The casual chats, the slight clang of cutlery against the plates and bowls rang in the small barbecue restaurant an hour away from the Skyline Plaza. Steam rose from the bowls on the tables, along with so of the smoke from the grill where custors cooked their own at.
Kiara, the reluctant cook, snipped the at she was grilling. She glanced at the man across from her, making her hiss bitterly.
Hugo was eating all the at without leaving her any to eat.
"I’m hungry too, you know?" she complained when she couldn’t take it anymore.
Hugo paused, his mouth open with a piece of at hovering just inches from her. He blinked, seeing her slightly flustered cheek due to anger.
"Then, why don’t you eat?"
"..." Kiara opened her mouth, only to close it again.
At this rate, she didn’t know which one to get angry at more: his stupid response or the fact that it took her this long to tell him that.
"This at is for ," she pointed at the grill, her voice stern. "It’s mine, alright? Wait for yours."
Hugo shrugged and took a bite, watching her huff and focus on grilling the at. He gulped after several seconds, watching her set the cooked at aside next to her.
"That’s—"
"Mine," she stressed, giving him a deathly glare. "This one is yours."
Using the tongs, she took a piece of at and placed it on the grill. As it sizzled, she placed the tongs down and looked at her small bowl of at. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she felt like crying the second she laid her eyes on it.
"Goodness," she whispered, taking a piece and not hesitating to eat it. Her shoulders relaxed as she chewed, savoring the juices of a perfectly cooked piece of at.
But as she chewed, she noticed him just staring. Her brows rose, and she placed a hand over her bowl protectively.
"You already have a lot," she said. "And I’m hungry too. Don’t even think about taking a piece!"
"Aww—" Hugo cupped his face, his expression grim. The way she ate made it seem like she was eating sothing divine. "Hey, did you cook your at differently?"
"Hmm?"
"You look like you just had a taste of an A-grade steak." His eyes glinted, eyeing her bowl. "Let taste it."
"No!" Kiara almost hugged her bowl. "Yours is almost done! Better yet, while waiting, flip it over. Let enjoy my portion, okay?"
"..." Hugo sighed and reluctantly reached for the tongs, flipping the at carefully. As he did so, he tilted his head at the sa ti, as if it was part of the process.
Kiara scrunched up her nose a little, watching him watch the at as if his life depended on it. However, she didn’t want to dwell on it and enjoyed her food just as much. But with Hugo staring at his food, even when she could sll sothing burning, she couldn’t really focus.
"God," she breathed out, shoving the last piece of at into her mouth. "Give that to . You’re hopeless."
Without waiting for him to surrender the tongs, she snatched it from him and quickly turned the at. Her face soured upon seeing the blackened side of the at.
"You’re watching it so it doesn’t get burned," she remarked, showing him the blackened side. "You just don’t stare at it. This at is not going to flip itself—for crying out loud."
Kiara placed the at on an empty plate as she added, "Now it’s going to be wasted—"
At the sa ti, he stabbed the at with a fork.
"And why would it go to waste?" he asked, taking the whole piece of at with his fork and taking a bite, regardless of the burnt part. "It’s only going to waste if I don’t eat it."
"It’s burnt, Hugo."
"Mhm." He rocked his head, taking another bite as if it didn’t have a trace of bitterness. "So, what? It’s still food."
"..." Kiara opened and closed her mouth, but she was rendered speechless. All she could do was stare at him blankly, watching him finish the at like it was perfectly cooked. "Is it not bitter?"
"It is." He humd, taking the last bite before drinking a glass of water. "Doesn’t matter. It’s still food."
"You’re not putting more?" he asked when she just stared at him.
"Right." She cleared her throat and moved the raw at to the grill, watching it cook. This ti, he didn’t rush to eat and waited with her.
Glancing up at him, she caught the boredom in his eyes. A minute had barely passed, but he was already yawning as if he had been waiting for an entire day.
A shallow breath slipped past her, shaking her head.
"This will be finished soon," she muttered, flipping the pork and then reaching for the scissors to cut it. "Drink the soup first, if I were you."
Hugo glanced up at her, his hand still cupping his cheek. He blinked, studying her face and how she was handling the food. Not that it surprised him. After all, this woman had lived alone for half of her life, and cooking her own als would naturally co out as part of survival.
"Say... why are you friends with that woman?" he asked out of pure curiosity.
"Huh?" She looked back at him, her brows knitted deeply. "Who? Cassandra?"
"Mhm."
"Why not?" she laughed dryly. "We’re friends because we’re friends. Does friendship need a deeper backstory aside from the fact that, despite our differences, we always agree to disagree? And never judge each other?"
’But your friend deserved to be judged,’ was what he wanted to say, considering he had an entirely different impression of Cassandra Smith.
If Hugo hadn’t seen Cassandra and Kiara’s interaction, he would’ve assud Cassandra was just manipulating Kiara. However, that wasn’t the case. If anything, if one judged Cassandra when with Kiara, they wouldn’t think she was capable of doing anything close to being bad.
"You know..." he humd while she resud cooking. "Skyline Plaza is an hour away from your warehouse, right? If you go to work, it’ll be two hours to and fro."
Kiara chuckled, keeping her attention on the at. "I know, but knowing she’s safe and in a proper place is more reassuring than my convenience to my workplace."
"That is a win for ," she added, flashing him a short yet genuine smile. She then placed pieces of beef on his plate, telling him, "Now, you go eat. And please, slow down so I can eat as well. Stop being selfish. You’re hungry, I’m hungry too. Don’t be the reason for one empty stomach."
With that, she placed more at on the grill before eating her portion happily. anwhile, Hugo kept staring at her instead of eating imdiately as if he were thinking about sothing.
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