The Chef's Kiss

"The only thing she could think of as her mind

went haywire.... 'Prince Charming'"

Luna's POV

Staring back at the large company I had just exited, I sighed dejectedly as my brown eyes flicked past the name boldly displayed on it 'Xing  Corporations'.

Another interview gone wrong, well, not like I made it through the first phase of the interview. The interviewer had taken one glance at my worn out flat shoes, unfitted black skirt and slightly rumpled white office shirt as I nervously squeezed on the only thing about me that looked presentable, my black purse, and told me I was unqualified.

Not my fault I was cut off from the electricity for weeks now and since I had to hand wash my clothes, they got rumpled, and the only way to straighten out my clothes was folding it and placing underneath my almost flat mattress, hoping our weight overnight could iron it up.

"Why?" I had asked, and the interviewer clicked his tongue annoyingly, blatantly telling me I was of a lower class.

He was right though.

No way in hell, or earth, I could compare with the other ladies.

Fitted skirts and chest hugging stylish shirts and stilettos that glinted so bright I could almost see my reflection on them.

And that's how I ended up moping on the streets.

Why'd they even call me for the interview if they were gonna slap me in the face once again with my social status like always.

I was loosing count of the interviews I'd attended and been shamed, should have known it was too good to be true, I had literally been turned down from every company in L.A well.....

"Watch it poor thing!!" I was pulled back to my senses by a man yelling after bumping into me which I duly ignored gazing at the skyscraper I had mindlessly approached.

.....maybe not all companies yet, but there's no way in a fairy tale I could get a job in one of the Anderson's.

No matter the number of times I had seen it, I was still enthralled by it's beauty like it was my first time.

Sky high building, basking in the sun that glinted on it's metallic and glass surfaces, "Shen Enterprises" shining with the day. If only I knew what the inside looked like, must be lavishly beautiful.

I could never see myself going in.

Delusion?

I'm not delusional, well I used to be , but not anymore

Gone are the days I was in the orphanage, imagining prince charming leaving his tower such as this and saving me from my life.

Twenty one years of misery taught me otherwise.

Life is not a fairy tale...

....and there's no goddamn prince charming walking into my life anytime soon.

Ear piercing screams, is the earth getting invaded?

I don't think so, those weren't screams of horror....

.... It sounds like a mob of shrieking fan girls.

I realized that too late as I was already being carried by the crowd of hysterical, hormonal females.

What sort of trance was I lost in not to notice the sleek black limousine that had stopped in front of the skyscraper.

Trying my best to push back, I was tossed around like a pong ball, and oh I tried to endure it, until I was jabbed on the chin by a bony elbow.

Just as I thought it was all over, I got tossed forward.

It all happened in a slow motion, I thought things like this only happened in the movies.

I stumbled through the crowd and past the barricades of able bodied security males, and unto the cause of the chaos.

As my brain went haywire, the only thing I could process were the whispers that left my lips "Prince Charming".

His extremely handsome face squinted in concern as I was still unmoving, and the cliche part, I am in his arms. His large palm lightly gripping my waist, and another holding my leg that lost it's footing and balance on the marbled floor.

All I could think of was running my hand through his brown locks that looked so soft before coming back to my senses.

At the same time, my legs gave up on me, leading me to drop in a pile to the floor with my purse pouring out the little contents as I finally understood what had happened, I gasped as cameras shuttered, picking up my purse and it's contents on the floor before scrambling off and getting lost in the crowd.

If only I had looked back to see prince charming staring at my retreating figure with a mischievous glint.

**

Barging through the door almost pulling it off it's already loose hinges in the process, I panted, bent over with my hands resting on my knees for balance.

"Luna,  are you alright?" A meek voice called from the single deflated bed in the tiny living environment.

"Do I look okay!" I yelled back, causing the young male to jolt on his spot as a pang of guilt instantly washed through me for yelling at the younger.

"I'm sorry for yelling Jun" I sighed "the interview was a bust as always "I need to find another part time job soon, part timing at Mrs. Wong's  isn't paying off and the bills are accumulating"

"You should let me get a part time job Luna" Jun interceded to which I shunned the idea instantly.

"No, you study well and not stress yourself, just wait for me to come back home everyday, the world out there is too harsh for you to handle".

"There's nothing here to study" Jun murmured and I caught on immediately.

"I'll get you new books on coding and technology tomorrow then" I offered, shuffling through the tiny room to the makeshift kitchen at a corner with just a small stove.

"What's for dinner?" Jun questioned "there's nothing left but  noodles, some pepper, vegetables and eggs".

"I'll prepare something, go get some batteries for the torch, it's getting late" I replied, washing my hands and placing a small pot on the lit stove as Jun took some change from my purse, happily trotting off as I sighed, pouring water into the pot and waiting for it to heat up.

Sal and I are four years apart, he's 17 and I'm 21, and I've known him for as long as I can remember that he literally became my younger brother.

He was so innocent in the orphanage that I had to run away with him when I turned 15, and we've both been living off crumbs for 6 years now.

The water began to boil and I opened up two packs of noodles, dumping it into the boiling water and stirring it lightly with a fork. Quickly chopping some pepper, onions, carrots and cabbage, adding it to the noodles and stirring in the seasoning. I added an egg before shutting the lid, letting the food cook.

Jun came back with the batteries and a smile as he questioned "what's that smell?" Sitting on the floor beside me as I dished out the hot noodle into two plates before handing him a pair of chopsticks, that was our lunch and dinner in one meal.

"Eat up"

"Wow! I was getting tired of the taste of plain  noodles" he slurped a string down, commenting further.

"This is great Luna!" He licked his lips.

"Enough flattering child, I know I'm a great cook" I laughed back, slurping down my food too.

By the time we wiped our plates clean of broth, the sun was setting and I gathered the plates to wash up.

Just as I was rinsing the plates, the water from the tap stopped flowing and I groaned in frustration.

"Great, now they've cut off the water supply".

"What do we do?" Jun worried.

"I think it'll rain tonight, keep as many buckets as you can to gather water".

*****

"Dude"

"Dude"

"Dude"

"Dude!!!"

"Shen Yi!!!"

"What!" ShenYi shouts back, finally looking up from his seat, glaring at his brother who sat at the other end of the lavish office room.

"I've been calling you for minutes dude. Get your head out of the gutter"

"It's brother to you Shen Yue don't let your new height of almost 8 feet deceive you"

"Why?" ShenYue teased "you jealous? Do you need some height?"

"And do you need some of my divine beauty?" ShenYi scoffed in response, running his slender fingers down his jawline.

"No thanks" ShenYue refused "keep your narcissism to yourself"

"You seem distracted" he noted, carefully eyeing the older "what has you thinking?"

"I just can't get her off my mind"

"Wow! The most wanted bachelor finally has interest in a girl!!!" A new voice chirped as another presence graced the room.

"I'm proud of you bro!" he completed, plopping down on a sofa.

"Try your best to not ruin my office Shen Yan" ShenYue pleaded, directing his gaze back to his older brother as their personal assistant entered, serving out drinks to the three brothers.

"Tell us ShenYi, what pulled your attention to her among the flock of girls after you" ShenYue inquired, taking a sip of his drink while ShenYan noisily chugged his.

"Her legs" the oldest brother replied shamelessly.

And his two brothers were spitting out their drinks they had just sipped, ShenYue's spraying over the files on his table and ShenYan's staining the sofa as they both choked , with the personal assistant confused on who to assist and gawking at her straight forward boss.

"The hell ShenYi!" ShenYue coughed out "I'm supposed to be the perverted one among us"

"I'm not kidding" ShenYi replied with heart eyes " her legs were just so smooth, and  long, and tanned, not even her oversized skirt could hold back the beauty of those legs, she looked so cute too".

"So, basically, you're obsessed with her legs?" the youngest reasoned

"Something like that"

"Also, she called me prince charming"

"Literally every female calls you prince charming except Xiao Zhan's sister who despises you" ShenYue stated.

"Hers was different, the voice gave me goosebumps" the oldest brother replied, getting up and straightening his suit.

"Also, I lost the cards"

"YOU WHAT!!!!" ShenYue shouted, causing the personal assistant to flinch.

"From what I can remember, It left my hand when I caught her, she probably picked it up before running away" the oldest explained.

"Dude! You do know she has access to all our companies with your personal card and she could get any job she wished for by just flashing your name on the card" his uptight brother chastised.

"And not to talk of her having access to your black card"

"Hmm, I know" ShenYi hummed

"I'm calling the bank and police" ShenYue declared, reaching for his phone to make a call.

"No, leave her, those pretty legs deserve some high class accessories, tell the bank to give her access to the black card" he finished before walking out like the floor was his runaway.

"Come on Miss Zhang " he called for his brother's personal assistant as they left his brothers gaping at his retreating figure.

"ShenYi has finally lost it" ShenYan gawked.

"""""

It was raining and Jun was fast asleep on one side of the small bed, leaving my spot empty as he drooled over his books he slept reading and I finally changed out of my interview clothes.

Opening the purse and taking out the contents, I was shocked to find something not mine in it as I began to question my sanity

'Did I suddenly get split personality over stress and start stealing people's belongings'

Two cards, one a personal business card, and the other, a black card.

Shen clearly stated on it.

And I thought back to the moment I stumbled into Mr. Shen and how I accidentally picked up his cards that fell along with my purse.

Groaning in frustration, I grumbled, falling on the bed and kicking my legs in the air, mumbling to myself.

"What did you get yourself into Luna!".