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Chapter 11

"I'm still amazed, how did you manage to burn our dinner?" Khaiser shakes his head lightly as he arranges his steps on the sidewalk. There are quite a lot of people using the sidewalk as well, forcing him to be mindful of his steps to slip in between them. They definitely can hear his words well, but both side do not seem to care. All of them are basking in the lights from shops, road lights and vehicles, making the surroundings to be lively as a day even though it is already nighttime. The full moon and countless stars decorate the night sky, indicating that it is going to be a calm and peaceful night.

"Alright, I'm sorry, okay? It wasn't on purpose. I'll buy a new chicken for you later." Mikael responds with controlled laughter. Almost everyone around him spontaneously look at him as soon as he laughed. But none of them is bothered by it. Khaiser lets out a soft sigh and decides to just stay silent. He is too hungry to say anything let alone argue. Besides, he does not really mind actually. They just lost their dinner. That is much better than losing the whole kitchen.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrive at their destination. They wait outside the restaurant for a while, giving some space for a few customers to step out of the restaurant before they can enter. Feeling that the condition is a bit less chaotic, Khaiser holds the door and steps inside, followed by Mikael. They proceed to search for an empty table as soon as they step inside. The whole restaurant is quite busy, but there are still a few empty tables for new customers. The empty table for two right beside the wall grabs their attention. They quickly arrange their steps toward it before someone else gets there.

"Good evening, sir. May I take your orders?" A waiter suddenly greets them before the two young men can even get comfortable in their seats. Both of them are startled a bit by his presence. But as soon as they turn to the waiter, their little startle turns into a total surprise.

"Zeph?" Mikael's eyes widen.

"I am not on the menu, sir. Sorry about that." Zephan tries to maintain his composure as his smile widens, holding his laughter.

"What are you doing here?" Mikael continues asking. Khaiser just stares at their friend, still surprised and speechless.

"Um, working? Do I look like I'm doing something else?" Zephan continues joking around.

"How long have you been working here?"

"Look, Mike. How about you wait until I finish my shift, and then we can hang out somewhere like usual? For now, your orders, please." Zephan gets ready with his notebook and pen. He grins and shakes his head lightly, remembering his friend's reaction just now. The two young men stay silent for a moment, thinking about their orders and still surprised at the same time.

"Um, give me spicy chicken and broccoli. For drink, I'll have milk tea." Khaiser makes his presence known after a brief silence. He does not bring his eyes away from Zephan at all as he jots down in his notebook, as if he is making sure that his friend gets his orders right.

"I'll have spicy chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate." Mikael's turn to make his order. Just like his housemate, he is also staring at his friend without blinking.

"Alright, anything else?" Both Khaiser and Mikael shake their head without saying a word. Zephan walks away with the same smile on his face after getting what he needs. The two young men observe him as he leaves, still attempting to convince themselves that they are not mistaken him for their friend.

"It's really him, right?" Mikael gazes straight into his housemate's face.

"Yeah, as far as I remember him." Khaiser lifts his shoulders as he displays a confused smile. Mikael lets out a small giggle after a moment as he shakes his head and takes out his phone. Seeing him starting to mind his own business, Khaiser also does the same, looking around the restaurant before playing with his phone. Sometimes they spend time talking to each other about random stuff they found to avoid the dull situation.