Letters from the Void // ASTRO ✔

Chapter 4

"Guys, are you ready?" Moon Bin cupped his mouth, shouting through the whole restaurant. The five members of the team, excluding Haeun, put up an 'OK' sign before positioning themselves at their workspace. Haeun, still confused as ever, only managed to stand awkwardly beside Moon Bin, who was giving her a smile. Sanha waved the cloth he's holding with his right hand, while he put out his left hand.

"Are we ready for what?" Haeun asked.

Moon Bin winked at her, and he motioned for Sanha to start counting down. His fingers started going down one by one, counting down to- whatever's going to happen. "3... 2... 1... Hyung! Change the sign!"

Jin Jin nodded as he put his palm on the counter and swiped it to the right. A sign appeared on the surface of the transparent glass of the restaurant; the word 'OPEN' can be seen clearly. At that moment, a horde of customers came flooding in. They took their seats, as if it's a routine for them. Swiftly, Moon Bin and Sanha delivered the menus to them. Still not knowing what to do, she blindly picked up two menus and put them on the tables at the far end. So far, every table was filled.

Soon, orders were delivered, empty glasses and dishes were cleaned, customers come and go and by the end of the day, Haeun had completely forgotten that she was a nobody who was lost. She felt like she belonged here; where she could just busy herself while tending to the (sometimes) petty customers. It would be absurd, but she clearly enjoyed working here. The playful Sanha and Moon Bin also managed to brighten up her day. It still bugged her that Rocky and Jin Jin seemed indifferent towards her, but she assured herself that they're just being cautious around a newcomer.

She was soaking with sweat as they bid their last customer goodbye. It was a tiring day, yet it was only the first day for her. Wiping the sweat off her forehead with her uniform's sleeve, she turned to look at MJ, who's chugging down a whole bottle of mineral water. Eunwoo was still in the kitchen, tidying up the mess they made while cooking. He was in the kitchen the whole time; she couldn't even get a glimpse of him when they were working.

"Is it always this chaotic?" Haeun looked at MJ, expecting an answer.

"Yeah, there was this one time when I couldn't even sit down because there were just too many customers. Trust our boss, Eunwoo to open up this successful restaurant."

"I told you not to call me that," Eunwoo appeared beside MJ, stains of some type of red sauce could be seen on his white shirt. He grabbed a chair and the three of them sat in a circle in the middle of the restaurant. Jin Jin and Rocky were busy counting today's income, while Sanha and Moon Bin went off, claiming they wanted to shower and change.

"Ay, isn't it true, though? This is such a genius idea! Go back to the past and make a business out of it!"

"What do you mean by that?" Haeun asked, unaware that her words could give away the fact that she woke up with zero memories.

MJ took no notice and replied, "Isn't it obvious? Most restaurants these days are all controlled by androids; they take your orders, deliver them, and you pay for your orders to them. The only real people in those types of restaurants are the cooks and customers. In fact, I even heard some rumours that they're planning to replace the cooks with androids." He shuddered, as if the memory was not a good one. "I like how we have really advanced technology, but some things should just be left alone. That's why Eunwoo's restaurant is really popular; people prefer to deal with real humans instead of robots. Plus, people like us can find jobs."

"Ah, it's only open for half a day but my body is sore all over!" Sanha came into the main area of the restaurant, a towel hung around his neck. Moon Bin tagged along, drying his wet hair. He only smiled when he noticed Haeun staring at him.