Mafia in the Morning || Ryeji [RE-UPLOAD] [ONGOING]

Tension

Kind of a long chapter, yeah.

[Tension grows like pumpkin seeds.]

It had been a week since Ryujin started her assignment as Yeji's bodyguard. The days had blended into a monotonous routine. Each day, she found herself parked outside Yeji's restaurant, surveiling the surroundings with calculated precision. Her fingers tapped the steering wheel rhythmically, the hum of the car engine the only sound breaking the silence. The job, despite its importance, bored the hell out of her.

"Shit. Thought there was gonna be some action." Ryujin clicked her tongue, expectations fell to the floor and shattered to pieces like a flower vase. Ryujin was at the parking lot, a few meters away is a road, across is Yeji's restaurant. That's how she spent her week, tapping and scanning. Ryujin stepped out of her vehicle and leaned against the car door, pulling out a cigarette and smoked for 3 minutes.

Puffing for the last time, Ryujin sighed, dropping her dead cigarette on the ground and stomping on it like an insect.

Out of sheer boredom and a change of setting, Ryujin decided to check the restaurant. She locked her car and crossed the pedestrian lane. She sneaked into the other end of the restaurant, slipping through the back door that was a few feet away from the humongous garbage can. Ryujin's steps were nearly silent as she made her way to the kitchen. There, she found Yeji.

Yeji's employees threw glances at Ryujin, but the gangster didn't mind. Yeji was by the kitchen's main entrance. She wore her personal chef's apron and tried to tie the back, but she struggled with it because she had poor hand coordination when she couldn't see what she was doing.

Ryujin walked closer to the cat-eyed woman. "I got it," said Ryujin and fastened the back part of Yeji's apron.

"Thanks... What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. Just checking." Ryujin peeked at the small window on the kitchen's door.

There was absolutely no sign of threat, she thought. The restaurant buzzed with life. It was just past the lunch rush, and the staff was busy cleaning up. Yeji was wearing an apron because she had insisted on cooking her own lunch during her break, a small act of normalcy in her otherwise chaotic life.

"You seem restless," Yeji commented on Ryujin's appearance, walking to the heart of the kitchen where all the secret sauces and basic ingredients lay at rest.

Ryujin followed Yeji's footsteps. "Just doing my job."

Yeji did her personal task, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I'm kind of restless myself too."

"Yeah? Why?" Ryujin crossed her arms.

Yeji was carefully slicing through a perfectly roasted pumpkin, its bright orange flesh soft and tender. She scooped the chunks into a bowl, adding a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. "The restaurant business. Competition is fierce, and the tension..." Before continuing her words, she checked the pot of simmering broth beside her and it released a fragrant steam that hinted at garlic, onions, and a touch of ginger. "The tension grows like pumpkin seeds. You plant one, and before you know it, you've got a whole field to deal with." Yeji mashed the pumpkin gently, folding in the broth slowly, creating a velvety smooth puree. The vibrant orange dish began to take form, a creamy pumpkin soup that looked both comforting and refined.

Yeji tasted the dish before nodding to herself in approval. The kitchen staff moved around her, busy with their tasks, but Yeji remained in her little world.

Yeji began plating the soup, putting toasted pumpkin seeds and a few delicate sprigs of fresh thyme.

Taking off her apron, Yeji looked at Ryujin's eyes. "I have a lot on my plate right now. But that's part of the challenge, right?" She handed Ryujin a spoon and gently moved one bowl of pumpkin soup, gesturing her bodyguard to try some.