chasing girl wonder

'two bites bring sadness'

During dinner, Tiger JK shared with everyone the brief history of the hotels and how Poached Wohnen started. He talked proudly about Lisa's growth as a cook, gaining experience around the town, and coming up with the name on her own, with a playful spin into the literal meaning of the words and why the name catered to the purpose of the restaurant. How Lisa had a solid vision for the restaurant at such a young age—twelve—and how she had a fair share of breaking plates and glassware, earning callused hands from all the slicing, getting injured with cuts, lacerations, and burns here and there, and how she worked hard to earn that spot, starting at the lowest position in the kitchen. "I never heard her complain about it."

Young-ae did not look impressed. "Commanding the kitchen is very different from managing the business. Does she know how to do bookkeeping?"

Holding his lips back from curling at the corners, Tiger JK let out a chuckle. "Of course, I taught her that. She'd run the greatest show here with only a few rough edges to sharpen and thaw." He placed a hand on Sinn's shoulder. "She's more than ready, trust me, brother."

"I believe you, but I still want to see her building relationships outside this kitchen—outside this town," Sinn said, pouring red wine into his and Tiger JK's glasses.

"Don't push the culinary school agenda anymore," Tiger JK emphasized.

Sinn said, "I won't. All I'm saying is she needs to know people. Network. I do think she's got more potential and opportunities out there. Convince her to change her mind about it."

Tiger JK groaned. "About what?"

"That her life here is meager." Sinn released a satisfied sigh after taking a sip of the vintage wine. "The world is big, and she's not going to learn enough if she stays in her comfort zone for too long."

Humming in agreement, Young-ae said in a derisive tone, "I find that unsatisfactory. This place has more potential if it's being run by someone with much more experience and meager knowledge will not cut it."

Roseanne scoffed internally, she itched to defend Lisa when everything she had eaten tasted heavenly and not something one would expect from someone with meager knowledge. It made her tummy happy; she could not wait to give kudos to the chef.

Sinn added, "Word-of-mouth is still the way to get more customers, but how many mouths have known of this place? Much so, of her?"

Using the knuckle of his index finger, Tiger JK pushed the rim of his specs up. "Sinn, you did all these so Lisa can have a place she can call home, but you want to send her away—"

"I'm not sending her away. These are all hers—"

"We haven't finished talking about that yet, dearest," Young-ae interrupted, trying to be discreet with the way she barely moved her lips upon speaking. "We came here to assess the situation. This place," she looked around, "sure can use a lot of improvement."

Sinn gestured a sec at Young-ae and continued to speak with Tiger JK as if they were in a private conversation, and not seated at a table with everyone else. "Is she content with what she's achieved here? Doesn't she feel stagnant?"

"I'd say you have that conversation with her." Pinched lips, Tiger JK scratched the back of his head morosely.

"Is she even happy here?" Sinn prodded.

"If no one's assessing her work here, she'll just do whatever suits her. I heard she's merrily fooling around," Young-ae said tersely, taking a sip of her wine. "Screwing around must be the right word."

Rolling her eyes, Roseanne reached for her glass of wine and twirled its contents before taking a sip. She caught Suzy turning her head in her direction, and she purposely avoided eye contact, knowing what she would see there—Suzy's reproachful look because she was not happy about her red lipstick either.