Seulgi unlocked the door of her shop and walked inside, her smile never leaving her lips. She stopped and looked at every corner of her shop, admiring the beauty the sunshine brought to the interior. It seemed that the flowers were just as happy as she was as rays of sunshine rested on them. The shop was still quiet, and peaceful.
Seulgi inhaled deeply the many fragrances of the flowers as she closed her eyes, enjoying the silence and calm of the moment. It was Seulgi's favorite moment of the day. When it was still early, and when the shop wasn't opened yet. It was only the flowers and her in the small boutique. This precise moment of the day always could bring a smile to Seulgi's face, but today, she appreciated that very moment even more.
She thought the flowers looked more colorful, more alive. Seulgi loved flowers. She considered them as women. Just like every woman is different and unique, flowers were similar to them. There were different species, different colors, different fragrances, different personalities. Yes, in her opinion, each flower had a personality of its own. Some were stubborn, some were unwilling, some were fresh, and some were cheerful. Some flowers would be distinguished and elegant, while some were cute and lively. Some would be made of nothing but simplicity, while some looked extravagant. She truly believed that flowers could change the whole atmosphere of a place by their simple presence.
Ever since she was a child, Seulgi always wondered what flowers would say if they had the ability to talk. Would they understand her like pets do understand a few words from every language as they live with humans speaking their own? Would they understand her every word? Would they complain? Would they gossip? Would they cheer people up? When she was a child, Seulgi often imagined flowers talked to her. She would tell her friends she could hear flowers and understand them. She proudly exclaimed she could have conversations with them. As she grew up, Seulgi matured up, but her passion and curiosity for flowers never ceased. She now knew she couldn't have conversations with them, but it did not stop her from talking to them. She truly believed talking to flowers helped them being healthier. She still wondered what kind of wonderful stories each flower had to share. Flowers were not very different from humans after all. At some point, they started living, they grow taller, bigger, smarter, and more beautiful with time, until one day, they would just fade and life would leave their corpses. Every flower was alive. That's why, she thought, every flower deserved care, attention, and love.
"Today is a beautiful day ladies. Should I get you all some water?" She cheerfully said, a bright smile on her face. Seulgi giggled a bit, reminding herself of all the times people called her weird for talking to flowers. But it was ok, Seulgi didn't mind being called weird for that much.
She placed her purse on the counter and looked at the flowers with determination. "Let's clean your places ladies." She nodded to herself as she mentally cheered for herself.
It took a couple of minutes for Seulgi to change the water of each vase of the shop, and a couple additional minutes for watering the flowers who needed water, placing the flowers who needed the sun in the sunlight. She then cheerfully mopped the floor that was wet, and opened the windows. She stood in front of one and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine on her skin. After a few seconds, she walked to the door and flipped the sign in order to indicate the shop was now open.
"All done." She quietly said to herself, a satisfied smile on her face.
She went to the back of the shop, her beam lighting up the whole boutique. She took a few flowers magazines and went to place them neatly on the counter. She sighed and looked around the boutique, overwhelmed with pride.
Seulgi took a look at her wristwatch and tilted her head a bit in wonder.
"Where is Jennie? She should be here by now..." She quietly told herself, wondering why her employee still wasn't there.
It was very unlike Jennie to be late, and even less not to call to apologize about it. Seulgi took her phone out of her purse and dialed Jennie's number.
Beeeep! No answer.
"Weird... Is her phone off?" Seulgi wondered. It was the first time Jennie's phone was off since she met her.
Seulgi lifted her head up at the sound of the bell ringing, indicating someone entered the shop. There appeared a messy-haired Jennie, her eyes showing no sign of her usual liveliness.
Surprised at the sight, Seulgi was at loss for words, not knowing what to tell her friend. She just observed the young woman dragging her feet to the counter, her head down as if it carried the world. Jennie dropped her purse on the counter and sighed, still not lifting her head up.
"Good morning..." The woman greeted in a quiet voice.
"I just called you! I thought something happened to you." Seulgi said, not knowing whether she should ask more questions.
Jennie took her phone out of her purse and sighed. "Sorry, it's out of battery."
It was very unlike Jennie not to charge her phone. "Just what happened to you..." Seulgi wondered as she observed her friend.
"Is everything ok...?" Seulgi dared asking.
Jennie swallowed her saliva as she blankly stared at the floor. "Yeah. No worries." She said after lifting her head up, faking a smile.
"Jennie you don't look ok-"
"Let's not talk about it." Jennie cut her off.
"O-Ok..." Seulgi replied, not recognizing her friend.
"I'm sorry... I just... Don't really want to talk about it for now." She said in a sigh.
"I understand." Seulgi warmly replied before giving her a reassuring smile. "But you know I'm always here for you, right?"
Jennie smiled a bit in answer. "I know. Thank you."
"Come here." Seulgi pulled her friend in a warm hug.
Jennie held her friend back tightly in her arms, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall.
"I messed up big time, Seulgi." Jennie admitted in a sob.
"It's ok, Jennie. It will be ok." Seulgi tried reassuring her as she gently patted her back.
"No it won't... I really messed up this time..." Jennie let out another sob, her whole body trembling.
"Shh... It will be alright, I'm here."
"What am I going to do..." Jennie burst into tears, hiding her face in Seulgi's shoulder.
Seulgi held her friend even tighter, trying to control the worry growing inside of her. It was the first time she witnessed Jennie breaking down. She usually was so cheerful and smiley. It was the first time Jennie showed such a vulnerable side of herself, so she guessed something big must have happened.
Jennie stayed snuggled up into Seulgi's hug for a couple of minutes, until she had fully calmed down. Seulgi stayed quiet all along, knowing words are most of the time of no use.
"Here." Seulgi handed a glass of water to Jennie who was now sitting on her office chair at the back of the shop.
"Thank you..." Jennie thanked in a shaky voice as she slowly reached out for the glass.
Seulgi looked at her friend drinking the water, not knowing quite what to do, or what to say. She wanted to help her, but she had no idea whether she could. After all, she had no idea what happened to her friend.
Jennie gently placed the glass on her office table.
"Are you feeling better?" Seulgi asked.
"A bit... Thank you."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not for now..."
"Then we won't." Seulgi gave her a warm smile, to which Jennie slowly nodded in reply. "You can go back home if you want."
"No!" Jennie immediately refused, startling Seulgi a bit. "I mean... Work will help me keeping myself busy."
"Alright then." Seulgi was confused.
"Did something happen with Jimin? Did they fight?" She wondered.
"I'll just get to work right away." Jennie rose to her feet.
"You maybe should fix your makeup beforehand... Or our customers will think you're a panda." Seulgi joked, hoping to make her friend smile a little.
"Oh... Right, haha..." Jennie chuckled a bit. "I'll be there when I'll be done then."
"Take your time." Seulgi smiled to her.
She looked at her friend disappearing to the restroom, a thousand questions crossing her mind. Her thoughts were soon interrupted at the sound of the bell signaling a customer had come in.
A few hours later, lunch time
"It's been a while we had such a busy morning!" Seulgi stretched her back with a smile on her face.
"I know right?" Jennie yawned. "I'm starving."
"Let's close for now and go grab some food, shall we?" Seulgi offered.
"Definitely!" Jennie accepted without hesitation.
"Let me just grab my purse." Seulgi headed to the back of the shop.
"Can you also grab mine along the way, please?"
"I will!"
The young woman grabbed their purses and strode back to Jennie, handing her her own.
Seulgi took a look at her wristwatch. 12:34 pm.
"Hopefully there will be seats left for the two of us at Jongin's." Seulgi said as she walked out of the boutique, her employee following closely behind her.
Jennie looked down at her feet, clinging tightly onto her purse's handle. "Do we... Really have to go there...?"
Seulgi paused at the hint of seriousness and distress in Jennie's voice. "Why? You don't want to?" She quietly asked as she locked the door of the boutique.
"I..." Jennie's voice trailed off.
"Are you alright?" Seulgi asked her friend in concern, her eyes full of worry as she observed the quiet young woman in front of her.
"I... Yes, yes. I'm alright." She lied.
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Seulgi offered.
Jennie anxiously bit the inside of her cheek. The truth was Jongin's cafe was the last place she wanted to be at at that very moment, but she also knew Seulgi liked going there for the discount their friend always gave them. Jennie knew about Seulgi's financial situation, and she felt bad asking her to get lunch somewhere else, knowing it would be more expensive.
"No... No, it's fine." Jennie looked up at her employer as she faked a smile. "Let's go there."
"Are you sure?" Seulgi doubtfully asked. Jennie quietly nodded in reply, a smile on her face.
Seulgi threw her keys in her purse and quietly walked to Jongin's cafe, Jennie locking arms with her.
"Do you want to eat something else?" Seulgi asked her friend, sensing there was a reason Jennie did not feel like going to their usual place.
"Nope. I'm craving for the tuna sandwich." Jennie cracked a smile, trying to shake off Seulgi's doubts.
"You eat it almost every day though, is that ok?"
"I have it that often because I just like it that much." Jennie playfully stuck her tongue out to her friend.
Seulgi giggled. "Alright, alright. I believe you, haha."
"You should!" Jennie brightly smiled.
The two short women quietly entered the crowded cafe. Seulgi felt Jennie's hold around her arm tighten as they walked closer to the counter.
Did something happen between Jongin and her? Seulgi wondered.
"Welcome! What would you like to eat?" To the two young women's surprise, a cheerful girl welcomed them at the counter.
"Is Jongin absent today?" Seulgi curiously asked.
Jongin always was at the counter every day. Seulgi had never seen anyone else but him at the counter since the first day she came here. She felt a certain worry upon not seeing him at his usual spot for the first time.
Little did she know that Jennie felt sort of worried as well upon not seeing him. She did feel relieved about not having to face him, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling a tad worried.
"He's in the kitchen today! Our cook is sick." The smiling woman said. "Are you friends with him?"
"Uhm, yeah." Seulgi cracked a smile while Jennie remained silent as she found more interest in her shoes. "Are you new here? I never saw you before." Seulgi asked.
"No! I mean, yes! No! I mean, not really." The short woman laughed at her own confusion. "I'm just Jongin's friend. He asked me to help him out today, so here I am. I'm Wendy." The bright woman introduced herself.
"I'm Seulgi, and this is my friend Jennie. It's nice to meet you, Wendy! He's lucky to have a friend like you who can give him a hand whenever it's needed." Seulgi flashed her a friendly smile.
"He usually helps me out as well. I owe him that much for being my oldest friend." The young woman named Wendy joked.
"Are you two friends for a long time?"
"We were classmates back in high school! His friend and my boyfriend also played soccer together."
"That's amazing you kept in touch!"
"I had no choice. He's harassing me!" Wendy joked.
Seulgi laughed at the bubbly woman's joke. Even Jennie cracked a small smile at the words.
"So what can I get you two?"
"I'll have a tuna sandwich and an orange juice, please..." Jennie quietly placed her order.
"And you, miss Seulgi?"
"I'll have a salmon bagel and a bottle of water, please." Seulgi smiled at the young woman.
"Do you girls want a dessert?"
"Uhm, no, thanks." Seulgi gave a small smile, knowing she couldn't allow herself to spend more money than planned.
"What about you miss Jennie?"
"Me?" Jennie asked in surprise, the sudden question having snapped her out of her thoughts. "Uhm, no..."
"Right! We have some freshly baked chocolate cookies! I baked them myself this morning." Wendy offered.
"Really?" The two friends asked at the same time.
"I have an idea! I'm just going to offer you one each because I'm happy to have met Jongin's friends! It's on me!"
"What? No! It's alright!" Seulgi quickly refused.
"You don't have the right to refuse!" Wendy gave the two a bright smile and looked for the cookies. "Oh. Wait a moment I'm going to get some in the kitchen."
"Wendy here are the-" Jongin who had appeared behind the counter, a tray of cookies in hands, interrupted himself at the sight of the two women. At the sight of Jennie. "... Cookies."
Jennie quickly looked away, not daring to meet the tall man's gaze, and so did he. Seulgi caught on the awkward tension between the two, and she didn't really know what to do about it. "Here you are! Wendy said you were in the kitchen today?" She asked, trying to dissipate the tensions.
"Ah uhm..." He snapped out of his thoughts and shifted his gaze to Seulgi. "I see you introduced yourselves already." He chuckled. "I had no choice. Kyungsoo is sick today."
"We did!" Wendy cheerfully replied.
"Owh, tell him to get well soon! The neighborhood needs his cooking skills, haha!" Seulgi said in a beam.
"Yeah..." Jongin's gaze fell on Jennie who had not looked up even once since he had come. "I'll tell him." His attention never shifted away from the helpless petite woman who was looking down at her feet, burying her nails in her palms.
Wendy had also noticed Jongin's sudden change of behavior. Both Seulgi and Wendy had noticed he wouldn't take his eyes off of Jennie, who was too busy doing everything not to ever look up at him. The two women had sensed the weird tension between the two.
"Here's your order!" She said as she placed two cookies she took from the tray Jongin was holding on the girls' tray, beside the two neatly wrapped sandwiches and the two beverages.
"I'll take it." Jennie said as she quickly took the tray and walked away from the counter, looking for a free table that was as far as possible from the counter.
"Have a good day." Jongin bid goodbye to Seulgi and hurried back to the kitchen.
"Thank you, Wendy!" Seulgi thanked and waved to the petite woman before going to look for Jennie who had found a free table that no one could even spot from the counter.
"Thankfully, you could find a free table!" Seulgi told Jennie as she quietly took a sit at the table.
"Yeah..."
"I never sat there before. It's like an ocean away from the counter, haha!" Seulgi joked as she eyed her friend.
"It is..." Jennie quietly replied as she still hung her head down.
"Let's eat now! I'm starving." Seulgi carefully unwrapped her salmon bagel and took a bite of it. "Aren't you going to eat?" Seulgi had noticed Jennie wasn't moving one bit.
"Oh! I will..." Jennie snapped out of her thoughts and cracked a small smile to her employer.
She took a small bite of her sandwich, not daring to meet her friend's gaze, afraid she would ask questions she didn't feel like answering to. The short brunette didn't even feel like eating, and the only reason she was doing so was so that her friend wouldn't ask questions.
The knot in her stomach tightening her throat made it difficult for the young woman to swallow her food. Jennie hadn't felt this anxious in a long time. She never even had felt this anxious when she took her exams. Her pulse was quick, her breathing unsteady, small drops of sweat formed on her forehead. She looked pale and almost felt dizzy. Her thoughts would never quiet down, making things even more difficult to handle for her.
"You don't have fever." Jennie jumped a bit in startle at the sudden touch of Seulgi's palm on her forehead. "I was just checking your forehead because you look sick, dummy." Seulgi gave her friend who was staring at her with a questioning look a warm smile.
"O-Oh..." Jennie looked down in embarrassment.
"Do you want to go home this afternoon?" Seulgi worriedly asked.
"N-No! I-I'm fine!" Jennie strongly refused.
"You don't have to worry about me. I can work alone! You look sick, I wouldn't want to overwork you."
Seulgi knew better. She knew her employee wasn't actually sick, and that it wasn't the problem. She could see the hint of anxiety in her friend's eyes. She knew there was something troubling Jennie enough that she would look this distressed. Seulgi's heart broke as she remembered the way her friend had sunk in tears in her embrace a few hours earlier.
"N-No... I want to work. Please don't make me go home." Jennie pleaded as her voice cracked.
The other place Jennie didn't want to go to was home at that moment. She had no intention of going back home now, or later. She had no idea where she would spend the night, but it wouldn't be at her place. For the first time, she wanted everything but to see her boyfriend.
"Jennie-"
"Please..." She pleaded.
"Is there something going on at home?" Seulgi carefully asked. She didn't ask out of curiosity, but only out of concern for her friend. She refused to send her back home if there was something going on there.
"I..." Jennie sighed and finally dared looking up as she was about to deny, but her eyes caught something else than her friend in sight, making her pause in her words.
Despite their table being set far from the counter, Jennie could still see it from her seat. As she looked up, instead of locking eyes with her friend, she locked eyes with the tall man who was standing behind the counter, quietly observing her from where he stood. It was as if she was some kind of starstruck.
"Jennie?" Seulgi called. Upon receiving no reply from her friend, she shifted her gaze to the direction Jennie was staring at so intently.
There she saw him. Her friend, Jongin. He looked just as lost as Jennie did. His stare was intense, but he looked like he was drowning in her stare, just like she was in his. For some reason, at that very moment, he looked vulnerable.
Seulgi shifted her gaze back to Jennie. "Jennie?" She quietly called again, somehow afraid to interrupt whatever Jongin and her were doing.
"What? O-Oh..." Jennie finally snapped out of her thoughts and broke the eye contact with Jongin.
Seulgi observed her friend who hung her down again, noticing she was nervously biting her lips.
"Is there something going on at home?" Seulgi dared asking again.
"I... Yeah." Jennie finally admitted, unable to deny any longer.
"Do you still not want to talk about it?" Seulgi worriedly asked.
"Seulgi..." The burden was too heavy to share alone. "Jimin, he..." Jennie paused, not feeling ready to continue her sentence.
Seulgi who understood the difficulty for Jennie to speak, quietly moved her chair closer to her friend. She quietly grabbed Jennie's hands and held them tight in hers.
"It's alright, I'm here." Seulgi gave a little squeeze to Jennie's hands in an attempt to reassure her.
Jennie slowly nodded. "He..." She took a deep breath. "He cheated on me."
"What?" Seulgi asked, afraid she had heard wrong.
"Jimin. He cheated on me."
Seulgi blinked in confusion, thinking she might have heard wrong again.
"W-What are you talking about?"
"I wanted to pay him a surprise visit at his workplace last night. So I went... I thought it would make him happy, you know. But..." Her voice cracked.
"It's ok, Jennie. I'm here." Seulgi squeezed her friend's hands in hers.
"When I got there, I saw him in the hotel's lobby. He was with his colleague. She's a receptionist there. I know her... I once saw her when I picked him up from a team dinner." She paused. "I thought I should say hi, so I walked closer to them and..." She swallowed her words. "And then I saw her whispering something to his ear and..."
Seulgi nervously swallowed her saliva, not knowing whether she was ready to hear the rest.
"And they laughed and... And then I saw him holding her waist and he... He kissed her cheek and... And then they took the elevator so I... I waited to see what floor they would go to and then I took another elevator and went up there and... And..." Jennie bit on her lips as she tried to stop the tears from falling. "And they entered a room and..." A sob escaped her lips, breaking Seulgi's heart along its way out. "I hesitated... I thought I should just leave like that but my body didn't listen to me... I need to know. I needed a proof it wasn't what I was thinking. So after a few minutes I just... I knocked on the door of the room I saw them entering and... He opened the door. Seulgi, he..." She paused, unable to bear the pain of the awful memory he had given her. "He had lipstick stains on the collar of his shirt. His tie was untied and... His hair were a mess... He didn't say anything because he was shocked to see me and then... He said that's not what I think it is but then she came and she called him 'honey'... Right in front of me... So I slapped him, and I left."
Seulgi wiped the tears Jennie uncontrollably shed off her cheeks. She could feel anger growing inside of her, and if it wasn't for the fact she had to comfort Jennie, she would have left to murder Park Jimin already.
"I lied... My phone didn't run out of battery... I turned it off because he kept calling me, I..."
"Shhh.." Seulgi hushed her friend and pulled her into a warm hug. "You did well, Jennie." She patted her friend's back in order to comfort her.
"I can't cry here." Jennie broke the hug and roughly wiped the hot tears off her cheeks with her arm. "I'll wait for you at the shop. Take your time to finish eating." Jennie stood up and strode away before Seulgi could stop her.
Seulgi observed the door her friend had just exited the cafe from, an uncontrollable anger growing inside of her. She glared at her salmon bagel as if it was Jimin.
"I'll never forgive you for hurting my friend, Park Jimin..." She muttered under her breath.
The anger blossoming in her tummy was so strong that she stopped feeling hunger. If it wasn't for Jennie, she would leave now to beat the heck out of Jimin, but she couldn't. She had to quickly go back to her shop to comfort her friend. She couldn't leave her alone.
"Should I wrap it up again for you?" A masculine voice snapped Seulgi out of her thoughts.
She looked up and to her surprise, her eyes met Jongin's. "You're here? I'm sorry I didn't realize." She apologized, feeling embarrassed she hadn't realized Jongin had come up to her table. Only God knew how long he stood there for.
"It's alright." He assured. "So... Should I wrap it up again for you?"
"What?" Jongin pointed at the bagel on the table. "Oh."
"You should still keep it with you in case you're hungry later. Wendy would be disappointed if she knew you didn't even have a taste of the cookie she baked." He joked.
"Oh, right, haha..." Seulgi chuckled a bit. "Yeah, sure. Please wrap both the bagel and cookie up for me."
"Come with me then." He instructed as he took the tray.
Seulgi quietly walked to the counter as Jongin disappeared in the kitchen, her tray of food in hands. She quietly looked around the cafe that now was much less crowded than it was before. As always, no matter what happened in each individual's life, time kept ticking. The earth wouldn't stop moving. Even if one's world had crumbled down, life wouldn't stop. We, people, are nothing but temporary dust, after all. We can't ask Mother Nature to understand us. We have to keep going, no matter what. Because no matter what happens, the world won't stop and wait for us. Seulgi had learned that much throughout her life so far. No matter how much she suffered, the sun would still rise up in the sky every morning, the clouds would still travel the sky and visit new places, people would still wake up every morning, birds would still be singing. If it had to rain, it would. If it had to snow, it would. And sometimes, after a scary storm, there would be a rainbow.
Our lives were similar to the way Mother Nature did its work. We can't avoid rain, we can't avoid storms. But if we were lucky enough, a rainbow would await us at the end of the storm. A colorful rainbow that brought light and colors back to our gloomy life. Jisoo was the rainbow in Seulgi's life.
Seulgi had always wondered when she would become the rainbow in someone's life. She had always wondered whether she would become one at all. But today, she had make up her mind. She was going to try to be that rainbow for Jennie right now. She would give her the assurance better days are to come.
"There you go." Jongin snapped Seulgi out of her thoughts as he handed her a paper bag.
"Thank you." She gave him a smile.
"Wait. Uhm..."
"Yes?"
"Can you give that to Jennie?"
"Huh?" She looked down at the white gold necklace Jongin was handing her. Seulgi's eyes widened a bit at the sight of the moon-shaped pendant. She knew that necklace. It was Jennie's favorite. She wore it every day. She once had told her the necklace was given to her by her grandmother before she passed away. It was Jennie's most precious belonging. "Oh? How do you have this?" Seulgi took the necklace.
"Just give it back to her for me." Jongin gave her a small smile.
"I... Will..." Seulgi was quite puzzled. How could Jongin have Jennie's necklace? She wondered.
"Thanks. Get back safely." He gave a final nod.
"Thank y-" Jongin disappeared behind the kitchen's door again before Seulgi could finish her sentence.
Oh well. She just shrugged and left the cafe. She hurriedly went back to her flower shop, not wanting to make Jennie wait alone for too long.
She spotted Jennie standing in front of the shop. She walked in circles, sometimes kicking the floor with her foot.
"You should have taken the keys before storming out." Seulgi joked.
"I should have, right? Haha..." Jennie chuckled a bit.
"Come in." Seulgi said as she unlocked the door and opened the door.
The two women quietly entered the boutique, their noses immediately being filled with the flowers' scents. Seulgi quietly dropped her purse on her desk at the back of the shop.
"Right."
"What?" Jennie curiously asked.
"Jongin told me to give this back to you." Seulgi handed the young woman the precious necklace.
A gleam of surprise appeared in Jennie's eyes. "O-Oh. T-Thank you." She quickly took the pendant from Seulgi's hands.
Seulgi quietly observed her friend wearing the pendant. She had guessed something else had happened. A few hours before, Jennie had told her she messed up. Moreover, there was this weird tension between Jongin and her. She did not even want to go the cafe, and Jongin even ended up with her favorite necklace. Something else had definitely happened.
She quietly poured some water in a glass and handed it to Jennie. "Here. Drink this."
"Thank you..." Jennie quietly took the glass and took a sip of the cold water and took a sit on her office chair.
Seulgi quietly observed Jennie as she did the same, which Jennie quickly caught on.
"Ask me what you want to ask."
"N-No, I-I mean..."
"It's ok."
"Really...?" Seulgi asked, unsure. Jennie slowly nodded before she took another sip of her water. "Something else happened, right...?"
Jennie sighed as she placed the glass on her desk. "Yeah..." She admitted.
"Do you want to talk about it...?"
"Your opinion of me might change completely if I tell you though..." Jennie was worried her friend would be disappointed with her.
"No matter what happened, you're my friend, and I won't judge you." Seulgi reassured her with her honest words.
"W-Well..." Jennie paused. She took a deep breath and continued, "After I left the hotel, my phone kept ringing and after a while I checked my missed calls only to see they all were from Jimin. And... As I wanted to just remove his calls from my recent calls, I... I called Jongin by mistake. I panicked and I was a crying mess so I was shaking and I couldn't manage to hang up before he could pick up. He picked up really quickly... I couldn't just hang up on him anymore. He... Realized something was wrong. The more he asked what was going on, the more I cried. He ended up asking me where I was and I told him." She paused. "A few minutes later he was there... He looked very different from the way he usually looks. His hair were a mess and he just wore a simple white t-shirt that he combined with a pair of denim jeans and a pair of overused converse. It was quite a surprising sight knowing how neat he always looks, haha..."
"I bet, haha..." Seulgi chuckled a bit at the thought of a messy-looking Jongin.
"Anyway I got in his car and he told me he would take me home. I told him I didn't want to go home. So he just understood I guess... He bought some soju and then we went to a park. There, I told him what happened... We stayed there in the cold for a long time... We both were getting cold and he told me his place wasn't far from there. I told him I didn't want to intrude knowing his wife would be there. He said I wouldn't, and that his wife was away on a business trip anyway, so that he was alone..." She paused.
Deep inside her, Seulgi knew where this was going.
"It's ok, Jennie. You can tell me, I will not judge you." She reassured her friend as she crouched down next to her.
Jennie slowly nodded. "Once we got there, I wanted to drink some more... I was kind of hysterical... And he stopped me from taking beer from his fridge. He said getting drunk wouldn't fix my problems... I knew he was right but I didn't want to listen to him... So he just... He used his force on me to make me go away from his fridge and somehow we... He pinned me against the wall and... I don't know what went through me... It maybe was because I had some alcohol beforehand, but I... I-I kissed him..." Jennie's hands trembled at the memories of the previous night.
Seulgi quickly took her hands and squeezed them in hers, trying to reassure her again.
"H-He k-kissed me back a-and... A-And we just... I don't know what went through us. W-We slept together..." She said in a shaky voice, ashamed of what had happened. "When I woke up in his bed this morning and remembered what happened I... I felt so ashamed. I felt so ashamed of myself, of what I let happen. It wouldn't have happened if I wouldn't have kissed him... I don't even know why I did that! He just looked so... He looked so attractive at that moment... And because of me he... Seulgi, I'm a bitch."
"You're not, Jennie. It's ok."
"No it's not! I'm a bitch! Because of me he cheated on his wife!" Jennie sobbed.
"Jennie... It's not your fault. He could have stopped himself from doing that if he wanted."
"B-But I kissed him first..."
"He wouldn't have kissed you back if he wouldn't have wanted to."
"B-But isn't it worse that he wanted to kiss me back then?"
"I don't know... Is it?"
"W-What...?"
"I mean... Yes, it's wrong that he cheated. But didn't that reveal he's just attracted to you and so are you to him?"
"N-No it's wrong... You were cheated on! It's awful! I'm awful!"
Seulgi felt her heart sting at the words. She was right. She was cheated on. And she went through hell because of this. But Jennie was her friend, and so was Jongin. She knew them both. None of them were bad people.
"Maybe you two are just lost souls who always were attracted to each other but never faced it before..."
"W-What...?"
"It's wrong he cheated. He shouldn't have cheated. But it's not your fault he cheated, it's only his. But maybe it just took that much for you two to realize you guys maybe like each other."
"W-We like e-each other?"
"I don't know." Seulgi cracked a small smile. "You tell me."
"I-I... I don't know..."
The two women's conversation was interrupted by the sudden ring of Seulgi's phone in her purse.
"T-Take it..." Jennie said.
"Whatever it is, it can wait." Seulgi said.
"No, please take it. I'm fine." Jennie assured.
"But-"
"Take it." Jennie wiped off her tears and gave Seulgi a small smile.
Seulgi sighed and got her phone out of her purse.
"Hello?" She said as she picked up the call.
"Hi Seulgi! It's me!" Seulgi cracked a smile at the cheerful familiar voice that could be heard through the phone.
"How are you, Jisoo?" Seulgi asked her best friend. "You sound in a really good mood today!"
"Oh my God, I am! Are you busy right now?"
Seulgi eyed Jennie who just gave her a nod and a smile signaling her she was ok. "Why?" Seulgi dodged the question, not wanting to say she wasn't busy when the reality was just that her friend was doing that bad.
"Do you think you could meet me at the Lotte Hotel right now?" Her best friend asked in an excited voice.
"Uhm... I don't know, why?"
"Here's the thing. I'm with my future mother-in-law right now, haha!" Seulgi chuckled as she heard Jisoo's contagious laugh. "And we were talking about the engagement party and the wedding! I said it was really important for me that my best friend took care of the flower arrangements for my wedding!"
"Really?" Seulgi asked in surprise.
"Of course, duh! And guess what? She agreed and told me you could also take care of the flower arrangements for the engagement party! And I said yes because I don't want anyone else than you to take care of the flowers for such important days in my life! And she said she would like to meet you now if possible so we can choose the flowers for both days together!"
"Are you serious?"
"Of course I am serious, dummy! That's great, right?"
"Oh my God, yes! That would be such a great opportunity for me as well!" Excitement blossomed inside of Seulgi's tummy.
"I know! So do you think you could come here now? We will be holding the engagement party there so we wanted to show you the place around so you could maybe have ideas of what style we could go with!"
"What about what you want?" Seulgi chuckled at her dear friend.
"What I want also is important, of course. But I trust your taste as well!"
"You're the one getting engaged! You should be the one choosing what flowers you want."
"Then what about we choose together? You're like my sister, Seulgi. No, you're my sister. So I want to choose together with you."
"Alright, alright." Seulgi giggled as warmth filled her heart up at her best friend's touching words.
"Will you come now then?" Jisoo asked in a tone full of expectations.
"I..." Seulgi eyed Jennie. She couldn't just leave her alone now. "I don't know if I can come now. This morning was busy, it could be busy again this afternoon. I can't really let Jennie dealing with customers all by herself..."
Jennie looked up at Seulgi as her eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh... I see..." Seulgi immediately felt bad upon hearing the clear disappointment in Jisoo's voice.
Jennie wasn't going to let Seulgi stop herself from living her life just because she was having a bad day. "Go!" She mouthed.
"What about you? I can't leave you alone!" She whispered to Jennie.
"I'll be fine! Go!" Jennie murmured.
"But-"
"Go!" Jennie whispered with more willpower.
"Are you sure?" Jennie nodded in reply as she did an ok sign with her hand. Seulgi sighed in defeat. "I checked with Jennie, she said she will be fine. I'll come." She finally gave in.
"Really? Oh my God, yay! I can't wait! We'll wait for you in the hotel's lobby then!" Jisoo said, her voice full of excitement.
Seulgi chuckled at her friend's cuteness. "I'll leave now then. Lotte Hotel, right?"
"That's it!" Jisoo confirmed. "Be careful on your way!"
"I will be. I'll see you soon." Seulgi told her best friend before hanging up.
Seulgi looked at Jennie again as she hid her phone in her purse. "Are you sure you're going to be ok handling the shop by yourself?"
"Seulgi. I'll be fine."
"But-"
"I promise, I'll be fine. You can go wherever you need to be at. I'll handle the stuff here." Jennie gave her a reassuring smile.
"But I'm worried to leave you all alone..." Seulgi felt bad leaving Jennie alone knowing her condition.
"I won't die from a bad day, right?"
"Jennie..."
"Don't worry about me. It'll keep my mind busy, so I won't have time to think about it. It's even better that way!"
"You will really be ok, right?"
"I promise." Jennie gave her a warm smile.
"Now go, please."
"I promise I will come back as soon as possible."
"You do that." Seulgi smiled back to her friend.
"Alright... I'll go then."
"Just go already!" Jennie chuckled. "Don't worry about the shop. I won't destroy it in your absence." She joked.
"I believe you." Seulgi giggled at her friend's joke.
She took her purse and took a deep breath. "I'll see you later then."
"See you later!" Jennie waved to Seulgi as she stood up from her office chair.
Seulgi waved in return before leaving the shop in a hurry. She quickly grabbed a taxi and soon, she was on her way to the Lotte Hotel. It was one of Seoul's most luxurious hotels. Seulgi sometimes forgot Jisoo was from a very wealthy family considering she was very simple, and always treated Seulgi as her equal. But Seulgi was sometimes brought back to reality, the meeting location being one of the things that could make her go to back to reality. Only well-off families could hold parties in such luxurious hotels.
Seulgi knew Jisoo didn't just want her to be in charge of the flower arrangements for her wedding and engagement party just because she was her best friend, she knew Jisoo was giving her an opportunity. She was giving her an opportunity to be in charge of a very important event for a very important family. If she did well, it could be a way to develop her business. If she did well, her business could blossom.
She had to do well. Not just for Jisoo who was her best friend, not just because she wanted to cover Jisoo's important day with the most beautiful flowers like she deserved, but she also had to do well for herself.
Soon, Seulgi arrived at the said location. She swiftly got off the taxi after paying the driver and paused in front of the hotel's main doors.
"Am I dressed well enough...?" She wondered as she looked down at herself.
Seulgi couldn't give a bad first impression to Jisoo's future mother-in-law. She wasn't just her best friend's future mother-in-law, she was also, as Seulgi understood, a very important and wealthy woman, who was married to a very influential family. Giving a good first impression was a must.
She sighed. She didn't have enough money to change her clothes, and she didn't have the time to. She had no choice but to go looking like this.
She exhaled deeply as she closed her eyes. "You're gonna be ok, Kang Seulgi. You'll nail it. She will love you." She cheered for herself before flashing her eyes open.
Seulgi entered the hotel's lobby with determination. She looked around in hope to spot Jisoo, and she soon did. She was sitting on a modern armchair. Across from her was sitting a woman. Seulgi couldn't see her since her back was facing her.
Jisoo suddenly spotted Seulgi and waved to her as she flashed her a bright smile. Seulgi smiled to her friend in return and took a deep breath before walking to the two women.
"You came!" Jisoo excitedly welcomed her best friend as she stood up and hugged her.
"I came as quickly as I could." Seulgi giggled as she hugged her friend back.
"I see, you're sweating." Jisoo said with a pout and wiped Seulgi's small drops of sweat on her forehead with her hand. "Did you run here or what? You did not have to hurry that much!"
"I'm fine!" Seulgi chuckled at her friend's concerned face expression.
"But you're sweating!" Jisoo said in yet another pout.
"I had to hurry to see my beautiful best friend quickly."
Jisoo clicked her tongue at Seulgi's words. "It better be the reason!" Jisoo laughed.
"Why would I be lying?" Seulgi laughed with her friend.
"You must be Jisoo's best friend?" A unfamiliar voice said.
"Oh! Right!" Jisoo let go of Seulgi and stood next to a middle-aged woman. The woman had browned-colored hair neatly tied in a low ponytail. Seulgi immediately spotted her white round pearl earrings that were set with what she could recognize without a doubt as diamonds. She was wearing a beige turtleneck under a white long coat, along with white straight leg trousers and black patent loafers. Seulgi also noticed a necklace with diamonds around the middle-aged woman's neck. She was smiling and Seulgi was admiring the woman's beauty. Despite wearing expensive designers's clothes and jewels Seulgi would never be able to wear in her entire life, she looked simple and class.
"This is my future mother-in-law, Seulgi!" Jisoo introduced the woman beside her.
She also noticed Jisoo was dressed with much more elegance than she usually did. She was wearing a black and white sheath dress along with a pair of black stilettos. Her hair were down, yet combed very nicely. She had small diamonds earrings hanging from her ears.
"I'm Kang Seulgi." Seulgi introduced herself as she politely bowed to the woman.
"I've heard a lot about you from Jisoo, dear." She sincerely said in a warm tone. She had a very motherly tone.
"I hope you only heard good things then, haha." Seulgi joked with a smile.
"Of course! This young woman here has nothing but positive things to say about you!" The woman laughed as she patted Jisoo's back lovingly.
"That's because there only are positive things to say about my Seulgi." Jisoo bragged.
"Don't lie!" Seulgi laughed at her best friend.
"I'm not!" Jisoo defended.
"So Jisoo told me you owned a flower shop and are really good with flowers? She said you have really good taste." The woman told Seulgi with a smile.
"I do have a flower shop! I don't know if I'm that good but I hope I am good enough to meet your expectations, haha."
"Oh no darling, I'm sure you're really good. I believe Jisoo's words. If she wants you and no one to be in charge of the flowers, then it means she trusts you a lot. If she does, so do I." She gave Seulgi a warm smile.
"T-Thank you!" Seulgi politely bowed to the woman in front of her.
"Oh no darling please don't bow! You're Jisoo's friend and Jisoo is like my daughter, so you're also my daughter."
Seulgi's eyes lit up at the woman's words. She had never had anyone say such words to her as the orphan she was. She felt touched by the woman's words. At that very moment, she knew Jisoo would be marrying a good man. His mother was that kind, so he surely was just as kind as his mom was. She had no choice but to accept she would be handing her best friend to a good man, and she was grateful Jisoo would be tying the knot with a good man, joining such a good family. She had nothing to worry about.
"Right! I brought booklets along with me so we can decide on the flowers, styles, and arrangements you would like!"
"I knew you would come prepared. As expected from my best friend." Jisoo said as she wrapped her arm around Seulgi's waist.
"I had to! You at least deserve a well-prepared professional when it comes to your wedding." Seulgi told her friend with a smile.
"You deserve a kiss!" Jisoo claimed before pecking Seulgi's cheek.
"Don't do that here!" Seulgi laughed as she tried to push her best friend away. "You should act with elegance in front of your future mother-in-law!" She kindly scolded, earning a pout from Jisoo.
"Oh no, dear! Don't worry about me! Just be yourselves! I find you two very cute. I don't have a daughter so seeing you two together really makes me feel giddy."
"My mother-in-law is the coolest, right?" Jisoo boasted.
"You're right, she is." Seulgi replied with a sincere smile, noticing the gleam in Jisoo's eyes.
The three spent two hours visiting the room Jisoo would have her engagement party in, deciding on flowers for both the party and her wedding. Seulgi made sure to suggest only beautiful, elegant and luxurious arrangements to the two women. And just like that, the meeting that could start it all for Seulgi's career, was a very enjoyable afternoon she would never forget.
Seulgi was ready to marry off her best friend to the kind woman's son.
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NOTE: Hello...? It's been a while, hasn't it?
Here is the long-awaited chapter you guys have been waiting for since October 2018... I'll be honest with you guys, I had absolutely no idea it had been this long I hadn't updated this book. I still want to finish that book, and I promise you all I will. I still have the whole plot in mind, I just really struggled writing this chapter. I was like stuck on it? I have the inspiration for the general plot, but I really had a hard time finding the inspiration for this specific chapter. It's been a couple of days I see new readers on this book, and out of curiosity I checked when was the last time I updated, only to find out last time I updated this book was back in October 2018. I truly do feel awful. I doubt everyone who used to read this book even still remembers about this book, and I doubt everyone will even read this update considering how long I took to update. Feeling so sorry, it's been a few days I've been trying to find the inspiration for this chapter, and thankfully, inspiration hit me two days ago. It's been a long time I did not update, so I tried writing a long chapter.
What did you think of this new chapter...? I'm so sorry for updating only now...
Just so you guys know, I'm inspired for the next chapter so I promise I won't take as long to update the next chapter. I have a busy schedule so I can't write every day, but I promise I will update the next chapter soon.
To the old readers of this book who read this new chapter, thank you for waiting for my chapter even for so long.
As for my new readers, it is crazy this book still gets new readers despite the lack of updates. I'm grateful you guys gave this book a try. Thank you all for your kind comments, they actually motivated me to finally construct this update. I hope this book will not disappoint you.
I know it has been a really long time, but please leave me comments with your thoughts about this new chapter? That would mean the world to me if you could leave me a comment or comments with your thoughts. I really lack confidence considering this update now... It would mean the world to me if you could comment. Your comments also are a great source of motivation for me to update. I'm not lying since comments are what made me start constructing an update for this book.
Thank you to everyone who waited so damn patiently for this book's update! I promise to try not to disappoint you, and not to disappear on you again.
Now here's the tricky question following this chapter: #TeamJenseul or #TeamSeulsoo? (;
P.S: I hope you're not too disappointed Taeyong did not appear in this chapter. I promise he will appear in the next one!
P.S.2: Please don't be upset with me, Jenmin shippers! I'm a hard Jenkai shipper so this somehow is what happened... I hope you will not drop this book because of it.
~♥