Chapter 3
1321 Words
I couldn't catch my breath at all. I couldn't look away from the man right in front of me. It seemed like time had frozen, and all I could see was his extremely good-looking feature. This wasn't normal…
He couldn't actually be a real person, could he?
“Hey, Ms.? Hello!”
I was startled by the sudden movement of someone waving their hand in front of my face, and I quickly shifted my gaze away from the man. My eyes widened in surprise as I saw a woman standing beside him - she was absolutely stunning, and her beauty took my breath away.
“You’re gawking at my husband. Aren’t you going to apologize for what you did?”
I glance back at the man and realize that I accidentally bumped into him, causing his black coat to get messed up. It appears that my sudden appearance took him by surprise. As I observe him closely, it's evident that he's making a concerted effort to calm down and regain his composure.
"I-I'm so, so sorry. It was a complete accident," I quivered uncontrollably, my words saturated with remorse and fear. As I looked at myself, I realized how insignificant I am compared to them. They seem like they could easily snap me out of this world with just a finger.
“Next time, better watch out because-”
"It's okay, dear. Just forget about her," the man grumbled coldly, which made me shiver.
“But-”
“Let’s go.”
The man wrapped his hands around her waist, then pulled her away from me. I couldn't help but observe as they walked hand in hand towards their shiny luxury vehicle. The look of love on each of their faces gave away their affections for one another.
I stood there on that street corner, a witness to my own heartache and longing for something more in life – something better than what I had.
The man opened the door for his wife and held it open until she entered. He then turned to close it himself, and I had assumed he would get into the car. But he paused for a moment, casting me one final suspicious look before finally getting in.
For some reason, I couldn't stop thinking about the man earlier as I continued my work. Even though I anticipated him to say something to me because of what I had done, he simply chose to walk away instead.
Night had fallen, and the restaurant was on the verge of closing when I engaged in a conversation with the head chef.
“Please, can I stay here for the night?”
"What are you talking about?" The head chef glared at me, but I pleaded with him.
"Please, I don't have a place to stay. My husband kicked me out of our house, and I don't have any money to rent an apartment. Once I save enough money, I will leave here. I promise, just please..."
"Alright! You can sleep on the floor or anywhere here in the kitchen. This restaurant is the finest establishment in the city, and I don’t want you lurking outside. Influential people might see you, and I can't allow any harm to this restaurant's reputation!"
The head chef pushed me aside because I was standing too close to him. All the cooks left the kitchen through the back door, leaving me here alone. I slowly sank to the floor, hugging myself. It was cold, dark, and lonely. My tears were on the edge of falling, but I quickly held them back.
You will survive this, Leah. You will…
The next day, I woke up when some of the staff members arrived early. I immediately grabbed a broom to clean up the place as best as I could.
"Okay, everyone! We have some food to prepare!" announced the head chef as he finally arrived.
I watched in awe as the kitchen became busy once again. Since the head chef hadn't given me any orders, I headed towards the door that separated the kitchen from the main restaurant where customers were eating. I peeked through the small glass window to see inside.
The head chef was right, a lot of good-looking and seemingly wealthy people were entering the restaurant. They all looked so affluent that I can't help but feel bad about myself being here.
I was about to leave when something caught my attention. My eyes widened as I saw that it was the same man I had seen yesterday! And he's with his wife again. Are they regular customers here?
“What are you doing?! Take out this trash!”
The head chef yelled, which startled me. I caught the garbage bag he threw at me, and then I continued with my job as the garbage girl for the rest of the day.
However, for some reason, whenever the head chef isn't looking, I peek again for the rest of the months everyday through the glass window, just to see the same man I bumped into. I don’t know why, but I find myself getting drawn to him. He's good-looking and all, but there's something about him that makes me feel like... he's different.
I shake my head; this feels so wrong because he’s already married.
I sighed and then looked back through the glass window. For some reason, this time, the man was alone. Huh? That's weird. He always brings his wife here every day to eat their lunch. Why is he alone now?
“Garbage girl!”
The head chef yelled, which made me flinch. I turned away from the glass window, intending to run towards the head chef, but I accidentally collided with a cook who was holding a large pot. Due to the collision, the soup was spoiled, and everything became a mess.
"Oh, my!"
"The soup!”
"Now, what are we going to serve to the customers?!"
My eyes widened in horror as I watched the scenario unfolding before me. The cooks were all panicking because the soup they always serve to the customers is now gone.
“I-i’m sorry-”
Before I could even finish my words, the head chef pulled me with force and dragged me outside of the restaurant through the backdoor.
“You’re fired! You’re a disgrace!”
My jaw dropped, and tears started streaming down my face. "W-wait! No! P-please, I still don't have a place to stay! I need the money! My earnings here weren't enough to rent a-"
"Then you had better start feeling more comfortable here on the streets!"
The head chef closed the back door. I tried knocking in case he would let me in, but to my dismay, he didn't open the door again. I couldn't stop myself from crying. I feel so hopeless!
I know I said that I could survive this, but right now, I don't know anymore. It's hard to find a job, and it's even harder to keep going. I don't think my life matters; this is just so unfair…
I wasn’t sure how many hours I had stayed there on the ground when I decided to stand up due to my grumbling stomach. Over the past month, I had been consistently eating the leftover food that the restaurant had intended to throw away.
But right now, I don’t know where I could get a food…
I nearly lost my balance as I walked out of the back door of the restaurant. I was slowly losing consciousness due to crying too much, and I hadn't eaten anything when I suddenly bumped into something.
I slowly looked up and saw a figure standing right in front of me.
"It's you…"
I couldn't understand what the person was saying anymore, as everything was slowly fading.
"Look, listen, I need—hey, are you okay?! What’s wrong?!"
However, it was already too late as everything had gone dark.
- Writer
