Book Exchange Romance | A Kim Namjoon FanFic

Chapter 19 - Cristina

She woke up to the same alarm every day, to Lie by Jimin of BTS. She got out of bed and did her routine. Her routine consisted of waking up at 8am, have a protein shake, go to the gym and the dance studio for two hours, and then lounging around in her pajamas all day. Given the thought that she didn't work, not because she didn't want to, but rather because she was raised not to, she usually lounged around in her apartment in the Upper East Side of NYC. Her best friend since childhood, Anastacia, whom she called Ana because she hated the name Anastacia, had abandoned her three years ago when she moved to South Korea.

Cristina, on the other hand, stayed in NYC to work on her dream of becoming a best-selling author. She wrote poetry that she never showed to anyone except for Ana. Ana had encouraged her to submit her manuscript to publishing houses, but Cristina refused it, dismissing the thought with the excuse that as soon as the publishing houses saw her name on the manuscript, they would publish her book without looking at it. The Oswald name held a very important societal status in NYC.

Cristina missed her best friend, the only person in her circle that understood her. When Ana left, Cristina felt like a piece of her left her, like a piece of her was ripped off. They have been inseparable since pre-school. Both being raised in the countryside of New York. Because of her family status, Cristina's family decided it was best to raise her away from the city, and so Cristina grew up with Martha, her nanny and the woman that raised her. Her parents would come to the country house from time to time, but they were mostly absent. However, when she met Ana in pre-school, she knew she had found the long-lost sister she had been asking her mom for. They spent every step of their lives together, from first crushes, to first boyfriends, to high school graduations and college graduations. While Ana did a degree in Elementary School Pedagogy, Cristina did a degree in Publishing and Communications with a minor in Writing.

When Ana broke the news that she was leaving, Cristina stopped talking to her altogether. Mainly because Ana didn't tell her she had applied to leave in the first place. That wasn't part of the long-life together plan they had planned all their lives. It wasn't until the week before Ana left that she decided to talk to her. Cristina decided to stay. Her father offered her a worry-free life, living in her own apartment in NYC. An apartment he had bought her as a college graduation gift. Since her plans had changed, with Ana leaving her behind, she decided it was best for her. Martha had passed away a couple of years prior, and with Ana leaving, she was essentially alone. She still remembered that day Ana told her she was leaving. Three years later, and it stung like the first time.

"I have something to tell you." Ana said while she was sipping her coffee. Cristina looked at her.

"What's up?" She asked her.

"I um... I am leaving New York." Ana said. Cristina thought she had heard her wrong.

"What?" She asked her in disbelief.

"I got a scholarship to teach in South Korea for two years, and I'm leaving in two months." Ana said.

"You...you..." Cristina started to say but couldn't articulate a coherent sentence. "You are leaving me." She said, standing up and leaving.

"Cristina..." She heard Ana say in the distance, but she didn't stop. For the following weeks, Ana called her but she decided to ignore her.

They made up a week before Ana left, with Ana promising her daily calls on schedule, with no excuses. Mainly when it was early morning in NYC and when it was evening in South Korea. They both agree to call and talk religiously at the same time. Today was no exception. When Cristina dialed Ana, it appeared as if the line was busy. She tried again and got the same response.

"This is weird. She never misses our daily calls." She said out loud. She called one last time but got the same response on the other side of the line. She logged into her computer and tracked down Ana's phone, but it was turned off. This worried Cristina. Ever since Ana told her about that stranger giving her books, she has had a bad feeling. All this gave her the bad feeling that something might have happened to Ana. Even though Ana told her the stranger stopped and disappeared, Cristina still felt the complete opposite. Like Ana was hiding something. The thought alone made her sick to her stomach. She tried calling again but no answer once again. She had a gut feeling that something was wrong. She spent the next couple of hours trying to reach her with no luck. Unexpectedly there was a knock on her door. She jumped at the sound. She walked to it and looked through the peephole. There in the hallway, was her friend Ana standing awkwardly. She knocked again and Cristina opened the door.