As I have nothing to give you, I give you my heart (IU Verse Book#1)

Chapter 27

     By the time Jieun finished cleaning the second floor of the house, it was 6 pm. She was tired and hungry from all the cleaning but was satisfied with her work. She figured she should make herself a quick snack before Hyori and Sangsoon come back from their errands. As she finished up her second banana, she heard the car being pulled up in the driveway as the dogs went to greet their owners, Jieun trailing after them. Hyori got out of the passenger seat, holding what looked like a bag of ingredients in her hand. Hyori waved to Jieun who was at the doorstep. "Look, Jieun-nah, we bought ingredients for lunch." Jieun smiled and went to help her carry it. Sangsoon locked the car behind them as the three moved into the house.

     Hyori and Sangsoon's new home is similar to their old home, where Jieun had stayed during the time she shot the tv show "Hyori's bed and breakfast". The couple then decided to sell the homestay to the owner of JTBC and moved to a new home next to the beach not long after. Although everything was relatively new to her, Jieun still thinks that no matter where she was, as long as Hyori and Sangsoon were there, it was still a second home to her, with her apartment back in Seoul, no, with the person that she left behind, being her first. She shook away her thoughts, trying not to think about him as she got the ingredients out from the plastic bag. 

     Hyori entered the kitchen to find Jiuen busying herself with placing the ingredients on the counter. The ingredients are used to make tofu stew. Jieun looked like she knew about the fact, so she began taking out the vegetables and washing them. Jieun offered to cook them the stew as she saw Hyori approaching her. Hyori hummed and she offered to help cook another dish. She thinks bibimbap will go well with the stew, so she took the necessary ingredients out from the fridge and laid it on the counter. While she was chopping the vegetables, she decided to make a light conversation with Jieun. 

     "So what were you doing all day? Besides cleaning." She added. She had noticed that the house was cleaner than when they left, and she knew that Jieun only cleans when she is stressed, or if she is bored out of her mind. 

     Jieun chuckled beside her. "There wasn't anything much to do without you and Sangsoon Oppa here, So I just cleaned, ate a snack, and sat waiting for you." Hyori hummed in response. Jieun had been staying with them for a week now. It was just like old times, back when they shot for the first season of "Hyori's bed and breakfast", but this time, they are freer and they could enjoy themselves more like a family since there were no guests to serve and it was just them. 

     To say that the unexpected call that she received from the younger woman didn't surprise her or worry her just a little bit would be a lie. She didn't expect her to call in the middle of June, where she knew that the young woman was busy with schedules here and there. But she had phoned to ask her if she could stay at their house in Jeju for a while, and of course, Hyori agreed. She asked the younger woman the reason why she wanted to come to visit, and she just answered brightly that she just missed them and wanted to have a vacation here in Jeju. Hyori thought that there was more to it, so she urged Jieun to just say it, in which what she received back was unexpected. The younger woman had broken down amidst the call and told her what happened. That there has been someone trying to kill her from the start of the year and how one of her people had gotten severely hurt because of her. The truth bomb triggered something inside Hyori as she prompted Jieun to take the earliest flight to Jeju as soon as possible. And now she was here, chopping on some vegetables and putting them in a pot, all the while maintaining her calm posture. Hyori knew that she was trying to put up a brave face, but for her to leave Seoul and come out here, then whoever was trying to hurt her was getting more dangerous. 

     "Jieun-Nah," Hyori called Jieun's attention. Jieun glanced at the older woman and made a questionable expression in return.

     "Who did you say got hurt again?" At the question, Jieun's face dropped a little. "It was one of my bodyguards. He was assigned to take care of my case. He is an agent at the National Police Agency."