#loversarcade

"Ethan. Wake up!" Harper was already giving him a few gentle nudges where he'd crashed on the couch. She'd been looking forward to spending time with him all day, work having moved so slow she thought time had stopped completely.

ahyun has been going back and forth on the idea of bringing in aera and ruri for help.

she doesn't really know what she's doing, if she's honest. her first-aid knowledge is flimsy at best, and it's definitely harder to even try when the other wolf keeps fighting her off every time she approaches with the intent to dress her wounds. it's a relief that her body, battered as it is, still remembers how to regenerate, at least. the true worry is a potential infection.

for now, ahyun figures this is as good as it gets. pushing her won't solve anything, after all. "here," she says, voice gentle as she puts a plate of beef down in front of the other wolf. "i figured you wouldn't want it to be fully cooked, considering — well. it's really fresh, so dig in."

junseo feels like a little kid. perched on a stool and watching as minchul cooks, he can't help but wonder if this is what having a dad should have been like. he has a microwave and a mini fridge on his side of the house, but jihoon had insisted when he first moved in that he had to keep his food in the kitchen. and junseo had hated it at first, but he appreciates the firmness now. they all know he would have skulked about on his own and only come when minchul called for him, otherwise.

he's still getting used to having real food, though. minchul had walked in on him putting together the convenience store special -- a pre-packaged boiled egg, canned tuna, and some microwave rice -- and had clearly decided enough was enough. junseo's staple struggle meal had been confiscated, and out had come the pots and pans and chopping boards instead. ❝ what are you making...? ❞ he asks eventually, leaning over on the stool to try and catch a glimpse of whatever it is minchul is doing.

despite max introducing him to the rest of the team earlier that morning, joon finds himself repeating his name to everyone out of habit. he's hopped from job to job the last couple years, he feels like he's always introducing himself. ❝ it's joon, ❞ he says, as he follows a big, buff guy around the shelter, ❝ or carter. whatever's easier, honestly. ❞ he's trying not to gawk at all the animal care stuff he's being shown, but as he'd explained to max in his interview, that side of the job expectations is outside his field of expertise. it's fine, he just has to think of the bills he has to pay. ❝ does it always smell like that...? ❞

How nice to find someone actually open to listening. In all honesty, Amara fully expected it to take far more convincing... or even, grabbing this stranger and forcibly moving them aside if it came down to it. That was usually how things went. People were painfully, unbearably stubborn sometimes.

The lights are low, and the final applause still echoes in the room. Koen was crouched at the edge of the stage, unplugging cables, laughing with the other musicians. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted them lingering in the crowd, staying back, waiting.

Koen tugged his cap lower over his messy hair, threw a casual look over his shoulder, and called out, his voice quieter than before, "Stay after the show? It's better when the crowd thins out."

There’s something hopeful in the way he says it, like maybe the real magic hasn’t even started yet.

subin's visits have become less of a surprise and more of an...... expectation. not because she thinks he owes her anything! but because he shows up so often, with a story to tell or trinket to purchase or lunch to share. lily's days are just a little bit more glum when she doesn't get to see him.