The Hidden Treasure

~5~

Hyejin had decided to pick up dinner for her and Jinjoo.  She felt bad for letting the poor woman work the evening shift and tried to make it up to her whenever she could.   Of course, Jinjoo insisted that Hyejin not be out late and get home at a decent hour which is why she insisted on working the evening hours.  Still, Hyejin always wanted to make sure the older woman know she was appreciated. 

She walked into the obscure restaurant that was more like a hole-in-the-wall place.  She saw the waitress notice her and walk over with a smile.

"Hello there!  Good to see you again!  Do you want the regular order?"

Hyejin grinned and nodded.  "Yes, please.  Two!"

The waitress nodded and quickly walked back to the kitchen. 

Hyejin glanced around the small restaurant.  She noticed a group of men sitting in the back corner.  Apparently they hadn't been there long.  It was still a relatively quiet table. 

She sat down at a nearby two top and pulled out her phone.  She scanned her social media and smiled to herself. 

"You better get ready, Hyejin Lee!  I'm coming soooooooooon!" 

Hyejin laughed and "liked" the comment.  She was excited to see her old college friend.  It had certainly been a while. 

"Hyung, pass the sauce down here!"

Hyejin sighed.  There was the loudness she had been expecting from such a large group of men.  She continued to scroll lazily through her SNS when she was interrupted yet again.

"Joonie-hyung!  Pass the sauce!"  The second man spoke louder this time, hoping to get the other person's attention.

"Seriously, Joonie-hyung, pass the stupid sauce," she mimicked under her breath. She did not like loud groups. Especially if they were a drinking group. Those were the worst. She sighed and scrolled on.

News articles and posts from friends intermingled on her timeline. Always on the hunt for new books, ads for book sales always caught her eye and she made sure to note their dates and times in her phone. As she was making note of such a sale, the back corner table erupted in loud laughter as one of the men was acting ridiculous and talking in strange voices.

Her head jerked around her shoulder and she locked eyes with one of the men for a split second. He looked a bit familiar to her but she didn't linger on his face for very long, but quickly turned back around, a bit thrown off by being caught at looking.

The table erupted in laughter and shouts again and she became even more annoyed. Where is my order so I can get out of here?

Just then, the waitress emerged from the kitchen with two bags in hand. "Hyejin-ssi, here's your food." She smiled sweetly and handed the bags to Hyejin who moved to the front counter to pay for it.

As she left, she cast one last glance at the table full of guys and tried to see the one who had caught her looking. He wasn't looking her direction again so she sighed and left. There was definitely something familiar about that guy.

She left the restaurant and headed back towards the shop, just enjoying the spring air. It was finally getting warmer and she was excited. It meant she could expect more customers and more people to hopefully infect with her love of books. She giggled to herself.

Infect.

Throwing her head back, she laughed at her own choice of words. Oh how her vocabulary and descriptive skills had increased since reading more. Another thing that smug individual was right about.