Intertwined Souls (JiTzu)

Chapter 2

Saturday Afternoon: 1:00 P.M

3rd Person POV

Seven women were convened in the living room of the apartment of the two eldest of the group for a little get together. This was a common occurrence for them ever since the eldest two first started the tradition for the group about a year ago. They wanted everyone to get along, but it ended up becoming something like a ritual for them to hang out at least once over the weekend.

The two youngest members of the group let out a sigh that did not go unnoticed by the eldest of the group, Im Nayeon, "Hey Kim Dahyun and Son Chaeyoung, why the long sigh?" she asked with a worried expression on her face.

Everyone's attention was now on the two youngest women of the group. Dahyun, the second youngest, and Chaeyoung, the youngest, looked around and were met with concerned eyes. They felt bad as they did not want to burden them with their own personal problems that they have been trying to resolve.

"Does everyone remember Chaeyoung and my best friend, Tzuyu?" Dahyun asked with a sad smile.

"We talk about her quite often," Chaeyoung added on.

"The friend you two said had a rough past? Yeah, what of her?" Yoo Jeongyeon, the second eldest of the group, replied.

Dahyun let out a sigh before slumping her shoulders, "She left us around a month ago and we haven't heard from or seen her since."

"We are really worried for her safety," Chaeyoung explained with a sad smile.

"She will definitely show up. She always does, right?" Minatozaki Sana, the fourth eldest of the group, reassured.

"Exactly, she must be looking for a warm place to sleep and a hot meal to eat," Myoui Mina, the sixth eldest of the full group, added on as reassurance.

Dahyun and Chaeyoung started tearing up much to the surprise of everyone else. The sadness of the two youngest was felt by everyone present. They wanted to say something to comfort the youngest two but knew that the two of them had something to say.

"It's rough seeing Tzuyu going through an endless cycle of suffering. We try our best to help her, but she always ends up relapsing. We just want to help her break the cycle," Dahyun managed to explain through her tears.

"Did you know that Tzuyu had aspirations to one day become a veterinarian? It was a dream of hers since she was a child, but she had to give up on it because she had to drop out of college due to her instability," Chaeyoung added on.

"Tzuyu always says she is a burden to us, but we never thought she was a burden at all. We want to see her happy instead of being in constant pain. We are such useless friends for not being able to do anything to help her," Dahyun explained her shared feelings about the situation with Chaeyoung before starting to sob.

Chaeyoung started sobbing moments later in shared frustration with Dahyun. Sana and Mina instantly rushed over to Dahyun and Chaeyoung and pulled them into a hug. Dahyun and Chaeyoung buried themselves into the warmth provided by Sana and Mina, respectively. The rest of the group watched the interaction warmly; especially Hirai Momo, the third eldest of the group, who was proud of Sana and Mina for their mature reaction.

Momo waited until Dahyun and Chaeyoung's sobs died down to sniffles before speaking, "You two are there for Tzuyu when no one else has been. You provide her the support that she badly needs. It definitely hurts to see Tzuyu frequently resetting the progress she makes, but you should also look at the other side of it as well. There is an opportunity for Tzuyu to break the cycle only because of you two and everything you have done for her."

Dahyun and Chaeyoung separated from their hugs with Sana and Mina. They wiped the tears from their eyes before turning to face Momo. They thanked the older woman for her reassuring words and admitted that they never thought of it as she explained. It was an insightful moment for Dahyun and Chaeyoung and revitalized their desires to help their best friend.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon wore wide smiles because of how Momo, Sana, and Mina handled the situation. They are the owners of a restaurant called "2Yeon Restaurant". They brought the three women into the restaurant first before bringing in Jihyo and then, finally, Dahyun and Chaeyoung. Their goal in opening the restaurant was to provide jobs to people who needed them the most and providing them support over trying to make a profit.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon looked at each other and communicated silently. They always thought that everyone under their tutelage, except for Jihyo, has come a long way since they first met them. They always wanted to help Jihyo as well but knew that it was not going to be easy.

Dahyun and Chaeyoung looked each other in the eyes before the both of them nodded their heads, "We would like to apologize for breaking down like that," Dahyun apologized on the behalf of the both of them.

Nayeon shook her head and smiled warmly, "There is no need to apologize. This is a safe group for everyone to share their thoughts and troubles, and to come to for support. No one will be judged for anything, and Jeongyeon and I hope that everyone is willing to come to the group for anything at any time," she reaffirmed her and Jeongyeon's belief.

The rest of the group smiled at Nayeon's words. They were thankful for everything that Nayeon and Jeongyeon have done for them. They knew in their hearts that their bosses, who were in a relationship with each other, will always be there to support them no matter what.

"This has been bothering me for a while..." Sana trailed off, "Does anyone know why Jihyo never joins us for these hangouts?"

Nayeon and Jeongyeon gave each other a quick glance before frowning, "We know the reason, but it is not our place to talk about it. We hope that she will open up to us someday," Jeongyeon explained.

---TWICE---

A/N: Hello everyone! I am back with another update! Everyone has been introduced, and their relative connection to each other has been revealed as well. My biggest question is, why is it hard for 2Yeon to help Jihyo? Anyways, until next time, thank you for the support!