at the end of the day || booseoksoon

=͟͟͞͞ ★ 2

seokmin's cheeks were starting to hurt.

he knew it was part of the job: a friendly smile and excellent service. but it was something he took to another level. his friends worried for him, but he insisted that he was fine, that it was something he enjoyed doing.

but as the table of middle-aged men yelled at him about their food taking too long, he wished he wasn't working that day. his best friends weren't working. they were probably back at their apartment eating snacks or taking a nap. oh, how he wished he were there, too.

in these situations, seokmin wished he were different. he knew what seungkwan would do in this moment. the younger boy would slap the check onto the table and tell them to leave. and he knew what soonyoung would do in this moment. he would curse them out until one or more of them were crying. but he would only do that because they were yelling at seokmin.

seokmin had to remind himself who he was. while it was fun to imagine a world where he could stand up for himself, he knew he wouldn't do either of the things his best friends would do. all he could do was bow and apologize. and smile. smile to the point that his cheeks were beginning to hurt.

seokmin only felt at ease when he walked to the back of the restaurant. his smile dropped and his shoulders drooped as he leaned against the kitchen window. he ignored the people rushing past him and the expo guy working beside him as he reached over and grabbed some fries from a plate of food set to the side. he knew it was dead and that many of his coworkers were eating off of the plate, so he continued to eat the fries as he stared into the other side of the kitchen.

junhui, who was plating a remake of the plate seokmin was eating off of, noticed the younger boy and chuckled at the distant look on his face. "what's going on, seok?" he asked while he focused on the task at hand.

seokmin blinked in surprise. he looked up at junhui, his shoulders lifting out of instinct as he shook his head gently and said, "nothing, hyung. just one of my tables being rude." he smiled, though by the look on the older boy's face, seokmin knew it wasn't believable.

junhui just let out a sigh. he handed the plate off to mingyu, who was standing next to them and pretending not to listen to their conversation. the taller boy's presence in the kitchen made things a little awkward for the staff. he was the same age as a lot of staff, but as head chef, he still commanded respect. of course, the second they all heard seungkwan and mingyu bickering, they knew he was a lighthearted guy and didn't need to be feared. still, things were a little awkward.

mingyu couldn't resist as he slid the plate over the window towards the expo guy. he placed his elbows on the window as he said, "well, if you ask me–"

"i didn't." seokmin looked down as he grumbled, though mingyu directly ignored it.

"– i say you should go out there and just do your job to the best of your ability. you know what your skills are, and those men out there can't take that away from you." junhui cut in, unsure of what mingyu was going to say next, but knowing that seokmin just needed a little encouragement.

seokmin smiled softly, placing a hand on his chest as he said, "thank you, hyung."

mingyu shot junhui a look, turning back to face seokmin as he said, "oh, so when he says it, he gets a thank you."

"yep." seokmin said with a smirk, winking at the boy as he grabbed a handful of fries and clumsily shoved them in his mouth. the two boys on the other side of the window just chuckled silently as they got back to work.

jeonghan walked into the kitchen just then, his long black hair messy as he slowly walked up next to seokmin and laid a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. seokmin raised an eyebrow at the older boy's appearance, reaching a hand up and dragging it across jeonghan's forehead as he pushed his hair away from his face. jeonghan laughed lightly as he pushed seokmin's hands away.