𝓈𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓎

Sihyun wraps up his conversation with a bald white man whose name he cannot remember, but he knows he does something or the other for the museum. Regardless, he puts on his best smile as he wishes the other man a good night before breaking off to grab a drink, just water this time as he wants to stay relatively sober a little while longer in support of Celeste. He scans the room and he thinks he spots Penny at the same time that she spots him. A huge grin breaks out on his face as he walks closer to his friend. “It’s because these are all the rich island people who only have vacation homes here. We don’t see them much year-round,” he jokes, though he’s sure there’s some truth to what he’s saying. Sihyun places a kiss to Penny’s cheek in greeting, chuckling a bit at her compliment. “Oh, you flatter me. But I don’t think I hold a candle in comparison to you. You look absolutely stunning, love. I’m so happy to see you here.”

penny sighs dramatically, leaning up against the bar and placing the back of her hand on her forehead in faux distress. “ if only one of this rich old guys would whisk me away and make me their sugar baby, woe is me. ”  her tone matches her dramatics,  but sihyun knows her well enough to know that money is pretty much the last thing that attracts her to a person. “ oh, stop, you. ”  penny muses, but her smile is big as she accepts his compliment. “ you’re basically a god so that means a lot coming from you, sihyun. ” she adds,  looking around the room. “ you know me, anything for the arts. plus i have the hugest brain crush on celeste so anything to impress her. ”  the night was still young, but penny was already reaching for another glass of champagne. “i feel quite out of my element though ---- but you must go to these types of things all the time ? ”

Closed Starter: @pennsephone

Sihyun grasps at the leash tightly, laughing as he watches Pria excitedly sniff everything and anything in his path. Maron is a lot calmer, just walking ahead and eyeing everyone who comes in his vicinity. At one point Pria starts running in circles around him and Sihyun has to stop and detangle himself from the mess. “Pria, calm down. You’re gonna trip me,” he says in his native tongue, unsure to this day why when he got the two puppies he decided he’d speak to them solely in Korean. He doesn’t want to admit it but he thinks it has to do just a bit with missing home and wanting to find that anywhere, even if it’s in his dogs. When he gets to Floros Soi he ties both the dogs to a post and watches as they settle down before taking a seat himself. He hopes Penny won’t be too long but for the meantime, he flags down a waiter and orders a drink for himself and Penny and some snacks that they can take with them on their walk. 

concrete is hard beneath her as her heels carry her closer to her destination. to say that penny was excited would probably be an understatement. any chance to play with the fluffy bundles of joy --- and see sihyun --- penny would be there. “ sorry i’m a tad late. ” she says, approaching sihyun’s spot at floros soi. “ these boots were NOT made for walking. ”  she adds, motioning down to her feet. pria and maron are at the forefront of her mind as her knees bend to give them both the pets they deserve. “ how are my baby boos ?” she asks them, scratching behind their ears. 

“that’s a promise,” he says softly, looking at her straight in the eyes. he means it. then he’s squeezing their intertwined fingers to let her know. and soon they’re making their way inside the boat where a table is already prepared with the delicious stuff florian woke up too early to make. “i made us croque monsieur, crepes and eggs bennedict, and you should know i made the hollandaise from stratch,” he tells her with excitement and pride in his eyes. “i know it’s all very french but it’s what i cook best and i needed to impress you.” he gives her what might come off as a shy smile before adding, “there’s also mimosas ‘cause a brunch’s not a brunch without them.”

“IT is.” vera chuckled. that’s another way to look at the pile, and she was grateful for that. she turned to grab her own apron off the shelf but gave a glance over her shoulder to reply penny. “I was hoping to get your expert opinion on the flavours.” she mused over some of the options that were listed off. “cherries are in season though, so we should definitely have one of that.”

to say florian came prepared would be almost an understatement. he’s pulling out all of his best tricks and strategies. he doesn’t think he ever tried this hard to CHARM someone and he has to admit that he’s enjoying it. whenever he manages to forget that he’s doing all of this because his father ordered him to, florian can feel the pure excitement that forms in his stomach. those butterflies in your stomach feeling seems to not be myth after all.

the boat is now ready to sail and fully prepared for their first date. the thought makes flo’s heart beat faster. a smirk draws on his lips when he sees her approaching and he kisses her cheek easily, and then he goes in for the other cheek, the french way. “don’t worry, i’ll always be there to save you, babe.” and as if it is the most natural thing in the world, flo grabs penny’s hand, intertwining their fingers as he guides her inside the boat. “i made us brunch, i think we could start with that, what do you think?”

VERA had been going over all the ingredients required when penny arrived. “hi, penny.” the energy that the young brunette brought with seemed to lift up the entire atmosphere, and her smile was broad. “absolutely. and I have everything that we would need right here.” she gestured to the mount of ingredients. “it’s a lot.” her tone was apologetic. “mrs. sarantos is having some kind of gathering, and the order was for four different kinds of pies, and two of each. she gave us liberty over the type of pie, at least.” she hoped it wasn’t all too much. 

THE DAYS FOLLOWING FLORIAN’S INTERVIEW  were a whirlwind. the last thing penny thought would happen after their exchange at the restaurant was coming to fruition. it surprises her that things between herself and florian seemed romantic --- and not only that, but also familiar. romance was usually the last thing on penny’s mind. she had always been very goal oriented, but it was so easy to forget her usual priorities when florian made her feel so comfortable. 

SHE brightened at the message she received, and sighed in relief. now with a team she could count on, her motivation grew. plus it would be nice to spend some time with her friend again. she might even offer to have some of penny’s pies in the restaurant. those were always a treat to the customers.

[text] vera: I didn’t! but it would be lots of help if you could come. [text] vera: thank you so much. 

with that, vera set about to gather all the ingredients they would need and have them organized on the counter by the time penny arrived.

PENNY quickly found a cover for her blueberry pie, placing it on a cake stand to show it off in all of its pie glory. 

[text] penny: on my way! bringing my fav apron !

“yes, we are,” he states, nodding his head in ceremonious confirmation. then a chuckle leaves his lips. florian is addicted to way she always seems to challenge him. rich boy or not, fashion heir or not, she doesn’t seem to care. she fully knows who he is, the interview from last time is enough confirmation to know she has studied him, penny knows exactly who flo is. yet, none of that seems to phase her. and maybe that’s what has him hooked. no one had ever entranced him in the way that she has. 

“i know how to move my body very well, not just on the dancefloor.” he speaks the words slowly, savouring them as he tries to gauge her reaction. this is uncharted territory but the champagne has already gotten to his head. want me to show you?, he thinks but instead, he takes her hand firmly, walking them to the mass of dancing bodies.

the answer made her blush, making her glad that her mask was hiding the majority of her face. “what should i call you then ?” she challenged, raising her eyebrows in opposition. penny was proud that her composure was so... stoic. she didn’t often like giving away how she felt, even if her face had a different preference. 

“YOU’RE FAR FROM being lonely or old but consider it immediately done,” heidi quips, half-laughing. she unceremoniously seats herself beside penny, heaving out a sigh as if an invisible pressure was lifted from her. in some ways it had; the journalist was always a welcome face in her book, covered or not. being with her always felt comfortable and right, and as it remained, she liked being in her presence. heidi takes a sip of champagne from her glass as she contemplates penny’s attire for the evening. “so why are you alone tonight? did no one ask you to dance with them yet? or are you not in the mood for mingling?”