Tuesday Morning: 9:00 A.M
Jihyo's POV
It was too early in the morning when I woke up, so I quietly got ready for work and let Tzuyu sleep in. There was really no point in waking her up as she had all day to get the groceries like I asked. I only had time for some toast and butter as I woke up later than usual.
I was already at the restaurant getting the dining area prepared for service with Dahyun and Chaeyoung. Everyone else was getting the restaurant ready in their respective areas. Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and I had a system of our own to quickly and effectively prepare the dining area without much communication, something that I greatly appreciated. Although it feels like there will be some changes to our system from now on.
Nayeon and Jeongyeon-unnies called everyone into the dining area for a quick meeting after everyone was done with their tasks. Momo, Sana, and Mina walked out of the kitchen and we all gathered around a table. Nayeon and Jeongyeon-unnies revealed that they were looking into hiring one more staff member for the kitchen as the restaurant has been quite popular as of late leading to increased traffic into the restaurant.
"Does anyone have someone in mind?" Nayeon-unnie asked, gaining thinking looks from the rest of us.
"Not really," Momo answered on behalf of the kitchen staff, "The only people we know are present in this restaurant right now."
Dahyun and Chaeyoung glanced at each other before shaking their heads, "No one comes to mind," Dahyun answered.
All eyes turned to me and I shook my head, "I got no one either."
"Well, if anyone comes across someone that they think would fit with the restaurant then please let us know," Jeongyeon-unnie said as she adjourned the meeting.
We all went back to work. I started wiping some silverware as my thoughts turned to Tzuyu. I think she might be a potential candidate for the kitchen staff position, but I still wanted to watch her actually cook. Her stir-fry was hands down one of the best I've had for sure. Maybe this will be an opportunity for Tzuyu to get a job and help her feel like less of a burden. Not that I think she is, but I know that concept seems ingrained into Tzuyu's heart.
Tuesday Afternoon: 1:00 P.M
Tzuyu's POV
My morning was rather mundane and uneventful. Jihyo-unnie had already gone to work by the time I woke up. It was a bit lonely to be honest, but I was already used to it from sleeping on the streets for so long. I was just thankful that I had a warm bed to sleep in. My breakfast and lunch consisted of water as I didn't want to take food from Jihyo-unnie without her permission. I was also used to not eating anything for several days at a time anyways.
I dressed into the one pair of clothes that Jihyo-unnie had bought for me when we went shopping over the weekend. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was a lot better than the tattered rags that I was wearing for the past month. I took a moment to take in the scent of freshness of the clothes, reminding myself of what I have to lose if I relapse, before leaving the apartment.
I wasn't familiar with the immediate area around Jihyo-unnie's apartment, but Jihyo-unnie gave me some directions to the nearest grocery store. As I walked along the main street, I realized that I had been here before while I was living on the streets. It was then that I remembered there was an alcohol store not too far from where I was standing, and by that, I meant I was standing right in front of it right now.
My body completely froze. I suddenly felt like I was drowning in an ocean and couldn't escape from it. I knew that this was the precursor for one of my episodes. There were very few times that I have been able to escape it and those times were only because of Dahyun and Chaeyoung. This time, like many, I was all alone. I was about to succumb to the temptations of alcohol and lose the warm bed, hot food, and hot showers that I have been blessed with. I was about to be plunged into complete darkness until my thoughts suddenly turned to Jihyo-unnie. My world was then suddenly filled with light and I could move my body again. I realized then that I was crying and quickly wiped my tears.
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!