From Past To Present, I Still Love You

So when the drinks and appetizers came, the trio was pleased.

Lucas could automatically tell that this restaurant was top-tier by the ingredients and the taste. He was impressed.

After taking a sip from his drink, Minhyun began to explain himself. His eyes carefully glazed over the three. "When I first came into the restaurant, I already knew Yoona was working there."

Lucas narrowed his eyes.

"While I was working, by coincidence, I found a video of Yoona at her university. It was the first anniversary video. I recognized her and immediately told my secretary to confirm my thoughts. Sure enough, the girl in the video was Yoona. When I realized the serious situation she was in, I wanted to help. This is why I asked my secretary to dig a little bit of information about her. Yoona, I apologize if you feel uncomfortable with that."

Minhyun was telling a white lie. His story was different to the reality of how he knew about the video. Nonetheless, he didn"t want to freak Yoona out, especially with her friends nearby. He was determined to tell her the truth once there was more trust between them.

Throughout his childhood, he was really worried for her. He couldn"t help it. Alas, he tried his best not to dig in too deep by avoiding all details about her life. He just wanted to make sure she was fine.

His heart beat nervously.

Yoona nodded slowly. She was embarra.s.sed that he saw her getting bullied but was glad that he had good intentions. "It"s okay. I understand your story."

A smile lifted on her face. "I"m glad that you cared enough to come to help."

He stopped himself from letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yoona," Minhyun said after taking another sip. "You saved me from a dark childhood. You don"t need to thank me."

Lucas finished the food in his mouth before speaking. He not convinced by Minhyun"s words. "So how does that explain you coming in while Jaeun was terrorizing the restaurant."

Minhyun calmly used his chopsticks to grab a side dish [1] before placing it on his plate.

"Well," Minhyun began. "I am quite familiar with the Moon group and their dirty tactics to cover any imperfections within the family. Without power, I knew the hara.s.sment would continue. I wanted to offer my help. In concerns with today, my secretary informed me that the Moon group had bought the restaurant. Clearly, this was a tactic to hurt Yoona. Luckily, I was able to make it in time to help Yoona out."

There were no flows or inconsistencies with Minhyun"s statement. Although Lucas tried to find a fault, he couldn"t retort with anything else.

"Wow," Eunha said. Her eyes glistened with admiration. "That sounds so romantic. You were watching over her, making sure she was safe like a guardian angel."

Minhyun stayed stoic, his exterior hiding his true feelings. He was quite embarra.s.sed by her statement. "Not really."

Eunha turned to face her friend. "Yoona you"re such a lucky girl. What kind of regular person turns out to be childhood friends with such a sweet and rich guy? Not only that, but the MH CEO!!?"

Yoona wasn"t sure either. Her life suddenly went from being betrayed by her closest companions to being loved by such amazing people. It was frightening how life changed in a matter of days.

"You tell me..." Yoona said sheeply. She was still shocked by the events. The reality that Minhyuk was the MH CEO still hadn"t hit her.

Eunha faced up towards the ceiling before closing her eyes. "Oh G.o.d or G.o.ds or whomever may be up there. Please grant me a humble wish and let a hot CEO enter my life as well. Thank you very much."

Yoona rolled her eyes. "You"re crazy."

Eunha stuck out her tongue. "You know it!"

—-

While the four happily ate and chatted, the end of their dinner was near. Although Lucas was reluctant, after a quick google search, he couldn"t find faults in Minhyun.

In the end, Minhyun had their approval of staying Yoona"s friend.

"That was so good," Eunha groaned while holding her stomach. "My stomach is shaped like a bowling ball."

Lucas smirked. "I agree."

Eunha raised her fist and aimed to hit him in the shoulder. Lucas laughed as he dodged her punch. Even though her punch would not hurt because she was fooling around, he found fun on avoiding them. Her reactions were priceless.

"I"m joking," Lucas said in between chuckles. "Calm down you tyrant."

Eunha scoffed while crossing her arms. "You never say that to a lady."

"You said it first."

"Still."

Although the day started out rocky, due to the great food, everyone was in a good mood. Even Lucas couldn"t help but smile.

While the two were fooling around, Minhyun was handling the payments.

"The bill sir," the waitress said. He handed an wooden clipboard with the bill on top.

Yoona peered to see the numbers. Once the realization hit, she fought the urge to feint. Even at Bianchi she had never seen a bill so high. Currently, mushing around in the acid of her stomach was five hundred dollars worth of food and drinks. Not including tips.

Seeing the horror dawn on Yoona"s face Eunha let out a sigh. "This meal must"ve cost an arm and a leg. Man, now that I"m jobless, will I ever be able to eat food this expensive again?"

Lucas chuckled. "Nah you can"t even afford ramen now."

"True," she said while shaking her head. "I should start finding some jobs now."

Minhyun"s ears perked up at their conversation. After seeing their daring acts of friendship, he was quite pleased with their actions. He had been meaning to express his grat.i.tude to them for keeping Yoona safe and happy, staying with her during the hardest times.

"Actually," Minhyun said. His cold eyes pierced the two. "I"ve been meaning to offer all of you a job opportunity."

An MH CEO? Giving them a job? This was something unexpected. They all leaned in, wondering what this new job could possibly be.

"Lucas," he began. "I remember eating your food while dining at Bianchi. I quite liked your cooking. If you believe you are talented enough, I wanted to offer you a contract of running a restaurant under a branch of MH. Don"t worry about us taking over. This project will be similar to us being investors. We will offer you money and will only ask for a short percentage back."

Secretary Kim had done a background check on Lucas Lee. Turns out he graduated from a pretty famous culinary school in Britain and had a list full of experiences from different restaurants. He was more than capable of having his own kitchen.

Lucas widened his eyes. "You"re playing with me."

His gaze shuffled back and forth. Yoona had never seen him so taken aback. "Don"t f.u.c.k around. Are you being for real?"

No other person would survive after talking to Chae Minhyun in this manner, however, the CEO did not react negatively. He was actually quite fond of Lucas"s swearing for he was treating him like anyone else. It was fresh.

"I am serious," he said after sipping some water. "I"ll send you a contract by tomorrow."

Lucas couldn"t help but admire the man in front of him. "If the contract is fair then h.e.l.l yes. I"ve been saving up for my own kitchen."

Minhyun nodded. "Good to hear."

Then he turned towards Eunha. "Yoona told me you designed her outfit and you had a talent for styling. She also said you knew photoshop and digital art. If you are up for it, I believe you would be excellent for the design aspects of this business venture."

In Eunha"s profile, Minhyun found out that the young lady was proficient in all aspects of design. She had a keen eye for not just clothes, but for interior and graphic design. If he were to get a worker as an aid for guidance, he was sure she would do fine for this job.

He wasn"t the type to make risky decisions when it came to the company money.

"Design?" Eunha said. There was a moment of silence before she let out a happy sigh. "I would love that! Finally, I don"t need to work as a waitress."

Although her major and pa.s.sion was fashion, a design job was good enough for her. She wasn"t picky with what she enjoyed. She was quite excited for the job. Plus, this would look great on her resume.

The CEO finally turned towards Yoona. "For you, since you are a business major, why not become the project manager of the whole thing. I will a.s.sign others to help you guys in areas you are unfamiliar with. I"m also going to look over your project as well."

Yoona was shocked. Was she ready for an opportunity like this? Sure she was already in her third year but being a manager was a huge responsibility. Plus, she wouldn"t be able to work the full nine to five. Nonetheless, after seeing the determined look in her friend"s faces and the rea.s.suring glance from Minhyun, she knew it was only right to say yes.

"Okay," she answered. "I will try."

Minhyun knew Yoona wouldn"t be confident but he believed in her. She always tried her best and wouldn"t fail her friends. Besides, he was also going to make sure the project would run smoothly. There was no way the restaurant could fail according to his mental calculations.

In the snap of Minhyun"s fingers, the jobless friends suddenly had very stables jobs. It was a miraculous transformation. Chae Minhyun was truly a G.o.d.

"We will have an official meeting later where you all can review and ask questions about the contracts," he explained. "I will make sure to do my best to accommodate to your needs."

Everyone was already excited for the new challenge to come. Quitting Bianchi was possibly one of the best decisions they had ever made.

After finishing the payments, the four exited the restaurant. Minhyun and Yoona were talking in the front while Lucas and Eunha were behind.

While walking through the entrance, Lucas let out a sigh, itching to light his cigarette. He was very happy about the possibilities of his future but there was something stinging his heart.

"f.u.c.k. Maybe I should give up," he said while grabbing a handful of hair.

Eunha looked over at the blonde haired boy and c.o.c.ked her head. She was surprised by the sudden announcement. "What do you mean?"

Lucas looked up to the sky, his fingers grazing against his cigarette box. "Even as a straight guy, Minhyun is admirable. n.o.body can compete with him. He even offered me a restaurant."

"What?" Eunha was utterly confused. What were they competing for?

Lucas smiled sadly before glancing over at his friend. "It"s nothing."

He moved forward, slightly faster than Eunha. "Let"s go."

Dumbfounded, Eunha stood on the pathway stumped by Lucas"s sudden proclamation. Nonetheless, after a few seconds, she regained her smile and chased after him.

—-

[1] side dish: Korean for basically the extra small foods at the table you usually eat with rice. For example, kimchi, marinated crab, dried seaweed, etc.