It was a Wednesday afternoon when Chuu heard the door open, followed by the usual bells and sounds as she welcomed the customer. The store was not as busy as usual, with it being Wednesday. Most kids were at school during this time, so the only people here were either parents with really young children, or kids that somehow snuck out of school and just hung around the store all day, playing in the back.

 When she saw who the person was she was pleasantly surprised, not expecting them at all.

“Sooyoung??” Chuu confusedly said, meeting eyes with the brunette who let out a smile.

“I never saw you here on a Wednesday before, what’s the ocassion?”

Sooyoung let out a laugh at how lost Chuu looked.

“I just wanted to buy some candy.” She said, making Chuu squint her eyes.

“..But you don’t even like candy that much?”

“Hey, I do!! I mean, I don’t hate it at least. Plus we had some real good ones last time.” Chuu was still squinting her eyes, to which Sooyoung responded with puffing her cheeks.

“..and I wanted to see you.” This got Chuu sqealing and launching herself at Sooyoung in a hug, earning a laugh from the Chuu-attacked girl.

“How come you managed to get here on a Wednesday though? You usually never do that.”

“Uh,” Sooyoung looked away, “I called in sick.”

“You’re sick?”

“..No?” Once again Chuu suspiciously eyed her before placing a hand on her forehead.

“Oh my god you’re burning up?? What are you doing here you should be resting at home! Are you by foot??”

“Yeah, but I’m not all that sick, I’m just-“ Chuu made an angry face that looked more cute than angry as she disappeared into the back of the store, presumably talking to her grandfather before returning with her coat on, and a beret that matched her auburn hair that was braided into two loose braids hanging over each shoulder. “Let’s go!”

“Go? Where?”

“I’m bringing you!!” Sooyoung got dragged out of the store, stopping in front of a bright red bicycle with white polka dots. She somehow expected this.

“Ok, come on! I don’t want you fainting on the way there.”

“Hey,” she retorted, “I’m not going to faint from something so small-“ For such a fragile-looking girl Chuu had a lot of power, in a span of 5 seconds they had almost reached the end of the street, and even though they were going at such a high speed Chuu somehow managed to be as careful as possible so that Sooyoung wouldn’t get a headache from being all shaken up.

“Hold on tight!” she yelled, and Sooyoung didn’t hesitate to wrap her hands around her waist, out of fear from flying off the bicycle when they went around the corner.

About 15 minutes later with Sooyoungs directions they reached her apartment, being helped by Chuu as she dizzily walked up the stairs, her eyes getting foggy. Clumsily she got the door open, letting herself down in the sofa when she felt her legs losing their strength. Chuu managed to catch a soft thank you before getting attacked by something that just launched itself at her.

“A puppy! I didn’t know you had a puppy?” She excitedly said, picking up the fluffy Shih Tzu that immediately relaxed in her arms. “What’s his-“ Chuu turned around, only to see that Sooyoung had fallen asleep. She unconsciously smiled, only realizing in what situation she was about a minute later.

A hyper dog that seemed like it was really hungry, and a passed out Sooyoung sleeping on the couch, still wearing her normal clothes. On top of that she had a fever, her forehead visibly sweaty and burning cheeks. Chuu would normally just go home in this situation, however she’d feel guilty leaving a sick person alone like this.

“Uhhhh, hey Sooyoung? Soo? Hello?”

..

“Alright.. Well then, dog,” Chuu lookedat the Shih Tzu whose eyes each pointed in a different direction, “it’s up to us.”

Sooyoung shivered a bit, pulling the blanket up to her face as she repositioned herself into a slightly more comfortable pose.

Wait, blanket?

She quickly sat up straight, mentally scolding herself for doing so as she expected her headache to make her regret that, though she noticed her headache was as good as gone when it didn’t throb.

The lights in the living room were off, with only her fairy lights against the wall , and one of the many table lamps that were placed all around the room, casting a warm light on the red walls, wooden shelves neatly placed against them with multiple plants and books.

 Noises could be heard from the kitchen, but right as she tried sitting up to see she saw Chuu walking out, holding a plate in her hands as she walked towards Sooyoung.

“Oh! You’re awake, how do you feel? Also I’m really sorry for touching your stuff while you were asleep I wasn’t sure what to do as you kind of passed out there and Jellybean was being all hyper and loud..”

Sooyoung was overwhelmed by the fact that Chuu stayed here to take care of her, and by how fast she said all that, making her blink twice before fully processing what she said.

“God, I’m sorry for passing out on you- Wait.. Who’s Jellybean.”

“Him?” Chuu looked at the dog sitting next to her.

“Haneul??”

“I had to name him since I didn’t know his name and he looks like a Jellybean! His tummy has the same shape.”

Sooyoung chuckled, noticing her headache was coming back when she did. Chuu noticed, sitting down next to her with the plate on her lap.

“Here.”

Was Chuu going to feed her..? Slightly embarrassed, Sooyoung opened , letting Chuu feed her as she felt her face turning red.

“Is the taste okay? If you don’t really like it you can tell me that’s okay-“

“This,” Sooyoung started, “is so good??”

“Wait really?”

“Yeah?? I usually cook for myself and chicken soup is pretty easy to make but it never tasted this good before-“ Chuu chuckled, letting Sooyoung drink another spoonful of the soup. Minutes went by as they sat in a comfortable silence while Sooyoung finished her soup, Chuu sitting next to her.

“Hey Chuu,” she received a hum in return, “thank you for taking care of me. This is like, the best soup I had in my entire life plus it seems like Jellybe- Haneul really likes you even though he’s usually not so fond of strangers.” As if on cue the dog barked, making them both chuckle.

“You’re welcome! I’m really glad you’re feeling better.”

They fell into a comfortable silence again, making Sooyoung able to gather some courage for her next question.

“..Chuu?”

“Mhm?”

“I noticed your grandfather calling you Jiwoo last time, but I thought your name’s Chuu?“

“Ah. Jiwoo is my real name, actually. Kim Jiwoo. Chuu is a nickname my parents gave me, and it somehow stuck.”

Her parents, ofcourse.

“Oh.. Uh, if you don’t mind talking about it, you don’t have to ofcourse I’d completely understand-“

Chuu let out a soft chuckle, noticing Sooyoungs nervousness. “What happened to my parents?”

Sooyoung sat still for a few seconds, before lightly nodding.

“A drunk driver crashed into a store window, injuring almost 15 people. My parents were two of the few unlucky ones that didn’t survive. The police officers simply said they were at the wrong place in the wrong time to six year old me at the time.” Chuu had a bittersweet smile on her face as she managed to get the words out, her smile slowly turning into a frown.

And when Sooyoung took her hand into her own she saw that the sadness from long ago resurfaced, rolling down her cheeks as tears. Sooyoung wrapped the other half of the blanket around her, taking her in her arms as the girl went through all the emotions she’d locked away as to not lose hope, finding comfort in the hug.

“I’m really sorry for crying, it’s just that I never really had someone to talk about this.. Usually people don’t have the courage to ask in fear of hurting me, and due to work I can’t meet up with my friends much so it all just came down on me at once..” Sooyoung gently rubbed her back, giving her as much time as she needed.

She didn’t feel the need to say anything, this was something Chuu had to come to terms with on her own, and while she did Sooyoung would be there for her.

Chuu gave one last squeeze before composing herself and sniffling a bit, taking the tissue Sooyoung handed out to her with a thanks.

“This is so dumb..” She chuckled, taking Haneul into her arms and playing with his tiny ears.

“It’s so normal. You basically just let out all the tears and thoughts that got build up over a span of more than 15 years.”

Chuu smiled, her gratefulness evident as she looked at Sooyoung.

“You can call me Jiwoo if you want.”

“..Are you sure?”

It’s true that she only had a select people that she let her call Jiwoo.

A select people being her grandfather, and some family members that already passed away. At some point everyone started to call her Chuu, making her almost forget her real name that somehow felt linked to her parents and what had happened to them.

She wasn’t even sure if she wanted someone to ever call her by that name again, but hearing Sooyoung say her name, her real name, just felt so right.

Making her feel like she finally found someone that she could trust, someone that’d bring her true happiness again, and someone that she genuinely also wanted to make happy.

Jiwoo returned home that evening after Sooyoung asked if it wouldn’t be better to stay over since it’s late, or whether she wanted her to drive her home, to which Jiwoo politely refused as, one, she couldn’t leave her grandfather alone without telling him, and two, she should stay inside and rest some more, so that her fever would be completely gone next time she came to the store.

And after parting with a hug, a promise that she’d send a message once she arrived home safely, and eventually a goodnight message, they both tiredly went to sleep, with the sole thing on their minds being the other.