Salmon Bagel and a Hot Chocolate

20 - Workshop Weekend, Pt.1

On the days leading up to Minjeong's little trip with Isa, she did not step foot into Vivid. Ever since Tuesday night, Minjeong hadn't seen Karina, hadn't asked about Karina, hadn't spoken to anyone about what happened with Karina.

It was torture.

She would never say it out loud, but she missed Karina's company. There was nothing really stopping her from going to the café, she just didn't know what to do if she saw Karina.

Minjeong knew there was no way to avoid at least mentioning what happened if they crossed paths. She knew they would have to talk about it– either on their own accord or through incessant teasing. So, Minjeong's genius idea was to just ignore Karina until after she got back from her workshop.

A clear mind and a change of scenery was just what Minjeong needed.

But ignoring Karina like this took a toll on her that she herself couldn't see. Over the three days she didn't see Karina, she was constantly told how tired she looked, which Minjeong just justified as a lack of sleep due to work. It was really due to her thinking about and replaying the scene at the club all night long.

"She's in a really bad mood." Yizhuo announced as she walked into Minjeong's room, sitting at her desk.

"Who?" Minjeong looked up, halting her packing for a bit.

"Karina," Yizhuo told. "It's hard to see, actually."

Minjeong didn't want to think about it, focusing on packing her makeup bag, "She's probably tired."

"No, she's sad you're not there," Yizhuo stated. "She said it out loud, she said she misses you."

"She said she misses me?" Minjeong's head jerked up, looking at Yizhuo with her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"She did," Yizhuo smiled. "This I'm not making up! She asked me where you were, again, then told me she kinda misses you around."

"Oh, so she misses me around," Minjeong hummed. "Well, I'll see her Sunday, I think."

"Remind me again, why have you been avoiding her?"

Minjeong shrugged in response, "It's just weird now."

"Why would it be weird if it's very clearly something you two could talk about and then move forward from?" Yizhuo asked.

"Because it's just- it's weird now," Minjeong repeated, chucking a few of her lipsticks into her bag. She did not need that many. "She- we- we shouldn't have- it shouldn't have happened, but it did, but it shouldn't have because if I didn't move away, something else would've happened that should never happen. That shouldn't happen because she's got a boyfriend."

"Is that the only reason it shouldn't happen?" Yizhuo raised an eyebrow.

"No," Minjeong quickly said, knowing Yizhuo was catching on to something. "The other reason is we're friends and I don't want to ruin that."

"You're getting there with how you're ignoring her like the plague." Yizhuo told.

"I'm not ignoring her, I'm just taking some time to myself," Minjeong justified. "When I get back I'll chat with her."

"And chatting with her means you're going to talk about everything but the club." Yizhuo added with a smile.

"I just don't see why we need to bring it up," Minjeong shrugged. "It happened, I apologised, she said don't worry about it, and now we've moved on with our lives. It's not a big deal, I think."

"You say it's not a big deal, but I know it's all you've been thinking of since it happened," Yizhuo muttered. "You need to do some soul searching."

"I'm perfectly fine with the way things are right now," Minjeong assured. "If she wants to talk to me about it, she can, but I still don't see any need to."