The girls spent only part of their morning eating, and even though Jennie had little to no sleep, she was thankful Minji loved to talk. Minji enjoyed talking, especially since it had been some time since she had last had someone to talk with. Jennie occasionally gave a reassuring smile that she was still listening and encouraged her to continue. When breakfast was finished, Minji jumped at the opportunity to help her, moving her arms to collect each dish.
The girls cleared the table, taking the dishes to the sink to be cleaned. Jennie took the dishes, washing them while Minji cleaned the table. As the dishes were cleaned, food packed and placed away, both girls walked to the bean bag after cleaning. Jennie crashed completely, her head falling back against the back of the bean bag, Minji watching her with a concerned look.
"Did you not sleep well?" Her voice carried, and Jennie smiled before raising her head and nodding.
"Don't worry, I stayed up studying," Jennie spoke softly. "I just wanted to get some assignments done." Her lies were good, and she waited to see if Minji would listen.
"Okay," Minji sat up a little, looking at her phone to check the time, and Jennie looked to do the same.
"Hey, why don't you change?" Jennie stood up, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to the bedroom. She walked into her closet, Minji following behind her as Jennie browsed and tried to find clothes for herself. "Here, pick something to change into."
"Really?" Jennie nodded, taking out a green shirt and blue jean shorts. She left Minji to look in the closet, moving to the back of the room to change. Minji browsed before grabbing a pink shirt and a pair of baggy jeans. She decided to get dressed in the closet, both girls finishing at the same time and meeting at the door to the bedroom.
"You look really cute!" Jennie's voice peaked, showing her admiration for Minji, who smiled and glowed as she held on to Jennie's arm.
"Thank you, Unni. I'll get them back to you." She made her laugh, using aegyo, which was way too cute for Jennie at the moment.
"Don't worry, that's what you do for a chingu!" Jennie gave a side hug before lifting up. "Now, go to class and do well! That's how you can give back." Minji smiled and gave a reassuring nod before going to grab her backpack.
"Are you leaving yet?" She looked back at Jennie, who looked around, thinking about how she didn't need to leave for another hour and a half, but decided to go ahead and leave.
"Yeah, I'll walk with you for a bit." The girls folded their arms together before walking out of the house. As the girls set off on their path, it wouldn't be long before they were joined by a familiar face. The guy walking in front of them looked very familiar, but while Jennie ignored him, Minji was not going to.
"Isn't that the guy from the classroom?" She nudged Jennie, who rolled her eyes.
"How can you even tell?" She tried to change the subject and think about something else. "Do you want to hang out later?"
"Uh, yeah." She said, then she put on a sneaky smile. "Unni, what time do you leave work? Can you pick me up?" Her voice had completely changed, being cute and loud. Jennie knew what she was doing and put her hand on Minji, motioning for her to lower her voice. It would not work out well. The guy turned around and saw them both before turning back around.
"Stop," Jennie whispered, making a face and looking back up at him.
"He's cute! Don't you like him?" Minji whispered, looking back at him and nudging her.
"No," Jennie whispered, but Minji knew from the way her eyes landed on him that she felt differently.
"Hey!" She shouted towards the guy, and he turned around to look at them. Jennie stopped in her tracks the moment Minji let go of her arm. "Aren't you the guy who grabbed my unni?" Her hands went on her hips as she approached him.
"Yeah." His eyes looked up at Jennie, and the moment they locked eyes, she could feel her breath stop. Jennie watched the two seem to whisper, and he kept looking at her. Minji, standing on her tiptoes to reach his ear. He watched Jennie stand uncomfortably, starting to smile. It was not long until Minji smiled and backed away from him. Minji walked back to Jennie, him following behind her. Jennie stood nervously, looking at the ground and rubbing her arm as the two approached.
"Unni, thank you for walking me to school! See you later!" She cheered, fixing her bag on her shoulder. She smiled and waved before leaving. Jennie took a step towards her, but realizing what was happening, she was stuck. To her left, he was standing there, waiting for her, his hands in his pocket.
"Are you headed to campus?" He asked, pointing in the direction Minji was headed as she skipped out of sight.
"Uh, no. I don't have class today. I was just walking Minji." She looked down, and he laughed.
"So, you two are friends?" He asked, moving so that his body faced her.
"Uh, yeah." Jennie was trying not to act bashful, but what was she supposed she do? This was the first time that someone approached her and was very open about his feelings. It was like he had no shame and was prepared to continue showing her how he felt.
"So, where are you headed?" He breathed in, looking around before his eyes landed back on her. Jennie looked up, and the moment her eyes locked with him, it was like she was stuck again.
"I, uh, was helping my aunt at her shop." He nodded, looking around.
"Okay, let's go." He started walking forward, looking back toward Jennie, who was completely stunned.
"Don't you have class?" Jennie asked, looking confused.
"Nah, I just go early to study." He looked around once more, almost like he was trying to scout out the restaurant. "Where is the restaurant?" He asked, and Jennie found herself straightening up.
"No, I can go." She tried to convince him, backing away, but he just followed her as she walked.
"Fine, you can go. I'm on my way to get breakfast." He smiled cunningly, walking after her, and she felt nervous. There was no way she was going to stop him, and he was going early, so there was not any chance of him leaving.
"Fine." She exhaled deeply, turning in the direction of the restaurant before walking. He fell into step beside her, watching her be nervous. His head moved slightly up toward the sky, and he smiled, biting his lip.
"So, you work often?" His hands were still in his pocket, and he was trying to walk close to her.
"No, I'm just helping my aunt." Jennie looked at her feet, her eyes moving toward his feet. Her shy behavior made him smile more. The thought of her not looking at him was amusing. His tongue ran across the side of his mouth, thinking about her.
"Does your family own many restaurants?" Jennie shook her head and took a deep breath.
"No, just her." Her words were short, and he nodded.
"Is there anything about me that you want?" He asked. He moved in front of Jennie, stopping completely so that she almost ran into him. He leaned down, trying to be at eye level with her. "I'm a very interesting person, you know." He smiled, watching her expression.
Jennie tried to shy away from his gaze, but he was not going to let that happen. He continued to try to keep their gazes locked, looking into her eyes. The silence between the two was deafening as he smiled at her, his bottom lip curling into his mouth. The time felt like forever as he searched through her eyes and then exhaled deeply.
"Are you some sort of witch?" He looked at her, standing up straight and continuing to walk in the direction they were headed in. Jennie took a deep breath, placing her hand on her chest slightly before looking up at him. He was walking, not even looking back at her. She tried to compose herself, swallowing hard before walking close behind him. His steps slowed down so they could follow each other. Jennie worked on her hands, holding them and trying to figure out what she wanted to say, although it seemed like the words wouldn't come out. She took a final breath and breathed.
"What do you mean?" She held her hands close together, thinking about what she would hear or what he might do.
"What do I mean?" He asked, looking straight ahead, and he felt her eyes turn to him.
"Yeah. You said before, 'Why are you doing this to me?' Now you're asking if I'm a witch?" He smiled, looking at her and stopping.
"Yeah." He shrugged his backpack on his shoulders, hands still in his pocket.
"Well, what do you mean?" He stopped, and she continued walking before looking and noticing he wasn't walking with her anymore.
"Answer this first. What is the name of the restaurant?" He asked, and he looked at Jennie's confused face.
"Uh, Sweet Pots. It's like a hotpot place." He nodded in understanding, sharply turning around to leave. Jennie's mouth fell open; he was just leaving. "Hey!" She stomped on the ground, watching him walk off.
"Text me back." He called out to her, continuing back in the direction of the university. She watched as he continued walking, starting to become deep in thought. She stared at his figure, slowly descending down the road before her phone rang.
'Turn around.' Jennie looked around, seeing that she was actually in front of the restaurant. She looked back down at her phone, noticing that the number was the same one that texted her previously. She looked back over at the restaurant and saw Tae standing next to his mom at the counter. Jennie sighed, looking back to see he was already gone. He always seemed to disappear. She looked at her phone, opening the message once again.