You woke up so early..?
Minji opened her eyes and saw Zoya sitting with her laptop on, and when she looked toward the others, they were all asleep.
Zoya saw Minji's half-awake eyes and said with a smile, nothing. She remembered the strange last night they had at DMC when they came from there.
Hana, Ruhi, and Sofia were sleeping together on the bed, while Minji, who had been brought upstairs at night, drunk, was lying on the mattress next to the bed because Hana, Sofia, and Ruhi were in a terrible state when she reached the room. They couldn't place her on the bed properly, so they put her on the mattress on one side and fell onto the bed themselves. Zoya suddenly laughed; the little anger she had carried from DMC had disappeared. All three of them laughed, but they didn't understand why they were laughing.
Zoya sat on the mattress next to Minji against the wall. "I'll just sleep here," she said.
Hana lifted her head and saw Zoya. "Okay, we three will sleep on the bed."
Everyone was tired and fell asleep.
In the early morning, Zoya's eyes opened with anxiety. She looked at everyone; all were still asleep.
The room was warm from the heater, but outside it was cold—the effect of the departing winter was fading; it felt like spring, but there was still a trace of cold. She got up and went toward the window. Outside, everything was calm, but her heart was still uneasy. She sat down near the window and suddenly started crying.
"Sometimes it feels like my prayers aren't being accepted.
Sometimes I don't even know what I'm asking for. Sometimes despair overwhelms me. Sometimes I tell myself, 'Zoya, what are you thinking? Are you crazy? Where are you standing? Who are you? The one you're thinking about… just seeing him is a luck, and yet you keep thinking…'"
She rested her head on her knees, tears continuously streaming from her eyes. She read the prayer she always recited throughout the day:
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِهِ وَاغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ وَاجْعَلِ الإِيمَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ نُورًا وَهُدًى
Allāhumma ihdihi waghfir lahu warḥamhu waj'alil-īmāna fī qalbihi nūran wa hudā.
O Allah, guide him, forgive him, have mercy on him, and place in his heart the light and guidance of faith.
After a few minutes, when she lifted her head, there was no trace of despair on her face, nor worry about losing anything. Tears still lingered in her eyes. She looked at the sky visible through the window glass. The stars shone brightly. "O Lord, the Creator of this world, You made me, and You made him. You are Almighty, the only one who accepts prayers. Just keep granting me the ability to pray. I believe that, at the right time, my prayer will surely be answered."
She performed ablution and began her Fajr prayer as it was time.
Yesterday had been tiring due to traveling in the morning and DMC in the evening.
After everyone woke up in the morning, they got fresh and ready and went down to the kitchen for breakfast. Here, everyone felt at Minji's home as if it were their own, like a family.
Minji's mother was sitting in the hall. She smiled and said, "Good morning, girls."
"Minji, last night you drank," Mrs. Han asked.
"How do you know?" Minji asked.
"When you all came, I was about to go outside, but your friends were trying hard to carry you upstairs," Mrs. Han explained.
Minji innocently said, "Mom, I don't know, it just happened… It's everyone's fault."
"Who is everyone?" Mrs. Han asked, pointing towards the other girls who were preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
"No, not these," Minji quickly said.
"Who exactly gave you that?" Minji's mother asked.
"Jeon.J and other TBS members all came to DMC and wanted to enjoy their earlier time again. So when Jinhun challenged me, I don't know how it got so out of hand," Minji replied.
"Just a little trouble happened last night," Minji said.
"What?" Mrs. Han said that when she went to the kitchen to help the others.
"Mom, I drank, and the other girls were trying to manage me. Then Jeon.J asked his PA, Jea, to drop us home," Minji explained.
"So what's the problem? I was thinking of calling him today," Mrs. Han glanced at Minji.
"The problem was that we left Zoya there by mistake," Minji quickly finished.
"What..?" "Are you crazy? You left her there?" Mrs. Han looked toward the kitchen. She should feel sad for Zoya because she looked innocent. Zoya came toward Mrs. Han. Quietly, she asked to Minji What happened''.
"I apologize on behalf of Minji," Mrs. Han said.
Zoya looked shocked. Why did Mrs. Han apologize?
Zoya immediately went forward respectfully. "May I hug you, Mrs. Han?"
Mrs. Han was surprised. "What are you saying?"
"Yes," Zoya smiled, "may I?"
Zoya hugged her, and tears automatically flowed from her eyes. When she straightened up, Mrs. Han looked worried.
"What happened, Zoya? Are you okay? I'm going to punish Minji now. How could you leave her and come?" She looked at Minji intently.
"No, please. I just got emotional. It's been many days since I hugged my mother, that's why I hugged you. You are also like a mother," Zoya said, her smile tinged with sadness.
"But I will forgive Minji on one condition: as long as we are here, you come first for my mother, Minji comes after, Zoya said playfully.
That will be her punishment," Mrs. Han said jokingly.
Everyone laughed at Zoya's words; Mrs. Han also laughed. "Yes, this is the right punishment," Sophia said with a teasing smile.
"You will be our mother too," Hana said, a teasing smile on her face, just to annoy Minji.
Minji stood there with her mouth open. "This is very wrong! You are wrong to do this to me!" she said, almost sad.
"Okay, dear, we will wait. Bye."
Suddenly, Mr. Han entered.
"What happened? Why are you standing like that?" he asked when he saw Minji.
"Look, everyone is in a group. They left me alone," Minji said, pointing to everyone.
Mr. Han whispered to Minji, "I am here with you."
Minji hugged Mr. Han. "Yes, you are the best father. Thanks for this tour of Seoul," Minji said, talking about the Seoul tour Mr. Han had offered her friends as a celebration for her scholarship.
"Oh, that's okay. Why not introduce your friends?" Mr. Han asked, smiling.
Minji nodded and introduced her friends. Everyone had breakfast in a cheerful atmosphere.
"What are you doing today?" Mr. Han asked everyone.
"Why, Appa?" Minji asked.
"I just talked to Jeon.J; he's coming home. If you're free, you can join us," Mr. Han said.
Everyone was surprised. "Jeon.J?" Hana asked excitedly.
"How lucky we are in Seoul! We got a chance to meet TBS," Sophia said happily.
"We were just going to explore some places today," Minji said.
"But now we absolutely won't go," Ruhi said.
Zoya was silent, observing without expression.
"I actually want to visit the Central Mosque of Seoul today. And it's Friday, so I want to go there," Zoya told Mr. Han, then looked toward Mrs. Han.
Seeing Mrs. Han, Mr. Han didn't understand at first. But after hearing "Mosque" and "Friday," he realized Zoya was Muslim, and Friday is a holy day for Muslims.
"It's okay, dear. Go calmly," Mr. Han said respectfully as he went toward his room. Zoya smiled.
"Go enjoy your time. I'll see what preparations and orders to make for Jeon.J's lunch. But I'll personally cook his favorite dish," Mr. Han said while going to the kitchen.
"But Amma, you need to prepare a lot of food, you know Jeon.J is not coming alone. His other parts of the home, parts of the room, parts of life must also be considered," Minji said loudly.
"I know, but I feel happy. It's been a long time since they came. Now that they're here, I feel joy. But I know they'll bring their food too and said we come to enjoy potluck," Mrs. Han said, and everyone laughed.
.....
"Can we come along? Can we explore your holy place? Or won't we be allowed?" Hana asked.
"No, that's not a problem. It's Allah's house. Worship is performed there, and it's open to everyone. Anyone can go. Today is Friday, so I want to go, but we can always visit again tomorrow. You'll get a chance to see it for yourself," Zoya said with a smile.
"Really, everyone is allowed there?" Hana asked, her eyes wide. Zoya simply nodded.
"Okay, but how will you go?" Minji asked.
"I checked on the laptop this morning and noted the location. You just tell me
I go by public transport or a ride?
"Forget public transport. Take a simple ride; I'll book one for you. When you want to leave, just call me, and I'll pick you up. Or, if you prefer, I can drop you—it's not far, only fifteen to twenty minutes," Minji said.
"No, thank you. I want to go by myself. I'll manage. Don't worry," Zoya replied firmly. "Yesterday, we were lucky that Jeon.J was there. Today, if you disappear, it won't be so easy to find someone."
both are smile...
"Alright, then. Get ready. I'll book the ride."
"Okay, I'll be ready," Zoya said, standing up.
Ruhi clapped her hands excitedly. "We should get ready too. After all, Jeon.J is coming today. I'll take so many pictures to send to my family—they won't believe I met him!"
Everyone headed upstairs to prepare themselves.
...
"Where were you going?" Teahun asked as Jeon.J was getting ready.
"Last night, everyone was at my house. It's the same today. Kim Joon has left, but the rest are here," Jeon.J replied.
"I'm going for lunch. Whatever you make, just eat it. Don't make the kitchen messy," he added.
"Why did we even make it? And where are you going for lunch? Are you leaving us at your house and going out alone? Instead of letting us eat here, you're going with someone else?" Teahun asked, his voice full of mock outrage.
"You didn't come to my house the first time; you only come every two days. And yes, you act well sometimes, but it doesn't mean your acting is always right. Stop overacting. I'm going to Mr. Han's house—there was some work, so He called me," Jeon.J said, looking directly at Teahun.
"Until yesterday, you didn't remember him. But now suddenly… You remembered? Or maybe just Mr. Han's daughter?" Teahun teased.
"What will you do to shut your mouth?" Jeon.J asked sharply.
"I'm just going for lunch at Minji's house," Teahun said simply and saw here and there.
Jeon.J raised his eyes. "Why are you going? He just called me."
"He didn't call you. You called him, and you had some work too. What work? Who knows. Maybe it's just an excuse for lunch," Yomin said joyfully, entering the room.
Jeon.J's jaw dropped. "And what about us? Are we going too? What sudden work came up with Mr. Han?" Minjo chimed in.
Jeon.J was speechless.
"Here's what we'll do," Hosu said, putting a finger to his lips. "Either tell us what the work is and have lunch with us, or take us along. We won't ask a single question. We'll behave like good kids, have lunch, and sit quietly in the car."
"What kind of people are you? I don't even have privacy in my own house," Jeon.J shouted.
"Don't talk about privacy. We're not disturbing you. That little helper Jea doesn't do anything, right?" Teahun said, smirking.
"Uff, uff… shut up. How am I supposed to take you all? This is bad manners," Jeon.J said, trying to explain.
"No, it's not bad manners at all. We're not even going to eat anyone else's food," Yomin replied.
"So what exactly will you do if there's no food?" Jeon.J asked.
"We'll bring our own—it's a potluck, you know," Teahun said with a smile.
"What? Do it at home, then," Jeon.J muttered.
"No, that won't work. We'll miss you too much while eating, so we're coming along," Minjo grabbed Jeon.J hand and said dramatically,
"Minjo, just place the order and leave it. We'll pick something up on the way," Hosu added, deciding everything.
Jeon.J listened quietly to all the chatter. Everyone was getting ready, and he couldn't understand a thing. Lunch? How had these five decided to go together so quickly? Why did Kim Joon leave? Would he have explained this or taken them to the studio? Jeon.J made an irritated face.
Everyone got ready and booked a ride to make things easier. RAMY had thoroughly scanned every TBS member's car, so they had to be careful.
Jea was left behind with Bamson, as Teahun didn't want to take him along. On the way, they had brought a lot of food for lunch.
.....
Everyone was ready, and Mrs. Han was still helping in the kitchen. Zoya was also there to help. Mr. Han was also ready but was busy on his phone.
"Zoya, your ride has arrived," Sophia said, entering the kitchen.
"Alright, I'm going," Zoya said, picking up her bag and phone and saying bye to everyone.
"Wait a minute, take this with you. You won't join us for lunch?" Mrs. Han said, giving Zoya a box. She opened it and saw fried chicken cubes and salad inside.
"You'll like it, right?" Minji was telling me. "I made it."
Zoya closed the box and looked at Mrs. Han lovingly.
"Thank you," she said, nothing more.
She went outside, put the box in her bag, and dialed the same number she had been calling regularly since coming to Korea. But every time there was no response—sometimes it was off, sometimes busy, sometimes the call wasn't picked up. Today, too, she was dialing, hoping the call would be answered.
She was wearing her traditional white dress, and her head was covered with a white scarf, put warm white sweater. While dialing, she walked toward the ride. In front of the ride, a cab stopped, and everyone got in. They reached Zoya whispered. She put the phone down quickly and placed it inside her bag because she saw Teahun, who had irritated her last night. She did not want to talk to him again and walked toward her ride.
Teahun's jaw dropped. "She's doing it again. No hello, No welcome, No greetings—what kind of manners are these?" Teahun said.
Zoya stopped and looked at him.
Everyone stood aside because they had heard the heavy words Zoya had said yesterday.
Those who hadn't heard were told by the others. Because they are idols, everyone was treated differently But Zoya…..... Now they wanted to see how many hits Teahun would get.
Zoya stood in front of Teahun with her hands folded and said:
"First of all, I didn't call you. So why should I say hello?
Second, you are not my guest. So why should I welcome you?
And about manners, if you care about them, let me tell you: I don't come without being called. That means I have manners."
Zoya raised her eyebrows at Teahun. "Understand how many manners I have."
Teahun opened his mouth at Zoya's words. She directly said they had come without any invitation except Jeon.J.
Teahun was stunned and started to say something, but Yomin stepped in between because he felt another argument would start between Zoya and Teahun.
"We just came for lunch at Minji's house. We have been coming before, too.
Enjoy your time," Zoya said simply before Yomin finished.
Hosu shrugged and looked around, unable to control his laughter. Minjo was also surprised. This had never happened before. Whenever someone came, everyone would be happy and excited, but here everything was reversed. Seeing Teahun, Hosu couldn't stop laughing.
Jeon.J's expression was serious as he watched Zoya leave. Yomin asked, "Where are you going? Are you not joining us?"
Jeon.J was serious, staring at both of them, while the others were consoling Teahun for Zoya's words, which had hit his emotions.
"No, I have to go. It's getting late. Maybe I'll come back and join you (you ... mean not us Jeon.J wispered) But if I leave early,
Zoya won't stop, because she wants to reach the mosque before Friday's prayer."
As soon as she left, everyone burst out laughing.
"Wow, what a girl! In one minute, she increased your respect," Minjo said to Teahun.
"Stop laughing," Teahun shouted.
Everyone went inside. Jeon.J, instead of going inside last, bent down and picked up her phone. Since it was on the grass, it didn't make a sound when it fell. Jeon.J saw the phone fall but didn't say anything. No one knew what was going through his mind. He looked at the gate with a teasing smile, from where Zoya had gone outside.
"Hello everyone," Jeon.J said, entering inside. He met Mrs. Han and Mr. Han. Hana, Sophia, and Ruhi were excited to see them.
Before Jeon.J arrived, Teahun, Jinhun, and Hosu started arranging food on the dining table.
In Korea, guests don't sit idly. Guests help out like family members, helping to set the food and prepare the dining table.
Jeon.J, standing aside, turned on Zoya's phone, but it had a password. On the lock screen, there was a DP (display picture) that prevented him from turning off the phone. The DP showed a girl standing in front of a building. The building was striking to the eye—black with golden designs, or maybe the building was covered with a black cloth with golden words. Next to the building, a shoulder was peeking out from the clothing, standing around the building. Among all this, the highlight of the picture was the girl, facing the building. Her head was covered with a gray scarf. No one knew who she was. But what repeatedly caught attention was the building itself.
Jeon.J felt strange. Entering inside, he turned off the phone and casually placed it on the central table, unaware that someone had seen him putting the phone down.
To be continued....
Regards
ZK💌