The Special One : TaeTen

Chapter 1

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"Ahhhh, they have seafood scallopini with a Japanese flair! I'm definitely getting that. Oooh, flounder, scallops, shrimp, and a yuzu-butter sauce... that sounds yummy!"

Ten looked at his friend and colleague, Sicheng, over the top of his menu, with a wry smile. "You go right ahead and enjoy yourself. Tell me how it is, though."

He skimmed the menu; the offering list was relatively small - unsurprising for a new restaurant of this size - but everything looked good. Most of it was familiar with a unique twist here and there - such as Sicheng's Japanese scallopini - but towards the bottom of the menu, his gaze fell on the item "Chef's Special."

That was it; just a name and a price. He raised an eyebrow.

Most such offerings had some sort of description - offerings of that day's catch or the freshest seafood on the market or see the server for details - but not this.

"Wonder what the 'Chef's Special' is." He held out his menu, and Sicheng shrugged.

"If you're curious, try it. Duh."

Ten made a face at him, and he laughed. The two had been friends since high school - they'd dated for a couple of years, but it just hadn't worked out - but both of them had gone into the music and entertainment business and now they worked together at the same agency.

Sicheng was in the middle of transitioning from a dancing career to a modeling career of his own; Ten was a songwriter and dancer, and he'd been responsible for more than a few of Sicheng's hits. T

hey made it a habit of going out for lunch any time they were both in the practice rooms, since they were usually both so busy otherwise - well, Sicheng was busier than Ten, but the fact still held - and when a new restaurant had opened on the next block over, of course, they'd made plans to try it.

It was a rather busy day; nearly every table in the restaurant was full, although as there were only ten or so tables, with a handful of seats at the bar, that didn't mean too much.

As Ten looked around, the waiter walked up. "Do you have any questions?" Ten, nodding, held up the menu. "What's the Chef's Special?"

"Exactly what it says." The waiter gave an oblique smile. "The chef will make a meal of her choosing."

"So... it could be anything?" The silver-haired's sense of adventure was piqued. When the waiter nodded, he grinned. "Sure, then. I'll get that."

"Do you have any allergies or extreme food dislikes?"

"He's allergic to tofu and he really doesn't like fish." Sicheng giggled, and Ten nodded in agreement. The waiter made a note, and Sicheng pointed to her menu. "I, on the other hand, love seafood! I'm getting the seafood scallopini, and a glass of white wine."

"And I'll take whatever wine pairs with the food I get." Ten handed their menus to the waiter, who nodded and hurried off.

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Their food was a little slow in coming, but they'd had worse waits and neither of them were in a hurry, so it wasn't an issue.

Eventually, the waiter carried out a tray from which wafted the most amazing smells - Sicheng's scallopini was a mound of fresh seafood, mushrooms, pasta, and golden yuzu butter - and with a small flourish, the waiter set a covered dish in front of Ten, who watched with anticipation.