It's A Fine Line

16: Happy Birth- nevermind

"Hello?" I answered the unknown number.

"Hey Senthuri, it's Jimin."

"Jimin oppa. How did you get my number? From Jungkook?"

"No. From Tae Tae. Kookie would've probably murdered me. You should've seen his fury when I called you cute."

Why would Jungkook get mad?
But on a completely unrelated note, "tae tae" how cute.

"Oh ok. Why did you call?"

"I got the job at Haengbokkhae. I just wanted to thank you for telling me about it."

"Really? I'm so happy for you. Well done. And it's no problem. Like I said last time, the place is special to me."

"Still, thank you. Have a nice day, sweetheart."

"Thanks. You too," I said and the call ended.

I wanted to visit the studio but I kept postponing it because of all the memories linked to the place. One day, maybe I'd go back. Maybe one day I'd even dance again. But for now I wasn't ready.
*************

I finally met my new co-worker. Her name was Jang Hae Soo. She was in eleventh grade too but she went to Unmyeong High. She seemed to be a quiet and shy girl at first but maybe that was because I was still a bit of a stranger to her.

She was nice enough and after a few shifts together we became friends after finding a few common interests like reading and a common hatred towards plastic people, such as Jinhee. The latter really won me over.

Hae Soo was pretty funny and even though she was generally a shy person, she had moments where she would speak her mind. A great example would be when we had a difficult customer which rarely happened. At first Hae soo was a stuttering mess but as soon as the customer started being rude  to the both of us she told him off. She made the person feel so guilty, he apologised twice. It was quite a marvelous moment.

Other than more bonding with Hae Soo the day was rather boring. I spent lunch in the library because Jungkook had to discuss some performance details with the rest of his group.

He felt bad for "abandoning" me but I told him that I didn't mind. And that was the truth. I kind of missed my quiet time in the library but it would be a lie if I said that I didn't feel his absence. I'd grown accustomed to Jungkook's company and him not spending his lunch time with me was oddly unsettling.

I couldn't go to the balcony because it had become our spot. It didn't feel right being there without him. He promised to spend tomorrow's lunch with me. Although he didn't need to promise anything, I already believed him. He spent most of his time with me anyways. I actually felt bad for his friends being neglected but I was too selfish to tell him to ever leave me and go to them.

I was looking foward to tomorrow. Not only was Jungkook going to be with me for most of the day but it was also my birthday. It had been a couple years since I acknowledged my birthday, no one seemed to remember it so it lost its importance. I was lucky if my parents remembered to message me on the day.

For the first time in years I had someone to celebrate with. I didn't want a party or gifts or anything that generally signified a birthday. All I wanted was the company of someone who I cared about and who cared about me. And I think Jungkook filled that position.

Shockingly this year I actually waited for my birthday to come. Jungkook really was changing things in my life and I didn't mind. He made every day at school more bearable.

Strangely enough, I wanted to surprise him for my birthday. Initially I thought with ice cream but then I remembered the last time we had ice cream and immediately changed my mind. I figured I'd just bake something that he would hopefully like.