Tongyeong

"Ji Eun-ah!"

"Yes, I'll be there!"

I left the pile of clothes I was folding and went upstairs.

"Yes grandma?"

"Oh, could you help me with this? I can't lift it up"

I smiled and nodded before getting down to pick up the basket of clothes. "Ah..thank you dear. Why don't you go to work now, I'll be fine by myself"

"Mm, I will. I'll just finish folding some clothes"

"Ah, okay. I'll be here"

I smiled and nodded before running downstairs again. Taking the clothes in my hands, I began to quickly fold them. In a matter of ten minutes, I was done. I entered my room and changed into a new set of clothes. I slipped on a pair of shoes, applied some lip balm, twisted my hair into a ponytail and quickly put in the things I needed in my backpack. I grabbed my phone and went up to check on grandma.

"Halmoni, I'm leaving, okay? Don't forget to take your medication"

"Alright dear, I won't. Come home safely"

"Mm, goodbye grandma. Love you"

"Bye, Ji Eun-ah. Love you too."
I placed a kiss on her cheek and went out the room.

I went back down the stairs and hailed a cab to the cafe.

Taehee unnie greeted me with a smile.
"Morning, Ji Eun"
"Morning, unnie"

I went upstairs to change into my uniform.

Today was just another ordinary day for me; just serving customers and taking orders.

As usual, time passed by quickly and I was already at the end of my shift.

"Thank you for coming. Please come by again soon!"I said to the customer as she smiled and walked away. I glanced at the time.

4 : 30 pm..great.

I heaved out a sigh and went to clear the last table. I wiped it clean and set it up properly.

"Ji Eun-ah, you can go on now. I'll finish up,"Taehee unnie smiled.

"No, it's fine,"I said.

"No, I insist. You've been working way too much, and you're only 23 years old. I'd rather you go home and rest than have you faint while working,"she said.

"Okay then..gomawo unnie,"I smiled before heading upstairs. I entered the dressing room and took off my uniform.
I touched my scar on my collarbone and smiled bitterly. I felt a tear roll down my cheek and wiped it away. No, you can do this Lee Ji Eun. You can't look back anymore. Tears won't change the past.

'Yours scars remind you of how strong you are'

I changed into my clothes and tied my hair properly. I took my bag and grabbed my phone.

I suddenly remembered something. I opened my bag and searched for the piece of paper. I held it up and smiled.

'Unnie, could you come by to visit us? Please do!!' - Eunji

Before I could walk out of the room, a phone call came in. I answered the call and held the phone to my ear.

"Ne, yeoboseyo?"
"*shriek* Ji Eun-ah?"
"Ne, this is Ji Eun. May I ask who you are?"
*beep* *beep* *beep*
"Yeoboseyo?"
I blinked in confusion and shrugged it off. How did she even know my name anyway?
I went out of the shop and walked to the orphanage by leg since it was nearby.
I paid a lot of visits here since I used to stay here for a short while before Grandma's condition became better and she took me in. A smile tugged at my lips as I reached the front door.
I pressed the doorbell before Hyera unnie greeted me with a grin.
"Oh Ji Eun-ah! Aigoo, we missed you! You get prettier day after day,"she hugged me. "Ey~ Unnie, I came here just last week,"I laughed. She pulled me in and the kids came rushing to me and hugged me. I hugged them altogether and gave them one sweet each which I bought on my way here. It was a small orphanage, actually. But I admired Hyera unnie so much for taking care of them for all these years. They were 16 children in total. Back when I used to be here, Hyera unnie's mom, Mrs. Choi used to be my caretaker.
"Kids, why don't you go finish your homework? We'll come to play with you after you're done, okay?"Hyera unnie told them. They nodded and went upstairs to their study room. We sat down on the couch with a bowl of snacks. "Anything going on lately?"she asked me. "Hmm..let me think..Not much I guess,"I smiled. "You know, the kids were begging to see you. Thank God you came,"she laughed. "Really? How's Jihyun doing? It must be hard to catch up at school since he missed school for a week,"I said. She nodded,"Yeah, he finds it hard too. But, that kid's a diligent one. He's catching up pretty quickly. I think he'll soon have better grades too,"she chuckled. I smiled,"That's a relief. I was worried he'd lack and give up." She laughed. "Anyway, how are you?"she said. "Me? Mm..I guess..I'm fine? I'm kinda tired from all the shifts at the cafe though,"I grinned. "Eum..I would be too. How's halmoni doing?"she said. "Oh she's a lot better now. But then she caught a cold last week and she's pretty weak and tired right now,"I smiled bitterly.

"You know you can call me over anytime you need help right?"she said. I nodded and ate the snacks. We talked for some time and went up to check on the kids. All of them except Eunji had fallen asleep on their study tables. "Hmm..they must've been really tired,"I whispered. I carried Eunji in my arms and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. I loved all of them, but Eunji was like a little sister to me. I saw my young self in her, and I had always wanted to protect her. I was afraid she would go through what I went through."How's school?"I asked her. "It's fine.."her eyes saddened. I cupped her chin and looked at her closely. "Hey, is anything wrong?"I asked. She shook her head and smiled. "No, unnie. Don't worry, I'm really okay." Honestly, I knew she was hurting. I could tell by the look in her eyes. But I knew she wouldn't tell me, and forcing her into telling me would be bad, so I decided to play along.
"Good then."
She giggled and buried her face in my neck. Hyera unnie carried them to their beds one by one and I helped. Hyera unnie and her fiancee, Minhyuk, are the kids' main caretakers. Minhyuk's in New York right now, but he'll be back by next week, Monday. "Eunji, don't you want to take a nap too?"Hyera unnie asked her. "Ne, unnie. I want to!"she said happily. We laughed and she sat on her bed. "I'll sleep now, unnie,"she whispered. "Eunji doesn't need me to tell her stories before sleeping now,"Hyera unnie grinned. "Wah..you're all grown up now, huh?"I patted her head. She smiled as Hyera unnie tucked her into bed.
"Sleep tight,"I smiled. She closed her eyes and Hyera and I went out of the bedroom.
"Unnie.."
"Yeah?"
"I have something to tell you.."
"What is it?"
"I didn't want to tell the kids.."
"What? Just tell me already"
"I..I'm..I'm leaving"
"What?! Where?"
"...Seoul"
**********
Hey guys! I'm back with a new fic as you can see, and I hope ya'll can support it!! <3
First chappie's finally out!!
Kinda boring, right?
Sorryyyyyyy ㅠ-ㅠ
Couldn't set my mind straight with all the schoolwork and stuff..
Anyway, hope u enjoyed the very..boring..first..chapter.
Until next time, gudbye~~^_^