Once More, Love 3

36. Ghosts of the Past (Finale)

"So..." Jennie lets her back lean against the kitchen counter, facing Nayeon who is on the sink, washing their mugs. "Tzuyu's your... ex?"

"Huh? How—" The cafe owner's hand stopped for a second. She stops the faucet, puts the mug to the side of the sink, then faces the other girl. "How did you... I don't recall Jeongyeon mentioning it earlier. How... did you know?"

"A date related to a woman who is important to me." Jennie answers while looking into Nayeon's curious eyes. "Jeongyeon may have a lot of women around him but I perfectly know none of them mattered. He was throwing them one by one in the trash like actual rubbish anyway. But... I know one girl who matters to him."

Nayeon scoffs and smiles. "His sister."

The sous chef nods. "Yoo Tzuyu. Jeong's not so little sister. Jeong and I bet on his house's passcode out of pure tripping. When he said it was related to a girl, I knew right away it had something to do with Tzuyu. That stupid man might have tried to confuse me with his never ending girls but I knew for a fact that the only girl who mattered to him was Tzuyu."

"So you're close with her? With Tzuyu. You have her birthday memorized. If what you said earlier was true."

Jennie looks to the floor and smiles. "Oh, girl. Jeongyeon and I happen to have the same passcode in our houses."

"Wha—" The cafe owner's eyes widens. "WHAT?"

The sous chef chuckles and just nods at Nayeon, letting what she just said sink fully into the latter's head.

"So..." The cafe owner speaks with caution. "Is it safe to assume that you have strong feelings for Tzuyu?"

Jennie simply nods.

"Well..." Nayeon sighs and turns to pick up the mugs she left on the side of the sink. "What more can I say but..." She sincerely smiles at the chef. "Good luck then? Take care of that baby girl."

"Hmm." Jennies smiles back. "I will. Of course, I will."

There was a moment of silence as the cafe owner carefully put back the mugs one by one in the kitchen rack.

But the peace in the atmosphere was short lived when Jennie spoke again. "What did you do to her?"

"Huh?" Nayeon turns to give the other girl a clueless look. "What are you..."

"This may sound out of line but—" Jennie heaves in a deep breath and continues in a calm manner. "What happened to her? I am struggling to get her to open up to me because she has a lot of baggage from the past. What did you do to her?"

Nayeon scoffs and answers with a bratty attitude. "Excuse me?"

The sous chef opened her mouth but nothing came out of it. Her shoulders slump as she prolongs an exhale. "M— mianhae. That was really out of line."

The cafe owner smirks. "That's fine. If I were you, I would never suspect Tzuyu for doing anything bad anyway. She truly looks like an angel. Not to mention she's also soft spoken. That's a combo you can never easily dismiss. I mean— even when we were together back when we were still in college, I never wanted to believe she was able to do those things to me."

Jennie was just staring at Nayeon who felt the need to continue her story. "Jennie-ssi. I hate to break it to you but it wasn't me who did something to her. In fact, the problem with me was I did nothing. I... just stood by the sidelines and continued to love her... and trust her... and accept her. Despite everything."

There was a long pause before the cafe owner spoke again while the chef was simply zeroing her eyes on the former. "But all I can say is that... It's all in the past now. There's no point in bringing those things back. I'm way over the clouds with Jeongyeon and as for Tzuyu... I'd be lying if I'd tell you that I wished her happiness all along. I was human too. At one point, I wanted her to suffer. I wanted her to atone for the sins she did."