Once the late-night snack plan was set, Ruth quickly arrived at the izakaya. By the time Braden and Elise showed up, nearly ten dishes had already been served: sushi platters, sashimi, skewers, fried food, and seafood hotpot.
Braden scooped out a large piece of sea bream from the hotpot. "Can you really finish all this?"
"If we don't finish, we can just pack it up. It's rare for you to treat, how could I hold back?" Ruth picked up her chopsticks, grabbed the sea bream, and savored it.
"No, I think you've missed the point." Braden stared wide-eyed, his gaze lit with frustration as he pointed to the bill. "This meal costs more than one of my dates!"
"One date? Are you sure that's still a date and not... something else?" Ruth's eyes widened in mock shock. "Am I going to get killed for knowing too much? Is it too late to pretend I didn't hear anything?"
Elise, who hadn't had a chance to join in the conversation, quietly sipped her juice, biting her straw as she enjoyed the show.
"What are you even imagining? And your mouth is so crude! No one else orders ten dishes just for themselves!" Baden's eyes bulged as he silently wondered what kind of people Ruth usually hung out with. He made a mental note to intervene in her social circle when he had time.
"Oh, Elise, I totally forgot to say hi to you." Ignoring Braden, Ruth turned to Elise with a hint of guilt in her eyes. "I heard about what happened from my cousin. I'm really sorry I couldn't make it that day. How are you doing now?"
As one of Elise's best friends, Ruth had definitely wanted to attend her wedding. But her company had sent her on a last-minute business trip, so she had headed south to K City a week before the wedding and only returned to here after 8 p.m. tonight.
"I'm still a bit sad, but I should learn from Braden—break up without any emotional pain." Elise quipped, putting her hands together in a mock bow. "Master, I humbly request to be your disciple!"
"Now you're talking! Everyone gets heartbroken after losing love, but if it's Braden, you'll never have to worry about him being sad over anyone. My aunt always tells me to keep an eye on him, afraid he'll become a love scammer." Ruth clapped in approval, laughing so hard that her pearly white teeth were on full display.
"This is what you call an amicable breakup, okay? Also, does anyone care that I got slapped? That should've been Graham's punishment, not mine!" Braden began regretting agreeing to this dinner, realizing he was just playing the fool and paying the bill for two women.
"Sorry, but I was a little touched." Elise pressed her thumb and forefinger together to indicate a tiny bit of sentiment. "Just a little."
"Just eat quietly, okay? That way I might live a few years longer. If you keep going like this, I might have a heart attack first." Braden busily piled dish after dish into Elise's bowl, hoping the delicious food would calm her down.
"Hey, there's a saying, 'troublemakers live forever.' You've probably heard of it, right?" Ruth whispered, then shut her mouth and lowered her head, focusing on her food.
"This is the first time I've ever found it hard to swallow my food..." Braden raised the white flag, surrendering, not wanting to waste energy arguing.
Laughter often begins slowly, but when it ends, it's over in a flash. After a hearty meal and a few drinks, Elise was completely drunk. Her cheeks flushed a rosy red from the alcohol, heating up her face. Once she got tipsy, the usual sharp-tongued, contrarian side of her quieted down, and she began acting all cute and clingy with everyone.
"Braden, I feel so dizzy... Can you help me?" Elise coughed a few times, her steps unsteady as she clung to Baden's arm, as if it were a lifeline keeping her grounded.
"One hundred per ride, cash only, no cards." Braden bent his knees, stretching his arm behind him. "I'll give you a piggyback."
Elise reached into her pocket and pulled out a shiny fifty-cent coin. "Can I get a discount?"
"If you don't get on soon, I'm leaving." Braden teased, though he was only joking.
"Alright then, deal. No asking for the extra fifty later!" Elise latched onto his shoulders, her legs securing themselves around his waist.
Braden slowly lifted Elise onto his back and followed Ruth toward the parking lot.
The sound of steady breathing echoed on his back, and only then did Braden breathe a sigh of relief.
"Ruth, were you just taking the chance to scold me earlier?" Braden side-eyed her.
"You can't blame me. You're the one who said we should try to cheer up Elise. Look at her now—she's full and sleeping soundly." Ruth carried the packed leftovers, wishing she could always have jobs like this where she got fed without spending a dime.
"Graham isn't a good guy, but Elise really loves him. I'm starting to think I'll end up wasting all my money on you one day." Braden made a mental note to keep track of every penny he spent on Ruth from now on, so he could settle the score later.
"I'm not that hard to invite out. Who said you had to pay me just to cheer up Elise?" Ruth targeted a navy blue sedan, unlocked it, and opened the front passenger door.
Braden let out a dry laugh. One was passed out drunk, clinging to him for support, while the other was wide awake and playing innocent. These two women were exactly the same—enough to make anyone want to run away from them.
------
Vargaslight streamed through the window, and Elise stretched, rubbing her cheeks, which were slightly warm from the light. She rubbed her eyes and glanced around—this wasn't her room. It looked like Ruth's.
It seemed like the late-night snacks had been finished, but the only memory left in her mind was talking to Braden on the phone. The rest was a complete blank.
There was a soft knock on the door, and a woman's voice called from outside.
"Elise, I left a new toothbrush in the bathroom. The pink one's yours. Brush your teeth and come have breakfast!" After leaving her message, Ruth's footsteps gradually faded away.
Elise stepped out of the room and went to the bathroom, following Ruth's instructions. She rinsed her hands with water, pumped some facial cleanser into her palms, and rubbed it into a foam before applying it to her face.
Everything that happened yesterday felt like a series of disjointed slideshows, like a carefully crafted nightmare. Each fragment stabbed at her heart, leaving countless scars behind.
She swiped open her phone, and the wallpaper was still a photo from the first year she and Graham had gone on a picnic together.
On the first day without the one she loved, even taking deep breaths felt like she wasn't getting any oxygen—only a tight grip around her throat, choking her.
Resolving to move on, she decided to delete every photo related to Graham from her phone. Out of sight, out of mind, she thought. Strength wasn't hard to muster—it all depended on her willpower.
In the living room, Ruth sat in her light blue polka-dotted pajamas, spooning mouthfuls of cereal from a big bowl in her lap.
"What did we have for a midnight snack last night?" Elise asked groggily, tilting her head in confusion. She really had no memory of it.
"You forgot everything? Well, that's probably for the best. Braden wouldn't want you to remember how badly I teased him," Ruth patted the seat next to her. "There's a club sandwich on the table and an iced milk tea for you. Bring them over and eat here."
"Teased? What happened last night?" Elise sat down next to her, filled with curiosity about the previous night she couldn't recall, eager for answers.
"It wasn't that important. But do you remember when we were kids? We used to sit on this couch, eating snacks, and sometimes seaweed crumbs would get everywhere. Then Braden would get scolded because he was older than us, and he's my cousin." Ruth quickly diverted the conversation, bringing up childhood memories in hopes that Elise wouldn't stay stuck in her circle of heartbreak.
"Well, he's six years older than you and two years older than me," Elise responded with a silly grin, letting herself get lost in the childhood memories, momentarily forgetting the heartache she'd felt earlier.
"Suddenly, I feel lucky I never had to be the older sibling," Ruth said, lifting her cereal bowl and finishing the leftover milk.
"I'm really jealous that you have an older brother. Even though he's your cousin, you're close," Elise murmured, her lashes lowering as she stared at the plate on her lap, her expression downcast. "I only have a cousin, but she lives far away in P City, and we're not that close."
"Braden takes care of you like a sister, too. I'm the youngest, you're the older sister, and he's our big brother. See? We're like three siblings now. It's like we're a real family."
"It does feel that way."
"So, you're still pretty lucky, you know. You have your parents who love you, and you have us."
"Ruth, you're so sweet," Elise lifted her head, her face full of hope, opening her arms for a hug.
Ruth set her bowl on the table and gave Elise a big hug. The warmth of being loved surged through the darkest corners of Elise's heart, a light slowly working to mend the cracks.
