The descending short ride in the elevator was surprisingly not awkward at all – it was rather oddly comforting. Even so it was less than ten seconds, Jimin felt a lot of things were happening at the same time when she’s alone with Minjeong in a confined box. In those ten seconds, Jimin was fidgeting her fingers nervously behind her back, stealing glances at Minjeong who was just looking straight ahead. The raven girl was somehow curious about what could the blonde be thinking right now, hoping she wouldn’t cross as a creep – she just couldn’t help but to observe, and the more she took a peek, the more she’s getting nervous around her. Thankfully for Jimin, the bell rang indicating the opening of its doors, and when it did, Jimin immediately blocked it with her hand so it would not close, gesturing at Minjeong that she should go out first.

Surprised by the unexpected politeness, Minjeong looked at her as their eyes met. “Thank you,” she said in a quiet and shy voice but it was loud enough to reach Jimin’s ears as she smiled in return where the blonde went out as Jimin followed her a step behind. For Jimin, it was just a common courtesy, or just a small and free nice thing to do for someone; it could be a small gesture, but it was big enough to be caught by the eagle eyes of Jennie, who was observing them from a safe distance in the dining area, nodding her head in approval.

“They’re here,” Jennie whispered loudly to dumbfounded Lisa who was already sitting on her designated seating arrangement decided no other than her ex-girlfriend. To be honest, Lisa had no idea what to do as she just sat there in complete confusion. As far as she could remember, Jennie was trying to tell her about the plan while they’re running down the stairs. But in all honesty, she couldn’t understand every single word her ex-girlfriend said, because aside from her ex-girlfriend’s half-panting and half-excited energy, Jennie’s words came off as gibberish; but most probably, Lisa was panicking inside because she didn’t want to end up in an ambulance rushing to the hospital that’s why there’s no single word of her ex-girlfriend was processed by her brain. In order to fix this, she came up a plan on her own, which were just to follow whatever Jennie was planning to do, take cues from her here and then, and always stay on her good side at all times. Lisa was indeed a fool. Now, can you see what love can do to people?

 “Oh, are they here?” Grandma Lee asked who was coming out from the kitchen, holding the pot full of sauce where Jennie quickly rushed to her help and retrieved the said object from her hands. “Yes. Let me help you with that, Grandma Lee,” Jennie smiled as she tried her luck to ask the old caretaker a small favor. “By the way Grandma Lee, can I ask you to sit on the head chair at the edge of the table?”

“But isn’t it Minjeong who was supposed to sit there?” the old caretaker furrowed her eyebrows.

“Yes. But only this night, please? Minjeong will never say no to you so she will definitely don’t mind if you sit there now. Please?” Jennie pleaded, batting her eyelashes and frowning in an irresistible manner, which made Lisa swoon every single time from such adorableness.

“Okay,” the old caretaker chuckled even though she wasn’t sure what was Jennie planning to do.

“Great! Thank you so much!” Jennie shrieked, as she pulled the head chair at the edge of the table for the old caretaker to sit on.

At last, they heard footsteps and the faint sound of motor wheels approaching nearby; and just in time before they appear at the archway to the dining room, Jennie sat on the first empty chair at the left side of the head seat, while in her left, Lisa was sitting beside her, leaving two empty seats across them – reserved for both Jimin and Minjeong.

Stunned, Minjeong came to a full stop just a meter away from the archway, which made Jimin almost bumped into her which she thankfully avoided it just in time, as she was also perplexed because she was just following the blonde’s lead. Minjeong was befuddled because first of all, the seating arrangement was suddenly changed, which concluded that Jennie was right, the blonde didn’t really mind wherever she would sit; but still she couldn’t help to question that out of all the days and nights they’ve been eating together, why suddenly changed the position? Not because she didn’t want to sit beside Jimin – now that she didn’t have a choice – she was just trying to distance herself bit by bit, but why did the universe was suddenly acting like a jerk now and doing the other way around?

Shrugging it off as she moved her wheelchair again towards them where Jimin followed her behind, the confusion in Minjeong’s face was turning into terror. Well, first of all, it seemed like there’s nothing wrong when she looked at Lisa who was just smiling at them, but she looked like she was sitting there was against her will, while Grandma Lee looked delighted to see that they would all share a meal together. But when she shifted her sight to Jennie, she was greeted no other than by a weird mischievous grin from her older cousin where her fingers laced together on top of the table, just like a movie scene where the villain was sitting pretty on her throne while waiting for the hero to come around, and when the hero finally appeared, the villain would slowly show her evil grin and then released a maniac laughter afterwards – yup, that feeling.

“Hey there, you two,” Jennie greeted, smiling like a cute devil.

“Hey unnie, are you okay?” Minjeong was extremely concerned, because she knew that if her older cousin was acting like that, there was definitely something going on behind the scene without her knowing; and most of the time, her hunch was correct.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be? Don’t be shy, take your seats,” Jennie stood up and went to Minjeong’s side to assist her in transferring herself to dining chair. Jimin, on the other hand, sat down across Lisa. Jimin felt a bit awkward not to do anything for Minjeong beside her, even though Jennie was already standing there to assist, the raven girl somehow wanted to offer her help in any way – although she’s not aware that she had this nurturing trait in her – she decided to just sit and observe, which speaking of, she noticed the caster wheels were creating small shaky movements during the self-transfer. Jimin immediately placed her foot over the small wheel to stop it from moving and to avoid possible accident, removing it afterwards before anyone else could notice what she had done after Minjeong safely transferred herself.  Even though Jimin didn’t say a word about it, Jennie realized the raven girl did something when she caught a glimpse of quick foot movement on the floor, as she manually pushed the wheelchair on her own to the corner of the room, while scolding herself when she forgot to put the lock on, but thankfully, Jimin was there. Smiling to herself and nodding in another approval, Jennie went back to her seat as she ticked two invisible boxes in her head. She’s quiet and observant. Approved.

“Oh. Before I forgot, Lisa, this is Jimin, the one who saved Minjeong earlier. And Jimin, this is Lisa, she’s a family friend,” Jennie introduced them to each other where Jimin stood up and bowed at her that amused Lisa. “You can call me Lisa, or unnie. It’s nice to meet you Jimin,” the Thai woman also left her seat as she let out a hand, smiling. Obviously, Lisa already knew her name because they stalked them a while ago. She was doing it just for formality, while Jennie was watching them, ticking another box in her head. She’s respectful too. Approved.

Jimin smiled back, politely shaking her hand. “It’s nice to meet you too, Lisa unnie,” as she sat down, she exchanged a brief glance with the blonde sitting beside her, but they both quickly pulled away. Jennie noticed it, obviously, because she was literally gawking right in front of them, especially at Minjeong who was sitting across her, with a creased forehead and a slight raising of an eyebrow, because the blonde was suspecting that there was a bad element taking over her older cousin – and it’s awkward. Lisa nudged Jennie beside her by an elbow to pull her away from her too obvious daydreaming because she was scaring out Minjeong and their guest.

“How about, let’s start eating, shall we?” Grandma Lee suggested, getting on her feet as she opened the pot and the savory smell was hanging in the air in an instant, causing the blonde to beam a bright lovely smile, where Jimin caught the sight of it, unaware that a smile was also tugging in her face; but as she veered her sight in front of her, Jennie with an unexplainable smirk in her face caught her staring at her younger cousin, but then Jennie proceeded to pretend she didn’t see anything, which made Jimin blushed in embarrassment as she took a mental note for herself to learn how to control herself.

All was well, so far, the first few minutes of the dinner was smooth sailing. Grandma Lee happily served the noodles on each of their plates, leaving everyone who took their first bite ecstatic, raving about how awesome it was, showering the old caretaker with compliments – most especially, Minjeong who seemed to have her own world while enjoying her favorite food, slurping the noodles like there’s going to be a zombie apocalypse tomorrow; she didn’t care if her face would be bloated the first thing she woke up tomorrow morning, as long as she was eating her favorite food, that’s what only mattered to her now. Jimin who? Minjeong was trying her very best not to mind the raven girl sitting beside her – trying her very best to pretend that everything was fine starting tomorrow after Jimin left.

In few tasteful bites by, Grandma Lee initiated the first dinner conversation for the night, addressing both Minjeong and Jennie. “By the way, how’s the event today?”

“It went well,” Minjeong smiled.

Jennie added. “But we had some situation a while back. There’s a trespasser who successfully got inside the event, and unfortunately, she wasn’t caught. But we’re currently investigating who it could be. Although it’s highly unlikely, we will do everything we can to make sure that person will still get arrested.”

Jimin choked hard, gaining all the unwanted attention, where a strand of noodle got stuck in , coughing as she quickly covered . “Sorry… I’m sorry,” she apologized profusely. At that exact moment, Jimin would rather choose to die than to rot in jail. It’s like having a last supper with the disciples, as she waited for the kiss of betrayal from a Judas, before she got crucified.

“Oh no, dear, are you alright?” Grandma Lee came to her rescue and gave her paper towels.

“Yes. Thank you. I’m sorry,” Jimin was coughing in between her words, wiping . “It’s just a noodle but it’s fine now,” she sipped from her glass of water, where their eyes were still on her as she cleared .

Grandma Lee smiled as she went back to her seat where she continued to pry. “Do you have any leads about who that person is?”

Of course, Jimin was interested to know too because this could define whether she would ever get to sleep in this majestic villa or she would sleep on the cold cement floor in the jail tonight. She continued eating as she tried to keep her cool.

“We really don’t have that much info but we have few shots of her from the CCTVs. That girl is very smart in avoiding all the places with CCTVs in it. She knows the blind spots. No one can identify her face because she’s wearing a cap and a mask, and pretended to be one of the utility staff at the event,” Jennie answered and she seemed really disappointed about it.

Thanks to Yeji. I guess I really need to thank her about this. She really helped me a lot. Jimin thought in which she took a note in her head that she should thank her new friend later after this dinner.

“But what do you think is her motive?” Lisa chimed in.

“Most probably one of the crazy fans of Winter who wanted to see Winter’s real face,” Jennie took a moment, but in an instant, she realized that she should be careful talking about Winter in front of strangers since she believed Jimin didn’t know anything about it. She made a smooth segue. “Dealing with crazy fans is one of the things we need to face while working for Winter. Right, Minjeong?”

Minjeong nodded, she immediately picked up from the get-go what was Jennie trying to do. “Right. Winter is a very mysterious and private person but it’s nice working for her.”

Jimin, on the other hand, was trying to read between the lines if what they were saying was true. Nevertheless, although she didn’t know what to believe as of the moment, she believed she should investigate more. Maybe they were really not the same as she thought it to be, or maybe it still could be the other way around.

“But are you both alright? Did she cause any harm?” Lisa got alarmed.

“We’re fine. She didn’t do anything bad. She just trespassed, and according to the head of the security, she stayed for a bit to listen around the Q & A part of the event, then she vanished into thin air. And just like that, she’s nowhere to be found,” Jennie chewed her noodles. “But you know what, I have a theory that the person whom Minjeong was talking to at the hallway, and the trespasser is the same person.”

Like a cold water slowly pouring over head, Jimin was now having a mini heart attack because of this theory. She wanted to run and shout for help but of course, it’s an idiotic thing to do at the moment because she was indeed the suspect on the loose, so she settled in silence instead, as she glanced at Minjeong beside her, seemingly unbothered and uninterested of the topic, just eating her noodles.

“Really? Why do you say so?” Grandma Lee asked.

“Because she smells really nice. I know it sounds stupid but I smelled that particular scent two times this day – the first one is in an art gallery, and the second one at the event place, like it was following us,” Jennie shrugged her shoulders. “Still, I don’t know.”

Jimin wasn’t sure if she should take it as a compliment or not, as she sneakily sniffed the collar of her top, curious about what smell it was – and she smelled nothing – Maybe because the scent of the fabric conditioner she used for the top she’s wearing right now wore off completely, or maybe because of her shampoo or soap, because she never wore cologne or perfume. It’s just making her dizzy. But she was lucky, that Jennie didn’t smell something on her when they met, or else.

“But that’s what I only think though,” Jennie proceeded. “I’m just glad she didn’t do anything to hurt Minjeong.”

“I don’t think she will do that,” Minjeong finally broke her silence, where everyone was stupefied about her statement defending the said trespasser, most especially, Jimin who couldn’t believe it as she looked at her.

“But why?” Jennie asked in confusion.

“Because,” Minjeong was staring at the noodles pinched in between of her chopsticks, remembering her interaction with the trespasser in her head, specifically the part where her heart weirdly skipped a beat. “Because, I just feel she isn’t that kind of person,” she explained, reaching out for her glass of water beside her plate, she continued. “But just in case, she really is the same person, then her reason must be so important that she is willing to take the risk in getting caught, just to see Winter,” the blonde let out an assertive smile. “I honestly feel that she’s not a crazy fan or what.”

Jennie nodded, accepting defeat. “Fair point.”

The thorns pinching inside her chest withdrawn as Jimin felt relief from those words. She didn’t know why but she felt happy hearing those words from Minjeong – the raven girl was happy that someone somehow understood the intention of her trespassing, although nowadays it’s difficult to trust a complete stranger, Minjeong still believed in her, which was enough for her. Tugging a refrained smile in her face, as Jimin looked away and continued to eat her noodles.

Jennie then diverted her attention to Jimin, as she told her sincerely. “I’m sorry if you need to hear that. This day is just crazy for both Minjeong and I.”

“No worries. I understand,” Jimin smiled. But deep inside, if the only knew, she was also part of that crazy day but hers was much crazier because she had been through a lot in the whole 24 hours.

“By the way, as far as I can remember what Grandma Lee told me earlier, is that you’re from Mokpo and it’s your first time here in Sokcho, right?” Jennie asked as she saw a window of opportunity to go along with her plan.

“Yes. I am.”

“Really?” Jennie said in a cheerful tone, which made Minjeong suspicious of her sudden change of attitude. “What brings you here in Sokcho?” the older girl asked.

“Uhm. The truth is,” Jimin took a brief pause. “I actually ran away from home last night, and I honestly don’t know where to go. It just so happened that I came here.”

“Oh,” Jennie was perplexed as silence took over for a moment. Now, although Jimin was staring down at her plate, she could feel everyone was looking at her with pity in their faces. And in her perpendicular vision, she could see a worry strained on the blonde’s face who was staring heavily at her.

“But I’m fine, and I think it’s for the best,” Jimin assured like it was the best decision she had ever made in her life, smiling as she looked up and meet their eyes except to the person beside her, because she just couldn’t bear looking at her when Minjeong was like that. “I just have a very complicated relationship with my aunt and cousin throughout these years, until I eventually reached my breaking point when it’s too much to handle, that’s why I decided to run away from home,” which eventually convinced them as signs of relief in their faces showed itself up, aside from the fact, that searching for the girl in the polaroid photo and the poetry book in Jimin’s possession heavily influenced her to decide in a whim.

“But can you manage? I mean, do you have a job at the moment?” Jennie asked in concern, with a hidden agenda, yet again, she saw this as another opportunity – it’s going to be a win-win situation for the both of them if ever Jimin would agree on it.

“Unfortunately, no. The moment that I ran away is also the moment I lost my job because I was working at my aunt’s moon snail restaurant and convenience store.”

“Great!” Jennie squeaked, but she knew she ed up when everyone looked at her in huge disbelief. “I mean, not great. Because losing a job ,” she awkwardly chuckled, trying to make her way out from an embarrassing situation. “But what I mean great is that now you’re free from a complicated life, because you know, it’s not great living in a condition like that in a long run, right?” Jennie recovered, as Minjeong put a palm on her face, shaking her head slowly, while Grandma Lee and Jimin was staring at her in bewilderment, and Lisa was struggling so hard to hold her laughter as Jennie stomped her feet over hers under the table, giving her killer eyes afterward. “Aww!” Lisa winced quietly, as she decided to stop.

Pretending that didn’t happen, they continued eating as Jennie asked her again. “But how about if someone gave you a job opportunity like right now? Would you grab it?” whereas Minjeong raised an eyebrow at her older cousin, she’s feeling Jennie was definitely up to something.

“As long as it’s not illegal, I will take it.” 

“She’s such a hardworking person. I know she’s reliable since she helped out here a lot earlier,” Grandma Lee praised where Jimin smiled at her in return, as a thought suddenly crossed into the old caretaker’s mind when she looked at Lisa. “Oh, about that. I remember, Lisa, you told me yesterday that you have job openings for one of your businesses downtown, right? Maybe you can help Jimin,” she suggested.

Forgetting that they were doing a mission, Lisa acknowledged. “Oh. Yes! I am actually looking for one…” but small soft kicks were hitting her foot, interrupting her sentence, as she glanced at Jennie beside her, who was glaring at her, covering her face with her hand where her elbow was pressing the table, mouthing her the words ‘I will kill you’. Terrified, Lisa awkwardly chuckled as she shifted her sight forward. “Oh. Right, I remember one of my store managers told me that she already found the one just a while ago. I just forgot. I’m sorry. But if there’s another job opening, I will tell you right away.”

“Oh. Is that so?” Grandma Lee was quite disappointed. “But don’t worry Jimin, if I also happen to find one, I will tell you,” she assured.

“Me too!” I want to help you too,” Jennie was back once again with the enthusiastic tone and Minjeong was really suspicious about that.

“It’s alright. Thank you for the help. I appreciate it a lot,” Jimin smiled.

“Since we’re on a topic like this. Can you drive?” Jennie attacked her again with questions. “I mean, you know, just for checking some job qualifications so I can help you to find one.”

Huh, really, unnie? Minjeong knitted her eyebrows slightly, deciding to take the back seat for a while to see where this conversation is heading to.

“Yes, I can. My aunt owns a small van for her business.”

“I see,” Jennie nodded. “What kind of work can you do?”

“I can pretty much do anything, I just need someone to teach me how to do it or just give me a manual or something as long as it’s not too complicated that requires an expert, I can do it.”

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