✓ ! MAFIA AU ! Don't lose your heart to a Dragon. You might never get it back. If you do, you'll find that there are scars that don't heal, wounds that fester and spread infection. Once you're deep in the Underworld where mafias reign, you can n...
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I wasn't sure if my senses were getting better or if Haechan was purposely making himself seen because I'd watched him follow us to the ramen house and step inside after we got seated.
Junhyung hadn't seemed to notice him. "What are you thinking of getting?"
"Uh... probably the tonkotsu. You?"
"Shoyu is my favorite," he said, licking his lips. "Have you ever tried takoyaki?"
I shook my head. "Never. If I don't know what's in it, I'm not trying it."
"Hold up," Junhyung said, whipping his phone out. "Let me Google something." There was a pause as he typed and then read, his eyes going left-right [left-right, I want your body movin' left-right, left-right (XG—Left Right)]. Then, he looked back up. "'Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion.' Now will you try it?"
I pursed my lips. "It doesn't sound bad."
"Come on, boss. Give it a chance." Junhyung's eyes shone with genuine eagerness. "You always play it so safe. You don't even drink more than a shot of soju at company dinners!"
"I know how to have fun even without alcohol," I protested. "If I remember correctly, if you drink more than a bottle of soju, you try to take your shirt off and ask out anything in the building that doesn't move fast enough. I end up having to peel you off the noraebang [karoke] floor at the end of the night."
Junhyung had the grace to look embarrassed. "Can I say that the feeling I get is worth it?"
"Maybe for you," I said. "But as your boss and the host of all the company dinners, I think the embarrassment I would get is too high a price."
A waiter came up to our table. "Good evening, sir, ma'am. My name is Yeonjun. Can I start you off with anything to drink?"
"Water," I said.
Junhyung nodded. "Same for me."
"For sure," Yeonjun replied, brightly. "I'll be right back to take your orders."
"So a tonkotsu for you," Junhyung said, after Yeonjun had walked off, "a shoyu for me, and takoyaki to share?"
"Sounds great," I said.
A movement in the corner of my eye drew my attention. Haechan had stood up, and without even a glance towards me, walked to the door of the kitchen and disappeared inside it. No one in the kitchen or at the sushi counter batted an eye.
"You still single?" Junhyung asked me, snapping me back to focus.
I blushed. "What kind of conversation starter is that?"
