Taste | Changbin

Chapter Thirty-Three

A few blocks away, a Waffle House sat perched in a busy section of town. Cars swept through the streets with drivers on the way to work. Some businesses were just starting to open up their doors. Unlike them, Waffle House had been open for twenty four hours. 

It was a beautiful June day. The sun was still rising in the bright mid-morning blue sky. Birds chirped and flew through the air. Stray Kids and their management had opted to walk down to the diner rather than take a car. A few body guards had trekked along with them. 

"You would have thought Changbin would have gone with us," I.N spoke first. "He loves food, so it's unusual to think that he'd miss breakfast." 

"He was up late last night. He mentioned that he hadn't slept real well," Han lied smoothly. He wasn't going to tell the members that Felix and him and decided to handcuff Lennon and Changbin together. Chan would kill them.

"Don't worry, we promised we'd get him food. He's still going to have breakfast, but it's going to be a while," Felix continued covering Han's lie. 

"I hope he's not coming down with something," Seungmin cut in. "He does this sometimes right before he gets sick. It'd be awful if he had to perform feeling unwell. It'd be worse if he had to miss the performance. What do you guys think Waffle House serves?" 

Lee Know glanced at Seungmin out of the corner of his eye. "This is going to sound insane, but probably waffles." 

"You know what I meant!" 

"Some of the fans recommended it. It's a breakfast place that's open twenty-four hours a day. It's breakfast food, so it'd be things like eggs, hash browns, waffles, toast, and so on." Chan glanced around at everyone in the group. "Lennon isn't here either?" 

"No, I think she's still sleeping. Han and I tried to knock on her door, but she wouldn't respond. She said she's a heavy sleeper so, I'm sure she'll be awake when we get back," Felix said. 

"Well, I guess we'll just have to get the two of them breakfast and they can eat it before we leave for soundcheck. Since soundcheck is roughly two hours, we'll be having a late lunch." 

The group continued talking as they reached the restaurant. Chan opened the door and ushered everyone inside. Upon entering, they were hit with the smell of sizzling bacon. In the back, behind the counter, someone cracked eggs onto a large stove top. Someone else flipped a waffle machine and called out another order." 

"Hey y'all, come on in!" A blonde woman greeted them with a large smile and a thick southern accent. "Go ahead and take your seats, I'll bring you your menus." 

A variety of other people were already arranged throughout the restaurant. Their manager split them up into different groups. Chan, Lee Know, Felix, and Han sat down in a booth near the back. Across from them, I.N, Seungmin, and Hyunjin sat down in another booth with their manager. Hyunjin instantly started talking to their manager. 

"Do you guys know what you want?" Chan asked. 

Han tapped his fingers on the table. "Do you think they have pancakes?"  

"I know y'all didn't just come into Waffle House and ask that question." The waitress, who greeted them at the front, appeared at the edge of their table. "Pancakes are for losers and we're all winners here." 

"You heard the lady," Lee Know said. "Waffles, it is." 

"I'm going to go ahead and assume that y'all aren't from around here, are ya?" 

"No, we're all actually from South Korea," Chan took over the conversation. "We're a band and we're currently on tour here in the United States. We asked our fans where we should eat and they all directed us here."