Monday Evening, May 8th, 2023: 8:00 P.M
Sana's POV
Today has just been a series of ups and downs. I woke up in good spirits as I was excited to see my cute and energetic clients, I am talking about the pets of course. I immediately noticed that there was something wrong with Tzuyu the moment I walked into the office; she had this expression that just clearly said that she was upset on top of the more than usual cold energy that she was exuding. This was not necessarily something new, but it has never been this bad before. I just went about my day trying to figure out what could have upset my boss and how I could cheer her up.
At the end of the day, after putting in all my positive energy so that our clients wouldn't notice Tzuyu's coldness, I walked into our staff room to find Tzuyu typing away on her computer. I decided to do one of the things I loved doing and back hugged Tzuyu; she initially rejected me, obviously upsetting even me, but I didn't back down and gave her another back hug as this has been one of my ways of cheering Tzuyu up.
The back hug was a complete mistake though. Tzuyu blew up at me, and, for the first time in the four years that I have directly known her, basically made me cry. I just wasn't sure what I did wrong. Tzuyu had never rejected the back hugs to this day, so I thought I was the problem that caused her to be so upset today. Fortunately, I was wrong and we were able to clear up the misunderstanding.
Tzuyu and I reconvened in the breakroom after she finished her end-of-day tasks and cleared up the situation over some hot chocolate. I even got to make a new inside joke where I am, *flip hair*, an angel. But, I digress, Tzuyu, after struggling to discuss her feelings and some encouragement from me, became vulnerable. I was happy, not because she was crying her heart out which obviously broke my heart, but because she trusted me enough to show that side of her to me. I know about her past so being vulnerable like that in front of me must have been hard on her, but she admitted that it somehow felt nice being vulnerable and wrapped up in my arms at the same time compared to her best friends. This ended up making me even happier because I just love being able to help others and led to me promising to support her so long as she needed it.
Even though I know the reason for Tzuyu's outburst at me, I still have to say that I was frightened beyond belief. I have never seen her blow up the way she did. I know that the mere mention of Jihyo can upset her, but this is a completely different level of anger. Anyways, I have to watch out for Tzuyu. Not only because I do not want her to blow up at a client, but anger is not the way to go. Anger just leads to negative energy and emotions which will only cause more problems than resolve them. My motto is that positive energy and happy emotions are conducive to a happy and fulfilling life. I don't want to toot my own horn on this one, but Tzuyu has mentioned to me that my energy has been a blessing.
"Sana-chan?" a voice suddenly called out.
I jolted up and looked around at my surroundings. I had completely forgotten that I was at a restaurant with my two best friends: Hirai Momo and Kim Dahyun. Momo is the same age as me, while Dahyun is younger than me and Momo by two years. A fun fact is that Tzuyu is one year younger than Dahyun. But I digress, Momo and Dahyun are well accomplished dance and piano teachers, respectively; who have won several competitions each over the years. They are also a famous couple in the Arts scene as they have performed original pieces together. Needless to say, I am pretty mediocre compared to them; not that it matters really.
Momo and I are originally from Japan and are family friends. We moved to South Korea as kids. We faced a lot of hardship as the kids in our neighbourhood were basically bullies and racists who hated foreigners. I didn't really mind too much so long as I had Momo, but I knew that Momo took the hateful comments to heart.
That is where Dahyun comes into the picture. She was the only kid willing to be friends with us. It obviously led to her getting bullied as well, but she still wanted to be friends with us. Even when Momo and I told her that it would be for her own good to stay away from us, Dahyun went outside and screamed at the top of her lungs that the three of us are best friends. At the time, I found it kind of weird, but it eventually became an endearing memory that really solidified our friendship, and I think was the turning point for Momo's heart.
It wasn't until we were all in high school did I notice the strange tension between Momo and Dahyun. When I was alone with either of them, they were all happy and cheery. They would immediately go quiet and become reserved when the other joined us. I knew right then and there that they were 100 percent without a doubt in the world in love with each other.
I was so happy when I was able to confirm their feelings after cornering each of them individually and basically forced the confession out of them. This was not only because I was ecstatic that my two best friends were in love with each other, but it was my opportunity to be a Cupid. I wish I could say I had some grandiose ploy where I convinced one of them that the other was moving halfway around the world and set up an airport confession, or that one of them was going on a date with a stranger and set up a confession on a cold night; but it ended up just me encouraging Dahyun to convince her feelings to Momo on Momo and my last day of high school. They have been a couple ever since.
"Yes?" I asked Dahyun who had called out to me.
"Are you okay? You have been spacing out ever since we sat down," Dahyun questioned me in Japanese.
I was really impressed that Dahyun learnt to speak Japanese when we were still kids. She told Momo and me that she wanted to connect with us on a deeper level. I am not really sure where or how she learnt it, but she became fluent even though she only spoke to us as far as I am aware. We often spoke in Japanese when we wanted to be a bit more secretive or serious.
"Did something happen at work?" Momo questioned from beside Dahyun.
I let out a sigh as I recapped what happened today. I don't hide much from them, but I omitted certain details that would put Tzuyu in a super bad light or I would consider private. I had to include the yelling part as the story wouldn't make sense otherwise.
Dahyun let out a sigh as she shook her head disapprovingly, "Why do you even like your boss, Tzuyu, anyways?"
"Doesn't she remind you of your father?" Momo added on.
My father is a sore point for me. He was an alcoholic who caused a lot of problems for my family when we were still in Japan. One of the main reasons I even ended up in South Korea was because of Momo's parents helping my mom and me escape my father. My mom struggled a lot when we first arrived, and we really only survived thanks to Momo's parents' support. Needless to say, I owe a lot to them.
To this day I still have heavy resentment for my father. That piece of shit could go rot in hell for all I care. Although he never beat my mother, or me for that matter, he was still very much abusive. He would constantly yell and throw things around the house. He would blame my mom for everything going wrong in his life and that he should never have had me.
My mom tried her best to amend the situation with my father to no avail. She would constantly be crying and crying: day in, day out. It enraged my younger self and even me today to have seen my mother go through all of that and being so powerless to do anything about it. I promised myself that I would never end up with someone like my father: a useless, deadbeat, scum, piece of shit.
I don't know what happened to my father after we left him. I don't even know if he is still alive. I hope I never find out. However, if he does show up, I will unleash all my pent-up anger towards him. I will tell him that he can go crawl in a hole and di—
"Sana!" Momo shouted while reaching across the table to shake my shoulder.
I blinked a couple of times as I saw the worried look on both Momo and Dahyun's faces, "Sorry?"
Momo let go of my shoulder, "You're angry. I am sorry, I should have known better than to mention your father."
I took out my phone to look into the camera to see that I was indeed scowling and looked like I was ready to hurt someone. Thinking about alcoholics or my father puts me in this state which obviously goes against my life motto. I know I should take my own motto to heart, but this is the only exception. I hate violence, so it surprises anyone when they see me acting like this.
I put my phone away and took a deep breath to soften my expression, "Don't be. I know you have good intentions."
"I didn't want to say it but since we are already on the topic..." Dahyun trailed off hesitantly, "How are you even able to work with an alcoholic? The mere concept of drinking spikes your blood pressure and anger level. You are a happy, energetic, and bubbly personality who would do no harm to others; however, this is the one thing that shatters who you truly are and forces you down a dangerous path of destruction."
Momo side-hugged Dahyun and nodded her head in agreement, "I apologize again for bringing up your father, but we are just worried for you. You have explicitly told us that you would never fall in love with an alcoholic, but here you are doing exactly that. We don't want you taking out your anger towards your father on someone else who does not deserve it."
I let out a sigh as I slumped down into my chair, "I know you two are looking out for me. I am honestly very grateful for everything you two have done. It's just... not that simple with Tzuyu. I promise I do not feel any ill will towards her nor do I have any desire to project my anger towards my father on her. Just please... support me on this one?"
Momo and Dahyun looked at each other and silently communicated for a few moments before looking at me and nodded, "Thank you, you two are honestly the best!" I beamed in Korean to signal that our serious conversation was over.
I get where Momo and Dahyun are coming from. I have tried dating in the past and it always ended up with me angrily breaking up with my exes because they were heavily into partying and drinking. But Tzuyu... she's different. I know she's not like the others even though it may seem that way.
Underneath Tzuyu's alcoholism and even her less than stellar energy that makes it nearly impossible to get close to her is someone I have come to admire and have truly fallen in love with. It becomes obvious when you see her interact with the pets of our clients. She just beams with joy and exudes this pure, caring energy that makes it so hard for me to not find attractive. I know why she's like this, and it hurts me to see how these changes have affected her life.
Being so close to Tzuyu has allowed me to notice small details that you wouldn't normally notice. Even though she is colder to our human clients, she does have a caring side to her when it comes to those she truly trusts. She, although coldly, offers to help me do write-ups even though it's part of my job description. She will make sure that I am well fed and in good health while we work. I could honestly go on and on about the little things that Tzuyu does and even fill a chapter of a book about them, but I should stop and leave my thoughts alone for the night so that I can have an enjoyable evening with my best friends.
Wednesday Evening, May 10th, 2023: 5:30 P.M
I wish I could say that I am unfazed by the words of others, but I would be lying to myself. I am fairly good at masking how I feel when a stranger makes remarks, but I take everything people close to me say to heart. I have zero resentment for commentary from those close to me as I know it is from a place of good intent compared to the malice of strangers.
Take what Momo and Dahyun said to me Monday evening for example. I have been thinking about it ever since I got home that evening. Add on top of everything Tzuyu told me that day and I am left not knowing what to do.
Truth be told, I have wanted to try to progress my relationship with Tzuyu in the romantic direction for the past year. Out of respect for Tzuyu's situation and my memories, and to avoid causing problems for our working relationship, I have avoided and suppressed any romantic urges I have. It really pained me to tell Tzuyu that I never found "the one" when she asked me about romantic relationships.
How do I say this? I guess the universe is telling me that it is time to make my move before I regret it. I was happy just being Tzuyu's employee and her friend outside of work, but I do not want to regret yet another situation. For once, I want to be greedy and do what I desire instead of going the route of peace. I hate myself for feeling this way, but I know my time is limited.
"Sana?" Tzuyu called out to me.
I turned around and smiled at Tzuyu, "Tzu— Miss Chou, are you done with your reports?"
Tzuyu rolled her eyes before coming to sit across from me at our breakroom table, "If you are going to stress the 'Miss' part, you might as well just call me by my name."
I bowed slightly before donning a serious tone, "As you wish, Boss Tzuyu."
"You're just messing with me, aren't you?" Tzuyu questioned, slightly annoyed.
"Of course! It is very entertaining to see how you react," I beamed with a bright smile as I looked up.
Tzuyu's lips curled up into a small smile as she let out a playful chuckle, "What will I ever do with you? Honestly, I have said it before, but thank you for brightening up my day."
I slid across a cup of hot chocolate to Tzuyu, "Well, can I brighten your day even further by offering you a cup of hot chocolate?"
Tzuyu's expression suddenly brightened, making my heart skip a beat, "Thank you! You're the best!" she exclaimed as she took a sip.
I let out a chuckle, "Now I am not sure if you are thankful to me or just thankful that you have such amazing hot chocolate regardless of the fact that it came from me."
Tzuyu pondered for a second as she swirled her cup, "I wonder about that... maybe it is the second one."
"Yah!" I pouted, "You're supposed to say it's the first option!"
Tzuyu laughed as she placed her cup on the table, "I am just teasing you. Of course, it's the first option."
I shook my head playfully, "And I get reprimanded for being teasing at work."
"That's the perk of being the boss," Tzuyu replied while winking at me, causing me to blush slightly, "Anyways, did you find anything new?"
What Tzuyu meant was did I find any new restaurants or places to visit. Although not that often, we do occasionally hang out outside of work. We try to compile a list of restaurants or places we want to visit based on posts we see on social media. Basically, the entire list is from me as Tzuyu isn't a huge fan of social media.
"There is somewhere new I want to go," I replied which piqued Tzuyu's interest, "But..." I trailed off while reaching over to hold Tzuyu's hands, catching her off guard, "Will you go on a date with me there?"
---TWICE---
A/N: Hello everyone! I am finally back with another update after over a year! Our last main trio have been introduced. We get a bit of Sana's backstory and kind of see why she does the things she does. I wonder how Tzuyu is going to react to Sana's date proposal. Anyways, until next time, thank you for the support!