Chapitre Quarte

They had stopped running a while ago. Yuri’s head was fuzzy and her legs were giving up on walking. They were in a marketplace in Seoul, somewhere crowded and bustling with busy people.

“Yoona…can we stop for a while?” Yuri asked panting and holding her head in her hands. “I’m so tired.”

Yoona looked back, her denim material jacket dancing across her slim waist. She looked Yuri up down and nodded. She took out her wallet and counted the few notes inside and motioned for Yuri to follow.

They reached a small restaurant that was offering early breakfast probably for nightshift workers. The restaurant was decorated with many dreamcatchers hanging from the low ceiling and mirror mosaic walls. The seats were red with contrasting lime green tables. It felt more like a psychic’s fortune telling shop than a place to eat, thought Yuri.

Yoona sat in the last seat available taking the wall side. “Order something cheap.” She muttered after placing a cigarette between her lips.

“No smoking,” said the waitress already by their side with a notepad. Yoona frowned at her but the waitress folded her arms and raised an authoritative brow. “We’re strict about health rules, miss. Throw it away or leave.”

Yuri rubbed her stomach to show that she was really hungry and had no desire to get kicked out right now. Yoona frowned at her then, smashing the cigarette between her fingers and throwing it away at the waitress’s feet. Yuri mouthed a ‘thank you’ and grabbed the menu.

“Um…this looks fulfillingly big! A royal burger. Some fries with extra large coke and no mayonnaise please. I hate mayonnaise. I also don’t like mustard sauce and—”

The waitress left after writing down the order. Yuri felt offended for getting her opinion ignored so she turned to Yoona to continue. “Mustard sauce is yuck and I also don’t like barbeque sauce. I don’t understand the whole concept of having sauces when ketchup is enough for everything, you know. Although we can’t really use ketchup with salad, that’s gross and retarded.”

Yoona wasn’t listening ofcourse. She was observing the rest of the restaurant to make sure they were actually safe and there was no member of the enemy gang who might identify them. But Yuri didn’t care if she was listening or not, she only cared that she had someone to talk to about her dislike for sauces.

“I tell you to order cheap!” scolded Yoona when they exited the restaurant and began walking along the streets, “you finish my money!”

“I saw plenty of cash in there. Stop creating drama.” Yuri sassed, fixing her bangs across her forehead.

“Garce!” Yoona cursed and Yuri narrowed her brows.

“Stop calling me things I don’t understand. But I know that’s a bad word, I just know it. Listen, all that running strained my energy so I needed to eat a lot, all right. I need food. I need nourishment.” Yuri reasoned, rubbing the back of her neck. Truth was she ate excessively and she knew it but she couldn’t resist the temptation of the junk food either. She did offer Yoona to share but if she refused that was her fault, thought Yuri.

The said girl was strutting forward faster with her hands inside the pockets of her jacket. She was keeping a distance between her and Yuri and even that offended the younger one.

“Atleast you have better clothes on!” she tried, walking fast too. “Look at me…I’m in a bloody uniform.”

Yoona turned around abruptly and Yuri almost bumped into her. “You want to go shopping?” she asked sarcastically.

Yuri sighed and stared at the ground. “This is so crazy, okay. I suppose we can’t go back to your house anymore…so what are we going to do now? Keep walking around the city?” she asked, suddenly missing the destroyed but shared room.

Yoona shook her head and ran a messy hand through her hair. “No, we go meet a friend.”

***

The pastel pink door finally opened after the third knock. Yuri looked inside but saw no one standing to greet them.

“Down here.”

Yuri followed the deep yet sultry voice and saw a really tiny bespectacled human standing with the door open, a hand on her hip. The host looked confused at Yoona’s arrival.

“Hello sweetheart. It’s been so long. Come on in.” she motioned and the two entered into a house full of more pastel furniture, a lot of plush toys and technological gadgets and many many tiny photograph frames.

Yuri saw atleast two desktop computers and a laptop in the corner with chips and frizzy drinks stashed height-wise on the table.

“I’m Taeyeon,” said the tiny woman just walking ahead towards the kitchen. Her short hair bounced on her shoulders. “Don’t even have to guess Yoona didn’t give you any introduction about me, tsk. I’m the gang’s resident hacker.”

Yoona was quick to drop herself into one of Taeyeon’s furry pink couches. She grabbed a few pillows and cuddled with them tiredly. Yuri sat on the couch across to hers, looking at the photoframes on the coffee table in the middle (which too was pastel teal).

“Who gave you my address?” Taeyeon asked, returning with a tray carrying two glasses of mango juice. “Nobody’s supposed to know my address.”

“Sehun text me. Baekhyun give him your address.” Yoona told her and stretched her legs around the armrest.

Taeyeon rolled her eyes so hard behind her gold rimmed glasses they almost turned white. Yuri shifted uncomfortably in her place taking the glass from her.

“That son of a . I’m definitely going to break up this time.” She cursed and handed Yoona her drink as well, settling on the last couch that had cat paw prints.

“Is Baekhyun your boyfriend?” Yuri guessingly asked and Taeyeon nodded and pointed her finger to one of the big heart shaped frames on the table.

“That .”

As much spite Taeyeon mentioned him with, the photo of them said otherwise so. A ily handsome man donning a classy black suit had her wrapped around in his lap. Taeyeon was grinning like she couldn’t be any place happier than his embrace. They looked so unmatched next to each other, him having a dark gangly aura and she wore a pastel yellow shirt with a bunny emoji. The other two heart frames had photos of them as well – one taken with him kissing her cheek ador