I Used To Be Alright

Chapter 9

Ryujin

There definitely has been a shift since Jeju.

Not only did she not feel awkward with the whole Ryujin-holding-her-hand-to-keep-her-from-going-thing, Yeji has also been more... present whenever they're hanging out. She would initiate sharing funny stories from her classes and would actually text Ryujin funny contents that she found online at random times.

And Yeji has never been the texter between them.

Ryujin, on the other hand, has also been giddy because of this renewed energy between them.

A few hours after they got back to Seoul from the Jeju trip, she was surprised to receive a call from Minjeong – an invite to a bar nearby. The girl sounded so agitated and stressed that she couldn't say no and agreed to keep her company throughout the night.

She already had the hint on what happened during their flight back but hasn't had the chance to contemplate about it because of her ongoing animosity with Lia, but she didn't expect Minjeong to actually call her and vent.

"So what happened, Minjeong-ah?"

The other girl sighed and slumped even lower in her seat.

"I guess I just didn't see it coming. I thought she liked me, too."

"Yeji?"

"Yeah."

"She was indifferent with a lot of things, but she noticed me, you know. She agreed to a lot of my invites."

Ryujin wanted to say that Yeji was just being polite, and she was probably also confused but didn't know how to handle it – but it'd be too harsh for her to do so, so she just nodded in acknowledgment and allowed her friend to continue her musings.

So Yeji did reject her. And by the looks of it – Minjeong seemed genuinely heartbroken because of it. She must've really liked her.

The feline eye has always been independent and content by herself. Ryujin has discovered this from the get go. Unlike most people's impression of her, she isn't closed off or indifferent. She's enthusiastic about a lot of things. Only not a lot of people see her whenever she gushes about fossils, or a new historical movie that she discovered, a new drawing pen that she bought online and how it creates the perfect stroke – just like how I like it! She would say while grinning proudly.

So she knew at the back of her mind that her friend had a 50-50 chance. But, if anything, Minjeong is persistent. So she let her.

And now, they're sitting inside a bar with half of them already almost dead from drinking too much. An hour and a half into their hangout and Ryujin was already asking to close their tab.

"Maybe I should just wait around for her, what do you think Ryujin-ah?"

A struggling Minjeong murmured as Ryujin was helping her climb her apartment's entrance.

"She's just really stunning, you know. Pretty eyes and really, really nice to look at."

"Stunning?" Ryujin chuckled. "She's beautiful, alright. But you shouldn't wanna date someone just because of that. She is waaay more than just being pretty."

She didn't receive a reply and felt an added heaviness to the girl she was carrying.

"Great, she fell asleep completely."