Hold the meat .12.

Sigh.

It was probably the 20th time Suga had done so that day as he stood by the steaming kitchen, staring at the gold and bronze ornamental analog hanging in the seating area of the restaurant. It was midday and only one out of the sixteen tables were occupied, to which he attended to despite there being another waitress in the store.

However he didn’t mind the silent hour. In fact, it was the only time during his pressing work schedule where he felt he could actually breathe, considering he was never good with handling crowded places.

Since the start of his daily shifts at 8 AM when the store opened with ritual timeliness, he found they would have no less than just a handful of customers. The day was relatively quiet at the Chinese eatery, save for the early evening which was their busiest time. Business for restaurants was rife in Gangnam after work which invited in the bustling nightlife, and even though he dreaded the crowded, tiny restaurant (or crowded spaces in general for the longest time), he also discovered a bizarre likeness for it.

Perhaps the hours staying awake grew on him. Working while in the girl’s body actually made him question when the last time he felt this… alive was.

In fact, he began to question a lot of things whenever he wasn’t scribbling down orders, fetching water pitchers and food platters, wiping tables, or mopping the floors. His lifestyle had taken a 180 degree turn. He slept the bare minimum, he ate more healthily than he did when he spent his days doing nothing, he interacted with people in a way he never imagined he would, but most of all, he felt he had a purpose again. Hell, he was even writing tiny creative rhymes from time to time, which was something he never expected of himself.

His days suddenly held significance. Instead of waking up to a quiet, dark room with nothing in mind, he woke up with a list of things to do before heading off to work. At first he’d been awfully skeptical of actually going along with Sehun’s suggestion of them living each other’s lives for the time being, however as time went on, he found himself getting a little more comfortable in her body each day…

Not that it changed his mind about getting his own body back though. He was still slightly distraught about the fact that he was not himself, and the woman was too, however it was just a matter of time before he could finally be back in his original state. As far as he knew though, the theatre was still closed. It would only be a matter of weeks now.

Talking about the woman…

He sighed again. Irritably this time. He’d developed a habit of checking her phone every now and again considering the death threats she often issued him whenever she demanded responses, however during the past few days, she’d failed to do so. And it worried him, ever so slightly. Even their once frequent meetings to discuss the events of their days to keep track of the goings-on in each other’s lives dwindled since then.

‘Hm?’ Sehun threw him a confused look after work one day when they’d arranged to meet at the bubble tea store. ‘Momoe’s not replying to texts? That’s… weird.’

Suga wasn’t even sure why he agreed to hang out with the weird guy. He certainly had better things to do like catch up on sleep or perhaps even try his hand out at some more poetry considering he’d seen a great deal of interesting things at the restaurant since starting work there… however there was a particular thing about Sehun that was almost akin to that of Taehyung. Suga was positive it was their overall weird nature. And maybe that drew him to the guy in an equally inexplicable way.

‘It’s unlike her. She’s usually barging in unannounced in the mornings worried about what I’m wearing or if I’m appropriate or whatever, but lately she’s…’

‘Missing…?’

Suga stared at Sehun for a long moment and the two held steely eye contact.

‘Wait, she couldn’t have…’

Sehun gasped. ‘No way!  Momoe’s going through a tough situation and all, but she’d never just run off without telling us. Well, if she booked a flight to Japan she’d tell me first anyway.’

Suga glared at him. ‘How would you know for sure? I mean, she’s got a lot of baggage. It’s easy to just up and go now that she’s got the chance. How long have you guys even been friends for anyway?’

‘I definitely know her longer than you, so that says something,’ Sehun said, rolling his eyes animatedly as he took a long sip of his bubble tea.

Suga watched this with a bizarre sense of want. Bubble tea wasn’t a particular favourite of his nor did he ever quite pay the drink much attention, however watching Sehun slurp up the chocolate-flavoured drink appealed to him in a way he never imagined… however he was certain it was the chocolate part that drew him in. The fact that it was chocolate in particular made his body react in all kinds of foreign ways. It looked so good that he had to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment to get rid of the temptation to buy one for himself.

Suga sighed. Again irritably. He lost count by now how many times he’d done so at work earlier. ‘You know, why do I even bother hanging out with you…?’

Sehun grinned dryly. ‘Because I’m loveable.’

There was a brief silence where Suga mindlessly stared at the chocolate bubble tea and could feel his tongue itch and his teeth grate at the sight of it. Chocolate. Chocolate never looked so darn good before in his life. Just what was wrong with him? He couldn’t remember craving something this badly. Not even his love for meat managed to get to him on this level.

‘By the way, why are you asking me all this? Wouldn’t it be easier to just visit her instead? I mean, it is your apartment and all…’

Well, Sehun had a point. The answer really was as simple as that.

Although he was certain it was his pride that held him back. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the girl’s absence during the mornings was a little more than irritating. He couldn’t quite place it, but meeting with her had become a little morning ritual that eased his thoughts. He was certain it was just the sight of his body in good health though. There was certainly no other reason behind it, yet what was there to explain why he still felt so generally vexed with her lack of activity lately?

Just a week ago, she’d been preaching nonstop about her parents and Christmas arrangements with them and what lies to tell them over the telephone the next time they called, and yet suddenly, it were as if she just disappeared off the face of the planet. Not that he had anything prepared anyway for whatever Christmas plans she had, but now that it was within a week’s time, (knowing how dramatic the girl could be) shouldn’t she have been freaking out?

Suga got up from the table abruptly, which made Sehun jump back slightly in his seat. Something wasn’t right. He was certain it was just the fact that he wasn’t as yet back in his body that was the cause of his aggravation. Definitely not the girl. Nope. Not one bit… but the hard time he had convincing himself of this made him think otherwise. OK, maybe it’s the girl.

‘Hey, where are you going?’ Sehun called behind him as he made his way to the counter.

‘To kill someone,’ he replied after ordering a chocolate bubble tea, and left Sehun staring in bewilderment as the straw he now played with like a kid fell out of his mouth and rolled across the table slowly.

I sat in bed staring at the phone in front of me as if it were a landmine.

Bzz bzz bzz, it went on, and even though the boys had a habit of constantly sending messages to the group chat, I had a horrid feeling it wasn’t them this time.

In fact, ever since I’d heard the thing I did that day at Jin’s house, I’d developed an overall weird feeling of knowing something important I perhaps shouldn’t have known at all in the first place… and the last thing I needed right now was to have anything to do with Suga. Because what I’d heard from Hoseok that day shook me to the core. Somehow, my apartment trials and parent tribulations all seemed like child’s play in comparison to what I’d heard, and I couldn’t help but still feel shaken up whenever I dwelled on it.

‘W-well, it was inevitable, right?’ I laughed nervously to myself. ‘I mean… who