Intertwined Souls (JiTzu)

Chapter 5

Tzuyu saw the bar that Nayeon and Jeongyeon were currently standing behind. Her eyes widened in shock at the rows of alcohol that lined the back counter. She felt her chest tightened as her breathing became shallow. There was a lump in her throat as a nauseous feeling formed in her stomach. Her thoughts came back to yesterday when she passed by the alcohol store. She felt like she was drowning even though she was on land.

Tzuyu was about to blackout until she felt someone intertwining their hand with hers. She looked to her side to find Jihyo smiling at her. She then looked down at their intertwined hands. Jihyo lightly squeezed Tzuyu's in a calming way. It was enough to rid Tzuyu of her negative thoughts and feelings. A smile formed on Tzuyu's face as she felt a warm feeling in her heart. This was the second time that Jihyo had saved her from her troubles.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon were quite surprised by what they witnessed. What just occurred could be seen as an intimate moment between two people. Their knowledge of Jihyo's situation led them to believe that Jihyo rejected such interactions between people.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon called everyone in the kitchen to come out to the front-of-house as Jihyo and Tzuyu walked further into the restaurant. Momo, Sana, and Mina were the first to walk out and were excited to meet their potentially new co-worker. They introduced themselves to the stranger as did Nayeon and Jeongyeon immediately after them. Tzuyu was about to introduce herself until Dahyun and Chaeyoung walked out of the kitchen.

"Tzuyu?!" Chaeyoung exclaimed in shock.

"It's actually Tzuyu!" Dahyun yelled with happiness written all over her face.

Dahyun and Chaeyoung instantly rushed at Tzuyu and pulled her into a hug. They began sobbing and telling her that they were worried about her and missed her. Tzuyu had an expression mixed between confusion and surprise as she was not expecting to see Dahyun and Chaeyoung any time soon but wrapped her arms around the two of them and expressed how much she missed them as well. Jihyo was surprised that Tzuyu knew some of her co-workers, while everyone else was surprised to find out that this was the "Tzuyu" that Dahyun and Chaeyoung had been talking about.

"Where have you been all this time?" Chaeyoung asked as she and Dahyun separated from the hug and wiped their remaining tears.

"After being a burden to you two for too long, I have been living on the streets for the past month. I have slept in shelters, on the cold ground, and had countless sleepless nights when I feared for my safety. I barely had any food and went several days without eating anything and drinking water. I tried to keep myself warm, but my clothes became torn when I fell one time," Tzuyu explained before looking towards Jihyo, "But Jihyo-unnie took me in last Friday and gave me a warm bed, food, water, and a hot shower."

Everyone, save for Jihyo and Tzuyu, were shocked to hear that Jihyo had taken Tzuyu in. Nayeon and Jeongyeon were especially surprised that Jihyo had interacted with someone let alone taken them into her care. Countless theories ran through their head as the gears in their head churned. They both came to the conclusion that Tzuyu was the reason that Jihyo approached everyone and showed a change in her personality.

Dahyun was about to open her mouth to ask about the situation but saw Nayeon shaking her head behind Jihyo and Tzuyu and promptly closed her mouth. Nayeon and Jeongyeon were aware of everyone's confusion and lack of understanding surrounding Jihyo. They knew that the present time was not suitable for such a conversation to occur and wanted to avoid it for the time being.

Jihyo on the other hand was internally sweating bullets. She was scared that one of her coworkers would expose how cold she was around them ever since she met them. She wanted Tzuyu to think of her as someone who was kind, caring, and happy. Seeing Dahyun open her mouth, made Jihyo's heart sink. She knew that everyone would be curious about her after finding out that she took Tzuyu in. She let out an internal sigh of relief upon seeing Dahyun close her mouth.