···

Suho cursed, “Chanyeol, I swear to God! If you took that draught and gave it to Baekhyun –– you knew that getting him involved in this would cause greater trouble! So what the !?”

“W–wait, okay!” Chanyeol threw his hands up, “I didn’t touch the draught! Ever! I didn’t give it to Baekhyun, all I just did was tell him what we were doing, but I never touched that thing!”

“Chanyeol, seriously! I’m not in the mood for jokes, where the did you put it!?” Suho yelled.

“Woah, woah, wait –– hold up everyone!” Kai suddenly exclaimed, “I was jokin’! I still have the draught,” he snickered, holding the substance in his hand. He started laughing, mocking everyone in the car who fell for his tricks.

Kyungsoo sighed, feeling somewhat relieved.

Suho gave the expression of a facepalm and he put his head on top of the steering wheel. Then, he pointed his finger up, “Kai, if you play another kind of prank like that again, I will tear your limbs repeatedly as they grow back again until I’m satisfied.”

“H–hey, okay, wait, no need to go that far! Even if they regenerate back, it still hurts!”

Kyungsoo, getting back on topic, asked, “So is Baekhyun following us or is he following Seulgi and Irene?”

“I’m not sure,” Chanyeol replied.

“Well, anyway, it’s time to carry out our plan. Kyungsoo, you’re going to impersonate as one of the waiters in there. Abduct one from the back and dress like him, then serve whatever beverage they ordered to specifically their table and you’re going to pour all of the substance in,” Suho ordered, “You’re the one who could fool them all compared to all of us, and I –– just don’t want to do it.”

He took the draught from Kai and handed it right in front of Kyungsoo.

“But you should let Chanyeol do this! He’s good at smiling and acting like an angel at heart!” Kyungsoo exclaimed.

“But he just blew up my damn trust on him! I can’t let him handle something as important as this now!” Suho retorted, “After all, Baekhyun is sure to get us in trouble now that he’s aware of what we’re doing, and the fact that we excluded him out of it isn’t going to help. Kai’s too much of a prankster –– he wouldn’t take anything seriously, so he’d might as well just blow up this whole plan that we spent literally the whole day doing!”

“Fine!” Kyungsoo shouted back, “If anything goes wrong, it’s not my fault!” He forcefully took the draught from Suho and exited the car and disappeared into the alleyway.

···

“E–Eh? Isn’t that quite a lot..? Irene..!” Seulgi hissed under her breath. A total of at least four things were going to be served.

The waitress, not minding Seulgi, looked at Irene, “Okay, so you want the Bruschetta Caprese for your appetizer, minestrone as your soup for the Chicken Alfredo, the Lasagna Fritta, breadsticks, and a Bellini Peach-Raspberry Iced Tea. Anything else?”

“Ah, yes, and the 2-Dolcini deal on the menu for the dessert, but could you serve them after our entrée?’ Irene asked, as if she was familiar with the restaurant before.

“Yes, of course. Which flavors?”

“The Amaretto Tiramisu and the Limoncello Mousse, please.”

“Alright, your order will be ready soon, please wait,” the waitress took the menus and gave them a big smile while nodding slightly.

Seulgi, dumbfounded, stared at Irene, “I wasn’t joking.. All those pastas cost more than $16! There was none cheaper than that!”

“Yes, and you’re going to be the one finishing all of that! How great is that?” Irene smiled while putting her hands together.

“W–what? What do you mean ‘you’re going to be the one finishing all of that’? What are you talking about?” Seulgi was in confusion.

“We got the Chicken Alfredo, right? But guess what? I can’t eat chicken!” Irene threw her arms up and was laughing like someone who lost their mind, “Well actually, I kind of can’t eat anything that you guys eat, so all I’m going to drink is the iced tea.”

“W–what!?” Seulgi exclaimed, “Why’d you order that many things then?”

“Because! It’s something that you’d like, for sure. You can take anything home for to-go if you can’t finish something!” Irene replied.

Seulgi groaned, holding her head with both her hands as she leaned forward on the table.

Talk about table manners.

···

From a distance, the table for four that was open was immediately occupied by Jinri’s party of three.

“See? That’s them right there,” Jinri pointed.

Amber was tired as she sighed and Wendy was still out of it. There was a waitress taking their order that stood right in front of Seulgi from their perspective, blocking her from their view.

She used the menu to cover her face as her face was turned so her eyes could see Irene clearly.

“That smug smile.. I can’t wait to wipe it off her face,” Jinri sneered while squinting her eyes.

The waitress was done taking their order and the two at the table proceeded into a conversation again, but Seulgi was looking uneasy for some reason. Jinri’s table was in the waitress’s path as she walked toward the kitchen, so Jinri suddenly grabbed her attention by waving her hand.

“Excuse me, we’re ready to order.”

“Ah, yes. My name is Linda, and I’ll be your server for today. How can I help you?” She pulled out a pen and one of those notepads that waiters always carry to take their order.

“Actually, could we ask for the same items that that table ordered? Every single thing, the same exact,” Jinri said, blinking her eyes repeatedly.

“O–oh, uh, sure..” The waitress responded with uncertainty, giving Jinri the weird looks, “Your order will come soon, please wait patiently. Any extra drinks..?”

Wendy finally spoke up, “Just water for me.”

“Same,” Amber answered.

The waitress walked away, leaving them alone. Jinri watched as Seulgi put her head down on the table and Irene stood up toward the restroom.

“Hey guys, be right back, I’m going to the restroom. Wendy, you might as well take this chance. Seulgi’s alone, and I have no idea where Irene went,” Jinri smirked as she walked away.

Wendy looked over to Seulgi’s table. She wondered why she was alone all of a sudden and where Irene went, but then she remembered that this is a restaurant. Irene must’ve gone to the restroom too…

…

W–wait, restroom? J–Jinri! Wendy thought.

Instead of accompanying Seulgi like Jinri asked her to, she headed towards the restroom too, leaving Amber alone.

Jinri opened the door to the lady’s room and walked in. But after taking two steps inside, along with the door closing after her, she was alarmed very quickly when Irene turned her around by the shoulder and pushed her against the wall.

Jinri widened her eyes as she looked like she was about to scream, “W– ”

“What are you trying to do?” Irene squinted her eyes, glaring at Jinri.

“What do you mean what I’m ‘trying’ to do? I’m having a date with Wendy and a get-together with Amber of course. Why are you here?” Jinri asked back.

“Liar. I know you’re not here just for a simple date. What are you doing following me and Seulgi around busily? Why are you poking your nose around places that you shouldn’t be at? Especially around Seulgi.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. If you don’t stay away from Seulgi starting from this point on, I’m not going to sit there to remain still and watch you.”

“Mind your own business! Who the do you think you are to talk back to me like that, huh!? Have you not heard of who ‘Jinri’ is? I’m capable of ruining your social life in a blink of an eye!” Jinri shouted.

“And I –– am capable of taking away that privilege of yours by taking your life away from you.”

Immediately after her intimidating statement, Jinri sees a familiar pattern within Irene’s eyes –– something that she’s seen before. She widens her eyes.

“You’re the one that did it.”

“Did what?”

“You turned Seulgi like that! No wonder, you ! What the hell!?” Jinri struggled and squirmed to get out of Irene’s grip, “Ugh! Get away from me, let me go! You're not a human either!”

“What did I do?”

“Your eyes, god damn it! You made Seulgi turn into a monster like you!”

A direct hit…

To her emotions.

But she didn’t show weakness with her facial expressions.

Irene released her and scoffed, repeating the words that Jinri had said earlier, “That smug smile.. I can’t wait to wipe it off her face,” in a mockingly manner, “How I can’t wait for that to happen –– if it ever does.”

The door opened and there stood Wendy. Her facial expression was unreadable of what she was feeling inside.

Irene cleared , “Oh, hello there, Wendy –– ”

“What does she mean?” Wendy asked, almost instantly, “What does she mean that you turned Seulgi ‘into a monster’?”

“I don’t know,” Irene shrugged, “Ask your insane friend, I’m leaving.”

“I told you I was on a date!” Jinri shouted right behind Irene as she was walking out.

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