we’re about to get off at a food exit and grab something to eat. this i weird  he’s about to buy me a meal, and not just something cheap from the dollar menu at mcdonald’s either. he's gonna get me real food because he's worried about me. is it bad that i’m thinking of this almost like a date? like, i know i shouldn’t ‘cause the chances of him actually being even a little gay are very slim, but not as slim as the chances of him being gay for me specifically. but, i mean, he's been so caring

    i’m starting to get kind of tired, but there’s a sign saying that the food exit it five miles ahead. maybe i should just drink another coffee so i don’t knock out before we even get there. i reach in the foam cooler in the backseat and-- damn it. i drank all the coffee. well, i’m sure if i just close my eyes for a minute it’ll be okay; i won’t fall asleep that quickly…

    “boop,” wonwoo says in a strangely high-pitched-but-not-really-because-his-voice-is-too-low voice to wake me up. i blink a few times and look around. we’re in the parking lot of a t.g.i friday’s, parked right in front of the door with a poster on it advertising that they’re now open 24 hours. i look to my left and see wonwoo smiling at me, his eyes little crescents with wrinkles at the edges. “come on, let’s run in and eat real quick.”

    i can feel my face heating up as i nod and undo my seatbelt. we get out of the car and he locks it. it’s still dark outside despite being morning, but we’re not the only ones here, so that’s a good sign. we walk inside and we’re immediately greeted by a cute blonde girl with a southern accent wearing a white, long-sleeve button up, black pants, and a black apron around her waist.

she grabs two adult menus and, when she’s about to seat us, wonwoo adds, “can you make one of those a children’s menu, please?” she looks from him to me, smiles, and reaches for one, but wonwoo’s laughter catches her attention again. “just kidding, we’re the same age.” she laughs awkwardly and escorts us to a booth next to a window.

“so, uh,” i start as i open up my menu, “how much longer of a drive do we have from here?”

“about half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes.” he looks up from his menu, smiling the same smile from when i woke up. “you were cute in the car. i mean, you’re sort of always cute, but you were cuter than normal.”

i’m blushing again, . i’m so obvious. i clear my throat and ask, “what are you gonna get? i’m thinking about maybe the dragonfire chicken.”

“i’ll get whatever you get,” he replies, his smile unwavering.

okay, pause. i’m lost. he seemed pretty done with me before i fell asleep, and now i’m cute? did i read him wrong or something? was he not really done with me? why is he so smiley? this is so weird. this is not how this trip was supposed to go. actually, i don’t know how this was supposed to go, but, i mean, this is so weird.

crap. i can’t actually pause reality. damn it.

“so, are you two ready to order?” the waitress asks as she comes back to our table.

“we’ll have two dragonfire chickens, please,” wonwoo requests while i just sort of stare blankly at his way-too-happy-for-four-in-the-morning face. maybe that’s all it is, he’s at that stage of tired that he’s just super happy.

“alright,” she says with a smile that shows that she doesn’t hate her job, “you two make a cute couple.”

my eyes widen and i stiffen up completely, suddenly wide awake. what did she just say?

my traveling companion chuckles, “thanks. i mean, we’re not exactly together, but thanks.”

“oh, i’m sorry, i didn’t realize--”

“it’s fine,” he assures her, “and can we get two coffees as well?”

“sure! cream or no cream?”  she writes our orders down on a small notebook.

“cream for me, and,” he looks over at me, i’m still completely frozen and probably as red as the bottle of ketchup sitting on the table between us, “do you have iced coffee?” he nods. “he’ll have an iced coffee then. do they have flavors?”

“well, we can give him flavored creamer to put in himself. we only have vanilla, though.”

“that’s fine, he’s not picky. thank you.” she nods and walks away. she’s way too peppy for four in the morning. “jihoon?” i hum in response. “you okay over there? you seem kind of dazed and your cheeks are red.”

“oh?” i reach up and touch my cheeks. “i’m fine. just a little tired is all. i’ll be okay after we eat and i get some more coffee in my system,” i assure him.

he nods, “alright. did you sleep well in the car?” he asks, suddenly speaking korean.

“i only slept for a little while, but yes, i slept well,” i reply, speaking rather formally.

“we’re the same age, you don’t have to add formalities,” he reminds me.

“oh, right. i really only speak korean to my parents and extended family, so i usually speak formally,” i explain.

“you can sleep the rest of the way to the beach, if you want. i can keep the music volume low, or i can just leave it off if you want.” his tone of voice is really low and calm. he’s back to being really nice and sweet and ugh. i’d say this , but it’s actually pretty great.

“i’d appreciate that a lot, actually. thanks,” i say, and then it’s awkwardly quiet until our food arrives.

while we eat, he makes comments about how great the food is and i just sort of stay quiet, trying to sort out my thoughts while also trying not to fall asleep in my food.