Intertwined Souls (JiTzu)

Chapter 4

I ran towards the grocery store before I lost control again. I leaned against a wall to catch my breath. My heart was pounding as if it wanted to jump out of my chest, and I was sweating bullets. This was the first time that I was able to escape from my episodes purely by thoughts. Every time thus far has been because of Dahyun and Chaeyoung physically stopping me from acting upon my temptations.

I regained my composure and locked my previous thoughts far in the back of my head. I had a task to do and I wanted to make sure that I accomplished it. I walked into the grocery store and walked around it for a bit. Jihyo-unnie never gave me directions on what I should buy and told me to buy whatever I wanted since I would be doing the cooking. I planned the meals for the rest of the week and grabbed all of the ingredients that I needed. I was planning to make sundubu-jjigae tonight.

I brought everything to the cashier and started to sweat. I forgot to calculate how much I was buying and hoped that I had enough money on me to buy everything. I let out a sigh of relief when my total was below how much money Jihyo-unnie gave me.

I took my change, grabbed the grocery bags, and walked out of the grocery store. I started walking in the direction that I came from but frozen moments after. I realized where I was heading and quickly turned around. I decided to take the long way back to the apartment to avoid another episode from happening.

Tuesday Evening: 10:00 P.M

3rd Person POV

Jihyo came home after another night of spending time with everyone from the restaurant. She was completely exhausted from interacting with the women. Her brain was still telling her to be cautious of them, but her heart was telling her that they were nice people. The women were pleasant to be around and tried to make Jihyo feel as comfortable as possible.

Jihyo entered her apartment and walked into the living room. She found Tzuyu sitting on the couch with a book in hand. She let out a cough to get the younger woman's attention. Tzuyu looked up from her book and smiled before closing the book and placing it beside her on the couch.

"Welcome back, unnie," Tzuyu greeted as she stood up.

"Thank you," Jihyo replied as she walked over to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator, "I see you bought groceries; how was that?"

"It was okay. I planned out our meals until the weekend. The money you gave me was enough to cover everything with some change left over," Tzuyu explained before reaching into her pocket to pull out the change, "Here it is."

Jihyo took a sip of water before placing the bottle on the counter; she took the change from Tzuyu and placed it in her pocket, "Perfect, we can go grocery shopping over the weekend. Have you made dinner yet?"

Tzuyu shook her head, "Not yet. I want to make sundubu-jjigae. It is best eaten fresh, so I wanted to wait for you to come home first. You should go get changed or shower, while I start making dinner," she explained before heading to the kitchen.

Jihyo took up Tzuyu's suggestion and changed out of her work clothes. She walked back into the living room to find Tzuyu in the middle of cooking. She sat down at the dining table and began to observe the younger woman. She was amazed by the serious look on Tzuyu's face as the younger woman moved around the small kitchen. Every movement was meticulous and purposeful without wasting any energy. She wielded the knife in her hand as if she had been cooking for years. It would be easy for anyone to mistake Tzuyu for a culinary school student or a young professional chef just from watching her.

Tzuyu turned the stove down to a simmer before turning to face Jihyo, "Alright, it is almost done. I will just do some dishwashing and then we can eat."

Jihyo nodded her head in acknowledgement. Tzuyu turned around to start washing the dishes. Jihyo rested her chin in her hand as she watched Tzuyu. She was impressed by everything that Tzuyu has done. The younger woman showed great aptitude for a skill that she learned purely through reading of books. Jihyo herself wished that she had that ability but knew that she needed practice to learn any new skill.

"Alright, done; let's eat," Tzuyu said as she wiped her hands on a towel.

Tzuyu grabbed two stone bowls and transferred the sundubu-jjigae equally into both bowls. She brought the two bowls over to the dining table before going to scoop two bowls of rice. Jihyo was able to get a whiff of the stew and instantly felt her mouth begin to water. She resisted the urge to pick up the hot bowl and slurping down the clearly piping hot stew. Tzuyu came back with the bowls of rice and utensils and placed them beside each stone bowl before sitting down across from Jihyo.

Tzuyu giggled upon seeing the look of excitement on Jihyo's face, "Alright, you can dig in now."

"Thank you for the meal!" Jihyo exclaimed before picking up her spoon, taking a spoonful of the stew, and placing it in her mouth. She was instantly hit with an indescribable amazing taste. She ate another spoonful of stew just to verify what she was feeling before starting to shovel the stew into her mouth.

Tzuyu watched in both joy and concern at Jihyo's display of eating, "Unnie, please eat slowly. You are going to choke if you eat this fast."

Jihyo swallowed the stew in her mouth before rubbing the back of her head with her free hand, "Sorry, it's just that this is the best sundubu-jjigae I have ever tasted."

Tzuyu held herself back from smiling, "That really can't be the case."

Jihyo shook her head with a smile, "I am serious, Tzuyu. This is actually the best sundubu-jjigae I've ever had."

Tzuyu let herself smile unlike her shy state from last night. Seeing Jihyo's genuine joy while eating her food made Tzuyu feel happy and warm. Although feelings of doubt of her own abilities were still present, Tzuyu for once let herself accept that there had to be some truth to someone's compliments instead of compliments stemming from pity for her situation.

"I have been thinking..." Jihyo trailed off as she placed her spoon down, "Would you like to have a job?"

---TWICE---

A/N: Hello everyone! I am back with another update! Tzuyu was able to successfully complete Jihyo's test albeit with a minor hiccup. She now has the opportunity for a job. Will she take it? We will find out in the next chapter. Anyways, until next time, thank you for the support!