After hours ✓(editing)

3.

The man from yesterday came again. He came fifteen minutes before Sehee closed the shop. He had stated clearly that he wanted to pay for dinner tonight as he sat down.

He ordered jjamppong today and like yesterday he was again alone in the restaurant. She wondered what it was about his late-night cravings. He'd bloat if he continued having late dinners but it wasn't her place to say anything.

Nevertheless, she got on with making his order. Bringing the pre-made soup base to a simmer, the aroma of Korean chilli and ginger wafted in the small kitchen. The bok choy she added brought some colour to the fiery red soup which she poured over the noodles, arranging the seafood on top in an eye-catching manner.

"How was your day today?" Sehee did a double-take at the man as she put down his order in front of him. Not every customer asked her about her day but then again he wasn't anything like her usual customers.

"It was good actually. Better than yesterday, lots of customers to serve. What about you?" He sighed and for the first time, she noticed the fatigue in the way his wide shoulders drooped. "Tiring," he said. "My schedule is usually too tight to even sit down and enjoy my meals."

Sehee found herself sitting opposite him, propping her chin on her hand. "Is that why you get out to eat so late?" He chewed his huge bite slowly, keeping his eyes on her, trying to understand what was going through her head but he found no ill intentions.

"I guess, I do," he answered after a long time. She smiled teasingly. "Looks like you really like eating."

"Of course, I do. I work out just so I can eat anything I want." That made her laugh, a clear loud sound as she covered her mouth with dainty hands. It brought a smile on his face. Seeing other people laugh because of him made him feel really good and energized.

"That is a really good idea. Though I'm sure it wouldn't work with me." His eyebrows furrowed. "You don't need to lose weight."

She looked down, her cheeks bright red as she smiled, "I know that, I was talking about eating anything I wanted. I have some allergies." He blinked rapidly as he understood what she meant. He pointed his spoon at her, his gaze playful as he said, "Aren't you a little too confident?"

The woman shrugged nonchalantly, a smug smile on her face. "I know I'm pretty and I'm confident about that." She got up then. "Anyways, I'll leave you to eat in peace. Just call me if you need anything."

With that she left, her hips swaying a little with her steps. Seokjin was left completely dumbfounded. This was the first time a woman had called herself pretty confidently in his presence. The worldwide handsome's presence. He chuckled as that thought crossed his mind. He had found someone who could match his level of confidence now.

*****

He came the next day too, fifteen minutes before closing like yesterday. She didn't mind giving him free meals but it was his good nature that he insisted on paying for his meals. He seemed like a good man.

"Would you like to have a drink with me?" he asked as she put his food in front of him, intending to leave. She smiled. "Sure, just let me bring myself a glass."

He poured soju into her glass and then for himself. Nodding at each other they downed the drink in one go. He held the bottle to refill her glass but she shook her head. "I can't. I'm not good at handling alcohol and I have work to do as well." He nodded in understanding, pouring a drink for himself.

"Don't you hire people to work?" he asked mixing his black bean noodles. "I do but they leave after ten. Not many people come after that, so it's just me." He nodded. "You should go home early then if you don't get many customers this late."

She had a teasing smile as she looked at him with hooded eyes. "Who will feed you if I close the shop early?" She had surprised him, she could tell by the way his eyes widened. It was an expected reaction but what she didn't expect was the way he came back at her.

"Are you saying that you like feeding me? Seeing me every night so I can come in your dreams?" Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. She didn't know what more to say and it was too late to hide her blush now. Only she knew how much she had blushed since she met this guy.

"It's not like that," she said at last, getting up to leave. "I'll leave you now." She wanted to get away as fast as possible. She had never become so flustered by someone this much before, after all, there are all kinds of customers.

She felt a large but warm hand closing around her wrist, stopping her. A shiver ran down her spine at the feel of his hand. She turned around to look at him half inquisitively and half perplexed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He meant what he said. It was written all over his ethereal face but to be honest, she wasn't uncomfortable, only bewildered. She gave him a shy smile. "It's okay. I'm not uncomfortable just shy."

"Well, that's a relief," he said with a small smile.

She waited patiently for him to let go of her wrist after but he didn't. He just kept looking into her eyes, seemingly lost. She really didn't know how to react now, except to look anywhere but at him.

The shrill sound of his ringtone broke the silence, breaking the tense environment. With a sigh, he let go of her hand and picked up the phone. It was a quick conversation. The person on the other end spoke rapidly, seemingly giving instructions, and then hung up.

Sehee wanted to ask him if everything was alright but she would be stepping over the boundary if she did. She knew basically nothing about him and though it tugged at her heart to see his eyebrows furrowed, thinking hard, she left him to eat.

~~~~
A/N:

I don't know what I wrote. I hope you like it.

Thank you for reading!!

Edit: I changed a few words and added a whole paragraph. The word count went up from 993 to 1080.