Though the daylight was slowly growing brighter, I didn't know exactly what time it was.
I called Mrs. Kwack several times during the night and unless she said in one of those conversations that Mr. Jee had been found, I knew there would be no peaceful sleep for me.
It was only fair that night became day and so this whole thing has a better chance of ending well.
I've been in my bed for a while. After I couldn't find him in any place, I thought he might be, I decided to return home.
Maybe it was a bad decision.
However, I knew that Mr. Jee had much more knowledge of Seoul than I did, so it was me who was more likely to get lost.
After a while, as soon as my eyes began to close, I heard a loud knock at the door of my room.
,,We have to leave in half an hour, Mill!"
I rested my cold palm on my forehead and slowly sat up.
,,Mill?" she spoke again after my pause.
,,I'm coming, give me a minute." I replied in a hoarse voice.
I unwieldy went to the closet, where I hurriedly chose my clothes.
Trying to wash away the fatigue from my face, I spent most of time in the bathroom.
,,Are you going too?" I asked in surprise when I saw Aurora standing in the kitchen dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt.
,,Yep, I let our boss know I was returning sooner so she could put me back on shifts." she reached out to me with a cup of black tea.
,,Great."
,, Come on! It should have come as a surprise to you." She exclaimed when she noticed my expression.
,, Oh, it was beyond a surprise." I nodded. ,,It almost caused my heart to stop."
,,Oh God, how I missed you." She rolled her eyes and after we finished our drinks, we both started to shoe in the hall.
During my trudge to the cafe, I forcibly kept my body upright and it didn't escape Aurora's attention.
,, If you hadn't spent the night, you could have been in a different ehm state." She measured me with her gaze.
,, Well, you couldn't help yourself, could you?" she grinned at me.
Then I began to realize what she was suggesting in her words.
,,Yeah, right." My reaction was terse. I didn't want to encourage her to think further on this topic.
A little later I was turning on the various machines and wiping the cups.
My head dropped regularly and I kept raising it to its original position. When I thought I let my eyes closed for just a second, I later found that it was much longer.
While taking away the empty dishes from the customers, I tripped over my own feet a few times and I didn't miss Aurora's laughter after it happened.
When it was a little less rush, I decided to take advantage and so my head ended up resting on my forearms.
,,Millie!"
As I heard this, I lifted my face sharply and looked around in confusion.
Aurora ran from table to table with a tray in her hand and a notebook in the apron pocket.
I realized I must have dozed off. I pinned my hopes on it was for a few minutes at most.
,, What are you up to?" Sounded again, but this time I could tell where the voice was coming from.
I looked to the side and down. The little girl in the white coat and small backpack hanging on her back was looking at me with her dark eyes, and my heart was genuinely pleased to see her here.
Then I leaned my cheek on my hand and smiled a little weary at her.
,, It seems like I took a cat nap here." I rubbed my eyes with both palms to erase the spirals that were spinning in front of my face.
,, Did you come for hot chocolate?"
With a smile and a nod, she climbed to the bar stool behind the raised counter.
,, Are you up yet? Great. I need three americanos, two chocolate muffins and one vanilla. Two lavender lemonades and apple juice." Aurora walked past me and began to put the dirty dishes in the sink.
A few minutes later we both put the prepared orders next to each other.
,, I'm going to the cash desk." She told me, so I grabbed two smaller trays myself.
,,Need a help?" Ma-Ri stopped me and I glanced at the remaining plates.
,, Will you try to take those two muffins?" I pointed with my head to where they were laid.
She did it without any problems and gradually went with me to the people who ordered this stuff.
Later, after a few moments, she sat back in place and looked at Aurora, who stood beside me.
,, I've been gone for couple of weeks and you already have not only a guy but also a kid?" She raised an eyebrow at me.
,, What did she say?" Ma-Ri tilted her head sideways in an effort to understand my friend's words, which she said in our native language.
,,Neither." I grimaced back at her. Then I placed a glass of fresh apple juice in front of Ma-Ri.
,,Will you take it to that table in the back, please?" I asked her kindly.
,,So ... start preparing every detail of this story, because I'll get it out of you one way or another." She threatened me with her index finger, on which a perfectly groomed nail stood out.
,,You moron!" I was saved by the cry of a girl who stood up abruptly with a loud rasping of a chair.
Her exaggerated reaction culminated in her grabbing the cup in front of her and pouring its contents onto the man in front of her.
,,Hysterical." The brunette next to me said, staring at the couple in the back of the cafe.
My opinion was the same as hers.
I was aware that the guy might have done some bad deeds to her. Nevertheless, her reaction was useless from my point of view. Neither the words nor the water she poured over him could hurt him as much as she wanted.
In fact, she only confirmed his decision, which forced her to do so.
When she received no response, she turned and stormed out of the shop.
,,I'm gonna hand him some tea towels ..." Aurora wiped her wet palms on her apron, then walked straight to him.
I nodded, even though she couldn't see it anymore, and turned my attention to the little girl who had just returned.
,,Why did she do that?" she posed a question.
I shrugged. ,,She probably needed to."
She seemed to be mulling over my words, even though they were austere.
During her thought process, I went searching for the necessary ingredients for her hot chocolate.
Within a few moments, however, I found out that the chocolate bars were no longer anywhere.
But Aurora was still at the man's table, and they had begun a conversation. I saw a rare type of smile on her face, and a few times she rubbed her palms nervously.
Therefore, I decided not to interrupt them and preferred to tear out one piece of paper out of the block.
,,There is no more chocolate in the pantry and some fruit isn't there either. I'm going to the store for it." I wrote on it and started wearing a jacket.
I gave Ma-Ri a smile and with the words that I would be back in a moment, I went out into the busy street.
I walked at a fast pace but when a sharp pain came through my lower abdomen, I was forced to ceased in my steps. Panic slowly began to spread in my body, knowing that I had forgotten.
The cramps grew more intense as they pulsated, and my emergency bag hung in the coffee shop.
I raised my head and then began to look for some public restrooms.
In an effort to relieve the pain, I tightly gripped my stomach.
Then I just shook my head and headed in the original direction again. Though the pressure I put on my lower abdomen nearly helped, I still had to go to the store.
My clenched jaw begged for release.
After a few steps, however, I stopped again, and this time I crouched. The biting feeling of heat ran through my toes to the roots of my hair.
But as soon as I was overwhelmed by the warm and the familiar, addictive scent got into my nostrils, the pain began to fall to the bottom of the list of importance.
His touch became paramount.