This is only an imagined BinJin scenario; a product of my active imagination. Please do not take it seriously.
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Sunny takes one last look at her reflection in the mirror above the bathroom sink, brushes off the imaginary lint on her coat, then nods to herself as if to say you got this.
With a deep breath, she re-enters the kitchen to join the rest of the staff in awaiting Chef Hong's instructions for the menu that special evening.
Ilpan, the restaurant where she works, prides itself in being one of Seoul's best, most sought-after teppanyaki places. As such, it is certainly no stranger to the likes of famous celebrities, who frequently regale it with their presence either at an appointed time or out of the blue.
Tonight is no exception – only that, the celebrities that had made a booking a week before happen to be Sunny's all-time favourites. Not only were they individually highly-respected in the grueling industry of show business, they were also a couple.
...which means that they had chosen Ilpan as their date spot for the evening.
...which means that they had probably done their research on it, and had deemed it worthy of their rare private presence and lush palates.
...which also means that the entire kitchen staff now has their work cut out for them. Big time.
Being a fan, Sunny knows that the handsome actor is quite adept at cooking himself, and likes everything to be perfect, while the stunning actress, despite her svelte form, has an impressive insatiable appetite.
Everything had to go smoothly tonight, and there was absolutely no room for mistakes.
She also knows that the actress had a full schedule ahead of her, and if her sources were correct, this may be one of their last date nights before their work life interferes. If so, Sunny was going to make sure that it was an evening worth remembering.
With that in mind, she straightens herself out, and perks up all her senses as Chef Hong arrives to give his final notes.
In spite of the fact that she was a massive fangirl of their celebrity guests, Sunny makes a personal vow to herself to keep all those bubbly feelings aside and be the true professional that she is.
*
Sunny's professionalism is hanging by a thread.
To put it simply – she just cannot believe her eyes.
And her ears.
She has been in this state of shock all throughout the evening, barely keeping it together as she bore witness to what she could only describe as sensual tension so thick she could cut it with a knife.
It had started at exactly 5 o'clock, when Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin – South Korea's 'It' couple – finally breezed into their restaurant, looking like two ordinary people out for date night, except that their noticeable forms and undeniable glow readily sorted them out from Ilpan's regular crowd.
Sunny could not believe she was really in the presence of this power couple, who were both dressed in simple yet chic ensembles – she in a short black dress, which was perfect for this Summer's night, her sleek hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and he in dark jeans and a blue plaid collared shirt with the top buttons undone.
This image of them alone was enough to make Sunny disintegrate.
Chef Hong had personally greeted them after they completed the sanitation process by the entrance, before leading them to a cozy yet private seating in front of the grill table. It was a nice enough spot for the celebrity guests to still be able to visually see the chef prepare their dishes while also shielding their famous faces away from would-be intruders.
During all that time, Sunny, as their personal server for the night, was trailing just behind, along with her last remaining bits of sanity. When they had smiled at her in greeting and shook her hand, she heroically maintained her composure and was able to offer back a coherent greeting. But she doesn't know how long she could last.
In truth, her knees were wobbly and her legs were beginning to feel like butter.
This must be what people feel like when they meet or see their favorite celebrities, Sunny had thought at first, unable to explain the excitement that had crept on her insides when she first laid eyes on them.
She was still a true professional, of course, and she executed their orders, as well as Chef Hong's, perfectly.
But she also had ears and eyes, and if they could hear and see things out of her control, that wasn't her fault, was it?
For instance, it wasn't her fault that she saw the gentleman-actor pulling up his girlfriend's chair for her before he sat beside her. As if that weren't enough, he slid his chair even closer to her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and whispered something in her ear that made her laugh that gorgeous famous laugh, and Sunny wanted to die.
She didn't die, no, thankfully she lived to see the beautiful actress placing her hand on her boyfriend's arm and stroking it up and down, while he was doing the exact same motion with his hand on her thigh. No one except for Sunny could possibly see it, with the fangirl-server just an arm's length away from the smitten couple, awaiting their orders with bated breath.
It wasn't her fault, too, that she saw them looking into each other's eyes – with him not blinking for a full sixty seconds (yes, Sunny counted) – as they talked while savoring their food.
"Thank you for taking me out tonight," the actress had said in the middle of their entree in a tone dripping with sweetness and sincerity, and he replied by kissing the back of her hand. It was a gesture she rarely saw on any man these days, Sunny found herself thinking is he for real?
She thought the same about her, too. Sunny really couldn't help looking at the renowned Nation's First Love in close view, for it seemed like she barely had any makeup on, yet, she was positively glowing and commanded the full attention of her handsome date.
It also wasn't Sunny's fault that, while pouring their choice of wine, the quiet server overheard the actor, in that impossibly-deep voice of his, telling his date, "you look so beautiful tonight," his eyes boring into hers as if no other person was in the room.
And then she saw the actress smiling sweetly and reaching up to poke the dimples on his face, and heard her say, "I put on this dress for you." He leaned over again to whisper something in her ear that Sunny just knew must be a cheeky comment because his date had turned a bashful shade of rose as she playfully thumped his chest.
Sunny had to choke back a sob.
Try as she might to avert her eyes and ears respectfully, Sunny was a human equipped with peripheral vision and good hearing. Also, it didn't really look like the couple cared anyway.
It dawned on Sunny that so much trust and confidence from the famous couple was being placed in the hands of the restaurant workers – including hers – so she promised herself to keep everything she witnessed a secret she was going to take to her grave.
For example, she certainly was not going to tell anyone that he likes to play with her hair, to tuck an imaginary wayward strand behind her ear before letting his hand linger a bit longer on the side of her face, sometimes thumbing her jaw even while she chewed her food.
"I like watching you eat," he had mused once just as Sunny was clearing some of their plates, not intending to hear her reply cheekily, "mmm... eat what exactly?" This made him pinch her cheek as they shared a mischievous laugh over a secret no one else knows about.
Whatever she meant by that, I really don't want to know, Sunny thought, wiping a nervous sweat across her forehead as she resumed her stance a few feet behind them. It was a truly weird position to be in – to be a fan who naturally wants to know everything, but also not wanting to intrude at the same time.
She wasn't going to tell anyone that, up close, she was able to notice a few things about the couple, such as: that he had a distinct kiss mark on the side of his neck; that she was wearing a necklace with the initials 'KTP;' and, that their respective phone lockscreens featured each other's faces.
The professional server was also not going to tell anyone that, during their date, they were playing footsie underneath that long table, their feet playfully rubbing against each other every chance they got – even when they were merely talking about the most mundane things.
"Look how cute Kitty is here," the actress had quipped at one point, showing him her phone. While he gushed over the cute image of a white Maltese, his girlfriend's foot was languidly brushing against his leg, and Sunny, once again, displayed amazing willpower by looking away.
When Sunny had first noticed this little game of theirs, she wanted to scream out are you freaking kidding me – how the hell was she supposed to stay upright and sane for the rest of the night if they continued being this way?
And it wasn't enough that their feet had a mind of their own, it was the same exact problem with their naughty hands.
Sunny observed that, anytime the actress's hand was idle, she liked using it to stroke her fingers against the back of his palm as they chatted, or to play with his watch. Occasionally, she would draw random patterns on his back, and Sunny, being just behind them, could clearly make out the word Saranghae during one of these moments.
For his part, the dashing actor really liked to play with his girlfriend's hand, occasionally grabbing it just for the sake of holding it, or so that he could bring it to his face so he could smell the insides of her wrists.
"This is my favourite scent," he declared in a tone Sunny would describe as seductive, slowly rubbing his nose on her soft skin, perhaps thinking whatever perfume she had on was equivalent to oxygen.
...only, apparently, she didn't even have any perfume on, for Sunny clearly heard the actress saying, "Jagi, there's nothing there. I didn't spray on anything," to which he replied by winking suggestively.
It was starting to feel like an incredibly private moment yet again, so Sunny had stepped further back, inwardly praying to all the gods to prevent her from dissolving into dust right then and there.
By some unfathomable phenomenon, Sunny managed to stay alive and well, even when she had served their dessert, and she saw them sharing a single spoon between themselves. The actress was feeding tiramisu to her eager boyfriend, who, more than once, reached over to wipe her lips with his bare thumb.
I swear if they suddenly start making out, I'm out of here, Sunny thought to herself, shutting her eyes out of respect when the couple appear to be moving closer to each other for a quick kiss.
Now, as the famous lovebirds finally call it a night, thanking Chef Hong and signing a huge gold plate for him, Sunny starts to feel the after-effects of actually spending a magical unforgettable evening with her favourite celebrities.
"Thank you for tonight," Son Ye Jin warmly says to Sunny, offering that world-famous megawatt eye-smile. "We'll see you again this Fall." Her boyfriend echoes the same sentiment, his own smile accompanied by his trademark dimples.
Managing to smile back, Sunny bows to them in response. "It was my pleasure, Mr. and Mrs. Kim," she starts to say. Realizing what she had just said, her composure breaks as she stammers to correct herself.
"I... I mean..."
"No, it's okay," the charming actress laughs, shaking her head and looking at Sunny with kind eyes. "You're not the first one to say that."
Hyun Bin also waves his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it," he says. Looking at his girlfriend, he smiles as he adds, "it actually has a nice ring to it."
This whole encounter is immediately added to Sunny's list of things she vows to never ever disclose to anyone until the day she dies as she watches the figures of the couple going smaller and smaller as they exit the restaurant.
With only an autographed table napkin and the memories in her head to serve as her proof of the date she had vicariously shared with Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin, Sunny goes back to the kitchen to clear her things before going home, content in the knowledge that, somewhere out there, true love does exist.
"So, how was it? Were they sweet? Were they all over each other?"
Trying to dodge her co-workers' questions about the night proves to be harder than Sunny had thought. She thinks back to the last hour, vividly seeing in her head the image of the beautiful actress doodling on the broad back of her date, adding a word just below Saranghae that Sunny was clearly able to spell out: forever.
"They're real," she replies, smiling to herself, intending for it to be the only thing she says about the couple. "That's all you need to know."
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Photos from Ilpan's Chef Hong (open.hm on IG), Marie Claire Korea and Crocodile Korea