Living

Chapter 6: Some Firsts

"How was your first day?" Appa asked

"It was good" Se Hee responded, even though she wanted to complain about not getting the opportunity to do anything and just staying on her feet following a server for the entire shift that she spent there.

The rest of the way back to the house, Appa just kept showing Se Hee all the landmarks she had to keep in mind when coming back to the house on her own.

At night time, Se Hee filled Jin Hee about everything that happened there. She told her about Heyong Sok and his quirks, about the fact that she could not get used to the grandeur of the place. Maybe five hours were not enough for that.

The next morning during breakfast, Dong Hee asked Se Hee if she can bring something delicious from the cafe on her way back,

"You work at that place, we should at least get to taste the things rich folks eat"

"I am not going to ask for leftover food on my second day of work, especially not for you who can't ever appreciate the nice things" Se Hee replied with the annoyed tone.

No matter how composed or mature Se Hee was, her younger brother knew all her buttons and pushed them often. And weirdly Se Hee always gave him a reaction. Jin Hee could say the exact same thing and she wouldn't mind but with Dong Hee she always lost it. It's probably the fate of most younger brothers, they are naturally annoying and insufferable to their elder sisters.

"Who is asking for the leftovers. You should get us fresh items" Dong Hee replied with entitlement

"You don't even deserve leftovers, I am not going to bring even a crumb for you" Se Hee replied trying to be calm but evidently angrily

Jin Hee slapped the backs of both their heads and told them to finish eating so that they could all leave together. Such were the only instances where Jin Hee played the eldest sibling card and every time she did use it, she chose violence before trying words. 

Today was the the proper first day for Se Hee at the cafe, she went there on her own by bus and to her surprise the kitchen staff had already been working for a while. She made a mental note that she will have to come sooner if she wanted to get involved in the baking side. But as she was thinking and dreaming about the actual baking, the manager gave Se Hee a small file to read and memorise as quickly as possible. The file only had the names and descriptions of items that the cafe served, some had pictures as well for descriptions.

For work, she was told to continue shadowing Heyong Sok in serving tables.

Se Hee was not the one to complain about things easily, and she was aware that this was a huge opportunity that she couldn't mess up and that in her situation she could not afford the luxury of having an ego. So, she shadowed Heyong Sok and memorised the items and that's when she learned that the cafe offered a lot more than it listed on its menu. This was a secret that she learned on the second day. 

In the next few days she finally understood that the establishments that served the elites, knew how to stroke the sense of self importance and indulgence of their clientele. The rich came there for the reputation of the place and to show the world that they belong in places with the other rich and important people, and then there was another group of people who didn't have the need to show off anything to anyone. They knew how rich and important they were and they cared about getting the value for their money and the way the cafe showed the value was by serving them novelty and exclusiveness. Something off the menu that other customers do not even know about, it set them apart without saying a word.

After the first week finished, on Sunday afternoon, when for the first time the cafe seemed quite, the manager called Se Hee and Heyong Sok to his office. The small office had a table and chair for the manager and two chairs for the visitors. When Se Hee and Heyong Sok entered the office, the owner was sat at the manager's chair at his desk and manager was stood in front of him. Se Hee greeted them both with politeness and so did Heyong Sok.