Intertwined Souls (JiTzu)

Chapter 9

1 Year and 7 Months Ago

3rd Person POV

Momo, Sana, and Mina moved to South Korea to try something new in their lives. They had finished college but could not find a job back home in Japan. The prospect of the unknown enticed the three women to go against their parents' wishes to stay in Japan.

The three of them have been best friends since childhood as their parents were all friends. Even though Mina was a year younger than Momo and Sana, they always incorporated Mina into everything they did. Mina ended up being the most mature of the group and had to look out for Momo and Sana all of the time.

Momo, Sana, and Mina had already been in South Korea for two months already. They have been looking for a job since they landed but have had little luck. They ran out of money about a month ago and have been rationing whatever food they have. They refused to return home to Japan as they knew that meant their parents were right, and they wanted to prove their parents wrong.

"I'm so hungry," Sana complained as she stood in front of a job bulletin board with Momo and Mina.

"Me too," Mina complained as she rubbed her stomach.

Momo reached into her pocket and pulled out a granola bar, "Here, I still have a granola bar. You two can share it."

Sana's face brightened but quickly showed concern, "But what about you?"

"I already ate my half of a bar earlier," Momo replied with a small smile.

"Alright, thank you, Momo!" Mina exclaimed as she grabbed the granola bar and split it in half before giving one half to Sana.

Sana and Mina ate their pieces of the granola bar and started smiling widely, happy that they could finally satisfy some of their hunger. Momo smiled widely at their expressions but threatened to falter when her stomach started to cramp. She had actually lied to Sana and Mina and never actually ate the foretold half of a granola bar; in fact, she had not eaten in several days. She only had a few ice cubes that morning and was saving the granola bar in case Sana and Mina needed it. She tightly gripped the hem of her shirt to avoid voicing her pain by accident.

Momo was the least mature of the group back in Japan even though she was the eldest of the group. It was actually her idea that the three of them came to South Korea. She promised herself that she would become more mature and take care of Sana and Mina when they landed in South Korea. She wanted to prove to their parents that they could live independently and knew the consequences for failing.

Momo spent a lot of her waking moments in South Korea worrying about when they will find a job, where they will find their next meal, and if they will survive. She found herself ignoring her own needs to focus on those of Sana and Mina. Countless nights were spent either crying due to hunger or feeling the gloom of their current existence.

"That was delicious! How many more do we have anyways?" Sana asked.

"Umm... we should still have a couple more," Momo replied.

"That's good to hear," Mina chimed in, "That means we have enough for all of us, right?"

Momo nodded her head, "Yep, enough for everyone," she responded with a convincing confident smile.

Momo, Sana, and Mina turned back to the bulletin board. They have applied for several jobs and even got a few interviews, but their lack of Korean speaking skills made it hard for them to be hired. They have been trying their best to pick up the language while they are not looking for a job, but it was difficult in their situation.

Nayeon and Jeongyeon were standing across the street. They passed by the bulletin board very often, seeing if anyone could be a potential fit for the restaurant that they were trying to open. They took a few classes in Japanese back in college and had a general grasp of the language. They overheard Momo, Sana, and Mina speaking to each other about their situation.