"I wonder sometimes," Lia says, stones crunching under her shoes as she walks towards Ryujin, "If I fell in love with you when you were still in love with me, would it still be this way?"
"Probably not," is Ryujin's answer. A stone is tossed past Ryujin and over the lake. It lands with a plop, and Lia joins Ryujin's side, picking another as she hums.
"Did you really love me? Back then?"
Ryujin follows Lia's actions, bending down to pick a stone as she chuckles breathily, "Yeah, I did."
"How much?" Lia asks, tossing another stone. It skips once and sinks.
"A lot," is Ryujin's simple answer, her stone sinks without skipping, and she huffs before continuing, "You could've asked me to rob a bank for you and I would've."
"No questions asked?"
Ryujin nods, "No questions asked."
Lia chuckles good-naturedly, humming as she throws again, "How much do you love me now?"
"I love you the same," Ryujin answers without much thought, with misplaced confidence in her answer, throwing when Lia's stone sinks after two skips. Her stone sinks again, "It's just a little different now."
"Would you still rob a bank for me?" Lia's tone is light but sincere, and Ryujin finds comfort in it.
"Well," Ryujin hesitates, confidence faltering as she plays with the stone in her hand, "If you really need me to, then sure."
"What if I wanted the world to myself?"
"I can't do the entire world," Ryujin laughs, and Lia laughs along. They throw at the same time, Lia's skips twice, Ryujin's once, "But I can try the city, if you wanted. Heejin tried to do it just earlier this year, for Hyunjin. Spray-painted their initials on the sides of buildings. It doesn't really do much, but beggars can't be choosers."
Lia takes another handful of stones, and it's silent for the short moment that Ryujin does the same as Lia picks out the good ones. The lake ripples as the wind blows over it, and when Ryujin finally stands upright, Lia hums.
"Would you kiss me?"
Ryujin's arm is raised, mid-way to throwing when she hears the question, and she turns to see Lia's eyes fixed onto her with an intensity that's heavier than the weight of the question itself. They're silent, and an unsettling feeling overcomes Ryujin— something heavier than robbing a bank, something much more than initials in bright red on grey concrete. Something real.
"It's fine," Lia says, a wry smile on her pretty pink lips, "I'm sorry."
She's really not, and Ryujin knows that. But no one's blaming her. Not even Ryujin.
Lia tosses a stone again, and Ryujin feels the ripples more than she hears them.
"I'm sorry," Ryujin murmurs, eyes casted to the ground.
She doesn't understand why she's apologizing either. Perhaps it's the weight of hurting someone you love. Lia doesn't blame her. It's not Ryujin's fault either.
"It's fine," Lia smiles, dropping the stones in her hand, "It's not your fault."
(It's not anyone's, but the guilt weighs heavier than all the stones at the bottom of the lake.)
~
"I think..." Lia says, trailing off with a hum, "I think it's a beautiful feeling."
Yeji turns, eyeing Lia curiously, "It doesn't make you feel weak? Or lonely?"
BINABASA MO ANG
mistakes, i can't help it | jinlia
Fanfiction[completed] She fell in love with her bestfriend. Ryujin can't say her life is falling apart, but it certainly feels like it is. She has her fair selection of bad decisions, like everyone else does. Perhaps she has a few that are worse than the aver...
