"I can't believe you dragged me to do.... groceries?", Haru blows her hair, walking closely behind Jiwoo. "I just finished work and it's Friday and—"
"Awwwww, did I make you choose between your handsome boyfriend and me?", she turns around, mimicking a sad face before letting out a loud laugh, turning heads of the people at the aisle. "I am cooking something for lunch tomorrow. My mom invited Officer Kim for lunch"
"O-Officer Kim? The man you have been crushing?"
"Excuse me?", she throws a packet of chips into the basket. "I didn't say I have a crush on him. I said he is very attractive and kind-hearted, that is all"
Haru observes her friend ignoring the questioning look she is giving, proceeding to walk ahead leaving. Jiwoo did talk about Officer Kim a few times and how she find ls him so respectable. And also how her mother dotes on him a little bit too much and even starts treating him like her own son.
"Are you both...close?", she walks to Jiwoo's side, helping her with the basket.
"Close?", she sounds confused. "No, we are not. My mom has been doing all the talking—well—not close. Other than that very much awkward walk at the park, nothing. I like him but, in such a....respectable manner? Like I admire him as a person. He is such a great person"
"I see", Haru nods to herself as she turns to look around the aisle. Her tired eyes scan the not so empty grocery store, spotting many customers still in their work clothes—like Jiwoo and her. As much as she wishes she is home and, on her bed, she would not want to miss the chance to spend some time with Jiwoo.
Jiwoo has been so busy this week and she wonders how she has been coping with the first week on internship. When Jiwoo's mother had won the case, a lot of issues need to be taken care off on which requires the presence of Jiwoo. Everything of her mother's possession has been changed to her name which means, she just become an heiress. Jiwoo's mother is from an elite family, born to an heir and heiress, thus this makes Jiwoo an heiress too.
But one of the traits Haru loves about Jiwoo is, she is very down to earth. When they first met 4 years ago, Jiwoo literally mentioned nothing about her family background. Nothing at all. Haru only found out about it when Jiwoo's mother invited her over to the house for the first time ever. Then only she found out about her family and how extremely powerful her family are.
"Haru.....", Jiwoo pulls her. "Why does that man look like Officer Kim....?"
"Eh—What?", she follows Jiwoo's eyes, scanning the space before spotting the tall figure standing at the opposite aisle. "Hmmm?"
Both of them literally crane their neck just to have a better look at the man standing tall at middle of the aisle, one hand holding his phone while another holds a medium sized green box. The two girls had their eyes glued on him as he looks up at the row of many green boxes in front of him while he reads something from his phone. It is hard to figure if that man is actually Officer Kim with the baseball cap covering his face, the thick brown scarf wrapped around his neck hiding most of his features and also, his back facing them.
Out of nowhere, another tall man comes to his side making him look to the side, revealing his face.
It is Officer Kim. And to their surprise, the man that just walked up to him is none other than Mister Kim.
Both of them lets out the loudest gasp, exchanging a panic look before things took a drastic turn and Jiwoo drops her basket to the floor. Haru's first reflex was to catch the handle of the plastic basket but then she accidentally stepped in between Jiwoo's feet and tripped onto her instead. The impact made her push Jiwoo forward and Jiwoo's first impulse was to reach for Haru's arm for anchor but then everything happened too fast and they end up stumbling onto the cold floor.
The little—but not so little—commotion caught the attention of everyone, heads turned to look at them on the floor, both unsettling as they look very much stunned. One of the workers saw the little accident and sprinted all the way to them, offering a hand. But instead, the two girls broke into big laugh when they realized the state they are in. Jiwoo managed to fall on her palms, holding her upper body up from dropping flat on the floor. Haru fell on her hip directly beside Jiwoo, her hand at the side of Jiwoo's leg, holding herself up so that she would not kiss the floor.
"My ass hurts—shit", Jiwoo rubs the side of her hips amidst her wheezing laughter.
"My h-hips hurt", Haru groans in pain, but then continues laughing when she sees the basket that has toppled down onto the floor, all the items sprawled on the floor. "Oh my god"
"Miss....", the young worker kneels beside them. "Are you alright?"
Jiwoo and Haru turns to the young girl, eyes fluttering at the concerned look she is giving them.
"W-We are fine", Haru clears her throat, swallowing hard as she regains her composure, finally aware of the surrounding. "Please don't worry about us"
"Let me help you, Miss", the young girl offered a hand politely. "Can you stand up?"
"I think I can", Jiwoo carefully pushes herself up, accepting the young girl's help by taking her hand.
Instead of waiting for the worker to help her up, Haru attempts to stand up on her own despite her wobbly legs and the fact one of her heels has slipped off her foot. Thank god she chose to wear pants instead of her usual working skirt today. God knows the free show she would have given to all the people around at the aisle.
"Shit—I think I sprained my ank—", a shriek fell out of her lips when she failed to hold herself up, the jolting paint on her sprained ankle startling her. She swore she felt her body swaying for a few seconds before suddenly losing balance and stumbling to the back.
But then, she feels two hands gripping the side of her arms firmly yet gently. Not even a second after that, her back is pressed onto something so solid and warmth, and it feels like she is being anchored to another person.
"Got you"
Turning her head in reflex, her heart skipped a beat when she sees Mister Kim raising an eyebrow at her, smirking and smiling at the same time.
"Mister Kim????", she tries to turn around but then he holds her firmly, not giving her a chance to free herself.
"You said you sprained your ankle, so don't move. Let me check, okay?", he gives her a gentle warning look. "What happened here?"
Haru turns to look around, spotting the young worker who have helped her, collecting all the items that has spilled out of the Jiwoo's basket. One of her shoes laying there at the side of her brown tote bag, Jiwoo's bag too is on the floor and then she spots her phone face down on the floor.
"A mess...."
She looks up, searching for Jiwoo only to find her sitting on a chair that she had no idea was there. Standing beside her is Officer Kim. He looks as if he was asking about Jiwoo's hand by the look of it. Jiwoo on the other hand keeps shaking her head, obviously trying to convince him that she is completely fine and there is nothing to be worried about.
"You are not walking in these heels. Let me get you some slippers then we will get out of here. Let me check your shoe size"
-
Seated side by side, Haru and Jiwoo stare blankly into the distance as the cold air of night graces them. They turn to look at each other at the same time, said nothing when their eyes met and then they turn to look at themselves. Haru look at her bandaged ankle while Jiwoo lifts her bandaged left wrist and then they sighed heavily at the same time.
"This is all because you were drooling over your Officer Kim", Haru rolled her eyes jokingly at her friend. "So much for no-he-is-not-my-crush excuse"
"Excuse me??????? You were drooling over your man and you tripped on me first????"
"You dropped the basket, and I was trying to save your food?????"
"I accidentally lost grip of the basket beca—"
"Because you saw you crush", Haru smirks, wiggling both eyebrows at her fuming friend. "Reaaaaalllyyyyyyyyyyy?"
"Shut up", Jiwoo groans lowly under her breath, turning her attention to look at the empty table in front of them instead. "Great, you sprained your ankle—I twisted my wrist—happy weekend"
The footstep sound coming from behind made them turn over their shoulders, seeing Officer Kim and also Mister Kim walking out of the grocery store. After attending to them, they excused themselves for a while to pay for the grocery they were planning to buy and also, Jiwoo's grocery.
"This is your grocery", Officer Kim lift the plastic bag in his right hand, smiling proudly at the two girls. "The young staff who helped you just now—she helped me get all the items. She was very nice"
"You paid for my grocery?", Jiwoo's mouth flung open. "Wait, Mister Kim, let me pay for my gro—"
"Don't mention it", he waves his hand politely, putting both plastic bags on the ground. "Is it still painful?"
"Painful?"
"Your wrist", he laughs at her blank face. "Is your wrist still painful?"
"Oh! No, maybe, a little bit. But I am fine"
Haru glances at her best friend, or basically, reading her face before smiling secretly to herself. She turns to the front, catching Taehyung looking at her awkwardly holding her bag on her lap, hugging it to herself.
"Did you both drive here?", he looks up at both of them.
"I did", Jiwoo answered weakly. "I picked Haru up from her work since she didn't drive today"
"You cannot drive with that wrist", Taehyung turns to her, looking at Jiwoo's bandaged wrist.
Before any of them could even say anything, Jiwoo's phone suddenly rang startling all four of them. Quickly fishing her phone out of her bag, she lets out little shriek realizing it is her mom calling her.
"Hello mom—No—I mean, I am—what?", she turns to Haru, flashing a look. "No—I am with Haru right now—you cooked?"
"YOUR MOM COOKED!!? CAN I EAT AT YOUR HOUSE PLEASE TELL HER I AM COMING NOW", Haru suddenly jumps on her seat, attempting to grab the phone from Jiwoo but ended up getting her hand slapped.
"Yes, your second daughter is here and—Yes, okay—but, mom, I have two extra people with me—oh—okay?"
The three of them watch as Jiwoo nods to herself while speaking with her mom over the phone. She keeps glancing at Haru, rolling her eyes every time Haru grins widely at her signalling she wants to have dinner at her house. When she finally ended the call, she lets out a long undistinguished sigh before she looks up at the two gentlemen in front of her.
"My mom invited all of us for dinner, at my house. And she threatened to lock me out if I do not take all of you to my house in 20 minutes"
~~~~
NOTE
hello everyone! Here is another update! I have written this chapter like a week ago before the tsunami of work hit me. Last week has been bizarre and I cant believe I survived. Anyway! I hope this chapter is good and enjoyable!
Thank you for your kind wishes for my birthday, and also, for being patient with my updates. Thank youuu love youuu