by Con Template
Although the air of arrogance exuding out of him bothered her, Yoori faked an understanding nod. "Okay, I'll bring that right out."
She turned on her heels. Her smile wilted into a frown. She rolled her eyes at the gall of this new customer. Who the hell comes to a breakfast joint to only order coffee?
"There's a coffee shop right next door," she muttered, annoyance in her voice. Another outraged thought entered her mind. And who was this guy to call her “ma'am”? They were around the same age!
She groaned inwardly. Great, now she was more pissed off. If the guy had half a brain, then he'd know very well that the last thing a man should endeavor to do was make a girl feel older than she was. Irritated with how unpleasant her day was becoming, she went into the kitchen, grabbed a tray and placed the coffee pot and mug onto it. Reminding herself that she still needed to impress him so he'd sing her praises, she inhaled deeply to relinquish any unnecessary bitterness she was harboring for him.
“Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out...”
Ah. She felt more tranquil already. Pleased with her impressive ability to calm her temper, she returned to her guest and placed the coffee mug before him.
Uncomfortable nerves swirled within her when she became aware that he had abandoned his gaze on the table. His sharp brown eyes were now on her. Unprepared with the sudden attention, Yoori gave him a cautious smile.
"Is there anything else I can get you today?" she asked, thinking that he was staring because he wanted something else. As Yoori waited for his reply, she began to pour coffee into the mug, only stopping after it had filled to the rim.
"Yes," he said in a low and tired voice. Arrogance continued to throb within it. His eyes were still focused on her. "Now that I'm thinking about it, I'd like to order some breakfast."
"Alright then," she said with satisfaction, her annoyance with him decaying at the fact that he was now making eye contact and smiling (however forced it appeared). Ordering food at a diner and making eye contact...now that was more like it. Ecstatic that things were going according to plan, she cheerily reached into her pocket to retrieve her notepad. Her happiness died as quickly as a fruit fly. She furrowed her brows, searching her pockets for a pen. All she found was lint.
I had it just a second ago, she thought. She scanned the floor for possible signs of her pen. When the pen didn't appear in sight, she quickly turned around to face her waiting customer. Needless to say, she was feeling a bit flustered with the missing pen. Where did it go?
She laughed fretfully. “Um, heh, excuse me. I'll be right back!” She rushed back to the counter and grabbed a spare pen. Upon retrieval, Yoori hurried back to her waiting customer.
"I'm sorry about the wait!" she panted, taking huge strides back to him. She warily assessed his patience. She pouted, her hopes of getting wonderful praises and tips from him crushed. He already looked annoyed. She lifted her notepad in an effort to regain any shred of customer service dignity she had left. "What can I get for you today?"
"Well, you can start by filling up my coffee mug again," he voiced pompously, a smirk appearing on his face.
Yoori's eyes snagged on him and his empty coffee cup. Disbelief edged her. Did he really just finish the entire cup?
His smirk grew into one of irritation as he kept his pompous gaze on her. Yoori's eyes grew sharp when she caught it – his intolerably condescending and arrogant nature. Great. Her plans were now dashed. She was not only stuck with a jackass of a customer, but she was also positive she was going to wind up with a crappy tip. To make matters worse, she already felt her bitterness and animosity return for this guy. She didn't like how he spoke to her and she didn't like how he looked at her. Pervy customers usually started out like this before they began to shamelessly hit on her. Oh how she wanted to slap that stupid smirk off his face.
Instead of doing that, she simply smiled apologetically. However much she wanted to physically assault him, she knew better. "Of course, I'm sorry."
Bastard, she thought angrily, picking up the coffee pot.
Still smiling, she angled the coffee pot over the mug, her blood boiling with the passing seconds. As she distractedly poured the coffee, what happened next took Yoori by utter surprise. The handle on the coffee pot suddenly broke apart. Next thing she knew, the sound of glass shattering rang in her ears before a loud male scream thundered into the diner.
"JESUS CHRIST!" She covered her mouth, watching in horror as the customer jumped up from his seat and started shaking hot coffee off his bare hands.
She had just poured steaming hot coffee all over him!
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted, rubbing his hands together in agony.
"I'm – I’m so sorry!" she cried, genuinely apologetic. She grabbed a handful of napkins from the dispenser and started drying his red-hot hands with them. It was true that Yoori didn't like the guy, but she never wished to harm him like this! This was what she got for talking shit about someone in her head. Her vision became blurred with confusion as she tried to make sense of what happened. "Th – th – the handle just suddenly broke—I...oh God...are you okay?"
She looked at his hands. They were blazing red.
He glared at her, indignant that she’d be foolish enough to ask such a naïve question. "Does it look like I am?"
Her already petrified heartbeat escalated at his response. Shit. Was this real life? Was this really happening?
"I'm so sorry. Please, tell me what can I do to make this better? Coffee and breakfast on the house?" she asked hopefully. She couldn't afford to have this guy sue. Her boss was already at his wit's end with her customer service skills (or lack thereof).
An incredulous expression cloaked his face. "You just burned me with coffee and your reconciliation for that is breakfast and coffee on the house?"
Yoori raised her hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay. Good point. Perhaps free breakfast for two weeks? Or better yet, a month?"
He could barely contain his scoff. He assessed his burnt hands before casting a glance at her. For a nanosecond, she could’ve sworn she saw his eyes gleam with slyness.
"I suppose," he started, straightening his back. "I suppose I can sue for this."
The panic alarm blared inside Yoori. "No, no! Please! I will get fired for sure. Please, I need this job!"
"Why should I care about that?"
She clapped her hands together, giving the guy her most angelic face. She hoped to appeal to his humane side. "Please sir. Have a heart."
After taking several seconds to seemingly think over what he wanted to do with her, he finally nodded at her, an angelic smile of his own adorning his face.
"I guess I can do you a favor..." he trailed aimlessly, stroking his burnt hand. His anger seemed to have subsided as quickly as it came.
Yoori gratefully clasped her hands together. "Yes, please do. It would really help me out." Her mind was cheering with glee. That angelic puppy face of hers always did the trick.
"...If you do me a favor."
Yoori's sense of relief dispelled. A frown darkened her once angelic countenance. Her womanly instincts were working at full speed. She knew something bad was coming. Here comes the prostitution proposal...
"I need an assistant," he said, stunning her with his words.
"Eh?"
Not the most profound reply but it was the best Yoori could do given how befuddled she was by this looney tune’s proposal.
"I need a personal assistant," he repeated.
"You want me to be your personal assistant?" She couldn’t mask the perplexity on her face. Was this a joke? Was the guy serious? She blinked at him, hoping to see a smile sweep across his face to indicate that he was joking. Her heart dropped to the lowest of lows when his face and voice remained stern and serious.
"Yeah," he confirmed, a small smile illuminating his features. "I've been meaning to look for someone to assist me in my day-to-day activities. I think you'd be a good fit."
"How'd you co
me to that conclusion?" Her defenses were up. This guy was officially getting creepy.
"Well, let's just say that my work is very confidential. The people I deal with and the operations I run are very...lucrative. Confidentiality is key in all of this. Basically, I don't need someone who is financially bound to me; I need someone who is legally and ethically bound to me." His smile broadened. He was talking to her like she had just won a free vacation as opposed to a prison sentence. "I think you can be that person."
Now it was Yoori's turn to look at him like he was a fool. Was this how recruitment for new jobs operated nowadays? Through blackmail? Did this guy really expect her to be his walking slave? Did he really think she was that stupid?
She didn’t hesitate to reject his job offer. "Thanks, but no thanks."
Her bravado chipped when she saw the resolve in his eyes. It scared her briefly because it didn't appear like he was the type of guy who was used to people saying no to him. She had the uneasy feeling he wasn't going to make this rejection easy. To her surprise, instead of screaming at her, the guy smiled, taking a step closer to her. Yoori took a step back in reaction; she didn't want to be closer to him than she already was. Her sixth sense was working overtime. She had a very bad feeling about all of this.
"You can't say no," he said firmly. He crossed his arms in an authoritative manner. It was evident in his demeanor that he wasn’t the type to give up. Not by a long shot.
Yoori jutted her chin up. She should’ve been intimidated by him but she was a prideful fool. Being in the diner also made her feel more secure. This was her turf. If he wanted a fight, then he was going to get one.
"Sue me," she said irately, throwing the handful of napkins onto the table. She refused to be blackmailed into slavery.
She was prepared to walk away when he jerked her to a halt with his next statement.
"I suppose I don't have to sue you," he started, retrieving his wallet from his front pocket. He grabbed a wad of bills from it.
He threw the money onto the damp table and began to leave. Then, he did a full 360-degree turn, surveying the diner.
"Yeah, this diner must make pretty good money with waitresses like you...” He made it a point to stab her with a dirty look, a gesture that made Yoori respond with a dirty look of her own, "who feel entitled to giving customers second degree burns." He shook his head in disbelief. He placed his hands into his pockets and stared off into the distance.
Yoori eyed him cautiously, afraid of where he was taking this little speech.
He did not disappoint her expectations. "Yeah..." he murmured, speaking loud enough for Yoori to hear him. "I'm doing this for the good of the other customers. This diner has to be sued. It has to be put out of business. It's only right. It's not safe here."
Yoori narrowed her eyes. This guy was truly a piece of work.
"You don't scare me. I could always find another job. I don't have very close ties to this diner."
His lips tilted upward at her smug response. "Oh yeah? Well, what about your little friend? The one you were talking to earlier?"
Yoori's demeanor softened. Uh oh, here comes the moral dilemma.
"Isn't this her father's restaurant?"
Damn it. She knew he was going to make this hard, but she didn’t think he was going to make it this difficult.
Yoori bit her lip, truly troubled for the first time. It killed her to think that this little incident could bring any awful implications to Chae Young. She wasn't fond of the diner or her boss, but Chae Young had been a wonderful friend since her arrival to Seoul. If anything, she was Yoori's one true friend. Yoori couldn't let this guy bring Chae Young into the mix and ruin her life.
"They have nothing to do with this," she countered. She was astounded that someone could be so heartless and bring innocent people into their stupid quarrel.
Ignoring her, the cocky customer continued. "I suppose if this place shuts down, it's really their problem. Not yours. Why should you pay for your own mistakes when there are other people who can take the fall for you?"
The guy was masterful at being persuasive. Every word that poured from his lips, he made sure to pound them into her, knowing that the guilt was eating her alive. And eat her alive it did.
Yoori bowed her head down in disgrace. Though his tricks of trade were less than favorable to her, Yoori gave credit where it was due. The guy was smart to play the guilt card with Yoori, she'd give him that much. Even though admitting defeat was not something Yoori was used to doing, especially when it came down to admitting defeat to a male chauvinist pig, she also couldn't allow anyone to pay for her mistakes. In this case, her biggest mistake was existing at the same moment as this jerk.
Her shoulders slumped. This is what I get for wanting to be a good friend and a good person...Distress raining over her, Yoori struggled to part her lips. Words of blasphemy began to pour out of her once witty mouth.
"If I..." she began slowly, ready to give in to evil.
"Yes?"
Yoori stiffened uncomfortably, struggling to let the words out. "If I become your personal assistant, you'll forget any of this happened?"
"Yes.”
"You won't come back and sue the diner?"
"Yes. Under the condition you keep your part of the deal of course."
She briefly closed her eyes in agony. "And what exactly is my part of the deal?"
A satisfied smile brightened his visage. He leaned in closer, a move that took Yoori by surprise. She involuntarily inhaled the intoxicating scent of his cologne. As he spoke, his lips were millimeters away from her earlobe. His warm breath tickled her sensitive skin. "Why don't you quit right now and we'll talk about it outside?"
Yoori pushed herself away from him, freaked out that he was invading her personal space and even more freaked out that she felt butterflies form in her tummy.
What's wrong with you, Choi Yoori? she thought distractedly.
Finding a coherent train of thought, Yoori glared at him in defense.
"We're understaffed right now," she said, still not ready to become his personal assistant quite yet. "They need me for the morning shift."
Not that she really cared about being there for the morning shift, but any excuse that would keep her from leaving with him would have to do for now. She didn't even know the guy and now she had to leave with him? Can't a girl have, at the very least, a day to think about the unnecessary evil that had befallen her life?
He scanned the empty diner in confusion. "I'm the only customer here though. This diner doesn't even need staff right now."
Yoori observed the room too. It was true. He was the only customer present at the moment. However, Chae Young wasn't going to be back for a while. Someone had to be here to watch the diner.
"Plus,” he interrupted before she could say anymore, “isn't it better to have the diner be understaffed for the morning shift than have it be understaffed forever?"
She blanched at his statement. "Are you serious?"
He raised a brow, daring her to challenge his threat. "Get your stuff. Let's go. I have things I need to do."
"What?” she cried in outrage. “Now? No! I can't just leave! Can't you wait another 20 minutes for my friend to come back?"
"I'm going to be outside,” he barreled on without mercy. “I'll wait two minutes for you. If you don't come out with your stuff in two minutes, I'll be gone. And you, along with the diner, will be hearing from my lawyers."
Her heart dropped to the ground when he was out of sight. She couldn't believe any of this was really happening to her. She abruptly pinched herself. Her eyes twitched in pain from the pinch.
Shit, she thought despondently. It wasn't a dream. All of this was really happening to her.
Clenching and unclenching her fists, Yoori glared at the broken glass and spilled coffee still dripping quietly onto the tiles. All of this because of crappy coffee pots. She miserably shook her head.
Fuck.
Fuck her luck.
; Having the forefront to know that making her prospective boss wait any longer was a bad idea, Yoori decided that if she was going to leave, leaving right away would be a good option. She didn't want to get on his bad side – or anymore of his bad side.
Grabbing her bag from the counter, she took one last inventory of the diner.
"My life is over," she muttered before pushing the door open and jumpstarting the beginning of a dangerous new life.
What on earth does this guy have in store for me?
“How did you fall into it?”
03: The King of Serpents
"Ah, less than two minutes, I guess you're not too attached to the place after all," the cocky customer voiced upon hearing her stomping footsteps.
He stood on the street curb with his hands tucked in his pockets. He was staring off into the hectic street. He didn’t even bother to turn around to look at her.
Chewing her bottom lip, Yoori kept her sharp gaze on him. "What do you want?" she asked. She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes onto his profile. Was it possible to dislike someone as much as she disliked this guy?
His eyes still on the busy street, he said, "We'll talk in the car.”
Yoori was beside herself with how he was treating her. First he blackmailed her, then he forced her into slave labor, and now he was refusing to make eye contact while speaking to her.
Bastard, she thought furiously, glowering at him.
As if hearing the scorn in her resentful mind, Yoori's prospective boss averted his gaze from the street and settled his eyes onto her. Her body tensed up when he did this. He wasn't glaring, but his vacant stare was enough to intimidate her. It was enough to subdue any plot of murder on her part.
The pulsating motion of her blood froze when he closed the distance between them. His six-foot frame towered over her. Taking off his red cap, he fixed his disheveled hat hair and gazed upward at the sky. He sighed as though relieved to finally be able to take the damn thing off.
Despite herself, Yoori gawked as her anger gradually faded away. She was distracted. Extremely distracted. With all that happened in the diner, she didn't have the opportunity to get a close enough look to assess his physical traits. She figured that the guy would have a bad hair day after taking off the cap. However, she had to admit his short black hair looked good after he "fixed" it up. Yoori's breathing grew slightly shallower as her gaze on him remained transfixed. Holy... It hadn’t occurred to her how attractive this guy was without his red cap distracting her from his face. Strong chin and jaw, full tempting lips and beguiling eyes complemented his perfectly sculpted face. If angels existed, then this one was the arc of all angels.