As the morning sun sliced through the blinds, casting everything into ribbons, it illuminated the dark circles under her eyes, evidence of the terrible night of sleep she had endured. Jisoo had spent the entire night in tears, unable to stop sobbing after JongSuk's harsh words had cut deep. The pain of her son blaming her for his father's disappearance weighed heavily on her heart. She shook her head slowly, replaying the painful incident from the previous night in her mind.
Jisoo's thoughts swirled with confusion and hurt. "How can he say that and believe it? JongSuk... why do you blame me?" she pondered, tears welling up in her eyes. Just then, a sudden knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts.
"Mom....will you make breakfast?" Her son's voice came through the door, almost as if nothing had transpired between them. Jisoo let out a sigh and slowly made her way over to the door.
"There's bread, cheese, and ham in the fridge.... make it yourself!" Jisoo's words were cold as she opened the door. JongSuk's eyes widened in shock; it was the first time she had spoken to him like this.
"Mom?" he muttered in disbelief, but before he could say anything else, the door was shut in front of him. Jisoo leaned against the door, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"I won't let you treat me like I'm not your mother!" Jisoo's resolve solidified as she quickly wiped away her tears with the hem of her shirt and headed straight into the bathroom. After getting ready for the day, Jisoo walked out of her room. Entering the kitchen, she was surprised to find JongSuk waiting for her.
He had set the table, with two plates each holding a sandwich, and a cup of coffee waiting for her. Jisoo was taken aback by the sight.
"What's this?" she asked, her voice filled with confusion. JongSuk quickly stood up from his chair and met his mother's gaze directly.
"I made you breakfast! I thought you might like something to eat before heading to work," JongSuk said, a small smile on his face. Jisoo frowned slightly, looking at the sandwich on the plate.
"This is surprising....thank you. But I'll eat it when I get to the bakery... we're already running late, so let's go," Jisoo said, swiftly grabbing the sandwich and wrapping it in a paper towel. JongSuk did the same, following his mother to the car.
After dropping her son off at school, Jisoo headed straight to the bakery. Jennie, as always, was already there, cleaning the kitchen.
"Good morning," Jisoo greeted with a slight sense of relief at having made it on time. Today, she had a lot of orders to fulfill. Jennie smiled in return and returned the greeting, but her expression quickly faltered as she noticed her friend's solemn demeanor.
"What's wrong?" Jennie asked, her concern evident in her voice. Jisoo gave her a forced smile and removed her coat.
"Nothing... just tired, that's all," she lied. Jennie sighed in frustration and approached Jisoo.
"Why are you always like this? Speak! Speak to me, Kim Jisoo! You know how worried I get when I see you acting like this! I don't want you to fall into depression again... I don't want you to lose yourself like you did four years ago!" Jennie pleaded, holding Jisoo's shoulders tightly.
"Jennie...." Jisoo's voice broke, and then she couldn't hold back any longer. Tears streamed down her face like rivers. Jennie couldn't bear to see her friend in such pain and swiftly pulled her into a tight hug.
"What happened now? What did JongSuk do to you this time?" Jennie asked gently, stroking Jisoo's hair as she sobbed. The minutes ticked by, and with Jennie's comforting presence, Jisoo's tears eventually subsided, finding solace in her friend's support as she worked through the heartache of the previous night.
"He hates me. My son hates me... he thinks Siwon left because of me!" Jisoo spoke, her eyes filled with profound sorrow. Jennie let out a scoff and then rubbed her forehead in frustration.
"That brat!" Jennie exclaimed, her eyes flashing with anger. Jisoo was taken aback by her friend's words.
"Jennie? What's gotten into you... he's my son. Don't call him that!" Jisoo felt genuinely offended by Jennie's words, but Jennie did not offer an apology.
"I'm not sorry... but JongSuk has been nothing but spoiled and disrespectful! When will you stop being so lenient with him!? Jisoo... if you don't start setting boundaries and expectations for your son, he will never respect you as his mother! He treats you as if you're not his mother... Heck, he treats you like he's your father!" Jennie exclaimed loudly. Jisoo tried to compose herself and swiftly turned away, unwilling to continue the conversation.
"Please... not right now. Don't ruin my morning, please! I don't want to spend it crying over my struggles as a mother of a kid who's clearly going through puberty. These things happen... I just need to talk to him and try to understand him," Jisoo said, searching for her apron. Jennie sighed once more, frustration evident as she pulled her hair back.
"Fine... go ahead and do as you wish... but mark my words, there will be consequences for not standing up for yourself. Your son needs more than just a talk! He needs some discipline... and someone who can make him realize that he's not the adult in the house, you are!" Jennie retorted.
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During the day, Jisoo did her best to ignore Jennie's words, focusing instead on decorating the cakes that had been ordered for later. She meticulously filled and crumb-coated the cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream, then placed it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to allow the crumb coat to firm up.
Once the crumb coat had firmed up, Jisoo proceeded to frost the cake with a final layer of Cream Cheese Buttercream. Using a cake comb from her set, she carefully created a textured finish on the surface. Jisoo then adorned the sides of the cake with cake crumbs, and sprinkled more crumbs over the top, adding the finishing touches to her beautifully decorated creation.
A wide smile spread across her face as she admired the masterpiece she had crafted.
"All done!" Jisoo murmured to herself, her eyes taking in the four personalized cakes she had successfully completed. However, her moment of pride was interrupted when Jennie came rushing back in.
"Jisoo! Your father is here!" Jennie exclaimed, her eyes widening as she gestured towards the figure standing behind her.
A sharp gasp escaped Jisoo's lips as she took in the unexpected news, her breath catching in her throat from the shock.
~•~
Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well.
Please share your thoughts on how the story has unfolded thus far.
Ps: why do you think Jisoo has been avoiding her father? 🤔🫣
