The Last Guardian || KTH

13: she cried over rice

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Hyejin had decided to join them for lunch. To Zeila's surprise their phone call was cut short when Hyejin said she had errands to run for her mother. Which was weird, not because she wanted to run errands but because this was the first time she'd ever decided to work without Zeila being on the line.

Zeila put down the phone with her lips stretched to a line. "She'll be here for lunch."

"That works," Taehyung replied, taking a bite of the bread (because Zeila couldn't buy groceries with the fiasco around her) she buttered for him.

"I'm usually a good cook," Zeila commented, finding much to her delight Taehyung kept quiet over their choice of breakfast. "But since I might get killed anywhere, you know?"

"I'll just order in groceries," Zeila said, understanding why Taehyung had a frown burrowed on his face. "They bring what we want to our house"-she pointed the screen towards him-"just click these buttons and pay money and boom!"

"Are you sure the man giving your food wouldn't poison them?" Taehyung asked, not understanding why she was laughing when he was being perfectly reasonable. He remembered once where a consort from the second kingdom tried poisoning him with apples that was said to have magic in it.

"Well, atleast you die a happy death," she chortled, taking the final bite of bread before pouring herself a glass of coffee.

"Do you always joke about dying?" Taehyung peeved.

"Do you not?"

"No!" He immediately retored. "How would that be a joke-"

"When you're actually in the threshold of an uncertain death, you just laugh it out," Zeila jested, she sure was surprised he took her seriously. But it had more to do with the fact that her jokes never really came out as jokes, something Hyejin and her Taehyung had always told her. "Fake it till you make it kinda thing."

"You earthlings scare me," Taehyung admonished, finishing his tea with the appallment of her humor still questioning him.

Zeila forced a smile. Deja vù.

"Anyways," Zeila chimed, interrupting her train of thoughts. "The book. You actually think Hyejin might be involved?"

"She has to be," Taehyung emphasized. "We were never able to find the book Zeila."

Zeila folded her arms in silence. "But I've known Hyejin, unlike Jungkook, I've actually seen her my entire life. There's no way she would-"

"For better or worse, the book is now with us." Taehyung cut her words, bringing the book to place it on the table. "But the question is how? It seems too . . ."

"Skeptical?"

"Yeah," Taehyung mused. "It's too perfect don't you think? Us getting the book of Elena now."

"But isn't it a good thing?" Zeila asked. "If she did have something to do with it, wouldn't she be helping us?"

"I don't know, Zeila. It feels like there's a purpose hidden behind this."

"But a purpose that's helping us Taehyung. We got hold of her memories before Ji-wook could," Zeila said, trying to convince Taehyung to not doubt Hyejin, even though she believed his skepticism.

"Zeila, I know it's hard for you," Taehyung said, not wanting to articulate more knowing she would already understand his intention. "But this is a game of chance."

"Trust no one," Taehyung quoted Elena. "She told this to you for a reason."

Zeila abruptly stood up, accidentally jolting some magic from her fingers, but not enough for Taehyung to notice it. She groaned, curling her fingers and absconding the magic away. "Let's wait this out," she remarked, feeling uneasy about the truth being so bleak she failed to accept it. "We would know more when Hyejin comes right?"