"Easter holidays are coming. What will you do if you go?"Minji started the conversation because Sophia had been messaging her again and again, telling her to talk to Zoya.
At Minji's words, Zoya looked toward her and smiled, then said,"Minji, you all are very good. I knew it—you would bring this point up with me again."She paused, then continued,"Minji, my heart doesn't feel settled here. That's why I wanted to go. But now I've decided—I'll go with you people."
"Didn't you like Seoul?" Minji asked in surprise.
"No, everything is fine," Zoya said, looking out.She didn't want to speak too much in front of Jeon.J.
"Then why did you say that?"
"Just like that. You know I don't like going out much. But I liked it with you people. And yes, please—until Easter, however many days are left here—don't take me out for sightseeing for one or two days. I'll go to one place from morning till evening. I've decided. I'm sure I'll be fine there."
"Which place have you found?" Sophia asked in surprise.
"There is a place."
"Let me guess," Minji said excitedly.
"Say it," Zoya replied.
"Central Mosque? Or Mr. Donghyun's house?" Minji guessed.
"Yes, I'll go there too," Zoya said, "but it's a place related to them."
"Ji-ho," Jeon.J suddenly replied.
Zoya looked at Jeon.J in shock. He was looking at her coldly through the review mirror. Zoya lowered her gaze, did not answer, and started looking outside.
"How do you know?" Minji asked in surprise.
"Obviously," Jeon.J said mockingly, laughing."A mosque related to Mr. Donghyun—other than his house—his son is the only possibility."
Zoya suddenly looked at Jeon.J. She felt regret at his words. Jeon.J laughed sarcastically at her again through the mirror.
"Zoya—" Minji was about to ask something, but Zoya cut her off softly.
"You know how much I like working in restaurants," Zoya said gently."I just saw Ji-ho's restaurant, and I thought if I ever come here again, I'll learn a little there. But we only have two days left, so I thought instead of wasting time somewhere else, it's better to go to Ji-ho's restaurant and learn something. But first, I'll talk to Mr. Donghyun. He'll ask Ji-ho, then I'll go."
At Zoya's gentle reply, Jeon.J burned.When the signal stopped the car, he opened a bottle of water and started drinking. His anger wasn't cooling down.
When the signal turned green, the car moved.Zoya opened the window, folded her arms on it, rested her head there, closed her eyes, and began to feel the cool spring air.
"Allah, You know that I am very thankful for all Your blessings, but I really love the cold air."
She sat silently with her eyes closed.
Jeon.J, Sophia, and Minji turned to look at her, because the cold air had spread calm inside the car. Sophia and Minji started small, casual conversations. Sometimes Jeon.J talked with them, and sometimes he looked at Zoya.
Zoya closed her eyes. Tears gathered in her eyes and flowed out through her closed lashes. After a short while, she slipped into sleep.
Zoya felt like someone was calling her in her dream. She wanted to wake up, but because of the peace of the cold air, she kept her eyes closed. She felt someone shaking her, calling her loudly.
When Zoya opened her eyes, a tear that had paused there crossed the edge of her eye and spread over her cheek. In front of her, outside, she saw Hana standing with Teahun. Teahun was holding a phone as if making a video or taking pictures.
"I thought you had already reached another world," Teahun teased,"That's why I was saving your last moments in my phone."
Zoya gave no response. She sat straight. Her scarf had slipped slightly—she immediately caught it and set it on her head. When she sat properly, she saw that no one was inside the car.
Where did Sophia and Minji go? she thought.
But Jeon.J was sitting in the driver's seat, looking outside.
She looked outside again—Hana and Teahun were still busy with the phone. She looked inside the car again, thinking how to ask Jeon.J about Minji and Sophia.
She looked outside through the other side window and saw Minji's house gate.That meant the car was in front of Minji's house. That meant they had arrived—but she had gone inside.
Zoya thought angrily about Minji.
"Come on, Zoya. Are you going to sleep in the car?" Hana called.
"I think we should leave the car here—she'll sleep in it," Teahun laughed.
Zoya picked up her bag. Her phone, which had fallen into her lap during sleep, slipped down. She picked it up and reached to open the door.
Jeon.J extended the same plastic bag he had taken from the supermarket—the one he had given to Minji.
"This isn't mine," Zoya said, reaching for the door.
"This is in return for the favor of feeding Bamson your favorite biscuits and snacks," Jeon.J said seriously, looking at her through the mirror.
Zoya avoided his gaze.
"If you want to repay a favor, then don't talk to me," she said while looking at the plastic bag."That will repay your favor."
At her words, lines appeared on Jeon.J's forehead, and his face turned red with anger.
"Zoya, whenever you feel like getting out of the car, call me. I'll come," Teahun said as he walked inside Minji's house with Hana.
Jeon.J gave no reply. He angrily turned fully and looked at Zoya.
Zoya was still staring at the bag.
"What do you think of yourself?" Jeon.J said.Zoya suddenly lifted her eyes. She didn't understand why he was so angry. Had she said something wrong? She had only asked him not to talk—because the more he talked, the more her heart wanted to talk to him. And she didn't want to develop habits that reduced distance. She wanted to keep that distance; the chances of pain would increase.
"Who are you?" Jeon.J's angry voice rose again, this time with sarcasm.
"I'm dying to talk to you—and you're telling me not to talk?""Since you came, you've been behaving strangely—as if we're very bad and you're very righteous. You find problems in our food, problems in our drinks. If we give you anything, first you create a whole scene, or you don't take it at all. You make things feel awkward."
"And with everyone else, you talk freely. Which favor are you repaying—yours or theirs? You're advising me not to talk because of the favor done for Bamson?"
"Miss Zoya, I think you need to reflect on yourself and think—who is actually valuing you? Because you are nothing to us. For us, you're just Minji's friend."
"And yes," he laughed sarcastically,"Jeon.J has better options—people he takes selfies with."
He threw the plastic bag—containing Zoya's Pakistani tea items—into her lap and sat straight.
Zoya sat in shock, still stuck in his words. The plastic bag slipped into her lap. Humiliation lowered her gaze. She didn't want to cry in front of him.
"Go from here," Jeon.J said sharply, sitting straight.
He picked up his phone and called Teahun to come outside.
Zoya opened the door. The trembling of her hands showed how deeply humiliation had broken her. Thank God there was no one else there. She stepped out, bent down, picked up her shoulder bag, then her phone, then reached toward the plastic bag—and with a painful smile, picked it up too.
Jeon.J watched every movement through the mirror.
She went inside without closing the door, without stopping.
"Oh, I thought you wanted to sleep in the car today," Teahun teased.
Zoya moved forward without replying—because if she stopped, breaking was certain.
"What happened to her?" Teahun asked while sitting in the car.
Jeon.J drove forward without saying anything. Teahun leaned his head against the seat and started watching the video Hana had shared—the one Teahun had made of Zoya while she was sleeping.
Teahun suddenly sat upright and zoomed in. Jeon.J also looked at the screen.
The zoomed clip showed the moment Zoya opened her eye—a tear crossed her long lashes and flowed down her cheek.
That moment seized Jeon.J's heart.
"What a scene," Teahun said.
Jeon.J gave him a cold look, then looked through the mirror at the empty back seat—the place where she had been sitting moments ago.
To be continued....
Regards
ZK💌