THE SECOND HEROINE || extraordinary you ff (slow updates)

36: this looks really familiar

"Ah, Ms. Ara, nice to see you again," a man in his late 30's said after we all took our seats. "It's been... 6 months since I last saw you. You surely have grown an inch and- Oh my! You're very beautiful for someone who's just in high school! Definitely like mother, like daughter!"

Then Namju introduced me to the stranger. I found out that he's the head chef of this restaurant and is a close friend of my late mother.

"Condolences to you and Mr. Namju. I'm so sorry for not attending the funeral or visiting you at the hospital. The business has been hectic and the fact that your mother was the Director before that awful accident happened, the Board had a hard time choosing a new Director. But I'm hoping that one day you'll step in and continue your mother's legacy. Are you going to, Ms. Ara? It'd be nice to work with my old friend's daughter. Imagine the new recipes we can come up with! Can you just taste it already-"

Gathering all of his guts, Dohwa cuts him off. "I'm sorry, Chef Go, but I'm really hungry right now. Could you maybe hand us the menu or tell us what today's menu is?"

Namju, Kyung, and I were surprised at how our nice, caring friend just butted in like that. Especially at an adult. I bit the insides of my cheeks from laughing out loud after noticing how embarrassed Chef Go was.

"Ah, right! I'm really sorry for talking so much," the head chef exclaimed before telling us today's menu.

"We'll have two orders of B3 and two orders of E6," Namju said after confirming our orders to Chef Go, who noted it all down on his notepad.

Then just before he could leave, I spoke up. "Um, Chef Go. I'd like to meet up with you sometime later. Maybe we can talk about the business and my mother?"

Chef Go softened up at what I said and smiled at me. "Of course, young miss. I'd love to share anything you want to know about your mother," he told me before heading back to the kitchen.

Our waiter came to our table 10 minutes later with our food. Two orders of Bulgogi in American Style and two orders of Kimchi Jjigae with three different side dishes. Dohwa and I happened to order the same food while Kyung went with whatever Namju ordered. 

"Ara, that's a lot of meat," Namju spoke up. "Are you sure you can finish all of it?"

Then Kyung added in, "I thought you were on a diet or something?"

I glared at my cousin and friend playfully while replying back, "Does it look like I'm on a diet? If I was I would have gotten the Kimchi Jeon instead."

Dohwa chuckled and cut in, "Boys, let her eat."

Namju and Kyung then shook their head in sync and we all started to eat. Sometime in the middle of our dinner and chitchat, I heard my phone going off from my bag. I placed my chopsticks and spoon down before getting my phone out. I was surprised to see Danoh's name on my phone screen. 

"Oh, Danoh?" Dohwa said in surprise. "Why would she call at this time? Do you think something happened?"

I looked at him and shrugged not sure. Then I looked at Namju and Kyung before excusing myself to answer Danoh's call. Just before I could leave the table, I saw Kyung's mood drop and knew that he would ask me so many questions about me and Danoh again. I sighed in frustration with the cycle of him not being aware. But putting him aside, I walked to where the women's restroom is and stood by the door before hitting the green button on my phone's screen.