INVISIBLE STRING - Duan Jia Xu

NINE

Spring, 2022.

HUI YING WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF SCROLLING through her phone when she got a message from Sang Zhi that she was on her way. Suddenly Hui Ying remembered that she hadn't told her roommate about her best friend coming over to visit.

The last few days had been quiet, her roommate was cold towards her and didn't talk to her. Hui Ying had been wanting to tell someone about the interaction she had with Duan Xu, someone other than Sang Zhi because she knew she would get in trouble.

But Yoon Ji being so cold towards her made things worse, she couldn't talk loudly on the phone when she's in the dorm.

It made Hui Ying wonder if Yoon Ji hated sound, or that she had sensitive ears that would hurt every time someone speaks. Yoon Ji was cold towards her, distant. It made Hui Ying go insane as she sometimes needed a little talk after a stressful class.

And it wasn't like she had tried to make an effort to be nice to Yoon Ji. Every day since the first semester she had brought coffee towards Yoon Ji, and every day she had to throw away that same coffee that was now cold.

She glanced up from her spot on the couch, catching sight of Yoon Ji sitting by the window with a book in her hand. Romeo and Juliet. Of course it was Romeo and Juliet.

Yoon Ji was a literature student, it was her first year of the five years to come. Hui Ying had heard from somewhere she also studied french, why she studied it was unknown. Hui Ying only knew that she was a pretty good student.

Clearing her throat awkwardly, Hui Ying stood up and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Hey," she started, voice a little too loud for the quiet room. "Uh, just so you know, my friend Sang Zhi is coming over. So you don't get surprised when someone else is in the dorm." Hui Ying spoke, nodding her head.

Yoon Ji didn't even look up. She turned a page slowly, like Hui Ying was nothing more than background noise.

Hui Ying stood there awkwardly, wishing the ground would swallow her whole. "She's... she's really chill," she added, hoping that would help somehow. "I think you guys would get along." The girl spoke nodding her head.

She really did think it though, with someone so quiet as Yoon Ji, Sang Zhi would have no choice but talk her ear off. Although Sang Zhi is also pretty quiet herself.

Still, nothing.

Hui Ying sat back down on the couch, hugging a throw pillow to her chest and peeking over at Yoon Ji. "You like Shakespeare?" Hui Ying asked suddenly, not even knowing why she said it. Maybe she was tired of the awkwardness. Maybe she just hated the silence.

For the first time, Yoon Ji moved. She tilted her head slightly, closing the book halfway over her thumb like she was considering whether Hui Ying even deserved a response.

"It's fine," Yoon Ji said finally, her voice cool and calm. "Overrated, but... fine." She shrugged, before going back towards the book she was reading.

Hui Ying blinked. She hadn't expected an answer, let alone an actual opinion.

"Overrated?" she repeated, sitting up a little straighter. It was the first time Yoon Ji had even given her a good response to a question she asked. "Come on. It's a classic! Star-crossed lovers, tragic endings, secret weddings—"

Yoon Ji finally looked up, and the look in her eyes was enough to make Hui Ying's voice die down to a mumble.

"It's about two impulsive teenagers who fall in love after knowing each other for three days and then kill themselves," She said simply, Yoon Ji's lips pressed into a thin line, like she was holding back something. "It's not exactly healthy."