Mist sprayed, sweetening the air with the strawberry-scented perfume. The girl gracefully walked into the sweet mist as the particles landed on her white, short sleeves blouse.
The laces on the sleeves that stuck in the band, sticking around her elbows were pulled out. An illusion skirt with flower embroideries on it reached below her knees. Inside the illusion fabric, there was a light blue, stretchable satin fabric shorter than it. She tucked the hem of the blouse into the skirt.
Combing her hair and gathering them in one hand, she had it in a neat, high bun hair. The mirror copied her beam, and a slow exhale left her nostrils.
After allowing a silver wristwatch to engulf her left wrist, she grabbed a small backpack. A small bottle of perfume, a small comb, a lip balm, a wallet, a small packet of tissue, and a small mirror was stuffed in the teal bag. Before she moved out of the room, she took a beige file on the table in swift. The door shut with the help of her foot as she checked the papers inside the file. She hastily tapped the papers a few times to tuck them in.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and soup lingered around the living room when she stepped out of her room. She took a peek to see her father sitting in the living room at the usual position on the floor, having breakfast.
"Good morning, appa." She went to the entrance after greeting, taking her ice blue Converse. As she put the socks on, she told her father, "I'm going out."
Her father let out an approval short, deep hum. "You're leaving too early," uttered the father before slurping his soup. "Have some breakfast before you go."
She made a glance at her watch and then, looked at her father, feeling sorry as she saw the amount of food her father had cooked. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll be late for the bus."
"Never mind the bus. Just ride a taxi. I can give you money."
Just when Mr. Lee was about to lift a knee, Jiah cried out, "ugh, appa!" She glared at him with a pout. "Why do you always give me money every time I go out?"
Mr. Lee was bewildered. He blinked his eyes.
"I'm not an elementary student anymore, I'm not a fifteen-year-old anymore. I want to be independent. Stop giving me money." She sprang up after being done tying her shoelaces.
Mr. Lee was getting more speechless as his daughter stomped out of the house. But it was not a minute since she stepped out when she returned to make a quick wrap of Bossam* without garlic.
Jiah showed the confused man an awkward smile. She then whispered, "my stomach grumbled." Chewing her food quickly and swallowing, she then said, "bye."
As the girl disappeared into the entrance path, Mr. Lee snorted.
"Like mother, like daughter."
**********
Jiah stopped at a café to have breakfast at her best friend's workplace. By chance, her best friend had helped her to pass her curricular vitae to the manager and both of them were hoping that she would get a job there.
Han Shinhye advanced to Jiah's table with a toast and a cup of Jeju green tea on the dark brown tray. Jeju green tea had always been Jiah's favorite and she did not need to tell Shinhye what she wanted for a drink.
As Jiah took a sip of the green tea, the sweetness touched her taste buds. She moaned in delight. Another sip as another hand lifted the toast and tore it with her middle and index finger.
"Hey, hey, you can put it down," Shinhye said. She attempted to grab the cup but failed as Jiah backed off.
"It's been a while since I drank."
Shinhye's eyebrows furrowed. "You ordered the same drink yesterday though."
Jiah gave her an awkward smile.
Shinhye buzzed. She then uttered, "you're addicted."
Jiah nodded her head once as a small piece of the toast was tossed in her mouth. She smiled at Shinhye and said, "this is yummy!"
Shinhye could not help but chuckle at her. When Jiah finished her toast, the girl began to ask her, "to how many places did you send your CVs?"
The girl in front of her looked up at the ceiling while her fingers closed one by one. "About twenty?"
"You sound like you even reached the countryside." Shinhye snorted.
Jiah showed the line of her teeth, beaming at her best friend who was crossing her arms in front of her. "I just go anywhere I feel to."
Short silence surrounded their area for a while Shinhye puckered her lips, staring at the sweet girl sadly. "It's been two years. You know, I can help you with money."
Jiah waved her hands fast at Shinhye, also shaking her head as she put down her cup. "No no no no no no no no." She paused, pouting. "I don't like to be in debt."
Shinhye pursed her lips lopsided as she nodded. She then said, "why don't you become a trainee?"
"Trainee?"
Shinhye bobbed her head up and down fast. "Yup, trainee. To be an idol."
Another fast stammer of "no" came from Jiah again, with a faster wave. "You know I can't since I'm not interested in dancing."
Shinhye hummed deeply. "Then, that's up to you." She paused. "Good luck."
Shinhye knew her life story. Behind the last wish, there was a sad tone that Jiah sensed her best friend tried her best to hide it. The listener was only able to show a bitter smile.
**********
The heat wave during the summer depleted everyone's energy. One of the reasons why Jiah chose to wear a short skirt. On the other hand, Jiah was grateful that Shinhye offered her an iced tea before she left. The ice in the cup helped to reduce the heat.
Crunching an ice cube in her mouth, her feet continued to move from one place to another to ask for and send CVs.
From barbeque restaurants, noodles restaurants, coffee shops, sundry shops, flower shops...
With her nursing degree, she could have applied for a job at a clinic or hospital. But no one could understand why Jiah preferred to do jobs with smaller salaries.
Before she knew it, there was no more ice in the cup. Her energy began to get low faster. Her throat and lips dried, and sweat rolled down to her temples and jaws. She wiped them with the back of her hand and glared up at the clouds that cover the sun.
"Oh my," she muttered, fanning herself with her top. She took out her lip balm and applied it to her dry lips. She swayed her legs to a nearby shop and kept reminding herself to buy a small pack of chocolate bars and a small bottle of cold water.
As soon as she entered the shop, the air conditioner inside touched her skin, decreasing the amount of hotness that the weather had caused. She touched her eyebrows, feeling little dried particles gathered at the tip of her fingers. Later, she stood in front of a refrigerator, pulling its door before making a quick fetch to a bottle of mineral water.
After paying for the items, she went to a table located by the window to rest. Munching on her chocolate bar, she placed her bag and the water bottle on the table. She sat on the high stool with a soft sigh left her nose.
Two years of job seeking; when people said seeking a job in the city was getting harder, she only understood it now. No wonder many youths applied to be trainees in entertainment companies. It could be an easier way to get a job, but the time of training could be longer than assumed as trainees' performances were strictly monitored and only those who had done well would debut with their teammates.
Jiah once thought of being a trainee actually, Shinhye didn't know. But she was never interested in dancing or singing. Go ahead and tell her to sing, you might need something to stick in your ears. Dancing? Not that she never danced. Dancing was not part of her interest.
Sighing again, she stuffed the small piece of the chocolate into her mouth, immediately stood up, and tossed the wrapper to the rubbish bin. She left the shop with her hand holding the bottle to open it.
As she was about to pucker on the bottle's lips, she bumped into a man. A huge amount of water splashed on the man's sweater and her blouse.
Gasping, both of them simultaneously said, "I am sorry!" Though none of them grasped each other's utterance as the situation at the moment was a mess.
Still, flustered, Jiah tried to think of ways to wipe the wetness on the man's yellow sweater. She didn't want to touch the man's, not wanting to look at his expression either as she thought he could be mad at her. When she remembered she had packed a lot in her bag, she unzipped her bag to look for the small tissue pack.
Fortunately, the man's reaction was not as bad as Jiah expected. He calmly swept the water that slid down his shirt, letting the fabric absorb the water and damp.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Jiah uttered.
The man seemed to be trying to tell her that it was okay, but his voice was too small to be heard. The girl could only see him bowing at her, enough to get the sign that everything was fine.
The girl stared at the sweater with a frown. The tissue pack was still in her tight grip. "Are you okay?" Jiah asked, looking at him.
The man had a hood on his head and bitterly smiled at her as he nodded.
"O-okay. But really, I'm really sorry."
The man with the yellow hoodie just nodded his head. Then, he bowed and walked past her as if nothing happened.
Finally, Jiah left the shop. "That was awkward." She then turned her head to see the man was at the snack shelves, backing her. The man's fashion was questionable. Wearing a yellow, long sleeve sweater during summer, plus in this heat wave. She wondered if that man was alright.