Feeling Brew

~26~

 It had been a week since Isla's sudden departure. To the world, Geo had vanished just as quickly as she appeared. The reporters visited the university almost every day for any information on her, but not a soul seemed to know where she had escaped to. It was almost as if she had fallen off the face of the earth.

"This is all your fault. She must have left because of you," some of the new swim team recruits hissed at Min Hwang, and she buried her face in the crook of her arm.

"It's so... empty," Irene complained. Ever since she and Mi Ran had made amends and changed for the better, they, along with Jooheon, Johnny, Mark, and Isla, had been sitting together every day at lunch. But now, one of their usual members was missing.

"You can say that again," Mark mumbled into his pasta. "Come to think of it, she was our glue."

He was right. Isla had reached out to Mi Ran and Irene and had really done her best to listen to both of them. She hadn't sided with one Bae twin or the other. She had been a friend to both. She had confided in Johnny and delivered cookies to him in all his favorite flavors. Jooheon was usually a cold guy, but whenever Isla tended to crack one of her jokes, he couldn't help but smile. She radiated a different kind of positive energy. And of course with Taeil, she had given him the confidence to be himself and face his fears. He stopped running away from the past and learned to accept what he had once considered his weakness.

"Taeil, I thought the fried chicken was your favorite. You're not hungry?" Mi Ran asked.

She was right. The boy hadn't touched the food on his plate at all since they time they'd sat down thirty minutes ago. It was almost time for their next class, and Taeil finally pushed his plate towards Mark.

"Have at it," he groaned as he left the lunch table.

Johnny stood up to follow him, but Jooheon pulled him down. "The dude needs space. I wonder what Isla's doing."

"Not what. How she's doing," Irene corrected him.

Weeks went by, and everyone pretended to move on. But on the inside, they still felt so empty. Irene had no one to confide in and get quality advice from. Mi Ran had no one to hype her up and share her words of wisdom with. Johnny had no more chocolate chip cookies and someone to talk to about anything he was anxious about. And of course, Taeil had no heart. His chest felt hollow, and anytime he tried to move on, he would see the memories he had created with Isla everywhere. He couldn't drink lattes anymore or read The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He steered clear of the Aquatic Complex and spent almost all his free time alone. Johnny occasionally tried to coax him out of his room with some sweet treats, but every last drop of life had been drained from his best friend.

"Where are we going?" Taeil asked as Johnny shoved him into the passenger seat of his car.

"No questions. You're lucky I'm not blindfolding you. Not sure if you'd walk to this place on your own two feet."

Taeil swallowed hard but tried to decipher their destination with every turn Johnny took down the streets of Busan, and his face paled as he swerved into a parking spot at a place he had definitely not thought about visiting. The white bricks decorated with baby blue trim and ivy looked inviting, and sure, he'd made up with his dad, but Taeil didn't want to sit down and talk about his problems. It would just make him feel like a moody teenager throwing a tantrum.

"I don't wanna," Taeil pouted.

"I even made you an appointment, so you're- URGHHHHHHH- going!" Johnny groaned as he tried to pry Taeil's fingers off the seatbelt and drag him out of the car.