━━ non-event thread◞ the cure.· ( @lgcjisoo)
“thank you,” seona tells the cafeteria worker as she grabs the tray of food off the counter. despite preferring her own homemade food, there are times when bringing lunch isn’t practical, especially if she doesn’t have time to pack it because of her busy schedule. legacy’s cafeteria food provided food isn’t the worst, at least it’s healthy. maybe a little on the bland side, but she can deal with that from time to time.
the weather’s been warming up, each day feeling nicer and nicer. seona wants to enjoy it before summer comes, making it impossible to stay outside for more than half an hour before sweating to death.
she walks over to the patio doors, pushing it open with her side and looking for a table to sit at. unfortunately, it seems like everyone at the company had the same idea as her, the tables full of staff or artists. seona looks around, trying to spot a familiar face that she could sit with. one of the other actors would be preferable, but some of her idol contacts surely wouldn’t mind letting her sit with them for lunch?
instead of spotting aeri, jino, or cherry, she spots someone else. jisoo. she stops in her tracks before passing by his table, debating whether or not she should approach. seona makes the decision that she’s been looking for a seat for too long, and she also doesn’t want him to think that she’s snubbed him if he sees her staring but instead of even greeting him, she just walks past.
“hi,” she says approaching him. there’s always an awkward air between the two of them when they’re in the same place at the same time. it’s a rare occasion, their schedules don’t really overlap and it’s not like the two hang out outside of work. seona still doesn’t know what exactly they are; friends, acquaintances, enemies? no, definitely not that last one. but still, jisoo confuses her and she doesn’t like that.
“mind if i sit? it’s popular outside and there’s no other seats available. well, maybe someone else would let me sit with them but i saw you first and i thought i would ask.” her hand grips the tray tighter. “no pressure though,” she reassures him. “if you’re busy or just want some alone time.”
jisoo is someone who always prefers indoors, air conditioned areas, but he supposes even he has to visit the outdoors from time to time when they boasted a seat with sun and breeze. alright, he didn't have a choice, there was literally one table freed up as someone had left just now, and he makes a brisk walk to it. "aha!" perfect. no wait. everything was lining up perfectly. he'd sat everything down and was about to prop up his phone to watch something whilst eating but he was interrupted by a voice. it's not a shock - they're in company territory and there's bound to be many a colleague or new trainee or staff around.
it feels like dejavu. they've been here before, facing off. is that the right term? not really. there's less sass in the introductory bit but he's sure there's a 50/50 chance that'll fade once they actually sit down. so he bites. they've been cordial with each other anyway... "i have enough alone time on a normal day, we're fine to eat together. take a seat, please," jisoo smiles. he'd only taken a seat moments earlier, having skated in to one of the few remaining available spots, so he understood that pressure. like, no, he's not taking this to go. it's not as if they had studios like some of the idols here.
"it's funny how we seem to run into each other seasonally." not that he's counting. "has it been years since we've filmed together? i can't believe it." maybe it did work its magic with them actually getting along more afterwards. the model is about to make a comment on their food choices, but he doesn't truly want to talk about food. "taking any holidays this year? or do you count work travel as 'vacation'?"
“thank you.” she breathes a sigh of relief as jisoo invites her to sit with him. seona wasn’t sure if he’d be receptive to the idea, she understands needing alone time and she understands why he wouldn’t want to eat with her. but they’ve patched things up and moved on even if the air about the two of them is awkward still. she places her tray down on the table first before sitting down, trying to get comfortable despite the uncomfortable metal beneath her.
“do we?” she asks, trying to think about the last time they had ran into each other. “i guess the last time i saw you was during the winter, and now spring?” seona laughs. “once a season’s enough i suppose. i don’t know if you’d be able to handle any more of me.”
“i haven’t planned anything yet. i want to go to the beach at some point, though,” the actress tells him. “it’s difficult to work around schedules, so sometimes if i have to go somewhere outside of seoul, or korea, for work i’ll make a day of it or something. i haven’t been able to travel recently, though. have you? did you go to fashion week? or has that not happened yet?” she asks him.
