A Taste of Temptation

03 - With a Little Help From My Friends

Friends are a gift to our hearts and a salve for the pain of the daily grind. Good friends remain as memories even when they're no longer directly present in our lives. Great friends leave indelible imprints of themselves within our souls creating eternal bonds.

We've seen one side's friendships and come to understand how one of our heroines thinks; now let's see what makes Momo so magical.

Or let's get to know a taste of Momo.

Life's peachy

Momo yawned and stretched wide.

"OK, Google, stop," she said to the alarm as she rolled over, her voice tiny, thick with sleep.

She crawled out of bed and shuffled to the kitchen. Coffee. Nothing was happening without its delectable warmth giving her life first. Momo's mind already started moving as fast as her body does when she's in front of hundreds of onlookers; the exact thing she didn't want on her day off. The filtered water was working it's magic and the scent of a medium, Ethiopian roast filled her kitchen. She took it in as she reached for a lemon poppyseed muffin she'd picked up the day before with the express intention of devouring it when she awoke.

She tried to keep her morning free of treats like it but the past few weeks were difficult so she indulged. It was a good problem to have so many good things happening that it was a challenge to manage. On top of the business's latest growth spurt, she wasn't able to keep thoughts of one Yoo Jeongyeong from creeping into the corners of her mind since her dinner with the Sons the previous Wednesday. Momo's older sister, Hana, noticed her fatigue and sent her home Monday with the warning to take time off "or else."

Momo and Hana got along famously, cheered each other on, loved to pick on, and help one another. But Hana would pull the big sister card when she believed it was necessary. Her younger sibling had a tendency to overwork. Momo was in search of better performances, better presentations, a better work environment for their instructors, the best facilities, and connections for their students. A quest for perfection, which was always just out of reach.

"Momo, it's all for naught if you don't have your health and if you're not happy within yourself. You need a reset. As your business partner and your big sister, you're off for the rest of the week. I love you but I don't want to see you until next Monday," Hana said with a smile, reaching up to ruffle her sister's raven hair.

The youngest pouted and looked down into her sister's eyes doing her best to imitate the pleading emoji. "But we have so many-"

"Momoring," she wrapped her arms around her sister's waist and squeezed impossibly tight. "I've had a lifetime to build up an immunity to that cuteness, besides two can play that game." And with that Hana returned the face.

"I would be the happiest, most proud big sis in the world if my little sis would just trust me and go home to rest."

Momo crumbled fast and hard. She too had a lifetime to build up a resistance to Hana's cute antics, but she never managed to do it. She would find a way to ship the sun to her sister's door if she suspected Hana wanted it. And Hana knew it; she knew her sister would listen.

"OK, pipsqueak. Go home and rest. No working on the business at home; alright?"

Momo frowned when the eldest raised a single eyebrow as she waited for a reply. "Fine," she whined.

She depressed the plunger on her favorite French press. The aroma seeped into her as she imagined the scent restoring electrical pathways, causing synapses to fire properly. One sugar and a little cream later she felt the warmth kiss her lips and dance over her tongue. "Hmmmmm!" she squealed with delight, inhaling before taking a bite out of the muffin. "Heaven."