Rabbit Hole

Things didn’t really settle well for Mina and Sana after the weird and somewhat cryptic messages Yuna sent that night.

When Mina went to work that day, Yuna didn’t show up. It concerned her and left a message to the younger one asking if she was alright. But there was no reply.

Yuna showed up the following day and Mina decided not to probe her into asking what happened since it seemed that Chaeryeong was a private person and that her absence the day before could also be because of a personal issue. Mina knew very well it was rude to butt in their business when they literally just met their new neighbor.

But the younger colleague said that she caught a bug when she went out that night and felt it the next day.

Mina didn’t ask any more questions and just assured her that she was willing to help if she needed anything. Mina also didn’t bother asking about Chaeryeong. It seemed like a sensitive topic.

It was evident that Sana was disturbed by it. But Mina being Mina, tried to reason that it could be because of her work. Since they weren’t sensitive enough to give her the chance to settle in her new home and made her jump into whatever she needed to do.

Mina didn’t want to assume anything, she might have another Chaeyoung moment and assume something that may or may not be true.

God, it was distracting how the two had really similar names. She also didn’t like how jumpy she got when she thought she heard the gang leader’s name. It wasn’t like she was looking forward to it. Or that she was going to admit she wanted to see her.

She should let the fates decide when their next meeting will be. Hopefully it wouldn’t be because of something bad again.

Mina let out a sigh of relief when she arrived at her apartment. It was finally the weekend and Sana was going to work a full shift at the club that night. So she had the whole night to herself again.

Momo was busy as well at the hospital and Nayeon was busy with whatever she was doing. Surprisingly, Mina didn't seem to be bothered by it. It had been a while since she got her alone time anyway.

There was a soft knock on her door. Mina just took out a kettle from the cupboards and placed it gently on the stove to rush to open it.

But before she did, she decided to be like Momo and peek at the little window at the side to see who it was. Her eyes went wide when she recognized the person. Mina scrambled from the window and composed herself before opening the door.

“Chaeyoung?”

The woman blinked. “It’s Chaeryeong, unnie.”

“Oh! Right, I’m sorry Chaeryeong,” she repeated, she felt her cheeks turn red from the stupid mistake. “With an R, Mina,” she silently scolded herself.

Chaeryoung bowed suddenly. “Unnie, I’m sorry for not showing up the other night. It was quite shameful for me to do.” She stood up and pursed her lips. “My work called me last minute and I—“

“Do you want to have tea with me?” Mina couldn’t help but interrupt her. She had this inkling feeling that her new neighbor needed company; if not, then a small drink would suffice. She opened the door wider and smiled.

Chaeryeong nodded her head instantly. “Okay.” Mina let her step in first. “Sorry for intruding.”

Mina invited her to sit on the dining table, hoping that this time no one would abruptly leave like what Yuna did from that night. Mina quickly filled the kettle with water and placed it gently it on the stove once she turned it on.

She opened her treasury of tea leaves, and the aroma blew throughout the kitchen. Mina could see how Chaeryeong‘s head perked up from her peripheral vision. “So, I have an embarrassing amount of tea here,” she said as she looked back at her guest. She gestured to Chaeryeong to come over. “By any chance you have a preference?”

Mina wasn't entirely surprised with Chaeryeong's surprised expression when she saw the three layers of the cupboard neatly filled with jars and boxes of tea. Her eyes went wider when she stepped closer to the cupboard. “Wow, I’ve never even heard of some of these,” She scanned through the boxes, as if hoping to find something she recognized. She placed a finger under her chin. “I’ll take anything you suggest, unnie. I’m not much of a tea person. But I still would like to try.”

Mina smiled and nodded. “I’ll choose one of my favorites then.” She then took out a small jar with 'Jasmine' labeled on it. She set the leaves aside along with the dinosaur shaped tea infuser Sana bought for her on one of her birthdays.

Chaeryeong seemed to have liked it since she quietly commented how cute it was. They were quiet for a moment, the guest settled with watching Mina prepare the tea for the both of them and she didn’t mind at all.

Her neighbor was pretty soft spoken, a bit shy as well. A girl after her own heart, Mina believed. Maybe this was the time to try to make a new friend; cautiously of course.

Once the kettle started whistling, Mina turned it off and placed two mugs for both of them, pouring the light scented tea inside.

“So you work with Yuna, unnie?” Chaeryeong started after taking a small sip from her cup.

“Ah yeah, Yuna started probably more than a year ago,” Mina responded, trying to recall certain details. “She was under me at some point, I taught her the ropes and eventually she started doing things on her own.”

Chaeryeong nodded, staring at the table. “That’s good. Yuna has always been the baby in our friend group,” she said with a smile. “Sometimes we would worry about her because back then she was very dependent and wouldn’t do anything unless we say so or if we do it with her.”

Mina smiled at this. At least she didn’t force the girl to open up about it. “She seems pretty independent at work. Though she invites me to a lot of dinners, and I honestly don’t have the social energy for that. I feel bad sometimes,” she confessed.

“It’s okay, unnie. Yuna is just naturally friendly,” Chaeryeong said, then giggled at the thought. “I can’t wait to spend more time with her. But my work is so unpredictable, I don’t know when I’ll be called in the next time.”

“If you don’t mind me asking.” Mina couldn’t help herself anymore. “What do you do for a living?”

She was expecting Chaeryeong to deflect the topic or give a bullshit excuse. Or maybe Mina and Sana were putting too much thought into it. The interaction from the first time they met really made an impression on them.

But her face lit up again. “Oh! I’m a journalist for Busan Ilbo.”

Well, that made sense.

“That’s exciting!” Mina said, clasping her hands together. She hasn't met a journalist before, and for the newspaper too. “I’m assuming you get called to be onsite wherever there’s a story, huh?”

Chaeryeong giggled and it made Mina smile. “You can say that.” She took a sip from her mug and placed it gently on the coaster. “I started working immediately once I graduated. My supervisor really thinks I have potential, so she took me under her wing just to train to be a good journalist. So everywhere she had to go for interviews or anything, I went too.”

“Have you always wanted to be a journalist?”

She nodded her head then gave a smaller smile, staring at her mug. “My parents wanted me to be an accountant. Said it was a stable job and it didn’t involve me using my skills too much for the bare minimum.” She looked at Mina. “But I didn’t want to listen. I believed that I could make a difference in society if I became one.”

Mina sighed. “I wished I could have done that.” She then played with the sleeves of her sweater. “My parents gave me two choices, each I didn’t like. But I still agreed to one because I didn’t want to disappoint them.”

“That’s sad,” the younger one mumbled. “So your job right now… you don’t like it?”

Mina could only give a weak laugh. “In a way, I don’t. Sometimes I do.” She traced a carved indent on the table with her finger, sighing. “I honestly want to do more for the people. You know? It’s sad that some aren’t able to get life insurance just because they don’t have the money. We should be helping people; not pushing them away because they’re poor.”

“Maybe we should write about that in the paper,” Chaeryeong suddenly said and it made Mina panic a bit but the younger one laughed it off. “I’m kidding!”

Mina let out a sigh of relief. It was nice, she didn’t mind being friendly like this. Chaeryeong was definitely a fun person to be around. Guess she really was like her, soft and quiet when you first meet them, but once they get comfortable, they would talk a lot.

They talked for a while, until they finished the last of the tea Mina made. She noticed that Chaeryeong had been fidgeting on her seat, her hands on her lap.

“Do you need to be somewhere?” Mina asked out of the blue, breaking the sudden silence.

Chaeryeong whipped her head at Mina and shook it. “No, sorry,” She looked away and ducked her head again. “I just hope I’m not extending my stay.”

“I think I extended my visit here, or I’m not entirely welcome.”

Mina shook away the memory. She did a great job on not remembering Chaeryeong while her neighbor was here. She wasn’t going to ruin their time together with thoughts of the gang leader. Though, she had a really hard time not feeling bothered with how long it had been since she saw Chaeyoung.

It wasn't like she spent time making a handmade gift as thanks for her help when she sprained her ankle.