Chapter 14: First Dinner Together
Chapter 14: First Dinner Together
"Lyka? My dear Lyka? Are you crying or have you been crying?" Miss Linda asked as soon as I entered the maid's quarters. I quickly touched my cheeks and realized that the dried tears were still visible. "Miss? W-what... No, it's just that my eyes are swollen from reading some textbooks earlier..." I lied, trying to hide the truth. "Miss Linda! Lyka! Let's cook a lot today because Sir Kiro will be having dinner with us at the table!" Joday exclaimed with a smile on her face, and Doday seemed equally happy. Why are these two smiling like that? "Finally! We'll get to see Sir's handsome face up close!" Joday exclaimed, and both she and Doday clapped their hands in excitement. Just as I suspected, they're girls who enjoy looking at good-looking guys. But I couldn't help but sigh, remembering Kiro's tears from earlier. "Yes, Joday, I can't wait to eat him—I mean, eat together with him! I'm going to sit right in front of him. He's going to be my sweetheart," Doday said, lost in her daydream. I laughed at her playful imagination. Where did her usual ‘oh my gosh’ and ‘oh my gosh’ go? "Oh, come on! You two are infatuated with your boss' son! Let's get going, we still have a lot of cooking to do," scolded Miss Linda, trying to keep things in order. "Finally, Kiro will eat with us now. I feel fortunate for that kid. He's truly recovering quickly," I overheard Miss Linda saying, expressing her gratitude. – "Miss Linda, could you taste this and let me know if the flavor is good?" I asked, pointing to the cooked Caldereta before going back to slicing the other ingredients. "Oh, you're such a gem, Lyka! You really enjoy cooking! The food tastes amazing, and the fact that it's made by such a beautiful person makes it a perfect match!" she exclaimed and tickled me playfully. I laughed along with her. "Miss! Um, could you also taste my seasoned dish?" Joday asked Miss Linda, too, so I glanced at her. She stared at me with a piercing look. What's her deal? I just kept on cutting the ingredients. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
"Joday, it needs a bit more salt... Add some more, alright?" MissLinda advised her after tasting. I continued with my work. "Oh! Is it bland? Okay, I'll add some more salt," I overheard Joday saying. Between Joday and Doday, it seems like Joday sees me as some sort of competition. The three of us are around the same age, but Doday has a more mature face. Joday, on the other hand, is also a beautiful lady, but there's something about her. Throughout my time working here, she's always given me a hard time, as if I did something wrong. Sometimes she treats me indifferently. "Mmm, I love the aroma of what you're cooking!" Madam opened the door and caught sight of all of us bustling in the spacious kitchen. "I apologize if you all had to prepare dinner so early today. I wanted you to cook every dish for my son's recovery celebration..." Madam informed us. Miss Linda quickly responded, "Madam! It's perfectly fine! We're thrilled to celebrate your son Kiro's recovery!" It was only after the words left their mouths that the two women realized what they had said. Joday and Doday looked puzzled as they listened. "A recovery celebration? For Sir Kiro?" "W-We thought Kiro was just shy, and now he's finally coming out of his shell, so we thought it's worth celebrating." The two of them inquired, trying to make sense of the situation. I let out a sigh as I observed Miss Linda and Madam caught off guard. Miss Linda then smiled bashfully and replied, "Oh! You see, Madam and I often use figurative language... Yes, he's a reserved guy who's finally opening up, so we wanted to celebrate his progress because it's still part of his recovery, right?" My eyes widened at her clever excuse. Wow, that was smooth. If I didn't know about Kiro's actual condition, I would have easily believed her fabricated explanation. "Yes, Linda is right! We should celebrate!" Madam agreed. I noticed Joday clapping enthusiastically, so I went along with it and pretended to believe Miss Linda's explanation. My heart raced as I observed Doday's sharp gaze on me. What's going on with her? I thought it was only Joday who had some issue with me...
When she realized that I had caught her stare, she put on a fake smile. It was clear to me that we couldn't be friends, and that thought saddened me. "Madam... Does your son have a girlfriend?" Joday asked, appearing embarrassed and fidgety... excited? She seemed like a girl nervously asking her crush's parents a question. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh, Joday! Don't answer her question, Madam. Are you trying to steal my future sweetheart, Joday?" Doday playfully teased Joday. Miss Linda and Madam laughed at her remarks, and I simply went along with it. Joday gave Doday an annoyed look because Madam didn't answer her question and instead engaged more in conversation with Doday and Miss Linda. I shook my head and listened to their questions about Kiro. By the time dinner was ready, we had finished cooking and immediately set the table. After that, the four of us hurriedly got dressed, as we had worked up a sweat in the kitchen. Madam called us to sit down, and I found myself sitting next to Miss Linda, with Joday and Doday on the other side. Madam occupied the main chair. We eagerly waited for Kiro to come downstairs and join us for the meal. Miss Linda and Madam engaged in a lively conversation that filled the table. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kiro coming down the stairs. His hands were in the pockets of his black shorts, and he looked like a model confidently strutting in that simple pose. I immediately noticed Joday fixing her hair with her hands. "Kiro, my son! Come and sit here to eat!" Madam pointed to the chair in front of me, indicating that she wanted her son to sit there. The young man smiled at his mother and planted a kiss on her cheek. Then he turned his attention to Miss Linda and smiled at the three of us. He glanced at me for a moment before shifting his gaze to his mother. What was that lingering stare all about? We started eating the meal. I glanced at Kiro who was sitting in front of me. He couldn't meet my gaze properly, and I understood that he felt embarrassed because of his earlier tearful plea. I confirmed it when he briefly turned towards me but quickly shifted his focus to others upon realizing I was also looking at him.
To show him that there were no hard feelings and that I was okay with what happened earlier, I took the container with my cooked Caldereta and offered it to him. "Maybe you'd like to try it, S-sir? I cooked it earlier..." I stammered, and he smiled and nodded in response, so I scooped some Caldereta onto his plate. "Oh! This Caldereta cooked by Lyka is really delicious, young master! She's such a good girl, kind and talented in the kitchen... Perfect!" Miss Linda praised, but her words were swiftly interrupted by Madam's conversation. "I noticed that you're skilled in cooking, Lyka... That's why I asked you before if you had worked at a restaurant, but it seems you haven't," I remembered Madam asking me about my experience in the restaurant industry, and I had replied with a ‘no’. Madam smiled at me, so I returned the gesture with a smile of my own. "Um, you can also try mine, S-sir... I cooked it earlier, so maybe you'll like it, too..." Joday offered, and Kiro nodded in response. Joday then served a portion of her dish onto Kiro's plate. "Just a little bit, I don't usually eat this type of dish," Kiro commented, and Joday lowered her head slightly since she had put a generous amount on his plate. We continued eating, and I noticed that Sir Kiro— I mean, Kiro was no longer avoiding eye contact with me. Whenever I looked at him, he didn't avert his gaze. That was a positive sign. We finished our meals quickly, and I hurriedly went to the maid's quarters to call my mother. Joday and Doday were assigned to the kitchen today, so I had the opportunity to make the call since I also had some load of tasks to handle.