The Looking Glass - A BTS Story

CHAPTER V - JIN

"Where were you? It's almost time to close!", a short girl, with her hair tied on a ponytail, looked at Jin, her face red with anger.

As he figured out from the data on his phone, that girl, Choi Eun-ji, and him were engaged. They owned a bakery/coffee shop that was pretty popular. She was short tempered, but sweet. They had three employees: Yi Woo-Jin, who helped him with cooking; Kang Ji-min, a high-school girl who worked as a part-timer; and Nu'man, a Pakistani guy who worked as a waiter/cashier.

"Sorry?", was the only thing he could say.

"I hope it was something really important, I'll make you work overtime for every hour you wasted". He didn't know if she was serious or not. "Just go back to the kitchen. Woojin is covering for you, but he is still in training. I can't dump all the work on him".

It was almost 5 p.m., they closed at 6 p.m. Woojin was finishing the preparations for the next day. Although he was doing everything on his own, he seemed happy. He was even humming while cooking.

"Do you need help?" Jin said, and the boy jumped. The kid was a scaredy cat, it seemed.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't hear you. I'm super sorry". So he was that kind of person. He looked totally flushed as he apologized, as if Jin was going to hit him or something.

"Woojin, stop saying sorry. He was the one who scared you. Go put two coins in the jar". Eun-ji got into the kitchen as she heard the kid. The sorry jar was almost filled. "You really need to stop doing this, kiddo".

On the jar was written: "How many cents would we get for Woojin's sorrys". Next to it was a paper with the game rules: every month one person was chosen to fill the jar, and at the end of the month they would get everyone pizza.

"You're lucky that the month is ending, and Jimin is next".

"Sorry". The kid said, putting another coin in the jar.

"Woojin is a fierce competitor for Jin's title as biggest donor". Nu'man answered from the other room. His Korean was great, he could barely hear any accent.

The bakery ambience was happy. They all worked well together, and beyond the work environment, there was a friendly aura. For the rest of the day, Jin tried his best to help Woojin in the kitchen, although he didn't know much about baking – at least not enough compared to the other self. After that, he went home with Eun-ji. She drove a mini-van that was also used for cake deliveries and had the shop's logo on the side. Eun-ji talked a lot about responsibilities and how he shall never disappear again or she would cut his fingers, her face serious all the time. Although her voice sounded tense, her face was cute, as she looked more like a little kid and less like a 30-year-old woman. And the fact that she turned tomato-red every time she was angry didn't help either. He had to hold a laugh as she talked, but she noticed.

"Don't you dare laugh at me! I'll cut your tongue if you do that!", she screamed as she stopped at a red light.

"Sorry", he burst into laughter, "You look so cute when you are angry".

"I know I look cute. I'm a bobcat: beautifully dangerous. And if you keep ignoring me, or worse laughing at me, you will see how ferocious I can be". She talked coldly, but there was a warmth in her eyes, like she was teasing him. "But, seriously, you can't leave me caring for everything alone. It's not fair. At least, give me a warning or tell me where you are going. I was terribly worried".

"I won't do it anymore". He answered, still a little smile on his lips.

"You better not".

They lived in a small apartment a few minutes away from the shop. There were photos of them together all over the house. Photos of their travels, the bakery inauguration, them with their families. They have known each other for almost a decade already, have been dating for eight years and been engaged for two years. That was all he could find out only from the photos, as they all have dates and notes attached to them. In the bakery's inauguration there was written Our dream come true. The other him built all this life with a person, and he might just ruin it. He didn't know how to bake, nor run a business. He didn't know anything about the person he would be sleeping with, every day. He was totally lost and, as he laid down to sleep, he could only wonder what the hell he would do tomorrow when she asked him to make fresh bread.