10 Years || Ryeji

2.

"We should definitely drink beforehand." Lia suggested.

Much to Ryujin's surprise. Then again, looking at Lia, she could see that they were in similar situations.

Eunbi would be attending and after their break up back in high school, Lia and her had reunited only for it to end in heartbreak all over again.

Now the other woman was, as far as the group knew, happily married to some big shot business man.

No wonder Lia could use a drink or two and Ryujin would happily accompany her.

She could use one shot or maybe a handful.

So they drank, one round of shots had turned into two and then they were out of Yuna's house and driving to their reunion.

Parking the car on the parking lot of their high school brought some memories.

Lia lost in her thoughts as she observed a familiar someone arriving, arm locked with her tall and perfect husband. Some things never got easier. Ryujin placed a comforting hand over her friend's shoulder as she made sure to ask if she was okay.

She was.

It pained her but Lia wasn't one for resentment.

Maybe some love was still harbored inside of her but her friend would respect the other's decision.

She had always been the most mature of them.

Ryujin wasn't sure what she would have done if it were her in Lia's situation but, she doubts that attending would have been her decision.

It was hard enough to walk inside when she could run into Yeji. Let alone if she knew with certainty that the girl was married, and happily so.

"We should get inside." Chaeryeong finally said, after they sat inside the car for a minute to compose themselves and get ready to deal with the people they hadn't seen in a decade.

Walking into the building was unreal. Somehow it still looked fairly the same although some minor details had changed.

Three years they walked those halls and now, as they neared 30, they were back in there.

Ryujin wasn't one for words and she had never been. Back in high school she wasn't the most popular but people knew her. Many even admired her and would greet her as she walked the halls.

Despite her lack of words and less than extroverted personality, she had friends, acquaintances and a fairly normal high school experience. She would get invited to parties, many of which she did attend, she got decent grades and would always have someone to sit with at any given moment.

You could say that her high school experience had been good. She didn't suffer and she definitely hadn't peaked in high school.

But now, walking the halls felt different. She had grown and experienced so much. And she had changed.

Sure, Ryujin was still someone who reserved her words mostly to the lyrics she sang, but her presence was different.

Eyes looked her way as she stepped inside, the woman handing out the name tags for the reunion holding eye contact and brushing her hand against Ryujin's. Such things rarely happened back in high school, although she did have quite the few people interested in her at the time.

But now it was different.

These people weren't interested because of who she was. They held eye contact and brushed against her, even going as far as striking a conversation and asking for a photo, because of her fame.

She didn't even know their name and Ryujin doubts they would have known hers back then.

"I love your music." Some woman she didn't recognize yelled, grabbing a hold of her arm before snapping a photo of the two.

With a heavy sigh, Ryujin sat down on their designated table. A glass of liquor on one hand and dreadful look in her face. Already tired of the interactions she had been having. Her friends happily greeting those they recognized from back in the day.

She scanned the room, hoping to see the woman she had been thinking about since her friends spoke about the reunion, disappointment filling her as she failed to do so.

A large gulp and most of the liquor was gone from her glass. This would be a long night.

Just as Ryujin started to dread being back in that high school, she saw someone walk inside.

Tall and beautiful as ever. A few heads turning in her direction but confusion apparent on their classmates expression.

Ryujin scoffed. Nothing had changed, yet now heads turned as she walked inside the room, so in a way, everything had changed for Yeji. But did she know that Ryujin's eyes had always followed her, even back then?

Did she know that while nobody in there would remember her name or who she was, Hwang Yeji was permanently engraved in her mind?

She wouldn't.

Because Ryujin had been too foolish and had never told her.