joohyun is in a serious dilemma.

after agreeing on what's written on the note, her landlord left with the tray and plates they've eaten at. and joohyun feels like her brain is taken away, too.

her previous objective on spending the whole afternoon looking for a job is already thrown out the window, laptop forgotten while she looks for her phone. she finds it after hearing a soft thud once she vehemently tugs the comforter in hurry, never been that grateful that the whole room is hotel-like, and her phone made it out alive because of the thick carpet.

she needs to talk to sooyoung- she figures the younger one would know what to do about this whole bizarre, but very interesting arrangement.

as she waits- impatiently and panicky- for her call to get through, she ponders, just how does people bond over meals? especially on their first meeting? of course joohyun knows the answer. it's obvious; talk about each other's interest, entertain one's question and just simply be kind.

in normal circumstance, bae joohyun wouldn't need to open . she could just sit there, flash a smile and nod occasionally when someone speaks, make it looks like she's listening while she stuffs herself with food. it's that easy, and once they're done eating, people would assume that they've made friends with her.

in normal circumstance, people would do the efforts. in normal circumstance, it's often one sided. don't take her wrong, when she's with people she's comfortable with, that's where it all changes. because they matter, despite yerim and sooyoung talking about gibberish topic, she would still listen. and then chastise them afterwards.

but this is no normal circumstance, hence why she's been jumpy than the usual- there is nothing normal and easy in this situation. at all.

on top of that, with the pandemic and social distancing going on, joohyun doesn’t even know how to make a connection with someone new- when she herself took months before contacting seulgi, despite their years of friendship. she’s been in the confinement of her apartment for months that it feels odd and scary to talk and interact to people.

so, just how does people bond over meals without seeing each other’s faces?

“you’re having a dinner with your sugar mommy? i thought you guys already went waaay past that.”

joohyun feels her eyebrows pull down, bewildered at the thought. “no?”

sooyoung hums, her eyes narrowed in a searching sort of stare across the screen. “then why am i talking to you while you’re still in bathrobe? are you asking tips on how to spice things up, unnie?”

spice things up, joohyun mouthed. she shakes her head, already feeling the impending headache despite just getting out of the shower and replies. “sooyoung, be glad you’re the reason why this is happening-“

“when can i get my cut off?” the younger one interrupts pleasantly, and it is only when her expression flattened into something smug that joohyun’s hand itches to grab onto something and throw it straight to woman’s face.

nine seconds into the video call, it’s a shame she could only cast one more horrified look at sooyoung before she hangs up. she flings the phone towards her bed and ignores the subsequent relentless ringing. four minutes later, sooyoung sends her a string of vaguely offended exclamation marks.

calling sooyoung for help shouldn’t be considered again, ever.

dinner comes in the form of pan-seared salmon with an interesting mix of textures. the plate looks pristine in her hands. joohyun tries not to topple as she settles down on the carpet. it feels like a sin to eat something so gorgeous on the floor despite the existence of a table in her room.

it makes her smile. joohyun never imagined she’ll get to have meals like these again, at least not in her previous situation. few months into quarantine, with her remaining money briskly turning into lesser digits, and her incapability to cook, she resorted into something cheap but easy to make meals such a ramyeon. and ramyeon. and ramyeon.

it isn’t much of a problem before the pandemic, living and surviving alone. she’ll get her meals outside, eat with her coworkers at lunch time, and heat up her leftover chinese take-outs for dinner. sometimes, her mother would pay her a visit and stock up her fridge with side dishes. in her pay day, she most likely spends it with yerim and sooyoung, succumbing into those high in fat and sodium content fast foods.

to her credit, she did try to learn how to cook a day after the lockdown. but the horror she experienced when the stove was spitting at her with vengeance as she tried to make a sunny side up was enough to make her go back into ordering a box of ramyeon.

which is why every meals she had and will have within her stay here has a place in her gallery.

“joohyun-ssi?” sai