mistakes, i can't help it | jinlia

Chapter 5: Her Second Pitfall

Ryujin meets her second pitfall in the form of Hwang Yeji.

Ryujin tells Lia that she thinks Yeji is the sun: sometimes a little too bright and excitable that it hurts, but somehow still irresistibly beautiful and attractive. Saying that Yeji isn't attractive would be like saying that the world is flat– only something complete idiots do. Yeji is absorbed into their little world easily, with Yeji still retaining her bouncy accented English as she rambles on to Lia and Ryujin about almost anything in that language. Ryujin thinks it's nice, she finds Yeji's bursts of random English to be adorable, and it somehow brings her a sense of familiarity.

Yeji somehow manages to convince the introverted Lia to try out for the cheer team with her, and it's a little chaotic before the tryouts, but Lia and Yeji both pass easily– it's the flexibility, Lia says, when Yeji gushes about Lia being absolutely amazing to a slightly unconvinced Ryujin. The latter joins the soccer team, albeit more than slightly unenthusiastic about the entire feat, but she says she made some new friends, and that's good enough.

Yeji often joins Lia and Ryujin in Ryujin's apartment, oftentimes sleeping over when it gets a little too late.

(Ryujin finds out that Yeji was the girl English speaking girl who lived in her first apartment building. Turns out, Yeji still lives in the apartment building, which is in the other direction of school.

Ryujin doesn't think driving Yeji back home when she hasn't legally gotten a license would be a good feat in Yeji's parents' books.)

Somehow, Lia doesn't feel good about the way she finds Ryujin smiling fondly at Yeji when she does basically anything.

But maybe it's just because she's used to being the only one receiving those smiles.

Yeah, maybe.

~

Lia supposes her first meeting with Heejin was slightly more unpleasant than she'd like.

Heejin seemed to be one of the few friends Ryujin had made in her time with the soccer team, and Ryujin's always more than happy to greet her with a huge grin and a fist bump when they see one another in the school hallways.

She'd asked Heejin where Ryujin was when she saw Heejin locking up the soccer team's locker room. Cheerleading practice had been cancelled that night and Lia thought it wouldn't hurt to get Ryujin some take out before picking her up after her practice.

She should've known from the confused expression painting Heejin's face.

"Ryujin? She didn't show up today," Heejin says, adjusting the duffle bag on her shoulder, "She told me she had some thing to go to. With Yeji."

It takes a while, but Lia frowns when she finally processes Heejin's words. She nods at the expression on Lia's face, "Yeah, I thought you'd know, of all people."

Lia's face contorts into a painful expression, and she says, "Yeah, I thought so too."

Lia leaves the takeout for three on Ryujin's kitchen counter. Leaves a sticky note:

'Bought you some takeout. Put it in the fridge if you're not going to eat it soon. Warm it up in the microwave. – Lia <3'

All she gets is a text from Ryujin that says: 'thanks lia! you're the best :) love you!!'

(Ryujin doesn't ask her why.

But Lia can't bring herself to be mad at Ryujin.

So she replies: 'love you too :)' )

~

Lia quickly realizes that it's near impossible to be angry at Yeji.

It's probably the fact that Yeji has this endearing factor to everything she does, and also the fact that Lia is a reasonable person who knows that Yeji didn't do anything wrong.