Lunch Break or Life Advice?

Yunho's mind was still half in class when the bell rang, signaling the end of his lecture. He grabbed his stuff in a rush, trying not to let his exhaustion show. His brain was fried, and the hunger that crept up on him reminded him he hadn't eaten breakfast. His stomach was demanding some kind of fuel, and the only thing on his mind was food.

He was halfway down the hall, looking through his phone when he heard a voice calling out.

"Yo!"

Yunho didn't even process it at first. He kept walking, his feet dragging. But then the voice came again, louder this time.

"Yo! You—"

Yunho stopped, irritation bubbling up. He turned around and saw Wonho standing there, looking like he just rolled out of bed, hoodie pulled lazily over his head.

"My name's not Yo, you know," Yunho replied with a raised eyebrow, clearly annoyed by the casual greeting.

Wonho grinned, unfazed by Yunho's tone. "You never told me your name, though."

Yunho sighed, pushing his hair out of his face. "Seriously? It's Baek Yunho. Remember it."

"Alright, alright, Baek Yunho." Wonho shrugged, making a mock salute. "I'll try to remember it."

Yunho rolled his eyes and started walking again, but Wonho wasn't going to let him get away that easily. He jogged up beside him with an easy-going grin glued on his face.

"About that lunch offer yesterday," Wonho said casually.

Yunho froze for a second, replaying the memory in his head. Oh yeah. He had kind of agreed to that.

"Right, right. Free lunch," Yunho muttered, sounding a little more reluctant than he intended.

"Yeah, so? You up for it? I'm buying," Wonho added, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Yunho wasn't sure how he ended up agreeing to it, but... free food was free food. And he hadn't eaten anything since the night before. "Fine. Whatever. Let's go," Yunho muttered, still not fully convinced this was a good idea, but way too hungry to pass it up.

The two of them walked out of the building and made their way down the street to a café that Yunho had never been to before. It was cute, had a cozy vibe, and the smell of fresh coffee hit Yunho's senses the second they stepped inside.

As they sat down at a table near the window, Yunho couldn't help but feel a little out of place. This wasn't exactly his usual scene, but he wasn't going to argue. He just wanted to eat.

"So, tell me," Wonho said, breaking the silence. "How's life as a broke college student?"

Yunho let out a short laugh. "Honestly? It's not that glamorous. Between school, work, and everything else, I'm just trying to make it through. Barely."

Wonho leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Yeah, I can see that. You look like you could use a break."

Yunho snorted. "I don't exactly have the time for breaks, man."

Wonho's eyes shone with amusement. "Well, maybe that's the problem."

Yunho raised an eyebrow, curious despite himself. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Wonho leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand. "I mean, you're burning yourself out. You could be living a lot easier than this if you didn't work yourself into the ground."

Yunho shook his head. "You don't get it. Not everyone has the luxury of... whatever you have. Some of us don't have a back-up plans nor anyone to rely on but ourselves."

Wonho just smiled, looking completely unbothered by Yunho's defensive tone. "True. But that doesn't mean you have to live like this forever. You know, there's a way to make things easier. Work smarter, not harder, you know?"

Yunho didn't know how to react. He wasn't exactly looking for life advice from his neighbor, especially not one who didn't seem to understand what it was like to struggle. But... there was something in the way Wonho said it that made Yunho pause.

"Easier, huh?" Yunho muttered, glancing out the window. The idea of life being easier felt like a distant dream sometimes. But hearing someone else say it out loud made him think.

Wonho must've noticed the change in Yunho's expression because he added, "You don't have to kill yourself working every single day just to get by. There's a way out, you just gotta look for it."

Yunho felt a strange weight settle in his chest. The guy didn't know everything about him, but maybe there was a sliver of truth in what he was saying.

"I'll think about it," Yunho finally replied, mostly just to shut the conversation down.

Wonho's grin widened. "Good. You should. But anyway, enough with the life advice. Let's eat. You're probably starving."

Yunho wasn't sure what to make of the conversation or Wonho's sudden shift in tone, but when the food came, he didn't care about any of it. The plate in front of him was the most important thing right now.

They ate in comfortable silence for a while, and Yunho found himself feeling more at ease than he had all day. Maybe it was the food, maybe it was just the fact that Wonho wasn't treating him like some kind of charity case. Either way, it was... nice.

Finally, after they'd finished, Yunho leaned back in his chair and sighed, feeling more full than he had in ages.

"Thanks for the lunch, I guess," Yunho said, realizing he actually meant it.

Wonho smiled, looking almost proud of himself. "Anytime. Just make sure you don't go starving yourself again."

Yunho let out a half-laugh, shaking his head. "I'm not that dramatic."

"You're close though," Wonho teased, still smiling like he didn't have a care in the world.

Yunho didn't know how to respond to that, so he just grabbed his bag and stood up. "Alright, I should get going. Got stuff to do."

"Of course you do. You're always busy, huh?" Wonho said with a knowing grin.

Yunho shrugged, offering a small smile as he walked toward the door. "I'm not the one who invited me to lunch."

Wonho chuckled, calling out to him as he left. "Take care, Baek Yunho. Don't work too hard!"

As Yunho stepped back into the cold air, he found himself thinking about what Wonho said. Maybe it wasn't just some random advice. Maybe there was a way to make his life easier.

But for now, he'd focus on surviving the rest of the day. There'd be time to think later.

END OF CHAPTER 3