Seoul Kitchen: Side Story #5 Part 1

Day in the Life of Delivery Boy Pt. 1

Being a Delivery Boy ain't that bad. Sure, he had to cram four more hours on top of all the lessons he had to review and assignments to work on, but it was well worth it. Not only did he have some extra eddies to spend on himself, but also had enough for his mom as well. It wasn't much, but every eddie counts.

Rolling to a stop in front the Market, he kicked the stand to his scooter before unloading the bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, he walked back inside the busy market. Passing by the long line, some of the regulars waved at him. Seems like it was a busy day in Seoul Kitchen.

Slipping inside the store, he called out, "Hey Boss, I'm back! Got any new orders?" As soon as he stepped in, a wall of flavor slammed into him. The scent of beef, cheese and onions filled his lungs as the meat sizzled in the griddle. With his boss's spatula gliding along the sizzling hot surface, shredding and mixing up the mouth watering dish.

It took him a moment to tear away his gaze from the work area and unload the bag on the table. No matter how many times he stepped inside the Kitchen, he still couldn't help but admire the sight. Good food was hard to come by in the city and there was nowhere better than the Kitchen.

"Just give me a sec," His boss replied, far too busy to turn to him as he piled heaps upon the buns before adding them to the ever growing pile. "Line's a bit longer than usual!" the man excused himself.

He snorted, but kept his tongue. Longer than usual was mildly putting it when it was a block longer. Shaking his head at the absurdity of it all, he walked off to get some air. "I'll just be outside if you need me!" He called out.

"If you're hungry, just grab your meal off the counter!" His boss replied as he wiped his hands down before slipping to the back. One of the many perks of the job, he got a free meal every time.

"Thanks Chef," He replied before heading to the counter to grab his meal. Nodding at the Freaky Frank who manned the counter, he went to grab the wrapped Deli sandwich only to find two. For a moment, he hesitated, before grabbing one and leaving, but not before the former Maelstrom member called out, "David."

Wincing, he turned to the man and found the other sandwich being handed to him. "You forgot the other one," The man reminded him. Sighing, he grabbed the extra and slipped out of the kitchen to enjoy his meal in peace.

Tearing into the overstuffed cheese steak with gusto, he wondered if he was being an ungrateful shit. He didn't want to take advantage of the man's generosity, but they could be quite persistent. He was just content that he had a good job and a good boss. Maybe he was just afraid that he was going to have too much of a good stuff and it'll end sooner.

Finishing his sandwich, he sighed. Maybe he was just overthinking things. Staring at the other sandwich, he nodded before slipping it in his jacket; Something for his Ma later. If Chef wanted to give him extra food, he'd just have to work harder. He didn't want him to think he was freeloading after all.

Just as he was about to check on if there were any new orders, he cringed at the sound of a familiar voice in the distance. "Yo, is that David?" The voice of one of his classmates asked, before they started laughing, "Oh man, it is!"

He took a deep breath as he prepared himself for what's to come. When one shit's pops up, an even bigger shit is just around the corner.

"I know you were poor, but not this poor," A grating voice taunted as he heard their footsteps getting closer. Speak of the devil, the biggest asshole that ever was finally showed up."Working a part type job in a hole the wall restaurant? Pretty low even for you," The teen jeered as David soon found himself surrounded.

"Tsk," He grimaced as clenched his fist, holding back at the urge to just throttle the blue haired bastard in front of him. "What the hell do you want Katsuo? Can't you see I'm busy?" He asked the other teen as he crossed his arms. Just seeing the other teen smirk made his blood boil.

"Oh you know David," The man replied as he gave him an amused look. "Looking around, enjoying the sights, and maybe grab ourselves a couple of bites," He added before shrugging, "Just the typical things us students from the Academy do on a Friday Night."

He refrained from biting the obvious bait as he narrowed his eyes. He didn't have time for this shit. "If you want a bite, go back to the end of the line," He fired back and the teen gave him an offended look. Rolling his eyes, he gestured at the line as he warned them, "The regulars don't like it when you cut in the line."

At his words, guns started cocking as angry muttering filled the area. He smirked as the other teen took a step back in fear. "But if you don't want to wait, Lu Ri's just down that way. They make good meat buns and their jasmine tea is amazing." He suggested before waving them off, "Now fuck off."

The boy's face turned red and looked just about ready to jump at him until a large paw grabbed him by the shoulder. Frowning, the boy looked back before paling at the craggy features of Jackie as the man scowled at them. "Back in the line asshat!" The Merc shouted as he pushed the boy away.

Stumbling and nearly tripping face first, the boy glared at him before storming off with his goons following closely. Watching their figures retreat into the crowd, he shook his head. "I swear…," he muttered before turning to the Merc. "Thanks Jackie. I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it, kid. Just doing my job," The man smiled as he patted him on the shoulder before he walked off and patrolled the surrounding area.

Watching the merc walk around and chat with the customers, he wondered why he stayed here. Sure, the pay here was good, but surely there were better gigs for a merc like him right? Why was he content being a guard?

Before he could muse more on the topic, he heard his boss call out. "David!" Turning, he found the man waving it at him. "We got a delivery down at Heywood!" The man shouted and David perked up. This was going to be a big order.

"Got it, Chef!" He shouted as he ran back in. Just as his hunch told him, he had a big pile to deliver. Big orders like these were a pain to lug around, but it meant a much bigger tip and no one paid more than the fat cats over at Heywood.

-x-x-x-

With order in tow, he was back on the road. Weaving through the late night traffic, he made his way to the Heywood. His scooter might not be the fastest, but it was nimble and tiny. Squeezing in between the giant vehicles was a piece of cake. He just had to make sure he wasn't hit… or well, he'd be dead before he knew it.

Stopping before a stop light, he kicked the stand before waiting for the lights to count down. Leaning on his back, he muttered to himself, "Man, I really hit the jackpot." While he had to work late in the night, his workload was never heavy. How much he delivered depended entirely on how fast he could take it there.

"A good boss and an easy job," He whispered with a smile. Such a thing was a rarity in this city. "Maybe I should just quit school and do this full time," he thought to himself. While he could have content himself with the basic pay, it was far more profitable to go faster. How else would he have more tips?

If he was being honest with himself, he couldn't have wished for a better job. His prospect in the Corpo World was little to none. If his classmates despised him, how much more would they once he entered the workforce. Maybe it was better he stayed in the streets where he belonged.

"Mom would go ballistic though," He chuckled, remembering the fight he had with his mom over his part time job. If it wasn't for his grades remaining steady, she might have forced him to quit. Shaking his head, he whispered, "Let's just see where it goes."

As the timer went down to sixty seconds, he heard shouting over to the side. Glancing over, he saw a student getting kicked by some Joy Toys and a lone Tyger Claw. He turned, gripping the trottel tightly, but paused as he noticed their hair. "Is that… Katsuo?" he whispered.

It was almost cathartic seeing the other teen getting his teeth kicked in, but it made his stomach twist hearing their cry out. Still, it couldn't have happened to a better man. "Are you going to pay or what?!" The Tyger Claw shouted as he pulled his sword, but the teen was busy sobbing. He was going to die if he didn't answer.

For a moment, he debated stepping in, but was he going to risk his head for Katsuo? "I shouldn't, I have a delivery…" He lamely excused as he grabbed the order receipt and checked the delivery address. Nobody would fault him for not helping him right?

However, his luck would have it that a familiar name would appear on the receipt; Katsuo Tanaka. The fucker was the one that ordered and this was his home address. "God fucking damn it. You have to be kidding me," he cursed his rotten luck.

The one ordering the food was going to die and he'd have to explain not only to the boy's parents why he didn't help, but also to Chef for coming back with this order. He had to step in. Seeing no other choice, he shouted, "Fuck it!"

With his scooter's tires squealing as he pushed it harder than he ever before, he shot off and headed straight for the man. As the Joy Toys leapt away, the Man turned just in time to see the scooter slam into his face, before he was sent flying.

Skidding to a stop, he reached out to Katsuo. "Come on!" He urged the boy, glancing at the man who slowly picked himself up. His heart quickly dropped as several Tyger Claws came running out of the nearby building. "God damn it, do you have a death wish or something?" he shouted in disbelief.

"D-david?" Katsuo dumbly asked, making David groan in frustration.

"Do you want to live or not?!" He shouted back. Grabbing the boy's hands as he turned the throttle. He didn't have time to baby sit this bastard. "Hop on!" he shouted as the boy stumbled before pulling himself on the scooter.

With barely any second to spare, they zoomed off, narrowly dodging the gunshots raining on them. Looking back, he saw them hopping on their own motorcycles. "Oh god, I'm gonna die!" the boy screamed as he held on to him for his dear life.

Gritting his teeth, he sped down the highway as the chase was on. "Hold on tight because this is going to be bumpy!" He shouted. This was way beyond his paycheck as a delivery driver, but damn it if he was going to have this bastard die before he could pay for the meal!

A/N:

Hit a snag in the plot. Had to smoothen it out. For the meantime, here, have this semi canon Omake while I work on this.