metal straw | ast. cha eunwoo

twenty five

"MJ, eat slower," she scolded him, nearly throwing her chopsticks at him. He only smiled before resuming back to savour his meal.

It wasn't too long since the three finally sat together and Myungjun was already stuffing down his entire plate. Hopefully, the dishes in front of them were enough, she thought again to herself. A bowl of rice each served with fried chicken, or simply called dakgangjeong, a plate of beef bulgogi, a bowl of stew as well as a few side dishes as accompaniments. It was a lot more than what the two siblings usually have but they needed to take note that they were feeding not two but three empty stomachs.

"MJ?" Eunwoo repeated the new name he kept hearing.

"That's me, I'm MJ!" Myungjun, or rather 'MJ', answered before he let out a loud cough. Thankfully, he covered his mouth with his arm and turned away from the dinner table. He was suddenly washed with regret of his life choices.

"See? I told you to eat slower," she scolded before pouring him a glass of water. He mumbled a thank you before devouring it entirely in one sip happily.

Eunwoo could only watch as the situation unfolded itself. He smiled slightly, watching Soyeon scolded her older brother of how he almost choked and he should eat slower. MJ only smiled at her cheekily before continuing to eat his dinner, slower this time. It felt nice, the situation Eunwoo meant. How nice he was able to sit down and eat with his fav— friend and her very-alike brother, he thought to himself.

"You should know that in some days, Soyeon gets stomachaches that can last for hours—"

"MJ!" Soyeon pinched his side, hushing him in the end. "You don't have to tell him that..." she trailed off, ending her sentence with her mumbling too softly.

"And anger issues so be careful," he continued, "When it comes to sauce, any sauce like on rice or pancake, she doesn't like it too much because it sometimes gets too soggy. She likes cold sweet treats, however, she prefers yoghurt more than ice cream."

Soyeon was suddenly getting nervous. It was only a matter of time MJ would expose an embarrassing fact about her. "MJ, why are you—"

"Any toppings?" Eunwoo asked.

"She usually goes with anything chocolate except dark chocolates, she sometimes goes with fruits like dragon fruits or strawberries."

Soyeon watched surprised at how Eunwoo had his full attention and was asking questions as if taking mental notes of what MJ was listing down.

"Always bring a charger, she feels like the world will end if her phone goes to forty per cent," he added. "She can be insecure sometimes when it comes to looking in mirrors so make sure there's some distance between them. She's slightly blind so she won't be able to see herself—"

"MJ, you don't have to tell him everything!" she exclaimed before taking a big sip of her water. For some reason, her throat felt drier than ever and she was shaking her foot in a constant rhythm. "Just continue eating, please."

"Don't you want your boyfriend to do his job right?"

In an instant, his words immediately took the two high schoolers by surprise. The edges of Soyeon's glass cup accidentally met with her front teeth, immediately creating a distressing sound. She winced at the uncomfortable vibration of her teeth hitting the hard glass. Eunwoo could only imagine how she felt.

"I'm sorry but we're not dating," Eunwoo explained calmly.

For some reason, that sentence stabbed him in his chest. It did the same to Soyeon but she showed no other reaction than her nodding in agreement. However, MJ continued to eat as if everything that was said was inaudible, acting like the information came into his ear and came out from the other.

"That's too bad," he sighed, "Then, when's the date?"

"Tomorrow."