Hazelnut - Ryeji

12

"Wow! It's so big in here!" Yeji yelled like a child while looking around the hotel.

I was a little dizzy because of the 2 hour train ride and Yeji and I spent almost the entire day walking around the streets of Gwangju and eating random foods. Yeji is always hungry and I am a little baffled that she's not gaining any weight.

My eyes wandered around the hotel while Yeji walked towards the receptionist to get us a room.

The hotel was big. It looked like a mall. The walls were covered with white wallpaper that had cute flower-like patterns on it. There were many people walking around with their families and luggages and there was jazz music playing in the background that made me a little relaxed.

"What?!" Yeji suddenly yelled that made me snap out of my thoughts.

I quickly went back to reality and I switched my attention to Yeji who was standing by the reception. Yeji was holding her head with her hands and her hair was a little messy.

I didn't know what was going on. Yeji looked so frustrated. The receptionist and other hotel staff members were looking at Yeji with a terrified look on their faces.

I slowly walked towards Yeji with a puzzled look on my face. "Yeji?" I weakly said. "What's going on?"

Yeji turned around and her eyes made me feel a little intimidated.

She looked like an angry cat.

Yeji gritted her teeth while glaring at me with her scary eyes. Her fists were clenched and she looked like she wanted to kill someone.

As I approached Yeji, I let out a small smile at her. "What's wrong?"

Yeji fixed her beanie and pouted. "They have no snacks in the hotel room!" Yeji yelled and started fake crying.

I sighed and I crossed my arms. "Gosh, I thought we were in trouble." I said.

Yeji looked at me with her puppy eyes. "I paid so much money for our hotel room, but they don't have snacks. I guess we still have to go outside to buy some." She faced the ground with sadness.

I chuckled and showed Yeji the paper bag I was holding. "Don't worry. I have snacks with me."

Yeji's world lit up. She slowly faced me with a smile on her face and looked at me in the eyes. "Awesome!"

Yeji was like a child. She reminded me a lot of my sister Yuna. They have the same personalities and they eat a lot, but don't gain weight.

Yeji connected her arms with me that caught me off guard. "Let's go to our hotel room!"

--

"How did you convince your parents to go on a trip with me? do they even know me?" I asked while sitting down on the soft bed in our hotel room.

Yeji let out a chuckle while fixing her clothes and her other stuff. "It's easy to convince my parents. They quickly agree when I tell them that I want to do something before I die." She said. "And I told them that I'm going on a trip with Chaeryeong and Lia."

"Oh." I replied.

Yeji stood up from her chair and carried her clothes and a towel. "How about you? is everything fine with your family?" Yeji asked.

A smile slowly formed on my face. "Yeah. I think my parents are getting back together." I said with a hint of happiness.

Yeji gave me a pat on the head. "That's good news, Ryujin." She said.

Yeji straightened her back and started stretching her limbs while yawning. She looked a little tired so I started thinking about a game we can play.