Dara went out her room walking like a brainless zombie, her hair all over the place and her eyes half open. She felt like she should be remembering something important but her brain couldn’t think anything beyond having coffee. She was just instinctively following the scent of freshly brewed coffee that was currently tempting her senses.

She shuffled into the kitchen and propped herself up in one of the breakfast stools. She could see Jiyong’s blurry figure behind her wild curtain of hair. He turned to her and handed her a cup of steaming coffee across their breakfast bar slash kitchen counter.

“My precious!” She greedily grabbed the mug of pure heaven from Jiyong who smiled happily at the sight of her. Jiyong knew his place in Dara’s priorities. Coffee always comes first in the morning. That still hasn’t changed it seems, so the slightly worried dragon felt some relief to see his favorite human acting her usual abnormal normal self.

Dara moaned after her first sip of coffee. “This coffee is the bomb!” She flashed him a heart sign. “I love you, Jiyongie. You are the best barista in the world.”

“I know you love me. You told me so last night.” He told her in a teasing tone. She was acting in Jiyong’s opinion as per the usual morning version of herself – the mildly crazy, barely awake, decidedly scatterbrained but definitely adorkable Dara. He knew she momentarily forgot about last night because if she had her wits with her she would probably be acting awkward as hell.

His response woke her up in a flash. ‘Last night wasn’t a dream?’ She asked herself in a panic.

“No, it wasn’t a dream.” Jiyong confirmed.

“I was thinking out loud again?” Dara scrunched her face in embarrassment and buried her head inside the hoodie that she had unthinkingly grabbed from the foot of her bed. She probably wasn’t awake enough to notice that she wore over her pajamas the MOTTE hoodie Jiyong gave her. Jiyong grinned at her and was about to reach across the counter to pinch her cheeks but then his phone rang.

It was Seungri, the rat who kept on appearing and disappearing from their radar lately. He sighed and answered the call but activated the speaker so he can continue with his cooking.

“Hyung!” Seungri whined.

“What?” He answered. 

“Hyung, what are you doing?” The brat asked.

“Cooking breakfast for my girlfriend. Waeyo?” Jiyong nonchalantly answered. Dara’s body stiffened underneath the hoodie.

“What girlfriend? You haven’t had one since college. Stop pulling my leg. I need you to go on a double date with me tonight.” Seungri demanded.

“You’re on loud speaker, you . My girlfriend can hear you.” Jiyong said while cracking two eggs for Dara’s sunny side up.

“You are delusional. I will tell Noona Dara how you’ve been faking all these years if you don’t go with me tonight.” Seungri threatened.

“Go and tell her then. She’s listening.” Jiyong calmly answered. A few seconds of silence followed. Seungri’s rat brain sometimes need a few moments to catch up like most other unevolved creatures.

“You’re cooking breakfast for your girlfriend?” Seungri asked.

“Yes.” Jiyong confirmed.

“Your girlfriend can hear me?” The brat asked again.

“Yes.” Jiyong answered as he transferred the eggs to Dara’s plate. Then he reached for the bacon and proceeded to fry them.

“