↳ restaurant 'atlas'

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ You're getting divorced!
*still with the affirming repetitions, she nods firmly before clapping to cheer him on as he disturbs the restaurant's peace. on the sidelines of him accosting the waitress, she smiles and nods along whenever the poor woman glances her way—even pointing to him and mouthing what she already is very aware of (he's getting a divorce)*
Thank youuuu~
*she chimes after the woman once she's on her way. decompressing through a light exhale, she rests against both palms with her eyes closed for a moment to let the excitement settle. because, while a little tipsy, she's nowhere near loud and raucous New Years 2019 drunk. in a moment of clarity, she snorts*
This gonna cost sooo much money

[ ready to move on? >:3 ]

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ Okay! Okay!
*Minho repeats, cheering along with his friend who only seems to egg on his drunken need to repeat the word*
*maybe it was his own way of reaffirming that he'd be okay*
It's done.
I'm getting divorced.
*he's been saying it for years, but for the first time it feels final. And it seems he knows it, even through the thick curtain of alcohol*
I'm getting divorced!
*he confirms louder, with more gusto*
*their waitress is his poor victim, as she walks by with a tray to the adjacent table to begin bussing it down, he taps her on the forearm*
Hey - excuse me - Oh - I'm sorry, that was rude - excuse me -
*red cheeks frame his eager expression as he looks up to her, her own eyes trained on him with confused attention*
I'm getting divorced, and we're celebrating!
Do you think you can bring us another round of some of of of of this delicious, /amazing/ meat you have served us here?
*points to the near empty plate of meat and sauce that he'd chugged in*
Please? It's a big celebration. Long overdue.

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ Okay? Okay! Yeah, okay!
*echoes each of your okays with one of her, nodding along in a much more sagely fashion. she slaps a hand down onto the table like a judge with their gavel—cementing the decision that the beginning of the end was now*
Period! Next weekend. We'll make a whole thing out of it..I gotta see how long it'd take to get a congrats on your divorce cake...
*mutters the note to herself before filling both cups once more and raising hers to toast*
Next weekend, this time, you'll be a free man!
And you can go make some disgustingly cheesy gesture like I know your corny little school girl heart yearns for~

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ *Quin was right in every respect, with everything she was saying. And while Minho liked to think he was usually an attentive listener when not impeded by the effects of alcohol, the majority of her spiel flew right over his drunken head*
*he still finds the time to chime in comments that (hopefully) seem appropriate, of the likes of "/I'm/ not in middle school anymore." "Yeah, yeah, right, right!"*
*when he's poked in the forehead, he lags a beat, before blinking, snickering through his nose*
It's 2023! *he repeats with a nod*
Ok. Ok. Okay!
*his head bobbles a million times more, the hand holding the rice serving spoon bobbing along with him like they're connected by the same axel*
Ok! *punches his thumb onto the edge of the table* Master Quyen is clocked out.
Friend Quyen is clocked /in/
*stamps his thumb again* Come over next weekend.
I'm signing. You'll stamp it. We'll mail it.
Bye bye marriage!

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ *laughs when your answer leaves the issue just as unresolved as before—absolutely nothing funny about it besides the absurdity. she opts for moving past the question with the confidence that you won't even remember it in the next few minutes—let alone by morning*
Maybe....I'll see if he's up for it
*settles, raising an inquiring brow when you false-start a question. the extra moment of radio silence affords her the opportunity to shove a ridiculously large portion of food into and sluggishly lean against her non-dominant hand as the think finally starts to hit. another half-laugh nearly sends a grain of rice shooting down so she chases it with another sip and carefully chewchewchew swallows before answering*
Hey, I have a /great/ idea. Why don't you just ask her?
*reaches across the table to poke you in the forehead*
It is 2023, no more of that "uuuhhh do you think they like meee?" high school baby stuff
*really sells the question with a dopey voice and a few cutesy finger taps before deadpanning*
Find out for yourself. /I'm/ tired of the eggshell walking and I'm only halfway involved in this. Like-
*gesticulates to convey the frustration and a general lack of words. she utters something in Vietnamese before regurgitating a translation*
Just imagine how tired you both are and neither of you stupids even realize it
*ends her statement with an air of finality before tacking on a bit for the end*
Thank you, come againn, relationship therapist Quin is off the clock now

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ Depends on who he ish -
*Minho giggles, stifling on the rest of his words. He had a fantastic joke conjuring in his mind about Quyen's boyfriend being a pickle, but it was lost to him*
He should join us next time -
But not a double date!
Do you think... *taps his chin, losing his thoughts again*
*when it doesn't come to him, he grabs his chopsticks instead, scarfing food down his gull with pensive chews*
Do you think she likes me too?

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ Single, pringle, schmingle
*muses, an amused crease in her eyes. she gratefully accepts the messy attempt at hospitality and chases it with more wine. dinner and a show as she listens to her dear friend's inebriated rambling about his kid's origin story*
Minho.
*returns before laughing at the blunt honest, a hand raised to cover *
No, that's fair. I'm glad we're on the same page. My boyfriend is-
are you mentally stable enough to hear this or am I about to deal with 10 minutes straight of whining if you don't like the answer?

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ You're right *he agrees again, punctuating the air with his chopsticks* I /never/ got to be y, free and pringle - *hiccups* - single
You know - I met Gyuri in high school - !
*he sighs around a mouthful of rice and meat, pausing to place his plate down only to scoop up more food into it with the serving utensils available*
D'ya want more?
*he asks, shoveling food into her bowl anyway. It's nearly spilling over with chicken, but Minho's proud of the display anyway*
Gold star... *he murmurs to himself, leaning back so he can sip on the hot drink for a moment, winded from his earlier spiel*
High school. /We/ got married a year after we graduated. And then Gyu wush born. I love that kid sho much. Sho much.
Quyen - *tries again, with much more confidence* I... Don't want to go on a double date with you.
Who even ish your boyfriend anyway? Show me uh picture -

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ *grins as you speak, ferrying a bite of chicken to her own mouth because the swirling scents really start contributing to her hunger. she mumbles a belated "i'll eat well" around it before humming in approval at your revelations*
Period. You should be happy! You completely skipped over the y free and single ready to mingle era, but who cares! It be like that sometimes
*shrugs lightly, poking around for the supreme bite*
I'd say we should double date sometime once you make your move but, eh, different vibes. I try not to mix circles. Oh and, I guess, harder to be on the down-low too
*waves a hand, clearly less concerned with that aspect*
So, how are you gonna do this? What's gonna be the rising action to the that is your K-Drama life?

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ *it's a true gift to have Quyen scoop that rice and meat into his bowl, his hands clumsily clutching at it with his chopsticks acquired in his fingers as well*
Thank you for the delicious food!
*he calls with a happy cheer, smiling brightly at his friend before drunkenly diving in to the food*
I promise
*he chucks out between mouthfuls, finding the grace to at least use his napkin and wait until he swallowed his food* I don't know what I've been waiting for. Gyuri is never coming back.
She doesn't want us. I - *he aims his chopsticks at his chest* I deserve to be happy too
Gyugyu deserves a happy father!

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ We need food
*agrees with a firm nod, briefly scanning the place for any illusive staff sightings. when there's no immediate sign of them, she returns to watching you in bemusement while leaning against a down-turned hand*
Oh yeah? Those are big claims, Lee. I'm proud of you
The papers are at home
*begins rearranging the table to make some space as a waiter finally heads their way. grinning, she gives her thank yous with a little happy clapping. before knocking the lid from your rice and starting to pile it with meats*
Buuut maybe I should get that in writing so you can't wimp out tomorrow and start spiralling again. Are you ready for real? You promise?

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ *He may have forgotten that, and the couponed chicken he'd been gifted that he should have taken advantage of that evening*
*Minho uses both hands to bring the cup of drink to his lips, carefully tipping it back to avoid spillage*
*he hiccups with the cup on the way down, laughing at himself*
Well... This is... Where I'm at.
*nods vigorously* We need some food... *whips his head to look at the kitchen* You think is almost ready?
I'm ready. I'm ready for food. For Yongsun. For my divorce.
Where did I leave those papers? Lemme sign 'em!

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ Bad blood! You know, when two people- And they-
*gestures vaguely, having never had to define the term outside of her native tongue*
Y'know, bad blood.
*gives up, instead returning to the pensive therapist role as she sagely nods along and briefly comments "wahh, romantic" as more of a stock response than anything. she squints at the phone, skimming the messages littered with typos that don't help her middle-school reading comprehension in any way, shape, or form before she clicks her tongue and reaches out to flick you in the forehead*
I /told/ you already. It came up when I was doing her makeup and then she blew it waaay out of proportion. And that's why I sent you a sorry coupon. And that's why we're here now. Remembeeer?

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ *it feels weird to be the receiver of a pat on the head rather than the giver, but it warms the child's spirit inside him that never really had the chance to thrive*
What's bad blood anyway?
*sighs, fanning himself with the dessert card from the edge of the table*
*with the pot replenished, Minho's eager to get his cup back into action, sliding it across the table to his friend*
It's juss like... I thought we had something, y'know like - we watched *paints his palms over his head in the air like there's a rainbow* an eclipse
I thought we had something... And *pulls out his phone, clumsily scrolling to his last conversation with Solar and showing Quyen*
Look. Hows she know /I'm/ married?

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ *bites her tongue to hold in an over-dramatic gasp of non-shock, smiling instead while you finish fumbling through the confession*
And I'm Vietnamese. And grass is green. And Gyu is small. And...you get it
*pats your head before returning to her own bubble of space on her side of the table*
But I'm very proud of you for admitting that to yourself. Now you both need to be normal and have a candid conversation. You're lucky enough that you guys don't have any actual bad blood, just a lot of stupidity
*their second round in brought about, with promises of the food coming soon, and she holds up the pot in silent offering to fill yours*
So your little chat should be mostly painless

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ *he stares down the woman, even his drunk brain hesitating to admit the truth he spoke of aloud*
*the finger waggles a little bit, faltering slightly while he leans in*
I like her.
*breathes a loud sigh of relief, unwillingly fanning a fog of rice wine scented air over Quin*
Not Quyen - I don't like her - I mean, you - like that - no -
I like Solar - ... I like Yongsun.

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@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ I'm always right
*she returns pointedly, sitting up a bit more in her seat before the motion is immediately stunted by a preemptive jump at the sound that never came. chuckling, she leans into her roll as the support friend and starts agreeing with and hyping every disjointed idea*
Exactly. Yeah, exactly! He doesn't know
*quirks a brow in amusement before her expression brightens considerably at the drunken effort, quite pleased with the, now, two people around her making an unprompted effort to get her real name right. in the same breath, she's leaning in too and stage whispering in response*
What's the truth, Lee Minho?

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ *All Minho can do is smile at the waitress who has been ever so patient with him from the moment she set the rice wine down on his table*
*he slurs a thank you at her when she's already well far off back in the direction of the kitchen, taking that smile and landing it on Quin*
You're right.
*slams a hand on his table (though dad mode kicks in last minute and he doesn't actually slam the table)* That kid is all over the place. And it's not the truth. So why do I care?
/I/ know the truth. Do /you/ know the truth?
*he leans in with a finger, supported by an elbow locked to the table* I know the truth, Quuin. Queen. Quyen.
*his lips contort, bastardizing the native pronunciation of the MUA's name after maybe having researched it meticulously to get it right*
Quyen *he tries again, better but not good*

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ Yeah yeah, gotcha
*nods, eyes scanning the room for the kitchen to get an idea of where help would be coming from. she hums to show she's listening, only rolling her gaze back to you when you really start struggling with that name*
Hyunjin
*supplies, though you've already moved on to your point which eventually prompts a snort out of her*
"These kids." You're not even 30, calm down.
*the waiter finally floats over, a friendly smile on his face while he inquires about their order. she relays it nicely before narrowing back on you as soon as he's stepped away*
Okay, sure. A lot of people do, it's super idealized in society. But the class clown spouting about it shouln't mean anything. It's giving the same energy as a 3-year-old running around and repeating a word they barely know just because it sounds funny. Stop letting everything freak you out

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@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ Sure. Get the chicken. Get all the food. We're celebrating.
And get us another round of this drink. We're gonna need to keep it going
*sighs, pinching his nose* I was leading a practice for the Janus boys
And what's his name - the blue haired guy who's always shouting? Not Hanbin... Not Jungkook...
*scrunches his entire face up while trying to draw the name on his drunken brain, sober him knowing it very well but somehow having erased it from existence the second he relaxed.*
Ugh, whatever. He called Solar. On Face Time.
And he keeps saying Hanbin and Solar are gonna date and get married
Ugh. Marriage
*shakes his head* These kids don't know what they're talking about when it comes to marriage

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ Fair. Very fair, hell yeah I'll drink to that
*just as such, she pours the next pair of refills and gulps her third down in a show of goodwill and she feels herself reaping the effects by way of a slowly increasing temperature and what she was sure was a reddening face under her makeup...which she didn't want too much of because she could already see herself being the night's babysitter. so, food is a must*
Yeah, yep short rib's great. Let's do stir-fried chicken too. It's best with makgeolli~
*black and silver nails lightly tap against the little nickel-silver kettle as she gestures to it, before she grabs the handle to do a quick weight check. it was basically empty at this point, with your pre-gaming being a huge factor*
More of this...maybe water, too. I'll order for us
*she presses the waiter call button at the end of the table without waiting for a clear okay, anticipating there being a bit of a delay before help truly arrives*
Is that all you want?

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ We're celebrating failure! Because... Why not?
If I have to wallow, why can't I celebrate?
*despite claiming celebration, Minho's face spoke a different story, face downturned in every way possible to look like the beaten down puppy he was*
*the divorce papers sat in their manila envelope on the kitchen counter at home. Mingyu was with his sitter. Solar was... Somehow MIA. Which was truly ridiculous considering they worked in the same building*
*his frown slowly turns to a scowl*
I'm hungry. Let's eat.
*he fumbles around to grab a menu, slowly picking it up to evaluate his options. Plain. Like his life.*
How do you feel about.... short rib?

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ And may he never have to...not to this tragic degree, anyway
*grins, after taking a moment to understand the inhibited speech she already barely understands. the same goes for the suspect description, a thoughtful furrow setting in her brow as she nods along despite only getting about half of what was said*
Ohh yeahh
*starts, as if the perfect picture was painted in her mind, before she deadpans*
I have no idea who that is. Or, well-
*pauses, giving it actual thought before snorting and finishing her glass—making a mental note to send a text later. rather than answer the question, she slides the menu your way*
And what exactly are we celebrating? I thought we were in agony

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ Tell me about it
*he peels his head off the table, a red circle on his forehead from the indentation of his resting*
At least Mingyu thought it was hilarious
I'm glad /he/ doesn't understand the crushing reality of death that faces us every day
*his words begin slurring together, an after effect of his wine, and he pops a smile on his face*
I don't remember his name
He's like - this tall *holds up his hand to a height about his head* like me
And has funky hair. And likes to joke about razors and children
A big negative 100 on first impressions
*sighs heavily, flopping his cheek onto his palm with his one eye crinkling up, lip tugged up and nose half squashed* Parking spot thief... I'll find you again...
*blinks a couple times, and smiles again* What are you hungry for, friend?
We are celebrating!

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@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ *she's unable to stop the snort that escapes her as soon as the ball is dropped; in this case, a sugary ball at the end of a plastic stick*
Geez, Lino, that's so...cartoony
*she laughs, taking a mindful sip of her own drink while reaching over to pat the fallen head*
Cheers! To you being pathetic~
It's like you're living your own personal sitcom hell. So who did it? Who am I beating up for making you experience male patterned baldness?

@◈ luc quyen⁻ᵐᵘᵃ *maybe Queen had a point earlier about letting it all out - mental note here for him to reel it back and remember what it was she said*
*the rest of his glass is poured swiftly down his gull, until his rosy cheeks face Queen with a lopsided grin, letting her fondle his hair to gaze at his battle wound*
A lollipop. A lollipop got stuck in my hair when the elevator jolted to a stop and cut the power.
Or as my son so politely and excitedly called out "er!" until I could feel my heart in my temples
*sighs, slowly lowering his forehead to the table top to rest it on the cool surface*
It's been a day, my friend. *pretends to lift a glass* Cheers!
To being pathetic.

@◈ lee minho ʟᴇᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ⁻ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ *huffing a laugh as her rant clearly fell on near-deaf ears, she nods and takes the little cup with a grateful nod*
It was a good day.
*she confirms before taking a drink and idly swirling what's remaining while putting on her best listening ears—and expressions, visage softening with worry for the little tyke; gaze trailing guiltily at the vague girl mention; and then snapping right back at the exclamation. with her attention drawn to the bald spot, she lets out a sharp, probably overdramatic gasp and reaches out to touch it before thinking better*
Oho my god
*laughs a little before pressing her lips together to contain more, offering a sympathetic smile instead before she finishes her portion of wine and decides to take over serving reins, refilling her own and yours*
It's not that bad, honestly. You don't even notice it! What- how...does one just pull out someone's hair?