mixnine. woo jinyoung

XXIX. Halmeoni

"YAH, GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I HIT YOU WITH MY BROOM, YOU THIEF!!!"

I immediately turned around and was hit with a broomstick right on the head by the angry grandma that was in glasses.

I put my hands up. "Ah! I-I'm sorry!! I can explain, please stop hitting me!!" I yelled.

The grandma stopped instantly and squinted at me. "Omo--you're that one girl...omo omo I'm so sorry young lady!"

I grimaced as she quickly brushed off the dust on my hair and fixed it. "It's...okay. You recognize me?"

"I do! I am so sorry, I thought you were a burglar! Are you hurt??" She asked, concerned.

I shook my head (even though it did hurt still). "It's fine, don't worry." I went around to the other side of the counter to face the old lady.

"Why are you here at this time? What were you doing back here too??" She narrowed her eyes at me.

"You-you see, I'm kind of lost from my dorm...and you were asleep and I didn't want to bother you--I was just trying to look for a phone, I swear." I explained.

The old lady raised her eyebrows and nodded in understanding. "Darling, you could just yelled in my ear and I would've woken up right away! Agh, I keep falling asleep while working...what time is it again?"

"Um..." I looked at the clock above her head. "3 a.m."

Her eyes widened. "I've been sleeping for that long?! And you, you've been out there for that long?!"

I nodded. "I don't have my phone, or a ride since the buses are not going right now..."

The grandma looked at me worriedly. "What are we going to do?"

"Can I use your phone--or the store phone?" I asked, hopefully.

"..." She looked somewhere else. "This might be a problem...I'm afraid I don't have a phone, or a way back. I usually take the bus too, but I overslept!" She slapped herself in the face.

I'm screwed.

"Ah...it's not your fault." I said.

"What are we going to do?" The grandma looked around in distress. "Are you hungry? You must be, you work so hard on that one show--what is it again?? Ah--mixnine!"

I smiled and nodded. "I'm not that hungry, thank you though."

"There's not much we can do..." The grandma thought.

"I'll just leave then, and try to find a way back." I said. "But what will you do?"

"Aigoo...a girl like you shouldn't we walking around past midnight. There are dangerous people!" She said. "There are plenty of blankets in the back room, we can sleep in here!"

She wants me to camp in her store?? Either she is extremely kind, or sketchy. I didn't know which to choose.

"Don't worry, I'm a fan of you. My grandson is actually in the show too." She explained.

I didn't realize I blanked out for a second and missed what she said. "Y-yeah..."

"Let's eat, even if you're not hungry." She said. "Take anything you want."

"Are you sure?" I asked, earning a nod. "Okay." I got up and picked my favorite ramen off the shelf, and went to go make it. How does the store have a ramen making machine but not a phone??

When I came back there were blankets laid out on the floor. I chuckled at how this situation came to be.

The grandma and I ate, with small conversation. She let me call her "Granny Woo".

"So, you've seen me on tv?" I asked.

She nodded. "I watch every broadcast, you are very talented."

I grinned and thanked her. "It must be hard working here by yourself, don't you get tired?"

Granny Woo nodded. "Only recently, because my grandson usually helps out and has been busy with work."

I nodded. "It's good to have someone help."

"It is. He is a lovely young man." She said.

"I'm sure he is." I said.

"What were you doing out here by yourself in the first place, miss Jihyun?"

I looked at the floor. "I was...visiting my mom in the hospital, but then the hospital was closed."

"Ah, I heard about your mother. I am very sorry." She held my hands kindly.

Whoever's grandma this is is very lucky.

"It's fine. I'm going to make her proud when I debut." I said.

"I will cheer you on!" She said.

After talking for a while, Granny Woo and I went to sleep. Talking to Granny Woo honestly, reminded me of talking to my mother. How I used to talk to her on the phone about training every night.

_

When I woke up, Granny Woo was asleep and I saw that it was 5 a.m., so I should get home and wash up before going to go film.

I left a note for Granny Woo, and left to go back to my dorm in the bus.

The moment I entered the dorm, Ryujin screamed and charged at me. I kicked her in the stomach out of surprise. "RYUJIN, YOU SCARED ME!!"

"AH!!" She fell down to the ground clutching her stomach.

"I'M SORRY!" I helped her up.

Ryujin glared at me. "Where were you?!?! I woke up at like 2 o'clock in the middle of the night, and you were GONE. I thought you just went outside for a little but when I woke up and you were still GONE--"

I sighed. "It's a long story."

"I literally made a big deal out of it so now everyone thinks you got kidnapped." Ryujin said plainly.

"RYUJIN!"

"Don't worry, just explain to them later what happened." She said. "Anyways, what happened?"

I told her from the beginning, from me and Jinyoung's date to how I ended up sleeping in an old lady's store.

"Wait wait--" Ryujin stopped me. "He KISSED you?"

I shrugged and nodded.

"Woo Jinyoung KISSED you?"

I nodded again.

"Eh. I'm not surprised." She said, earning a glare from me.

"I'm going to wash up because I'm pretty sure I have bugs in my hair now." I said, leaving.

"Wait, DID YOU GUYS DO ANYTHING ELSE, LIKE--"

"RYUJIN I SWEAR TO GOD--"