**Minji's POV**

Aunt closed the store early today as a reward for us for going through the filming stuff. She was hesitant initially, but her motivation strengthened after I announced my personal plans. It came as a shock to her, since she views me as a complete homebody with no friends but I guess I haven't done anything to prove her wrong quite yet. I'm still trying to grow a strong relationship with her after the family drama between her and my father. Showing that I'm a sociable person is the first step in my plan for that.

I grabbed my handbag from the back and took off my apron. I searched online for a bus to take me to where Hanni and I agreed to meet. We agreed on The Violet Ranch which was a fairly popular joint located in the mall where Hanni works. Miraculously, it was somewhat close to where I was; all I needed to do was just to wait for a couple minutes at the bus stop. I guess Hanni must've chose that place since she's already right next to it. Nevertheless, I scrolled through its menu while I sat waiting for the bus to arrive. It looked like it served primarily French cuisine, which I wasn't all too familiar with. I didn't mind researching different cultures since I've always wanted to travel the world. I like French pastries so I assume I should also like French food right?

I was conducting further research on a menu item that interested me: bouillabaisse. Yet, before I could delve deeper into French culture, I received a phone call: it was from my mom.

"Hello? Mom? Did you call?"

"Minji! I'm in the middle of something, can you come help me?"

"Oh...ummm", I moved my phone from my ear to observe the time. "Mom, is it important? I have something to get to."

"Well... MINJI, THE HOUSE IS FLOODING!"

"WHAT?!?!? I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" I quickly hung up and ran off to get home to save my mother. I made sure to text Hanni that I might be late and that she should just eat without me. As I ran off, I saw the bus pull into the bus stop.

Drats.

~~

"MOM! HOW DO I HELP?!?!?" I ran up the stairs to find a small portion of water leaking through the opening at the bottom of the front door. I kicked the damp welcome mat off onto the grass below. I leaned to the side when I opened the door in case I get hit with a burst of water. That didn't matter as water still gushed out, damping the ends of my pants.

I called out, "MOM?!? WHERE ARE YOU?"

From the back of the house, I heard her shout back, "HONEY I'M IN THE BACKYARD!"

I ran as fast as I could, stomping on the puddles formed from the water. I encountered my mom in the backyard with a mechanic crouched down working on a pipe. Mom was commanding an array of towels that she placed on the floor to soak up the water.

"What can I do?"

"Here, take these," she tossed a bundle of towels over to me, "just spread them around on the floor and dry up the house."

I ventured deeper into the house, into my own room. Selfishly, I chose to prioritize my stuff first. Obviously right? Fortunately, the leak didn't spill too deep into the house so my room and the area around it was relatively dry. I only needed one towel to control that part of the house. I, then, shifted my attention to the main hall, where there actually was a lot of water present. Once, I fortified that region, I made my way to the last major part of the house, which was our kitchen and dining room. It was relatively wet as well, although not to the extent of the main hall. After I placed down all the towels, I transitioned between all three areas. I realized as I ran around that I was essentially playing an IRL Tower Defense game; making sure each part of the map was accounted for with my towels as my units.

~~

After the chaos resolved down, mom and I sat at the dining table together. I had too many questions I needed to ask her.

"Mom, what even happened?"

"the water pipe burst when I tried turning on the hose," she recalled, "so then, I thought it would be small so I tried fiddling with it."

I facepalmed, "Mom, I've told you before! Call me whenever something like this happens."

"Well, the house is saved now and it's dry...kind of..."

"Yeah thankfully," I stated, sipping from my cup of juice.

"Sorry I pulled you away from whatever you were planning earlier."

I ferociously switched my phone on, "OH SHOOT I NEED TO GO!"

I leaped out of my chair and dashed out the door, grabbing my jacket on the countertop. 

Hanni, please don't leave yet.

~~

I was almost an hour and a half late by the time I arrived at the mall. I had to wait for the bus, which is why it took so long. It felt like the universe was spiting me with all the stops that it made on the journey. What scared me most was that Hanni still hadn't responded back to my texts. Is she mad at me? Did she already leave?

I burst through the doors of the restaurant. I scoured the entire room to find Hanni yet I couldn't find her anywhere. I asked the gentleman in the front, "Hello sir, did a short woman come in here like a hour ago waiting for someone?"

He pondered to himself for a minute before answering "No, I'm sorry Ms., but I don't recall a woman with that description today."

I wandered out of the store and sat on the floor, unsure of what to do now. A shadowy figure approached me, "what are you doing on the floor bro?"

"bro"...? I know someone who says that...

I peeked up to find a girl bending down to match my eyes. She wore white-rimmed glasses and a burgundy bucket hat. The curious look on her face reminded me of the face my baby cousin would make when I played with her.

"Hanni! You're here!"

"Well of course bro, why wouldn't I be?"

"Did you ever see my texts? I messaged you that I would be late but you never responded, so I thought you ate already and were mad at me."

"Oh," she scratched the back of her neck embarrassedly "I fell asleep."

"Unbelievable."

"I was actually worried that you would be mad at me. I hoped that I would come up right now and you would be waiting for me patiently. Did you eat already? I'm HUNGRY," she announced before brazenly walking through the door. I followed her from behind, proud that I didn't ruin my chance to make a friend.

We were seated in a booth on the left side of the restaurant. Hanni hurriedly looked through the menu. It looks like she wasn't lying about being hungry. As to not anger her, I skipped looking at items and just ordered the one dish that I remember studying before: bouillabaisse. 

I started the conversation since Hanni was keeping quiet; I assume because her stomach was hurting. "So how have you been Hanni? How is Mrs. Kim?" 

"We're fine. Mrs. Kim actually got a small cold last week but other than that, nothing is really going on."

"Is school going good?"

"School is alright. My dad, in case you were curious, is less pushy on me moving back now. I started arguing with him a little after what you told me, so we definitely aren't as close as before, but at least I got my point out."

"OH MY GOSH! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you guys fight!" I worried.

Hanni waved her hands in disagreement, "nah it's aight' he'll get over it. Just need some time to cool down I think. Maybe I need some time off too." She was fidgeting with her bracelet, "that's enough about me. What have you been up to?"

"Same as you; nothing much. Although, today was kind of action-packed: there was some news crew at the coffee shop where they interviewed me, then the reason why I was late today was that my mom flooded our house."

That led to a loud chortle from Hanni. "OH MY GOSH I'M SO SORRY I SHOULDN'T BE LAUGHING!"

I joined in the laughter, "nah it's alright. We settled it already so the house should be fine."

"So tell me about this filming thing today. Were you nervous?" She asked as the waiter placed down our dishes on the table.

"I think I did fine. I'm not really all that experienced with being filmed or anything so maybe I looked a bit awkward? We'll find out when they premiere it I guess."

"Maybe people won't care about how you act on camera when they see your face," she snarked.

"T-thanks..." I had to admit, I was a bit flustered; I didn't expect her to say something like that."

"Oh man! I totally got you! Your face is totally red right now bro!" Hanni pointed at me and laughed.

I buried my face in my hands, "oh you're such a kid!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't think someone as calm as you would break so easily. C'mon let's just eat."

~~

After we finished our food, we headed out for some boba. We sat down at a table chit-chatting a bit more; learning more about each other. I learned more about Hanni's passion for music and getting into the conservatory. Our conversation was cut short when Hanni got a call from Mrs. Kim to return back to work, so I walked her down the escalator to the flower shop.

"So...I guess I'll see ya at the shop?" Hanni signed off.

"For sure!"

I hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say before turning around and leaving.

I went to hug her, but as I was walking to her, I tripped on a rock and fell on top of her.

"OH MY, I'M SO SORRY. UHHH hope to see you later!" 

I ran my butt away. I didn't even want to see her reaction to what I just did.

Oh my f- god... that was so cringy