28. The Come Back Ex

The smell of food greeted Arleena's nose when she came out of the room. The clock on the living room wall read six in the morning. But Arleena had already seen Hugo in the kitchen, apparently cooking something that couldn't be seen clearly. Arleena wasn't sure if her eyes were directly seeing Hugo cooking food. As she walked closer to Hugo, Arleena realized that it was indeed Hugo in the kitchen. Arleena gaped in amazement and disbelief, her steps stopped a few meters from the kitchen mini bar, and noticed how agile Hugo's hands were chopping food ingredients. "Hey, are you cooking something?" asked Arleena finally. She couldn't stand the new thing she saw in Hugo that second. In front of Arleena, Hugo only turned his head briefly before looking back at the ingredients. The sound of the knife chopping accelerated for a few seconds, then Hugo brought the vegetable pieces to the plate. "Ah, you're awake. Don't be surprised to see me cooking," Hugo said as he placed the salad pieces as decoration on the edge of the plate. When Arleena came closer to the mini bar, it turned out that Hugo had prepared two plates whose edges were decorated with pieces of salad vegetables. There was already a garnish of steak sauce that Arleena usually witnessed as a restaurant dish. After arranging the vegetable pieces, Hugo's hands deftly moved two cooked steaks. "I've been surprised since I first saw you in the kitchen," replied Arleena who was dumbfounded at the two meats on each plate. Hugo immediately smiled with relief when the food was ready. He put down the cooking utensils in his hands and passed one plate to Arleena. "Three years you haven't seen me. Now you're surprised to see how I've changed, right?" Hugo asked with a proud smile. In front of Hugo, Arleena frowned in astonishment. Arleena still couldn't believe that Hugo in front of her could make this food. Because as far as she remembered, Hugo had never cooked at all. This man was like a spoiled man who just wanted everything to be instant. Arleena hesitantly took the plate that Hugo handed to her. Instantly her curiosity grew after seeing the appearance of a meat steak that was prepared differently than a restaurant steak. While Hugo looked at Arleena curiously as if he wanted to know her reaction, Arleena began to taste the dishes on the plate. A pause occurred between the two of them as Arleena slowly chewed the meat on the plate. Unexpectedly, Arleena found that the flavor of the meat on this plate really tantalized her tongue. Arleena could not hide Hugo's delicious expression. In fact, Arleena did not want to show her reaction openly. "Delicious, isn't it?" Hugo had guessed from Arleena's expression at that moment. After realizing her reaction, Arleena immediately gasped. It was as if she came back to reality and remembered her plan from earlier. "It's not that good," Arleena replied. Instantly covering her expression of pleasure. But she kept cutting the meat and feeding it to her mouth without stopping. "Actually, I've tasted restaurant steaks that were much better-" "Gosh, you're still unwilling to express your feelings to others," Hugo said, cutting Arleena off as a rough sigh could be heard. Arleena stopped talking. Her mouth continued to chew with a confused look at Hugo. "I know that you actually find my meat steak very delicious. But you don't want to say that," Hugo said once again. Arleena frowned in mild annoyance. She deliberately pretended not to show the enjoyment of Hugo's cooking. "It's still an easy meal to make," Arleena said as she swallowed a piece of meat. "You've lived alone for so many years in a different country. You should be able to make simple food like this." While chewing the piece of meat, Hugo watched Arleena with a lopsided smile. Hugo deliberately stared intensely so that he could read Arleena's nervous gestures. "Do you know, you're so cute when you're nervous?" Hugo's question made Arleena's chewing movements slow down. Arleena instantly couldn't say anything and didn't move a muscle. Watching Hugo who really seemed to be deliberately teasing her made the anger in Arleena's heart increase instantly. "HUGO! Can't you stop your ridiculous words?!" *** Arleena landed her butt on the chair behind the desk. Her breath came out. She had finally finished submitting the report and was still able to enjoy her break on time. Arleena hurriedly looked at the contents of her briefcase, only to realize that she hadn't brought any food at all. After she had finished checking the contents of her work bag, Arleena let out another harsh breath. Was it because she was too focused on tasting Hugo's cooking that she forgot to prepare food? Arleena remembered the delicious taste of Hugo's meat steak. For some reason, when remembering that, Arleena felt like bringing Hugo's meat steak to the office. However, since she had already said a teasing sentence to Hugo, it seemed like it would be difficult to do that. "Ah, damn," Arleena grumbled as she supported her forehead using both palms. A sudden feeling of regret arose. "Had it not been Hugo who cooked that steak, I would have praised it without stopping. Since it was Hugo's, it's hard for me to express my feelings." Unbeknownst to Arleena, her coworker to her right-who had just come to the workstation-was watching in astonishment. She was confused as to why Arleena looked like a frustrated person. "If it wasn't Hugo... aish, isn't there anyone else who can make meat steaks like him?" complained Arleena who hid her face behind her palms. "Arleena, are you okay?" Arleena's body jerked after hearing the reprimand from the coworker beside her. Arleena was at once embarrassed and confused. "Hey, ah... I'm... fine," Arleena replied, giving an awkward smile. Arleena slowly straightened her sitting position as she chuckled. "Since when have you been beside me, Merliana?" "Since you were grumbling about steak," Merliana replied. There was still a trace of confusion on her face. "Ah, meat steaks," Arleena muttered. She was suddenly struck with embarrassment. "That's right. That... I really want a meat steak specially made by someone." "Someone? Did you just try the meat steak that was specially made for you?" Merliana then widened her ignorant smile and approached Arleena. "Who? Tell me, who made you-" "Anyone!" said Arleena, cutting Merliana off. Her awkward smile remained wide. "I mean, it could be a famous chef. I was just watching a cooking show yesterday." Merliana then flicked a finger. "Ah, I know! You must not know the restaurant that just opened three days ago, right? It's across the street from this building. Just go there." Arleena was actually just talking as an alibi. But Arleena realized she had to quickly catch Merliana's return conversation. "Really? Does that restaurant serve meat steaks?" asked Arleena, forced to play along to support her alibi. Merliana nodded her head. "Of course. It's a meat steakhouse. You should try it." Arleena nodded her head. Before she could reply, someone called her name. "Arleena! You haven't eaten lunch at all?!" When Arleena turned her head, she saw Gabriel coming hurriedly towards her. Gabriel looked very worried to see that Arleena had not left her work chair. "Let's have lunch now. Sessy is waiting in the office lobby," said Gabriel, who immediately took one of Arleena's hands. Gabriel nodded his head to Merliana as a gesture of greeting. Meanwhile, Arleena was forced to stand up and follow Gabriel. Before leaving, Arleena also said goodbye through a code nod of the head to Marliana. Gabriel and Arleena stepped out of Arleena's division office. Walking down the hallway with nimble and quick movements, Gabriel had time to look around first. Then Gabriel stopped Arleena to tell her something. His gaze at Arleena was very serious. "Arleena..." Gabriel seemed hesitant to say something to Arleena. "Justin is here, he wants to meet you in the lobby of this office building."