What Makes A Coin Beautiful

Chapter Three: Mystery Meat At The Dwarf's Den

Their shoes squeaked as they hit the restaurant's polished floors. C/N looked around: It was definitely going for the "homely" aesthetic. The walls were a deep red, and covered in framed pictures of who they assumed was the owner and an assorted cast of other people, which ranged from pretty normal-looking to outlandishly dressed. In the center, with a yellow light highlighting the edges of its frame, was a rather touching photograph depicting the faces of who were probably deceased family members, with a lovely handwritten note saying "Thanks for everything". They rolled their eyes like any angsty teenager deserving of their name. It was so cheesy.

Moving on to the tables, they were all covered in colorful tablecloths. Many wooden chairs were present, and no table had less than two. Whoever owned the restaurant seemed to really care about the concept of eating meals together... Which, admittedly, wasn't such a bad business strategy. To top it all off, each table had a glass of fresh flowers placed in the middle. C/N wondered how much the establishment spent on flowers each month. They snickered.

It wasn't so bad, they conceded. The only big issue with the place was, well... Their choice of music.

One Direction seemed to agree. "Damn it, we picked a really bad time to come here..." They shook their heads. "Three PM is when they exclusively play NCT 227 songs."

C/N grimaced. "Why would anyone ever..."

"Well, as you know, the group really fell off when they started their new unit. Many financial problems led to them hiring rather... interesting subjects, as part of the band. And due to a bad contract, some of these members are allowed a lot of... Creative freedom?" One Direction explained.

Just as C/N was about to ask another question, what was unmistakably a remixed frog mating call echoed through the restaurant, with the worst bars ever written sung over it. Someone started laughing.

"That's... exactly what we were talking about." One Direction buried their faces in their hands. "Apparently this place's owner knows one of the members..."

C/N opened their mouth, but a waitress walked over to where they were standing.

"There's so many of you, you're blocking the entrance." She immediately said, then pulled out a notepad. "Same table as always?"

One Direction nodded. "Yes, sorry for that...". They all followed the waitress to their table, next to the window.

The waitress almost left, but C/N stopped her. "Sorry, the menus?"

"Oh, you're new, aren't you." She looked at her nails... claws? She was clearly bored. "We don't do menus."

"But how am I supposed to order..."

"The chef comes out and tells you what you should get. Easy." She tilted her head. "Can I go now?"

C/N looked to the side. "I guess...?"

Five minutes later a rather short man arrived at the table, carrying his own notepad.

"Ah, good to see ye, One Direction! The usual?"

"Yes, of course! Bring some extra wine this time, though." They replied.

The chef nodded. "And for the lad?"

"Umm, I thought you didn't have a menu?"

"Well... what do ye like to eat? Meat, fish..."

"Oh! Right. A steak?"

"A steak... Right, ye look like the type who'd..." He mumbled to himself. "And to drink?"

"Water? No... Lemon water."