After hours ✓(editing)

1.

"Yah! Are you ever going to pay me for all the ramen you eat?" Sehee asked, feigning irritation as she watched Aera eat peacefully, her cheeks full with food.

Aera had indeed lost her baby fat once she crossed the twenty-year mark and was now so beautiful that everyone took a second glance at her every time she passed by them. Her sense of style was far better than Sehee's as well. Though her clothes were never expensive or fancy, she wore them in a way that made her look like a model. If only she would have grown over her five foot three height.

"Aww, come on, sis. I'll give you some extra art pieces to hang in here." Sehee rolled her eyes and continued to look at her with a disgusted face. "Do you even know the term, 'graceful eating'?" Aera choked. Badly. She started coughing, drawing the attention of the couple sitting in the far corner of the ramen house. Today wasn't the best day of trade for Sehee.

"Unnie, Ramen is the food of the commoner, it is supposed to be eaten as if you're starving. Okay?" Aera explained before taking a huge bite of her noodles. Sehee chuckled. "You are a pig. Bring the bowl back inside when you are done. I'll get some dishes done," she said getting up and moving towards the kitchen.

As she washed the dishes, Sehee was reminded of her past. It always hit her when she was washing up.

Sehee and Aera never got adopted. They moved from foster home to home but no family seemed to accept them, not that she needed their approval. As soon as Sehee became of legal age, she started working along with completing her education. As soon as she was financially stable enough, she took Aera out of the foster system and they started living together.

Sehee had discovered at the age of twenty that her parents had left a huge amount for her and she could finally use it. Without thinking much she opened a little ramen house, paid her loans and got Aera into the art school. Times had been difficult for both of them but now they had passed the worst of the storms.

Aera owned a nice art studio just a few blocks away from her shop and even though they didn't stay together anymore, they were still as close as ever. Sehee hoped her parents were proud of where she was today like she was proud of Aera.

Aera left shortly after. It was Saturday and her weekend classes were always full. Sehee sighed as she served some of the few customers throughout the entire day. Sometimes business was good and sometimes it wasn't. It didn't discourage her though. She had been running this place successfully for a few years now.

As the clock started approaching midnight Sehee started cleaning up the shop. She had yet to clean the kitchen but the front needed to be done first.

She looked at the watch again. Five minutes to twelve. No one would come now. She flipped the sign to 'closed' and was about to lock the door when a tall man appeared in front of her.

The hard knock on the glass door surprised her. She gasped, taking a step back as she looked at the man questioningly. Why did he have to come so late? Who had dinner so late anyway?

Before she could tell him to go his stomach rumbled. The man's eyes widened, his ears reddening as he realised how loud his stomach had been. Suppressing a smile she opened the door to let him in, though she kept the sign on 'closed'.

The two bowed at each other, the man bowing a little deeper than the woman. Straightening up, the man spoke up, "Thank you for letting me in. I was really hungry." This time she couldn't stop her smile. She looked up at the tall man. "Yeah, I heard. But I can't promise to serve you a five-star meal." The man's eyes crinkled and she could tell he was smiling underneath his mask. "Of course. I'll eat whatever you serve me." Nodding she left to fire up the stove again.