A PLAN FOR LOVE ✓

fifteen : yeonjun

There is no better food than free food.

I gaze in awe at all the different stations planted all across the dark, patterned carpet, the smell of eggs and sausage and French toast wafting over me in a cloud.

Where do I even begin? Should I do cereal and then eggs? A bagel with cream cheese? Maybe some fruit after my powdered donuts this—

“You’re holding up the line,” Beomgyu says as he nudges me forward, the group of hungry students behind him giving him a grateful smile.

I follow after Huening Kai and Taehyun, my head on a swivel as we make our way around the room, collecting food on worn white plates as we go. I veer off when I see a coffee station, nearly dumping my perfectly crafted cream and two sugars all over my white shirt when Beomgyu appears out of thin air, grabbing on to my arm.

“Jesus…,” I say, and he gives me a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, I just…”

“Didn’t want to be alone with Taehyun?” I finish, his silence letting me know I hit the nail on the head.

“Beomgyu. The point of this is for you to talk to him alone.” I juggle my armful of plates to take a quick sip of my coffee. “I mean, here I am, sacrificing my free time to help you get his number.…”

He raises his eyebrows at me as I eat a piece of bacon off one of my plates and into my mouth, crunching noisily on it.

“Yeah, seems like quite the sacrifice,” he says, before his face glazes over with a familiar look of panic. “What do I even say to him?”

I shrug. “Ask him about his day! How school is going. What his freaking phone number is in case you have a bio-themed emergency.” I pause, midchew. “You have had a conversation before, right? With another human being?”

Beomgyu rolls his eyes at me, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Tone it down, Yeonjun. Baby steps.

“Listen,” I say, nudging his shoulder. “This is super casual, okay? We’re just eating some food and hanging out.” I let out a long exhale, and even though it puts a pause on my plan, I say what I know he needs to hear if any of this is going to work. “If you get his number today, you get his number. If you don’t, we’ll figure something else out, okay?”

Beomgyu looks relieved. “Really?”

“Yeah,” I say with a shrug. “No biggie. But, I mean, you know, try.”

We head over to a maroon-colored booth in the corner, Huening Kai and Taehyun already digging in.

“Oh my gosh, I was starving,” Huening Kai says as he takes an enormous bite of a pancake.

Taehyun points a fork at Beomgyu’s plate. “No way. They have omelets?” he asks.

“Uh, yeah. Over by the…” Beomgyu’s cheeks turn red as he points to a station by the door, where a small line of students stand, waiting to give their omelet order.

There’s a space for him to say something else, but… he doesn’t, and an awkward silence settles over the table. Just the pleasant sound of cutlery hitting plates.

Beomgyu shoots me a nervous look while I take a sip of my coffee, clearing my food-filled airway. What have they got in common that I know about?

“Hey, Taehyun,” I say, putting the cup down. “Are you taking Intro to Fiction this term?”

“Yeah,” he says, the bagel he’s holding pausing halfway to his mouth. “I have Professor Do. He’s… all right.”

“Ugh.” I point between me and Beomgyu. “We have him too! We’re in another section.”