𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆 | 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒚𝒑𝒆𝒏 (𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨)

14

Among the streets we'll walk past each other without knowing

Seventeen - Second life

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🐕

The mother of the Lee Household stepped lightly. Chaerin had to work an overnight shift as a barista in the Soria Cafe. However, it did not work as Jaeyun came out of the room with his hands in his eyes. Chaerin walked to him with arms out then Jake hugged her.

"You wake up?" Chaerin asked in broken English. Despite the bad grammar, Jake nodded and hugged her tighter. Chaerin opened the door to Heeseung's room and carefully went to tuck Jake to sleep. After tucking Jake to sleep, she went to call Nara.

"Nara, can you come to my house?" Chaerin asked as she sat in the kitchen, making breakfast and lunch for the kids. Despite Nara graduating at the top of their class, Nara can't survive without her.

Almost every day, Chaerin has to get up early to make breakfast and lunchboxes for all of them. Nara can't cook edible food. Chaerin almost got sent to the hospital due to Nara's cooking.

Someone knocked on the door that made Chaerin panic. It was nearing midnight, and the children were still asleep. Chaerin rushed to the door and opened it. Nara stood there with a hoodie and sweatpants with Starbucks in her hand. "What are you hurrying for, unnie?"

Chaerin rolled her eyes and let Nara in. She can't believe that Nara is more intelligent than her. "Oh, are you off to work?" Nara asked as she scrolled through her phone. "Yes. Anyways, this is their breakfast. You only need to heat it in the microwave. And this is the lunch. They are color labeled; you only need to find it."

"Wait, I thought you only have one kid. Unnie." Nara stopped for a dramatic effect. "Did you have another one?"

"You idiot. I found three kids near Heeseung's daycare. By the way, they are the cutest being on Earth. They are staying with me now." Chaerin said as she deadpanned to Nara. Sighing, Chaerin grabbed her coat as she headed out.

💅

Even in the middle of the night, the coffee shop is busy. Orders keep rushing in, causing Chaerin to go place to place. She handled the cashier from the front and the drive-thru while the other employees made the orders.

"Chaerin-ah! There's a customer in front!" Chaerin runs to the front from the stock room. The sight that greeted her was an office lady with large eyebags. "Look, I only have 10 minutes of break. All I need is black coffee. Venti."

"Yes, ma'am." Chaerin put the prices as she gave the receipt and card of the customer. She looked back and saw her other workers busy. Cracking her knuckles, Chaerin decided to handle it herself.

"Thank you for ordering at Soria cafe! Have a nice evening!" Chaerin greeted the customer as the customer did not look back at her. Orders keep piling in as dawn approaches.

All workers haven't got any sleep as they are filled with orders. Chaerin's body hurt as she kept running around the cafe. She also had a monstrous headache since yesterday that went away at some point after taking a pill.

Chaerin headed to the staff room since her shift ended minutes ago. "Chaerin-ssi, your phone kept ringing since a while ago." A worker told her while pointing at her locker. "Thank you! Have a nice trip home!" She opened her phone from her locker. A total of 36 messages and 6 phone calls are in her notifications.

Chaerin got worried as she tried calling Nara. The call kept getting disconnected that made her more worried. The woman immediately called a cab. Along the ride, Chaerin kept calling her friend but kept getting disconnected.

🦌🐕🦅🐧

"We are here, miss." The driver woke Chaerin as they reached her house. Chaerin immediately thanked the driver as she headed over to the home. What greeted her sight was crying children with a crying Nara. Chaerin went to Heeseung, Jongseong, Jake, and Sunghoon. "What's wrong?" She kept asking them, but they didn't answer.

"We thought you were gone."

"I thought you left us."

"I'm scared."

"Eomma, I thought you were by my side when I woke up."

"Sorry, babies, Eomma went to work." Chaerin consoled all of them, but it did not work. She sighed and opened her phone and gave it to Heeseung. They calmed down and became excited. With Heeseung leading them, they went to the living room with their eyes stuck on the screen.

Chaerin let out a sigh of relief but quickly deadpanned. Sitting in the corner, Nara kept crying and sniffling. Chaerin muttered while massaging her temples. "Why are you crying over there?" Nara looked up from her corner and saw Chaerin.

"UNNIEEE!!!" Nara rushed to Chaerin and hugged her. "Those brats kept crying. I don't know what to do. I kept calling you, but you didn't answer." Nara stated as she kept explaining herself. Chaerin sighed for the nth time of the day. "Nara, you did a great job today. You did the right thing. Calling me is a safe option. Don't cry, okay? Aigoo, I think I have five children instead of four."

Chaerin chuckled as she went to the kitchen. Her jaws dropped as she saw the kitchen with all mess around the place. The cabinets are all open, showing all the bowls and plates inside. Chaerin saw the cereal box on the floor. Taking a deep sigh, she grabbed it and saw the empty contents. She just bought it a few days ago.

She sighed as she grabbed the broom and started sweeping the floor. Just as she was about to put away the broom, the crying of toddlers was heard in the living room. Chaerin rushed to the living room and saw them fighting over Nara's phone.

Chaerin took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Sweethearts, you can use my phone." She handed over her phone and calmed down the crying children. It took them a while to calm down as they all sat on the floor. Meanwhile, Nara sat on the couch as she watched the drama of the Lee household.