it's always ourselves that we find in the sea || jensoo

Chapter 2

A couple of days passed by, spent walking along the rocky shoreline as Jennie got back into the habit of early morning jogs, watching as the sun rose behind a wall of damp fog. She didn't see the woman again, and thought her assumption that she'd been passing through was correct, and she faded from Jennie's mind by the end of the week, replaced by thoughts of how she was going to get back on her feet. Minzy was perfectly content to let her stay as long as she wanted to, but Jennie had no plans to stay longer than a couple of weeks; she was optimistic she'd find another job, and she could move in with Chaeyoung for a little while. It would just be a few weeks. In the meantime she made herself busy, tidying up around the house, pulling weeds in the garden and trying to replicate Minzy's lamb casserole for when her adoptive mother came home from work. She spent hours reading in the window seat in her and Chaeyoung's room, feeling the cool breeze caress her skin as she sat with the window open, listening to the sound of the waves and finding that they did hold a kind of music to them.

It was Monday morning, and the start of a fresh week, which had lifted Jennie's spirits considerably. She felt optimistic that even though last week had been awful, a new week held so many possibilities, and as she folded the freshly cleaned and dried laundry, the comforting smell of lavender clinging to the thin shirts and towels, Jennie decided to take a walk into town. The fridge was low on a few things, and she was hoping the library would have some books for her to check out to help pass the time. By half past twelve, she was wearing a thin jacket just in case the puffy white clouds turned into a downpour, and was walking along the tree-lined road, letting her mind drift as her fingertips skimmed the tips of long grass that waved on the side of the road in the gentle breeze. A few beaten cars rumbled past, with some familiar faces slowing and winding down the window to offer her a ride, but Jennie was content to walk, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face as she soaked up the last of the summer weather. The chill in the air already spoke of autumn, and Jennie wanted to make the most of walking without an umbrella and the bone-deep chill that accompanied the cold.

The library turned out to be a success, earning Jennie two worn paperbacks to occupy her for a few days, and she celebrated by forking out a few dollars for a tuna and cucumber sandwich at a nearby deli, eating it as she walked towards the small grocery store wedged in between a clothing store and a dentist office. Perusing the aisles, she filled a small basket up with a few things, picking up ingredients for lasagna for dinner, and indulging herself with two tubs of cookie dough ice cream. With her paperbacks tucked safely under one arm and the paper grocery bag held in her other, she walked out of the store and someone walking past bumped into her, making her drop the books and tearing the bag as she clutched at the paper and let gravity do the rest of the work, spilling her groceries all over the place.

The other person wasn't quite as fortunate and went sprawling forward as they tripped, their own bag dropping to the ground, with a few items escaping and rolling down the sidewalk. Jennie immediately dropped down to help the woman up, taking in the dark hair and sunglasses and freezing for a moment, before her face split into a wide smile. "Music girl!" she crowed, taking the woman's warm hand in hers to help her up, "you should be more aware of your surroundings, you almost ran me over."

"Me?!" the woman spluttered, pulling her hand out of Jennie's as her heavy eyebrows pulled down into a scowl, which was in stark contrast to the riot of colours of the knitted poncho she was wearing, which looked decidedly optimistic on the cool summer's day. "I'm blind! You watch where you're going."

Jennie let out an awkward laugh, pushing her glasses up her nose with one hand as she reached for her belongings with the other. Picking up a punnet of blueberries and a box that didn't belong to her, Jennie held them out to the woman, who was fumbling around on the ground, her hands seeking her spilled shopping, and Jennie blanched slightly as she saw the red and white striped cane beside the woman and realised that she actually was blind. "Oh. Oh. Oh god, I'm so sorry. I had no idea- the other day you- I'm sorry," Jennie babbled, quickly shoving things back into the canvas bag stamped with the logo for the organic store down the street.