An August Wedding

Ch. 47 - Back to Work

Jin straightened the collar of his shirt before opening the door and walking inside.

A young man was wiping down the counter directly in front of him, various foods resting in the displays nearby. He glanced up as Jin entered.

"Yes, sir. What can I do for you?"

Jin cleared his throat. "Hey, my name's Kim Seokjin. I'm here for the interview."

The young man paused, eyes narrowing slightly. "Interview?"

"Yes. I know I'm early but--"

"Could you hold that thought for me?" He turned his head to the side. "Soonyoung!

Another employee popped his head out of the back kitchen. "Hey, Cheol. What's up?"

"I thought I told you to stop inviting strangers here to interview. We're not hiring."

"I didn't invite anyone."

"Then who's this?" He asked, gesturing at Jin who was growing more uncomfortable by the minute.

"I'm telling you, I didn't invite anyone."

"Then who did?"

At that moment, a third young man came walking through the front door, drink cup in hand. "Cheol, I'm back from my break!"

"Yoon Jeonghan! Did you invite someone here for an interview and not tell me?"

Jeonghan chewed thoughtfully on the end of his straw. "I could have sworn I told you about it."

"Look," Jin interjected, "if you're not hiring, that's fine. I can show myself out."

"No, wait!" Jeonghan exclaimed. "You're the guy I emailed, right? You should at least stick around until the boss gets back."

Jin frowned, turning back to the guy behind the counter. "You're not the boss?"

"I'm one of the owners. But our hiring guy is also on break." He sighed. "You're welcome to wait if you want."

"Thank you."

"I'm Choi Seungcheol. Sorry if I was rude before, I've got three employees here that have minds of their own," he explained as Jeonghan passed him on his way to the back.

"It's okay. Is it just you three and the hiring manager?"

Seungcheol shook his head, placing his rag on his shoulder. "Thirteen employees, including myself."

"Thirteen," Jin repeated. "That's a lot." He also felt his hopes sinking. There were already plenty of employees here, they probably didn't need to hire anyone else. But another thought occurred to him.

"If there are only thirteen of you, why are you called Seventeen Catering?"

"There are two meanings. First, one company, thirteen employees, three distinct points of service. Seventeen total. Or," he smirked, "for large enough clients, we do offer seventeen-course meals."

"You do not."

"We do! It's obviously not our most popular option because that's a lot of prep work and you have to have a lot of people to take on that much food. But we do offer it."

"I'd love to have an event like that," Jin sighed. "Too bad I'm not rich."

Seungcheol smiled and went to toss his rag in the back. "So why did you want to work here? Catering isn't usually something people go for unless they have some similar experience."

"My family works in hospitality. Up until recently, I was a personal driver. But I quit because I wanted to find my own passion and mine is food. I want to give people great meals and incredible service. See the smiles on their faces when they really enjoy it. I want to do something like this."