The Maid's Diner

     Cass led Jeremy and Hae Jae-Woo to the parking lot while complaining about his sister Chin-Sun. "I really wish she would stop calling me to babysit Hae-Won. I mean the kid is cute, but it's getting irritating." He paused by an extremely expensive looking red vehicle and Yang Dae-Su's voice called out.

    "Hey, who is driving Jae-Woo to the restaurant?"

     Cass paused, "Ah, that's right, you totaled yours, Jae-Woo." He shook his head.

    "I'll drive him," Jeremy offered. Hae Mina was not sure why, but the fact that Jeremy owned a car was a bit of a surprise. Most of the rich families she knew of had chauffeurs. Cass liked to be flashy so for him to own one made sense, but Jeremy seemed to be gentle and causal.

     "Fine by me," Cass shrugged. "You want a ride?" he asked Yang Dae-Su.

     "No, thanks. I'll drive mine. Your driving is far to reckless for my taste," with this he gave a wave and headed to an expensive looking white car. Cass shook his head then climbed into his car. Jeremy motioned for Hae Jae-Woo to follow him. They left the parking lot, crossed the street and entered a parking garage.

     "Sorry, I park in the garage instead of on the street. Unlike Cass and some of the others my car isn't easily replaced."

     "So why in a public parking garage?" Hae Jae-Woo asked.

     "Oh, the top three floors are private. You cannot access them without a keycard." he pulled a card from his pocket. You'll see." He led her to an elevator and they went to up to the fifth floor. Upon arriving, they were met by a small room with another door. Here Jeremy slid his keycard into the available slot. After a moment, the giant doors opened and the duo were given access to the room beyond. Twelve cars sat parked in the lot and made her heart ached. How did people afford these luxurious cars? "Which one do you want to ride in?" Jeremy asked pointing to three cars that sat next to each other.

     "Which one? Are all three of these yours?"

     "Well," his face flushed, "they all are. My father's the owner of the French car company Lebel Automotive. I don't like driving those," he pointed to the other cars which looked ten times as expensive as the three he stood by. "They are closer to Cass's style. Not mine. I prefer my cars to look...normal."

     Compared to the sports cars, these ones were normal. One was a white four door SUV. The second one was a small dark blue coop, and the third was a dark blue sedan. The sedan looked the least expensive so she pointed to it. "That one is fine."

     He grinned, "That's my favorite one." With that the two entered the car. As Jeremy drove them to the diner, Hae Mina could not help but wonder at how the rich lived. Several luxurious cars, private parking garages, names that could strike fear into the hearts of the lower class. How did people live like that? She could hardly imagine paying for a car that cost more than three years worth of living expenses. At last, they made it to the diner. Jeremy led her inside and they quickly joined the group that had arrived minutes before.

     Hae Mina slid onto the booth. Jeremy slid beside her. Kyung Jiho sat across from Jeremy and Cass sat across from her. Yang Dae-Su sat at the head of the table, and Duskin sat at the base of the table. Hae Mina looked around at the large diner and began to wonder about its name. "Why's it called The Maid's Diner?"

     Jeremy began the explanation, "It's named for two reasons. The first one is because before it was created, the owner was richer than Jiho's family is now. He had all the world could give him. He was even engaged. But his life didn't suit him, so he ran from his overpowering parents and moved here, this wasn't much of a place yet. Well, he found this abandoned building, and made a diner out of it. For a long time people just called it a diner, but the name changed when he met a girl named Park Eun.

     After a few weeks or months—no one really remembers how long they were together—he found out she was a maid at one of his family vacation houses. He was broken-hearted and believed she was only spying on him. So, he argued with her and they separated. Weeks later, the food of the diner had depleted in quality. He was the cook, but he couldn't cook anymore because he was too depressed. No one wanted to eat here anymore. Well, a week before he was to close the restaurant, Park Eun appeared, still in a maid's outfit, to apologize. She had quit her other job to come to him.

     He knew she was serious because she looked like she'd just come from a plane. Without hesitation he begged her forgiveness, actually got down on his knees and begged. She forgave him as much as he forgave her. They entered the soon-to-be-closed restaurant and she began to clean tables as he cleaned the back room. Little did he know a needy family stepped in just as he left. Park Eun tended to them as if she were their maid. She even entertained the children. When the owner saw this and how it affected the costumers, his mind bloomed with ideas. Weeks later the store was renamed and saved.

     The second reason it's called The Maid's Diner is because, in memory of his wife's former occupation, the owner has everyone who works for him dress up as a servant. All the waitresses dress like maids and the waiters dress like butlers."

     "That's interesting," Hae Jae-Woo muttered. Hae Mina found it quite romantic, but she doubted her brother would agree.  To her knowledge, Hae Jae-Woo wasn't one for romance.

     The waitress approached and she wore, just as Jeremy had said, a maid costume. The base of the dress was black and the apron was white and frilly. They ordered and she shuffled off. Hae Mina noticed Cass's eyes were glued to the girl's retreating figure. Another girl passed and his eyes examined her. One girl at a time, he examined. After a light haired girl passed he gave a low whistle. "Now, that one was hot."

     "You're so immature, Cass," Hae Jae-Woo muttered.

     "You have to admit Jae-Woo she was a beauty." Hae Mina fought the embarrassment. She was not about to check out another girl. Jeremy saved her.

     "I think she was okay, but I've seen more beautiful ones. So have you Cass."

     "Yeah, but I wouldn't mind that beauty by my side." Hae Mina stifled a groan at Cass's comment. This was going to be a long afternoon.

     "Anyway, Cass, why'd you want us all here?" Kyung Jiho questioned.

     "Oh, yeah, practice."

     "What about it?" Duskin questioned.

     "Well, other than you falling asleep every now and then, we need to teach Jae-Woo the practice schedule again."

     "I know," Duskin replied, "But lately we have not been following it ourselves, so I have constructed a new schedule." He slid a paper onto the center of the table. "I have circled our simultaneous free time. As you can see, through the week we only have a few shared hours of free time. Of course, we have our offical hours from one to two, but we have to practice more than just hat hour. I think, at least for the next two weeks, it is necessary to stop the games and practice during our free time in the afternoons; otherwise, Jae-Woo will not be able to learn the songs in time."

     "Why can't he just practice by himself?" Kyung Jiho complained.

     "He wouldn't know if he's playing correctly or not," Cass stated. Hae Mina felt offended. Although she never thought she had much artistic skill, she had always been good at learning written music quickly. Hae Jae-Woo often struggled to learn it but once he did, he never forgot it: she did if she did not practice. Hae Jae-Woo was also good at creating music out of thin air, something Hae Mina knew she would never be capable of doing.

     "Jiho, whether Jae-Woo needed the practice or not, we have all been slacking and if we are going to perform well at the concert, we need to prepare. So, here is the new practice schedule. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we will have practice from ten to eleven. Then again at one till two. Our final practice will be at four and will end at five-thirty or six, depending on how we feel. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we will start practicing at eight and finish at nine. After lunch we will start at one and finish at three. Sticking to such a strict schedule should be enough to prepare us for the concert. Jae-Woo, no matter what, you need to be at each practice. Since you have lost your memories, you have the most to learn."

     Hae Jae-Woo gave a nod. Hae Mina did not want to admit it, but a part of her worried about the practices. Yes, she learned music swiftly, but she could not help but wonder if her skills on the violin and guitar would be enough. Well, I guess I will only need to worry about the guitar since Jae Woo never plays the violin.

    "Jiho, you need to be there as often as possible since you and Jae-Woo's parts rely on each other."

     "Food is here," Jeremy called as the waitress grew closer.

     "Let's just eat and quit talking about this," Kyung Jiho suggested.

     "Okay, but the deal is, we start practicing tomorrow," Duskin added before the food was placed before them.