"We're closing now, you can take a seat and rest, you've helped me enough" she says as I put the dishes in the dishwasher and I nod, feeling indeed tired from this day. I take a seat and watch as she changes the sign on the door and starts turning off the grills. She does her usual routine and in no time, she's sat in front of me at a table.

"Thank you so much for helping me tonight, I'll be sure to pay you for the hours you worked" she says with a proud smile but I simply shake my head. "It's fine, I didn't do that to get paid" I reply with a voice that leaves no place for insistence. She sighs and nods her head.

We stay quiet for a little while, both of us looking at our own hands. "What happened, halmoni? Why am I meeting you only now?" I suddenly ask and the eyes that look up at me seem to have expected this question.

"It's... my fault. When your mother appeared one day with a man, your father, I never approved of him. He was... wild, I felt like he would take my little girl away from me and that scared me. But when she showed me their mark, proof that they were soulmate, I cried. Said that their union would ruin her, that she'd be pitiful. And I was right, but it was too late to do anything".

I frown as I play with the hem of my sleeve. "How did you know? What happened?" I ask and her eyes sadden. "When your mother got pregnant, your father was... always somewhere. Left her behind to travel the world. I'm guessing that still hasn't changed. She'd often sleep at my home and I would hear her cry until she'd fall asleep. She was lonely, but the smile on her face whenever he would come back... it made me reek with so much hanger" she explains and I can see her clench her jaw, eyes narrowed in anger, but also in guilt.

"I couldn't bear to see her destroy herself like that, so I tried to make her leave him. You don't need to be with your soulmate in life to be happy, there are many people who either get rejected or reject theirs because of circumstances. I would help her care for the baby. But she looked at me in utter disbelief and said that if I would never support him and her together, then she would leave away with him... and she did. It was a tragic end to our family...".

I can see tears in her eyes and she wipes them aggressively. I can understand the worries she had for my mother... Dad was good to me at the beginning, but when he considered me old enough to stay alone, he started leaving more and more. He was never made to stay in Korea. I take her hand in mine and let my thumb brush over her wrinkled skin.

"I wanted to meet you so much, be a part of your life, but your father changed all contact information, the numbers... the address, he moved you away and I couldn't find you anywhere, so I gave up eventually".

I look up to meet her eyes and smile, take in the glassy look to her grey orbs, the face that looks so much like my mother's. "I'm here now, we're finally meeting for the first time" I tell her and she bites her lips as tears fall down.

"If only I kept my mouth shut from the very beginning, I would have been part of your life for much longer" she whimpers, a sob making it's way through her body. I raise from my chair to walk around the table and I take her in my arms. Her body is so warm and it strangely brings me comfort.

I've never had a feminine presence in my life, less so a motherly figure. It makes me suddenly aware of how starved I've been for this kind of contact. I cry with her, arms around each other. "Let's be part of each other's life from now on" I whisper and she nods quickly. "Let's do that".

After calming down, halmoni leads us out of the restaurant and up the stairs from the side of the building. She unlocks the door and allows me inside before following behind and locks the door. I take a moment to take in my surroundings, take in the very old and shabby look of the walls, furnitures, appliances.

"It's not much, but it's home" she says and brings me to the living room where she proceeds to get cushions to sit at a small table in the middle of the room. She makes me sit and walks to the kitchen. "Do you want some tea?" she asks and once I nod, she proceeds to get some boiling water and some leaves that she puts into two pretty cups.

She comes back and sets one in front of me before sitting down on the cushion. I thank her and take a sip, letting the warm liquid warm me up softly.

"Do you want to spend the night here? You could leave tomorrow morning after breakfast" she asks and it doesn't take me long to nod with a smile. "I'd love that" I say, and it's true. I finally found my grandmother, leaving now would leave me with a bitter taste in the mouth.

She beams and grins, her fingers moving to slide around her cup, seeking for warmth. The building is so cold. I can't imagine her staying here all the time, she must get sick often.

"Do you work alone? Is there no one to help you?" I ask, my eyes wandering around but still trying to be respectful about it. She shakes her head. "I can't afford paying someone, I'm still fine, you don't have to worry about me" she says with a smile but it makes me feel worried.

"Running a restaurant like yours is hard work, halmoni, I could see you having difficulty" I retort and she playfully scoffs while tapping my knee with soft strength.

"We just met yet you already worry like your mother. I'm fine, my little girl" she says with a chuckle, which causes me to smile a little.

Her eyes then fall on my still bandaged hand and she frowns. "What happened to that hand of yours?". I look down and smile. "Just a little accident at work. That reminds me, I need to clean it. I should do it now before I forget, I hope you don't mind" I say and proceed to open my bag that's down by my side to get the cleaning products. Once I set them on the table, she quickly grabs them and reads the instructions.

"Do you need help with that?" she asks and I nod in relief. "I would very much appreciate the help, the sight of the wound disturbs me" I say with a light chuckle and she laughs. "Alright, give me your hand, sweet child".

She gently takes care of my hand with an expert hands and she briefly mentions having studied to be a nurse in the past, but never went all the way to the end because of circumstances. She bandages it again. "It's healing well. You could remove the stitches early if you go to the hospital soon" she says and I grin with a nod. I could maybe go tomorrow with Jinnie, or the day after in the morning before my shift and see what they say.

We finish our cup of tea and since it's already late, we move on to her bedroom where she gets padded blankets and thinner blankets with two pillows. I help her make the beds and we lie down on them next to each other.

"How long have you been living here, halmoni?" I ask her softly and she sighs. "For twenty years now. Rents keep getting more expensive and I haven't been able to find somewhere else that I can afford" she replies, her voice defeated, so much it pains my heart.

I start thinking about my home. I'm able to save plenty while still paying all my bills... I could afford a two bedroom apartment, couldn't I? I start to ruminate on the idea, I don't want to make a decision too fast, but her situation makes me scared for her.

"I can hear you think, child. Don't worry too much and sleep, Y/N dear" she whispers and I nod, eventually letting sleep take me over.

---

After a delicious breakfast, exchanging numbers and promising each other to meet again soon, I sadly leave her behind to head to Jin's restaurant since he has a lot to do today and I promised him last week that I would help.

I get out of the taxi after paying and enter the building to see him already working on painting the ceiling. No one seems to be here yet. I did arrive early. I set my bag down and quietly make my way to him. He still hasn't realized I'm here since he's so focused on his task and I smile to myself.

Once behind him, I slowly wrap my arms around his waist and lean my head against his back. I feel his muscles tense before he relaxes, recognizing the tingles that are our own.

"You got here early, sweetheart" he whispers and turns around in my arms to hug me properly. What I don't expect is for a rush of emotion to overwhelm me suddenly and I feel tears trickle down my cheeks.

"Her home is in such a bad state, I feel so bad leaving her there" I whisper with a shaking voice.  "Who are you talking about, Y/N? Yoongi did mention you helped someone yesterday night, is everything okay?" he asks me with a worried voice when he hears me cry. He pulls back to see my face and his eyebrows knit together.

"Halmoni... I met my halmoni, mom's mother" I say and watch as his eyes widen before he leans down to leave a kiss on my forehead. "I can't leave her there" I repeat again, knowing for a fact that I need to get her out of that place, but not knowing if it's too early for that, if she would even agree.

"Oh baby" he murmurs and walks me to a table with him, helping me sit down before taking a seat next to me. He slides his hands on top of mine and grabs them gently with a soft squeeze.

I proceed to explain what happened yesterday, briefly going over the meeting with Yoongi, then about how Hoseok, Yoongi and I went to a Korean BBQ where they usually go to end up meeting my halmoni. How I noticed her body exhausted and overworked. Our talk in her home, the state of her home. Her fridge was half empty and I felt so bad eating breakfast with her, but she insisted so much.

"And what do you want to do?" he asks me with his sweet voice. I think it over, but no matter how much I try to gauge my options, there's only one that seems the best to me.

"I want to ask her to move in with me. I could get a bigger apartment so she can have her own room. Somewhere clean, warm, an abundance of food, I could buy her pretty clothes. I want her to have a place where she can rest and finally stop working so she can start living. You have no idea how right it felt to be in her arms, she's the first motherly figure I've ever had and I can't bear to leave her in that state" I say and he hums, his hand going up and down on my back in a soothing manner.

"Do you think it's too early for that?" he asks again but there's no judgement in his voice, only curiosity. I sigh and nod. "It might be, we only just met. But she's my halmoni. There's that link between us, I felt it. It feels right to have her move in with me". He nods and makes me turn so I can face him.

"Then I'll support you in your choice. I can help you find a place while you talk about this with her. She's a stubborn lady, that much is easy to see when you meet her for a few times, so if she refuses, don't let it get to you. Slowly mention the idea to her and break down her walls. I'm happy you found her, Y/N, really happy" he says and smiles warmly at me. I smile back and sniffle.

"Thank you, Seokjinnie, I'll do that".

We hear the door open and turn around to find Jimin and Jungkook walking inside with a few bags in hands. "Oh, Y/N! You're here!" they both scream once their eyes fall on me and after setting the bags down, they run to me. I chuckle and stand up to accept their hugs when they both jump on me.

I pat their backs and smile when they pull back with a grin on their faces. "It feels like forever since we last saw you!" Jungkook whines and I laugh at his cuteness. "It really hasn't been that long, Kookie" I retort but he just scrunches up his nose. "Is that your way of saying you didn't miss us?" Jimin asks with a shocked face.

"Aigoo, don't play with my words like that" I mumble and tousle their hair, causing them to whine loudly. Jin laughs and pulls them away from me to hug me again. "You both are too much, I might get jealous" he says with a fake shout and we all laugh together.

"Alright now, let's get started" I say and we all proceed to get the necessary materials to paint the remaining walls.

Painting has me thinking about how to talk to halmoni. Would she agree? Would she agree to stop working? That sounds selfish, said like that, but it's her health. At some point, you need to know when to stop and in her situation, I can see she's not working by choice. She's literally trying to survive all alone. That's not a life.

"Y/N, you've been going over the same spot for ten minutes now" I hear Jin say and look at the wall to see that it's effectively over painted now. "Aish, I'm sorry Jinnie, I'm still thinking about the situation" I mumble with a sorry look on my face. He smiles and brushes a strand of hair out of my face and behind my ear.

"It's fine, I understand. But maybe we should give you something else to do instead of painting" he says with a chuckle, which has me smiling shyly. "Yeah, I think that would be for the best".

He takes the tools out of my hands and places them on the ground before pulling me to the kitchen. "What would you say about being today's master chef?" he asks with creased eyes and I gasp. "You'd let me play in your kitchen?!" I almost scream the question with wide eyes.

His smile widens and he nods. He motions to the room with his arms. "This room is yours as much as it's mine. Do whatever you want". I start jumping on my feet in excitement, causing him to let free his glorious laugh.

I jump on him and lock him into a hug, my arms around his neck. He hugs me back and leaves a kiss on my neck. Chills spread to my whole body and I reflexively tilt my head against his to protect my sensitive skin. "Jinnie..." I whine and feel his smirk against my skin.

He releases me, cups my cheek for one last look at my blushing face and walks away to leave the kitchen, leaving me alone in this beautiful room. I can't believe he'd let me free to do whatever I want to the most important place of his restaurant.

I walk to the fridge to look at the ingredients inside and search the pantry to get an idea of what I could make. He's already getting much of everything as he makes his menu, so the shelves are already rather full. I'll have to make sure to put everything back to their rightful place as I go.

And it then hits me that I could make food for halmoni. If she doesn't agree right away, my way of helping her for now could be to make her weekly meals. I'll stop at the grocery store later and I'll get started tonight.

Happy with my idea, enjoying my moment in the kitchen becomes much easier as I proceed to make cupcakes, cookies and little snacks. It might seem like I'm using a lot, but honestly, it doesn't even show that I used anything from his ingredients since he got so much in large quantities.

A few hours into baking and a hungry Jimin enters the kitchen. His eyes fall right away on the snacks cooling down on the counter and I chuckle at the sight. "You can take some, Jiminie, call the others in too so they can serve themselves. I'm going to start working on something to eat for lunch" I tell him and the wide smile that appears on his face makes me laugh as he gets a few of everything. "Thank you, Y/N-ie, you're the best!" he chirps before rushing out of the room with a spring to his step.

It doesn't take long for Jungkook to run inside like his life depends on it. He hugs me quickly and grabs more than Jimin before running out of the kitchen just as Jin enters the room with confused eyes. "Jimin is currently screaming, what did you put in the food?" he asks and I burst into laughter.

"Just a lot of love" I retort and he grins. "That's so cheesy". "Yeah, there's some too". He starts laughing and takes a look at all the snacks. "Wow, you look ready to feed an army" he comments and I nod as I get ready to make lunch.

"It's because I am. The others are going to come this afternoon and you all get hungry real fast when you work hard" I reply to which he simply nods. "You're absolutely right. They're always hungry".

As if on cue, Jimin enters the kitchen again and starts making his way to the snacks as he whistles, eyes looking at everything other than what I know he came back to get. I try to resist a laugh when our eyes meet because he's trying so hard to look unbothered by the food.

"Jimin" Jin warns him and the man turns to his friend with a confused pout. "What? I can't come spend time with my two best friends?" he says with a shocked tone, hand on his heart. I bite my tongue to hide my grin when Jungkook comes back, the same way as Jimin and he stops at his side.

They're both right in front of the snacks. They swallow their saliva more often, a clear sigh of what they want and I decide to tease them a little.

I grab a cookie and hand it to Jin who graciously accepts it before I get myself a cupcake. I take a bite and hum loudly. "This is good! If I wasn't so realist to the fact that we're going to be eating lunch soon, I'd eat much more!" I say loudly and see a knowing light in Jin's eyes as he seems to catch onto my game.

He bites into the cookie and does the same, although his reaction is legitimately honest. "Oh wow, this is really good, Y/N! What did you put in there? I'm going to have difficulty waiting after lunch to get more!" he exclaims with wide eyes and walks closer to stare at the very little remains of the batter.

He dips in a finger to lick the mix and I watch him as his eyes try to go over all the possible ingredients. Jimin and Jungkook try to hide a pout as my words repeat themselves over and over in their minds, which they know to be true. Lunch will have to be eaten and will be much more nutritious than snacks.

Jungkook is biting his bottom lip, sad eyes staring at the food and Jimin starts walking away from the counter to end his suffering. I chuckle at the sight.

"Is there... did you put spices in there?" Jin eventually asks and I nod with a grin. "I did! But I'm still debating on whether I should share that recipe yet, I worked hard on it" I say and his eyes widen even more. "Wait... did you create this recipe?!". I nod and he loses it.

"My soulmate is a genius! Whoa, I can't believe she hid this from me! She's so talented I can't even imagine what else she has in mind whoa I just whoa- I need to eat one more this is too good you need to cook more often if you won't tell me how I won't ever be able to forget that taste it's ultimately the best I've ever had I can't believe you kept that a secret I think I'll have you work in the kitchen with me here I can't have you waste your talent this is insane" he starts ranting and the boys and I laugh at his comments.

"Breathe, Jinnie, breathe" I say in a giggle and he eventually stops talking to breathe in and out. He then turns to me with amazed eyes. "I'm serious though! I would love having you work here with me!" he repeats and I feel my heart skip a beat.

I look down at my hands in embarrassment. "I'm not that good, Jin, it's your restaurant" I retort but I hear him deny my words with hums. "You have talent, sweetheart. I won't force you, but know that the door is open".

"That would be so cool though! Two soulmates creating delicious food together for others to taste! I'd definitely be here all the time!" Jungkook exclaims with shining eyes and we all smile. "Yeah, but then you'd get fat in no time" Jimin tells him with a laugh, which earns him a slap. "I would not!".

They start bickering back and forth for a while before I push them out of the kitchen, Jin included to let me work on food.

"I never thought I'd see the day where someone kicks me out of my own kitchen" Jin mumbles, shocked but I send him my sweetest smile. "You said it's mine too now, so out".

He sends me a mix of a pout and a smile before laughing. "You're using my words against me!" he screams, but his eyes show me how proud he is. After one kiss on my temple and a hug, he leaves me alone so I can continue cooking.

Work here with him, huh?

Just going to say here that I started a Hoseok x Reader story! You're all welcome to take a look at it if you're interested! I love you all!