Saved Me; Ryeji FF

four.

There were ten minutes left before Chaeryeong finished her exam, so she had to finish smoking and fast. Being a smoker and having a medical student as a friend, Ryujin had her fair share of scolding and violence towards her.

The lighter was flicked open with a quick movement, her thumb grazed against the flint and created a small flame. She pulled the lighter to the end of the cigarette and inhaled the smoke. Smoking was a ritual and a vice for Ryujin- a way to temporarily escape reality, but also to fill the void that lingered within her.

She shoved her lighter back into her pocket and held the cigarette between her fingers. Her eyes wandered around her surroundings. The medical school was one of the top and sought-after universities in Seoul.

Ryujin still remembered the day Chaeryeong received the letter. Tears and words of disbelief echoed in the small dining room at her friend's parent's house. She smiled a little, seeing Chaeryeong's little dance when she dropped her off on her first day of school.

A white car pulled into an empty parking spot beside her, taking Ryujin out of her thoughts. She instinctively looked over her shoulder and placed the cigarette back into her mouth.

The car was all too familiar.

Her sight was still set on the car, until the driver came out. Blood ran cold. Ryujin immediately looked away with incredulity, there was no way in hell that she was there.

"Excuse me."

Ryujin blinked several times, failing to process who was standing in the next parking spot.

"Hey, excuse me."

Eventually, she finally looked back at the woman calling out to her. Yeji had a rolled-up cigarette between her lips and gestured for a lighter. Ryujin gave a slight nod and threw it to her.

"Thanks." Yeji replied after catching the lighter.

Ryujin watched as the end of her cigarette glowed red. Why is she here?!

The cat-eyed woman closely examined the delicate floral engravings on the metal lighter.

"I like your lighter." She said out loud in a plain tone. "Where did you get it?"

Yeji threw the lighter back, which Ryujin caught with one hand.

"It belonged to someone." The dark-haired woman replied, hoping Yeji wouldn't catch on to her nervousness.

"It's nice."

They stood there in silence. Ryujin took another glance at the other, looking at her eyes. Although Yeji's body language was somewhat confident, her eyes were akin to the ones she had seen the previous night.

Still filled with hurt, anger, and sadness.

"Are you waiting for someone, or are you just standing here for the hell of it?" Yeji asked without looking at the other.

Ryujin looked back at the entrance of the building, "Waiting for someone."

The other hummed and took her cigarette out of her mouth, tapping out the excess ash.

Soon, students came bursting out of the building. Sounds of laughter and complaining about the difficult exam. Both women threw out their cigarettes and searched for their friends.

"We didn't even learn that in this semester, how were we supposed to know what 'Takotsubo cardiomyopathy' is?!" A petite blonde woman uttered to a blue-haired woman.

"Right?!"

Yeji walked over to the pair with a bright smile, "How was the exam?!"

"It was a practice exam, but it was fucking terrible." Chaeryeong answered while rolling her eyes.