***
As it draws closer to the start of the school year, the air gets a little crisper and the weather is more suited to the skintight jeans that Baekhyun favors so much. Chanyeol finally admits to himself that he's actually gotten used to working in Viva Polo over the summer months.
There's a certain vibe to the restaurant that Chanyeol can't place.
It can maybe be described by the feeling Chanyeol got the time Luhan somehow convinced Yixing to lock the front doors, leaving Chanyeol to frantically pull at the handle while Yixing stood on the other side of the glass, smiling serenely and pointing at his ear to indicate that he couldn't hear. Or maybe the feeling could be described by huge tomato sauce stain Sehun had gotten on the wall, which Minseok helped cover up by plastering Polaroids and posters over it.
It's funny, Chanyeol thinks, that he might actually miss the way Tao immediately evacuates the main room when an insect flies in, the awful burnt smell when Jongin and Sehun cook together, the customers (mostly female) asking Yifan for eyebrow care tips.
And now it's their last day. Chanyeol's mother is pleased with the relative success of the restaurant (evidently, she doesn't know how exactly they're running the business) and she plans on hiring a fresh crew of employees to take over when all the current workers start another semester of college. It's not that big of a deal, Chanyeol supposes, since they all go to Seoul Arts, but there's the slightest pang that it won't be the same, not with all their different majors.
The sky's been dark for a while now. It seems that the rest of the staff are also affected by the change in atmosphere, since not even Jongdae talks as much as usual when they prepare to eat dinner together for the last time (as employees, anyway) at Viva Polo.
Chanyeol clears his throat. "We're still going to hang out, right?" It was supposed to be a casual question, but somehow it comes out clingy and unsure. Baekhyun just laces their fingers together under the table.
It takes a moment for someone to reply. Everyone seems to be expectantly waiting for another person to speak up first. In the end, it's Luhan who says something.
"Of course," he says, sounding fondly scathing. "We obviously didn't just come for the food, or else we'd have left a long time ago." Luhan coughs to hide the end of his sentence when he finds Kyungsoo staring right at him. "But the food is great too," he tacks on lamely.
Sehun nods in agreement. "You know the crusty tomato sauce that sticks on the bottom of the pan? I feel like that's a metaphor for us."
Jongin pats at Sehun's back. "It's a good thing you're a dance major, not a songwriter."
"Hey," Sehun argues, "My adlibs to the birthday song are iconic."
"'Shawty I'mma party till the sundown' is not-" Jongdae starts.
"Hey," Yixing pipes up, bewildered. "How is that a metaphor?"
Yifan pinches the bridge of his nose. "Xing, he means that we're stuck together for life like old tomato sauce to a pan. In a good way. Hopefully."
"Can we not get sappy?" Tao's leaned against a table, looking unimpressed.
Minseok raises an eyebrow. "You were the one crying in the bathroom earlier."
"Okay, I have severe allergies in the fall-"
"It's only the end of August," Joonmyun points out.
Jongdae claps his hands together loudly. "Alright, basically, we all love each other. Now shut the hell up." He winks at the others. "You guys have things to do, don't you?"
