Chapter Text
"You are so fucking shameless, Yoo Jeongyeon. It's actually remarkable."
The sun is strikingly high that day and Dahyun covers her eyes with one hand, the other resting on her waist. She grimaces due to the heat coming down at her, but there's laughter in her eyes.
"Yah kid! You're cursing now? Calling me by my full name? Don't you have any respect for your unnie? I'll have to report you to your boss."
"You're my boss, unnie."
There's a beat and then both are laughing. The small penguin that Jeongyeon holds with her right hand - the left carries a brush to help clean the animal - flaps his wings excitedly by the sound of laughter.
Droplets of water ricochet against Jeongyeon's skin.
"I can't believe you told this one that you're a spy for the Korean Intelligence Agency. Is that even a thing? Do they exist?"
"I... guess? Don't know for sure."
Dahyun bents down and pets the penguin's chubby belly which earns her a squeal. Jeongyeon pushes her hair back and finishes cleaning Harold, then frees him to return to his friends.
"I can't risk having these women come back for me, Dahyunie. This bird here can't be locked in a cage, I have to fly free, y'know?"
It's a hot Monday morning and as usual, the aquarium is closed to the public for maintenance and general cleaning. Jeju is such a small island yet it's home to the biggest aquarium in South Korea - Jeongyeon has theories about tax evasion schemes and money laundering, but she keeps it to herself; she needs the job at least until she's ready to leave it all behind.
Dahyun has a look of incredible disbelief on her face, yet the smile remains. "See? Shameless. You're that confident that you think they'll would come back from their home country just for you? They're tourists, unnie!"
"Hey, Japan is right around the corner."
"How do you even talk to them, anyway? You barely speak Korean."
"Oh, there's not much to talk about if you know what I mean."
There's a cartoonish wiggle of the eyebrows by her boss and Dahyun, arms crossed, sighs. "Sadly, I do."
She had started at the aquarium just a couple of months prior, but Jeongyeon took an immediate liking to the younger woman and took her under her wing; as energetic and funny as Jeongyeon is, Dahyun noticed a smear of loneliness resting in those eyes - she was glad that Jeongyeon picked her among the other interns to be her right-hand. And the money would help pay for her biology major so she couldn't complain.
On their first lunch together, Dahyun learned that Jeongyeon is a veterinarian of five years already despite not hitting 30 yet; she oversees the whole aquarium for the general wellness of the animals but her favourites to take care of are the penguins and the walruses. There's about 20 of each at the aquarium, all endangered and no longer able to live in the wild. Jeongyeon takes care of them as if they are her children, and the animals seem to be thankful for the care given.
Dahyun, on just her second day, experienced seeing Jeongyeon receive a sloppy kiss on the cheek from Lana, one of the female walruses and then Dahyun herself shook hands/flippers with Marty, the oldest male walrus at the aquarium. The surreal feeling meshed together with happiness once Jeongyeon clapped her hands at the interaction and a group of five walruses behind them clapped their flippers in unison.
Sure, cleaning up after mammals is not what Dahyun had envisioned as her first internship, plus her puke brown polo shirt and shorts for a uniform is awful looking but Jeongyeon makes it worth it in the end.
"Wanna have lunch, unnie?"
Morning had gone by fast and Dahyun's stomach was beginning to growl - she would kill for a bowl of spicy Tteokbokki right now. They walk together in the direction of the storage room for that section of the aquarium to drop of the items used to clean up Harold.
"I can't kid, sorry. I'm taking my girl for a ride."
For once Dahyun knows her boss is not taking about an actual human, but instead a big sailing boat that Jeongyeon had built from scratch and named 'The Empress'. One weekend Jeongyeon had invited Dahyun to come to her boat to drink some beers and eat some homemade Mandu that Jeongyeon's father had sent from Suwon. The Mandu and the beer were delicious. The boat... well, it scared Dahyun. It was big and in need of some repairs, so she was glad that they were just going to stay on shore and enjoy the view. Sana and Tzuyu, two of their friends that also worked at the aquarium, had joined them that day and they all left late at night, drunkenly laughing and enjoying the starry night Jeju provided.
"Oh, ok. Don't go too far Unnie. The sea seems agitated today."
"Look at you, all worried. How sweet. But I'll be fine, don't worry. I think we're done for today, check with Sana if she needs help with anything. If not, you can go home and I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"
They finish storing the items and say their goodbyes. As Jeongyeon heads for the exit Dahyun yells out for her to not meet any mermaids at sea.
Jeongyeon laughs and waves back.
-----
Jeongyeon indeed does not meet any mermaids, but if there are any, they surely seem to have eaten a chunk of her boat.
The more plausible option is that she hit a rock, because the sound was loud, and wood cracking had a distinct one. Jeongyeon was in the middle of her monologue at the helm, her phone set on its recording app, logging her soon to be travel (if she's so lucky), when it happens.
She's a few leagues away from the coast where she anchors The Empress, and Jeongyeon is imagining herself getting close to Bristol Bay, but it's cut short by the crash. "What the fu-!"
There's 15 minutes of Jeongyeon just sitting down on the deck, hands on her head. "There goes at least another two months of repair," she thinks and there's no one to blame for but herself. She sees in her mind the digits of her bank account dropping rapidly.
Sailing along the artic has always been a dream for Jeongyeon, as she remembers watching in awe National Geographic documentaries as a child with her father beside her, her toy blue whale nested close to her chest.
Moving to Jeju at 18 was a choice that took guts, but Jeongyeon could hear the sea calling for her to come. It felt like going home for some reason. Her parents supported her decision but made it clear that it meant complete independence from everything, including monetary support.
But Jeju indeed felt like home, so Jeongyeon didn't mind working at a seafood restaurant for the next two years to pay for her college. Getting into Jeju National University was hard enough, she didn't mind getting down to the ground level to pay for it. She knew the other end of the tunnel would bring her more than she was giving of herself.
'The Empress' came about after her second year in college, the idea forming in her mind as she saw fishing boats leave the coast every morning, the strong wooden beasts battling in a dance with the waves and trying hard to survive the encounters. Jeongyeon sat on her porch and watched, coffee in hand.
Jeongyeon wanted more. She wanted the entire ocean, the Atlantic and the Pacific. She wanted to sail the artic, pass along Bristol Bay and witness walruses at their natural habitat. She saved money and began building the boat with her bare hands and no help. Even if help was offered a few times, Jeongyeon had politely declined - she couldn't risk someone else messing up her personal project.
Years had gone by, and The Empress finally felt ready that summer. She was going to ask for her resignation from the aquarium by the end of the year, get her severance package and sail away, no return in sight. Today was just supposed to be a routine sail around the coast, to test if everything was in its rightful place; Clearly her head was not.
After a call to the coast guard, Jeongyeon works on the inflatable boat she has for emergencies (it even comes with a small motor!) for about ten minutes and then leaves The Empress behind, bringing herself to the east side of the coast of Jeju; the coast guard said it would be about two hours before they would arrive to tow her boat back to her anchoring spot.
The east coast of Jeju was a place Jeongyeon had visited only a handful of times, one of those times it was to bring a tourist on a date that ended up with Jeongyeon throwing up on the street by the end of the night and the local police helping her and the other woman to return to the west coast of the island.
Not her proudest moment.
Jeongyeon anchors the small boat on the rocky sand shore and sees a small restaurant just at the end of the street above. She should've taken the lunch offer made by Dahyun and left The Empress to be sailed another day.
Now she's hungry and ready to eat a horse.
Jeongyeon enters the restaurant and a bell rings on the door. The place is small but feels comfortable, a wooden counter that stretches almost the entirety of the space with round stools right below it. Circling the rest of the restaurant are numerous booths that can fit at least two people on each side.
The design is not exactly Korean but the smell of fresh maeuntang waters her mouth as soon as she steps foot inside. The place is nearly empty, safe for a few patrons, but Jeongyeon pays no mind and heads straight for one or the stools. A few seconds later a gorgeous woman with cascading shiny black hair, big eyes and high cheekbones comes out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a red apron. The small plaque above her chest reads 'Momo'.
"Hello gorgeous. First time seeing you here. New to the island?"
It's so unexpected and the woman's smile is so radiant that it disarms Jeongyeon completely, rendering her to a stuttering state. She's not used to be on the receiving end of these things.
"I- uh- no. Hi! No, not new. I live on the west coast of the island. First time here, y-yes."
She feels heat coming up her neck and gives an awkward smile at Momo's direction, whose eyebrows shoot up in amusement.
"Well, you're very welcome here. I'm Momo," she points at her name and then back at the reddened woman. "And you are?"
"Jeongyeon. Hi."
"Nice to meet you, Jeongyeon." A hand is extended and Jeongyeon takes it.
"Nice to meet you too."
"We're just opening for lunch, but here's our options." Momo hands her a plastic menu from behind the counter but Jeongyeon barely glances at it, and asks, "Is that mauentang I'm smelling?"
"Yes, it is."
"I'll take one order of it then. And beer, please."
"Alright, one mauentang and a beer it is then. I'll be right back with your order, sweetie."
Momo takes back the menu and smiles again, leaving Jeongyeon breathless once more; she returns to the kitchen and Jeongyeon hears her yell out the order to the chef.
There's an active effort from Jeongyeon to avoid thinking about her boat in that moment, so she turns her head to take a more detailed look of the restaurant.
There are a few landscape paintings framed on the wall, nothing too fancy but enough to give life to the space; there's a board with a parchment with Japanese lettering that Jeongyeon has no idea what it says but it looks pretty.
She turns to the booths, and they are all empty but for one, right in the middle of the restaurant, next to a big glass window. Jeongyeon doesn't understand how she missed it when she first entered, because in that booth sits one of the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on.
She starts to wonder if she should visit the east coast more often.
Her hair is dark brown, and it flows below the shoulders, her pale skin contrasting with the norm for the island, where the sun is relentless and every local is a shade darker.
"Is she a local?" Jeongyeon ponders, unable to answer. She looks comfortable enough on her booth, as if it's routine for her to be there.
The clothes are so simple that makes her beauty even more evident; a bright pink t-shirt that had seen better days, loose white pants and sandals. Jeongyeon sees she's really concentrated on her food, but nothing is going in.
Jeongyeon eyes the plate in front, notices she's eating... waffles? Well, not eating. Seems like she's building something.
A house of waffles? What?
Why is a Korean restaurant serving American breakfast food?
Before her brain can conjure a simple thought, Jeongyeon's feet are moving. In a few seconds she stands in front of the woman, and there's no acknowledgement from the other side.
"Hi," Jeongyeon blurts out. It's the second time in the last ten minutes that Jeongyeon feels flustered in front of a woman and her brain doesn't seem to know how to act.
Big brown eyes drift from the plate to look up at her, curious.
"Hello."
The answer comes and it sounds more like a question, which makes Jeongyeon hands sweat.
Again, her mouth sprints ahead of her brain. "I was just sitting right there-" she points at one of the stools. "-and I couldn't help but notice... are you making a house out of waffles?"
Jeongyeon doesn't want to sound rude or intruding, so the sound of laughter, although shy, eases the pain she was starting to feel in her ribcage.
"Yeah, yeah. I am. I know it's stupid-"
"No no! It's not stupid at all! I was just... fascinated, that's all."
The woman raises one of her eyebrows and laughs again, and Jeongyeon is not sure if she wants to hear any other sound for the rest of her time on earth. It comes this time with a grin that shows two front teeth slightly bigger than the rest.
Like a bunny.
"My name is Nayeon. Im Nayeon."
It takes a second for Jeongyeon to catch that she must respond. "Oh, sorry. I'm Yoo Jeongyeon."
There's no hand raised this time but there's an invitation. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Yoo Jeongyeon. Would like to seat and tell me what fascinates you about my waffle house building ventures?"
This time it doesn't take two seconds for Jeongyeon to slide into the booth in front of Nayeon. She realizes she likes that name, rolls of the tongue well.
Nayeon.
"It's very kind of you, Nayeon. Thank you."
"It's no big deal, really. You're alone here as well, right?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Good. But I must say, I didn't expect to have my abilities with waffles questioned today, yet here we are, right?"
"Not questioning whatsoever. Like I said, just fascinated me. But it seems to me you're having a problem with the door, right?"
Nayeon gives a nod, pouts at the plate. A small crease forms on her nose. It takes everything in Jeongyeon to remain focused. "I don't know what I have to do, I tried everything already."
It is unintentionally funny how Nayeon's hands are covered with maple syrup, her efforts visible.
"Can I make a suggestion?" Jeongyeon asks as she picks a toothpick and watches as Nayeon complies; she gently grabs one of the small waffle squares and sticks through it, then organizes the top and bottom squares of the house to fit each end of the toothpick.
"There. What do you think?"
Nayeon flicks a finger on the made-up door, and it swings as intended. There's a small cheer of happiness and a 'thank you' sent her away, but Jeongyeon's ear is ringing with the absurdity of the situation.
There’re a few seconds of silence before she notices Nayeon's mouth (lips so full and perfect and-) asking her something. Jeongyeon shifts and there's no way to get out of this cleanly. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"If this is your first time here. And you got maple syrup on your fingers, sorry." Nayeon hands her a napkin as Jeongyeon thanks her. "Yeah, first time. I live on the west coast, close to the aquarium, so I don't come here very often. But my boat broke down so I-"
"Wow, you have a boat? That's cool."
"Yeah, long story." Jeongyeon averts her eyes a bit, shy. She's not used to this and Nayeon is already causing her brain to fry.
"I'm sorry it broke though."
"No worries, I'll have her fixed in no time."
"Always found it interesting how boats are named after women."
There's a small chuckle that bubbles up out of Nayeon and Jeongyeon can only grin in return. "Yeah, those people are weird. I'm one of those people."
"Nothing wrong with a little weird. Today you met someone who makes waffle houses."
They hear the swinging door of the kitchen, and both turn to look at Momo with a tray and a plate of mauentang, the smell so delicious it makes Jeongyeon's head dizzy.
They notice the confusion on the woman's face when she realizes Jeongyeon is no longer at the counter. Her eyes scan the rest of the place and then drop to the booth Nayeon and Jeongyeon are sharing. Jeongyeon gives a wave and the expression on Momo's face change from confusion to an alarmed state.
The change doesn't register with Jeongyeon because her stomach ignores everything her brain might be telling her to ask. Once Momo arrives at the table a polite smile is back on her lips, and Nayeon finally grabs a fork and destroys the roof of the waffle house, taking a mouthful of her food.
"Made a new friend, Nayeon-ah?"
"Guess so. Her name is Yoo Jeongyeon, Momoring."
"I know, I met her earlier. Well, enjoy your food." Momo places the mauentang and the beer on the table. "Let me know if you need anything else, ok? Nayeon, be nice."
"Always am."
A toothy grin shoos Momo and her tray away; Jeongyeon picks up her chopsticks and tastes the delicious dish. Her mouth feels like heaven, she's ready to cry.
"Oh my god, this is amazing... have you eaten this?"
"Many times. It's their main dish."
"Their?"
"Momo and Mina. They run the restaurant together."
Nayeon laughs at the way Jeongyeon closes her eyes after each bite, feet tapping on the floor with happiness.
After a few minutes pass they engage in small talk; Jeongyeon tells her she's the head ocean veterinarian working at the Jeju Island aquarium and a sailing enthusiast. She likes to read and ride her bicycle on the weekends. She confesses that her hands smell of fish most of the time due to the care she gives the animals at aquarium. Nayeon finds it sweet and Jeongyeon blushes.
In return she learns that Nayeon is a middle school teacher, born and raised in Jeju, living with two of her best friends since she finished college. She volunteers at a local animal shelter and likes to feed the ducks at a park near her house. She snores when she sleeps and Jeongyeon laughs at that.
Nayeon eyes go wide when Jeongyeon vows to bring her to the aquarium and meet the animals, Harold the Penguin in particular. She sees Nayeon clap her hands excited and makes her own promise to bring Jeongyeon to one of her classes to teach the kids about ocean life.
"Wow, I'm full. I feel like I can roll right out of here."
Jeongyeon drops the chopsticks and sees that Nayeon's plate is also clean. Her initial curiosity returns.
"I gotta ask, how did you manage to have an American breakfast food right here, in the east coast of Jeju Island, South Korea? I didn't see it on the menu."
Nayeon laughs again and Jeongyeon is happy with this achievement each time it happens.
"I studied in Canada for a year while I was in high school and fell in love with it. I have no idea how Momo and Mina get these waffles and the maple syrup, I really don't. But they do and it's just for me, basically. Yeah, they're not on the menu."
"Wow, privileges. I can respect that."
"Being friends with the owners have its perks, I won't deny."
After that they talk about everything and nothing for what feels like hours. Jeongyeon feels the conversation flow in a way she's rarely experienced prior, the banter so easy it frightens her.
She wipes the tears of laughter from her face after Nayeon tells a story about her friend Chaeyoung running from a porcupine at a festival once, while Nayeon glances at her watch and gasps. "Oh my god!"
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, just... I didn't even see the time go by. It's my best friend's birthday today. Jihyo's. I still need to buy her a gift before I head home." Nayeon gets up and leaves some money on the table. Jeongyeon also gets up and accompanies her to the door. She checks her phone and sees there's two missing calls from the coast guard. Shit.
Nayeon swings her bag around her neck and turns to Jeongyeon with a smile. "It was really fun meeting you, Jeongyeon."
"Yeah, it really was." Jeongyeon's hands rest on the pockets of her shorts as she rocks back and forth on her heels.
Embarrassing. Dahyun will never let her live this down.
"Hopefully I will see you here again soon."
"Of course! It's a date."
Goddamn it, Jeongyeon.
There's a chuckle and a wave from Nayeon as she goes through the door. Jeongyeon sees the girl put sunglasses on and start a roofless Jeep before driving away.
Jeongyeon lets herself breathe again.
The kitchen door swings, and Momo emerges from it, surprised to see only Jeongyeon there. A few other customers had come in and out while both women talked non-stop but now it's nearly empty again. Must be a slow day. She approaches the counter and Jeongyeon does the same, giving her card to pay for her food.
"Nayeon left already?"
"Yeah, she said it's her friend's birthday. She needed to get a gift."
Momo passes the card and gives Jeongyeon her receipt. There's real concern on her face and a hesitance to speak, but once more Jeongyeon misses it when her phone starts ringing. The coast guard again.
"Listen, I need to talk-" Momo starts.
Jeongyeon answers the phone and immediately hears a scolding from an old-sounding man on the other line saying there was team waiting for a nearly an hour by her boat and that they have more stuff to do than to provide tow services for reckless sailors.
Jeongyeon looks at Momo and points at her phone, mouthing, "So sorry, gotta go. Your food is delicious. Bye!"
Momo tries one last time, desperate "Wait! I really need to talk to you!"
But Jeongyeon is already gone.
"Fuck!" Momo quietly says, avoiding curious eyes.
This will be bad.