you're annoying | ryeji

TWENTY-EIGHT

chp. 28

Ryujin tried to forget, again and again.

She knew that thinking about another individual while she was with Isa was disrespectful and something that she preferred not to do. By that rule alone, she often forced herself to focus at the task at hand — which was to cover Isa while her character crossed the intersection where the enemies will most likely be —, instead of replaying the moment when Minju kissed Yeji.

And she succeeded, sometimes. Sometimes Ryujin has so much fun that the only thing she could think about was Isa's wide grin as they won another game, or the way her chest was filling with accomplishment and happiness, not guilt and heartache. She allowed herself to enjoy it while she could, making sure that the deathly thought of a certain brunette wouldn't revisit when she was still around Isa. It worked, mostly.

However, it was then when they had entered a cafe after a few hours of playing in the PC cafe that she was reminded of who her heart truly belonged to. Not implying that Ryujin saw Yeji, because if she did, she would have definitely crumbled into pieces on the spot. But how she was reminded was when Isa asked her if she wanted anything for dessert.

"I heard you like mocha bread," Isa smiled innocently, unaware of the effect that snack now had on her. The brief memory of teasing Yeji about sharing the dessert flashed in her mind, causing her to blank out before she snapped back to reality.

"I—um.. Yeah! I like mocha bread." Ryujin brought her hand to the back of her head, a foolish grin across her lips as she scratched her nape. "Should we get that then?"

"Sure!" Isa nodded without hesitation, reaching for the pastry and grabbed two. "I've always wanted to try it."

Diverting her attention from the memory in her mind, Ryujin chuckled and followed the cherry-haired to the cashier, standing diagonally behind her. "Well, it's pretty good. It has a slight coffee flavour to it and it's really sweet. I usually have it with milk when I'm studying too. I think you'll like it."

A smile aligned with Isa's lips as she pulled out her wallet, whether she was smiling at the cashier or Ryujin's words was something the latter girl would never know. "Only one way to find out."

Soon enough, the two settled down at a random table with their drinks and dessert. They had already ate dinner earlier at the PC cafe, but they were craving for the calming atmosphere that usually came with cafes instead of blue light and screens. Hence, their change in environment.

The cafe barely had any customers at this hour, for it was closing in less than forty minutes and the sky was already dark. Ryujin typically found this time of the day relaxing, bonus points if she was in a rather quiet environment or riding on her motorcycle with the breeze brushing through her hair. Either way, she often wished for time to stop in cases like these.

She also found that conversations flowed easier.

"So? It's good right? Tell me it's good."

Isa made a noise in the back of her throat, a sound that was somewhere in between a snort and a thoughtful hum. "It's okay."

"No, don't give me that. I know it's delicious by the look in your eyes," Ryujin grinned playfully, taking a quick sip of her vanilla latte.

With a roll of her eyes, the cherry-haired shook her head. "Are you trying to gaslight me right now?"

"Okay hey, I wouldn't say it like that."

"You're trying to gaslight me."

"If you think it tastes bad — then yes, I will undoubtedly gaslight you into thinking that it's good."