“Tuesday!” Jinyoung announces as he dumps empty cups into the bin.

“Tuesday!” Isa humors him, happily preparing a mango bubble tea for a customer. It’s raining this morning, too, but since it’s not a Monday, it’s busier today inside Black Pearl. Besides, it’s a public holiday.

“Here’s your mango bubble tea, *son-nim!” Isa hands the drink to one of their regulars.

“Thanks. And you’re playing BIGBANG today? No EXO?” The woman smiles at Isa, showing off her gorgeous teeth and adorable dimples on both sides of her cheek.

Jinyoung laughs from the sink and Isa sticks out her tongue at him. She smiles to the customer. “EXO’s on timeout today. Have a nice day, Gahee unni!” She waves.

“On timeout? Gee, I wonder what EXO could have done wrong?” Jinyoung asks, rubbing his chin in mock confusion.

“Stop that. Rubbing your chin while you think is so cliché.” Isa flings an abandoned receipt at her boss.

“Oh look, it’s your perfect image of your perfect bias.” Jinyoung says, pointing to the receipt falling down pathetically. Isa stares with a hopeless expression. When the receipt has landed, she stomps on it.

“There, now it’s complete.” She says with a grave expression.

“What’s complete, nuna?” Sehun’s voice comes up. Jinyoung laughs maniacally. He waves hi to Sehun and then goes to clean some more tables.

Isa does a dramatic turn to face Sehun. “Hi Sehunnie.”

Sehun’s wearing a cap so that people won’t recognize him and swarm over him. But it’s only as a precaution. Because at 10 a.m. on a weekday, the shop’s only filled with regulars who have gotten used to Sehun hanging out here anyway. No one ever comes up to him for a sign or a photo anymore. That’s why Sehun loves it here. Even Isa had got over her starstruck days and treats him like how she treats her regulars. Like a friend. In fact, they hardly ever talk about EXO.

Oh, the bubble tea is also the best Sehun’s ever had.

“So… Whatchu doing?” Sehun asks, imitating Isabella from Phineas and Ferb.

 “Cleaning up the kitchen floor.” Isa answers as she casually stomps on the receipt again, making it stick to her sneakers, then scraping it against the bin opening so that it’ll fall into it.

Sehun claps enthusiastically, oblivious to the fact that Isa’s imagining Chanyeol’s evil face to be on that piece of paper.That’s where you belong now, perfect image of ex-bias.

“Nuna, I’d like a-“

“Chocolate bubble tea?”

“Yes. My god, how did you know?” Sehun brings his hands together in front of his chest, acting out the “I’m so touched!” expression a little too dramatically. Isa rolls her eyes.

“And since there’s not many people around, can you lend me your company?”

“Why? Missing Luuu~haaan?” Isa wiggles her eyebrows. Teasing Sehun and Luhan about their ship is one of her highlights of working here. Sehun groans, as always.

“You know what? I’ll just sit alone.” He says as Isa hands him his bubble tea.

“Okay. Have a nice day.” Isa waves him off happily. EXO’s on timeout today, Isa. All of them.

Sehun retreats to his favorite spot in the café, two tables away from where Suho and Chanyeol were sitting yesterday. He claims that it’s got the best lighting in the house, hence, the best place to take selcas. And that boy takes selcas a lot. Especially on days when he brings Tao.

A few minutes later, as Isa passes by his table after delivering an order, Sehun calls her soflty. “Nuna…”

Isa bites her lips and does that dramatic slow-motion turn again. “Yes, s-“ Good god he’s pouting.

Forget EXO. Sehun’s not a part of EXO right now. He’s a customer. He’s always right. He doesn’t deserve a timeout. Look at him. Look at that pout.

“Nuna, I’m so…” Sehun grins. “LONLY.”

That did it for Isa. She can’t resist it when the EXO members come in and they make inside jokes about each other. Her inner fangirl just goes berserk, crying out, “I WANNA JOIN IN THE FUN! I WANNA BE EXO’S BESTFRIEND! LET ME JOIN IN YOUR BONDING TIME AND LET ME KNOW YOUR PRIVATE JOKES!”

Like that time when she knocked down an empty cup in front of Luhan. She’d just begin to treat him like a regular customer. But he had to bring out her fangirl self again when he went, “That’s okay, I got it.” And he’d raised his hands like he’s doing telekinesis and Sehun had picked the cup up for him, playing along with Luhan. It was childish, but that made it all the cuter.

See, Chanyeol? That’s what you’re supposed to do when a fan spills a drink in front of you. Forgive her human weakness and if you’re feeling charitable ,do fanservice and make her feel like she’s something special. Not trample on her pride and channel a psychopathic warlord!

“Nuna, are you okay?” Sehun waves his arms over his head like a drowning person, hoping that they’d get in Isa’s line of vision. “I’m fine. “

“You look like your cat just died. Is everything okay?” Sehun’s eyebrows come close together. Isa’s heart tightens as she feels his worry. She merely nods.

“My bunny died.” She mumbles. “Yesterday.”

Sehun gets up from his chair, going, “Aww, I’m so sorry”, and comes closer to her for a hug.

“Thanks, Sehun.” At that moment, reality hits her. Sehun’s hugging me. Because of a lie. My bunny didn’t die. I don’t even have a bunny. I live in an apartment that doesn’t even allow pets. But Oh freaking Sehun is hugging me. This is the moment that all fangirls dream of. Skinship. Fangirls should die at contact with the object of admiration. But I’m still not dead. Why? Because I’m already dead yesterday.At contact with Chanyeol’s skin above his shoes as I was wiping mud off of his shoes.  He’d killed me already with his cold words and not-smiling face, but whatever. Congratulations Chanyeol. You killed me twice. .

 “What are you doing?” Jinyoung suddenly steps into view, his head cocked to one side. Sehun clutches the soulless fangirl in his arms as he says innocently, “Nuna’s bunny died.”

“What are you talking about? She doesn’t have pets.” Jinyoung frowns.

“Well, not anymore. Because it’s dead now.” Sehun pats Isa’s head kindly, like a kind preschooler comforting a friend.

Jinyoung sighs and grabs Isa’s wrist. “Hey!” Sehun cried out. “Just a minute, okay?” He said to Sehun, dragging Isa away from him back to the kitchen area.

“Give me the tray. Now the rag. That’s a good girl. Now go back to Sehun.” Jinyoung says after he’d helped Isa clean her hands.

“It’s dead now.” Isa echoed Sehun’s words, thinking of her non-existent bunny. Jinyoung sighs. He’d seen the dramatically dead fangirl side of Isa a couple of times. The first was after Sehun had walked in with Luhan the first time. When they’d left, Isa’d been dead that time, too, moving around the café with this glazed look in her eyes. Don’t get him started on the SECOND time Sehun and Luhan stopped by.

Jinyoung is left with no choice. He holds Isa’s hand and leads her back to Sehun’s spot and sits her down in the chair opposite of him. “Take care of her for me. There’s not much customers now, so you two take your time.” Jinyoung says in the tone of a father worried about his daughter’s mental health.

Several minutes pass in silence as Sehun finishes his bubble tea, his eyes not leaving Isa’s. Not that she was looking at him. She’s still staring blankly into space. After he’d come back with a newly-ordered taro bubble tea, Sehun gives a shot a cheering Isa up.

“Nuna, can you just smile once for me? Ouch. That’s more like a grimace. Okay, let’s try this. Bbuing bbuing~! (/^.^)/`~*

Isa smiles widely, soul slowly coming back to her. “More, more, MOAR!” She says excitedly and Sehun grins. He did an aegyo three-set, then did an impersonation of a bunny. Oh crap, Sehun says internally.

Her bunny just died, why am I so insensitive? Isa didn’t seem to notice though. She’s laughing and happy, even taking a sip of the green tea milkshake Jinyoung brought her. “Sehunnie, Y SO CUTE?” She says as she pulls on Sehun’s cheeks.

“Nuna, I want to tell you a story.” Oh god, thank you, for bringing this precious nuna back to life.

“Feeling a bit better?” Jinyoung asks Isa after Sehun had left. It’s almost noon and the place will be packed, so Sehun had left despite his wishes.

“Yeah, lots. Thanks, oppa.” Isa says, blushing a bit. She hates it when she feels like Jinyoung takes care of her way too much. It makes her feel like an unprofessional. But she’s thankful nonetheless.

Sehun helped too. Hihi, that story about the squirrel is really funny. He knows just how to cheer me up. Isa thinks to herself, going around the café with a mop. She passes by a table occupied by several girls, watching The Star Interview feat. EXO on an iPad. Isa overheard them. “I’ve heard that Hunhan likes to come here on their dates.” One said.

Phew. You girls just missed Sehun by about seven minutes. Thank god.

They’re at the point of the interview when Chanyeol says to the camera, “I love you.” and laughed shyly. The girls had imitated swooning. “It’s so cute how he’s all shy and stuff.” One of them says

Isa feels like stabbing the iPad with her mop.

“THAT WASN’T SHYNESS. THAT’S HIS LYING FACE. THAT’S THE FACE OF THE DEVIL HIMSELF.” Isa says grimly while she stands behind the girls. The girls turn. They got shocked by the sight of a menacing girl standing behind them, holding a mop like it’s a pitchfork and almost fell out of their chairs. Jinyoung comes over to drag Isa away, apologizing to the girls.

“I’m sorry, oppa, I’m sorry, I’m healed, really I am.”

The next day, Isa decides to do something dramatic to signify her newfound freedom from a bias. Should I cut my hair? I’ve been wanting it shorter. She twirls in front of a boutique mirror, eyeing her hair length. It’s almost down to her elbows now. She’d like something much shorter, so that she doesn’t have to restrain them so much when she ties it up for her job.

Should I cut it so that I don’t even have to tie it? She swishes her hair and that’s when she sees it for the first time.

A blue figure in the mirror.

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*son-nim = customer