...
"Oh, my legs hurt from walking so much! Why did we have to keep moving around?"
Nayun complained with a dramatic groan, throwing almost her entire body weight on my shoulder as if I were a walking backrest.
"I told you... That's what cos of wanting to go anywhere without checking first."
Yeonha, who was walking with and Nayun towards the dormitories, had a frown on her face and her arms crossed. She glared at her friend, recalling with frustration the countless "shortcuts" that Nayun had insisted on taking, all of which led to dead ends, endless slopes or even complete laps around the sa clearing.
"My instinct never fails , you said."
"Trust my intuition, you said."
Yeonha murmured, in a tone laden with irony, as she rembered.
"Hey!"
Nayun protested, stopping leaning on .
"It's the map's fault! I'm sure it was upside down at the ti!"
"Of course, Nayun... Of course."
Yeonha said, not caring whether to continue the conversation or not. It was pointless rembering what once was.
The sun was already setting, tinting the sky with golden and orange hues, and tiredness was beginning to weigh on everyone's steps, whether it was the other cadets walking around us, or Nayun and Yeonha beside .
With the light afternoon breeze blowing against my face and my stomach empty, I suggested sothing:
"What do you think, before we go back, we could stop sowhere and have a bite to eat?"
Nayun was the first to react. Her eyes sparkled as if I had just proposed a prize.
"Finally a good idea, Theo! I'm starving!"
Nayun was the first to react. Her eyes sparkled as if I had just proposed a prize.
"Finally a good idea, Theo! I'm starving!"
She even put her hands on her stomach and made a dramatic face like she hadn't eaten for days.
Yeonha, on the other hand, hesitated for a brief mont, looking at her surroundings with a thoughtful expression.
"Hm... Where are you thinking of going?"
She clearly didn't want other people to see her eating anywhere and any food.
"The first one we find."
I answered without hesitation, with a quiet smile on my face, completely ignoring how careful she was being.
My nonchalance seed to bother her as much as the idea of eating sowhere without an 'acceptable reputation'.
I wasn't planning to eat in a fancy restaurant, let alone one of those cute cafés that Yeonha pretended to like. My plan was simple and straightforward: go to a burger joint. One of those that served fries in aluminum baskets and hamburgers so big they defied human anatomy.
Of course, I didn't tell Nayun or Yeonha about this.
Firstly, because Nayun, with her demanding "gourt" palate, would probably turn up her nose before she even heard the na of the eatery.
And secondly... Well, Yeonha, despite loving this kind of food, and I knew that for sure, would never admit it in public. Her pride, coupled with her constant fear of being seen in "unrefined" situations, would prevent her from entering any place where the napkin was paper and the sauce dripped rcilessly.
"Co on..."
I said with the most innocent tone I could manage.
"You'll like it."
Nayun gave a suspicious look, but seed to consider the idea. I was already too tired to really resist.
Yeonha said nothing, oblivious to my thoughts.
A few minutes later....
The unmistakable aroma of grilled at and fries wafted through the air. Even in a city of the future, the sll of hamburgers was still irresistible, almost nostalgic, one of those things that ti simply doesn't change.
Cube City, as technological and advanced as it was, didn't neglect the small pleasures of everyday life. Its modern and bold design hid, among the mirrored glass buildings and suspended roads, busy shopping malls, thed haute cuisine restaurants, automated stores that worked without attendants, and even retro spaces like the little burger joint we were about to enter.
It seed out of place amidst the futuristic architecture around it, a piece of the past kept intact.
"Before we go in. Give your backpacks. I'll put them in my dinsional storage."
Ignoring the two pairs of eyes that stared at in search of an answer, I took their backpacks from them and put them away.
"Okay! Let's go in..."
"Theo! Is this it?"
Nayun asked , still in disbelief.
"Uhm? Yes, this is the place."
Yeonha, who was standing next to her, didn't even notice how her lips were ajar from the sll alone. Her eyes instinctively followed the plate that a waitress brought to another table, a triple hamburger, with cheese oozing out and crispy fries on the side.
"Ah! Theo..."
Nayun crossed her arms and gave an incredulous look.
"I thought you were going to take us to a real restaurant or sothing."
I smiled, putting my hands in my pockets.
"Don't worry, this place has burgers for all tastes. Whether you're a demanding gourt."
I glanced sideways at her as I opened the door.
"Or just soone who wants to enjoy a good snack, like ."
Yeonha tried to hide her enthusiasm, discreetly wiping the corner of her mouth and straightening her posture.
With no other choice, the two decided to go in...
Once we had entered the burger shop and settled down at a table at the back, we began to look at the nu before placing our order.
Yeonha, sitting next to Nayun, seed to be doing everything she could to avoid prying eyes. She held the nu in front of her face, almost as if it were a shield, hiding behind it with a slight blush on her cheeks. Her gaze scanned the options quickly, but with every noise coming from the direction of the other tables, her eyes turned suspiciously in search of any familiar faces.
"You don't have to worry about the others."
I said, noticing how tense she was.
"I cast a distortion spell on us, so no one will recognize you."
She looked at for a mont, still with a slightly arched eyebrow, a mixture of suspicion and curiosity in her gaze.
Soon, however, her shoulders relaxed a little, and the muscles that had seed tense since entering the burger shop began to loosen. Yeonha breathed a small sigh of relief, as if she had allowed herself to trust a little more, and then her gaze, which had previously been fixed on the door and the movent around it, began to focus on the nu.
Now, it seed that she was really starting to allow herself to enjoy the place, even smiling slightly as she looked at the options.
...
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