Ch 2:

An intro to Jisun’s life

Roh Jisun was a quiet person by nature, although her friends argued that she could be noisy and weird at times. Her voice was soft and had a soothing tone to it, sometimes it would be calming enough to put people to sleep. Jisun didn’t think that she was good at many things, but the one thing she was confident in was her cooking skills.

 Her cooking prowess developed due to her parents being busy at work; and instead of ordering take out, she wanted to make food, so her parents wouldn’t worry about her eating well. This desire of hers allowed her to cook delicious meals, getting better with more practice. When she was younger her mother told her that within delicious food, there is a power to make people smile. (This was from the Welcome to heal in prologue and episode 1, I’m basically paraphrasing here)

She would put all her effort into cooking delicious meals that made people feel happy. So, when her grandmother couldn’t run the Healing Inn anymore, she suggested that Jisun take on the responsibility of being the inn keeper, since she knew that Jisun had a way of making people feel better through her cooking. It took her a while to get used to running an inn, but she found it to be a fulfilling job; especially when her guests would leave with bright smiles on their faces, feeling rejuvenated after their stay there. She often cooked meals specific to the guests she was serving, something that would make her guests feel happy and a little more at peace.

Back to the story

After showing Seoyeon to her room and offering her a tour of the place; which she politely declined, wanting to be alone to collect her thoughts, the inn keeper introduced herself as Roh Jisun who was 21. Seoyeon wondered what made Jisun want to become an inn keeper at such a young age. She had been there for a few hours, lost in her own thoughts when the sound of knocking of her door brought her back to reality. Once she opened the door, Jisun was on the other side, enquiring about whether she wanted to have dinner at the inn and if there was anything specific that she wanted to eat. It took her a few moments to respond with a yes, asking Jisun if she would be eating with the other guests. Jisun just smiled and shook her head, telling the younger girl that she was the only guest currently staying at the inn. After asking Seoyeon if there was anything she needed, to which the shorter girl replied with a shake of her head, Jisun left to do whatever an inn keeper does.

 An hour passed before Seoyeon emerged from her room and ventured into the dining room where she found Jisun plating the food before sitting down, gesturing to Seoyeon to sit down and eat. Feeling an intense stare on her, Seoyeon looked up to find the gaze of brown eyes widened in expectation directly on her, unbothered by Seoyeon’s inquisitive and confused look, Jisun told her to go ahead and eat (Jisun cooked Braised Short Rib Stew- I think this is what she said is her best dish). Seoyeon hesitantly took her first bite of the food and couldn’t help the sound of satisfaction she let slip out, the sound of giggling stopped her from stuffing with as much food as she could. A tint of red from embarrassment appeared on Seoyeon’s cheeks when Jisun told her that if she found the food to be that delicious, she could always make more.

It took a few seconds for what Jisun said to register in her mind, she took a sip of water before asking Jisun if she cooked the meal, receiving a small nod in response.

  was faster than her brain as she blurted out what she was thinking, telling Jisun that her cooking was probably the most delicious thing she had tasted in a while. Even though making people happy using her cooking was what Jisun wanted, she could never get used to receiving compliments about how good she was at it, a bright red dusting on her cheeks showed how flustered she was. They continued their meal in an awkward but comfortable silence. After cleaning up, Jisun asked Seoyeon if she wanted some chamomile tea, as it had a soothing effect and it helped one fall asleep. A peaceful silence settled between them, with the smell of chamomile wafting in the air, and the warmth from their mugs absorbed by the palm of their hands (I drink tea in a mug, don’t judge me, it’s a lot bigger than a teacup). For the first time in a while Seoyeon felt calm, the dissonant thoughts in her mind disappeared and all she could hear was the sound of her breathing and the dulcet beats of her heart.

Jisun broke the silence with a yawn, and in a sleep filled tone told Seoyeon that she would be going to sleep, and that she might want to as well since it was a long drive to the inn. It was only then that she noticed that the younger girl had her eyes closed, her head propped up on the palm of her other hand, still holding onto the mug, with a peaceful look on her face. Jisun really didn’t want to bother the younger girl but it was November and the nights were cold; she didn’t want the younger girl to catch a cold by falling asleep on the couch, so she cautiously approached the younger girl and shook her gently. Unfortunately for Jisun, Seoyeon remained sound asleep, she tried shaking her with a little more force this time until the younger girl opened her eyes and blinked sleepily with a pout on her face before realising that she was sleeping on the couch. She woke up quickly but due to the sudden blood rush, she had to sit down once more. Seoyeon turned to face Jisun and apologised for falling aleep on the couch, but the older girl shrugged it off and said that she was more worried about the younger girl catching a cold, and that even if she got a blanket for her, she might have caught a cold anyway.

Seoyeon’s sleep clouded brain betrayed her, hence she found herself telling Jisun that her voice was very calming, and it made her feel sleepy, and that she would be a good night radio host as she would be able to put all the listeners to sleep with her voice. Jisun stared at Seoyeon for a few seconds before asking if what the younger girl said was a compliment. Surprised by the older girl’s misunderstanding, Seoyeon tried to explain what she meant but whatever she thought didn’t sound right; after taking a deep breath she told the older girl it was a good thing and that she liked how soothing her voice was because it made her feel calm. After that awkward moment, Seoyeon rushed to her room after bidding Jisun a good night.

Once in her room, she collapsed on her bed and screamed into her pillow while rolling around on the bed; she had managed to embarrass herself in front of the older girl twice in one day. Something sticking out from the corner of her bedside drawer caught her attention, so she pulled it out and realised that it was her new lyric book. She opened the first page, took out her pen and started to doodle tiny fish in water with a cute little penguin swimming amongst them. (If you get the reference, mention it in the comments)