Wild Young Miss: Mister, Let's Kiss!

Minutes later…

"Thank you!" As they served his food, Ivan exclaimed joyfully. He had been starving since long. Every passing second felt like an eternity. But now, finally, the steam of aroma of the feast he ordered was wafting his nose, causing the monster inside his stomach to growl even louder.

However, Ivan was tired of shushing it. After all, it'll calm down later; after he gobbled up every ounce of food that was on his table. "Time to eat!" Ivan announced, rubbing his palms against each other giddily as he darted his gaze to the cutlery.

There was a spoon and chopsticks prepared for him. Since he's been in the country for months, Ivan wasn't surprised to find no fork. No big deal. He could just ask for it since he knew most establishments reserved forks for those who couldn't and didn't want to use chopsticks.

"Umh, excuse me?" Ivan called over the staff who was passing by his table. As he caught his attention, the young man turned his head towards him with questioning eyes.

"Can I have a fork, please?" Ivan's face immediately forced into a fake polite countenance as he didn't want hunger to cut his patience for this petty dilemma.

"Hmm?" The staff blinked his eyes many times, confused at what the man was saying. Hence, Ivan repeated his previous request. 

This time, Ivan stressed each word very slowly. "I need a fork. Fork. No sticks." He said, pointing at the table while carrying the fakest smile ever. 

It was true that Ivan had been in this country for months. However, he could only speak a few words in their language: thank you, hi, and all those basic greetings a child was first taught. It was still a wonder how he was able to survive in a country where he could barely communicate. 

Well, Angelo was a great help as he knew more than him — the reason he was appointed to be Ivan's partner. Still, since he now has a new mission which was to assist Zoey at all costs, Ivan was certain that Niko gave Angelo his solo mission since Zoey didn't trust the man.

This led Ivan to be on his own since Zoey wouldn't be with him 24/7. Now, despite the little knowledge he had of communicating in Mandarin, he was still struggling. Especially now that he had stressed his request, the staff seemed to be wondering what he was requesting for.

"Fork." The fake smile on Ivan's face eventually turned blank as he repeated the word. "Just how much of that word can't you understand?" Under his breath, he muttered as the young staff wouldn't understand him, anyway.

However, a second later, the young man's face brightened up. "AH! Pork!" 

"Yes!" How foolish of Ivan to think they were on the same page and assumed it to be a mispronunciation on the waiter's behalf. Hence, he immediately answered with a firm 'yes!'

"Okay, okay! Wait." The young man's lips grew wider, gesturing him to wait which the latter responded with an understanding nod.

"Finally… I'm really starving." As the staff hurriedly went away to fill his request, Ivan sighed in relief as he could finally eat. He then looked at the food that he couldn't wait to chew down, making him lick his lower lip.

Shortly after, the young staff came back with a tray and a smile on his lips. He stopped by the side of Ivan's table, placing the pork side dish on the table. Upon seeing the pork he didn't ask for, Ivan's face distorted as he glanced up to the smiling young man.

"I said fork." In utter disbelief, Ivan massaged his temples. "Ughh.." Frustrated, Ivan exhaled sharply and shook his hand lightly. "No, no, no. Fork, you see this? Spoon, sticks — I need a fork. A FORK!" One after another, Ivan pointed out the cutlery on the table, and then spread his hands as he repeated the word fork in distress.

Gosh… he just wanted to eat! Why was he having such trauma eating alone?! For Pete's sake! Ivan had done his best trying to learn their language, but it was just hard because one wrong pronunciation and your entire point would make no sense.

Why can't these restaurants learn a few simple English words for customers like him? Little did Ivan know, this place was rarely visited by tourists and it wasn't the best of restaurants for foreigners to visit and dine.

After many attempts to get his point across, the young staff finally understood his request. "Ohh! Fork!" He tapped the bottom of his knuckles against his palm as his face brightened up in enlightenment.

"Yes, fork!" Relieved that the man seemed to finally be on the same page as him, Ivan repeated and then picked up the spoon. "Her husband." He clarified, causing the young man to nod his head profusely.

"Husband, wait!" He gestured with a smile before rushing back inside to get what he needed.

'Damn… my excitement is gone." As the man left, Ivan could not help but facepalm because this was truly an unforgettable experience. It killed the very few brain cells that were left in his mind before he could even revive the dead ones by nourishing them with food.

While he waited, Ivan unconsciously turned his head to his right — not too far from his seat — where Cora Ma and her colleagues were dining. "What a lively crowd." Ivan muttered, shaking his head as his gaze landed on the old-fashioned Cora, with her huge spectacles, neat hair bun, and a turtle neck that almost reached her chin.

"Such an old-fashioned lady." Ivan scoffed, venting his bitterness on the innocent lady who was eating amongst a loud crowd.

For some reason, the young staff took his precious time to get him a fork. Thus, to kill some time while he was waiting, Ivan watched Cora and her colleagues eat. "What a pushover." He commented, seeing that Cora was not any better than the restaurant staff.

Her plate was barely touched because she was serving her office mates. Some were even done eating and were having a drink, while Cora, on the other hand, enslaved herself by passing the sauce or the food with a polite smile. She sometimes even poured drinks for them which slowly ticked him off.

"She's acting like a tough cookie, but is actually a pushover. There's a word 'no' in the dictionary, girl." Ivan mocked, shaking his head before checking the direction where the staff had headed to. However, there was no sign of him. Hence, Ivan returned his gaze back to the long table being occupied by the loud crowd.

Just as he did, his brows knitted seeing the discomforted expression plastered on her face. Earlier, Cora was meekly smiling from time to time, but then her expression would disappear briefly. But now, she seemed utterly disturbed.

"Huh?" Puzzled, Ivan cocked his head to the side. Just then, he saw Cora glance up at the man sitting next to her. Her lower lip and shoulders were trembling, turning on the red alarms inside Ivan's head.

"F*ck, I haven't even eaten yet." Ivan could not help but grind his teeth. Slowly, he got up from his seat, picking up a piece of meat with his hand as he needed a little bit of energy to walk. While he chewed, he approached the long table where she was sitting.

When he drew closer behind Cora, Ivan gazed down, eyes glinting upon seeing that the man's hand was brushing Cora's leg while she shrugged them off without anyone noticing. However, the next second, the man grabbed her wrist tightly, then glanced at her as if warning her to keep still.

"Motherf*cker…" Ivan muttered, the side of his lips crooked up menacingly as his feet resumed in his strides.