✯ restaurant

@l yangyang the expression in ten's eyes were clear — pity yet understanding. ray seemed to notice the note of sadness in yangyang's voice and looked at him, her brows furrowed and lips pouted as she asked, "did uncle not get a chance visit his hometown?" she knew nothing of where yangyang was from, nor what her uncle does for a living and the torment he had to endure to survive this long. her innocence and ignorance only made her concern all the stronger, truly despondent for her uncle. she scooted in her seat to be closer to yangyang, hugging his side in what she hoped would be in a comforting manner, chirping, "i'm sure uncle will get to visit his hometown soon!"

an amused chuckle let itself be known at yangyang's comment, nodding his head in acknowledgement. "nothing spicy then." he waited for yangyang to make his choice, watching as the waitress jotted down their orders before leaving to put in their dishes. humming at the question, ten watched with a soft smile on his face as yangyang entertained little ray, amusement and content settling in his chest at the sight. "the business is going well. there are actually quite a number of customers, to my surprise. i didn't expect so many people to want to be tattooed."

ten tilted his head after hearing yangyang's confession, asking, "are you worried that the others might not want the tattoo?" of course, the gang could care less about whether a member got themselves an art piece inked to any parts of their body. he was more referring to the alters. he hummed thoughtfully before suggesting, "why don't you ask them? or i can ask them. surely they might agree?"

@l ten "Chinese food sounds great. It's been a while since I've had a taste of home." It surprisingly takes a lot of willpower to bite back his next words, as he knows it would consist of nothing but depressing sarcasm about how he never really had a home to begin with. Fortunately, Yangyang's self-conscious decides not to be Cimmerian in the presence of a child. It was arduous, but not at all impossible to do.

"I'll pass on the spicy for now, I have a certain alter who hates them, and heaven knows what would happen if they try to front at that moment." As funny as it would be, Yangyang wasn't very fond of subjecting their caretaker alter to such kind of suffering, but only because he knows that he would feel so incredibly guilty right after. Ah yes, the joys and woes of picking food carefully in an attempt to not offend the tastebuds of his other alters. A hassle, really, but not much could be done about it.

A couple of choices and and suggestions later, the waitress finally gives her notepad that telltale pat with the tip of her pen. With their order in place, Yangyang finds way into conversation once more, occasionally paying Ray small bits of attention at a time, whether it was to play with her hair or to entertain some random question. "So anyway, how's that tattoo business going?" he asks, falling into the topic slowly. "I'd get one for myself, although, I probably need some... permission for that."

@l yangyang ray was quick to climb onto yangyang's back, squealing a delighted 'horsey, yip yip' as she wrapped her arms around yangyang's shoulders. she grinned happily when yangyang helped her to adjust the flower crown, nuzzling the elder in a show of gratitude. she clung onto the elder male closely until they neared the restaurant, where she put back down onto the sidewalk. she held onto yangyang's palm before excitedly tugging him along with her to enter the restaurant, following her father to the table he had chosen for them. with much effort, ray climbed onto the chair beside yangyang and took a menu, giggling at the light hair ruffle the latter gave before focusing on the menu, swinging her legs back and forth casually.

ten quirked a brow in amusement at yangyang's comment, chortling with a shake of his head before flipping through his menu once more, trying to find dishes that the younger may like. "what are you feeling like eating? they have italian, chinese, korean and many others." he turned the pages, gazing at the multitude of choice as he continued, "they also have spicy food if you feel like eating something more intense. do you want food with soup maybe? gravy? or just simple rice, maybe fried rice?"

the waitress soon returned with a notepad and she asked, "what would you like to order?" ray was the first to respond, pointing to the children's menu of a burger with fries as a side. "i want this, miss!" the waitress chuckled and noted down the meal the little girl wanted, turning to the adults. "and how about the gentlemen?"

@l ten Quietly, Yangyang nodded back, appreciating the simple gesture as it did, in fact, bring him a sense of comfort and reassurance. Unsure how, but he wouldn't complain as long as it made him feel less anxious about the following days after he would part ways with them eventually.

Moving off the bench and bending down low enough for Ray to climb onto his back, Yangyang hoisted her up, making sure she had her arms wrapped around his neck properly. With a fond smile gracing his features once more, hand reaching up to tilt her flower crown into a better position, the younger finally followed after Ten, walking not too far behind him as they stepped out onto the main street.

Nearing the restaurant, Yangyang had carefully set Ray down once they reached the sidewalk, keeping her close as he held her hand, letting her go first as they both made a waddle towards the door that Ten had kept open for them. They're seated almost immediately, and Yangyang gives himself another chance to lightly ruffle Ray's hair before he lets her focus on one of the menus.

"This shows just how much I haven't left the indoors at all. My brain only knows junk, apparently," he jokes, shaking his head, lazily scanning through the choices. "Choose for me, maybe?" Yangyang, slightly sharing the front with his child alter, hums with a tilt of his head, pulling on a puppy-like expression as he did so.

@l yangyang ten nodded his head in understanding, a soft smile of sadness gracing his lips at the latter comment as he patted the younger's back in a comforting manner. he stood up from the bench, waiting for the younger to follow, allowing yangyang to be the one to carry ray. once they were both ready, he led them away from the park and towards the restaurant a few blocks down.

as the clock slowly ticked towards two o'clock in the afternoon, rush hour was starting to dwindle, though still just as hectic. traffic was still rowdy, even as the cars on the road had decreased. the sidewalks were still filled with citizens going to and fro, some making way to eateries while others return to their workplaces. restaurants and cafes were not as crowded as it had been just an hour ago, now half of the overall seats not taken anymore.

ten held the door open for yangyang to enter with ray, crossing the threshold and into the restaurant right behind them before guiding them to the nearest available empty table. a waitress was quick to tend to them, handing menus to the two males while also pouring glasses of water. the server was quick to disappear to tend to another customer, having been called by the people a few tables down.

"order whatever you want. my treat," commented ten with a genial smile before flipping through the menu to find a meal for himself, wondering whether he should go for the usual or try something new for that day.

@j wonwoo enthusiasm clearly followed ray's every move as she hopped into the passenger's seat, wiggling off her backpack before putting on her seat belt, bouncing in her own seat in excitement. when she heard that her and her father would be meeting officer wonwoo at a restaurant after classes for a cheese escapade, she was quick to jump on the train. just like ten, ray absolutely loves cheese, so this experience was definitely something the little girl wouldn't pass up for.

the father-daughter duo arrived to the restaurant within minutes, and ray wasted no time in jumping out from the car the moment it went stationary. it took seconds for the little girl to pinpoint the detective's location, immediately squealing happily at the sight of her favourite police officer. she practically ditched her father in favour of reaching the table where wonwoo was seated, standing beside the officer as she waved in greeting.

"hello, officer wonwoo! daddy said we'll be eating lots of cheese today!"