They were at some boring party. One of those that Yeji hated with passion. Filled with fake people who were only there for connections and business. And of course, that would require Yeji to play her part of behaved perfect daughter to impress people she did not care about.
It came as no surprise that as soon as possible, she ran away from the crowd. Making her way upstairs where she quietly observed the people from above. Watching as they faked smiles and pretended to care about what others said.
"Pathetic." she whispered.
That's when she saw her again. In the middle of the crowd. Walking through the people with someone her age by her side. Yeji noted that just like the day they met, she look defiant of the rules. Noticing as she wore a perfectly neat expensive dress and yet her sneakers looked like they had seen better days. Was that mud from outside? Yeji chuckled to herself, watching the other not give it a second thought or trying to hide it.
She didn't care and wasn't that exactly what had caught Yeji's attention when they met? The way the other was just herself, no shame, no trying to be anything else, no faking.
Taking a step back from the railing, she was about to walk downstairs and approach the girl when someone stopped her.
"Here you are." her mother said, grabbing her by the shoulders and nudging her to go downstairs. "I want you to meet someone."
"Mom. I can't right now." she complained, trying to look in the direction where she had last spotted the girl.
"Yeji, behave. You can't just hide from everyone."
"You don't understand."
Her mother just wouldn't let her escape, guiding her to where she wanted her. In the opposite direction of the girl she actually wanted to meet.
"Now behave, please."
Yeji decided not to fight it. Maybe if she did what she must then she could get this over with and go look for the girl afterwards. So she put on her fakest smile and played along.
Until she realized what that was.
"I have a son your age."
There it is.
Looking at her mother who smiled innocently at her, she simply sighed before offering the man a polite smile.
"Actually, I'm not interested."
She could see her mother lose it and try to hold herself together, clearly embarrassed by her attitude. But Yeji only continued to smile as the man went from looking confused to reluctantly accepting her response and excusing himself from the conversation.
"Hwang Yeji. What do you think you're doing?"
Yeji didn't bother responding, trying to move through the crowd without bringing too much attention to herself. Her mother right behind her.
Looking around she didn't see the girl anywhere, sighing at the thought that once again she might have noticed her too late. She might have missed her chance. And just how many chances would she get? Surely they would run out eventually.
"What is up with you today?"
"She was right here."
"Who was?"
Yeji took a deep breath, looking around again. Maybe she had left already. Maybe she really was too late. Maybe they weren't meant to meet again.
Looking at the front door she thinks she spotted her. Maybe. Or maybe she's gone crazy.
Her mother was still not letting go of her and the girl she had been looking for was, if her sight hadn't betrayed her, leaving in that very moment. So Yeji made the only logic decision.
Grabbing her mother's hand, she started making her way to the front door. Arriving just in time to see the girl she had been looking for, laughing along with the kid she now knew to be Shin Yuna. Both waiting to get inside their car.
"That girl." Yeji said pointing right at her.
"What?"
Yeji didn't think it through. She really didn't. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, it slipped out of her mouth. That's how she got to this point. It was absurd, really. Yet there she was.
"I was looking for that girl."
Her mother looked at the girl in question, a second before she disappeared from their sight, getting into her car.
"The Shin girl?"
Her eyes widened, looking at her mother in surprise.
"You know her?"
The chuckle that came out of her mother only confused her more. Did her mother know the girl? And why did she have to tell on herself so easily? Get it together, Yeji.
"You think father and I don't know about you and your brother sneaking out when you were younger?"
"You do?"
"The staff saw you sneak out on the security cameras the first time. Disabling the alarm didn't disable the cameras, Yeji. After that we had someone follow you around, to keep an eye on you two. It's dangerous for two kids to walk around by themselves."
"How did we not get grounded?"
Her mother smiled, patting her head. "We found out all about the Shin girl when your brother left his notebook in the living room. It was heartwarming to see you help him with his crush."
"His crush?" she whispered, before being able to stop herself.
"It's okay, Yeji. He doesn't have to know you told me about looking for his girl."
"That's-"
Yeji couldn't exactly say the truth. Well, she could have but what would the consequences be? Thinking about it, she figured for now it was safer if they thought Hyunjin was the one interested. Maybe one day, she would reveal the truth to her parents.
"Yes. That's his crush."
Hyunjin would surely be thrilled to hear all about this. She can already imagine all the teasing she's going to suffer from. Sighing, she looked back to where the car had been just a couple of minutes before. Wishing for once she could actually find the right timing.