Smiles Pass By [Taennie]

i don't know her

Sometimes I don't know how I changed now, but I think it's because I am starting to open up to new opportunities. It's a weak spot of mine that I craved since I used to be a social butterfly. I started actually showing up to meetups from the company group chat for relaxation, and I tried hanging out with my friends. 

Sana was surprised so she took me out with her other friends and I learned some Japanese from them. They were more so shocked that I knew a couple phrases and words, but I pretended that I learned it from a Japanese drama instead of a perilous one hour session each day. 

I didn't know me and Wendy weren't really much friends as we rarely talked to each other in general. She took me with her other three friends to a restaurant, but I believed it was dead silent as they seemed to rather communicate non-verbally. Yet, it was still a start for me. 

Something I don't know if I regret or not is hanging out with WinWin. When he told me that a couple friends like Jungwoo and Yuta would come, I didn't expect to see 18 other people slowly joining in. However I learned that they all a tight bond like brothers since they all grew up together. Like somebody would introduce someone in the group and they would be a new family member. As much as I want to be number 22, I told them that I don't do well with big gatherings which is not nearly fake or true. 

Then comes a new set of friends which of course include Tzuyu and Jungwoo, but I decided to try getting to know Daniel and Jennie. 

Daniel and I decided to play some basketball together and as we shoot hoops, I learned that he was kind of like me. I knew he looked roughly familiar, and it was proven when he asked me how I didn't somehow know him. 

"I was in idol group for about two years before we had a mandatory disbandment because we were produced from M-net." He explained as I recall listening to a song from one group from M-Net, but I didn't remember if it was a girl group or boy one. 

"We were close, but after we disbanded, I had no idea where to move on. I could have been a soloist, but I just felt like I wanted to try something else like marketing. I already finished my degree, so I thought why not go with the backup plan. I thought I've seen you before, but I don't know where," Daniel explained as I shot the basketball into the hoop. I don't recall ever meeting Daniel in person, but maybe a former trainee had a picture of me. 

After a couple rounds, he told me that I had inspired him to try to reconnect with his other friends. Maybe I should reconnect with Namjoon? But he's always busy, and has no time to speak nowadays with me. 

The last person who kept postponing our meetup is Jennie. She gave excuses that her home is messy, her kitchen is being repaired, and she is too busy. Finally she had the courage to deliver her answer when I was preparing to leave the office to catch the bus to the grocery store. 

"Hey, V. I am sorry for declining your request on being closer friends, but I am free this afternoon. I know you usually pick up groceries today, so we can do both." Her hands trembled which meant that she was nervous about how I would respond. 

"I would love to, Miss Kim." I smiled as her head perked up to display that perfect smile. I don't know what happens to me when I see that smile, but then I start to lose myself in reality to join the world of youth for a couple seconds. She took my hands as we exited outside the building and we once again faced the harsh world in which our office shielded us from the busy streets of Seoul. Jennie told me that she usually walks first before catching a bus so the fare wouldn't be so expensive. 

I typically never walk this direction because then there would be a batch of emotional parents picking their children up in the nearby school. It's not that I didn't adore kids, but the foot traffic was hard to pass. It is already autumn and I wanted to take a picture of the scenery before I could forget. As I pulled out my phone, Jennie noticed and told me that I could take a picture another time. I shrugged, but I didn't want to create a terrible impression after showing her my daily life conditions. 

"Wait for me here!" Jennie also pointed out that I could take pictures of the scenery that we just walked past and I begun to do so for a couple minutes as I focused the camera on the beautiful view of Seoul. Now this is the part I fell in love with first, the sights of simplicity at it's best at an ordinary street. Suddenly I see a child tug my jacket with a mischievous smirk as I grew astonished how familiar her face looked. 

Jennie seemed to be engaging in a conversation with an unfamiliar man who seemed to be one of those cocky guys who would never learn how to grow up. They both came closer slowly and then the little girl started talking to me. 

"Hello! Eomma told me that you are her friend! I didn't know Eomma had any boy friends! Well I knew Uncle Daniel but that's it." The little adorable girl who couldn't be more than five smiled in a way that seemed to familiar to me. I pretended to play along the girl's game until Jennie and the stranger who had an ugly face came in front of me. 

"So this is your boyfriend?" The guy asked in a grudging manner which caused a bewildered look on my face. This is not apart of the script is it? Hold up, did Jennie only invite me because she needed to get a man to stop pursuing her? 

So many questions I had, but the man asked the same question. 

"Do you even know her?" 

LOL this is my favorite chapter because this is where I decided to scratch everything and change the plot when I wrote this sweet little girl.