boogiedown Unending Energy

This time of year, the city was a hub for tourists, holiday-goers, and winter sports. Bustling, rich and vibrant, and settling into the hubbub was easy once you found the right rhythm. Constant traffic through the Petaling District meant steady business for every restaurant, including the newly-opened ones.

Now, there was one restaurant settled back from the street in a clean, but mostly nondescript building that simply read in standard Malay, "Incorrect". In smaller print below it, the name was written again in Korean, Japanese, and English. It was, according to reviews, a joke by the restaurateur himself; the menu was very carefully constructed, and very carefully worded, to make everything sound like humorous puns and stream-of-consciousness errors that translated into each language in the descriptions of the dishes. For instance, one could order a plate of sashimi that would simply be called 'Shhhhh'. The inside of the restaurant was one of the most mellow atmospheres one could find, while still being tidy and upscale-enough to constitute a quiet date. From the bar to the kitchen, everything was impeccable, and the owner himself? Right in the middle of it all.

The owner was a bit of a talking point in his own right; tall, attractive American with long hair tied up neatly behind his head and hidden under a pastry chef's hat, with nearly sparkling blue eyes standing out against dark skin, bare hands proudly displaying scars and burns, evidence that he personally had worked very hard to get here. He was polite, courteous, professional, and had the most genuine smile that most could recall ever seeing. The restaurant reviews were stellar so far, and every compliment to the chef was utterly justified.

The winter sports season would draw in the crowd looking for fast, hot meals, or breaks from the crowds and the chaos, and Guy would be here for all of it. No matter how he might want to go see these things for himself, he had a job to do, and he was proud of it. Besides, serving athletes always did have its perks.

"Welcome to Salah, follow me right this way to your seat!"

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

boogiedown

Minami has to crane his neck up and up, so far he's afraid he might fall over. This guy is tall! Maybe even as high as the ceiling! (Most people are taller then Minami, to be fair, but this is ridiculous!)

"Thanks! It smells so good in here!!!" he exclaims. Taking two scurrying steps to each of his host's one.

The reviews are not what's pulled him in. He'd been so surprised to see a sign in Japanese, he just couldn't resist exploring - and slips into Japanese now, without thinking. Realizing the mistake, he tries to start again in English. Gah, it's hard getting this right!

"Ah, sorry -"

From:

maladgogo

Guy shortened his stride a bit and slowed down to allow Minami to follow a little more easily. He held his hands back behind him, positively beaming when the skater tried to decide whether he should be speaking Japanese or English. So he made it a little easier and lapsed into casual, conversational Japanese himself.

"Don't worry 'bout it none, lil' brother, know plenty'a words be speakin' wit' you easy." He even had the affectation down as if he spoke Tohok-ben native rather than Proper Japanese that most foreigners tended to be taught. He'd learned from a native speaker, for certain. He pulled a chair for Minami to take a seat, then handed him one of the smallish menus that had been tucked into the side-tied apron he was wearing. "Here you go, everything's wrote so it's easy to read but if you ain't sure what's what, gimme a holler." He tipped Minami a wink and headed off toward another table that was trying to flag down a server for a refill. He'd be back to check on Minami himself in minutes.

From:

boogiedown

It was hard to decide which was more surprising - being called "Lil' Brother" in perfectly imperfect Japanese, or having a chair pulled out for him. Minami gaped. Then shook his head, trying to get the world back in order. Nothing to do but slide into the seat and grin back. So bright it could probably power the restaurant all by itself.

"Okay, thanks!

He studied the menu intently, brow furrowed. Determined to make a good choice.

From:

maladgogo

Between the two of them, their smiles could probably power a city block. When Guy came back to check in on him, he recognized that expression; Minami seemingly had no idea what to do with what he was seeing.

"If you lookin' for anything specific lemme know. Names'a stuff kinda funky here, kind of a gimmick sorta thing. Figure...hm. Maybe somethin' carbs. If you here 'fore competition anyway."

From:

boogiedown

The problem is it all sounds delicious. Even if Minami's getting half the words jumbled. The smells keep pulling at him, the sharp spices weaving into the chatter of new languages. He finds himself looking all over, watching people instead.

He has no trouble zeroing back in on Guy, though. Right. Food!

"Oh! Yeah! That would be good, I'm here for the East Asia Cup! Do you get a lot of other skaters?"

From:

maladgogo

"Knew I recognized you, couldn't place where from though. Spot that lil' cowlick a mile off." Guy was grinning as he pulled his phone from his back pocket, thumbing through to one of the articles he'd been reading not too long ago, detailing the lineup for the Cup. He didn't follow it religiously, but it was interesting especially given that it was taking place so close by.

At the question of the other skaters, he shakes his head. "Not really, but we ain't been here too long. Word'll get out though." He leans over at Minami's side to get a better idea of what he might have been looking at, rubbing his hand against his chin. "Got some killer udon, chef makes the noodles fresh every day, if you lookin' for somethin' a little closer to home." He pointed it out on the menu, where it was called "ood" but named properly in the subtitles.

From:

boogiedown

Minami rubs at the shock of red in his hair, and laughs. "Well, I'm not tall! I have to make sure the judges see me!" It's impossible to believe anyone could miss him, but every little bit helps.

On impulse he holds out a hand.

"Kenjirou Minami, from Japan - Though I guess you already figured that out. And udon sounds amazing!!! Do you guys have peanut sauce here?!"

From:

maladgogo

"We got it spicy or sweet, as well as regular. Good to meet you, Minami, name's Guillermo Makara. Most folks just call me Guy." One of his hands engulfed Minami's, giving it an easy squeeze and shake. He slips a purple order pad out of his apron pocket and writes down the first part of the order, then taps the end of the pen against it. You feel like anything to drink? Got just about anything fizzy you could want, but alcohol is gonna be off-limits t'ya cute lil' face." He gives a slightly tilted smile at that, shifting his weight where he stands. Flirting? In his restaurant? It's more likely than you think.

From:

boogiedown

"Awwwwwww!"

Minami fake swooned in disappointment. Crashing all the way to to the table for effect, ever the performer. Then pushed back up with a shrug. "That's okay. I'm not even supposed to have soda before events!"

The jitters were bad enough without adding caffeine on top of it.

"So I guess... Okay, udon and shrimp, if you have that, spicy peanut sauce, and tea."

From:

maladgogo

He couldn't help but laugh, writing the order with additional drink. There was an additional bit added to the order at the bottom, marked free of charge, a sort of sample of one of the restaurant's specialty desserts. Anyone he hadn't seen in there before was treated to something like this, and he could imagine Minami being a fan of chocolate. He nodded once, leaning his hip against the table briefly then whistling for one of the small wait staff that was milling around. They would get Minami's drink for him while Guy himself went to see about the food.

"Hang tight, we gon' be with you real fast lil' brother." He tipped Minami a wink before heading off. It wouldn't take more than a minute for the tea to get to the table, as well as a smaller cup for water, and within ten minutes a large, steaming bowl of udon with vegetables, shrimp and spicy peanut sauce would be put down in front of one small, hyped-up skater.

From:

boogiedown

(Good guess on the chocolate.)

That smile was starting to do funny things to Minami's stomach. Especually paired with the wink. Then again, maybe he was just hungry! He dove into the noodles. The peanut sauce hit like a punch, and he slurped in deep satisfaction.

There was definitely a sizeable dent in the food whenever Guy made his way back over. Which Minami kept glancing up to check. Just to see if he was.

From:

maladgogo

By the time he came back around, the bowl was much emptier, and he actually looked somewhat impressed. He was carrying a tray with a drink refill on it, as well as a shallow bowl with a rather dense, fudgey brownie and a scoop of rum ice cream. It was in the menu under the desserts called 'Brunhilde' rather than 'brownie a la mode'.

"Here you go, lil' sample on the house. First timers get they desserts free." And he actually looked really proud of the little dish he'd handed Minami; unlike most of the menu this place served, the dessets, every last one of them, had been made by him. From the recipes themselves to the pastries, syrups, and even the ice cream slowly melting over the warm brownie, all of it was his own doing. He needed to hire another pastry chef, sooner rather than later if the restaurant kept growing, but for now? This was his bragging right.

From:

boogiedown

Minami felt a heat creeping into his cheeks. Maybe from the spice, maybe not. While there was still lunch left, clearly dessert took priority!

"Thanks!" He dug out a large spoonful. Making sure to get an equal proportion of brownie to ice cream before sliding it into his mouth. "Oh woooooooow! This is AMAZING!"

A remarkably short speech, for him. He could go on at length about something this good! Except talking would mean not eating. Minami took another bite and hummed. Pleased at how the ice cream balanced the brownie, kept the whole thing from getting heavy.

From:

maladgogo

Guy's grin brightened even further, if that was even possible. He wasn't the sort to bounce in his excitement, but if he did, he probably would have just then. He loved when new people enjoyed what he made. His cheeks had darkened, making his complexion even warmer.

"Lemme know you be needin' anything else," he offered as soon as he realized he'd been standing there grinning like an idiot while Minami worked through his dessert even before his noodles had been finished. Hopefully it wasn't so rich that he wouldn't be able to finish his udon.

From:

boogiedown

Minami had the bouncing covered, the chair vibrating a little bit. "It's really good! What's in the ice cream? We don't have this flavor!"

"Anything else?" he repeated. Tried to think. Maybe it was just Guy being polite. Minami was never the best at picking up that kind of cue. No, he just forged straight ahead with the first thing to come in his head. "Um - um - Do you guys make breakfast too?!"

He really wanted to come again. Free ice cream or not. But with all the practices and competition he only had the next morning open.

From:

maladgogo

He hadn't expected that right off the bat, but Guy was nothing if not terribly accommodating. He had a smaller menu in his apron aside from the normal, larger ones. It wasn't much of a breakfast selection, given that it was only three people in in the morning, including himself, but the breakfast and lunch hours did overlap at least for a little bit.

"Here, this sh- ah, this gonna have the breakfast on it. Far as the ice cream's concerned,'s pretty simple actually. Cream, whole milk, brown sugar, rum, egg n' nutmeg. Make it m'self between rushes."

From:

boogiedown

Fortunately, Minami did not catch the near obscenity. He scanned the hours. Okay. If he did REALLY well tonight... and in practice... maybe even started early, although 6 AM was already hard... he should just be able to make it. It would be really, really close, but this seemed worth it.

Hold on - He played back that last part, and gaped.

"Wait, isn't rum alcohol?!"

Scandalous!

From:

maladgogo

[[Meanwhile over on his tumblr he has passed his school final and has chosen to meme about it to preserve his sanity.]]

"'nough for flavor, 'less you a fuck'n sponge what's gonna get drunk off a shot's worth."

Guy froze and immediately put his hand up over his mouth, glancing around in case anyone else had heard that. this was his day job, he was expressly forbidden from swearing around the customers! Even if this was his own establishment, he did hear about people that could drive it into the ground with one well-worded review about how uncouth the owner was. He was just a little bit paranoid about food critics that he wouldn't be able to sit and talk to fluently.

From:

boogiedown

[[Ahahahaha poor baby. *pats*]]

Fortunately, unless Guy switched languages, no one else was around to understand the Japanese. Minami's eyebrows raised.

"Um. Okay! Because it's really good and I already finished it!"

Then his smile went just a little crooked. Mischievous. Mostly in reaction to the hand on Guy's mouth. That translated perfectly. He tapped the spoon against the empty bowl.

"Soooo I won't tell if you won't?"

And also maybe if he got more ice cream. Because a little bribery never hurt, right?

From:

maladgogo

Guy's expression shifted from the mild nerves to surprise, then great amusement. His hand came to rest on his hip and he tilted his head at Minami.

"Ooo, you gon' be sneaky, lil' bro?" He chuckled, quiet and deep, taking the little bowl in a smooth gesture and heading back toward the kitchen again. If there was a little more swish and bounce in his step, it was purely coincidental. He'd be back before long with a clean dish with a couple of scoops of the ice cream, including a slightly cheeky little maraschino cherry on top.

From:

boogiedown

"Yup!"

Extra ice cream? Best day ever.Minami pops the cherry in his mouth at once. Folds his arms and makes a show of considering this Very Seriously. Then gives a sharp nod.

"Okay! Your secret's safe with me!!"

Then there's a snort of laughter, the mask breaking.

From:

maladgogo

Guy laughed, bright and warm and maybe a little louder than people are generally accustomed to it being in here. He moved to lean his hip against the back of the booth situated on the opposite side of the table situation Minami was settled into.

"So, Kenjiro Minami. Whatchoo prefer to go by? Could just keep callin' you 'lil' brother' but if you comin' around more often while you here, best to have somethin' to be callin' you." It'd be easier than trying to decide between calling him by his given or surname or any combination of honorifics.

From:

boogiedown

"Oh! Uh -"

Okay. Okay, interesting sort-of stranger asking for something that personal. Minami was pretty sure this counted as flirting.

"'I like 'Little Brother' - But 'Minami' is good too. If you want?"

Guy might or might not grasp the significance of just a first name. Minami stuffed another bite of ice cream into his mouth, before he could change his mind. It felt like his heart was doing triples.

From:

maladgogo

Guy had grown up with one of his best friends being from Japan, her family teaching him just so that he wouldn't inadvertently offend others that were there. He knew the significance of first names, and of honorifics. So he tapped his cheek thoughtfully before bending down with a grin. "Minami-kun?"

From:

boogiedown

All of his friends used that one. Minami heard it every day. But it sounded different now. As if there were all sorts of new things in his name.

"Yeah!! And... You said just 'Guy' was okay?"

Minami felt his face take on the same shade as his hair. He gulped down more ice cream, trying to bring the temperature back down. Geeze, that's forward. Dropping the honorific for someone he'd just met, Except Guy's wasn't Japanese, and (kinda) already said to call him that. So...