#% ILLIAD MOON <3 !!!
"yes mom, my flight boards in about 23 hours, i am all packed and ready to go" i tell the woman who speaks on the other end of the phone. my hand slaps the large suitcase in front of me.
"i cannot wait to see you!" she shouts into my ear as i plop myself down onto my bed. "me too mom! i miss you so much, i'll be home soon, i gotta go now, my friends are here with me" i tell her and i can practically hear the smile on her face get wider.
"okay baby! goodnight!" she says before hanging the phone up. my mom was so beyond worried that i wouldn't make any friends when i moved to the states, she was so worried that i would sulk because i didn't have my boys with me. but she was wrong.
entirely wrong.
moving out of the country and getting amazing new scenery without my friends and family was quite a refreshing change. something i didn't expect i would love as much as i do.
although i did miss them more than anything, i liked the change that was happening for once. i was able to extend my wings out and finally be able to explore the world. the boys weren't holding me back for once, chirping in my ear about how i could get hurt and a bunch of other overprotective nonsense.
i was able to be myself.
"was that your mom?" penny asks me. i look over at her while nodding. penny is the first friend i made when i moved to the united states. she's korean too and lived there until she was 13, that's when her family moved to the states. she moved from los angeles to pursue her singing career.
"yeah, she's wants to make sure i'm ready to come home tomorrow" i say laying down on my bed next to her. "she just wants to you be safe" yeonjun says from the other side of me, he was another one of the korean friends i had made, it was like all of us were magnets to each other.
yeonjun was a bit more than a friend. i will never specify what that means but i will let your mind wander, thinking of all the possibilities that could exist.
"i know, i'm so excited to see her and my friends and congratulate my innie" my cheeks puff up as i smile wider. "that's the youngest right?" yeonjun asks cocking his left brow and i nod, reaching over him to grab the picture frame off of my nightstand. it's the one from my graduation this year with all the boys.
"right there, jeongin" i point to the boy. penny stops her scrolling to glance over at the picture. "shit, he's cute" she says sitting up and i shake my head. "he's a year younger than you pen" i say to the girl and all she does is give me a look.
"momma don't care, momma don't care at all."
i watch as yeonjun shakes his head towards penelope. my body echoes out some laughter as penny goes back to scrolling through her instagram feed.
the picture frame is pried from my hands and i look over at yeonjun. the boy studies all the faces within the picture. "i'm hotter than him, hotter than him, hotter than-" i cut him off before he can go any further.
"you guys are all equally handsome" i say as i grab the picture frame from him. his eyes squint and i do it right back to him. "i'm more handsome than every single male in that photograph and you know i'm right" he gets closer to my face.
"you are all handsome in your own ways" my body leans even closer to him. i can feel his hot breath fan across my face. our lips are mere millimeters from touching when penny clears her throat.
our heads turn to look at her and she scowls at the two of us. "please stop you're hookup weird, make out, i don't even know nonsense, you're making me uncomfortable" she says and i shake my head at her words. i love the girl. i truly do. but sometimes, i wonder whether or not she knows anything.
in english and korean.
when i focus again, i notice yeonjun is staring at the picture. he's staring at one face. a face i haven't even thought about in a few months now.
"jaemin" i say and the boy's head shoots up to look at me. his head cocks to the side and he raises one of his eyebrows. "what?" he says before going down to look at the photo.
i point to the tall black-haired male next to me. "that's jaemin" i say and yeonjun nods. "that's the idol guy right?"
"yeah" i sigh remembering everything i did with the boy. everything i felt for the first time with him.
"he just had a performance with his group, i watched the live stream, he's so sexy" penny says, contributing to the conversation. "thanks pen" i shake my head.
"i-i didn't mean it like that, have you heard anything from him?" she asks me, placing her free hand on my head, she ruffles my hair up a bit as her own little penny apology.
"7 months ago is the last time that he answered any one of my texts, to tell me he was busy and he'd text me later" my shoulders shrug up and down as i talk about jaemin for the first time in god knows how long.
"what a dick" yeonjun scoffs.
"yeah but i'm happy for him, it was his dream to become an idol, he was training for years without me knowing, he never told me what was going on" i shrug and penny does too.
benny, my dear black cat, jumps up on the bed, cuddling into yeonjun. he has gotten so big since we left korea. he is a chunky boy now, he still has the same kitten energy though and the biggest green eyes.
"benny, you're supposed to like me, we have rhyming names" penny tries to pet the cat but all he does is retreat back into yeonjun.
i laugh at the sight as penny sits back and sighs. benny has never really liked penny since the two met a few months before. she chased him around my small apartment begging him for love, begging him to give her cuddles.
he ran as quickly as she chased. it was pretty funny if i do say so myself.
we sit in silence, yeonjun petting benny, penny scrolling through her phone like always and me sitting and thinking.
i think about jaemin and everything that happened between us ever since i left. i think about what would have happened if i stayed, or if we never met.
"hey illi" penny says, looking at her phone all confused. her words interrupt my thoughts. "yeah?" i ask her cocking one of my eyebrows up. "what was that guys name?" she asks me and my eyebrows change their shape again. this time becoming all furrowed.
"who? jaemin?" i ask and she shakes her head aggressively. "no no, i know him, the other one, the asshole guy that you used to be best friends with" her eyes never come off of her phone screen.
"hyunjin, why?" i ask and she turns her phone towards yeonjun and i.
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my jaw hangs open and i think penny knows right then and there that that is the boy i was in love with for so many years. "it is him!" she says and i nod.
it's been so long since i've seen the boy with short dark hair. he looks as handsome as ever. his looks get my heart racing the same way they did everytime i saw him.
"wow" i say and penny nods. "wow is right, he's debuting as a soloist soon with a song called love drop, he's like an iconic rookie right now. everyone has been waiting for his debut" penny says and i just stare at the screen in shock.
"damn ill, whats you're obsession with dating music stars, am i gonna have to become one for you to love me?" yeonjun asks and i laugh, shaking my head.
"you are perfect just the way you are" i say before i lean over and kiss his nose.
penny makes a disgusted face and i have no other reaction but a soft chuckle in her face. her facial expressions always crack me up.
they leave shortly after i realize what time it is. it was late and i needed my beauty sleep so i could get up and to the airport in time to board my flight. it was going to be a long one so i needed to prepare myself.
benny lays next to me and the two of us softly breathe. a small salt lamp illuminates my room and i can hear the faint sounds of honking below as i close my eyes.
it's going to be good to go back to korea. but what type of drama will it bring me now.
AUTHORSNOTE.zip
so that was the first chapter!!! i hope
you guys love this book as much as you
loved the first one! thank you for reading
never again guys!!!