Time Machine Project | Mingyu

Chapter 11

«Good morning Linda- Is it okay if I call you by your first name?» asked Minghao as he opened his door and faced the young woman.

He was already dressed and his hair was done. Who knows what time he woke up, it was barely 8 in the morning.

«Sure.» she said and smiled, she was wearing a white shirt again with black leggins.
Everyone was wearing comfortable clothes anyways.

«How was your sleep?» he asked as he closed his door, they walked together away from the dorms.

«Good.» she said and her hand moved behind her neck. «I slept so much, it feels numb.» she said as she rubbed her nape.

Minghao grinned and agreed, he knew what was going on but didn't say anything. As if it wasn't obvious.

«Do you remember which way we go now?» he said as he stopped in the spot where the hallway was divided.

Linda looked at all three directions carefully, trying to recall their route the day before. She pointed to the right one and looked at Minghao's surprised face.

«Indeed, nice.» he said and walked towards it. He stopped after two steps and sighed.
«You just saw Mingyu, didn't you?» he said as he saw Mingyu's tall figure in the end of the hallway, walking towards the elevators.

«Maybe.» giggled Linda and then laughed, Minghao did the same as he yelled at Mingyu to wait for them.

«Good morning guys.» said Mingyu and he smiled at both of them, the girl couldn't stand the eye contact once again and her eyes looked away on their own.

«Good morning Mr Kim.» she said and eyed him shortly.

Minghao walked closer to him grabbed him from his shoulder, pushing his friend to the front.

«I am sooo hungry.» he whined and the other man looked at him confused, rolling his eyes.

The confusion was written all over Linda's face as well, Minghao was behaving differently according to who he was with. Same went for her though.

The elevator opened, there were not so many people inside of it. All three stepped in, Linda headed to the corner where she would feel more comfortable. Some of them looked at her surprised, other smiled at her when they saw her.

Two women standing in the front whispered something to each other as they saw Mingyu.
He was very handsome, all women could acknowledge that. Linda just looked at them unbothered, she just wished they weren't so obvious. Mingyu could have felt uncomfortable. But it didn't seem like he was bothered by it, he ignored them completely.

The door opened again and more people entered the elevator, they had to move closer to each other.

Linda was in the corner surrounded by Minghao and Mingyu, thankfully. Either way, she wanted them to stay away as much as possible.

The other people were standing very close to each other, almost pushing towards the two men so they could fit better.
A man leaned towards Mingyu, expecting him to walk deeper. But Mingyu stood there, like a rock that no one could move. His one hand was holding onto the bar, his feet were rooted to the floor. He was barely a meter away from Linda, he couldn't go closer to her.

She would feel very uncomfortable, he thought. And situations like those were very rare, couldn't the people wait or take another elevator? Rude.

She had crossed her palms and pinned her back to the mirror, thankfully she wasn't touching with anyone. Mingyu was standing like a huge wall in front of her. She saw what the man did, she saw Mingyu's reaction.

As if he knew. His expression was very serious, she could tell he was annoyed by the crowd.

She felt... protected.

Finally everybody stepped out of the elevator, so did they. She took a deep breath and then continued. They headed to the cafeteria.

There were already people eating there, just how early did everyone wake up? The buffet was filled with a lot of food, there was huge variety.
The two men went to take a cup of coffee, Linda was left alone to pick her breakfast, she wasn't drinking anything in the morning anyways.

She grabbed a toast and cheese, a piece of cake and an apple. There were so many stuff she wanted to try but they were a lot, again. She couldn't choose between the crepe and croissant.

«The crepe is much better!» said Lisa as she appeared next to her, she was smiling brightly.

She was a morning person, she thought.

«You think?» wondered Linda as she seemed scepticall about it.

Lisa nodded and gestured her to pick it.

«Okay then, thanks.» she smiled and Lisa gave her another big smile, then moved on in the buffet, leaving the girl on her own.

All people in the room where staring at her silently, others were respecting her for who she was, others were admiring her.
She could feel their gazes upon her. It made her feel awkward, uncomfortable. What if someone hated her or disliked her? Because of jealously or... Who knows. Hatred doesn't always result from valid reasons.

«You okay?» the girl's voice startled her as it brought her back to reality.

She was standing in front of the fruits, blocking the others who wanted to pick some.

She turned to her, Angela Young was shorter than she thought.

«Ah yes.» exclaimed Linda and immediately stepped away, she took her plate and headed to the tables.

Angela shrugged and turned her back on her, it wasn't her business anyways. All she wanted was that piece of pineapple.

«We are sitting there-» Mingyu approached her from behind as he saw she was looking for them.

He stretched his arm to reach her shoulder but stopped when she turned to him suddenly.

«Oh.»

The girl looked at the tall man and then at Minghao which was sitting in the back.

Mingyu pointed with his head towards there and started walking, the girl following him.
She looked at him from behind, she started wondering.

Would they all three eat together every day? Didn't people hang out with the friends they made here? Was Minghao his only friend or is he now with her just because they are working together?

Either way, she didn't know anyone and she was too shy to make friends on her own. She had no other choice but to stick with Minghao.

They both sat, Mingyu chose to sit next to his friend instead to her.

«Thank god.» she thought and exhaled in relief.

Half an hour later they had finished their meals, the men were talking to each other while Linda was only staring at her food. None of them referred to her anyway.

«Mr Kim.» she was too excited to hold back, she wanted to start work as soon as possible. «Will we start work now?» she asked as she pushed her plate away, showing that she was done and ready.

«Of course.» he answered right away and got up.

Minghao looked at the buffet and swallowed in regret, he sure wanted to eat more. However, they left together the cafeteria.

Lisa eyed the girl expressionless as she disappeared from her sight, she thought for a second and then turned to the other side.
Kim Namjoon was already staring at her.

She looked away and smiled in embarrassment, it was pretty awkward. Why was he looking at her? They had never talked and their jobs weren't much related... Maybe it just happened.