Yoona awoke to the smell of instant noodles filling her nostrils. Having only had a couple of hours of sleep the previous night, she pulled the sheets over her head to block out the aroma.

“Wakey-wakey!” She felt Jessica bouncing onto the bed as she called out, and the covers were soon lifted off.

“Five more minutes…” The girl grumbled, peeping at her watch to realize it was only seven in the morning.

“Yoongie, we have a lot to get through so come on!”

“Five more minutes and I promise I’ll get up…” Mumbled the girl, trying to grab hold of the sheets but to no avail. She soon felt Jessica tugging at her arms and eventually sat up, eyes still half-closed.

“Go get washed up before we begin!” The angel patted her cheeks eagerly before jumping off the bed.

“Begin what?” Yoona yawned.

“The Cup Noodles Eating Contest, sleepyhead!”

“Huh?”

“Your record was four bowls, right?”

Feeling confused and groggy as ever, Yoona rubbed her eyes and shook her head, completely surprised when she saw bowls and bowls of instant noodles crowding the table.

“W-what are those?”

“Breakfast, Yoongie!”

Before she could open to protest further, Jessica had seized her hands, pulled her off the bed, and pushed her into the bathroom, “Go, go, wash!”

After cleaning up, the girl emerged from the toilet and sat herself down on one of the chairs as she silently counted the number of bowls there were. Ten. Last night’s dinner was still not fully digested, and she felt rather sick in the stomach.

“That’s five for each of us. Whoever finishes first wins!” Jessica announced, settling down opposite her.

“Can I surrender?”

“That would be no fun, Yoongie. Come on…” A set of chopsticks was forced into her hand and a bowl subsequently pushed towards her.

“I… I’m just gonna end up retching. Who eats five bowls of instant noodles at seven in the morning? Wait, did you go out by yourself to get these?”

“Yes, I went out by myself to get them for us. So if you don’t play I’m gonna be upset.” On hearing those words and seeing a sad expression on the angel’s face, Yoona decided not to be killjoy. It was probably the last activity they would be engaging in together anyways.

“In three… two…”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Jessica snatched a bowl and a pair of chopsticks at the girl’s sudden countdown, causing Yoona to giggle at her silliness.

“One! Go!”

For the next few minutes, silence ensued as the two slurped away. It wouldn’t take a genius to tell you that Yoona was leading.

About twenty minutes in, the girl was already starting on her fourth bowl while Jessica was still struggling with her second. Yoona looked up now and again, taking time to snicker at the angel’s constipated expression.

“Done.” A good half an hour had passed, and Yoona dropped her chopsticks before wiping with the back of her hand. She was amazed at how she quickly had broken her own record despite not being hungry. The angel, on the other hand, looked as though she was going to throw up any second. She had barely finished her second bowl.

“Are you okay?” The girl asked as she handed Jessica a piece of tissue, watching intently as she mopped up .

“I don’t think I’ll be able to eat anything else for the next few days…”

Chuckling, Yoona squeezed her arm gently, “You’ll be fine in a couple of hours.”

“Let’s hope so… anyway, congrats, Yoongie!”

“Do I get a prize or something?”

“Oh, sure. What would you like?”

“For you to stay.” That was the only thing that surfaced in Yoona’s mind but she could not find the courage to ask again.

“Well… what would you give me?” She questioned instead.

“This.” Jessica leaned forward to plant a quick kiss onto her unsuspecting lips. At the gesture, the girl could feel her cheeks burning up. It was queer how something so simple managed to make her heart pummel so fast.

“T-thanks.” Yoona did not mind finishing up five more bowls of noodles just to get another one of those kisses.

“Yoongie, thank you.”

“What for?”

“For making my trip here so lovely and so amazing. I’m really glad I met you. This vacation has really been something…”

“The same goes for me…” Behind Yoona’s smile was the inherent urge to break out into tears but she figured she did not want to destroy the atmosphere like how she did the previous evening. She wanted Jessica to leave happily as well.

“Yoongie, I will come back for you…” This Jessica promised herself.

*           *

“So, I guess this is it, huh?” Yoona stood at the