cold | junhao

三十八

Yuqi places down her coffee on the table in front of them, casting a glance to the boy at her side and making a face of disgust before training her eyes back on Jun. "And he dropped you?" she asks. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." Jun nods.

The cafe is quiet today—probably thanks to it being a week day—and Jun, Yuqi and Renjun are the only people sitting in the back area. It's verging on a little too hot to be comfortable, even though all of the windows towards the front of the cafe are wide open. Apparently t's the hottest day of the year so far, and unfortunately it's only supposed to get hotter.

"But how did they find out?" Renjun adds after sneering back at Yuqi.

"I was hoping you'd have an idea." Jun sets down his glass filled with an ice-cold milkshake. "Obviously I don't think it was you two, so who else could it've been?"

"A reporter?" Yuqi suggests. "Someone who came to the company for money to keep it a secret rather than making an article out of it? It happens," she adds, uncrossing her legs and lightly fanning herself, brushing her hair away from her face.

Renjun leans back in his chair. "That would make sense," he says. "But if it were that, I don't think you would've gotten fired as quickly—people have been asking what happened to you; if they were paying someone to keep quiet it means no one can know anything, which means you would've needed to stay in the company."

Nodding in agreement, Jun sighs. "So it wasn't a reporter..." The two across from his shake their heads. "Someone in the company then?"

"No idea," Renjun admits helplessly. "We'll try find out... where's Yeji, anyway? She said she'd come, didn't she?"

Yuqi hums. "She text me this morning saying she couldn't, didn't give a reason though. Now that I think of it, she's been acting kinda odd recently. She doesn't talk to us much anymore... probably feels too high and mighty about herself now that she's modelled for fucking Louis Vuitton." Yuqi rolls her eyes. "Speaking of which, how did she manage that?" She turns to Renjun, "Did you know about that?"

He shakes his head. "Nope. It just happened—she's barely been a model for two months, but she got a deal like that," he sighs dejectedly. "The only way that could happen is if she...." he breaks off, realisation dawning on his face. His head whips to the side, looking at Yuqi with wide eyes. She mirrors his expression, staying silent before letting out a broken laugh.

"That bitch," she bites at her nail, staring past Jun to the wall.

Looking between them, Jun frowns. It doesn't click in his head, and he waits for them to explain. When they don't, his demanding of a breakdown draws Yuqi's eyes back to him and Renjun's gaze hardens. "What are you talking about?" he asks.

"She sold you out." Renjun tells him. "She must've. And in return," he scoffs. "The company gave her whatever she wanted."

Running his hands through his hair, Jun sighs. His shoulder's slump as the realisation sets in. In the end, he can't help the way his lips curve up into a smile—although riddled with disappointment and disbelief—a smile nonetheless. Jun's fingers cross and uncross in his lap, eyes trained on them, expression dull. His silence unnerves Renjun and Yuqi, who glance at each other, and Yuqi slowly leans forward.

"Jun? Are you okay?"

Jun shakes his head. "I need to go," he excuses himself, the chair screeching along the wooden floor as he pushes it back. Yuqi and Renjun don't question him, only stare after him with sad expressions as he beelines for the front of the cafe, nodding silently to the boy at the counter as he goes.

The closed space of the cafe had suffocated him, but even now, faced with a wide open sea blowing crisp breezes onto his face, there's too many people around for Jun to breathe.