Imperfectly Perfect 2

18 : Patching Up

The doorbell is heard rung on the door of the Yoo's household. It is the early morning of the day right before Valentine's day.

"Oh, Nayeon!" Jeongyeon's sister opens the door and promptly hugs the sickly looking girl in front of her. "Come inside."

They both slowly walked inside with the older girl, still holding the soccer manager's hand. She guided Nayeon to sit onto the living room's couch and looked at her with genuine concern. "How are you? You look so frail!"

"I'm doing fine, Unnie." Nayeon faintly smiles. "It's okay. I'm alright."

"How in the world is this alright? I swear I'm smacking my sister's brain out if she did something terrible!"

The soccer manager chuckles. It is obvious though that everything she does is laced with sadness. Right after her release from the hospital the other day, Jeongyeon drove her back to the Chou mansion.

The council treasurer has indeed kept her mobile device active since yesterday after going home. She has been sending Nayeon constant reminders to eat, take her vitamins, rest and sleep whenever possible. Although when the soccer manager tried calling her, she still did not answer her phone. She also did not reply to any of Nayeon's specific texts.

"Jeong's in her room. I'm not sure if she's woken up already. I haven't seen her since last night when I went down to the kitchen and I saw her robbing our fridge of a bucket of ice cream."

Nayeon faintly smiles. "She likes to eat ice cream when she's stressed out."

Jeongyeon's sister flashed back a knowing smile at her. "Anyway, Mom and dad left for work a few minutes ago, while I was getting ready myself to go out. You'll be fine here alone with her, right?"

Nayeon simply nodded.

"You can now go upstairs. I'll drop by there before I leave the house to let you two know." The older girl then promptly tread further inside the house.

The soccer manager did not move for a moment. After a minute of contemplation and what seemed to be readying of herself, she heaves in a deep breath and abruptly stands up from her seat. She consecutively walked towards the room where the cause of her nervousness right now is located.

Nayeon heaves in another deep breath before knocking softly on the door to Jeongyeon's room.

"Just leave, Unnie! I'd just be ordering food or cooking something." A grumpy voice inside the room is heard.

The soccer manager opened her mouth to say something but instead of words coming out of her, it was tears that fell from her eyes. She put her hands on her face to stifle her sobs as her legs lose the strength to stand.

After about half an hour, faint sounds of footsteps are heard going upstairs. Shortly after, Jeongyeon's sister emerged from the stairs' direction. Her eyes slowly widened and her strides quickened at the sight she saw in front of her sister's room. "Hey, why are you just outside? Did Jeong not let you inside?"

Nayeon is sitting right beside the closed door of Jeongyeon's room. She is hugging her knees to her chest, quietly sobbing like a scared little kid.

The door to the room in front of them suddenly opens. "Unnie, who are you talking to—"

There was a moment of silence as the three girls awkwardly glanced at each other.

The older sister clears her throat. "I will now get going. The house is all yours. Talk this out to you two, like real adults. I'll be back in the evening, together with mom and dad."

As soon as Jeongyeon's sister was out of earshot, the council treasurer stares at the soccer manager whose eyes are just glued to the floor.

"What do you want, Nayeon? You shouldn't be here! You still need to rest."

Nayeon, who was just starting to calm down, began to sob again. She slowly looks up to the girl stiffly standing by the door. "Umm... Babe— I mean— Jeongyeon. Umm..." Her hands were shaking a bit as she nervously rummaged to the sling bag she was carrying.

Seconds after, the soccer manager pulls out a small, squared white box. Then, she abruptly stands up. However, her sitting for a long period of time somehow made her legs temporarily numb, making her go out of balance.

Jeongyeon immediately moves her body to catch her. "Hey! Be careful!"

"So— Sorry." Nayeon shifts to stable her footing. "He— Here—"

The soccer manager was about to hand out the white box she was holding when Jeongyeon cut her in.

"Follow me." The council treasurer walked towards the stairs. Her face looks devoid of emotions. She stopped and looked back at the girl who was left standing in front of her room, seemingly hesitant to follow her. "I'm cooking you some food. Follow me to the kitchen."

"But, I'm not hungry—"

"Eat. Do what I say or I'll kick you out of this house." Jeongyeon didn't wait for a response, she just walked straight downstairs.

Nayeon then slowly trailed behind. She puts the small box she was holding back inside to her sling bag. When she entered the kitchen, the council treasurer was already frying an egg with some bacon. There is a plate with rice on it, with a spoon and fork beside it. There is also a small bowl of what looks like mixed green salad.

"Sit." Jeongyeon coldly instructs as she turns off the electric stove. She consecutively scoops the egg and bacon and puts it in the lone plate on the table.

The soccer manager silently complies and picks up the spoon and fork prepared beside the plate of food.

The council treasurer gets an empty glass from the rack and pours milk onto it from the fridge. She puts it on top of the table, near the girl who is now timidly eating her food. "Drink this after."

Nayeon simply nods. Then, her eyes started to water again. As dramatic as it may look like, she is now eating and crying at the same time.

Jeongyeon heaves in a deep breath as she watches the girl in front of her. Her eyes also now start to redden from the tears she is trying her best to hold back. "Fi— Finish all of that." She turns around to get the pan and spatula that she used earlier. She puts it in the sink to start washing it.

Minutes later, the council treasurer finished her task while Nayeon's plate was still half full.

"I'm going upstairs." Jeongyeon announces. Without waiting again for a reply, she moves towards the direction of the living room.

"Babe—"

The council treasurer suddenly stops her legs' movement. "What is it, Nayeon?"

"Sorry, just— just out of habit. I— I meant to call you Jeongyeon. Please—"

"I will leave the door to my room open." Jeongyeon speaks without looking at the girl on the dining table. "But you can only follow me if you finish your meal." She continued to walk while mumbling under her breath. "You still look like you haven't been eating for the past few days."