Chapter Text
To no one’s surprise and Jaehyuk’s utter delight, his grandfather begins his morning with a tantrum instead of, as most people, a cup of coffee or breakfast. And since the old man’s blood pressure and Jaehyuk’s serotonin levels are directly proportional, he leaves the house with a rather good disposition.
I hope you croak, he wishes as he goes.
The young chef is already waiting for him outside when he arrives. He’s bundled up in thick layers of clothes, his eyes misty from the icy cold and the tip of his nose red as a cherry.
“Why didn’t you wait inside?”
“Mr. Kwon, hello. I didn’t want to make you wait, I’m sure you’re busy.”
Jaehyuk, whose schedule for the day consists entirely of ‘meeting Seo Yeon-oh’ and ‘annoying the old bastard’, cringes imperceptibly. It’s not like he wants to take over the planning of the whole event, just enough details to mess things up and make it difficult for his family. But Seo Yeon-oh had no way of knowing it.
“Don’t worry about it. And besides, you need to take care of yourself and don’t fall sick, we wouldn’t want to be left without a chef for the gala.”
“I’m sorry, I’ll be careful until then.”
The corner of Jaehyuk’s mouth twitches. The more Seo Yeon-oh apologizes, the worse he feels. How scary would he have to appear in this person’s eyes and how bad would the rumors about him have to be for the young man to thread so carefully around him and sound polite to the point of self-reproach?
“There’s no need to apologize. Anyway, I’m not really familiar with the local scene anymore, could I trouble you to choose a café for us where we could talk?”
Seo Yeon-oh nods, shoulders seemingly relaxing a little as he steps forward, Jaehyuk in tow. Despite the cold, the town looks beautiful dressed in white, sparkling under the few sunrays piercing the clouds. The snow crunches pleasantly under their feet as Yeon-oh walks them to a nearby café and the crispy air carrying the faint scent of smoke and fir tree fills their lungs. It feels nice.
“An Americano, please, and…”
“One lemon tea. With honey. Thank you.”
As soon as they place their order, Seo Yeon-oh takes out a bunch of papers out of his bag. He lays them on the table, arranging them for Jaehyuk to see, like he’s about to launch into the presentation of his life. And it might just be, Jaehyuk thinks, remembering that his business hasn’t been doing good lately.
“I’ve put together a few menus after my friend and I did some research. We couldn’t find too much information about the menus in the previous years and we also didn’t want to do the same thing, so these are just some suggestions. If you have a certain theme in mind or preferences, of course we can make as many changes as it takes for it to be to your taste.”
Finally, the Seo Yeon-oh that he first saw in the kitchen that day makes a return. His confidence and passion are such a delight to see and witnessing the change right in front of his eyes stuns Jaehyuk into a small reverie.
“What do you say, Mr. Kwon, is there anything in here that we could use?”
“You sure went straight to the point,” Jaehyuk laughs softly.
Under his attentive eyes, Seo Yeon-oh’s powerful chef persona retreats slightly again, leaving in its stead a flustered young man, cheeks rosy enough to match his burgundy turtleneck. Before he has the chance to do something stupid like apologize again, Jaehyuk continues.
“I’m far from being an expert in food so I’ll need a bit of time to look through these but from a glance they look well put together. I’ll trust you to handle most of the decisions when it comes to the menu. And also, you don’t have to worry about my time. If it’s you who is busy we can keep this short but I would like to know a bit more about you. So I know who it is I’m working with.”
Big brown eyes look up at him in surprise. “Uhm, well, I have a little time. What… what would you like to know?”
“For example… when did you discover your passion for cooking?”
“I honestly don’t remember,” the young man replies, a small smile playing on his lips. He takes a small sip of his tea before explaining. “It was when I was very young, I always stuck my nose into whatever my mother was making and wanted to help.”
“So was it always your dream to own a business like this?”
“Not really… For a few good years I thought I’d never get the chance. The competition is harsh and it’s difficult to attract clients and have regulars. But eventually I realized I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”
“You must’ve worked hard.”
“Yeah,” Seo Yeon-oh whispers modestly. “Mr. Kwon, would you mind me asking what it is you do? Do you work for your family’s subsidiary abroad?”
Taken aback by the sudden question directed at him, Jaehyuk hesitates. “No. I have a small film company that I run.”
“A film company?”
“Are you surprised?”
“I guess,” Yeon-oh admits sheepishly. “You don’t… seem like a very artistic person? Not in a bad sense, just… ah, forget it, I’m sorry,” he winces, covering his flushed face behind his hands.
Jaehyuk lets out a low chuckle. “No, you’re right, I’m not a very artistic person. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate good art. Like your food, for example.”
“Then, uhm, why a film company?” Yeon-oh asks, brushing away the compliment.
“My mother really liked films, you know? She didn’t just like to watch them, she loved collecting them too. I thought… It’s rather stupid, but I thought I could keep her memory alive like this.”
“It’s not stupid,” he insists, holding Jaehyuk’s gaze. “Also I’m- I know it’s been a long time but I’m sorry for your loss.”
Jaehyuk nods and lets the silence stretch. He wonders what his mother would think about the foundation gala now, what she would say about Jaehyuk abandoning it for so many years and letting it fall into his family’s hands, then coming back just to use it to play with his grandfather’s patience.
Seo Yeon-oh clears his throat gently, changing the topic. “How much time do you think you’ll need to decide on the menu?”
“Well, like I said, I don’t know much about food, so how about I have a quick look over them and we meet in a couple of days to discuss?”
“That sounds good.”
“Let me accompany you back.”
Jaehyuk gestures for the waiter, insisting on paying the check himself. Curiously enough, he’s already looking forward to meeting Seo Yeon-oh again.