I continued to stare blankly at the empty wine glass, watching the leftover red droplets slide slowly to the bottom.
I didn't know how long I'd been sitting there, but the restaurant was almost empty now, with maybe only one or two people left.
Suddenly, the door to the kitchen burst open, and Dad flew out.
"Where have you been? Your friends are waiting for you!" he said, beads of sweat running down his head.
But before he could continue the lecture, he stopped, his gaze falling onto the empty glass of wine in front of me.
His eyes narrowed. "Wait… were you drinking?" He smacked his face with a small sigh. "Who am I kidding? I should've seen this coming when I left you alone with Julie."
Dad walked over and calmly picked up the two empty cups.
"You're not mad?" I asked, watching him work.
He spared me a glance before neatly stacking the glasses together with a small shrug.
"Not really. I don't want you to do it—but if it's Julie, all rules kind of don't matter anymore."
He set the glasses aside and gave me a sly wink. "Just make sure you don't tell your Mom. She might kill Julie—and would definitely kill me."
A heavy weight pressed against my chest as a chuckle slipped out. Seeing this, Dad's smile grew, but he quickly turned toward the kitchen.
"Anyway," he said. "Your friends are waiting for you. I also already set your meal up, too, so hurry up before it gets cold."
But before he could go, I asked, "Do you even know what I like? Mom would."
His shoulders stiffened as he scoffed, eyes still toward the kitchen.
"That's rude. Who do you think I am? Of course, I know what my Son likes. You wanted a large bowl of Pho with beef and beef balls, right?"
"Uh, no," I corrected flatly. "I prefer the beef brisket over the balls."
Dad spun around, his eyebrows shooting all the way to his hairline. "What?! Stop lying! Who's the one who likes the balls then? Lily?"
"No, Lily doesn't like any meat in her Pho. She likes it plain. The only ones who actually like the beef balls are you and Mom."
Dad seemed to deflate as he staggered back, but he quickly recovered with an awkward scratch at the back of his head.
"Hihihi, I guess I don't know what you like. Sorry... but I can go change it right now!"
My body moved on its own, jumping out of the seat. Dad watched this happen, startled.
"No—it's fine," I said. "I never said I hated the beef balls, I just prefer the brisket. I'll still eat it."
Dad blinked a few times before letting out a small smile.
"If you say so." He paused, took a deep breath, then continued. "Well, I have to get back to work now. If you need me, just text me."
Dad turned back around and stepped into the kitchen. Before the door closed behind him, he left me one last parting word.
"Have fun with your friends, my lovely Son!"
And just like that, he was gone—and I was left alone once more.
Just like I did with Julie, I stared at the now closed door leading to the kitchen, my body slowly sinking back into my seat as I did.
…Just what is happening today?
First Julie, and now Dad. Why was everyone acting like this all of a sudden?
It was the same way they'd always behaved, yet it felt completely different—and I couldn't begin to put my finger on it.
I closed my eyes and let out a small sigh.
There was no use thinking about it. No matter how hard I tried, it wasn't like the answer would suddenly come to me. Besides, my friends were still waiting for me, and I'd wasted enough time.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself up and walked to the familiar back room.
This was where my sister and I used to play or do homework whenever we came here after school. It was also the same place Dad spent his lunch breaks.
I stopped just outside the door and put a lazy smile on my face. Then, I opened it and stepped inside. "Sorry, I'm late."
The room was quite small—especially for a group of six people. There was one small square table in the middle of the room with cushions on each side. There were only four since my family only had four people, so some of them had to sit on the bare floor.
I took a quick glance around the room. It was exactly as I remembered it, as if it hadn't aged a day since I last came—hard floors, a TV in the corner, and plain white walls. Except, here and there, childish drawings and certificates were taped to the walls.
I glanced at one of the drawings.
I froze the moment I saw it.
It was a throwaway drawing I'd scribbled years ago out of boredom. There was nothing special about it. Yet—here it was, displayed out in the open like it was something to be proud of.
Now that I thought about it, once my sister and I—and even Mom—stopped coming here, just how many lunch breaks did Dad sit and eat alone in this room? Was that why he set these drawings up? To ease the loneliness? Or maybe there was another reason...
But before I had the chance to even think about it, Yu addressed me, his mouth half-full.
"You're a little late. Did your cousin have something important to tell you?"
I shook my head. "No—she just wanted to catch up for a bit. We talked about sports day, finals, and other things. It wasn't anything important."
"Well, enough about that," Luna said, patting the last cushion next to her. "We saved the last one for you. It only makes sense—it is your place."
"Wow—I'm flattered," I said flatly.
Remi clicked her tongue as she slammed her chopsticks against her bowl. "You are so inconsiderate!"
Sora shot a hand out and covered Remi's mouth. She began flailing around, but he held her firmly in place.
"Remi, please," he pleaded. "He let us use his place, so just this once, give him a break!"
The two broke into their own little scuffle at the edge of the table. I ignored them, taking a seat between Luna and Yu as I scanned the table.
Yu had Korean fried chicken; Mei and Luna had Pho like me, although with different toppings; Remi had a simple rice with fish dish; and Sora had soup dumplings.
I grabbed a nearby hot sauce bottle and squeezed a heavy dose of it into my bowl, the broth bleeding red.
Mei stared at my bowl with a wary expression. "Don't you think that's a little too much? At this point, you're eating hot sauce broth—not Pho broth."
Yu's plate clattered as a bone fell from his hands. He held a finger up, signaling for us to wait as he chewed as fast as he could. When he finally finished, he said, "Yeah, he's kind of crazy when it comes to spice. Even if it completely ruins the meal, he always has to make whatever he's eating the spiciest thing possible."
Remi gave Sora one last push before turning to me, genuinely curious. "What's the point of doing that? I get liking spice—but too much just makes your food bad, right?"
Everyone turned to me, but I waited until the broth had completely soaked the hot sauce before responding.
"It's like a challenge."
I took up a pair of chopsticks and lifted a bite of Pho—a piece of beef with it—into my mouth. My tongue burned the instant it hit the broth—from both the spice and the heat.
"Wait… is that it?" Sora asked.
I didn't look up as I took another bite, only answering when I finished chewing.
"Yeah, that's it. I do think spice makes things better, but most of the time, it's just a challenge to see whether I can handle it or not."
Remi let out a loud groan as she leaned back, propped on her hands. "What the hell is the point of doing that? Sounds to me like you're a masochist or something."
I would have loved to defend myself, but I was mid-chew and didn't want to spit everywhere. Luckily, Yu answered for me.
"You're thinking too deeply about it. It's just his pride—nothing more."
Remi furrowed her brows, struggling to understand. "So you're saying… he eats because of pride? How does that make any sense?"
"It doesn't," Luna replied flatly. "This is one of those things where you just have to take it at face value and don't think about it. You'll only get more confused if you do. Trust me—I've been there." A faint trace of horror crossed her face on those last words.
Remi seemed to catch it and gave her an understanding nod. After that, we carried on with our meal, talking occasionally. Once we finished, we set the empty bowls aside and finally did what we came here to do—to study.