I Used To Be Alright

Chapter 29

Yeji

The day was a lot more exhausting than Yeji had imagined – in a good way.

After the movie and the much-needed alone time with Ryujin, they drove around for a couple more hours, taking turns into retelling their sides of the story.

It was layers of backs and forths, discovering something new from the other person, correcting misunderstandings, explaining all the thoughts, the fears, the truths.

"I went really crazy for a second, that then turned into self blame and all the conflicting feelings of blaming myself for not acting upon how I feel. But... at the same time... I was absorbed with the idea of being not good enough for you."

Ryujin said, after the long recollection of how she didn't understand her feelings, into losing complete control of how she acts around her, but then overpowered by the fear of giving in to something foreign and hurting Yeji while at it.

Somehow, it all made sense. And it didn't. But overall, she was grateful that the brunette was able to look beyond the fear and poured everything out during their talk. Yeji did the same.

They laughed about how they were both so dumb and knew nothing about dealing things like this. They laughed about all sorts of things, too.

"I cannot believe that we're actually having this conversation right now." Yeji remarked as the intensity of the exchange started to die down.

"Yeah. That talk with your Mom helped out a lot."

"I still cannot believe you met and she didn't tell me."

"I'm just glad that happened."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Ultimately, they came into a concluding decision to promise each other honesty – no matter when, where, or what. And they couldn't think of a better way to end the night.

A few days later, both of them entered the familiar coffee shop near Uni.

"It's all good, will you relax?"

Yeji was grinning and secretly pushing Ryujin to go first and place their order.

When they reached the counter, the barista's face slowly filled with recognition.

"Oh, hey..."

She turned to the side and saw Yeji – an instant smile crept across her face.

"Yeji-ah, it's been a while! And it's Ryujin, right?"

Jiwoo directed her attention back to Yeji with slightly-raised eyebrows – to which the girl replied with a shrug and a knowing smile.

"What can I get for you?"

Ryujin stammeringly placed their order and walked back awkwardly to Yeji's side.

"Oh, and please come sit with us on your break, Jiwoo-ah. There's a lot of things that we need to catch up on."

When the barista joined them half an hour later, she decided to sit in the island between the two.

"So... is there something that you two need to tell me?"

Yeji and Ryujin exchanged a look, and instant smiles formed across their lips.