Chapter 2 (1/1)

The sound of my alarm rudely awakens me in the morning and I hurriedly shut it off. It feels like I had only just managed to fall asleep and it takes me a good minute to adjust to my unfamiliar surroundings. As the reality of the situation that I’m in dawns to me, I get filled with a feeling of sadness. Not really feeling like getting out of bed, I briefly consider calling in sick for work. I really need the money though. A sigh escapes me and I peel the blankets off of me. Perhaps work will take my mind off of things. God knows I could use the distraction. I get dressed and make my way to the bathroom, my legs feeling heavy with every step I take. This time I purposefully avoid looking at the picture of Seungwan and Seulgi in the hallway. As I brush my teeth I can’t help but notice the unpleasant sight of my reflection in the mirror, eyes puffy from crying all night long. How pitiful. The sound of soft knocks on the bathroom door takes me out of my trance. “Unnie,” Seungwan calls out from the other side. “Seulgi came by to see you. She’s waiting downstairs.” Shit. My heart starts beating rapidly and I quickly rinse my mouth before replying. “Tell her to leave.” Seungwan lets out a deep sigh. “You should at least hear her out, unnie.” I knew it was a mistake coming here. They are best friends, of course Seungwan will always pick Seulgi over me. I’m such an idiot. I start to feel lightheaded and grip the washing table tightly to steady myself. “I can’t face her. Not right now. Please Seungwan,” I plead, my voice shaking with desperation. Thankfully, Seungwan gives in to my request and she goes back downstairs. After I’ve calmed down and hear the front door close, meaning Seulgi has left, I gather my stuff for work and make my way downstairs. I expected Seungwan to give me a stern look, but all I’m met with is pity in her eyes. “You broke up with her,” she states. Unsure of what to say, I just try to avoid her gaze. She shakes her head, as if she disapproves of my decision. “Seulgi-” she starts again, but I immediately cut her off. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to know why she was here or what she said to you.” It must have come out more harshly than I had intended, because Seungwan looks taken aback to hear me say that. She must think I’m cold-hearted, but it’s the only way I know how to protect myself. “I understand that you are her best friend and if you want me to leave, then I will.” I realize that I need to pick my words carefully now, but I also need to know where Seungwan stands. “Where will you go?” she asks me. Truthfully, I don’t really have anywhere else to go, but there’s no need for her to know that. “Don’t worry about it.” She approaches me, her hand resting on my arm. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but I don’t want to be in the midst of it all. I won’t be picking sides and like I said before, you can stay here as long as you need to.” Though I’m undeserving of such kindness, I take it with both hands and nod appreciatively. “Thank you.” --- It isn’t until around dinner time when it starts to get really packed at work and I find myself rushing from one table to the other. As I’m cleaning table 10, I suddenly feel a tap on my back. “Excuse me.” I turn around to find a young couple eyeing me angrily. “You gave my girlfriend the wrong plate, this isn’t what she ordered,” the guy says. “Oh I’m sorry about that. What was it you ordered, miss?” I ask the girl as I check what I wrote down on my notepad. Rice and chicken wings. “She ordered a bowl of teriyaki miso ramen, which clearly this isn’t,” the boyfriend chimes in again. He gestures at the plate of rice and chicken wings on the table. That’s odd. “This should be the correct order, it says so right here,” I tell him, showing him my notepad. He shakes his head furiously and pushes my arm away, not wanting to hear any of it. "You must’ve written the wrong thing down. Take this back to the kitchen and give her what she ordered,” he demands. The fact that he put his hands on me, even if it was just briefly, agitates me but I try to remain calm as I speak. “Sir, your girlfriend has already eaten from it. I can bring you a bowl of ramen, but the plate of rice and chicken will still have to be paid for.” “I haven’t eaten from it yet,” the girlfriend finally speaks. They must think I’m a fool, because I can clearly tell that she’s already eaten from her plate. I’m already in a bad mood and having this greasy couple pulling my leg only irritates me further. “I find that very hard to believe,” I respond. “Yah! Are you calling my girlfriend a liar?” the guy yells at me and gets out of his seat. The girlfriend remains quiet and just stares as me like I have idiot written in giant letters on my forehead. “I’m certainly not calling her honest, asshole!” People at other tables are starting to look at us now as the guy glares me down. “I want to speak to the owner of this place. You’re so getting fired!” He points his finger in my face and it makes my blood boil. Thankfully Sooyoung steps in exactly at the right moment. “Unnie, why don’t you step outside for a bit of fresh air and let me take care of this,” she says.I let out a defeated sigh and take off my apron. The douchebag looks at me triumphantly as I walk past him and it really makes me wish I could wipe that smirk off his face. --- I’m not sure how long I’ve been sitting on the curb outside, but it’s long enough for Sooyoung to come check up on me. “It’s unlike you to lose your temper like that,” Sooyoung says. She sits down next to me and I shift a bit to the right, trying to maintain distance between us. “I didn’t mess up the order.” “It’s not the end of the world if you did,” she replies. But I really didn’t. I hug my legs closer to my chest, my head resting on top of my knees. I don’t mean to get upset, but it’s frustrating when you feel like someone doesn’t believe you when you’re telling the truth. “Do you think I’ll get fired?” I ask her. It’s not like I love this job, far from it. However, right now it’s the only constant in my life and the thought of losing this part of my routine makes me anxious. “Nah, mr. Kim will understand when you explain him what happened. And I will vouch for you,” Sooyoung responds and she shoots me a reassuring smile. It eases my worries to know that she has my back and I instantly feel better. After a few minutes Sooyoung and I go back inside and finish the remainder of our shift. Thankfully, it passes by rather quickly and I don’t run into any other troubles. --- Seungwan comes home even later than me and appears quite frustrated when she walks into the living room. I offer her some leftovers I brought with me from the restaurant and she happily accepts. The blonde girl then tells me that on her way home from the library she almost got run over by a teenager on a bike who screamed at her to get out of the way. I kind of want to tell her not to eat and talk at the same time, something that I’ve always scolded Seulgi for, but she’s letting me stay in her home so it’s probably not polite of me to nag at her. “I yelled at her and she got off her bike, looked me dead in the eye and had the audacity to say ‘but did you die though?’” She lets out a huff in frustration. “I told her to be more mindful of others in the future and she walked towards me with her bike in hand. At this point I thought she would apologize, but she just grabbed one of my books and threw it in the bushes. Does she even know how expensive these books are?” I highly doubt it, if the bratty girl really was only a teenager. “So naturally, I did what anyone else would do and threatened to call the cops on her.” She says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world and I can’t help but crack a smile. “And you know what she said then?” Seungwan says, her eyes looking like they’re going to pop out of their sockets. I shake my head slowly. “She said ‘try it old lady’, gave me the finger and just drove off. Can you believe it? I swear teenagers these days have no respect.” I don’t know if it makes me a bad person, but somehow it comforts me to know that I wasn’t the only one who had a rough day. “Anyway, how was work?” I offer her a shrug. “Work was work,” I simply reply. She seems content with that answer and we continue eating dinner while making small talk. It may have been a rough day, but I got through it. I just need to keep faith that it only gets easier from here on out.I’ll be alright.