdrop.
He finds her crouched down admiring her cabbages. He treads lightly, he knows how crazy she is about her garden.
âChef Mo?â He called out.
â...Yeonju? Can we talk for a moment?â
âTalk? There is nothing to be discussed.â She stands up and tries to push through him. âNow, get back to work.â
He grabs her arm, looking deeply into her eyes. âWhat did it mean to you? What do I mean to you?â Beomwoo says carefully.
âNothing! There is nothing to be discussed! There is nothingâŚbetween us.â Yeonju retorts, escaping his grip and running back inside.
Beomwoo is left alone stunned.
âNothing? Nothing?!â
He notices the abandoned cabbage nestling in a basket. He picks it up.
Did I upset her? Why didnât she pull away? NothingâŚ
âEveryone,â Yeonju announces. âThis is the last time I will be saying this. What you all saw last night, it was a mistake.â
The atmosphere goes cold, everyone turning to Beomwoo cradling the vegetable basket who just walked into the scene.
âWas it or was it not a mistake?â Yeonju questions.
His mouth goes dry and his throat hoarse.
âYes, it was a mistake.â He looked at the unevenly harvested cabbage cradled in his arms. He can hear soft gasps coming from Myungsook and Chunseungâs direction.
Yeonju sighs. âExactly. Now, letâs get ready to open.â
Myungsook and Chunseung awkwardly shuffle back to their stations, Beomwoo and Yeonju left staring at one another until Yeonju broke it off and turned her back for the kitchen.
The entire atmosphere for the entire day is uneasy. It is amazing how one little kiss can dictate the mood. The crew was quiet. You know it is bad when neither Chunseung nor Myungsook tried making light of the situation. The high tension for ânothingâ is deeply ironic. Despite that, everyone kept busy with the pile-in customers from the festival.
It was for the best since no one was interacting with each other anyway. The day went by quickly which was needed at a time like this. Due to their hard-work in the morning without her and the festival, Yeonju allowed her staff to have an early home-time; and a mental break for herself. She noticed that Beomwoo was walking out with Chunseung and Myungsook who were being all friendly with him, it was all very one-sided. She peeked through a crack of the door; they seemed to be headed towards a bar.
Some time passes, and Yeonju is alone doing some extra clean-up. She thinks about her day, recalling a few customers referring to her as âGimbapâs momâ. She scoffed. She really hopes she does not have to keep up that lie, but at least it earned them more exposure at the festival. Just as she is about to straighten up some chairs, she hears multiple thuds coming from the front door, and a muffled voice.
âCome back tomorrow, weâre closed,â She calls out.
âYeonjuuuuâŚâ
What?
The thuds gradually get louder.
What is the meaning of this? She thinks.
Yeonju peeps out the window and to her surprise, itâs Beomwoo. She watches him repeatedly head-butting the door, again, and again. She quickly unlocks the door, he almost head-buts her and trembles forward.
âBeomwoo!â She pushes him back upright. She takes in his dishevelled appearance. And his scent. He reeks of alcohol! âWhy did you not go home?â
He squints, leaning in closer to examine Yeonjuâs face closely. âHm.â
She stepped backwards into the restaurant again. He was completely wasted.
âIs this about earlier? Iâm sorry but that is where I stand. Besides, I cannot start dating my coworker. That cannot happen.â She stammers.
Beomwoo walks around the restaurant slowly, stumbling. âYou say that, but you havenât even given me a chanceâŚâ He slurs. âI keep thinking about why you could possiblyâŚcall our shared moment, a mistake. It does not make sense.â
He starts walking towards her. âI was very popular in Seoul, you know. You donât get a chance to share a moment like thisâŚwith someone as perfect as I am, Yeonju. AndâŚfor you to call that a mistake?â
Yeonju scoffs at him, she cannot believe what she is hearing. âA kitchen is not a place where you date. And besides, this is nothing against you, but you are just not my type.â
Beomwoo lets out a loud laugh. âImpossible. YeonjuâŚthat is just not possible.â He walks closer to her. âIâm handsome, Iâm fitâŚâ He stops for a moment to think of other qualities. âSo that makes your argument completely invalid unless you are just scared.â
âIs that what you think of yourself? What about your personality, Beomwoo? It is the worst of the worst.â
âYours is just as bad!â
âExactly! So, what good will come from two terrible personalities getting involved?!â
She turns her attention back to her cleaning tasks.
âI want to get madly involved with you!â Beomwoo yells out.
Yeonju turns back to him.
Beomwoo inches closer and takes both her hands into his.
âYou cannot even face me right now, so why not give it a go so you can make up your mind?â Beomwoo smiles. âLet me take you out on a date, Yeonju.â
Yeonju sighs, making eye contact with him for the first time that whole day. âOkay, but please, go home right now. By the looks of it you drunk the entire village dry of its alcohol.â
Beomwoo did not catch much of that other than the fact that he heard an âokayâ. âYes? Youâll go on a date with me?â
âYes, but-
âYes!â He exclaimed, letting go of her hands and running out of the restaurant. âSame time tomorrow, donât forget, okay?â
He does not give her room to respond back as he runs out of the alleyway and somewhere in the distance; but she could still hear his cheers even from that distance. Yeonju sighs and smiles closely to herself.
It is closing time for Jungjae again, Yeonju makes sure to send Myungsook and Chunseung home first. Today was less awkward than yesterday, but Beomwoo maintained their distance to avoid making the chef uncomfortable.
He patiently waits for her outside, so she can lock the door, and they can get going to the date he planned for them. He paces back and forth.
âOh, why arenât you going home?â Yeonju calls out, sticking her head outside.
He turns around. âChef Mo, did youâŚforget?â
She smiles. âOf course not.â She locks up shop. âWhere are we going?â
Realising that she was pulling his leg, he chuckled lightly. âOkayâŚgood. And itâs a surprise, just follow me.â He takes her hand in his and leads her to their date location.
The date location is about a 10-minute walk away from Jungjae.
âWhere even are we?â Yeonju huffs as they stand in front of a staircase connected to a house rooftop.
âOur date spot is up hereâ Beomwoo replies.
âIâm already tired, I donât want to climb a bunch of stairs.â
Beomwoo sighs and shakes his head, allowing her to go first in front of him.
At the top, they are met with a rooftop theatre.
âTa-da!â Beomwoo beams. âWhat do you think? Iâm quite the romantic, arenât I?â
Yeonju takes in the sight. She spots a couch draped in knitted covers and a throw-blanket; a coffee table with 2 drinks set; and a projector screen. The entire scene has fairy-lights hung around.
âHow did you get all this set up?â Yeonju questions.
âHey, Iâm Han Beomwoo. I have my waysâ Beomwoo replies smugly.
âWhatever that means, this is pretty modest coming from you.â She looks around.
âHey, heyâŚâ He stands in front of her. âCan you not worry about money right now?â
Beomwoo takes his seat and pats the spot next to him. Yeonju sits down, keeping a comfortable distance between them. Beomwoo flicks on the projector. He glances at Yeonju briefly to make sure she is comfortable, handing her a drink and taking a sip out of his own. Theres a brief silence between them for the first few minutes of the film. The film is an old French film Beomwoo enjoyed during his college days, it was the only thing he was familiar with at the video store. He forgot to check if that was fine with Yeonju.
âI know this film.â She speaks up.
Beomwoo turns his head towards her. âYou know French?â She nods. âYouâre full of surprises, Chef! Where did you study?â
âI went to college in America, I took a French unit one semester, and we watched this film on our final day of class.â
âSeriously? I did not expect that from you, hey, that makes me realise that I know nothing about you.â
Yeonju smiles to herself. âAnd you? How do you know French?â
âHm, âcause youâre curiousâŚI suppose Iâll tell youâ He winks, Yeonju rolls her eyes at him. âI studied in Paris and lived there for a while; you could say that Iâm fluent! Of course, being bilingual made me quite popular back in those days,â he laughs. Yeonju sighs and takes a sip of her drink.
âOh, Iâm sure you wereâŚâ she mutters.
âItâs true!â
For the rest of their time, the movie becomes a distant blare of noise in the background. Beomwoo goes on and on about his college days, and half the time it was spent bickering on whether or not certain things really did happen to him.
He was talking about this one time during his freshman year about this girl who fancied him but did nothing but leave mystery love notes in his path, though it was painfully obvious that they were from her. However, Yeonju had a hard time believing that a woman in her right mind would spend so much of her time chasing a doofus like him.
ââŚAnd this dragged on, and on until I was about to leave for Korea for the summer that year, she decided that would be the right time to reveal herself. But I already knew everything!â Beomwoo yapped, turning to Yeonju and realising that she has dozed off.
This realisation hits him at the same time her head hits his shoulder. He takes quick glances at her, inching his body carefully to reach the remote to turn the movie off, and allowing her to be comfortable nestled on his shoulder. Beomwoo then reaches for the blanket and drapes it over her.
He quietly chuckles to himself. âI must have talked your ears off, Maâam. For that I apologise.â Beomwoo decides to remain stationary a while longer until she is rested enough so he can walk her back to Jungjae. It is a shame that their anticipated date must be cut short like this, but Yeonjuâs wellbeing comes first before anything else.
They remain this way for a good 20 minutes, Beomwoo had to stop himself from dozing off with her multiple times. They mightâve slept up here all night, and he couldnât risk either of them catching a cold. He gently shook her awake and they made their commute back to Jungjae. Yeonju was still half asleep so not much was said on the way home.
Beomwoo unlocks the door to Jungjae, but Yeonju misses her step and stumbles at the doorway, Beomwoo catching her arm just in time. He helps her to her room, removing her coat and shoes for her. She gazes down at him half-lidded.
âThank you, for tonight.â She whispers. Beomwoo looks up and smiles;
âIâll take you somewhere nicer next time.â He stands up to leave until he feels a tug on his sleeve.
âThe truth is that the last time I dated was in college, and it didnât end well. You were right. I am scared.â She admits.
Beomwoo thinks for a moment, biting his lip. He turns to her again. âI donât want you to be scared and allow your past to keep you from living your life in the present.â
Yeonju gazes longingly into his eyes. Beomwoo clears his throat, rubbing his nose, hiding his flushed face.
âI will wait for your answer,â
Before he can say anything else, Yeonju wraps her arms around his neck and softly kisses him and pulls back briefly.
Beomwoo stunned by her action, but a smile creeps up his face.