Chereads / Memories of Wisteria Trail / Chapter 6 - Chapter 5

Chapter 6 - Chapter 5

Point of View: Myeon JinWe arrived at the restaurant that Minho had sent us to. Everyone is getting off the van, and Jinju stands outside the van with her mask and cap. Her hair was pulled up under the cap, making her look more like a female version of Minho."Jinju, let's get in before the fans recognize that we are here." Dal Rae ushered us in and went directly to our reserved room."This place is nicer than before." Seonhwa said this while taking a seat. "Jinju, what do you want to eat? There's a lot on the menu.""I can eat anything except seafood; I have an allergy," Jinju said.I noticed she did not take off her jacket when we got in."Jinju, why don't you take off your jacket?" I asked her."The room is too cold for me; my cold allergy may surface if I take off my jacket." She smiled."Wow, you have tons of allergies." Dal Rae mentioned.A little later, we are all having dinner together. They were all talking about different topics, while Minho and Jinju were also having a conversation."I'm going to leave first; I'm exhausted from our schedule today." They all looked at me."Really? Hyung, we just got here, and we don't have a schedule for early morning," Dal Rae said."I'm going back to Seoul tonight." They looked confused."Yah Hyung, our house is nearby; why bother going back to Seoul?" Dal Rae couldn't keep his mouth shut."I want to be alone; that's why. I'll see you at the studio tomorrow." I got up and went out of the room. Minho followed me out."Myeon Jin, if it's about Jinju, don't worry about it.""Minho, it's not always about someone, okay? I really just wanted to be alone.""It's because she couldn't remember you, right?"He just hit the spot. I'm ready to snap at him when he speaks again."She can't remember what happened a year ago, Myeon Jin; it's enough she remembered meeting you. I have a favor to ask from you.""What?" I'm confused by Minho's words."Please don't ask her to remember anything from that year; don't even bring it up. She's been through a lot, and I just got her back.""What, she's your girlfriend now? I thought you just met her.""She's my cousin."I couldn't believe what Minho just said. Jinju is her cousin."What?! You never mentioned it before.""I'm trying to protect her, that's all.""Fine, I'll see you at the studio tomorrow." I left him alone. Minho dropped a bomb in front of me, and I couldn't believe it at all.I hailed a taxi to Seoul and went straight to my apartment. I haven't recovered yet from what Minho said.Likewise, I have never seen Minho protect someone the way he protects her. I need to know what they were hiding from that year. Minho would never be this protective if it wasn't something important. I know I'm crossing some boundaries here, but I need to know what's going on.I can't even think straight. Minho's words kept repeating non-stop in my head.I sat on my sofa long enough to notice an unknown number sending me a message."Things will be difficult to hang in there. She may or may not remember you, but the heart will never forget."Reading the message sends chills through my body. Who is this person? How did this know my number? How did this person know Jinju?My curiosity is getting the best out of me. I found myself facing back and forth in my living room, nursing a bottle of water in my hand. I'm having an information overload.I stopped near my glass window. Looking at the Seoul skyline brought some peace, but not long before another message came from the same number.I looked at it and saw it was a link to a fire article in Gwangju. Headlining: "Lady saved kindergarten from a burning school." I'm totally confused why this person would send me a random article from a fire blaze.This is giving me headaches just thinking that these must be related to Jinju. I didn't want to assume anything, but at the moment, I need to know more about Jinju and what happened a year ago.Morning came. My alarm blared throughout my living room; yes, I fell asleep thinking on my sofa. I looked at my phone and saw multiple messages from the members."Hyung! Are you still alive?! Answer the phone, or we will call the police!" I laughed at Dal Rae's message; he always exaggerates things. I dialed his phone number. He picked up in the first ring. "Hyung, are you okay? Are you alive?" He just asked me questions right away."Good morning to you too. What is it? I just woke up and saw your messages." I sat up and was greeted by sunlight from the windows. I winced."Hyung! Come here to Minho Hyung's house. Jinju made some cakes." I almost cursed Dal Rae."You woke me up because of that?!" Now I'm irritated as hell. I usually wake up around the afternoon, but it's just 8 in the morning. I barely slept because of that person's message."Well, you need to be here by 10 a.m. because Minho Hyung said we are going to use the recording studio here at his house for the duet demo. Then we are going to decide which one of us will do it." I heard chattering from the other line; they must be all there now."I'll be late then. I'll be there after lunch.""Hyung!" Seonhwa screamed through the phone. "Bring some meat, ice cream, and coffee. Let's have a barbecue party!""Fine, I'll bring everything you guys need; just send me the list." I want to sleep more, but those kids will not let me sleep again if I don't do what they want. I always think that I'm raising such evil spawns in my own house. They have become spoiled brats, running around ordering me to do things for them.I looked out the window and smiled. It's always good to see familiar faces, but what's good if the one I wanted to recognize doesn't even remember me? I got up and took a shower. It is one of those rare days that we all get the same rest day and get to be with each other.I took a shower, and when I came back to check on my phone, they sure sent a list of items they needed, but I don't think it's just a few items; it's a whole supermarket that they need.I went to grab my backpack, wallet, and my ever-present cap and mask. Riding down the elevator and getting to the parking lot is the easiest thing today; thus, the hard part will come when I visit the supermarket for the things they just asked me to bring. I quickly dialed Minho's number."Hello?" the man said on the other side. There was laughter and swearing behind the scenes."Minho, save me!" I said. Minho burst out laughing."Where are you? I'll meet you in the supermarket near your apartment." He hung up. I know Minho will always be a reliable person in the group. I got into my car and drove to the nearest coffee shop before heading to the supermarket.As I parked near the supermarket, I saw Minho standing at the entrance and waving at me."Ya! Why did they request so many things?" he said, laughing and clenching his stomach."We are going to the beach house, that is why." He grabbed the cart and walked inside the supermarket."You know we will be the center of the news when they see us like this."Minho rummaged in his body bag and held up a mini camera."That is why we have a backup, which is vlogging.""So we are going to pretend to do a vlog then?" I pushed the cart while walking and started getting the things from the list."Yes, Jagiya. But this will be uploaded to our channel since it will be good content prior to our comeback." Minho started to film our little date."Okay, jagi." I laughed and continued to grab things that we needed. "How many kilos of meat do we need?" Now, I'm staring at the meat section of the supermarket."15 kilos will do. We will be staying in the beach house for 5 days. We will just get more if we run out during the trip."I hurriedly asked the butcher to pack 15 kilos of meat."How about soju?" I asked, looking at Minho."Five boxes!" I beamed at the mention of soju. I smiled, and we asked for five boxes of soju and went directly straight to the cashier to check out."Do you think it will fit in my car?" We are now looking at three carts full of groceries and two more carts of soju. Minho shakes his head and sighs."I can't believe we really bought everything on the list and more." Minho scratched his head."Forget it. Let's just load it and go to my house so we can prepare for the trip." While loading the groceries and boxes that we just bought, my phone suddenly beeped. I looked at it, and there was another message from an unknown number.[You seem to be trying to figure things out. She may not remember you, but she will remember how you first met on her radio show.] I blinked twice just to see if this was true. I didn't know Jinju, and we met years ago. I can't believe it. Minho saw me freeze from where I was standing."Myeon Jin, are you okay?" He came to my side. "You're white as snow! What happened?"I couldn't answer him; I kept looking at my phone, repeating the words from the message. Minho took my phone and read it."What the hell is this? Is this from your sasaengs? This is not a good joke!" Minho is raging with anger. "Let's go, don't let this message ruin our vacation."We got into the car, but Minho insisted that he would drive because I was still taken aback by the message. How does this person know me and Jinju? How does this person know so much about me and Jinju? My head is now filled with too much doubt and questions about how I and Jinju met, and it's not our first time meeting in Gwangju.