❂ general store

@JUNG SOOJUNG Amber weighed the options heavily-- one with letting Soojung witness her mess yet eat dinner together or two letting this opportunity to eat good food slide down. Thinking about it, it doesn't seem much that she let the latter know how disgustingly messy her house is if that means a delicious homemade dinner. With her mind preoccupied by the internal debate, it is only when Amber heard the younger bidding goodbye that she managed to snap out her trance. A quiet groan rumbled out as she watched the woman exit the store before following suit when she finally made up her mind.

Well, eating homemade dinner is better than fast food besides she inferred that they'll be having something healthy considering that Soojung bought some vegetables. She squinted her eyes as she witnessed how far gone Soojung is since a few seconds ago. Jogging towards the younger, she tapped Soojung's shoulder to seize her attention. "Why do you always walk away so fast?" She asked, heaving momentarily after the light exercise. When she has finally regained composure, Amber leaned down to snatch the plastic bags from Soojung's hands. "If the offer still stands, should we head to my place?" She flashed her a wide a hopeful grin as her left eyebrow raised in anticipation.

@AMBER LIU At the turn down of her offer, Soojung had another idea popping up in her mind, never one deterred that easily she always had something else she could do.
"That's fine. I can just come to yours and cook. I'm sure your busy with a serious case and stuff so I'll just cook and then leave you be, okay?" Paying for the groceries, she took her bag and then looked at Amber quietly, as if she had said the most obvious thing in the world and should of thought of it herself. Narrowing her eyes on the professor, Soojung let out another small laugh this time before giving her head another small shake side to side.
"Let me guess, your apartment is messy." Rolling her eyes, the student sighed and looked incredulously at the other woman before she relented a bit.

"Fine. But don't say I didn't offer. And please, eat something a little better than instant noodles, anything at all." Giving a small smile, the woman looked a little disappointment, only realising now she'd been a little bit lonely amongst her busy schedules.
"See you around I guess." The woman waved with one of her hands before she headed off, thanking the store owner and making herself scarce out of the shop. It was a shame, Soojung would have to eat on her own again, which reminded her how much she wanted a pet, and had for a while. Suppose she'd have to wait until she wasn't as busy and was more capable of looking after an animal.

Glancing back at the shop, Soojung sighed before she walked on, tugging the hood up on her hoody as she made her way home.

@JUNG SOOJUNG "Soojung?" She incoherently mumbled into thin air at the sight of the woman. Amber stared at her just long enough to find her scanning the vegetable section before going back on the noodles in her hand. Apparently, she's contemplating whether she should get this cheese flavored noodles or the spicy flavored one. It wasn't until she heard her name called that she dropped down the internal debate momentarily. "Hi there." She greeted back as a sheepish smile flashed on her lips-- obviously the junk food is a huge giveaway for her lack of cooking skills. Honestly, she wasn't supposed to be that embarrassed but for some reason Soojung's laughter which she took as mockery kind of made her shameful.

The quick turnout of event left no room for Amber to speak her own stance. "I still have this thing to review at my house and I didn't really plan to stay out too late." She said quite slowly, not wanting to dampen the latter's mood nor their just recently budding friendship. Her hand instinctively raised to rub her nape in a sheepish manner-- truly regretful for rejecting the invitation. Of course, Amber would have agreed in a heartbeat if she didn't have things to do; however, that's the problem, she did have things to do, lots of things to be honest-- like she said earlier, she still had to review the case she's handling, and of course that includes all the prime witnesses, crime scenes, legal proceedings, and pretty much everything that needs to be taken account of since the last 21 months.

"I'm really sorry. Maybe we could postpone the dinner?" She asked as she bit her lip, continuously rubbing her nape in sheepishness. Maybe if they'd do it in Amber's pad, she'd be very much willing to accommodate a helpful guest; but, she'd rather not hand out the invitation considering the mess her house is in currently. Besides the woman probably has some better things to do than babysitting an adult like her.

@AMBER LIU In the few days Soojung had since met the other woman, she had double checked that she wasn't wrong and it was indeed the lawyer turned professor she had been thinking of. She'd also had her first show with the routine she'd had under a week to learn and perfect, Music Bank going wild for her as they were sold out of tickets and people still lined up outside in the hopes of having seen her. Thankfully the media was kind enough as well, writing reports on how the song would be a hit over the holiday season and plenty of people would watch and love it for sure. Today was her first evening off, Soojung allowed to spend it how she wished and of course that had involved a brief practise time in the dance studio on her own, smiling when she was happy with her progress ad thinking there was nothing she could do better in terms of it.

But damn she was hungry. Patting her flat tummy, she promised to fill it soon before she zipped up her hoody, leaving the dance room and smiling to herself as she'd done so, remembering the last time she'd been in there had been with Amber. Tucking some of her long brown locks behind her ears, Soojung had just stepped into the general store and bowed her head to the owner behind the till, a usual and familiar face she owed her greetings to whenever she visited the store. Passing by the noodle aisle she had at first not noticed Amber, instead making a beeline for the fresh vegetable stock, humming as she glanced around at the items and then picked a couple up here and there, checking them before she would put the ones she wanted in her basket.

"Crap, can't have stir fry without noodles." Soojung muttered, turning around and almost bumping into someone as she did so.
"Sorry, I didn't... Amber?" She mumbled, looking at the woman quietly before she glanced at the aisle she was in, frowning and then letting out a small laugh.
"Please tell me you're not having just instant noodles for dinner." Shaking her head, she grabbed the noodles she herself wanted before tugging Amber along to the counter where she could pay.
"You're coming with me. And we're having proper dinner, together." Not leaving much room for arguments, Soojung paid for her stuff before heading towards the xit of the shop, glancing back when the other woman wasn't moving fast enough.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

@JUNG SOOJUNG A cordial laughter flowed out Amber's mouth as she shook her head in resignation. More than anything, she would rather keep the water bottle than get into another childish and pointless argument-- after all, running through the dance routine a couple times, she was definitely getting tired. Ageing really does wreck one's stamina, not to mention her recently unhealthy lifestyle of eating takeouts and sleeping late. Maybe when she's done with her current case, she'll be back to her healthy ways and be in shape again.

At some point of the night, Amber recalled reserving the studio for two; but, honestly she wasn't too sure how much time has passed because she was surprisingly having fun conversing with the younger woman. Despite all the bad first impressions, Amber was astounded that she was really, or rather they were, getting well. She loved just how their topics revolve on getting to know each other-- from Amber's mango allergy to Soojung's apple allergy, and much more. In fact, Amber might have said too much about herself that she is having doubts whether her own sister knows her more than Soojung does as of the moment.

When Amber noticed the younger's somnolent gestures, she suggested that they go home which was kind of successful. Amber locked the door behind her and stashed the key on her bag before turning around to face the latter. Her eyebrow cocked up in curiosity as the younger started leaving without bidding goodbye. Maybe the latter didn't find her as amusing as Amber thought she is. What she heard next, however, left Amber more surprised than ever tonight. "Nice meeting you too, Soojung." She muttered silently as she watched in amusement at the younger's vanishing figure.

Three days have passed since that fateful night. Since then, Amber has taken some time off from the school due to the case she's been working on. Amber glanced at her watch that read 21:54 before a sigh escaped her lips. She hasn't eaten lunch nor dinner, and she would have fasted the whole night and tomorrow morning if it just wasn't for her grumbling stomach. Unluckily her favorite takeouts was sold out for tonight and she can't bear ordering from another branch since that'll take too long; so, she opted to go out to the nearby convenience store. As she was scanning the noodle aisle, she spotted a familiar beauty coming in the store.

i hereby declare that this rooms ity has been taken by kim taehyung ✩ (/coughs the bestest in all the land)