Friends ❧ Jinjoo

二十一

Kriesha waves at Minju and Yujin, flashing a big smile. Her eyes narrow at the stranger who sat with the two. She blinks a couple of times, grasping at the strange situation. She continues to think until a voice comes interrupting.

    "Unnie," Minju mutters, tone shocked.

    "Boss?!" The stranger follows, yelling as if she meets her end.

Kriesha's head shifts at the shorter stranger who seems to be the boss. She observes her closely, eyeing each feature she holds. The fellow stranger had a long charcoal hair cascading through her slender shoulders. Jet black eyes like the moonlit night, tranquil yet minacious. A lavender scent wafts from her body, portraying a fresh look in which she effortlessly pulls off. Her look is ravishing enough that she carries a huge presence which attracts other customers in the store.

Not only she holds such visuals but her company too. Do absolutely nothing and she will be praised. Her dark straight hair flows down her back, catching the fluorescent light that shines from above. With an azure beret, matching with her clothes, she surely stands out.

With the two of them combined, they would undoubtedly a visual couple.

However, not at this condition where one is terrified of the other. By the looks of it, the girl in blue clothes did something that isn't pleasing on the boss's side. She did hear an unfamiliar name before greeting the three.

The boss takes a deep breath, swallowing her calm self before speaking.

    "How many times do I have to tell you that there's no need for formalities?" She declares, tone stern with a slight pinch of gentleness. How strange.

    "But Ms. Kwon-"

    "Eunbi unnie at least?"

    The person named Hyewon pauses, hesitating before speaking. "U-understood ma'am— I mean, Eunbi u-unnie, " she stammers, unsure of what to feel.

    Eunbi shakes her head in dissatisfaction. "Yah! Do it properly, " she demands, showing authority to the other. Indeed she is a boss, an unpromising one. Her face moves closer to the other which only earned a slight cough from behind.

    "We get it. You're dating"— Kriesha interrupts, placing her hand on the taller's shoulders—"But please do it at the correct time and atmosphere."

    "We aren't-" the one with the beret tries to speak but the shorter one interrupts.

    "Oh? How'd you know?" Eunbi abruptly replies, her words shallow. Though despite the obvious lie, two people fell for it. Their reaction says otherwise.

    "Ms—" the beret girl tries to call Eunbi out but pauses as upon seeing her glare. "Eunbi unnie," she stutters, hoping that she said the right thing.

    "What would that be Hyewon ah," Eunbi's attention shifts at the named person. A smile crept into her face as her eyes lock with the other.

    "You're joking, right?"

    Eunbi could only laugh at the younger's question. "What do you expect? Of course, it's a-"

    "That doesn't sound too bad"

Kriesha sighs at the two along with Yujin while the other only flickers her eyes in confusion.

    "What's this?" Minju suddenly blurts out causing the spotlight shifting towards her. "Am I living in another world? I'm missing out something important haven't I?"

    "My apologies. I suppose I should take my leave with this cute employee of mine, " Eunbi offers a low bow. She takes a glance at the beret girl, gesturing her to follow in which she did.

The two bid their goodbyes making sure flash a smile once more before stepping out from the store. Kriesha smiles back at two, waving at them as they slowly disappear from her sight. Yujin on the other hand, force a smile before they left. She then lets out a sigh of relief after seeing them leave. It would be best not to get involved with those two as her guts say so.

    "Well, that saves us the trouble," Yujin comments, loosening up the tense atmosphere.

    Kriesha shakes her head, "Unfortunately, you're wrong." She then turns at her right which the younger follows.

A moment of brief horror crawls upon Yujin's face as she catches sight of Minju walking up to Eunbi and Hyewon. She composes herself once more before following the older's steps. She takes a step forward, hoping she wouldn't bring up anything about Chaewon but unfortunately, she was a couple of seconds late.

    "Say,"- Minju asks, tugging Eunbi's blazers as she shows no signs of nervousness but of curiosity -"is the friend you're talking about Kim Chaewon by chance?"

    "That sure is a rare sight out there," Kriesha commented.

    "Right," the younger agrees, tone quite tired. "So what now?"

The older faces at the younger, furrowing her brows in confusion. She throws a what-do-you-mean look only to receive a sigh from the younger.

    "Don't act clueless unnie," the younger blinks, faking a smile at the older. "We're talking about a 'Kwon' here."

    "Hey look, let's not-"

    "Unnie, I know what I'm talking about. They clearly know Minju unnie here and Chaewon unnie too. How can I just stay still?" The younger complains, tone irritated.

The older only smiles in response later on looking back at Minju who walked up to Eunbi. Irritated, the younger attempts to yell but stopped upon seeing the older's glare. She sighs in defeat and follows the older's action.

    "Now listen here Yujin ah," the older demands which the younger obeys.

    "It doesn't matter if we encounter them today or a few days later. We're bound to meet them so there's no point in dismissing them," she explains which only makes the younger confused.

    "So what you're meaning to say is that we're supposed to take this opportunity to find out something against them?"

    "Yah!" Kriesha smacks the younger's shoulders. "This isn't some action movie stupid."

    "Then what?" the younger hisses.

    "Do you really think we're here to place ourselves be at their bad side?"

    "Yeah? Isn't that the whole purpose of this so-called trip?"

    "Think about it, do you really trust Chaewon?"

    "What nonsense are you talking-"

    The older tries to cover the younger's mouth to shut her up. "Don't let Chaewon's words fool you. I warn you, she isn't as good as you think," she softly recites the words she had heard.

    "Unnie, what's this about?"

    "It's Eunbi's words"