Renata's chest throbbed painfully at the word "fired." She slowly shook her head, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. No. She couldn't be fired! No matter how difficult the work in this kitchen was, no matter how tormented she was by the harassment of supernatural beings, Renata had to endure. This was the only way to fulfill her late father's final wish before he closed his eyes forever: he wanted Renata to become a professional chef. By staying at a classy five-star hotel restaurant like Grand Hotel, Renata was sure her father's dream could come true, even though her abilities were pitiful at the moment.
"I'll work even harder, Chef. Please, don't fire me. Give me one more chance," Renata said in a trembling voice.
Bima took a deep breath and stared at Renata, who was shaking violently in front of him, before finally nodding slowly. "All right. I'll give you one last chance. But remember, if you make even the smallest mistake again, I'll have no choice but to find your replacement myself."
Bima then turned around and gently patted Fandi's shoulder to calm his subordinate's anger. "Fandi, don't be too hard on your junior. Finish our VIP guest's order for today, quickly. Don't forget, the new owner of the hotel will be coming here in two days to conduct a surprise inspection and overhaul our entire menu. He's an incredibly skilled and critical food judge, and his name is famous internationally."
"Yes, Chef!" Fandi and the entire kitchen staff answered in unison.
After Bima left the prep area, Fandi glanced at Renata coldly. He immediately waved over another assistant. "Adit, finish this! Clean everything up!"
"Yes, Chef!" Adit immediately took over the station.
Renata moved to the back of the kitchen and took the first-aid kit from the top of a shelf. The moment she opened the bandages, her tears began streaming uncontrollably. She sobbed quietly in the silence. The pain in her sliced fingers was nothing compared to the ache in her chest—as she mourned her bad luck and the incompetence that seemed to chase her relentlessly. And then there was the terror of the invisible entity that kept appearing again and again, stealing the peace from her life.
The temperature in the corridor behind the kitchen suddenly plummeted. A tall shadow with a mangled face abruptly appeared right in front of the medicine cabinet, staring at her with blazing red eyes.
"No! Don't come any closer!" Renata screamed hysterically. She turned and ran full speed out the restaurant's back door.
Inside the kitchen, several chefs glanced toward the outer door as it swung violently.
"Chef, has Renata actually gone crazy? Why is she always terrified and screaming to herself like she's possessed?" one of the chefs jeered, shaking his head.
Fandi merely clicked his tongue lazily without taking his eyes off the frying pan. "Who knows? She's still in training, so they can't fire her right away. Just wait until the end of this month. She'll definitely be fired."
Meanwhile, far away in the hotel's deserted, dimly lit back garden, Renata finally stopped running. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and her throat felt dry and raw. With what little strength she had left, the girl sank down beneath the shade of a banyan tree.
She sat on the grass, pulling both knees tightly to her chest and burying her face against them. Her crying broke into a heart-wrenching wail in the silence of the night.
"Dad, I can't take it anymore. I can't keep living like this."
"Why are you crying here?"
A man's voice startled Renata. She looked up at him. "Mr. Devan?"
"You know me?"