30 White is for the flour    The rest of their stay at the lake was utterly awkward. No one dared to ask why Jongin wasn’t there anymore and when Junhong figured out where to place the missing puzzle piece on the jigsaw mat to complete it, he instantly sensed a faint smell of victory. He just knew it. He knew it would happen. Jungkook though did a great job in calming himself and restraining from pushing his best friend into the lake.

When they went back to Kline, Jinri apologized profusely to Joonmyun for trashing his supposed to be fun vacation, so did Chnayeol, Jongkook and Junhong, although the latter didn’t sound completely sorry. Soojung talked Joonmyun, too, asking him to forgive her for all sort of mess she caused. In the end, the should-have-been fun getaway turned out to be like a spiritual trip rather and Joonmyun played the role of the pastor. Eventually, he just gave each of them encouraging words – ‘it’s okay’ being the super overrated line – and then he bid goodbye and went back to U.S as scheduled, with Jessica hitchhiking on him this time.

For the rest of them though, life went on.

“Have you talked to Jongin?” Sora asked, sitting on her favorite spot – Jinri’s desk.

Jinri pinned the fabric onto the dummy. “Since the breakup? No.”

Sora gathered the magazines scattered all over the workplace and stacked them together before squeezing everything into the shelf. This turned out to be her instant part-time job whenever she pays a visit to Jinri's office. She did the stacking, cleaning, and organizing, multi-tasking it to gossiping - the thing she came for in the first place.   “Are you, guys, really over?" she asked. "I mean, you know I’m not really a fan of you as a couple but, I don’t know, it’s just surreal knowing it’s all over. You were invincible, you know. Like Romeo-and-Juliet, against-all-odds, super-uber-romantic-like invincible. That’s over-the-top.”

She shrugged, turning the dummy to the side to inspect the pattern on the hip area. “Believe me that’s what I also thought.”

“I can’t believe it,” Sora cried, refusing to process everything. “Are you really over him?”

The question made Jinri stop because honestly, she wasn’t sure, too. She went back to the dress she was designing. “I’ll be over him soon, Sora. Just like how I did with Minho.”

“You moved on with Minho before because of Jongin,” her best friend said, rolling her eyes.

“I can do it now without the help of anyone this time.”

Sora collapsed on the couch and fidgeted to her side to face Jinri, propping her elbow on the backrest to support her chin with her hand. “Why don’t you use Sehun?” she suddenly suggested, her face looking so cheerful like she'd just been given the Greatest Idea of the Year award.

Jinri gave her the are-you-being-serious-right-now look.

“I mean, why not?” Sora exclaimed. “He’s hot and handsome. He’s not at all bad. I’m not asking you to find a replacement; I’m asking you to hang out with someone to at least forget about Jongin. Stop mourning and crying yourself to sleep. No one died, Ri. You just broke up. Go out and have fun. I bet that’s what that bastard is doing right now. Kiss me if I’m wrong, babe, but I don’t see Jongin as the crying-after-a-break-up kind of guy.”

Jinri forcefully ripped the pincushion from her wrist before throwing it across the room. “Why are you filling my head with such nonsense, Sora? Are you being a friend or a devil?”

“I am being an angel, honey. Stop being all miserable and go out with Sehun. I see the guy likes you. Plus, he’s a dancer. I’ve heard dancers are great in bed.” She gave her a meaningful wink.

“Can you hear yourself, Sora? That’s the main reason why I can’t see him – he likes me. I don’t want to give him the wrong signal by asking for his company.”

Sora grunted, throwing her head back. “So are you going to pity yourself forever and live all your life thinking of what went wrong or why you, two, didn’t last long?”

Jinri’s eyes started to water. “Sora, I love him. I still do. That’s what’s even more frustrating. I love him so much. I already miss him which is so stupid because I was the one who called it off. I want him back, Sora. But as much as I want him back, I know I can’t.”

Her eyes softened. “Jinri…”

“I am so in love with him I don’t know what to do anymore. I know I don’t like Sehun and as for Chanyeol, what I thought I have for him was all mistaken love. I was so wrong I mistook it for love. I missed Chanyeol when we went our separate ways right after college. I really did and I surely loved him before, but I don’t have with him the feelings I have for Jongin right now. I was over with Yeol a long ago. I only realized it now. What I don’t get is why no one believes that.”

Sora stood up and walked over to her best friend. She immediately pulled her for a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, Jinri. I’m sorry. I just wanted to make you feel better that I forgot to even consider your feelings. I’m sorry.”

Jinri sobbed uncontrollably on Sora’s shoulder, her tears damping her best friend’s shirt. “I don’t know, Sora. I ed up big time.”
 
It was almost midnight when Soojung craved for some Flour Beats macaroon so she decided to drop by before driving back home. She pulled over the parking space right in front of the shop, but right after seeing the establishment, she immeditately knew it was a bad idea, because she was just reminded of the days Sehun would be driving her car and they would drive thru Flour Beats to get their favorite French bread. But that was when they would still go home together. Now, she didn’t know if that jerk takes a bus or a cab instead just to avoid hitching on her.

Pushing the thought away (she didn't want to stress herself again tonight - she'd been doing that for too long now), she pushed the door and entered. But to her surprise, the entire store was surprisingly empty. Puzzled, she even turned back to check the sign hanging on the door but it clearly read ‘OPEN’. There were still breads and pastries on the shelf, too, and the menu was still posted overhead. Every single light was completely either. They couldn't be closed.

“Hello?” she tried but no one answered.

Confused, she looked around and found the counter empty. There were no costumers, too. The chairs, tables, and couches were arranged correctly without any of them dirty or stained. Everything was spot on. Except, she didn’t receive the usual happy greeting of the crew when she entered which was a little bit disappointing, although she had to admit she always gets annoyed with them before. The only usual thing that was there was the irritating bell chiming when you push the door open.

“Excuse me, is anyone here? Are you already closed?” she tried again but same result.

Thinking there wasn’t anyone to serve her, Soojung turned around to leave even though her heart was tight and heavy just by the thought of walking away from the colorful, exceptionally tempting macaroons on the shelf. She sighed and grabbed the handle of the door, but before she could even pull it open, a loud clattering echoed in the empty shop. She turned her head when it was followed by an even louder crash. It seemed to be coming from the kitchen.

Although unsure – she didn’t want to run into anyone’s business, literally – she made her way to the kitchen door. There was a circular window but she saw nothing when she peered in. It looked like the lights were off. A part of her wanted to walk back to safety and act as if she didn’t see anything tonight at all – which was plainly true. But her conscience was telling otherwise. She wanted to call the cops or just any kind of help because truth to be told, her heart wasn’t beating normally. There could be a burglar inside or a thief or a super hungry beggar high-jacking the butter and flour in the kitchen for 's sake! But if there wasn’t, she’d just waste the time of the poor cops and if she was unlucky enough, she’d certainly receive some firsthand embarrassment and a Do-Minjoon’s-script long nagging from them. So although scared, she swallowed