Wednesday Morning: 8:45 A.M
Nayeon's POV
Jeongyeon and I were running our checks prior to opening the doors to the restaurant for the day. We worked with all of our staff to determine what needed to be ordered and what needed to be fixed. The two of us always tried to involve our staff with every aspect of the restaurant based on their role. We believe in standing on the same horizontal as our staff versus standing above them vertically whenever we could.
Jihyo walked up to Jeongyeon and me while we were in the middle of checking our cash register system. She looked very nervous for some reason and was playing with her hands while avoiding eye contact with us. It was quite understandable for her to be like this as it was obvious that she was still uncomfortable around all of us.
"Can we help you with something, Jihyo?" I asked gently.
Jihyo bit her lip as she played with the hem of her shirt, "I... ummm... think I found someone who can cook," she nervously said.
"Ooo!" Jeongyeon exclaimed excitedly, making Jihyo jump slightly, "Please tell us about them!"
"Well..." Jihyo trailed off, "I was really amazed by their skills... and the taste of the food they made... was out of this world."
"What dishes have you tasted of theirs?" I inquired.
"I had a stir-fry and sundubu-jjigae, and I was honestly blown out of this world," Jihyo explained with a sudden bright tone in her voice.
"How would you rate it?" Jeongyeon asked.
"I would say their food is a solid 11/10," Jihyo replied with a smile.
"Alright, why don't you bring them in after lunch when the restaurant is less busy?" I suggested.
Jihyo's smile widened considerably as she nodded rapidly, "Will do!" she exclaimed before turning around and going back to work.
"Well... that was weird," Jeongyeon commented as we watched Jihyo going over to a table to wipe it down.
I nodded my head in agreement, "It really was. We've never seen Jihyo like that before, right?"
Jeongyeon shook her head, "Never."
"First, she wants to hang out with us, and now she is smiling widely? I suspect that something good happened to her," I vocalized my theory.
"Or, potentially someone came into her life," Jeongyeon theorized.
Wednesday Afternoon: 1:30 P.M
3rd Person POV
Jihyo went home shortly after lunch to pick up Tzuyu. Nayeon and Jeongyeon were working the front-of-house while everyone else was in the kitchen. Everyone was excited to meet whoever Jihyo thought would be a good kitchen staff candidate. Nayeon and Jeongyeon were especially interested to see who could have made Jihyo behave excitedly the way she had earlier in the day.
The restaurant door chime rang to indicate that someone had entered the restaurant. Nayeon and Jeongyeon turned their heads towards the new entrants to find Jihyo walking in with Tzuyu who they did not know. They observed the way the two of them talked. It would be a mundane observation if it was not for the fact that Jihyo seemed comfortable talking to Tzuyu in comparison to everyone else at the restaurant.
Tzuyu was initially hesitant to accept the proposal that Jihyo gave her. She was not confident that her skills were sufficient enough to work at a restaurant, but Jihyo reassured her that her skills were beyond sufficient. It dawned on Tzuyu in the middle of their conversation that this was an opportunity for her to end the cycle of suffering that she has been in for so long. She committed to going into the restaurant to at least go through an interview process.
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.
"That's really nice of Jihyo," Nayeon said, causing everyone to look towards her, "She is such a caring person."
"Yeah, she is a really fun person to be around. I would trust her with my life," Jeongyeon added on.
Jihyo was surprised to hear the words coming from Nayeon and Jeongyeon. She knew that she had never been like how they described her. Suspicion arose in Jihyo about what Nayeon and Jeongyeon's intentions were, but she was just thankful that they did not expose her for the fraud she felt like she was.
"She really is. She took someone like me, who she didn't even know, into her home and provided me a home to stay in," Tzuyu agreed with a smile.
"Shouldn't we get on to seeing if Tzuyu is suitable for the new position?" Jihyo asked to redirect the conversation.
Everyone laughed at Jihyo's obvious attempt to get the attention off of herself, causing Jihyo to blush out of embarrassment. Nayeon and Jeongyeon agreed to Jihyo's statement and asked Tzuyu to make anything she wanted using the ingredients that were available in the kitchen. Tzuyu nodded her head before walking into the kitchen with everyone following behind her.
Tzuyu started by washing her hands before walking over to the refrigerators and freezers to check what ingredients were available. She took out some pork, eggs, mushrooms, and an assortment of other ingredients. She found a cutting board, a knife, and pot, and began to prepare the ingredients.
Dahyun and Chaeyoung watched in astonishment as Tzuyu moved around the kitchen. They were not aware that their best friend even knew how to cook. Momo, Sana, and Mina watched in admiration of Tzuyu's techniques. They only started learning how to properly cook when they started working at this restaurant. Tzuyu's capabilities blew them out of the water as they knew she was several levels above them.
Tzuyu finished making a Taiwanese Braised Pork Bowl and presented it to everyone. Sounds of amazement filled the kitchen as they took in the mouthing watering smell of the dish. Tzuyu found and gave everyone a spoon to taste the dish. They all thanked Tzuyu before instantly digging into the bowl. Eyes went wide in surprise as compliments were thrown towards Tzuyu which made Tzuyu feel a little embarrassed. She did not think the dish was as amazing as everyone was describing it, but it felt nice for Tzuyu when she heard Jihyo compliment her dish.
"You're hired!" Nayeon and Jeongyeon exclaimed at the same time.
Friday Evening: 10:00 P.M
Tzuyu's POV
Work has been amazing so far. Everyone was very warm and welcoming; especially Momo, Sana, and Mina-unnies who I was working with in the kitchen. They genuinely admired my skills and complimented me a lot. It made me feel warm inside that someone was complimenting me from the bottom of their heart. On top of that, it was great getting to work with Dahyun and Chaeyoung; we got to catch up a lot over my absence.
I also joined everyone for their post-work hangouts. I got to know everyone little by little, and they were a fun group to be around. Dahyun and Chaeyoung always told me about their coworkers, and I finally understand what they meant when they said they were a bunch of crackheads, in a good way of course. It was also nice to see Jihyo-unnie looking really happy when she was around everyone.
I just finished my shower after Jihyo-unnie and I got home. I walked out into the living room to find Jihyo-unnie standing near the counter in the kitchen and staring off into the distance. I walked up to Jihyo-unnie and placed a hand on her shoulder. Jihyo-unnie let out a scream before turning around to grab my hand and squeezing it tightly. Her eyes were wide and had a dazed look to them. I was surprised by this reaction as her grip became deadly tight to the point that she was about to crush my fingers.
"Jihyo-unnie, please, my hand, it hurts," I begged as tears welled up in my eyes.
Jihyo-unnie's eyes went back to normal before immediately going wide once again upon seeing the current situation, "Oh my god! I am so so so so so sorry, Tzuyu!" she apologized profusely after letting go of my hand.
I rubbed my hand that was throbbing with pain, "No, I am sorry that I freaked you out."
Jihyo-unnie shook her hand, "I should be the one apologizing, not you. It's just that I freak out whenever someone touches me unannounced or I don't see them approaching."
I nodded my head in understanding, realizing I must have accidentally triggered something I wasn't aware of, "Alright, I have taken note of that. I'm still sorry for freaking you out," I apologized, a bit concerned that this might be a good enough reason for Jihyo-unnie to kick me out of her apartment.
Jihyo-unnie grabbed some ice out of the refrigerator and placed it in a bag before putting it over my hand, "No, seriously, you don't have to apologize. That was my fault for freaking out like that. I am sorry for hurting your hand."
I shook my head as I took the bag of ice from Jihyo-unnie, "No worries. I understand where you are coming from. I just hope this doesn't affect my eligibility for staying here."
Jihyo-unnie gave me a confused look, "What? Why would it?"
A sad smile formed on my face, "I don't know. I just worry that you will kick me out if I do even the slightest thing wrong."
"Tzuyu, I am never going to kick you out. You have my word on that," Jihyo-unnie reassured with a warm smile.
A smile formed on my face, "Thank you," I replied even though I knew that I will constantly worry that I am a burden to Jihyo-unnie and that she could kick me out at any time.
---TWICE---
A/N: Hello everyone! I am back with another update! The School Meal Club finally got their reunion. Tzuyu was instantly accepted into the new position and is getting along with everyone. I really wonder what happened to Jihyo that made her freak out on Tzuyu like that... Anyways, until next time, thank you for the support!