The Five Steps | Jensoo

Chapter 18

Jisoo

Last night Jennie and I got so caught up in watching the first few episodes of The 100 (which she enjoyed) that it wasn't until I walked her out to her bike that I realised we had forgotten to send a first text to Chaeyoung. By that point it was after midnight and Jennie decided it would be best to hold off.

The following morning I slide up onto Jin's kitchen counter, watching him put together all the ingredients for Samosas. My mouth is already watering as I picture the stack of thick mince-filled Samosas that grandma used to make for us every Friday.

"So, what made you want to do this today?" I ask him.

He stops what he's doing long enough to let out a big sigh. "Mum asked me to check on you."

"Of course she did." I let out a huff of air in reply. On one hand I get it, given my history, but on the other it's like she has absolutely no faith in me. And I just told her I was busy when she texted last night! I don't need pity invites. At least not anymore.

"But I wanted to hang out anyway." He shrugs, getting back to the task at hand.

Whether it was through his own volition or not, when he texted this morning to invite me over it was impossible to turn down. Jennie and I already had plans to work on what she called step one B, which to be honest sounds a little bit made up but I sent her Jin's address and told her to meet me here instead of my dorm. She sent me five replies asking where exactly I was sending her but I didn't answer a single one. It was kind of nice to watch her flounder around in the dark for once.

I wasn't worried at all about this at first but the more time I sit here and think about it, the more I start to panic. I've never actually had a friend to introduce to my brother. I just hope the two of them get along.

"Impressive," I say, forcing myself out of my head as I watch Jin finely chop an onion at a pace I'm sure he's bound to chop his fingers off, as he pours them into the big metal bowl beside me.

"The ladies love it," he says, chopping two green chillies at the same time without breaking eye contact with me. I laugh and roll my eyes at his attempt to act like an expert. "So who's this girl you invited over?" he asks.

"Just a friend I met at that party," I reply.

"See? What did I tell you? Means to an end." Just then a loud sound outside pulls our attention to the front window.

I hop off the counter and follow Jin through the small house. He opens the front door to find Jennie loudly wrangling a silver bicycle up onto the front porch in obvious frustration. Before I can even say anything, Jin hops down the porch steps to take the bike from her.

"Thanks," she says, looking up at him.

"Hi," I say, making my presence known as I step out onto the porch. "New bike?"

"Marketplace." Jennie shrugs, glancing between me and her bike. "Better than the bus."

"I'm pretty sure rolling down the street would be better than taking a bus here in Busan," I say, and she laughs, nodding in agreement.

"Jen, this is my brother Jin." I motion between them. "Jin, Jennie." They quickly shake hands, and Jin excuses himself to finish getting things ready in the kitchen.

"Why didn't you answer me!?" she shouts from the bottom step. "We're supposed to be doing step one B today. Are you trying to chicken out?"

"No but that's not really a location specific activity. We can just do it from here because right now we're gonna make some Samosas."