"HAHAHA!" There was a loud guffaw of a man from inside the hospital room.
"I can't believe it, he's here." Yuna looked excited, turning to Lia and Yeji.
"He?" asked Lia.
"Ryujin's dad. He's a fun guy. You'll see." Yuna knocked on the door.
A man, whom Yeji assumed to be Ryujin's dad, opened the door for them. "Look who we have here!" he exclaimed, arms stretched wide. "Isn't this the almighty Yuna descending from Mount Olympus to captivate women's hearts?"
Yuna threw herself for a big hug. "Uncle! I missed you!"
"I missed you too, kiddo." The man pulled away after noticing Lia and Yeji. "Oh. And you brought your pretty friends, huh? Come in," he said, gesturing to them. "Tiger, you got visitors."
Yeji smiled at the pet name. Her eyes immediately scanned Ryujin who's lying on the bed with a bandaged right foot. No one knows how much she struggled to maintain her composure not to hug the poor patient at that moment.
Ryujin looked surprised to see her there. It was a brief shock that Ryujin immediately changed to a smile when she turned to look at Yuna and Lia.
Aside from Ryujin's dad, there were other people inside. One is a slightly older woman, whom Yeji initially assumed as Ryujin's relative, and then there's a familiar person...
Chaeryeong.
Yeji's brows furrowed while staring at Chaeryeong who's sitting ON the hospital bed, BESIDE Ryujin.
"Hey, guys." Ryujin looked more cheery now compared to how she was last Friday.
Yuna pointed at Ryujin's foot. "Dude, what's up? You got it pretty bad, eh?"
"I'm fine. You've seen worse, remember?" said Ryujin. Yuna laughed.
"What happened to you?" Lia walked towards Ryujin.
"Just minor foot injury," said Ryujin. "I can go back to work the day after tomorrow. Miss me already?"
"Of course. It just doesn't feel the same not seeing you passing by the hallway." Lia nudged Yeji. "Right, Yeji?"
Yeji, who was zoning out while looking at how close Chaeryeong's body is to Ryujin, was brought back to Earth. "Uh... yeah..."
"This is my dad, Aunt Victoria, and my friend Chaeryeong," said Ryujin, gesturing around. "And these are are my friends and colleagues from the office: Yuna, Lia, and... Yeji.
"Oh. So, she's THE Chaeryeong," said Lia.
"Hello everyone," said Chaeryeong.
Ryujin's dad cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention. "So, now tell me, which of you girls is Ryujin's girlfriend?"
Their mouths fell open.
Ryujin's palm flew over her face. "Ugh. Dad, stop it."
"What's the matter, Tiger? I'm just curious."
"How many times should I tell you I'm single?" Ryujin's voice is muffled from hiding her face behind her palms. Yeji still finds it cute.
"What? I can't believe it! You're a disgrace to this family," said Ryujin's dad, hands on his waist. "You surely have pretty friends here and you don't like any of them? What happened to your taste?"
Ryujin groaned even more.
"Maybe she hasn't moved on from Heejin yet?" said Aunt Victoria.
"Ahh. The one that got away, huh? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. If Tiger here wasn't a slowpoke I'm pretty sure they've been officially together." The man shook his head. "Oh, but there was a girl you were calling when we were in Bali. What happened to her?"
Ryujin and Yeji had eye contact for a fraction of a second before Ryujin looked away and shrugged.
"What? That didn't work out too? Jeez. You even bought her something, right? Was that a bun--"
"DAD!"
"What? I thought that girl was special?"
Ryujin pressed her lips together. "It's not like what you're thinking. We're just friends."
Yeji looked down at her feet, feeling guilty about it.
"Aish!" Ryujin's dad turned to Yuna. "Didn't you teach your best friend here a thing or two about girls? You're the expert here, right?"
"I just learned from you, master." Yuna chuckled. Lia elbowed her. "But I've changed, uncle," she said, putting her arm around Lia's shoulder. "I'm serious about this one."
"Oh. Okay. I'll keep my mouth shut then," said Ryujin's dad, zipping up the imaginary zipper on his mouth. "So, I'll leave you, kids, for now. I'll drive Victoria back to her restaurant first."
"I'll be back later, Ryujin," Aunt Victoria kissed the top of her niece's head.
"Thanks, aunt. Dad, you drive her safely, okay?"
"Agh. Your old man's reflexes are still kicking fine. Don't worry about me." Ryujin's dad waved a hand. "I'll see you later, Tiger." He leaned over to kiss Ryujin's head too.
There was a brief silence when the siblings left the room.
"Hello there, Chaeryeong?" said Lia, walking towards Chaeryeong and shaking her hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I suppose you're Ryujin's girlfriend?"
Ryujin coughed.
"What!" Chaeryeong's eyes burst open. "No! We're not together!"
Ryujin continued coughing but is also laughing now. "Lia... don't bully her. Chaeryeong is a good friend of mine. We're not anywhere near that."
Yeji raised an eyebrow. Good friend?
"Duh. And I wouldn't want to be with someone as hopelessly romantic as you." Chaeryeong eyed Ryujin in disgust.
"Yah! But you care for me!" said Ryujin.
"I just happen to be watching your game when you crashed down the court. Duh!" Chaeryeong rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I can't help but wonder if that really was an accident or if it's your fault for getting drunk for two days."
"I'm thinking of the same thing, Chaeryeong!" Yuna exclaimed, high-fiving Chaeryeong. "Ryujin always gets into trouble after binge drinking."
Yeji's frowned this time.
How come Chaeryeong knows all Ryujin's whereabouts? And why is Ryujin getting drunk again?
"Hey, are you okay? You're silent there," said Lia.
When she realized everyone's eyes were on her, Yeji settled on one chair. "Yeah. Just a little hungry."
"Why don't we get snacks then?" Yuna turned to Lia.
"Sure. I'm pretty hungry too." Lia touched her tummy.
"Aight. Let's go get something outside. Yeji, are you cool staying here for a while?" asked Yuna.
Yeji nodded.
Yuna stretched out her hand to Lia's shoulder and led her towards the door. "We'll be back."
There was another silence when the couple left. Yeji felt how the ambiance inside the room changed to something unexplainable yet identifiable: awkwardness.
Yeji is secretly wishing that Chaeryeong would just disappear so she could talk to Ryujin alone. But just to break the ice, she started the conversation.
"How are you feeling now?" she asked Ryujin.
Ryujin stared at her for a while before answering, "Better. I didn't expect you'd come here."
"I could have come sooner if I had known," said Yeji.
Chaeryeong went down the bed. "I need to get something outside. Be right back."
Yeji felt hopeful hearing that. At least Chaeryeong knows that she needs to exit.
But Ryujin instantly grabbed Chaeryeong by her arm. " Wait. Where are you going?"
"I'll get some snacks too."
"No. Stay here," said Ryujin. "I'm sure Yuna will get something for everyone."
Yeji looked away and exhaled.
There was a knock on the door. A female doctor came in with a nurse holding a clipboard.
"Excuse me. We're checking up on Ryujin," said the doctor.
"Maybe we should go out for now," Chaeryeong told Yeji.
Yeji eyed Ryujin first before nodding her head.
---
It was silent in the hallway that time, no noise or anything, except for the sound of Chaeryeong's heels rocking back and forth against the tiled floor.
Yeji is sitting bolt upright, hands clasped in her lap while observing the woman sitting across her. It never occurred to her there will come a day when she'll suspect Chaeryeong's real role in Ryujin's life. The idea of Chaeryeong and her having equal importance to Ryujin, or maybe more on Chaeryeong, is definitely troubling Yeji.
"You all right?" asked Chaeryeong with a smile.
Yeji blinked after realizing what she's doing is creepy. "Yeah... I... I was just thinking of something."
"Still worried about her?"
Yeji nodded. "I just found it out today, a while ago."
"Oh. I see."
"Were you the one who brought her here?"
"I helped, but it was actually the staff and some of her friends from the club that drove her here. I was the one whom she asked to contact her aunt."
"So, you've been here since Sunday?"
"Yeah, but not the whole day." Chaeryeong shrugged. "I visit Ryujin whenever her aunt's busy since no one's available to look after her. Her dad just arrived this morning, and if I'm not mistaken, he'll leave again tomorrow afternoon."
Yeji pressed her lips together. "You two are really that close, huh?"
"Well, if getting confided with her problems means being close, I guess you could say we really are." Chaeryeong chuckled.
Yeji felt insecure. Aside from Heejin's issues before, Ryujin had never opened up to her about problems, making her itchy to find out the real deal with Chaeryeong.
"Do you like Ryujin?" Yeji bravely asked.
Chaeryeong's head tilted forward; her mouth fell open. She quickly recovered it with a hearty chuckle.
"Wow. Why are you asking me that?"
"I just wanted to know. It's not impossible, right?"
"Why, are you jealous?" Chaeryeong smirked.
"I'm not." Yeji forced a smile. "Ryujin and I are good friends only."
Chaeryeong nodded. "I see. Still in denial."
"I'm sorry?"
"I'm gonna be honest with you here, Yeji." Chaeryeong clasped her hands together on her lap. "I know everything that's happening between you and Ryujin."
That's something Yeji didn't expect, but she tried to remain calm. "Everything like?"
"Everything about your 'relationship'," said Chaeryeong, making quotes signs with her fingers. "All the joys, the sweetness, and even the problems."
"P-problems?"
"Didn't you just dump her last Friday?"
"What? No. I didn't dump her--"
"Not officially yet," Chaeryeong cut her off. "But you and I both know that it's the same thing, right? Eventually, that's how things between you two will end."
Yeji looked away and pinched her nose.
"I can't blame you if you're feeling confused or what," said Chaeryeong. "But I know you're not dense to not know that Ryujin has feelings for you."
Yeji took a deep breath. "Okay. I'd be lying if I'd say I never felt it. But how am I supposed to know if she's serious or not if she treats everyone so sweetly? How am I supposed to know I'm not just a pastime or entertainment to her?"
"Well she IS serious, Yeji. She is head over heels for you."
Yeji wanted to say something, but no words came out. It is something that she wanted to confirm all along. However, it felt different hearing it from another person instead of Ryujin herself.
"Don't tell me you still don't believe me?" asked Chaeryeong. She gestured around the area. "Well, look where we are now. While you were enjoying your weekend with your guy, Ryujin was partying in hopes to forget you. I'm not blaming it on you. It's still her fault. But I want you to know she got badly wrecked after your last talk she didn't mind playing tennis even with a massive hangover."
"Gosh..." Yeji covered her face with her palms, feeling guilty.
"Tell me, what exactly she is to you?" asked Chaeryeong.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because you are confusing her with your actions. You can't just tell her you cannot be with her and show up here now to make her feel she's important to you. That's..." Chaeryeong paused to scoff and shake her head. "That's ridiculous."
"That's not my intention. I was just worried," said Yeji. "I know it's hard for her. And it's equally hard for me too."
"I understand." Chaeryeong sighed. "But you've got to decide, Yeji. You can't just leave Ryujin in limbo, hanging and waiting for you. If you will choose that guy then you need to set her free. Do her a favor by staying away from her so she could accept it fast."
Yeji started asking herself if it's really something she wanted to happen, for Ryujin to completely move on from her.
"Will she be okay if I do that?" she asked Chaeryeong.
"Of course. As long as you two stay away from each other I can assure you it'll take only a month for her to get over you."
"That fast?" Yeji wondered if it really takes such a short time to forget someone who means so much.
"Yes. I won't let her linger on you that long. I'll help mend her. I'll entertain her. I'll keep her occupied," said Chaeryeong.
Yeji leaned back on the chair, eyes fixed at Chaeryeong.
There are two things at the top of her head now: first, how much it will be hard for her to get rid of her attachment to Ryujin; and second, how she felt threatened after hearing Chaeryeong's somewhat confession.
"I can help her get over you, Yeji." Chaeryeong leaned forward and smiled."I will make her forget you."