moon child | lai guanlin

two

"alright, students, you're dismissed. go home immediately and finish up your homework, don't go getting yourself in trouble, okay?" the teacher stuffed her laptop into a bag and walked out of the classroom.

everyone was packing their bags, chatting with their friends as they strolled outside. they've probably already thrown away whatever the teacher said just now and was deciding which mall to go to after school for lunch.

jiyeon still had a large grin plastered on her pale face. large strands of her dyed brown hair were tangled around her index finger while she was trying to engage in a conversation with her seatmate, who didn't look interested at all.

"hey! can you pay attention to what i'm saying for once? you're always ignoring me!" jiyeon puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, her feet tapping in annoyance as the new student let out a sigh.

"i'm not ignoring you, i'm just doing something important right now. and please stop following me around, it's annoyin-" before he even had a chance to finish up what he was saying, jiyeon gasped dramatically.

everyone that was still in the classroom stopped what they were doing and immediately raised their heads, glancing at the scene in front of them.

"did you just say i was annoying?" at that, she stormed out of the classroom, looking extremely pissed off.

i glanced at heejung, who was trying not to burst into laughter. although it was pretty obvious that she found the situation funny because her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

"free drama's over, let's go eat, i'm getting hunger pangs." i gave my empty stomach a pat and left the classroom with heejung following behind me, complaining that she wanted to see more drama from jiyeon.

"where do you want to go? the regular place?" heejung asked, slipping on her ear buds to listen to music. i nodded in agreement and did the same, clicking on a track in my favourite playlist.

"it seems i drank a lot of coffee,
my heart's beating fast and i can't sleep.
after a while when the stars come,
i won't be able to sleep again.

when the day breaks,
i'll sleep by your side again.
i think i become an angel
when i sleep in your arms.

in your arms, the stars spill
and make the milky way.
i can fly anywhere.

cause i'm a pilot anywhere,
cause i'm a pilot anywhere.
lighting star, shooting star,
i'll give you my galaxy.

cause i'm a pilot anywhere,
cause i'm your pilot, by your side.
i'll pluck those stars,
and give them to you,
my galaxy."

as the first chorus ended, i found myself outside the café i visit everytime i'm caught in my own emotions. when i just need somewhere peaceful to hide my face from the world.

i took the ear buds out of my ears and kept them inside my bag, my fingers wrapped around the cool surface of the door handle and pulled the transparent glass door open.

"oh, heeun and heejung! haven't see you two in quite a while, what have you two been up to?" the old lady at the counter smiled warmly at us, her eyes curved up into small crescents.

"hello, mrs kang! sorry for not visiting oftenly, we didn't have much free time because we were busy with schoolwork." heejung replied as she gave mrs kang a sad smile.

"oh, it's okay, i'm satisfied with the occasional visits. i've always wanted a daughter, so to have two beautiful girls in my life, whom i can talk to and love like my own children. i really can't complain, can i?" she said with a reassuring tone.

the wrinkles on her face grew more and more prominent each time we went to visit her. her thick hair, the same one i used to admire when i was a little girl, has become thin and scarce. the jet black strands have already turned completely white, showing her age.

"right! you two came here for some food, didn't you? oh, you must be starving! i'll be right back, i just baked a cherry pie, it's a new item on the menu and i want you to be the first ones to try it." mrs kang grinned and called for one of her employees to take over the counter while she's gone.

i followed heejung over to the table we practically claimed as ours. the two seater table next to the transparent glass that separated us from the outside world.

the same pastel blue vase sat on the middle of the oak table, a few stems of lavender flowers comfortably rested inside it.

i breathed in the strong aroma of coffee as a smile slowly crept up my face. i glanced out the window, watching the crowd pass by. some were taking their pet dogs out for a nice little stroll. there were small groups of students laughing with each other, enjoying the company.

"sorry to keep you two waiting, i know you must be hungry and exhausted from school. here's the cherry pie, freshly baked and have never been tasted by anyone apart from me." mrs kang came to our table with two slices of cherry pie. she placed the plates on the table as we thanked her for the food.

"holy shit, this is beautiful." heejung's gaze was firmly fixed on the slice of pie, which still had steam radiating off it.

"my taste buds agree." i hummed, stuffing a large piece of pie into my mouth.

"this is the most magical thing i've put in my mouth.." heejung licked the cherry sauce off her lips and continued to stuff her face full of cherries and pie crust.

i did the same, and soon we were both finished with the pie. i patted my belly, "i'm so full, someone roll me back home because i can't walk.." i groaned.

"so, how was it? should i add it to the menu?" mrs kang had her fingers intertwined with each other, waiting for our response.

"the pie crust to filling ratio is perfect, not once did i feel like there was too much crust or too much filling. the crust wasn't too thick or dense and the cherry sauce wasn't too sweet either." when heejung started her non-stop blabbering, i almost mistook her for a professional food critic.

"yes, mrs kang, you should definitely add it to the menu! it'll be a best-seller for sure." i chuckled at mrs kang's facial expression. she looked so happy, so happy that her two children liked her food.