Seoul Kitchen: Chapter 25 (Patreon)

New Room Mate?

Watching a tiny girl demolish bowl after bowl of Ramen was quite the sight the sight to behold for Chef. “Where the hell is she putting all of that away?” He whispered in mild fascination as the blonde terror slurped up the last of the broth before letting out a loud burp. She certainly had an appetite, he had to give her that.

“Makes you wonder how she just didn’t strip you down to the bones eh, Rebecca?” Kiwi asked as she lowered her bowl, “I’m starting to believe that she wasn’t lying about you,” the older woman teased while Lucy chuckled.

Flipping her the bird and not even bothering too look up at her, Rebecca fired back, “Oh fuck off.”

He gave her a comforting pat before his attention was called upon by their new friend. “More please!” She asked as she gave him a wide and toothy grin. Looking past her almost monstrous looks and strange chrome gifted ability, she was honestly just a girl that’s lost in night city.

He simply shook his head as he grabbed the bowl and attended to the stock pot. Reaching in deep, he did his best to get more broth but it was starting to get low, a testament to the appetite of the whole gang. There were some hobos outside enjoying their meal but he didn’t count them as they only had one bowl, the gang had three or more.

As he chopped some green onions for the girls ramen, he turned to Maine and thanked him, “Hey Maine, I’m glad you dropped by on short notice. Wouldn’t have known what to do with out you guys,” If it was not for them giving him time to think, he wouldn’t have realized that the girl was someone in need of help, “Plus, I really didn’t know what to do with the Ramen cause I’m closing for the day. Thanks for helping me eat through the pot,.” He had enough excitement for the day, he just wanted to sleep this off.

“Hey, what are friends for?” Maine shrugged as he reached out and grabbed a juicy piece of Chasu he cooked for the ramen and chomped down with a cheeky grin stretched across his face, “The promise of food also helped.”

“Yeah yeah,” He chuckled as he topped the bowl of ramen with the garnish before serving it to the excitable little scamp he now find himself with.

“So,” Maine then said, glancing at the girl before looking back him, “Whatcha gonna do now?” As the bigger man let the unspoken question hang in the air; What was he going to do with her?

Sighing, he shocked his head as he told him, “I honestly don’t know. I don’t even know where to start?” Looking over the girl as she picked up the noodles with her hands before stuffing it into her face, he wondered where the girl even came from. She was a wild girl in every sense of the word.

Setting down her bowl, Dorio then pipped up, “Do you mind my two cents on your problem?”

Shrugging, he replied, “Sure, why not?”

“Adopt her,” The woman then said, making Rebecca choke on her food. As everyone in the room stared at her, she clarified, “I didn’t mean adopt adopt, more like take her in as a ward? She’s what? 14 or 15 years old?”

“My favorite handler said I’m 18 a few weeks ago!” The girl pipped up happily before her shoulders sagged and she got all mopey, “I miss her…”

Nodding, Dorio then continued, “My points still stand,” Looking at him, the woman continued, “She’s not exactly the girl should be out in Night City all by her lonesome. She’s lucky she stumbled upon you instead of someone else like the Maelstrom or worse.”

That had him grimace at the thought. Looking over at the girl with her wide eyes innocence and happy demeanor, it was almost all to easy to forget that she what she was capable off. Night City already created enough monsters, it doesn’t need another one to twist and break.

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on a minute!” Rebecca then butted in as she wiped her cheeks, “Isn’t this a little sudden? Also, why Chef?! You two are the long term couple, couldn’t you take her in?” She suggested.

Dorio scratched her head sheepishly as she replied, “We could but we’re not really the type good with kids? Plus, you know how often we are out in the field,” Looking around, she then said, “Amongst everyone in this room, only Chef’s the one with a normal life. Do you honestly want her to be an Edgerunner like us?” That had Rebecca biting her tongue as she turned away.

“Look, she needs a roof over her head,” Dorio then said, “You don’t need to keep her around forever, just long enough for her to get on her own. Maine and I could even chip in a few eddies since I’m the one that suggested it!”

“Dorio!” Maine spoke up only to wither as Dorio gave him a stern stare.

Glancing over the girl, he considered his options. This was a lot of responsibility but could he trust anyone else with this girl? Like what Dorio said, her and Maine were deep in the Edgerunner business. So was Kiwi, Lucy, Rebecca and Pilar. All that was left was himself…

His train of thought came to a halt as he felt a hand on his forearm. “It’s ok, you don’t need to worry about me. You already helped me enough, no need for more,” smiling at him, she then said, “I can look out for myself! I wouldn’t have run away if I couldn’t!”

Hearing her words helped him made up his mind. All he needed to do now was convince the other person sharing his apartment. Turning to Rebecca, he asked her, “Rebecca? Can we take her in?” His output hesitated, indecision clear on her eyes, “I’m the one that’ll take care of her. I promise, you won’t even notice she’s there.”

“I’ll be a good girl, I promise!” The girl told Rebecca, “I won’t bite you again, ever!”

Under his pleading stare and the girls innocence, Rebecca finally cracked as she replied, “Ok, let’s take her in,” Glaring at the girl, Rebecca then said, “But I want you to promise me that you’ll follow what Chef says! So long as your under his roof, you follow his rules got it?”

The girl nodded eagerly as she replied, “Toga promises to be a good girl!”

“Damn it, how can somebody be so cute,” Rebecca muttered as she slumped on the table, “How can I say no to that?”

Chuckling, he then said, “Well, that settles it then,” before he reached out and ruffled the girls hair, “You’re going home with us. So long as your under my care, you’ll have all the food you can ever want, I promise.” Seeing the girl’s eyes sparkle was definitely worth it. He was not quite prepared to take care of someone but for her sake, he’s going to be.

He was so preoccupied with Toga that he didn’t notice a certain Red Hooded girl sneak inside the store. “While I hate to interrupt your cute little moment, I hope you didn’t forget about my daily order,” the tiny brunette pipped up, making him jump in fright.

Whirling around and pressing his back against the wall, he found the Arasaka Corporate “Security Officer” staring back at him with that same old bored expression she usually sported. “God fucking damn it Red!” He breathed out as he pulled away form the wall.

“The fuck!” Rebecca shouted in surprise as she pulled out her gun and brandished it at his regular, “Who the fuck are you! Didn’t you see the shops closed!”

Before he could explain the situation, the rest of the gang had their guns aimed at the girl, “What the hell choom? Don’t you know you shouldn’t walk up to people like that?” Maine shouted a bit tensely.

The girl, unphased by the gun, snorted as she replied, “Cute,” As she turned towards him, she paused and stared hard. He felt his heart seize at the predatory gaze. It was as if the very air of his lungs were driven out of his lungs. He knew she was a dangerous woman but now under her scrutenity, he never felt so small and insignificant.

Confused by her actions, he then felt a someone clutching his shirt and burying their face against his back. Turning around, he found a shaking Toga as she whispered in fear, “No, no, no, she didn’t see you, she didn’t see you,” over and over again.

Looking back at Red, he felt his heart drop. The Arasaka Accident, the heightened security that Red warned him about and Toga herself… could it be that Toga escape from Arasaka? Shaking his head, he held his hands to the side, shielding Toga from Red. Finding his courage, he stood his ground and glared back at Red.

A tense silence soon descended upon them as the air grew thick enough that he could have sliced it with his knife. For a moment, he thought he had to make a run for it before suddenly, the same old bored expression returned to Red’s face. “So yeah, where’s my Bagels?” She asked.

Slowly, he asked, “You didn’t see anything right?”

The smaller girl merely gave him a look as she replied, “Saw something? What the hell are you talking about?” He could only breath a sigh of relief as he nodded along and gave her a silent whisper, thanking her. The girl simply rolled her eyes as she tapped her foot expectantly.

Letting out a shaky chuckle, he replied, “Let me just toss them in the oven.”

A/N:

And this little subplot finally ends. Seems like Red liked Chef and his food more than her boss.