GFC Nineteen..
"No matter what happens, don't fall in love with your girlfriend. A friendly advice."
It's been echoing inside my head since Chaeyoung said that to me. The whole weekend, I was being taunted by those words of hers.
I know I shouldn't. Couldn't and wouldn't. Was there a possibility that she knows how the GFC works because Mina was a person you can hire as a girlfriend before? That makes a lot of sense but, I heard she's two years older than me and a year older than Chaeyoung. Of course, I asked Ryujin about it. I'm not bothered by her. Why would I be? I don't have feelings for her.
As I was saying, Mina already graduated. Ryujin doesn't know where and which school she attended though she claimed that they were close to each other. I also asked Chaeryeong. What in the world has happened between those two? It wasn't really my business but.. I'm genuinely curious. That isn't a bad thing as prying, right? Chaeyoung gave me the reason to be suspicious! She definitely know some things more than me when it comes to that weird corporation. And.. and maybe she can tell how a person can get involve and dragged to work for them.
Ryujin and Chaeryeong seemed well off even though they really don't say anything about that. But the way they act or was just doing a simple task like sitting or standing scream elegance and class. Or was that also taught at Girlfriend Corporation? I don't know anymore. I don't want to hurt any more people than I should but, I just couldn't trust.. them. And what Chaeyoung had said was encrypted in my mind.
I sighed and looked up at Yuna and Chaeryeong who were fitting some dresses/casual clothes for the Acquaintance party. Obviously, they made up already. And they both seemed to be happy. Just like their old ways. While Ryujin and I, casually sitting on one of the random benches of this boutique. Boredly looking at them. I mean, we both don't want to attend but these two forced us to go. Bribed us for free lunch and who am I to turn down such offer?
Ryujin was resting her head on my shoulder and if we're only alone, I would have thought that she fell asleep. Of course she wouldn't knowing that we're in a mall.
I got used to this affection from her. I mean, as long as she doesn't cross a line, I don't have a problem with it. Just like I've said, I just want to go with the flow. Make the money that my father had paid for worth it. Why am I explaining though?
"How about you two? Aren't you going to pick clothes for the party? And aren't you going to join New Faces of CBA, Jin Unnie?" Yuna said. I didn't even noticed they were done and walked towards us and stopped in front of me.
"Tss." I hissed and rolled my eyes. Brought out my earphones and plugged it onto my phone. I was about to put the buds on my ear when Ryujin snatched it away from me. "Hey! It's mine."
"You're mine too but I didn't shouted it in the middle of the mall." Ryujin wiggled her eyebrows and I lifted my lips in disgust.
"Okay, eww." Chaeryeong and Ryujin just chuckled at my undeniably disgusted response.
"You have a great taste on songs." Ryujin muttered and I saw that she was now holding my phone. Wow. The audacity. "The 1975, Why Don't We, One Direction, CNCO, The Vamps, 5 Seconds of Summer, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, Beyonce, Marian Carey.. and old groups like BSB, TLC, The Pussycat Dolls, Spice Girls, Destiny's Child, N'SYNC, Westlife and A1. Wow. Who knew you're such sentimental person. And you like boy and girl bands a lot, huh? These songs are gold!" I blushed at her compliment. I like it better when someone compliments me with my music taste than my.. physical appearance. Not to be cocky but I get that a lot. I mean, compliments regarding my physical appearance. But those are back handed compliments for me. They would say something along the lines with, 'Choi Lia from 4-BA was gorgeous but.. she's got attitude.' I really don't care about them. That's why the first and person that I befriended was Chaeyoung on my four years of stay here. Yuna was an exception though.
"-And I hope you are the one I share my life with.
And I hope that you would be the one I die with.
I hope I love you all my life.-"
I whipped my head to Ryujin's side when I heard hear sing. If You're Not The One by: Daniel Bedingfield. She has such a soothing.. singing voice.
Ryujin looked at me and raised an eyebrow with a confused smile. "What?" Ryujin snorted and I smiled at her. She looked like she doesn't know whether to be amused, confused, or smile so she she just did altogether which is adorable.
"Stop squeaking. You sounded like a mouse in a mouse trap." I rolled my eyes but I couldn't hide the silly smile on my face. She's a great singer too! What else does she do? No wonder why she was on demand at that creepy corporation.
I visited their site earlier and there were like, over two hundred people on the line after Ryujin after our contract ends. They were even arguing on some bidding. And 75% of those people are girls.
"Pfft. Stop staring." Ryujin then pinched my cheeks. "You might fall in love with me. These eyes of mine, can make you fall on your knees." Then she laughed evilly.. while I just stared at her still disgusted. She's now joking around me? Isn't she like, a cold hearted snob? When did she learned to make light of the situation? Her personality is confusing.
"You're crazy." That's the only I had managed to counter and Ryujin just laughed again.
"Let's go." Ryujin stood up and offered her hand to me.
"Where to?" I asked confused.
"Gonna shop some clothes duhh. I don't plan on sitting in there all day while the two were messing the organized dresses." Ryujin winked at me. Wow. Why was she extra playful today? Dis something good happened to her?
Ryujin seemed to settle on casual clothes. The acquaintance party doesn't have a theme and it was all up to you if you want to dress like a hobo. If it was only me, I would go naked. Of course I'm kidding. Psh.
Ryujin brought a random denim jacket and show it to me. I personally think that she doesn't have to ask me. Ryujin has her own fashion style. Definitely not the girls type and styles like me but, it suits her well. I barely see her wearing shorts in the dorm and when she does, it doesn't fail to make me.. flustered. She's sexy. Af, people. Af.
I just continued to nod my head to the clothes that she's showing me. Asking me if it would look good on her or not.
"That's enough. Go and try those on." I said while pushing her inside the fitting room. I sat down on the bench in front of the fitting room and realized that she haven't returned my phone. Geez. What an ass. And earlier she doesn't want to shop. What made her change her mind? Daniel Bedingfield?
After a few minutes, Ryujin got out of the fitting room wearing a gray printed shirt with a cropped denim jacket. Of course, what do you expect from her? It looked good on her. She can wear a rugged clothes and she would still pull it off. I just answered with a thumbs up and she smiled at me.
Then she tried a couple of casual clothes. Including pants. And now, she went out with a black plain long sleeves and tucked it in front. A black ripped jeans and her brown caterpillar shoes went well with it. She looked cool. She also tried a navy green long sleeves. I just noticed that she definitely has a weird fascination over the color green. Her bagpack was green, her phone case was green, she has a lot of green pairs of sneakers shoes, her hoodies were all the shades of green, and most of her tees are green.
Actually all of the clothes that she tried and put on doesn't just suit her, it seemed like it was personally tailored just for her. Even some of the salesmen and sales ladies are watching Ryujin have her own little fashion show in front of me.
I actually got annoyed with them. They can assist other people who's also shopping but they were gushing over Ryujin? I mean, I don't have a problem with it but at least be discreet. They weren't just whispering with each other but they seemed to intentionally speak loudly for us to hear. Or only Ryujin. Why am I annoyed? They are noisy. Tss. They are so loud it can burst my eardrums. And also, I'm kind of bored.. and hungry. I haven't eaten lunch.
So I walked towards the fitting room and loudly knocked on the door.
"Ryujin-ah? Aren't you done? I'm hungry." I knocked again.
"Wait. This is the last pair." I was about to knock again when she opened the door and strike a model worthy post. I believe I stared.. and blinked.. and stared.. and blinked a few times and stared for a few seconds.
She didn't changed her black ripped jeans but, the white turtle neck and the black buttoned open trench coat she was wearing literally was jaw dropping. It might be just a simple/casual attire but, the way she was towering over me on that I assume, four inches black boots added to her appeal.
"You definitely should get that, miss!" A sales lady appeared behind me and beat me on commenting.
"You should buy that pair, Ma'am. It suits you really well!" Another hoe squealed behind me.
"Wow. You're stunning." I looked behind me to see a sales man commented. Geez. I rolled my eyes and throw a once over at Ryujin. They are not wrong. This is the best out of the clothes that she have tried on. As if I would tell her that.
"Well?" Ryujin completely ignored the flirtatious remarks and looked at me expectantly.
"It's okay. Let's go. I'm dying from hunger." I didn't wait for an answer and pushed her inside the the fitting room and change on her old clothes again.
I glared at the sales men and ladies who was still waiting for Ryujin and raised an eyebrow. Babies, get back to work. Ryujin can take care of herself and she need only one person to assist her. Not six.
They are getting into my nerves.
"So, we're not going?" I asked Ryujin once she emerged from the bathroom door. I was casually sitting on the edge of my bed while petting Bella on my lap.
"Depends. Do you want to?" She asked back drying her hair with a green towel.
"I don't know. Aren't you going to be scolded for not attending or joining the New Faces of CBA?" Ryujin rolled her eyes at my question. What's wrong with that?
"As if I care." I chuckled at that. Why did I even ask? Ryujin barely cares at anyone unless necessary. She don't even spare a glance at anyone at school but u heard that she's good Business Finance and Marketing. Ryujin and Chaeryeong both took up BA Major in Marketing while I took up BA Major in Accountancy. Yuna? She's an Architecture student. A third year. She started on school pretty young that's why. "On the second thought, I want to see Chaeryeong." Ryujin winked at me.
"Seriously?" I asked suspiciously.
"Come on. It would be fun to watch. I also wanted to know what kind of initiation they would ask for me to do." I raised an eyebrow at that. She sure is weird.
I just nodded my head and changed my clothes so does she. After we have finished, drove off on our way to the venue. And proceeded inside. It was already 1pm when we arrived. And Shin Ryujin, was basically a scene stealer. She was wearing the clothes that she bought in the mall the other day. The difference was, she poytailed her short hair showing her impeccable jaw line and she even applied light make up. I gawked at her for a few seconds when she emerged from my room. She's gorgeous.
While I just settled on a simple black plaid skirt and a white cropped top. A denim jacket and navy blue converse shoes. I looked decent.
As we entered the hall, I saw Chaeryeong in one of the tables with Chaeyoung which is very new to me. Looks like they made amends? Oh well. I forgot they both are candidates for New Faces of CBA but, guess what? I actually don't care.
"Lia! Good thing you decided to still come!" Chaeryeong with her signature smile. Unlike Ryujin and Chaeyoung, Chaeryeong was wearing a black sleeveless dress and damn. She's stunning. I always knew that she's very feminine. I'd like to see Ryujin in a dress too. Psh.
"Hey! You're stunning!" I voiced out my thoughts and Chaeryeong looked at herself.
"This is your best friend's choice." Chaeryeong shrugged off with a wide smile.
"How about me?" I looked at Chaeyoung and Ryujin who both said in unison. Ryujin glared at Chaeyoung while she just raised an eyebrow. Okay? What's with them.
"You're beautiful too of course." I said looking at Chaeyoung. She nodded and clicked her tongue. And there was that flashback of Chaeyoung telling me not to fall for Ryujin who was now frowning. "And you too." I looked at Ryujin who rolled her eyes.
"It sounded so forced." Ryujin then looked at Chaeryeong. "I told you I should have worn a dress. You told me she won't like it." Chaeryeong raised her hand in surrender. What are they talking about?
"It was Yuna who told you. I just agreed since they are best friends. How would I know Lia's personal taste on girls? You should be the one to know. You're her girlfriend." Chaeryeong defended. Huh? What does Yuna and I have to do about this? I just looked at them confused but I saw Chaeyoung looking at me with a frown. She shook her head and walked off causing the two to stop arguing about whatever.
And what was surprising? Ryujin followed Chaeyoung with a nasty stare. I nudged her on the side to get her attention.
"Let's go sit. Chaeryeongie, goodluck, okay? Hwaiting!" Chaeryeong smiled at me and I dragged Ryujin on the vacant table and sat down on the chair. Ryujin went awfully quiet but I just ignored her. And focused on the party.
And for the first time, I've witnessed the rituals for freshmen and transferees. Good thing I didn't attend when I was a first year. I would have embarrassed myself like the rest of them. Just like what Ryujin had mentioned, it looks an initiation or something. There was a large box in the middle containing three different options. There, you would know what kind or form of initiation that you're going to do.
Option One: Dirty. You're going to pop a balloon with a whipped cream inside using your butt and look for the CBA Badge.
Option Two: Trust Us. From the second floor of the hall, you're going to let yourself fall while facing your back at the crowd. The officers will catch you. Scary, I know.
Option Three: Wheel of Fate. There's a wheel at the stage containing different dares. You have to do what the dare whether you like it or you like it. And trust me, the dares are literally embarrassing.
Lucky me I decided to not attend when I was still in first year. But, they told me to take an extra exam and join a club for me to take my CBA badge. And, Chaeryeong and Chaeyoung are exempted on the rituals since their initiation would be the pageant.
"What did you get?" I asked Ryujin as soon as she came back from picking at the box. The staffs didn't let her joined the pageant since she was late. I so hope for her to get the option one. Hehehehehe.
"Option three." Oh. Sucks. For her.
The initiation 101 was more fun than I anticipated. There's nothing more fun seeing other people cry because of humiliation. Hehehehe. But, it was really fun. Imagine, they are wearing expensive clothes just to stick it with a handful amount of whipped cream.
And those girls who were squeaking in horror when they picked the option two. I didn't expect it to be this fun.
But before they proceeded on the option three, they started the mini pageant and the candidates went out with their uniforms. It was my first time seeing Chaeryeong and Chaeyoung in uniform. They were still wearing casual clothes, right? Of course, Chaeryeong picked the skirt and Chaeyoung the pants. And among all of the candidates, the two has the loudest reaction from the crowd. What do you expect? They both are so gorgeous.
I looked at Ryujin who only smiled when it was Chaeryeong's turn. She looked so proud. Just like how I stare at Yuna every time she did something that makes her happy.
After the candidates introduced themselves one by one, they continued the initiation for option three while they are prapring for the next category.
"Shin Ryujin." Ryujin stood up when the officer called for her name. And I brought my hands to my ears to block the noise from the people who screamed when they saw Ryujin. Geez.
She stood beside the wheel and rotated it without waiting for the go signal of the officer. Pfft. I snorted at her. She looked in a hurry to get this over with.
"OH MY GOSH!" I jolted when the officer squealed. "Let's seal this with a kiss! You should kiss a CBA boy, beautiful! Can I volunteer?" My eyebrows instantly furrowed when I heard him say that. Was he seriously flirting with Ryujin in front of these people? And what does he mean by sealing with a kiss? We already did that. Tss.
"I'm kidding. Anyway, these are the 1x1 pictures of all the CBA boys--"
"I'll pick on the girls." Ryujin interrupted her eyebrows furrowed.
"W-what?" The officer seemed taken aback but Ryujin didn't wait for his answer and brought her hand to the box where the pictures of CBA girls was.
Then Ryujin walked down from the stage and started to walk.. towards my table. Why am I nervous? I can't get my hopes up. She would probably kiss another girl. Like she professionally does. Yes. She's used to this kind of set up.
But.. why am I worried? Why am I shaking? We already kissed for Pete's sake!
My heart erratically throb inside my chest when she continued to walk towards my table. But.. expectation really does hurt. I was disappointed when she turned to the side opposite of where I was. And wanna know what sucks the most?
She stopped in front of the girl who was basically ogling at her and Chaeryeong. Sure. She was more into Chaeryeong but.. who would think about other people when Ryujin is in front of them?
And I can literally hear my heartbeat when she started to lean. And kissed the girl on the forehead.
A kiss that I consider the most special.
Why can't I just look away?! And why.. why am I annoyed?
With my steps heavy, I walked off the room and went to the nearest washroom. Locked myself inside and grasped my chest. I can't breathe.
I ran to the sink and washed my face. I looked up to take a look at my own reflection. My eyes.. looked mad. Why?
And I gasped when the door at the last cubicle opened. It was a girl of course. This is a women's comfort room. Surprisingly, she smiled at me.
I ignored her and looked for a tissue paper to wipe my hands. And fuck. I forgot to bring my handkerchief. I can't wipe the tissue to my face. It's a toilet paper for Pete's sake.
"Here." The girl handed out a handkerchief and I looked up to her. What's with my weird encounter with random girls anywhere? I smiled at the girl too and muttered a low thank you. "Are you from the CBA?" I looked at the girl again to see her washing her hands while looking at me at the mirror.
"Ah. Yes." I said after wiping my face using her handkerchief. "How about you?"
"Oh. I'm from the student council. We're here to organized the event." She spoke softly. She looked.. genuinely nice and she was smiling at me the whole time.
"Thank you again. I'm Lia by the way." I extended my hand to shake her hand. She smiled causing the side of her eyes to crinkle. Her eyes are pretty.
"I'm Yeji. Nice to meet you, Lia."
1:00 am and I couldn't sleep. Might as well post this chapter early. Lol. Literally.