Chapter Two:

The sun was gleaming right down Jisoo's face as she laid lifelessly on the floor. After last night, Insu got tired of apologizing and begging her to come sleep in the bed. She only kept refusing, hoping he would leave her there.

And he did, sadly he did.

As she rose up, she groaned in pain. Her back was aching just as she got on her two feet. Nonetheless she was able to balance herself carefully on the floor.

Standing for a moment, she perked up her ears to hear a sound, him, anything. There was no hint of Insu. She sighed in relief while heading to the bathroom. When she looked at her reflection she began to cry. Full on marks were printed on her milky skin. A bruise was formed on the upper right of her cheek.

Jisoo jolted straight up just as she happened to rinse her face with cold water. Aish she uttered to her lonely self while glancing at the time. She'd obviously have to find a solution to hide all these marks. Even if it meant covering her whole body in this humid weather. Jisoo quickly grabbed her small tube of concealer and applied a generous amount on her bruised skin. Satisfied with the outcome, she sofly combed her jet black hair. And retrieved a turtle-neck out of her drawer before heading towards the door.

-

"Noona, aren't you dying in that sweater?" her co-worker, Choi Junhong asked. Even though he was seventeen, he happened to be one of the fewest people in her work that Jisoo actually grew fond of. And with Moon Jongup, who also worked there as well. The three have grown to have a nice bond. But she never went too deep in detail about her life.

"Yeah, you must be all sweaty!" Jongup added while making his way towards them. Jisoo eyed the both of them and quickly thought of something to say. "Believe it or not" she began. "I've been very cold these days, ok?"

"You're very weird, Noona" Junhong .

"Yeah, Yeah" she waved him off. To her relief, she worked at an all fancy restaurant. Which meant that the air conditioner was full on. Running with cold air, and only cold air.

Once in a while, Jisoo would have to head to the bathroom in order to touch up on her makeup. Her powder came in handy throughout the whole day. Jongup noticed some off the marks peeking through her neck. It's not that he was looking at her in that way, it was just too noticeable to not notice. He nudged Junhong on the shoulder as he signaled him to look.

She was handling some customers, when she felt someone staring at her. As she peeked through the corner of her eye, she realized Jongup and Junhong were whispering back and forth about something. She pulled her turtleneck higher, just as she headed to the kitchen.

"Here" she handed the paper with the orders written on them. "N-Noona, is everything ok?" Junhong mustered the courage to ask her. She nodded while keeping a poker face on. "Yeah, why?"

Secretly, she was hoping someone would notice and take her away from all this mess. But the poor boys were clueless. Unfortunately, everyone was.

"N-No, just asking" Later on he whispered I told you so into Jongups ear. Jongup sheepishly smiled back to him while scratching the back of his head.

The whole day was spent taking orders and delievering it to the customers. During break time, the three of them sat in one of the empty tables and enjoyed their little meals. "Did the others go eat somewhere?" Jongup asked, noticing that some of his co-workers were no where to be seen. "Yeah" Junhong responded. "They got tired of eating the same thing, you can't blame them."

Jisoo quietly listened to their conversation as she took a bite of her bread. Soaking it inside the soup, she gently placed it inside . Careful to not hurt the bruise on her cheek.

"Guys! I need one of you to lead some people to a table" Their assistant manager advised before running to the kitchen.

The three of them looked down at their food, expecting one of them to take the lead. With no one standing up, Jisoo decided to give in. "Fine! I'll do it" she stood up, picking up her meal. "Sit Noona" Jongup commanded her. "I'll do it"

The sincerity in his eyes seemed earnest and with no hesitation, she agreed. "Thanks Jongup" she told him. "At least you're a gentlemen" she eyed Junhong, who was calmly munching on his salad. "Oh come on, Noona" he pouted.

"Fine" Junhong picked up his plate. "I'll clean after all of us" he informed her, already marching to the kitchen. Jisoo smiled at his retreating figure as she stood up to help Jongup. Jisoo cleaned some tables that were at the moment, unoccupied. She skillfully decorated the tables with napkins and utensils.

"Noona can you please take this to the table at the further corner" Jongup begged. "I really have to use the bathroom."

"Yeah sure" she chuckled, holding out her thin arms.

Before heading to the table she begged Junhong to help her out with the plates. It was too much for her to carry. She knew if she handled it all by herself, only disaster would occur. He nodded trailing behind her as he followed her to the table.

Jisoo noticed three handsome men deep in conversation. It seemed as one of them wanted to leave that place immediately while the other two were busy trying to cheer him up. "Here you go" Junhong handed them the food while moving aside for Jisoo to deliever hers.

All three men had wide eyes at the sight of Jisoo causing her to feel self-conscious. Jisoo swiftly placed the rest of the plates on the table. Then bowed to the men while hiding her small figure behind Junhong. The fact that they kept staring at her made her feel as if they were ready to devour her in their gaze.The miserable one shot up almost in a flash and ran towards her direction. Junhong was pushed in the process, shocking Jisoo as she quickly stepped back in fear.

"Hyojin!" the man cried, grabbing her slim arms. "Hyojin! Is that you?" he looked at her with overjoyed eyes. Jisoo flinched as his hands came in contact with her sore arms. Junhong immediately stepped in, pushing the crazy man aside. "No!" he resisted, staring deep into Jisoo's dark chocolate eyes.

"Stay behind us" Jongup whispered into her ear almost scaring her in the process. She nodded as she gripped the back of his t-shirt while watching from his shoulder.

His yellings alarmed everyone even the kitchen crew, causing the other two men to abruptly stand up. The assistant manager sprinted to them glaring at Jisoo and Junhong. Junhong immediately came to his and Jisoo's defense by saying that one of them randomly got up and grabbed Jisoo in a violent way. The manager quickly shot them a look asking them to leave the scene.

Junhong grabbed her hand and brought her to the same room they were just hours ago. Jisoo stood there trying to comprehend what had just happened. Junhong repeatedly asked her if she knew him or had something to do with him. She just shook her head several times lost in her thoughts, wondering who that strange man was.

In her eyes, he didn't seem crazy or insane. He seemed much more than that.

He seemed miserable.