Zephyr | Lee Felix

Chapter 13

MONDAY, WEEK 5

The two are seated in a cozy Japanese restaurant next to each other, their eyes fixed on the sushi train moving slowly in front of them. Felix picks up the tablet to order more food, flicking through the menu as he contemplates what else they could try.

Meanwhile, Eugene takes a sip of her tea, letting her gaze roam the train before returning to Felix. She observes his concentration as he scrolls through the menu, enjoying the moment of comfortable silence between them.

"Want some hot food?" Felix asks, glancing at her for a short moment as he adds in a bowl of Agedashi tofu.

Eugene smiles slightly at the question, appreciating Felix's thoughtfulness. "That sounds good." She replies, looking at the item he has added to the order on the tablet. "Haven't had Agedashi tofu in a while. Could I have some gyoza as well?"

"Sure. Pork or Chicken?"

"Pork."

"Good choice." He comments with a small smile.

As they wait for their food, he picks up his hot tea, blowing gently on it before taking a sip.

"So... they finally made changes, huh?" Eugene asks, her eyes softening to see his lips shaping to a small 'o' when he blows the hot green tea for the second time.

"Yeah, finally." He replies, a small sigh escaping from him as he lowers his cup after taking another sip. "I spoke to the mentor about the heavy workload, and they agreed to change things. Today, my colleagues actually made a conscious effort to not give me more than I could handle."

"Oh... that's good." She grins, her eyes averting to the spicy salmon nigiri on the conveyor belt in front of her. She scoops up the plate before it can pass by, making Felix silently chuckle at the action.

"Did they apologise or something?" Eugene places the plate on the table, opening its cover. She takes a pair of chopsticks and splits them, encouraging him to share the plate with her too.

"No, they didn't apologise per se. But they did acknowledge that they have been assigning too much to me and promised to be more mindful from now on." Felix replies, following her in splitting his chopsticks to claim one of the nigiri for himself.

"Oh well. I guess that's expected." She shrugs her shoulders, almost as if she knows that it was the best thing that could ever happen in such a scenario. "There's no way they'd apologise, even though you deserve an apology."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. They didn't exactly say 'I'm sorry,' but hey, it's better than nothing." A wry smile appears on Felix's face as he listens to her words. He picks up another piece of salmon nigiri and puts it in his mouth, the rich, spicy taste becoming a good distraction from the topic of his work.

"Yeah. What matters most is that you can finally take it easy until the end of your internship." Eugene smiles, noting the slight beam in his eyes when the flavour of the nigiri explodes in his mouth. "I'm so happy for you, Felix." She speaks softly.

Felix swallows, glancing up at the unexpected softness in her voice and feeling a warm flutter deep within him as her words hit close to home.

"Thanks, Eugene. I honestly wouldn't have done it without you." He replies, his voice just as soft. He looks at her, the genuine smile on her face making his heart skip a beat in a way that he's slowly getting used to. "Your words... really gave me the power and encouragement." He speaks in a rather shy manner, his chopsticks resting on the empty sauce tray.

Eugene lets out a low chuckle.

"I'm glad my words could help." She replies, her voice filled with a soft, genuine emotion. She glances down at her tea, her fingers toying with the cup as she ponders something before speaking again.