One Shot
More Water, Sir?
Complete
Inspired by a restaurant simulation video game
The diner looked innocent from the outside.
The sign was yellow, chipped but cute. A blinking neon “OPEN” that blinked every couple of seconds to show its effort. The type of establishment that sold cheap coffee, fried food and a false sense of security.
Y/n opened the door and searched around, trying to find suitable seats for him and his friends, who were on their way to this restaurant, but only Y/n was present for now.
The restaurant was half empty. A couple on a date in the corner. A table of students having too much fun. A man alone on his phone at the counter. He could hear some distant clanging in the kitchen and someone shouting, something that sounded like "DASH!", for some reason.
Then he heard footsteps.
For some reason, the footsteps sounded… menacing.
“Welcome to Lily's Diner. Solo or group?”
It was Haewon. The waitress in this restaurant. She had a messy ponytail and was dressed in the diner’s uniform. That’s what Y/n assumed since he saw her nametag placed on her right chest.
“Hi. Group. Can you arrange tables for 6 or 7 people here, please?” He asked, but Haewon interrupted him with a high-pitched voice.
“6-7????!!!”
“Huh?”
“6-7!!6-7!!6-7!!6-7!!6-7!!” She was jumping around excitedly while saying that phrase like a mantra.
Y/n was stunned and confused. He didn’t know if there was any hidden meaning behind that phrase, or maybe she liked those numbers.
“What??”
“Oh, nothing. Please follow me, sir. Your seats are in the back.” She went back to professional mode and brought him to his supposed seats. Y/n couldn’t stop staring at her as she looked mesmerising in his eyes. She had a bright look, too bright for this time of night.
Suddenly, Haewon snapped her fingers in front of his face.
“Sir, we’re here.”
Y/n flinched a little and was back to reality, looking at his dining seats. He took his seat and grabbed the menu, browsing the variety of foods or beverages to order for tonight.
“So, what are we eating today?” Haewon asked while writing on her notes, waiting for Y/n to speak.
He blinked. “What?”
“Menu.” She pointed. “You. Food. Talk. Order. Come on.”
“Ermm… any best sellers?” He asked for suggestions because he was new to this place and didn’t want to spend a lot of money on something wasteful.
Haewon thought about his question for a few minutes before grinning.
He stared at her for a beat too long. “What are you thinking?”
“The best seller is………….ME!”
“You can eat me out and I guarantee you will ask for more.” She said with a plain face, acting like her sentence was a valid answer to his question.
He was stunned by her bold answer and needed to ask that again for confirmation if he was hearing right.
“What did you say?”
“I’m kidding. Unless you actually want it, then we can have a further discussion in the backyard alone. You & Me. How about that? hmm?” Haewon said it so casually that Y/n forgot what to order.
“I…..what?”
“You’re such a boomer. Here, we have burgers, sandwiches, pancakes. You name it.”
He sighed and squinted at the menu. The letters were still mostly stable. Good enough.
“I will have…” He dropped his voice automatically. “Wait…“
“Let me ask my friends first.” He grabbed his phone and opened his group chat.
Haewon rolled her eyes and sighed, waiting for Y/n to confirm his orders.
“UGH! You’re so skibidi. Stop fanum taxing me. You’re not sigma. Well, luckily you have a nice face. 5000+ credits for your aura.”
Y/n ignored her words and went back to his phone, waiting for his friends’ answers. Unfortunately, all of them couldn’t attend the dinner, leaving him all alone in this restaurant. He looked at Haewon with a small grin.
“Hehe… Only me.”
Haewon widened her eyes. “Really? What the sigma!”
“Huh?” Y/n was confused and went back to his orders.
“I will have a cheeseburger. Fries. And an iced tea.”
Haewon tilted her head. “Huh?”
He cleared his throat. “Cheeseburger. Fries. And an iced tea.”
She leaned in closer, cupping her ear dramatically. “One more time. I am not deaf.”
His eye twitched. “Cheeseburger. Fries. Iced tea.”
She straightened up. “Okay, I heard ‘something burger’, ‘potato something’, and then you just exhaled. Again.”
He clenched his jaw. “Cheeseburger. Fries. Iced tea.”
She raised a brow. “Louder!”
His fingers curled on the table. “Cheeseburger. Fries. Ice tea,” he repeated, this time just slightly louder but still clearly annoyed.
Haewon’s eyes lit up. “Cute. There we go.”
He stared. “What does that even mean?”
“It means you are hotter when you are annoyed,” she replied instantly. “Anyway. Cheeseburger. Fries. Iced tea. Got it. Do you want water, sir?”
“I am fine,” he said.
She ignored that. “Okay, I will bring water.”
She spun around and left, scribbling on her notepad. Y/n exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of the day settling into his shoulders.
He let his head fall back against the seat and closed his eyes for a moment. The sounds of the diner blurred together into a soft white noise. Cutlery. Low chatter. The sizzle from the kitchen. Some distant cackle that sounded like it came from another universe.
He had almost relaxed when a glass clinked on his table.
“Here is your water, sir,” Haewon said cheerfully.
He opened his eyes.
A tall glass of water sat in front of him, clear and filled almost to the brim. Condensation rolled down the sides.
“Thanks,” he muttered.
He picked it up, took one small sip, and put it back. He was not really thirsty. It just felt wrong to ignore the glass completely.
Haewon watched him. Eyes sharpening. Like a cat that had just seen a laser pointer.
She smiled.
“More water, sir?”
Y/n blinked. “What?”
She tapped the glass with her pen. “More water, sir? I can refill.”
The glass was still almost full.
“It is fine,” he said. “I just drank. It is still full.”
“Okay,” she sang, already backing away. “I will come back and check.”
He frowned. “You do not have to.”
Too late. She was gone.
He stared at the glass, then at the menu, then at nothing in particular. His brain drifted.
Forty seconds later, she materialised beside the table again.
“More water, sir?” she asked.
He looked down.
Glass. Still full. Condensation had barely moved.
He slowly lifted his gaze back to her. “No thanks. I’m good.”
She peered at it closely. “Mmm. Still need to be filled.”
“It’s okay. I’m good.”
“Okay. I will come back,” she said brightly.
He exhaled through his nose.
Another thirty seconds passed.
“More water, Sir?”
He flinched. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Haewon was there again, hands on her hips, leaning over the table. She had somehow acquired a pitcher this time.
“More water, Sir?”
“The glass is full,” he said carefully. “There is no space.”
“I can create space,” she replied. “I am a problem solver.”
“It is literally full.” He denied her.
“More water, Sir?”
“no”
“More water, Sir?”
“No”
“More water, Sir?”
“NO”
“More water, Sir?”
“NO!”
“More water, Sir?”
He did not even look up. “If you say ‘more water’ one more time, I am going to throw this fucking glass at you.”
There was a pause. She should feel threatened, but she was smiling instead.
“HEHEHEHEHE! I’ll be right back, Sir.” Haewon sprinted to the kitchen after succeeding in bothering Y/n.
He exhaled in disbelief as she left.
He glanced around. Nobody else appeared to be ill. The couple at the back were eating ice cream and drinking milkshakes. The students were eating like there was no tomorrow.
He glared at the glass. Out of spite, he refused to drink more from it.
He wished they would just hurry with his food.
There was another yell from the kitchen. “DASH!!”
He closed his eyes. He did not want to know.
Then he heard footsteps again. Lighter this time. Like they were marching in time to music.
He opened one eye.
Haewon was approaching with a tray. It held a plate, french fries, and a mug. The sweet sight of salvation.
Finally.
She was beaming with pride as she came to him, looking into his eyes. She had a slight spring in her step. For a few glorious moments, life was good.
And then, abruptly, midway to his table, she came to a halt.
Her face remained unchanged.
She turned around. Suddenly, she sped back to the kitchen, almost slipping on the floor.
The tray swayed precariously but didn't slip.
She opened the swinging door with her foot and rushed in.
One moment later, her voice boomed out of the kitchen, making the tumblers clink.
“YOUR FOOD WILL BE READY IN 30 MINUTES!”
The whole diner went silent for half a beat.
Y/n looked to where she had stood. His mind hadn't registered what had occurred. His burger. His fries. His iced tea. Disappeared once again into the kitchen.
His eye twitched.
“Man, what the fuck??!!”
The service person at the counter snorted. The students laughed. Someone clapped. The cashier just shrugged as if she'd witnessed this before.
The door to the kitchen opened again.
Haewon came back out. This time, she was walking with the same tray. She strode straight to his table.
She set the burger down. Fries next. Coffee last.
“Here you go,” she said happily. “Order up.”
Y/n looked at the food. Then at her. Then in the kitchen. Then back at her.
“You just said half an hour,” he said. You practically screamed it at me.”
Haewon looked at him, eyes wide, innocent. “Did I?”
“You screamed it,” he said. “With sound effects.”
“Oh.” She shrugged. “Yes. I sometimes like to lift the spirits in the kitchen. You know. Bond with my team. ”
“How does that relate to my burger?”
“It's anticipation,” she answered. “You enjoy food more if you're suffering."
He opened his mouth. He couldn't speak for a minute.
He went with the only words his food baby brain could think of. “What the fuck??”
Her eyes sparkled. “Good?”
He looked down at the food. The burger didn't look too bad. Fries hot and salted. Iced tea was perfect.
He toyed with the idea of walking out. But his grumbling stomach had other ideas.
He grabbed a fry and ate it.
Fine. The food was good. He hated that.
Haewon kept observing him. “Good?”
He swallowed, along with his dignity. “It is okay.”
She leaned in. “Just okay?”
“Better than you,” he muttered.
She gasped. “ How would you know if you haven’t eaten mine yet?”
He choked on his food.
“What the fuck??”
“HAHAHA!! Look at your face. I got you.”
Y/n was annoyed, really, really annoyed with her attitude, but somehow, it was enjoyable and comforting. He didn’t have any reason to be mad at her.
She reached into her apron pocket, scribbled something on her little notepad, and then slapped a small sticky note next to his plate.
He glanced at it.
In messy handwriting:
wanna be friends? this is my num. +01********
He picked it up slowly. “What the hell is this?”
“Read, idiot. Even dogs could fucking read. Well, bon appétito, bitch. Don’t forget to rate me 10/10”
Y/n didn’t even have the chance to speak before Haewon left him alone and got busied with her job.
Y/n gazed at her, and she suddenly made a sign, telling him to call her later, before blowing a kiss to him.
He should feel annoyed.
Right?
Well, you’re wrong.
He’s totally into her now.
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