Changes and Chances

Chapter 17

"Wait", Lia spoke up. "So you just needed my permission and the others' attendance... and you'll arrange everything else?"

Yeji didn't know why Lia and the others looked a little shocked, but she nodded anyway.

"I-is there something wrong?"

"No, I mean... People usually ask for help. With the set-up, the food through potluck and all. We're a dozen people here, anyway. It'll be a bit expensive for you to take care of everything", Lia answered.

Yeji looked over to her best friend who doesn't seem to know what to say either.

"If you guys would like to bring food and stuff, that's okay, too. But I planned it, so I don't want to burden you with anything. Showing up is enough."

Chaeryeong gave her a thumbs up and the others nodded and acknowledged in agreement.

"Of course we'll be there. Chaeryeong can send us the details."

Yeji felt relieved that everyone was pretty positive towards the idea.

The rest of the night was spent with them having dinner and exchanging stories. She found out that Lia is already close with the girls as she used to dance with them before - which means it wouldn't be hard to gather them next week.

They also were able to devise a plan on how to hold Ryujin back for half an hour, so they could arrive at the apartment earlier and surprise her.

When they said their goodbyes, Chaeryeong and Yeji hopped in the latter's car to go home.

"It was a nice dinner, and the girls seem to like your idea a lot", Chaeryeong remarked.

"About the party... make sure not to make it too grand, okay?" she continued.

Yeji has the history of being too extra when it comes to the gestures that she does for her. Whether it'd be a party, a holiday gift, or even something that she stumbled upon during one of her trips abroad that reminded her of her best friend. So Chaeryeong felt like she needed to be reminded this time.

She also came from a well-off family but it doesn't come close to how rich Yeji's family is. And even she gets overwhelmed by the capability of the cat-eye when it comes to doing things that make the people she loves happy. Especially on the financial side of it.

"I know, Yeongieee. I'll be subtle. I only asked a couple of servers to bring the food. And they're all party foods! So I got this in the bag."

Chaeryeong smiled at her best friend. "You really are changing, Yeji-ah. Look at you planning a gathering for your... wait, are you guys officially girlfriends now?"

Yeji was taken aback by the question as she didn't think it would come up on the drive home.

"I-I don't know..."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"We haven't talked about it. I don't know how these things work, Yeongie. Should I ask her what our label is? Should I ask her to be my girlfriend? What if I came across as someone aggressive by doing so? " Yeji babbled.

"Well, do you want to?" Chaeryeong shot back the question.

"What? Be her girlfriend?" There was a moment of silence as the other girl waited for her answer.

"I... I guess I do."

"I like her a lot", the cat-eye continued. "I like seeing that goofy grin of hers, and the way her eyes disappear with it. I like reading her good morning messages, and I always look forward to the photos she sends of whatever her lunch for the day was. I like how calming her presence is."

She looked over to Chaeryeong who's smiling lovingly at her. "I don't want her to date other people. And she's the only one I look forward to seeing now."

"Well, you got your answer."

When they arrived at the parking lot, Yeji turned off the engine and the other girl climbed out to walk towards her unit.

"Let me know if you need help, Yeji-ah. Good night!" She heard her best friend's faint voice as she stayed in the car for several more minutes.

"So I like her this much? Gosh. This feels weird and liberating."

Even more liberating than when she was meeting all those strangers from the dating app, or when she goes home with some random girl from clubs, or festivals.

She can feel the wave of fear forming in her stomach. There's still so much to unpack when it comes to how personal they know each other. Yeji isn't sure if she's 100% ready to lay everything out in the open. And there's an added anxiety on how the brunette might react once she finds out about her family. And all the possible societal issues that come with it.

Just in time, her phone dinged with a notification.

An instant smile formed in her face as she saw the name of the girl in question. It already eased her a little - just knowing that she's thinking about her, too.

I haven't heard from you this evening yet. Tough day at school, Yeddeong? Do not forget to grab dinner :)

She typed in a quick reply before proceeding to walk towards her unit.

About to walk in the door. I hope your day was alright, too :) See you tomorrow, Ryuddaeng.