"Unni!" She cheered, running up to the sweaty and exhausted Jennie as she hugged her. "I missed having you at school so much!" She let go of her body but pulled Jennie so that her ear was within reach. "He said he knew where you worked." She smiled cheekily, pulling away and pushing Jennie closer to him.
"How's work?" His voice was soft and soothing, like a hug. She blushed, pushing some hair back and shrugging.
"Are these your friends?" A voice approached from behind, and it was Auntie's.
"Oh, uh yeah." She stuck her hand out to shake each of their hands. "This is Minji, and uh," She turned towards him, who looked at her weirdly. He stuck out his hand after Auntie shook Minji's hand.
"I'm Kai." He said, looking at Jennie.
"Well, I have never met any of Jennie's friends." She smiled and turned to Jennie.
"Is this your mom?" Minji asked, looking at Auntie. "You both look alike." She smiled and kissed Jennie's head.
"No, I'm a friend of her mom's. She might as well be my daughter, though." She turned towards Tae, motioning for him to come closer. He walked over, standing next to his mom. "This is my son Tae." Minji laughed.
"I remember you from this morning." Minji tried to hold back more of her laughter.
"This morning? What happened?" Auntie looked at him and then at Jennie.
"Nothing, Mom." He disregarded the comment, walking away.
"How about we get them a table, Tae?" She yelled towards him, and Minji followed excitedly.
"Wanna get off early?" Auntie pressed her shoulder teasingly against Jennie, and she shrugged, still standing next to Kai, who was standing at the door. "Take off, and tell Tae to take a break." She left her side, going to the kitchen.
"You didn't know my name?" His voice sent shivers down her body as she turned to him, as he knelt down to her height.
"I-I knew." Her voice was slow, making him chuckle. He let his arm brush against her as he went to the table Minji was sitting at with Tae. She followed him, walking to the table and sitting next to Minji with Kai on the opposite side. "Auntie said you can take a break if you want to hang out with us," Jennie spoke as Tae turned to walk away.
"Yes. stay!" Minji cheered, causing Tae to turn around.
"I'm training, I should keep working." He said, turning back around. Minji elbowed Jennie, making a face at her.
"Tae," Jennie called to him, and she stood up to grab his arm. "Here, sit." She held his hand, placing him in the seat next to Minji. This left the only other seat near Kaid. Minji turned to Tae, holding on to his arm as she did the first time she met Jennie.
"It's so cool your mom owns this restaurant." She tried to make a small conversation, but Tae was not in the mood. Jennie looked down from the two, the seat next to Kai being patted. She sat, her eyes looking at the two across the table. Minji was trying to keep Tae preoccupied while Kai tried getting Jennie's attention.
"How was work?" He bumped her playfully, and she shied away.
"Fine. How was class?" Kai gasped a little, moving to her ear.
"Sounds like you're interested in me." He whispered, backing away and chuckling. "Just labs being labs."
The two conversations continued with Minji breaking down Tae, who tried not to show he was more interested in what was being talked about between Jennie and Kai. Minji continued pulling his arm, wanting to talk more, but it was not keeping his attention. Jennie and Kai kept their conversation low, mostly Jennie speaking briefly. Auntie soon brought out a hotpot, leaving the ingredients around the kids as she disappeared to the front counter. Things had become slow, allowing Jennie to feel a little more comfortable about not helping.
"You never texted me back," Kai said, putting some food on a plate for Jennie.
"I was busy." He nodded and smiled. He put the plate in front of her, making his own.
It would have taken a moment for her to look up, but she would have needed to be quick to see what would happen. Minji stopped holding on to Tae, getting the plate fixed to place in front of him. With no eyes on him, he watched as Kai placed the plate in front of Jennie, and a smile spread across her face. His eyes told it all, standing up and excusing himself from the table to the back kitchen.
"Is he okay?" Minji asked, watching him leave.
"Yeah. Auntie probably needs help." She looked back towards him, his silhouette disappearing behind the wall.
The three ate for themselves. Not many conversations going on at this point. It seemed to pick up a bit, and Jennie stood, feeling guilty that she was the only one not working.
"Uh, I'm going to see if they need help." She smiled, dismissing herself while the others stayed back to eat. She walked towards the front counter just as the door chimed open. Her breath was soon knocked out of her the moment she saw the family enter the door. A family of 4 walked in, the mother holding a baby boy, the father standing strongly behind her, and a teenage daughter in her school uniform in front of them. She felt her breath escape her body. She was frozen in place, Auntie turning to see that she was not speaking. The couple and their teenager smiled, facing a stunned Jennie who stood emotionless.
"A table for 4, please." The father spoke, but Jennie was not moving.
"Yes, right this way." Auntie came from behind the counter, pointing the family in the direction of Tae and turning to Jennie. The family walked away, but Jennie couldn't move from that spot. Her eyes glazed over, and the moment Auntie's hand touched her shoulder, she sprinted from the restaurant.
"Jennie!" She called out the door, prompting Kai, Minji, and Tae to face towards the door.
Minji and Kai moved from the table, but Minji sprinted off first, running out the door after her. She was too late. She looked to see that Jennie had already disappeared into the darkening night. She walked back into the restaurant, confused.
"Why did she leave?" She looked at the Auntie, who began tearing up and went to the break room.
"Her family was like that one." A voice called from behind. Minji turned to see Tae. Kai approached, listening to him explain. "10 years ago, she lost her family just like that one." He pointed to a picture behind the counter before going into the kitchen. Minji and Kai walked to the counter, taking a look at the picture of the Auntie and 2 children, a boy and a girl who looked like they were almost the same age. Behind the little girl stood a man and a woman holding a baby. It was a news article that read:
"GRAND OPENING OF SWEET POTS"
-
Jennie had made her way home, sniffling and wiping her face as she walked to her room. Her phone that was in her pocket rang. She pulled it out, letting it fall on the floor while she landed on the bed. She lay there, tears falling consistently, making it hard to breathe through each painful shriek. She had kept everything together. Why did it have to fall apart right then? She had lost track of the time, her pillow being soaked with tears the more she tried to gather her strength. She held it inside for so long that it was harder to control now that the emotions were out.
She continued to bawl herself into her pillow, feeling a hand run across her back. That only made her pour her heart out more, emptying her tears into the pillow. It would not be long before she completely tired herself out, falling asleep with tears on her face and pillow. The helpful hand pulled the blankets over her, switching the lights and allowing her to rest. The door closed softly, waking her up as she sniffled and whimpered herself to sleep for the next few minutes. The living room was filled with concern, while in the other room, her whimpers were heard.
The whimpers that always broke hearts were now breaking even more.