Heidi Kim

The kitchen was alive with the sound of sizzling pans, chopping knives, and the occasional bursts of laughter, mainly from Vina. Normally, I'd be too focused on my station to care about the noise, but today, it was different.

Because today, she was all over me again. This has been going on for a week already, has she not gotten bored of me already?

“Chef Heidi, can you pass me the salt?” Vina asked sweetly, standing close enough that I could feel the warmth of her body against my side.

I rolled my eyes, already knowing where this was going. “The salt is literally right in front of you, Vina.”

“But it’ll taste better when you hand it to me,” she teased, giving me a playful wink.

I clicked my tongue but still picked up the salt shaker, placing it in her waiting hands.

“Why, thank you,” she said dramatically, as if I'd just given her a priceless treasure.

Before I could tell her to quit it, she reached out and smoothed down a stray strand of hair from my forehead, tucking it behind my ear like we were in some romance drama.

I felt my face heat up. “Vina, we're in the kitchen.”

“Exactly,” she replied. “Where all the best love stories begin.”

Her cheeky grin made my stomach do an embarrassing flip. I groaned and turned back to my station, trying to focus on plating the dishes instead of the way her presence made my heart race.

What made things worse was the fact that our coworkers were noticing.

“Are they flirting again?” Emily whispered loudly.

“Flirting? At this point, they're just straight-up dating in front of us,” Damien commented.

I stiffened, shooting them a glare. “I can hear you two, you know.”

Emily grinned unapologetically. “Yeah, we know.” The entire kitchen burst into laughter. Even Mr. Laurent passed by with an amused smirk before shaking his head at our antics.

This was bad. If people kept talking about this, I was going to combust.

“Chef Heidi, Chef Vina!” one of the waiters, Bea, suddenly called out. “The customers at Table 7 are requesting to meet you two!”

I furrowed my brows, confused. “Us? Why?”

Vina smirked, wiping her hands on her apron. “Well, obviously because we're amazing chefs,” she winked. “Or maybe they just want to see your grumpy face up close.”

I frowned but followed her to the front. The moment we stepped out, a group of customers, mostly young women, gasped. The chaos of the lunch rush kept me busy enough to forget about my coworkers' teasing, until the customers started getting involved.

“Oh my God, they’re here!” one of them squealed.

“Look! They’re standing next to each other! So close!”

“I told you they had chemistry!”

My eye twitched. What in the world…

Vina, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying this way too much. “Hello, lovely customers! I hear you wanted to meet us?”

One of the girls, practically vibrating with excitement, nodded aggressively. “Yes! We just had to tell you both that we love you!”

I blinked. “Uh… thanks?”

The girl continued, “Like, your dishes are amazing, of course, but also, you two!” She pointed between us. “You have that perfect chemistry, you know? The opposite attracts kind of love!” I choked on air. Attract what?!

“Are you guys dating?!” another girl blurted out.

I felt my whole soul leave my body. “What?!”

Vina burst out laughing, patting my back like I was some kid who needed comforting. “Aww, Heidi, they ship us.”

I turned to her with wide eyes. “They what us?”

“Ship! Like in fandoms!” One of the customers explained eagerly. “You know, when people root for two people to be together!”

I was at a loss for words. Meanwhile, Vina, clearly having the time of her life, leaned against the counter, smiling. “Well, I do think Heidi and I make a great pair. Right, Chef? ~”

I gawked at her. “Vina!” The customers squealed, loud.

“See! She's flustered!”

“Oh my God, we were right!”

“This is so going in the fan club!”

I snapped out of my daze. “Wait. Fan club?!”

The girls grinned. “Yup! The Heidi x Vina Fans club! We just made it!”

Vina doubled over in laughter while I stood there, absolutely mortified.

“Kill me,” I muttered under my breath.

If I thought this ‘shipping’ nonsense would stay within that one table, I was dead wrong.

The moment we got back to the kitchen, whispers and knowing glances were everywhere.

“Did you hear?” Emily nudged Marco, one of our waiter. “The customers are obsessed with Chef Heidi and Chef Vina’s chemistry!”

Marco grinned. “Oh, I’ve noticed. The tension? Immaculate.” Oh my God. Not them too.

Before I could put an end to it, Damien walked in with his arms crossed. “So, Heidi,” he started, smirking. “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Suspense for what?”

He gestured dramatically between me and Vina. “This! You two! The romance! The forbidden love in the kitchen! We’re all waiting for the next episode!”

“Next episode? This isn't a show,” I groaned.

Vina, meanwhile, looked smug. “I don't know, Heidi. Maybe we should give them something to talk about?”

She suddenly grabbed my waist from behind, resting her chin on my shoulder. Gasps filled the kitchen. I froze.

“Vina!”

The staff lost their minds.

“Oh my god!”

“She’s so red right now!”

“The ship is real!”

At that moment, I genuinely considered quitting Flavium.

During my break time, I found myself standing in the walk-in fridge, hiding. I wasn’t even here for ingredients, I just needed to cool off my burning face. Unfortunately, I wasn’t safe for long.

“Found you.”

I turned to see Vina leaning against the fridge door, arms crossed, her signature smirk in place.

I sighed. “Can I get at least five minutes of peace?”

“Nope,” she said cheerfully, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

The cold air was nothing compared to the heat creeping up my neck. “People are seriously shipping us now, Vina. Do you know how embarrassing that is?”

Vina chuckled. “Oh, come on. You love the attention.”

I huffed. “I do not.”

“You do,” she countered. “And honestly? I think it's cute.”

I shot her a suspicious look. “What is?”

“The way you get all flustered whenever someone points us out,” she said, taking a step closer. “It's adorable.”

My heart stuttered in my chest. “Vina...”

She grinned. “Yes, Heidi?” Damn it. She was too close.

I shoved her back lightly. “Just go back to work already.”

Vina laughed, finally stepping back toward the door. “Fine, fine. But one day, you’ll have to admit that you actually like this whole 'us' thing.”

She winked before disappearing out of the fridge, leaving me standing there completely red-faced. God help me.

Ever since that day, the teasing never stopped. It didn’t help that Vina loved playing into it.

She’d randomly throw an arm around me during meetings. She’d lean in too close when checking my plating. She even started calling me pet names just to see me flustered.

“Morning, mi tesoro (my darling),” she greeted one day, handing me a cup of matcha.

I almost dropped it. “Vina, I swear—”

“Careful now.” She chuckled, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “Wouldn’t want you to spill, darling.”

The entire kitchen lost it. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

But the worst, absolute worst moment was when the staff actually printed fan club shirts. I came into work one morning and nearly fainted.

The entire kitchen team was wearing white shirts with my face and Vina’s printed on them, along with the words ‘Flavium’s Power Couple.’

“You have got to be kidding me!” I screeched.

Vina, standing beside me, burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Emily proudly posed. “We had them custom-made!”

Marco spun around dramatically. “Aren’t they gorgeous?” I wanted to disappear so badly.

Vina slung an arm around my shoulders. “Well, well, Heidi. Looks like we're the it couple now.”

I covered my face. “I hate all of you.”

“Aw, don't be like that, amore mio (my love),” Vina teased, pulling me closer. I hated myself even more for how much I actually liked it.

And as if things couldn't get worse, when I checked my phone after my shift, I saw a new social media account.

Official Heidi x Vina Fan Club ❤️👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩🔥

My jaw dropped.

There were already photos of us together, mostly taken from today. Vina giving me a side hug. Us standing close during service. A freaking edit of us with romantic music in the background.

I immediately texted Vina.

Heidi: What the fuck is this?! (screenshot attached)

Vina: Ohhh. Our fan club? Cute, right? 😘

Heidi: Cute?!

Vina: Babe, just accept it. We’re iconic.

Heidi: I hate you! And don’t babe me!

Vina: No, you don’t. 😏 Also, if you don't want babe, how about darling instead? 😉

I groaned, slamming my face into my pillow.

This woman was going to be the death of me.

But, deep down, I knew I didn’t actually mind.