Intertwined Souls (JiTzu)

Chapter 5

Wednesday Morning: 8:45 A.M

Nayeon's POV

Jeongyeon and I were running our checks prior to opening the doors to the restaurant for the day. We worked with all of our staff to determine what needed to be ordered and what needed to be fixed. The two of us always tried to involve our staff with every aspect of the restaurant based on their role. We believe in standing on the same horizontal as our staff versus standing above them vertically whenever we could.

Jihyo walked up to Jeongyeon and me while we were in the middle of checking our cash register system. She looked very nervous for some reason and was playing with her hands while avoiding eye contact with us. It was quite understandable for her to be like this as it was obvious that she was still uncomfortable around all of us.

"Can we help you with something, Jihyo?" I asked gently.

Jihyo bit her lip as she played with the hem of her shirt, "I... ummm... think I found someone who can cook," she nervously said.

"Ooo!" Jeongyeon exclaimed excitedly, making Jihyo jump slightly, "Please tell us about them!"

"Well..." Jihyo trailed off, "I was really amazed by their skills... and the taste of the food they made... was out of this world."

"What dishes have you tasted of theirs?" I inquired.

"I had a stir-fry and sundubu-jjigae, and I was honestly blown out of this world," Jihyo explained with a sudden bright tone in her voice.

"How would you rate it?" Jeongyeon asked.

"I would say their food is a solid 11/10," Jihyo replied with a smile.

"Alright, why don't you bring them in after lunch when the restaurant is less busy?" I suggested.

Jihyo's smile widened considerably as she nodded rapidly, "Will do!" she exclaimed before turning around and going back to work.

"Well... that was weird," Jeongyeon commented as we watched Jihyo going over to a table to wipe it down.

I nodded my head in agreement, "It really was. We've never seen Jihyo like that before, right?"

Jeongyeon shook her head, "Never."

"First, she wants to hang out with us, and now she is smiling widely? I suspect that something good happened to her," I vocalized my theory.

"Or, potentially someone came into her life," Jeongyeon theorized.

Wednesday Afternoon: 1:30 P.M

3rd Person POV

Jihyo went home shortly after lunch to pick up Tzuyu. Nayeon and Jeongyeon were working the front-of-house while everyone else was in the kitchen. Everyone was excited to meet whoever Jihyo thought would be a good kitchen staff candidate. Nayeon and Jeongyeon were especially interested to see who could have made Jihyo behave excitedly the way she had earlier in the day.

The restaurant door chime rang to indicate that someone had entered the restaurant. Nayeon and Jeongyeon turned their heads towards the new entrants to find Jihyo walking in with Tzuyu who they did not know. They observed the way the two of them talked. It would be a mundane observation if it was not for the fact that Jihyo seemed comfortable talking to Tzuyu in comparison to everyone else at the restaurant.

Tzuyu was initially hesitant to accept the proposal that Jihyo gave her. She was not confident that her skills were sufficient enough to work at a restaurant, but Jihyo reassured her that her skills were beyond sufficient. It dawned on Tzuyu in the middle of their conversation that this was an opportunity for her to end the cycle of suffering that she has been in for so long. She committed to going into the restaurant to at least go through an interview process.