Please Take Care Of Us 》k.th

Chapter 1.

"Service." I call to the runners of the night. On a Friday night with 260 people coming in to eat, cooking and plating quickly is no easy feat to accomplish. "Come on everyone!" I say loudly putting my dish on the pass and stepping off the cooking station. Without the head chef here and me having to give orders for the night, it's so daunting and scary. "Chef Yu-Na. VIP tables have ordered." I hear over the walkie-talkie near the Pass, where the plated dishes wait to be taken by servers to the guests tables. "Okay." I mutter over the walkie talkie and look at all the line cooks who are staring at me. "Why are you staring at me? Make the dishes!" I say with a laugh. "Yes, Chef!" They yell out before preparing the dish components. I peak over at the pastry section of the kitchen and they keep getting tickets upon tickets for desserts to be rapidly sent out. "Yoo-jae Oppa, do you need help?" I ask looking over at the pastry staff as they run around like chickens without heads. "Ah, y-yeah." He calls over to me hesitantly as he focuses on plating. "Kyung-soo." I call to the line sous chef and point to where I'm standing for him to call out orders while I help the pastry department. I shuffle over to their part of the kitchen. "What do you need?" I ask running my hands over my side towel. "I need one red bean ice cream with matcha side cookies." He says pointing quickly to the freezer lowboy. "Okay" I say grabbing a cold plate. I start quenelling ice cream onto a bed of oat brittle before grabbing the two matcha shortbread cookies and criss crossing them on the plate for looks. "2 more of those please Chef." Yoo-jae oppa says before rubbing his hands together towards me and putting his plated desserts on the pass to be taken to tables. I start plating those for him as well before I hear Kyung-soo's voice. "VIP plates are ready to walk, Chef." I look over and then smile. "Okay, give me a minute." I say looking back down at my plate. I plate as quickly as I can trying to go evaluate the level of food for the VIP tables. After a few minutes of plating, I walk back over to the pass. "Wipe those plates and take them out." I say nodding my head and wiping my hands on my side towel.

The night continues at the same pace before a runner comes down to the kitchen. "Hey, Chef! The VIP tables want to see the Chef." A runner says to me plating up some warm bread. "What? Why? Was something wrong with the food?" I ask fixing my pony tail. "They ate it all so, I don't think so. They look happy. Maybe to pay you complements or something." I shrug, "Send them a bottle of wine while I go spruce up." I say taking off my apron. My chefs jacket had sauce smudges on it and I would have to change it. "Kyung-soo." I say pointing to where I was standing and take off to the managers locker room.

I fix my eyeliner and smile at myself in the mirror before frowning. This is so awkward, what if the VIP asks me where Hyun-Soo oppa is? What if I'm not head chef material for even a night when he's away. How awkward would that be? I fix my chefs jacket before the locker room door opens. "Hey, white girl." Hye-mi, the appetizer sous chef says taking her apron off. "Hey." I say rubbing my hands together. "Don't be nervous, what's the worst they could say? You're white, you shouldn't be making Korean food? Well, tell them that you're half Korean and it isn't your fault you're so Western looking." She says with a laugh pushing me with her hip and then walking into a bathroom stall. "Besides that, nevermind me looking Western, I'm sure they came in thinking that Hyun-Soo oppa was running the show." I say with a frown. "Well too bad, shit happens. They'll get over it." She says through the stall. "Yeah... I'll be going up now." I say putting my eyeliner in my chefs pants. "Hwaiting!" She says before flushing the toilet. I barrel up the stairs starting to feel a bit awkward and faint. "It's okay." One of the servers says walking past me with a dessert dish I plated. He plasters a gigantic smile as he approaches his table. I start walking over to the VIP section of the restaurant and the server who let me know the VIP's wanted to talk to me points at the long table that seats 10 people. "Just breathe." He says with a smile. I give him a small smile and he laughs, "I'll walk with you." He says putting his hand in his hair.