— off the mend, ft. @minusn0ne allure charity brunch
it's not often that seoho's the first person to find his seat. usually, he mingles: finds himself caught up in conversation and only hurries to find his spot when he absolutely needs to. he used to be the kid in school leaning back on his chair to talk to the person behind him until the teacher would clear their throat to get his attention, the last one at the dining table at home.
it's a cruel twist of fate that today is the day he's breaking his pattern. seoho doesn't bother checking the other place cards beyond confirming who the immediate neighbours to right and left are. the air inside is a little stuffy, enough so that he already wants to shrug out of his jacket. he's about to do just that when he catches movement in the corner of his field of view - and there she is, approaching, the woman he's been pretending not to avoid for years now.
eunbin looks as pretty as always. seoho gives her the bland smile he'd give an acquaintance as not to betray anything else, and then tries very hard to be interested in what is happening across the room. it's takes him longer to rally than it really should; there's this tension to the air that's difficult to cut through, built brick by brick over more than half a decade. seoho clears his throat when the quiet gets too oppressive.
"it's, uh. it's good to see you." so fucking awkward. seoho wants to bang his head against the table and hopes daon will show up a little sooner. "that colour looks good on you." he's half expecting that she'll just ignore him, but at least he'll have tried.