June couldn't help but smirk at the dumbfounded Seowon as they made their way inside.
Xin, too, who was still hiding behinf the big plant, was so surprised that he forgot to record the encounter just now. However, he quickly snapped a photo of the group going inside the restaurant before finally leaving.
The five guys, dressed in casual clothes, appeared to be fishes out of water in Pierre.
However, as the manager treated June like a VVIP person, the waiters started serving them like masters, too.
"This way, sirs," Richard, the manager, said, leading them to a wide table. He couldn't help but shake as he felt the powerful aura from the young man. The coupon is a rare item—only about ten of its kind in Korea. The coupon itself is embedded with real gold to make it easier to recognize.
"Here is our menu," Richard said, taking the initiative to serve them. "You can order any of the menu items for free! Our restaurant will also give you a complimentary dessert."
"Hmm, alright," June said, not really internalizing Richard's words since he couldn't understand anything on the menu.
He was fluent in three languages, namely Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. But there was a language he secretly loathed, one he had never learned—English.
And this menu was all in English.
His friends mistook June's internal turmoil for seriousness. As June continued to gaze at the menu with a serious expression, Jangmoon shook his head.
He's really on another level.
June looked like a connoisseur!
In the end, June placed down his menu. "We'll just take everything," he said, giving up.
C-Jay showed him two thumbs-up. As expected, June is the best!
"Of course, sir," Richard said. "We'll serve you the food very quickly."
With that, he dashed to the kitchen to yell out their orders.
"Can we even finish all of those?" Jisung asked.
"They have small servings here," C-Jay whispered. "But they say the food is bomb, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can."
"Me too," Akira chimed. "This is probably the only time I can eat in this place. And it's all thanks to June," he buttered up, leaning against June's shoulder.
June scoffed and pushed Akira away. It was his first and probably last time in this restaurant, too.
"I still can't believe you managed to get us in," Jangmoon said. "And you get to eat here for free? Just what do your parents do for a living?" he asked out of genuine curiosity.
June paused.
The other guys looked at him with anticipation. They already had guesses in their minds.
"Are they artists?" Jangmoon asked.
"Or perhaps...something that has to do with Real Estate?" Jisung guessed.
"Oooh, what about doctors? Or directors of a hospital?" Jangmoon chimed, and the other guys started exclaiming in agreement.
"But I do think that business is most plausible," Akira seriously said.
C-Jay then raised his hand before whispering, "Or maybe they're a part of the mafia?"
June looked at them like they were crazy. They all had curious looks on their faces as they waited for June to answer.
In the end, June sighed and settled for an answer.
"They're doing business, I guess?" he said in an unsure tone.
Sure, they were doing business.
Business in the afterlife, that is.
"I was right," Akira proudly said, and the others exclaimed in disappointment since their guesses failed through.
As his friends kept bickering, June couldn't help but let his mind stray to the issue of 'parents.'
Why was it so hard for him to say that they were dead?
June honestly didn't know.
Jun Hao was an orphan.
Joon-ho is an orphan.
It was funny how June was given two lives, yet in both of them, he still didn't have any parents.
It's like he was never meant to be...cherished.
In the beginning, when he lost his parents and went to an orphanage with Mei Ling, he was proud to tell other people that he lived with plenty of other kids his age. However, as he grew older, he realized that the world wasn't kind to orphans after all.
It's not that he's ashamed of being an orphan, but the world has a way of viewing him through a lens of pity, and that's something he learned to resent.
The unkindness of the world, disguised as well-intentioned sympathy, has shaped his decision to conceal the fact that he didn't have any parents. In their attempts to console him, people unknowingly reduced him to the status of an orphan, overshadowing his individuality.
"Oh, Jun Hao? That kid without parents?"
"You should be kinder to him. He doesn't have any parents."
"He's got a lot to say for someone who doesn't have any parents."
Those were only some of the words that June heard growing up.
And he has come to realize that living in his own space was a refuge from this pervasive perception. It's a place where people don't see him as an orphan first, where he can just be... June.
And maybe that's the reason why he didn't want to tell his friends, too.
Because June felt like he already built a good friendship with these guys, and he didn't want them to take pity on him.
As June got lost in his thoughts, the manager and the waiters finally arrived with two full trolley carts.
"Gentlemen, your first course: the chef's special appetizers," Richard said in a sophisticated tone.
The waiter removed the domes one by one, revealing tiny, beautifully arranged plates, each holding a bite-sized masterpiece of culinary artistry. The presentation was impeccable, and the food looked exquisite, but there was an unmistakable sense of surprise at just how small the portions were.
"Tiny," June muttered under his breath, measuring the portions with his hand. It was a mere three inches.
"That's not too tiny," C-Jay defended as he stared at the dishes.
"Shall we come back for the main course, or do you prefer we serve it all to you?" Richard asked.
"You can serve it all," June said, hoping the serving sizes for the main course would be bigger than this. He was truly starving.
As the waiters revealed the main course, June was disappointed again. How can a piece of steak be so tiny?
"Please enjoy the food," Richard said, bowing his head before leaving them all alone.
"Thank goodness we ordered a lot," Jangmoon said. "It looks like my pet bird wouldn't even be satisfied with this."
C-Jay slapped the back of his head. "You really don't know anything. This is what you call—sophistication," he said in a posh voice.
"Soshitstication—what?" Jangmoon frowned.
C-Jay sighed in defeat. "You will never understand June and I's lifestyle."
As June reached for one of the tiny morsels with eager anticipation, C-Jay suddenly interrupted, raising his smartphone high above the table.
"Wait," C-Jay explained. "We need to take pictures of this."
The others groaned in mild annoyance, but they knew C-Jay's obsession with documenting every moment. They begrudgingly waited as he adjusted lighting and angles to capture the perfect shot.
C-Jay finally lowered his phone, and the group turned their attention back to the precious appetizers.
Finally, they could eat.
With eager anticipation, they took their first bites. However, as June chewed the delicate creation, he stopped to internalize the taste of the 100-dollar appetizer.
"This... this tastes like shit."
