She

Chapter 29

"Hey!" Yeji said cheerfully with a bright smile to Ryujin from behind, lightly tapping on the shorter girl's shoulders only for the younger girl to not respond.

The silver haired girl was once again on her way to put lunch in Jisu's locker when she coincidentally spotted an all too familiar short blonde hair in the academic building hallways.

Wondering why the short haired girl didn't respond, Yeji sped walk pass Ryujin, turning back to look at the shorter girl, hoping that it would get her attention, only to immediately notice the frown that was very much apparent on Ryujin's face.

"H-hey, what's up?" Yeji asked cautiously, her own expression turning into concern, hoping that she wasn't disturbing the girl who was clearly in a bad mood in any way.

Ryujin let out a deep regretful sigh, her eyes still not meeting Yeji's, as the two continued to walk with Yeji by her side, matching Ryujin's pace.

"Did you hear, unnie?" the younger girl asked, finally speaking up.

"Hear what?" Yeji asked. She was getting a little nervous.

Her best friend was hotheaded for sure. Nobody was going to deny that fact. But it did take a lot to push the blonde haired girl to that point, meaning whatever was making her upset must be a big deal.

"Soobin is back on the team."

Yeji only fell silent hearing the sudden news from Ryujin.

"...I heard this morning from Chaeryeong. It's been going around fast..." Ryujin continued, her fist clenched tightly, her teeth gritting hard. "I can't fucking believe that guy."

Yeji didn't know how to react, other than to console the rising emotions within her best friend.

In hopes of easing Ryujin's anger, the silver haired girl could only chuckle though with a heavy heart, trying her best to mask the uneasiness in her heart, especially in front of her best friend.

Because if Ryujin knew how she felt, there was no way the younger girl would let Soobin go.

"W-Well, where were you going Ryujin-ah?" Yeji asked, forcing a smile and trying to redirect the conversation away, though Ryujin saw right through it.

"I know you're bothered by it unnie," she said, looking straight into Yeji's cat-like eyes, reading her like the open book she was.

"... M-might as well let it go ... I-I mean, what else is there we can do ...," Yeji muttered out, noticeably disheartened, defeated, and most of all, exhausted.

Ryujin could only look at her older friend with compassionate eyes, wishing that she could accept the pain in Yeji's place. The silver haired girl had suffered enough and Ryujin was getting tired of seeing it, only hoping that her friend could find peace soon enough.

"... Were you going to give that to Jisu unnie?" Ryujin asked.

At the sound of Jisu's name, the corner of Yeji's mouth curled up into a smile as she looked down at the little plastic lunch box in her hands. At the very least, the thought of the girl was enough to make Yeji momentarily happy and it was enough for Yeji to keep going forward.

"Yeah, I hope she likes it," the older girl said with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Of course she will unnie," Ryujin responded with a warm smile of her own, admiring the innocent sparkle that was emanating from Yeji's eyes, wrapping her arm around the taller girl's shoulders and pulling the girl closer to her. "What did you make her this time?"

"Jumoekbap."

"Do you have any left?"

"Yeah I do, but they're not as good as the ones here, is that okay?"