- - - - -

Yoona buried her face in her pillow holding her breath for a few seconds then turned and inhaled again. How she wanted to suffocate herself after tattle telling everything to Taecyeon. She wasn’t a child anymore and she couldn’t even keep shut. Yoona flipped onto her other side and clutched onto the blanket covering her. She couldn’t imagine how awkward Taecyeon might have felt with her sudden exposure of emotions.

“Good job, Yoona. Job well done.” she sarcastically told herself bitterly.

With a heavy sigh she urged sleep to quickly come.

Saturday meant it was a day off from the office unless she received a call to head in. But that morning there was no call as she lie there in bed. She didn’t want to get up nor did she want to sleep anymore. There was nothing to do. Maybe she’d sit down and enjoy some TV shows with her mom. She knew for sure her father would be out, but then her mother would be extremely cautious around her because of the cancellation of the wedding. Her mother would make her feel even more uncomfortable.

What was there to do?

Should she apologize to Taecyeon for being a bum yesterday afternoon? Or would she head to her office and pick up some work?

“Yoona? Are you still sleeping?” her mother knocked on her locked door. “Wake up and eat breakfast, honey. I’ve left the food on the kitchen table.”

Yoona stared at the wall.

“I’m going to go shopping in a bit, do you want to go with me?”

Yoona debated. Well, there it was. She’d go shopping with her mom to clear her mind some then she’d decide if she wanted to call Taecyeon up.

- - - - -

“Ach…so bored.” Taecyeon muttered rubbing his eye flipping through the channels bored. “Yah, move out of the way so I can see the screen.”

Victoria was sitting in front of the TV cabinet going through the DVDs inside. It was as if she could never get enough of looking at the movies. He wondered what about the movies interested her so much.

“What’s this one about?” Victoria asked showing him the Windstruck DVD.

Taecyeon leaned forward and read the title, “Windstruck? It’s from 2004. It’s pretty old. Why would you be interested in that?”

“I was watching but never finished it.” Victoria explained. “Donghae said the ending would ruin my mood so he turned it off.”

“He did?” Taecyeon repeated. “How many times has he come here?”

“Once, twice, a few times.” she replied putting the DVD gently back as if it were some kind of antique.

Victoria was silent as she retraced her eyes to the TV.

“Yah, move back. You can get blind staring at the TV up close like that.” Taecyeon said from the couch.

Victoria didn’t move then turned around excited, “Lets cook!”

- - - - -

Weekend or not it was the same as a weekday through Donghae’s point of view. He awoke early, drank some coffee with his breakfast, and walked out of the house before running into his mother.

After his mother had caught him with Victoria things hadn’t been pretty between them. It was argue here or there and she was set on putting him under her control again. Yoona or not the wedding was going to happen sooner or later. Honestly, Donghae felt suffocated in the house and had contemplated about moving out once or twice but his father’s presence had told him to remain still under the roof.

There was no choice but to remain there for now. It was, yet, another fact that he felt terrible toward Yoona. Of course, he still cared for her, but what he’d called over was over and he was a person who kept his word. He’d liked her sincerely and he’d hung on even when it felt like he didn’t exist to her. But he’d slowly grown tired of it. Somewhere, he was sure that she would meet someone who could do better for her than he.

He walked through the glass doors and first thing he glanced at was the reception desk before him. A different lady sat behind the desk other than the one that befriended Taecyeon on the weekdays.

Ok Taecyeon.

Donghae walked up to the receptionist, “Ok Taecyeon doesn’t work on the weekends does he?”

The woman quickly stood up and greeted him with a bow. “Good morning, sir.”

“Ok Taecyeon doesn’t work today does he?” Donghae asked.

“Ok Taecyeon?” she repeated. “He doesn’t.”

Donghae turned away and walked toward the elevator. Ok Taecyeon was a person of interest. Maybe he’d purposely pay them a visit later on in the day. It’d also be an excuse to see Victoria too.  

- - - - -

Yoona pushed the grocery cart along the busy aisles stopping every so often waiting for her mom to decide on what buy. Her mother was always debating between the brand names. Yoona didn’t quite get it either. Most items were the same and were just replicates from different companies with different names. What was really different between them were the prices they were set at.

Glancing down the aisles Yoona watched children walk along the aisles excitedly with their mothers or fathers. Young couples dominated the snack area, teenagers and kids walked around taking one look at this or that and walked off after touching it with their hands. The curiosity of youth. Yoona never really experienced that.

Once in a while during her teens would she go out to shop with her mother. Everything else was done on her own because she wanted it that way, not because it was made that way. Because the guilt lied behind each and every moment of her life.

She never once walked down the aisle with a boyfriend, neither did she do it with Donghae or friends. Her mother did majority of the household shopping. Only Yoona went out to buy her clothes from the outlet and returned back home in a hour if she got bored. And always, she went by herself.

In simple conclusion, she grew up lonely.

She would have enjoyed her youth more, would have experienced joy with the others did if Victoria had never been taken from her that night. If she had never lost Victoria that night.

“Which ones are better? Lavender or apple cinnamon?” her mother was looking at air fresheners.

To choose this or that.

Call Taecyeon or head back to the office. She’d contemplated over something so easily that morning. Yoona found herself ironically laughing silently.

“Mom,” Yoona said turning to her mother who had permed her hair yesterday, “something came up. I’m going to go.”

“What? Go where? Did something happen?”

“You go on home after you finish. I’m going to take a cab.” Yoona answered bluntly as she began walking away. “Sorry!”

- - - - -

Victoria stared at the sharp silver blade of the cutlery knife. A good weapon it would make, she found herself deciding.

“Yah, what are you doing?” Taecyeon turned around from the sink after washing the meat.

“You’re taking forever,” Victoria stated. “Can’t we just throw that on the grill and eat?”

“This fat thing won’t cook in an instant like you’re imaging,” Taecyeon pointed out, “you need to cut, slice so you can swallow the small pieces. Stuffing something as big as this into your throat, you’d die obviously.”

“You’re arrogant,” Victoria muttered, “I never said anything about swallowing it whole.”

“Are you bad mouthing me?” Taecyeon asked as he walked over and placed the slab of boneless beef onto the wooden cutting board. “Do you know how to cut it?”

Victoria shrugged, “I’ve only seen on TV.”

“Woah, where’ve you been all this time? Who cooked for you? Your mom? Have you never stepped into a kitchen until now?” Taecyeon asked with a tint of negative sarcasm.

“I was always out on business, so never stepped into the kitchen.” Victoria replied and it was the truth.

Taecyeon eyed her and instructed her on how to hold the knife and how to slice diagonally so the meat was nice and evenly trimmed.

“Like that. This is so easy,” Taecyeon said. “Here you try.”

Victoria grabbed the knife and fussed with the meat listening from the side as his phone rang. Wiping his hands on the mahogany apron he was wearing he grabbed his phone from his pocket.

“Hello? Ah…” he went. “Now?” Taecyeon turned to glance at Victoria from the side with a small pause. “Not really. Where are you? I’ll be out soon. See you.”

He hung up.

“Yah, you know how to cook it don’t you?” he asked quickly untying his apron.

“No.”

“Yah! How many things on earth don’t you know how to do that even a guy like me knows?” he questioned.

Victoria stared at him wide eyed, “What’s with you? Who called?”

“Someone. I’m leaving. Feed yourself.” Taecyeon said and quickly walked off after throwing his apron down.

The door closed just a few seconds after she heard his heavy footsteps move back and forth from the living room to the bedroom. Victoria stared at the knife in her hands and the meat lying there on the cutting board waiting to be slit. Throwing down the knife she sawed it back and forth across the meat.

“This feels kind of good,” she muttered.

A few minutes later she was staring down at the different sized meat pieces she’d made from the sawing.

“Looks pretty good. Wow,” she exclaimed, “I’m not bad at all.”

She glanced around and grabbed a pot and tossed the meat in there then washed the knife and the cutting board.

“What do I do now?” she wondered. “I don’t know how to use the stove and there’s no grill. Ah…so bored.”

She sat down and placed her chin down in her palm. For the first time she realized there was no clock on the wall but in her mind she could hear the clock ticking as the seconds passed by. Her mind went completely blank and immediately turned alarmed when the doorbell rung.

Who would come during this time of the day?

She opened the door and found Donghae standing there.

“Afternoon,” he greeted.

Victoria stared at him then smiled and held the door open.

“Ok Taecyeon’s not here?” he asked looking inside.

She shrugged, “He went off somewhere after a call.”

“Is he seeing someone?” Donghae wondered still standing by the door.

Victoria shrugged, “Aren’t you coming in?”

Donghae seemed to consider the thought then said, “Grab your jacket.”