BIGHIT Cafeteria – 3.09 PM

Lexi and Namjoon sat across each other, enjoying their meals. Meanwhile, a deafening silence reigned over the room. The cafeteria was empty. Lunch time being over, all employees went back to work.

Namjoon was a good eater; Lexi, on the other hand, barely finished her plate. She was too busy gazing at him to eat. As her stomach growled, she was lost in her own thoughts: to be seated in front of her mentor, actually sharing a meal, although midst an eternal silence, was not how she imagined her day to turn out, especially after the mini-heart attack she had earlier.

Feeling her gaze haunting him as he ate, Namjoon raised his head glancing at her. His sudden move startled Lexi, who immediately looked back at her plate.

“Are you okay? You haven’t touched your food” he pointed out.

“Y-Yes, I’m fine. I was just thinking …” she stopped herself, unsure what her next words would be “Never mind” she resumed.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked, eager to find out what was going on inside the new trainee’s head.

“I was just thinking that we should probably head back to work. I have a lot of catching up to do, and the sooner I get back to the studio the better so I can …” before she could finish her talk, he called her name, interrupting her appeal.

“Alexandra” he paused “you should give yourself a break”.

Hearing his words, she grabbed her fork and started playing with her food, flustered by her mentor’s verdict. No matter how physically tired she was, she liked to overwork herself because it prevented her from overthinking; her latest stickler was her father’s recent outburst. A brief but acute sound of a candy wrapper caught Lexi’s attention, breaking her chain of thought.

“That’s bad for your teeth, you know” she claimed as Namjoon put a lollipop in his mouth. He’d often eat one whenever he was busy writing; it somehow triggered his inspiration. However, he recently grew a habit of having one every now and then, which did not go unseen by Lexi.

“I didn’t know you were a dentist” he teased, continuously on the lollipop.

“It just so happens that I am one. Well, I used to be one anyways” she revealed, remembering that particular chapter of her life.

For the next hour, Lexi reminisced about her old life. She told Namjoon about her upbringing, her academic studies, and her sudden interest in Literature. She also revealed her past and recent issues with her intolerant father. She expressed herself comfortably, her hand gestures following her monologue in an artistic way, captivating her audience.

Namjo