Soulmate

part 21

Everyone is gathered at Yeji and Lia's apartment for Lia's birthday. Ryujin didn't invite Heejin because she thought the other girls might be uncomfortable with her around.

"Lia unnie are you excited to sleep tonight and see your soulmate?" Yuna asks who seems to be more excited than the birthday girl.

"I guess. I'm nervous though" Lia admits.

"Why?" Ryujin being really curious.

"Because you go to sleep then you wake up and you're supposed to know who you're spending the rest of your life with. What if it's Soobin and he dumped me?" Lia sighs.

"I don't think it's Soobin at all" Chaeryeong quips.

"What makes you so sure?" Lia squints her eyes towards the dancer.

"I just know. I feel like even if you haven't seen what your soulmate looks like, you just feel it once you meet them. I know this girl, I know she can feel a connection with her soulmate but she chooses to be blind. I know it's because she's scared but you can't ignore that feeling. You might make a dumb move like date someone else and think they're your soulmates and hurt their actual soulmate" Chaeryeong says then looks at Ryujin only to find the girl not even paying attention to what she said.

"Ryujin, were talking here" Chaeryeong says clearly annoyed at her friend.

"I'm sorry. Heejin found out I'm at Yeji and Lia unnie's place so she won't stop texting me now" Ryujin answers also annoyed.

"Why are you even dating her?" Lia asks.

"What do you mean? She's my soulmate" Ryujin say.

Chaeryeong sees the sadness flash in Yeji's eyes and she feels bad she can't help.

"Tell her it's my birthday and I would appreciate it if she stops bothering you so you can have fun with us" Lia rolls her eyes.

"I'm sorry unnie. I'll tell her that then I'll turn off my phone" Ryujin says while typing.

After Ryujin turns off her phone, the girls started playing games and just chatting. They ordered pizza because Yuna wanted it. Ryujin and Yeji were sitting together on the couch while the three were on the floor.

Yeji notices Ryujin is extremely close to her. She can smell her cologne and she just wants to jump on her.

"Yeji, can you go to the store and get ice cream please" Lia says cutely.

"No. I'm too lazy" Yeji rejects her.

"But it's my birthday" her roommate whines.

"I'll get it for you Lia unnie" Ryujin volunteers and stands up.

"Yeji will go with you" Lia informs while glaring at Yeji.

"Uh sure. That's fine" Ryujin scratches her nape.

Ryujin and Yeji headed down to Ryujin's car. Ryujin opens the door for Yeji. The taller girl smiles and said thank you.

The drive to the store is silent and awkward.

"Soo I heard you went out on a date with someone?" Ryujin breaks their silence.

"Yeah. It was nice. I had fun" Yeji awkwardly answers.

"Do you think you're gonna continue seeing each other?" Ryujin asks

"I'm not sure. He seems nice and I had fun with him."

"What about your soulmate though? Are you not going to pursue them?"

"Why do you sound jealous Ryujin? Do you not want me to keep seeing my date? He was a perfect gentleman so why not give it a try?" Yeji asks instead of answering.

"Are you going to hurt him then?" Ryujin tightens her grip on the steering wheel.

"No. I'm not. I was very open with him with my soulmate and he understood. He doesn't know his soulmate yet so he's okay with seeing each other until then" Yeji now getting angry.

"Why are you getting short with me?" Ryujin frowns.

"Because you're so frustrating! You keep giving me mixed signals. For a moment I thought you liked me then you date some other girl. I didn't expect us to be together right away since we just met but I at least thought you were interested in me so we would get to know each other!" Yeji yells.

Ryujin remains silent, unable to find the right words. She didn't realize that she hurt Yeji but what can she do? She thought. Heejin is her soulmate. If her and Yeji decided to give it a try, there's a high probability that it won't work out. She's too scared to take that leap of faith so she chose not to fight back.

"So you're not going to say anything? You're not gonna mention how you saw me on a date with your cousin? You're not gonna admit that you have feelings for me? You're gonna ignore everything?" Yeji asks in disbelief.

Ryujin stops the car, "Who says I have feelings for you?"

"It doesn't matter. I didn't realize you're such a coward Ryujin" Yeji unfasten her seatbelt, "I hope Heejin can make you happy" she says before opening the door.

"Where are you going?" Ryujin yells out.

"The store to get ice cream" Yeji rolls her eyes.

Ryujin looks around and she didn't even realize they arrived at the store. She doesn't bother going down and just stay in her car. When she thought of talking to Yeji, this isn't what she expected. The older girl is seriously mad at her.

After some time, Yeji gets back with a bag full of ice cream. She didn't bother to look at Ryujin so the latter just starts the car to drive back to the apartment.

"You're not going to mention this to Lia. We're not ruining her birthday. We're gonna pretend we're fine and we're gonna have fun. Understand?" Yeji speaks in a serious manner.

"But we do have to talk about us" Ryujin says in a low voice.

"I don't want to hear what you have to say. At least not right now. I'm still hurt. Honestly, I didn't even realize I was this angry at you. It just all came out but I realize at the store. I have no right to be angry. You never promised me anything. You never told me we were gonna be together. That was all my fault. I thought all of it myself. I only have myself to blame but don't make it harder by giving me false hopes. Be with Heejin. Be happy. Pretend none of this happened and just act like we're friends."

"I'm sorry" Ryujin can only muster up.

"Again, this is my fault for thinking I can be more than a friend to you."

"If this soulmate thing didn't exist, I would choose you. I would want to be with you but I don't want to ruin our friendship if things doesn't work between us. Please try to understand my side. You know who your soulmate is. I'm so confused why you won't date them. Is Beomgyu your soulmate?" Ryujin asks.

"No. It doesn't matter who it is" Yeji answers.

"Yes it does. Why won't you tell me who your soulmate is? Do I know them?"

Yeji didn't answer and just look straight ahead.

Ryujin slams her hand, "Tell me!"

"Why do you wanna know so bad?" Yeji yells.

"So I know if I can make it work with you and break up with Heejin!" Ryujin yells back.

Yeji stares at Ryujin who's looking ahead with her jaw clenched. She looks away and looks down at her lap, "It's Sohee, your sister" she whispers.

Yeji notices Ryujin's body stiffen. No one says another word after that. They arrive back at the apartment. Entering the room, Yuna grabs the ice cream right away.

They both pretend that everything is good between them to not ruin Lia's birthday. The other three girls has no idea that Ryujin and Yeji's heart are both broken at that moment.