Once More, Love 3

27. Before the Last

"Oh." Jihyo looks surprised at the woman who just stepped to the lobby of the Black Swan dance studio. The secretary is currently in her pencil skirt and office blouse, standing in front of the concierge and was previously rummaging through a sports bag.

Momo, who is still in her teacher's uniform, smiles and waves as she walks towards the other girl. She is carrying a large school backpack and a brown paper bag on her right hand. "Annyeong."

"What are you doing here?"

The homeroom teacher raises the paper bag to her right shoulder. "Making sure my best girl won't starve."

The secretary grins. "Chicken?"

"Yep." Momo nods. "From your favorite store. Deep fried with lots of sauce."

"Jinjja?!"

"Hmm."

"Aww." Jihyo makes lousy curtsy. "Kamsahamnida, Hirai-ssi. I'm deeply touched by your unsolicited gesture."

Momo shrugs and puts the paper bag on top of the concierge's desk. "No worries. I actually hope you gain a lot of weight from this though."

The secretary puts her right hand on her chest and continues to utter her words in a dramatic way. "Aww. Do you care for me that much?"

"Nah. I just hope no one dates you because you're fat."

"What— Ya!" Jihyo immediately glared daggers at her best friend. "That's mean! As a teacher, you should never speak like that! It's bullying!"

"Bullying?" Momo chuckles. "If it is between best friends, it's not bullying. It's... a love language."

"L— love?" Jihyo mumbles. "You're just trying to get away with it."

The elementary teacher shrugs. "Could be. Doesn't matter either way."

The secretary clicks her tongue and shakes her head at the other girl.

"Mina is making you work double time again." Momo casually starts as she begins peeling off the huge backpack from her body. "Are you sure she is not abusing her power as your boss?"

"Aigoo. I already told you it's fine!" Jihyo rolls her eyes. "Besides, how could this be an abuse of power when she has a perfectly legitimate reason to be out of the office today. Her husband is leaving the country. I already told you that, right?"

"Uh huh." The elementary teacher puts the backpack on top of the desk. "Chaemi also took off the latter half of today at school. If I'd been asked though, he should have not been sent to school at all. The kid was like a totally different kid all morning. He was inattentive and lethargic. Surely not the Chaemi I know."

Jihyo sighs. "Our poor Chaemi. He had to undergo all of this because of his father."

Momo opened her mouth but looked like she wavered to say what she wanted to. She just pursed her lips and let out a sigh, consecutively unzipping the largest pocket of her backpack. Then, like something on the other side of her mind won, she heaves in a deep breath and turns again to the other girl who is in the middle of carefully pulling out a black shirt from her sports bag. "Ji."

Jihyo unfolds the fabric, revealing an oversized black shirt. She throws it on her shoulder, letting it hang there as she looks to the homeroom teacher. "What?"

"Do you really believe Chaeyoung will come back?"

The secretary gives her best friend an unbelievable look. "Ya. What are you saying? Of course, Chaeyoung will. What kind of man will not go back to his family? Especially THAT family. Mina and Chaemi are like angels. Every man in the world would want to be the husband and the father of that family."