Always and Forever (Showki fanfic)

Ch. 57: A Second Chance (Part 1)

Kihyun

~the next day~

~6:00 a.m.~

*alarm*

I groaned as soon as the first beep reached my ears. The sun wasn't even out yet and the day already seemed shitty. Choosing to not dwell on what was currently weighing my mind and crawling out of the hole of self haterd, I put on my slippers and went to Hyungwon's bedroom.

"Hyungwon, get up. It's our day to do prep," I said through his door. 

"..."

I sighed and opened the door to see Hyungwon wrapped in blankets like some main protagonist in a fairy tale. Mochi walks in and sits next to his bed to watch me wake up the sleeping beauty. I looked down at the unsuspecting corgi and smiled. Mochi cocks his head to the side and his ears twitched in anticipation of my next move. I picked him up and sent him under the blankets to wake up Hyungwon. Seconds later, the bundle on the bed began to shift around until a triumphant Mochi emerged with a sleepy Hyungwon glaring at his fluffy bread like behind.

Before Hyungwon could swat at him, Mochi jumped into my arms and huffed.

"One day, I am going to kill that dog," Hyungwon said in a rough voice.

"Go get ready," I said before walking out of Hyungwon's room.

~in his adjacent bathroom~

I stared at the mirror before me looking at my reflection. Anxiety began to creep into my mind as I knew that a certain someone will be at the restaurant too. I know that I can't just keep avoiding him. Eventually, I would have to face the music.  I cannot help, but feel scared. What if he hates me now? What if he ignores me? What happens now? I shook my head to clear those thoughts. "No, it doesn't matter, Kihyun. You cannot let anyone in. Just keep to yourself," I muttered under my breath.

*knocking*

"Hyung, are you alright in there," asks Hyungwoon. I blinked rapidly and wondered if I was lost in thought for Hyungwon to come check on me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Did you finish getting ready," I asked through the door,

"...no. I was just wondering why you weren't coming back in to get me out of bed," he states nonchalantly. 

"Go," I shouted.

~fast forward 30 minutes~

~7:55 a.m.~

~restaurant~

I hesitated before the door unsure if I should go in. Hyungwon pushes me in uncaring of my inner turmoil. I glanced around to make sure he wasn't there but when I went into the kitchen, he was already there organizing the kitchen. He looks up and says, "Hey."

"Hey," I said awkwardly and made a beeline to my office. Once inside, I placed a hand over my erratically beating heart. Be still my beating heart. Now is not the time to run a marathon. I just have to go with the flow. Don't let my true thoughts be shown. I took a deep breath and walked back out to the kitchen with a fake smile plastered on my face. Hyungwon, who just happened to be passing by, rolled his eyes at me before going to the fridge.  

~during service~

"Can someone pass me the salt," I asked as I held out my hand for someone to hand it to me while I stirred the noodles in front of me. Someone hands it over to me but does not let go of it. Annoyed, I looked up to see who the trouble maker was and it was Hyunwoo. 

Quickly, I dislodged it from his hand and shook some salt into the pan avoiding his gaze. In the corner of my eye, I saw him frown before he went back to his own station to which it made me frown too in response to his disappointment. 

~during break~

Yoongi had made lunch for us all. The braised chicken was a bit burnt but it was still delicious for me to eat a lot of it. When everyone was about done, I started to gather the dirty dishes to wash them, but a strong pair of hands takes them away from me and collects the rest. I blink owlishly as he does so as it is a bit confusing for one to still do stuff for the person who rejected them. Hyunwoo doesn't say anything about my silence and just walks into the kitchen with all of the dirty dishes.

~after work~

After we all said goodbye to each other, I was about to walk out when someone grabbed onto my wrist. I turned around to face said person and was about to ask what's wrong.

"Can we talk," Hyunwoo asks in a gentle but confident voice.