The 10th Month

03. five hours and fifty-nine minutes

 𝐉 𝐞 𝐧 𝐧 𝐢 𝐞 

I kept convincing myself that no one would recognize me in this city when I talked with Hanbin before. Once he offered me company, though, I was relieved just like a lost child at the grocery store that finally finds her mother. 

"If it gets lonely.. you can come along with me."

As much as I hate to admit, I gave in to Hanbin's offer almost immediately. I believed it would be more save to tag along with him rather than wandering alone. Even though we grew apart from each other, Hanbin always showed support to our comebacks which I was always thankful of.

So now here I was, sitting inside a soup restaurant with Hanbin, Mrs. Kim, and Hanbyul. When I appeared behind Hanbin's back as we stepped down from the train, Mrs. Kim welcomed me in her arms. When we hugged, I fought back the tears that were welling up my eyes. Mrs. Kim has always had a strong "motherly" appeal, her presence right now are bringing back the memories of last night's events. I couldn't help but to let out a long sigh, Mrs. Kim's hug felt warm and comforting. I didn't realize I was needing a hug badly.

Mrs. Kim is as lovely as I could remember. The last time we met was years ago, back when me and Hanbin hung out a lot. With Hanbin, she had always been an understanding, supportive, and an open-minded mother. She always treated us—his group of friends— the same way. She treated us like her own child.

When Mrs. Kim realized I was all alone, she didn't ask any questions. Instead, she invited me to come along even before Hanbin explained the whole situation. As if knowing what I was going through, she gave me a side-hug as we walked out of the station side by side. Now that we were having our breakfast, she made sure I was eating well from time to time.

"Jennie-ah, eat a lot. This soup is good for your health." Mrs. Kim ushered me to eat, moving the boiling pot right in front of me. Once again, I felt tears welling up.

I nodded my head and smiled softly in reply to Mrs. Kim's words. As I dig in to my soup, my eyes were met with Hanbin's who was sitting across me. Flashing him a small smile, he smiled back mouthing "Eat."

I don't know if it's because I was starving or the soup was crazy delicious, but I finished my bowl in a flash. I wish I lived in Busan so I could have this soup everyday for breakfast. It was too delicious and comforting for the stomach. Noticing that my bowl was empty, Hanbyul who was sitting beside me moved her bowl slowly. "Unnie, you can have mine if you want."

I felt my face grew red and hot when my eyes found Hanbin. He was smirking!

Clearing out my throat, I patted Hanbyul's head softly. "How sweet of you, Hanbyul-ah." I paused. "Eat your food so you can grow big like unnie. You can smack Hanbinnie oppa easily, then."

Hanbyul giggled at my answer, sticking out a tongue at sulky Hanbin. I copied her and Hanbin sulked even more. Score for Jennie!

"It's good, isn't it, Jennie-ah? Should we order more?" Mrs. Kim suddenly spoke. My eyes immediately went to Hanbin who was now smiling mischievously. I grew more red than a tomato.