Chapter 50: Ordinary Days

At around 9:30 in the morning Secretary Jin arrived with some traditional Chinese breakfast: fantuan, youtiao, soymilk and wontons in chili oil. By then Shu Li had awoken and was already chatting with Lu Minzhe over a cup of coffee. While Miyeon, ever the couch potato, was already sprawled on the sofa with a cup of coffee on hand, her eyes glued to the TV. She was watching the 2nd season of Hospital Playlist. 

Author's Note: Fantuan is a burrito-like roll composed of soft sticky rice, crispy doughnut stick, pork floss and preserved vegetables. (♥ω♥*)

Youtiao is a deep fried dough stick aka Chinese churro. (*´∀｀）

"Miyeon-ah, come have breakfast!" Shu Li called from the kitchen counter.

"Mm.. Just a minute," Miyeon responded absentmindedly, still focused on her drama.

"Girl...If you don't come over I'll finish everything." (Shu Li)

Getting no reaction from her friend, Shu Li continued with a hint of exasperation, "I'll really finish everything!"

"Mm. Can you hand me some youtiao and soy milk? I want to eat here," Miyeon requested without so much a glance at Shu Li.

"You! Seriously! If you didn't have that face…" Shu Li grumbled but still began to set aside some breakfast for her friend.

"Is Miyeon always like this?" Lu Minzhe laughingly asked. 

"Aiii, Minzhe-ge, that girl is obsessed with watching Korean dramas," Shu Li answered, rolling her eyes. Noticing Lu Minzhe's surprised expression, Shu Li explained in a low voice, "Well, Miyeon was adopted from Korea when she was a child so it makes sense that she's interested in those dramas."

"She must miss her real parents," Lu Minzhe said with a sigh.

"Minzhe-ge, the things you want to know. You should ask Miyeon directly," Shu Li said, noticing her friend's keen interest in the matter.

"Mm." Lu Minzhe nodded in agreement. 'I'm really curious. I want to know everything about her. I want to be closer to her. I want her to think of me, to rely on me.' These thoughts suddenly flashed through his mind only to be interrupted by Shu Li's sudden laughter. 

Whilst he was lost in thought, the girl had relocated to the living room and was chatting away with Miyeon. As he observed the pair engrossed in their conversation, he couldn't help but imagine himself in Shu Li's place. The thought of Miyeon comfortably chatting with him, sharing meals with him and spending ordinary days together filled him with inexplicable bliss. And the familiar warmth brought about by her presence began to pervade his heart. 

However, before he could explore the meaning behind these newfound feelings, he suddenly recalled the debt he owed the girl. He knew that he would eventually have to come clean sooner or later. Nothing can be kept secret forever and it's imperative that she hears the truth of the matter from him. In reality, he was scared, scared that Miyeon would be disgusted with him, and hate him. But he was most afraid that Miyeon would cut off all contact with him. This caused his previous euphoria to quickly be replaced with dread. The notion of never being able to speak to Miyeon again made Lu Minzhe's heart constrict uncontrollably; it filled him with crippling anxiety. 'I need to make things right with her. I hope she can forgive me,' Lu Minzhe solemnly thought. 

..................

It was close to noon before Miyeon was finally able to get both Shu Li and Lu Minzhe out of her apartment. With no other plans for the day, she made herself comfortable on the couch and began to check her emails. And she was pleasantly surprised to find an invitation to interview with SunFox. Controlling her bubbling excitement, Miyeon quickly responded to the email and accepted the interview for next Wednesday.

Afterwards, Miyeon fell into her regular Sunday routine and began to clean her apartment, humming as she did so. In less than an hour, she had finished tidying up her place. Seeing that it was still pretty early in the afternoon, Miyeon decided to practice self care Sunday and first on the agenda was a mani-pedi treatment. When this was done, she took a few minutes to admire her handiwork before going to the kitchen to get herself some boba ice cream. Call Miyeon crazy but she truly enjoyed these ordinary days. 

However, she barely got to take a few steps before her phone rang. It was a call from her sister NingNing.