Chapter 4
Yoon-ah skipped back to the bus stop on a high note.
"You seem so ecstatic," Jukyung commented with a smile.
The brunette shook her head in surprise. The girl was rather observant. "What do you mean? I'm fine," she lied, a soft giggle escaping her lips nonetheless.
Sure, her words were enough to fool the new transfer, but not Sua. The two had been friends from the moment Yoon-ah walked into the halls of Saebom for the very first time, even before she met Kang Soojin. The petite girl could detect the sudden change in her demeanor from miles away.
"Yah! Did I just hear you giggle?" she exclaimed as she got up from the metal bench and walked closer to Yoon-ah. She jokingly shook her by the shoulders. "Are you okay? Who did you just talk to?"
Not receiving a reply from Yoon-ah, Sua's dark eyes widened.
"Yah! Are you dating somebody?" she gushed. "Was it your boyfriend? Yoon-ah-ya! Oh my god, you didn't even tell me!!"
Yoon-ah rolled her eyes. Choi Sua- always jumping to conclusions.
"Oh, hush. It was nobody that special" she replied, shaking her head dismissively. "I'm just happy because I had fun today."
Sua scanned Yoon-ah's face sternly, disbelief etched on every inch of her face. It was obvious she didn't believe her. Yoon-ah responded by sticking out her tongue at her friend. As she listened to Jukyung laugh at the playful banter they were having, a smile broke out on her face. She took a seat on the bench next to her new friend, swinging her legs like a child.
"Jukyung-ah," Yoon-ah said, wrapping her arms around the girl. "I really enjoyed myself today. I hope you enjoy Saebom High as well."
"Me too," Jukyung said, sighing happily. In the past, no matter how hard she tried, she could never get the one thing she truly wanted. Friends.
Jukyung finally felt that she had them now, and she could not have been happier to have switched schools.
It wasn't long before the bus pulled up at the stop with a screeching sound and the girls squinted their eyes against the blinding headlights.
"That's us," Yoon-ah said, tugging Jukyung along as they boarded the bus.
While scanning her card, the brunette turned back to say goodbye to Sua, but saw that the girl was already on her phone; probably looking through the photos they took together. Yoon-ah laughed, rolling her eyes at her Stargram-obsessed friend.
As she walked to a vacant seat at the back of the bus, Yoon-ah tucked her brown hair behind her ear. Plugging in her earphones, she gave Jukyung a soft apology for listening to music instead of talking. Junkyung, however, did not seem bothered since she resorted to using her phone as well.
Whilst her favorite songs played in the background, Yoon-ah felt a fuzzy feeling on her insides. She leaned on the windowsill and a soft smile spread across her face. She felt good. The kind of good one feels as the euphoria of making someone's day courses through their veins.
"Yoon-ah-ya!" Jukyung spoke up after a while, making Yoon-ah glance away from the window. "What song are you listening to?"
"Oh," she exclaimed, somewhat surprised by the sudden question. "Jung Se-Yeon's 'How do You Do'"
"Oh...Jung Se-Yeon?" Jukyung piqued up. "Isn't that the singer that d*ed last year?"
Yoon-ah felt bile rise up in her throat at those words all of a sudden. Jukyung doesn't know. That's not her fault. She hummed back a moment later, drumming her fingers on the window sill to keep her thoughts in check. "Yeah, I heard he used to go to Saebom High before."
"Oh, he did?" Jukyung asked, her sparkling eyes filled with innocent curiosity.
"That's what I heard," Yoon-ah replied curtly. "I haven't been in this school for very long either Imju."
As they sat facing each other, Jukyung opened her mouth and shut it again, her thoughts wandering back to the night on the rooftop, while Yoon-ah felt guilty for her unprovoked rudeness. An awkward silence fell upon the two girls, with neither of them knowing what to say to fill in the moment.
"I really liked his songs," the brunette spoke up again after a while, holding out one of her earbuds almost as though in a peace offering. "Would you like to listen to them?"
"Oh? Oh, thank you," the pretty girl replied, gently plugging it into her ear. From the other end of the bud, wonderful notes began to pour in, and Jukyung was awestruck by how quickly they overtook the silence and transformed it into something magical.
Soon enough, however, Jukyung began to nod her head in sync with the faster beats of the music. Yoon-ah was startled by the girl's sudden movement, making her turn to look at her. The wired earbud hanging out of one ear, Jugyung seemed so engrossed in the beats, it was almost comical.
The moment she became aware of the brunette's gaze on her, she was frozen in her tracks. Jukyung's hands slowly traveled upwards to cover her mouth in horror, heat rushing to her cheeks in embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry," she muttered, yanking the earphones out of her ear and almost hurling them back at the brunette. "And thanks."
"No problem." Yoon-ah bit her lower lip in an attempt to stifle her laughter.
"Um. So, Yoon-ah-" Jukyung not-so-subtly diverted the conversation to another topic, running a hand through her hair. "-Sua told me you don't have a Stargram account either."
The girl hummed in response. "I never cared for getting one. Not like Sua, anyways," she said, giggling at the mention of her socialite friend.
However, Jukyung had her brows furrowed, almost as if she were considering something important. "I'd like one," she said slowly, her eyes shining as she grasped Yoon-ah's arm. "How about this? I'll get one if you get one!!"
Freeing herself from the girl's iron grasp, Yoon-ah shook her head. "There is no way. Just get one of your own."
There was a difference in the attention she received at school. Yoon-ah had no desire to draw more unnecessary attention to herself by having her own public profile on a social media site such as Stargram.
"Yoon-ah-ya!!" Jukyung pouted. "Please?"
At that moment, the bus slowed down and stopped at Yoon-ah's stop.
"One word, two letters. No." The brunette swung her school bag over her shoulder, ready to get off the bus. Jukyung, however, grabbed ahold of her friend's jacket and refused to let go until the girl agreed.
"Come on, Yoonie! Please? This once, for me?"
The driver was waiting for Yoon-ah to get off. The small group of passengers on the bus shot dirty looks at the girls for the delay they were causing. Yoon-ah's ears turned pink with embarrassment. She swore under her breath and finally turned to the stubborn girl holding onto her.
"Okay, okay," she said, giving up. "Il make one and send you the id as soon as I reach home."
"Alright. Get home safe," Jukyung replied with an innocent grin on her face, letting go of Yoon-ah's jacket almost immediately. The brunette scoffed in an attempt to hide the smile on her face, as she bid Jukyung goodbye and hopped off the bus.
Walking down the road, Yoon-ah straightened her crumpled uniform, as her silky brown hair swirled in the wind behind her. Anyone who bothered to pay attention would have noticed the way her stride faltered as she approached her house. They would have noticed the way the brunette looked at the cold, empty mansion with a sad smile or the way her hands trembled as she dug in her backpack in search of the keys.
As per usual, the moment she approached the grand gates, she noticed a bouquet of flowers on the floor next to the entrance. It had become routine by now. Yoon-ah rolled her eyes yet again and tossed the bouquet out into the streets before entering the building, refusing to acknowledge the momentary heartache it brought upon.
Sighing, she threw her backpack and smartphone onto the living room sofa, and walked straight to the bathroom to freshen up.
She slipped out of the stifling uniform and changed into more comfortable clothes. Yoon-ah walked into her room and stretched out on her bed. Her feet dangling in the air, Yoon-ah closed her eyes and took in the deafening silence of the empty house.
Song Yoon-ah did not live alone. But certainly felt that way.
Following the accident, her sister had found herself a new home and her dad came home from the hospital late at night, only to leave again early the next morning. In fact, most of the time, he stayed at a house they had bought near the city center for his convenience.
Yoon-ah barely saw either of them, except perhaps on the lucky occasion when they remembered her existence. Only her house help, Mrs. Kim, and her chauffeur, Mr. Choi, appeared to care about her. Yet, Yoon-ah knew better than to think it was out of pure love.
In spite of the fact that they were far more caring than anyone else in her life, it was their job that compelled them to act this way. They were hired by her father to take care of her. It was their job and they had grown fond of the young girl during the course of it. But Yoon-ah still felt lonely.
Her eyes stung, and she rubbed her palms on her eyes to soothe the feeling. She always felt the weight of reality come crashing down on her the moment she stepped inside the house. At that moment, however, the grumbling in her stomach jolted her back into reality.
Yoon-ah glanced out of her window and saw that it was already dark outside. A look at the clock told her it was way past dinnertime. The brunette stayed on the bed a little longer, but when her stomach grumbled again, she gave up and went to the kitchen.
Walking to the corner of the house, she turned on the kitchen lights and put some water on the stove for heating. As she opened her cupboard, she found a large assortment of ramen for her to choose from. Anybody would think she'd bought the entire aisle of ramen at the department store, and in a way, she did.
Her breakfast was always provided by Mrs. Kim, and she always had lunch at school. The only meal that was left was dinner, and Yoon-ah never had any energy left at the end of the day to cook something extravagant.
According to her, if she ever had the will, she should also have the energy to walk to the convenience store and buy the goods. Ramen was the only way to go.
Yoon-ah pulled out a packet and poured the contents into the boiling water. She brought her phone from the living room, sat at the kitchen counter, and opened the new messages from the group chat.
Sua
Did you guys reach home safely?
Imju
Yes, I did. What about Soojin and Yoon-ah?
Me
I did:)
Sua
That's great. Jukyung-ah Soojin rarely checks her phone
Imju
Oh, I see.
Soojin
I'm studying with my tutor.
Imju
Btw, I got a Stargram account.
Sua
Oh, wow. I'll follow you. What is your id?
Imju
My id is imzoo00_.
Yoon-ah-ya, did you make your account?
Oops.
Yoon-ah laughed sheepishly. She hadn't yet, in fact. After some thought, she finally decided to download the app and create an account.
Having done that, she logged into the chats again.
Sua
No wayy! Did you? What's your id?
Me
I just did. It's yoonz_110
Sua
I followed you.
Btw, here are today's pictures. Just download whatever you want.
+121 pictures
Imju
I followed you as well.
Wait, I clicked a few pictures too.
+3 pictures.
Me
Thanks, I'll see them
Yoon-ah looked through the pictures. One caught her attention. She zoomed in on the pictures Jukyung sent her. When the brunette had been unfocused and lost in her music on the bus, the girl had sneakily taken the photographs.
Even so, the snaps turned out exceptionally good.
Truth be told, Yoon-ah didn't know how Stargram actually worked. A few minutes of fumbling with the app later, she had figured it out. She had seen Sua obsess over her posts, and even seen Soojin use it several times. Then there was Jukyung. It couldn't be that bad, right?
Oh well.
Shrugging to herself, she hit the 'post' button.
A moment later, she sat in quiet contemplation, mulling over all the ways that this small act of boldness could lead to trouble and make her worst nightmares come true. The next, the scent of cooked ramen wafted to her nose, making her forget everything and luring her toward the stove. The brunette left her phone on the kitchen counter and grabbed her chopsticks to transfer the ramen to a bowl. Dinner was served.
As she usually did, Yoon-ah sat in front of the TV in the living room and started a movie, while she munched ramen noodles. She was, however, quite unaware of the notifications flashing on her phone, which lay on the kitchen counter vibrating ceaselessly.
Eventually, the girl's eyelids grew heavy, and she fell into a deep sleep. It had been a long day, and she had not slept that well in a very long time.
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yoonz_110
Lost in my own world~
pc @imzoo00_
liked by imzoo00, choi.sua, soojin123 and 754 others.
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Comments
user02 wow, she seems so pretty
choi.sua prettyyyyyyyy <3
user003 omoo I know her! She goes to my school!
imzoo00_ hehe...
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