Blind To Tears | jenlisa (ON HOLD)

Chapter 7

LISA

Seoul September 2022

"Mrs. Kwon?" I ask, extremely surprised.

"G'Day." The old lady grumbles. I stare at her with a furrowed brow.

What is this woman doing here? I sigh to myself. Is Ben missing a certain thing? Otherwise she doesn't visit me either. I've often been in her modest home, but this is usually involuntary. She snakes past me, grunting, and stomps loudly into my kitchen.

"I'm doing great, are you?" I murmur sarcastically to myself and gradually close the door.

"Don't babble quietly to yourself, and make me a decent coffee." What a lovely lady.

I rush into the kitchen and put a convulsive smile on my lips. Mrs. Kwon murmurs quietly to herself and gets a newspaper out of her bag. I've known this woman for over three years now and to this day she has the manners of a Neanderthal. I noticeably shake my head to myself. Apparently no one could ever get along with the old woman and even Ben has problems from time to time to understand her thoughts. I just tolerated her. After all, she is one of my regular customers, but over the years even I was able to resist her non-existent charm.

"The usual?" I ask cheerfully.

Company is good for me, even if it's her. It's incredibly difficult for me to be alone and I often fall into loneliness. Since that tragedy I find it difficult to get out of bed get. Let alone taking care of myself and especially baking.

"Mhm." The old lady grumbles and leafs through her newspaper. Quickly she sits behind it and I suppress a grin.

"What brings you here?" I ask as I take the beautiful dishes out of the cupboard. My mother gave them to me when we moved in. Beautiful porcelain from Thailand. Even the old witch will like it!

"Your coffee is what it looks like the only acceptable thing in town." She scratches her chin, gritting her teeth. I raise my eyebrow in amusement.

"Oh, is that so?" I grab a few cookies from my cupboard and put them on the table for her. She wrinkles her nose.

"Ben had brought me such a cruel coffee. I almost saw death." I flinch slightly and there's a moment of silence.

After seeing death, you forget how to breathe. You forget what it means to live. Because even your own heartbeat cannot heal the broken pieces that were caused.

Mrs. Kwon clears her throat.

"I didn't mean it that way." I wave her off.

"Don't bother yourself. On another day I would have laughed at that comment." I put the coffee on the table for her and stare at the floor.

"When would you be ready to return?" I look at the old lady, slightly confused. I cross my arms.

"What exactly do you mean?" She takes a deep sip of her coffee and sips quietly.

"I assume you are unemployed at the moment." The corners of my mouth turn up. I lean back, pouting slightly.

"I think it'll stay that way for a long time." I murmur sadly. Mrs. Kwon blinks at me attentively.

"To what extent?" She asks. I sigh sadly. A gray cloud appears over my head when I think about the phone call I had this morning. How could I be so stupid?

Every decision I make leaves unforeseeable consequences. Everything goes wrong and leaves only pain behind. Staying with Sana was calming and relaxing. It was like I was living in an endless dream. I built a little fantasy world for myself. I was no longer lonely. I became, however naive it may sound like, loved. Even if it wasn't real, it was beautiful. But the morning awakens, just as we wake up to our dreams. And the only thing left is the fine dust of longing, the vibrating smell of homesickness and the hope that we will be in find our soul again the next night.