Ch 3

The next morning Seoyeon woke up feeling refreshed, having slept soundly, lulled into the embrace of dreamless sleep. After washing up, she left her room and was enveloped in the enticing aroma of freshly brewed coffee and chocolate chip pancakes. She made her way into the dining room and found a plate of stacked pancakes along with syrup and a mug of coffee, controlled by her hunger, she dug into her breakfast and sighed in content with every bite. Seoyeon was still embarrassed by her actions the previous night and tried to avoid speaking to Jisun, luckily for her, fate seemed to be on her side as she hadn’t seen the older girl for most of the day. There was a bench under a tree in a nearby park which overlooked the city below, it was a quiet place which was perfect for Seoyeon to watch the sun set. She felt a presence beside her, her body stiffened in response. She took a deep breath before turning to face the intruder, ready to defend herself against them. Seoyeon exhaled in relief when she saw that it was just the older girl, who smiled before offering her an ice cream.

A comfortable silence settled between the two of them as they watched the sun fade into the horizon. The sky was tinged with hues of vermillion and orange, a beautiful image engraved into their minds. The older girl broke the silence, “Sometimes, I come here to watch the sun to fade away, only to be illuminated by the glow of the moon and the twinkling stars. I find it amazing how something that happens everyday can still be mesmerizing.”

The sun was no longer in sight and the ink coloured sky was clear of clouds which allowed the crescent shaped moon to shine brightly.

The younger girl shook her head in disapproval before replying, “When you see a beautiful view too often, it loses what makes it captivating.”

The older girl smiled before replying. “I think that each sunset is different, and not only because the amalgam of colours it creates in the sky is different each day. It is because each sunset in one’s life has a different meaning, depending on who you watch it with and the emotions you feel at that moment in time. So, even if you watch the sun set hundreds of times; it is the memories that you create during those moments that makes each one different, and I find that awe-inspiring.”

“I never thought about it that way. It sounds like something uncle Iroh would say.”, said Seoyeon.      

The older girl looked at the younger girl, eyebrows furrowed in confusion before asking “Who is uncle Iroh?”.  

The younger girl laughed, the sound clear and full of mirth. “He is a wise old man who gives really good advice and makes amazing tea. Not to be rude or anything but did you come here just to talk to me?”

(I apologise to all ATLA fans for that cringey piece of dialogue. I love the series and thought it would be funny to include it.)

The older girl shook her head before replying, “I didn’t know that you would be here, I just wanted to enjoy my ice creams in peace before someone ate them again.”

The sound of a grumbling stomach interrupted Jisun mid-way through her sentence. The sound seemed to echo to the shorter girl, to which her cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

“I haven’t had time to have dinner yet, I was supposed to go to the restaurant nearby, but it was so peaceful here that I didn’t realise how quickly time had passed by, Seoyeon explained while trying to hide her flushed cheeks.

Jisun giggled and teased the younger girl “I didn’t know that anyone’s ears could turn that red so quickly. Since we both haven’t had dinner, I can whip up something delicious for us and we can continue our conversation while I cook.”

They both got up and started to head towards the inn.

Seoyeon pouted before replying “Who said that I want to continue talking to you?”

“Well, if I remember correctly, someone said that they liked listening to my voice, so I decided to humour them.”, Jisun said while smirking.

***Short Time Skip ***

They were in the kitchen now, Jisun was taking out the ingredients to make a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich. Seoyeon was sitting on a chair opposite her, engrossed in the game she was playing on her Nintendo Switch. Seoyeon tried taking a tomato from a bowl on the table while Jisun was busy and not paying attention to her, but she was stopped when Jisun took the bowl away and started slicing a tomato from it, while saying “Wait a few more minutes and you will be able to eat your sandwich.”

Seoyeon grumbled and went back to playing her game. She looked up after a few seconds and asked “How did you end up as an Inn Keeper? Was there anything else that you would have liked to do?”.

Jisun plated the toasted sandwiches and handed a plate to Seoyeon before taking a seat opposite the younger girl. Seoyeon took a bite and moaned in appreciation, savouring the taste of her sandwich. It was as if had lost its filter, as the younger girl told her companion that it hadn’t been long, but she could already picture herself missing the other girl’s cooking after she leaves.

“I didn’t always want to be an Inn Keeper, my grandmother used to run this place, but she can’t run it anymore. She wanted me to take over for her.”, said Jisun.

Seoyeon looked confused.

“It’s the answer to your question.”, explained Jisun.

Realisation dawned on the younger girl, the look in her eyes and body language portrayed her curiosity, which urged the older girl to continue speaking.

“I used to work here as a part-timer, my grandma would do most of the admin work and she would welcome the guests and cater to most of their needs while I prepared the meals for the day. She would always say that the food I made was so good it made her feel happy, and that I could make someone’s bad day turn slightly better. When I first took over, I was overwhelmed and thought that I would do a bad job. I felt as if I wouldn’t be able to uphold the reputation that this place has of being able to heal the people who stay here.

My grandma knew I was feeling pressured, so she told me to forget what other people expected of this place; to do what I could to help them, and that was to make them feel happy by cooking delicious meals prepared with care and the thought of making the person who eats it feel better. Now it is the most rewarding job for me. It allows me to say what I have been unable to say to people. Preparing a meal with the thought of relieving a tough day at work, or a stressful time in life allows me to say “I know it was hard, but you did well”, or “Today was a bad day, let this make your day end on a different note” through the food I make.”, explained Jisun as they continued to eat their sandwiches.

After they were done with their sandwiches, they cleaned up and settled on the couch facing each other with their mugs of green tea set on the coffee table in front of them.

“It must be nice to do something that you genuinely enjoy and find fulfilment in.” Seoyeon said while trying to stop the bitterness from seeping into her words.

Jisun hesitated for a bit before placing her hand on top of the younger girls, in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture. She squeezed the shorter girl’s hand, drawing Seoyeon’s attention back to her and away from the sad thoughts that occupied her mind.

“Why are you here?” Jisun asked in a soft, expectant tone which caught the younger girl off guard, her eyes dulling once the surprise wore off.

“I don’t know.” Seoyeon said in a voice so soft, the older girl almost didn’t hear her. The silence that followed was almost deafening, time seemed to stretch on forever before the younger girl apologised, eyes filled with unshed tears.

“You don’t have to apologise, I crossed the line and hope you forgive my prying.”, said Jisun, her tone apologetic, while her voice was soft and reassuring.

“Have you ever had a dream that you wanted so much, you could die without regrets after fulfilling? I do, and I have been trying to make it into a reality since I was 10 years old, but now I don’t think I have the will to try anymore. It hurts, trying so hard and not getting any closer to achieving it. I don’t think I can bear the pain that comes with failing again and the thought of giving up the one dream I have left in life makes my heart bleed.”  It took Seoyeon a while to let out the thoughts that had been plaguing her mind, tears flowing freely across her face, occasionally letting out sobs while talking.

Jisun wasn’t one for displays of affection and didn’t like skinship. However, the sight of the younger girl in pain made her pull the her into a hug, rubbing soothing circles onto Seoyeon’s back while she cried. The younger girl let her emotions control her, crying tears of pain and heartbreak, wetting the older girl’s shirt in the process.

Although Jisun didn’t want to pry, she had to know what it was that the younger girl longed to become so much, so she could find a way to help the younger girl through the pain so that she could feel better and become happy once more.

Seoyeon broke the silence, “I have told you this before; your voice is really soothing, and it makes me feel calm. So, can you please tell me a story, or you can speak about anything else if you want to. I just need you to distract me, so I dwell on it, it hurts too much.”

Her voice was muffled by the fabric of Jisun’s shirt, her head tucked into the crook of the older girl’s neck, tears still pouring out. The taller girl heard her clearly and thought of what she could say to the younger girl.

“I didn’t always want to be an inn keeper as you know, nor did I want to become a chef. Like a lot of people our age, I wanted to become an Idol.  I wanted to know what it would be like to stand on stage and perform for a cheering audience, to meet with fans and to make people feel happier through my performances. You must think I’m crazy, thinking that I could become a person whose existence is important to thousands of people, a person who people look forward to meeting, someone who can give their fans energy and make them smile.”

Seoyeon seemed to relax into her embrace and wrapped her arms around the older girls back, her crying stopped, her heartbeat a steady constant thrum now that her breathing returned to normal as opposed to her gasping for air between sobs.  

The younger girl spoke, her voice hoarse from crying “I don’t think that it’s stupid, no dream that one works hard towards achieving can be stupid and if someone thinks that then they haven’t experienced the pain or privation that comes with trying to actualise a dream.” Seoyeon continued in a quieter tone, so soft it was almost a whisper “It was my dream as well.”

Jisun felt relieved now that she knew the cause of the younger girl’s anguish, she also felt a lot closer to her now that she knew they shared the same dream. Jisun broke free of Seoyeon’s embrace and reached for her mug, taking a sip of the tea and grimacing at the cold and bitter taste. She glared at the mug full of cold tea before taking both their mugs back to the kitchen, she took a seat beside the younger girl this time, their shoulders touching. She took a deep breath before she could continue with her story, forced to complete it at Seoyeon’s insistence.

While Jisun was engrossed in telling Seoyeon about how she was a trainee at a dance studio and that she wanted to get better before auditioning for bigger companies, the shorter girl gave into sleep’s sweet seduction. Her head fell onto the older girl’s shoulder, her voice lulling Seoyeon into a deeper sleep. Jisun only noticed once she finished speaking, feeling the weight of the shorter girl’s head on her shoulder. However, the busy day she had and the conversation with Seoyeon, had tired her out and she was too comfortable to move. So Jisun grabbed the blanket on the armrest of the couch and spread it over the two of them, careful not to disturb the younger girl’s sleep. She thought she woke Seoyeon up when the younger girl shifted, but that was so she could adjust her head to lie more comfortably on Jiusn’s shoulder.

Too tired to stop the emotionally exhausted younger girl, Jisun didn’t remove the younger girl’s head and let sleep consume her consciousness, falling into a world of dreams. During the night, Seoyeon managed to somehow gain possession of Jisun’s left arm, which she held onto tightly, with her head nestled into the crook of Jisun’s neck.

The next morning when Jisun woke up, the younger girl was nowhere in sight. The sun had just started to rise as she made her way back to her room, so she could sleep for an hour before she would need to get ready for the busy day ahead of her. She would deal with the embarrassment of choosing to sleep next to the younger girl, when she saw her again. For now, she was off to bed.