Seventeen imagines

#177 "The rule is for Us"

On the Wok's reflection, there is a short-haired girl who is holding  a kitchen knife.  She doesn't wear make-up, nor pretty accessories. Instead, she wears a white apron while cutting the onions; and that girl is...me.

It's been four months since the 'Rongue Pasta Resto', where I work at, changed their head Chef. The head chef, named Lee Seokmin, seemed to have nice personalities. At first he always smiled, laughed and used nice words to us. But my first impression never lasted. Chef Lee is like a living handsome devil inside the kitchen.

"Get lost!" "Are you deaf?!" "Should I kick your butt you idiot!?" "Damn it!"  "This taste terrible. How can you make a mistake with this?!"

If I would tell every mean words he had been used up to now, a one thousand pages of book is not enough. However, even chef lee is scary, I admit that he is freaking great when it comes to cooking. His foods taste so good! So I really respect him and wished to be like him someday.  Ah! One more thing, Chef lee seems to hate me a lot. I don't know why, but he always pick on me, glared at me, cursed at me and flicked my forehead. Hmp! So unfair.

"Still practicing?"

Oh! That voice!

I slowly tilted my head on the kitchen's door direction, eyes widened as I hold my breath. Just what I expected ... Chef Lee caught me practicing in the Resto kitchen!

"Everyone already went home, yet you are still here and wasting the restaurant's ingredients for your practice session," he said with authority. Gosh, I saw his left brow lifted and just with that, my hands start to tremble.

"I-I am practicing my cutting skill chef L-Lee. And this is not the restaurant new ingredients but the leftover goods," I excused with my head bowed down.

There is a little moment of silence between us. My heart is pounding, ~ba dump ba dump ba dump~. Oh my gosh (y/n), you'll be dead by this devil!

"Ah," He mumbled.

'Ah?' That's all?! I lifted my head to take a glimpse on his calm face. Woah! This is a miracle. Chef Seokmin didn't get mad! I blinked my eyes to get sure that this is not a dream. This isn't. Really not. Eh?!

"I noticed that your cutting skill sucks. Do you want to know why?" He added. Then Chef Lee went closer; in my eyes it was a very sloooooooow motion.

"W-Why chef?" I managed to answer.

Chef Seokmin stood behind me. He doesn't wear perfumes but why does he smell good? Also, his chest is so hard against my back. So he is a muscular guy huh. Wait wait wait. Why am I thinking these weird thoughts?! I can't see him as a man. Never!

He bend down and leaned his lips near to my right. "Chef Kim," he called me in my surname using a husky tone. Goodness gracious, that was so sexy! I even felt his breath tickling my skin! This is weird. Weird. Weird!

"Y-Yes chef?" I stuttered, still find it hard to breathe.

"The reason why your cutting skill is sucks, it is because of your shoulder. Your shoulder was always tense that's why you used to much force. Try to release the tension on your upper body," he explained. Chef Seokmin put his left hand on the table, while his right hand held my right shoulder.

Chef said a reasonable idea. But my mind are sink into the thoughts of our current position. He is so close I can hear his breathing! Also, his palm on my shoulder is like a ball of fire warming all of my body.

Why is he doing this? He is the one who set the rule: "No dating policy inside the kitchen." But if he'll do this, I might misunderstand it.

So I shook my head and tried to get a grip. LIke what he had said, I release all the tension on my shoulder and it works! Cutting the onions are a piece of cake now. I'm getting faster. It made me excite, happy and feel proud.

"Chef you are right!" I gasped. "I won't notice this if you didn't tell it to me. Woah!"

"Hahaha," he chuckled. "See? Now your cutting skill improve. Thanks to me. I am a genius after all."

Chef Lee laughed. He laughed. I looked back, and with this two inches distance between our eyes, I saw his sweet smile. A devil who always glared at me, a devil with skill I admire, he makes my world stopped using this sweet smile.

Dear life, is this the right feeling when you realized that you must be in-love?

"Chef Lee, you have a pretty smile. So handsome."

"What?"

What?...

Oh my! It slipped out from my mouth!

I dropped the knife to cover my mouth; that's when I remembered that my hands smelled onion and it made me tears.

"Am I really handsome that you teared up?" he said in serious tone. I peeked at his face. Now he is blushing!? Argh. My emotions is not stable right now. My heart is aching for no reason. Huhu. I am getting crazy. Since when did he makes me nervous as hell as this?

Chef Lee move a step back while scratching his nape and avoiding my gaze.  I am sure, this is what they called: 'An Awkward Moment.'

"I-Im sorry Chef. I didn't mean to say that out loud," I apologized.

"I-Its okay. I heard you saying  those words to Chef Kwon everyday. Tsk, why are you, a man, said that to men? Sounds gay."

Forget about his blushing cheeks, but did I hear it right? He called me a 'man'.

"A man?" I asked.

He looked at me and stuttered, "r-right! A man. Do you know why I hate you? Besides of being dumb, you have that round sparkling eyes, smooth skin, slim waist and kissable lip- I mean, r-red lips. So whenever I look at you, you seemed like a girl to my eyes. Huh! Ridiculous! STOP ACTING SO GIRLY WILL YOU!? BE A MAN!"

I got it. All those months, Chef Lee thought that I am a ...MAN.

"Chef Lee. I am a girl," I said while staring straight at his widened eyes.

"W-Wait. What?!" he exclaimed.

"I might have this short hair. I don't wear make up. But can't you tell that I am a girl?"

Chef Seokmin went speechless for a moment. Then he leaned closer and yelled, "Then why did you and Chef Hoshi were so close?! He always linked his arm on you. If you are a girl, then that was wrong. Before I started working here, I set a rule that dating is probihited in kitchen!"

"Hoshi? But Hoshi and I are not in that kind of relation-"

"Then are you going to fire me?" This voice! We both looked back and saw Hoshi watching us from the kitchen's door. He approached us and put his arm around my waist. "Chef Lee, are you going to fire me because of this? Or you have another reason? Like... having an interest to a girl you thought was a guy?"

Before I react, Chef Lee removed Hoshi's hand on my waist. Then the two started to glared at each other.

There must be no 'Love stories' inside this kitchen. But I think, the rule is really for the three of us. What will happen to my life?

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