Don't Wait Too Long | Ryeji (reworked)

chapter two

- present day -

Hand in hand Yeji walked with Sunwoo to his apartment. They finished up their third date together and Yeji had agreed to end the night at his place.

She was out with her university friends when she first met him. They hit it off pretty quickly and Sunwoo didn't waste any time and asked Yeji out. She usually wouldn't have accepted it but she had been told she needs to live a little by her friends.

Yeji didn't want to rush into anything and made sure to make that vocal to Sunwoo. So they weren't offical yet though things seemed to be getting serious.

She liked his company and him being very handsome was a bonus. Even her friends said that he was perfect for her. It made her nervous thinking about taking the next step. She wasn't very experienced with the whole relationship thing. Amongst other things too.

Her friends joked about Yeji going all the way with him that night because she told them she was going back to his. She wasn't against the idea of it happening, she just didn't want to make a fool of herself.

"Would you like anything to drink? I can put a movie on or something?". Sunwoo suggested leading Yeji into his home.

"Do you have wine?". Yeji asked hoping that he did so that she could use some liquid courage.

"Red or white?".

Yeji was definitely a lightweight when it came to drinking. It's like alcohol never agreed with her. She already had 3 glasses on their date earlier that night. And she could feel her skin burning red from consuming it. Another glass wouldn't hurt.

Her nerves went away when she took one last sip of the glass. She leaned back into the sofa and looked up at Sunwoo next to her. Well she definitely asked for liquid courage and she got it.

She grabbed his face with her hands and pulled him into a kiss. Their first kiss. Yeji couldn't tell if she felt butterflies or if it was her body reacting to the alcohol.

Yeji noted that his lips weren't as soft as ones she had kissed before.

It got heated and Sunwoo guided Yeji toward his room. She giggled in his arms and he turned on his bedroom light. Before he could reach for her again his phone rang. Yeji pouted.

"I'm sorry, this won't take long". Sunwoo apologised showing that it was his work calling.

She gave him a reassuring smile and turned away to scope his bedroom.

Yeji saw a collection of things letting her get to know the guy better. A younger him with his soccer team, textbooks for work and miscellaneous things. It was pretty neat and minimalistic.

Yeji sighed and rested her backside against his desk. She turned her head to look at his desk and a file caught her eye. It had a red classified stamp on the front and an eagle symbol. Yeji looked back to see if Sunwoo came back but he was still on the phone in the hallway.

She shouldn't have stuck her nose in his business but that file called out for her to open it. Sunwoo worked for the Seoul Metropolitan Police yet Yeji doubts she'll get arrested by him if he catches her snooping. He was practically wrapped around her finger.

Curiosity got the better of her and she flipped open the file. She was expecting to see something gruesome and bone chilling. But instead, in front of her there were a collection of photos of someone.

Someone she once knew very well.

Her stomach dropped. She released a deep breath she didn't realise she was holding.

Shin Ryujin.

All the alcohol must have caught up to Yeji. She froze staring at the girl in the pictures. She looked more mature even after a few years of seeing her last. She closed her eyes shut and reopened them hoping her mind was playing tricks with her.

It really was Ryujin. She read through the description as best as she could but the room started spinning. She felt her tongue swell up and her stomach churned. With wide eyes she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Yeji, is everything okay?". Sunwoo asked worried. Yeji shook her head and pushed past him. She opened a random door to luckily find the bathroom and dropped to her knees. She released the contents of food and alcohol into the toilet bowl.

Sunwoo rushed to Yeji's side and held on to her hair making sure it wouldn't get wet. He rubbed her back. She couldn't care less that she did end up making a fool out of herself in front of her date.

The only thing that mattered was Ryujin.

"I'll go get a towel". He said leaving her side.

Sunwoo handed Yeji a damp towel to wipe off the traces off vomit from her mouth. Yeji had to stop herself from slamming Sunwoo with questions about the file.

Yeji thanked Sunwoo for the glass of water and the two stood in his kitchen. She felt bad for ruining their night.

"It must have been something you ate. I had a feeling the fish wouldn't have been the best option". Sunwoo said thinking of the most logical reason. Well at least he still thinks she can handle her alcohol.

Yeji tried not to choke on her water. She simply agreed it must have been something she ate at the restaurant. Of course it wasn't though, it was Shin Ryujin's fault.

She thought she had moved on from how things ended between the two. Those old feelings of regret came rushing back to her. All she wanted was the best for her friend. Seeing her choosing to waste her life away by joining a stupid gang didn't make sense to her.

It came to the point where Yeji had to let Ryujin go. It was too much for her to handle. She couldn't look her in the eyes. She didn't know how else they could have come to a resolution so she pushed Ryujin away. It was hard trying to take care of someone who didn't want to take care of themselves.

She tried to convince herself that Ryujin would be okay because she had Chris there for her. Yeji put all of her trust into him to make sure he looks out for her.

Yeji also hated that Ryujin took up smoking. She'd lie to her but she could smell it on her. She couldn't watch Ryujin kill herself. And now that she knew the police had eyes on Ryujin, she worried for her sake.

Her heart started to ache for her.

"Do you think you could drop me home?". Yeji asked Sunwoo who gave her a disappointed look.

On the drive home Sunwoo tried to make conversation with Yeji but she gave one word answers or just agreed with whatever he said.

Her mind was elsewhere and it was Shin Ryujin's fault.