Blaze

Curiosity & Questions

~_____~

There was ray of bright sunlight filtering in through the rectangular glass in the center of the door when Lay approached. Once he pushed the door open soft music swirled into his ears from the above stereos. Acquaintances of the stranger types were scattered around the room with their friends enjoying their time out. His eyes zoomed past a few smiles while the scent of grilled cheese sandwiches touched his nose.

Chorong was sitting at the back with a glass of water in front of her. Firmly smiling he made his way through the gaps inbetween the tables toward her.

"Did you wait long?" He greeted.

"I just got here," she replied.

After ordering he stared down at the food with his stomach grumbling.

"I didn't have breakfast this morning," he started. "This looks really good."

"Why not?"

He glanced up at her while picking up the fork, "I finally slept in for once." Then after slightly laughing asked, "You look slightly better today."

Chorong's eyes swept to the side from embarrassment.

After biting her lip she apologized, "About the other night. Sorry. I didn't mean to call you out like that."

"Oh...that," Lay smiled brightly, "I wasn't sure if I really met the Chorong we all know that night. Today I'm not meeting with another imposter, am I?"

Chorong glanced at him somewhat blankly. Afraid he'd taken the joke too far from her understanding he propped both elbows onto the tabletop. Usually when he did that, it meant his full attention was there and not unless the conversation ended would he then lean back into his seat for relaxation.

"If you're uncomfortable, I'll pretend it didn't happen." Lay offered.

"It's not that. You don't have to pretend either," Chorong told. "I'm just embarrassed of myself; for showing that kind of side of me. I don't really know why I called you out either. I was probably too out of it."

Lay could see that she wished she'd never called him out that night. He could see that she wanted to keep her image clean and wanted to stand well in front of others. He realized that she always wanted to meet the expectations of others, but somehow felt like she failed to do so. It was like the story of her at the police academy. How others perceived her was really important to her.

"Alright," he spoke softly hoping she would receive his sincerity, "that's ok too. It's ok, Chorong."

Her eyes ran around the room somewhat before running onto his face, then away again.

"When you speak," Lay started, "you should hold your head high. It'll show that you're serious and add strength to your aura. It makes you look strong and unbeatable. Don't look nervous like you do now."

She hadn't touched her food at all, but she finally looked at him again. Lay pulled another smile onto his face to encourage her.

"It's understanding that you feel embarrassed. I'd be too," Lay tried. "don't beat yourself over it. It's really not as bad as you think it to be, believe me. Memories like that become fun later on."

And he hoped she'd realize that no one thought of her as badly as she thought of herself; that his words meant more than what they were in the dictionary. He hoped that throughout this mission, she could grow out of herself and into someone braver.

His phone started ringing a second later and he saw Victoria's name on the screen. Wondering if anything was going on he answered.

"I need you to come out," Victoria started. "I'm going to Eunhyuk's apartment; you come with me."