yes girl

"  that's  what  i  thought  ,  this  is  the  first  time  i  think  i've  had  a  bad  drink  from  here  ,  "  lower  lip  juts  out  with  a  pout  ,  stirring  her  drink  around  with  her  straw  .  "  that'd  be  a  good  idea  if  i  knew  how  to  be  discreet  about  literally  anything  ,  "  she  lets  out  a  laugh  ,  knowing  her  she'd  have  ended  up  putting  this  coffee  in  the  gail's  cup  on  accident  .  "  no  ,  no  i  definitely  want  to  stay  .  .  .  i've  been  eyeing  that  chocolate  croissant  in  the  sweets  case  ever  since  we  got  in  here  so  ordering  that  gives  me  a  perfect  excuse  to  go  back  up  to  the  counter  ⸺  what'd  you  get  ?  it  looks  really  good  . "

she chuckled. keiko supposed be same could be said about her. she wasn’t often savvy like that. "i think that's an excellent plan. those croissants look amazing. all this work, you need a treat." she smiled and shuffled around her phone and her wallet on the table. "it's some iced lavender thing they have. i've had lavender lattes that taste like like soap but this is nice." she took another sip, "and it's not too sweet. i've never been one for sweet stuff unless i'm cramming for a test or something. which we're gratefully done with."

"  jesus  ,  is  the  coffee  here  usually  this  bad  ?  "  lips  wrinkle  with  a  sour  expression  ,  the  utmost  of  her  strength  used  to  force  down  a  swallow  of  what  she  thought  was  an  iced  latte  but  tasted  more  like  a  glass  of  lukewarm  milk  .  "  ugh  ,  i  hate  being  the  person  that  asks  for  a  remake  and  they're  already  busy  .  .  .  would  i  be  crazy  if  i  just  went  and  got  a  coffee  from  gail's  and  drank  this  one  later  when  i'm  actually  desperate  for  caffeine  ?  "

keiko peeked over her straw to look at angelina's cup. "no, it's usually pretty good." she glanced back at he counter. it was pretty busy. "no, i think that's a good idea. if you want to be sneaky about it, you can dump that out and put the gail's coffee in there. so no one feels bad. or i can just ask for this to go and we can get out of here."

" this is a fucking stupid game, only played by losers. " she had wanted to scream the words but had settled for hissing. it was the eleventh time she had putted and failed to get the golf ball into the hole mere two feet away. " do you want me to move and finish the round for yourself ? i can step aside and wait a bit. " it might do her some good. she was beyond frustrated. " otherwise you might be here for a while... "

keiko has made years of mini golf under her belt so this was the only part she was kinda confident in. mostly, she'd just wanted to drive the golf cart. she could see her companion getting frustrated through. she wasn't sure what do about that. "it's okay. i can go and we'll be done with this round." she looked at the caddy standing near the flag, ready to pull it up as soon as they got close to the hole. he'd been waiting a while. "we don't have to play all eighteen. it's started to get kind of hot out here."

" lawrence fairchild winning the award over beatrice aldridge is funny as fuck. maybe this will save fairchild media from declaring bankruptcy. " he kind of wished he went to witness the drama. " i'm betting he'll feel brave enough to try to acquire incognigo. "

keiko chuckled, "he might. they're all trying to." she shook her head, "it would be a pivot for them, i think." in actuality, app-h made the most sense for them. not that she would admit that. "but we're always willing to take a look at an offer."

this time, she did look up from her tablet. not many were able to dismiss her attitude without giving back their own — and even less that simply did what they wanted, in spite of her remarks. inhye supposed it was why she hated industry events — everyone seemed to enjoy showing their teeth, but how many truly had the nerve to bite? 〝 why wear uncomfortable shoes at all? if someone takes issue to your footwear, isn't it easier to snap back at them than for your feet to suffer? 〞 still, she reached into her bag, producing a couple bandaids and placing them on the table in front of the other.

keiko was happy to ignore the woman if she was was going to be that way. it was a public space, she didn’t actually need permission to sit down. then woman looked up and spoke, keiko turned to look at her and...shit. how did she always do this? she was in a city with active members of the royal family, she couldn't just double check who she was talking to before she sassed them? "i... well, these are new and i read they were super comfortable but i guess not on my feet. i thought if i broke them in but it's not working." she took one of the bandaids carefully. "um...thank you?"

ANNA SAWAI for Emmy Magazine

alright, sure, this is not one of hajoon's usual favorite restaurants, nor does it look like any of them. however, the huge queue in front of the truck is downright intriguing. there has to be a reason for it, this many people waiting for... some sort of dessert? and hajoon, who does have ample time on their hands, decides to join in and figure out what all of this is about. call it an experiment of sorts, or a conformity trial, they will figure out soon. "so... have you eaten here before? is it really good or is it just another photograpp-h trend?"

she swirled her ice coffee like a professional, glancing between hajoon and the truck. she shrugged, "i heard about from one of my interns. they swore by it. apparently this is the place to go if you can get there on your lunch break." she looked at the line that had grown behind them. "then they used a phrase i didn't understand at all. i figured if i tried then i'd at least understand one part of the conversation."

❝ can't blame you there. it's such a comforting thing when you find a space with good food and a nice environment. ❞ god, she loved nothing more than to sit in a nice café with her laptop and some headphones. ❝ i'm there all the time so you're not wrong. i swear you will love it. ❞

"of course, you'll be there," keiko chuckled. "i think i'm still trying to capture the energy of darwin's in cambridge. i got so much done there. now i'm just stuck in my office with the blinds closed. if there's one thing about coders, we'll turn anything into a cave. i need to get out a little more."

Jia Li (Chinese, b.1964), Summer Light, 2015, Watercolor on paper

❝ i'm afraid anything i have to suggest will have something to do with food, which says so much about me. i swear i used to spend all of my free time at borough market until i found out about the barbican cinema café. that's my spot right now. ❞

“i love those kind of recommendations. please, i've going to the same cafe for two years now. now the owner is trying to set me up with her son. he's engaged." she whispered that last part. "barbican, yeah, i know where that is. i bet it's full of interesting people."

she barely glances up from her tablet, her tone without an ounce of inflection. 〝 sorry — i don't speak american. 〞

keiko watched her for a moment. that was a face she'd see on a magazine somewhere. maybe? normally, she hated confrontation but keiko hated these shoes more. she sat down gingerly on the chair across from the woman. "i'll take that as a yes."

" did that lee kid really stand up and yell? "

"yeah, but it sort of sounded like a lot of people wanted to stand up and yell."