I woke up to Olivia tugging at my arm. The sunlight shining from the huge window in my room kinda blinded me, but I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
"Come on. We have to go. I already made you breakfast." She said.
"What?"
"We gotta go to our lectures Yuqi."
I sighed and got up. Olivia had brought me a small plate of waffles and left it at my bedside table, and I just stuffed them in my mouth quickly, then, as always, brushed my teeth and picked out an outfit. I didn't put on hair extensions, and just went with a simpler outfit as I had no nerves to wear anything fancy. I stepped out of my walk in wardrobe once I was ready, got my bag with the stuff I always bring in it, and went downstairs.
"You're really quick," Olivia said as she saw me. "Now, our driver should be here in about 5 minutes, so let's go outside."
"Driver?!" I asked, widening my eyes.
"Yes! How else would we be on time by walking there?"
I nodded, and Olivia and I stepped outside. The driver came in a fancy, black car and pulled up right at the mansion, without us having to walk anywhere further. I carefully stepped in, and Olivia did so too after me. She said something to the guy in Spanish, and my name was mentioned, then he waved at me and smiled at me warmly from the rear view mirror. I waved back. I looked out the window as the car started, and I did the same the whole car ride, even though Olivia talked to me. I got out of the car just as carefully as I got in, and I immediately saw Soyeon and Soojin talking at the entrance of the building. Olivia and I walked slowly towards the entrance, but Soojin saw me, and quickly placed her hand on Soyeon's waist and they both left. Olivia and I froze for a second, and turned to look at each other.
"Weird." She said. "Why didn't Soojin wave at you or something?"
"How am I supposed to know?" I replied with a question.
"Fuck it. We can ask Soyeon later, let's just get to the lecture." Olivia said and grabbed my hand.
~~•~~
Our first lecture went by really fast, of course, because Olivia and I just chatted the whole time. The time came to go to our break, and as always, Soyeon was waiting for us outside. I ran to give her a hug, and she hugged me back, but I could immediately tell something was off. She didn't call my name cutely as always, and she seemed a bit tired. Nevertheless, Soyeon just waved at Olivia, and we headed to the bathroom to spend our break and most likely skip our next lecture there too.
We locked ourselves in and sat on the floor, as always. Olivia started to eat a pack of chips and also smoked a bit, while I just stared at Soyeon for a bit. She must've felt me staring and turned to look at me.
"What?" She asked.
"Are you okay?"
Olivia chuckled. Soyeon looked at her weirdly.
"I'm fine." She replied.
"Yuqi needs to ask you something." Olivia said with a weird tone. Soyeon looked at me.
"U-Um, I saw you talking to Soojin earlier today, and I made eye contact with her then you two left."
"Oh. I didn't see you." Soyeon said.
"Yeah, you were facing Soojin but she kinda guided you to leave with her after she saw me. Is anything going on?" I continued to question. Soyeon kept looking at me with a blank expression on her face.
"No." She replied.
"I feel like you're lying to me."
I shouldn't have said that.
"Why would I be?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry..?"
Fuck.
"Are you sure there's nothing like...wrong?" I continued, trying to fix things but clearly I made Soyeon even more upset.
"There isn't." She said, sounding more irritated.
"Did you and Soojin argue about me or some-"
Soyeon stood up.
"Why are you so fucking interested in my life?!"
No response from me. Obviously.
Olivia and I watched as Soyeon quickly exited the bathroom and left us in, standing there in an awkward silence. I breathed in her cigarette smoke for a bit until I felt her finally turn to look at me, and chuckled a bit.
"I know you probably need like a hug right now or something but um... I'm not exactly the best at comforting people." Olivia said. I forced a smile.
"I don't need a hug. I need a way for Soyeon to not be angry at me and hang out with me." I replied.
"Well, you probably shouldn't take my advice, but I have an interesting idea."
"Just tell me," I said.
"Go to her house."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, go to Soyeon's house. I can get Soojin to sneak you in and hide in there, watch her every move for one night and then like just show up in front of her."
What the fuck am I hearing.
"Are you serious?" I asked. "What the fuck?!"
"You don't have to listen to me, but it can work, you know."
"And how exactly are you gonna get Soojin to sneak me in?"
"Well, she was gonna babysit their dogs or something this week, so she's probably at their house right now." Olivia answered. "And, even if she isn't, she has a spare key to their house."
I didn't say anything.
"So, Yuqi, are you up for it?"
~~•~~
So I went. I listened to her.
Olivia and I walked all the way to Soyeon's neighbourhood and then into her building. As expected, Soojin was actually there, but she looked really surprised to see me.
"Hey," She said. "How are you two?"
Haku and Mata started to bark at me so I would pet and play with them. They're so fucking adorable, and Soojin is lucky to be dogsitting them.
"So, Soojin, Yuqi needs your help." Olivia said. "Where can she hide in this house for one night?"
Soojin looked at us weirdly. "Just tell Soyeon you like her. Why hide in her-"
"No, no. It's not about that. Just tell me a place." I interrupted.
"Storage room. Follow me."
I followed behind Soojin down a corridor, and she opened a door for me. It wasn't really spacious in there, but I might actually be able to sleep in it.
"They rarely go in here. Like, once in two months or something." She said, smiled at me, then closed the door and left me in the dark. I found the light switch and turned it on, and luckily, I don't think it was visible from under the door or something. I heard Soojin and Olivia leave together, and now I was alone, in my crush's house.
~~•~~
After what seemed like forever, I heard someone open the door, and heard Shuhua sigh and something that sounded like bags being thrown on a sofa. I heard Shuhua and Soyeon talk indistinctively, then footsteps, which seemed to be nearing the storage room that I was in. They faded without stopping or entering, and I heard the door to Soyeon's room open and close afterwards. I also heard another door, I'm assuming either to the bathroom or Shuhua's room, open and close.
A bit later, one of the dogs started sniffing the door to the storage room. Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. It started to bark, then the door to Soyeon's room opened. The dog paused then put it's paws on the door, but soon after Soyeon must've grabbed it, as I couldn't hear it's paws or sniffing anymore.
"There's nothing in there for you, Mata." I heard Soyeon say softly. I could sense she was still right outside the storage room, as I heard Mata struggle in her arms, gesturing she wanted to go in here clearly having smelled me. I felt Soyeon move closer to the door. I hid behind it so I wouldn't be seen once she opened it, hopefully.
Soyeon opened the door, still holding Mata. I held my breath.
"See? There's nothing." Soyeon said to her cutely with a smile. They walked a bit past the door, and I saw Mata sniff again, but they soon closed the door and left. I let out a huge sigh of relief, and moved a bit to the side.
I had no idea how long I was gonna stay in here before finally leaving the storage room and getting something to eat or drink. I sat down on the wooden floor and just looked around. A bunch of cardboard boxes surrounded me, like a big one for their TV, some for their furniture, and more. I imagined what I would be doing if Soyeon just like sat next to me right now. I don't even know why I'm here, just cause Olivia told me to?
What is Soyeon doing right now? Does her room smell the same? What could her bed smell like? Her pillows, the bedsheets, those huge plushies she had last time?
It seemed like days had passed until I finally heard light switches clicking, and the whole house went silent. I waited a little, then thought it was the right time to get out of the storage room, get something to eat or drink, then if I'm lucky, I can try to hide in Soyeon's closet.
I carefully opened the door, expecting Haku and Mata to start barking if they heard me, but the two dogs were nowhere to be seen. I was immediately faced with three closed doors, the one on my left being Soyeon's room, the other I assumed is the bathroom, and the one next to it, Shuhua's room. Since Soyeon said that Haku and Mata are technically Shuhua's dogs, I'm guessing they're sleeping with her in her room, so that's good.
I walked out of the storage room on my tiptoes, and carefully closed the door behind me. As soon as I did, I immediately smelled the tteokbokki they had eaten for dinner, and felt hungry right away. I hadn't eaten any lunch, snacks, or dinner, or even had anything to drink. I walked over to their kitchen counter, and took the lid off of the pot they made it in, put some in one of the bowls Shuhua and Soyeon left on their table, and immediately started to stuff my mouth. I wished the bowl and spoon I had grabbed were Soyeon's, but I guess I'll never know.
The tteokbokki was really good. I don't know which one of them cooked it, but it was delicious. I placed the bowl and spoon I ate with back where I found it on their counter, and looked for some water. Even though plenty of light came in from their balcony, a part of their combined kitchen and living room was still in the dark. I rummaged around the counter and finally found a plastic bottle. As I picked it up and held it in my hands, I noticed it wasn't full, but rather like someone had drank a bit out of it. Hoping it belonged to Soyeon, I quickly opened it and drank, a lot.
It wasn't water.
Either Soyeon or Shuhua had put soju in it. Soju, in a plastic bottle. What the actual fuck.
Nevertheless, I kept drinking and finished the whole bottle. I tried not to make any noise as I always do with plastic bottles, and this time I succeeded. I exhaled sharply, then rummaged around even more to find the trash can. I decided to look around the house for a bit. Soyeon and Shuhua's apartment was messy, but clean and smelled rather sweet, like a cake shop or something, and welcoming. The light coming from their balcony at this time was really nice, and also the music coming from the clubs in their neighbourhood.
I then walked to their bathroom. I placed my hand on the light switch, closed the door behind me, then turned on the light, figuring that Soyeon and Shuhua would think one or the other was in there and wouldn't be suspicious. I did what I had to do, then looked around in there aswell. The bathroom was pretty clean aswell, and didn't smell bad, unlike some other people's bathrooms. I saw they had shelves in there, with small cupboards too. Some makeup, perfumes, deodorant, typical stuff, nothing unusual, so I exited the bathroom.
I felt dizzy at this point, but I could still think properly. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and checked the time. 4:29 am. I walked to Soyeon's room. She hadn't fully closed the door, so I pushed it quietly, and entered her room, then pushing her door just as I had found it. Her room wasn't too dark, but it didn't have that much light in there either. Soyeon had a big window in her room, but I couldn't just go draw her curtains open and stuff.
From what I managed to see, Soyeon was asleep, hugging something hidden in her bedsheets. I didn't move closer to her in fear of waking her up and what her reaction would be to seeing me first thing in the morning. I walked over to her vanity with the pink blob shaped mirror, and had a look at myself. For the many hours I spent in a storage room, I didn't look bad. Soyeon had scattered makeup products across her vanity and other items, but I didn't even dare to touch them. I opened her drawers. More makeup. And some small pouches and a phone charger...? Interesting. I closed the drawers of her vanity, and the last one made a bit of noise. Fuck.
I held my breath and froze, but Soyeon didn't seem to have heard it. She just moved a bit in her sleep. I sighed out of relief once again, then went to a big dresser on which her TV was placed. I looked through the drawers and found different stuff, like notebooks stacked in one of them. I took one, and opened it. Written in it were numerous songs, which were all just...perfect. I couldn't even begin to wrap my mind around all the talent Soyeon has.
I carefully put the notebook back where I found it, and at this point, I felt really dizzy and sleepy, so I did what I had planned to do; hid in Soyeon's closet. It was comfy in there. All her clothes smelled wonderful and it was a nice atmosphere to be in, so I quickly fell asleep.
~~•~~
I woke up after about two or three hours of sleep. I remembered I was in Soyeon's closet, so I couldn't stretch in there, even though it was a bit spacious. I yawned and peeked out from her closet. Soyeon was still asleep, but her room had more light in it now. After a bit, I heard the door to her room open, and Shuhua came in, followed by Haku and Mata. I watched as she got in Soyeon's bed and cuddled her, until Soyeon eventually felt Shuhua behind her and woke up.
"Sleep," I heard Shuhua say. "It's still early. I just had nothing to do so I came here."
"Okay." Soyeon said softly. The tone she spoke in melted my heart and made me just wanna give her a big hug. I wish I could be there cuddling Soyeon instead of Shuhua.
It seemed as if the two fell asleep again, only this time, together. And even though I knew they weren't dating or anything, jealousy washed over me, so early in the morning. Eventually, I fell back asleep aswell, thinking about the thought of Soyeon next to me, or spooning me, or me spooning her.
I woke up again at about the same time as Soyeon and Shuhua. I couldn't tell who, but I heard one of them groan and then Haku and Mata got down from the bed. I peeked out from Soyeon's closet again.
"Get up." Shuhua ordered and got up herself first. "Come on."
I heard Soyeon chuckle, and looked at Shuhua who was standing right next to the closet.
"Come onnn~" Shuhua whined. As she saw Soyeon wasn't planning on getting out of bed anytime soon, she moved closer and practically dragged her out. I finally got to see her...kinda. I saw Soyeon's gorgeous side profile but most of her face was hidden by her hair. Shuhua aggressively grabbed a zip up hoodie from a chair in Soyeon's room and forcefully put it on her, while Soyeon just rubbed her eyes. Shuhua then grabbed Soyeon's hand and dragged her out of the room.
I waited in the closet until the two had finished breakfast, then remembered something I hadn't thought about earlier. If Soyeon goes out or something, she's gonna change her clothes, meaning she'll need to open her closet. But there's nowhere I can go now, as footsteps were coming closer to the room, and soon, Soyeon entered.
As she took off her hoodie, I peeked out a little and saw some clothes that didn't seem like they were for at home placed on the chair. I really, really hoped I was right, but there was still a possibility that Soyeon might need to get something else from her closet. Fuck. Why did I not think of this?
I let out a soft sigh of relief as Soyeon grabbed the clothes from the chair and laid them out on her bed instead. But, I felt my cheeks turn red at the idea of possibly seeing Soyeon undressed. I very clearly didn't think about this either.
None of what I thought happened. Due to the slightly uncomfortable angle I was positioned in, I didn't exactly get to see her get dressed. I just froze when she moved slightly without me noticing and placed her hand heavily, but soon removed it then went to her vanity to do makeup. I peeked out a little more and Soyeon looked absolutely gorgeous in the outfit she wore, as always.
She did her makeup surprisingly quickly, but when I got a better look at her I realized she hadn't really put on a lot. Soyeon looked really adorable though. She then grabbed a notebook, a bag and a bucket hat that had a matching pattern with her top, and left the room. I heard Soyeon and Shuhua talking indistinctively, then I heard the door close and lock from the outside, and they left. Without Haku and Mata.
I sighed heavily, then walked out of Soyeon's closet. I stretched a bit and felt my neck kinda hurt, so I did the only thing I could and laid down on Soyeon's messy bed. I threw the covers over myself, and hugged the same plushie she was hugging, and tried to sleep. Soyeon's bedsheets and pillows all smelled so, so good. Just like I expected them to. I hugged her plushie tighter and fell asleep once more.
~~•~~
I woke up like 8 hours later. Soyeon's bed is really comfy to sleep in and her scent stuck on basically everything there made me feel a sense of calmness that soon put me to sleep. I sat up and was happy to realize my neck no longer hurt, so I stretched and got out of bed.
As soon as I walked out of Soyeon's room, Haku and Mata barked at me.
"Shhh, I'm nice!" I exclaimed, bending down to pet them. The two dogs calmed down, sniffed me then licked my hands, and Haku even showed me his belly so I could rub it. Mata soon did the same, then they just left as if nothing happened.
I walked to the kitchen and opened their fridge to find something to have for "breakfast", even though it was fucking 4 pm. I made myself a fruit salad, which was enough for me at the moment. After I finished, Haku and Mata came to me with toys in their mouths, meaning they wanted me to play with them, as expected. But before I did, I needed to look for more soju in Soyeon and Shuhua's apartment. Because once I drink a little bit, I keep craving more, until I'm fully drunk.
I went to the storage room where I hid yesterday, opened a random, smaller-looking box than the rest, and luckily, it was filled with soju bottles. I grabbed a few and went to the living room to play with Haku and Mata.
I laid down on the big sofa and started to chug the soju bottles one by one, until I started to basically feel like shit. Once I tried to get up, my vision blurred but I could tell Haku and Mata kept looking at me and licking my feet. As I looked down at them I felt really, really dizzy. I relied on the walls to walk to Soyeon's room, and then suddenly, I heard an elevator ding from outside.
I picked up my pace slightly and made it to Soyeon's room by the time the door unlocked and Soyeon and Shuhua were back. I could hear Haku and Mata barking at them, and the girls' now muffled voices talking and squealing at them.
Footsteps. But I couldn't move. I was frozen in place.
I heard Shuhua say something, and Soyeon reply with something shorter, then she walked in. Shit.
"Yuqi?"
I looked up. My vision started to blur really bad, but as Soyeon got closer to me I saw her face more clearly.
"What's wrong?" She asked with a genuinely worried tone in her voice. I probably look really fucked up.
"I..."
I blacked out.
~~•~~
I opened my eyes to the ceiling of Soyeon's room. The light was now turned on. I rubbed my eyes and looked around, and Soyeon was there too, laying at the foot of her bed across from me while leaning on one of her huge plushies. I sat up a little, and she moved her gaze to me.
"Hey, are you feeling any better?" Soyeon asked.
I sat up completely before answering. "Kinda."
"Mind telling me what the fuck you did to yourself and why and how you even got in my house?" Soyeon asked, but not in an angry tone. Quite calmly, actually. I grabbed the pillow I had been put on, and laid down next to her on the foot of the bed.
"I drank. Too much. More than at Olivia's party." I answered. "And um...about all this, Olivia told me to come here. She said it was a good idea if I didn't want you to keep being mad at me."
Soyeon didn't respond, so I decided to continue.
"I'm sorry, by the way. This is all really weird."
"Listen, Yuqi." Soyeon started and began fidgeting with her long nails. "I tend to get really irritated at people who just wanna stick their nose in my business all the time, but I guess you can."
A big smile formed on my lips.
"Also, don't listen to Olivia that much." She added, now looking at me with a faint smirk. "Her ideas might sound fun but they rarely help."
I chuckled. "I kinda learned that now, I think."
"How long have you been here?"
"Since yesterday. I hid in the storage room."
Soyeon cringed. "Seriously? Out of all places? You could've hidden in like a closet or something."
"I did that too, don't worry." I answered. Soyeon looked away from me and back at her nails. "It was more thrilling, but you actually walked in the storage room with Mata yesterday cause she kept barking."
"Makes sense." Soyeon replied, then turned to get a good look at me again while I just stared at her blankly.
"You still look like you've spent a whole night in one of those drinking bars." Soyeon said. "Go take a shower or something."
"I don't have any clothes to change into."
"Then get something that looks comfy from my closet and go."
I stifled a smile and got up to get something from Soyeon's closet. I found something that looked like it would fit me and comfy at the same time, and left for the bathroom.
As I finished and got out, I could hear Shuhua talking quietly in between sobs, and Soyeon comforting her, of course. Since I was dressed, I stepped out and hid behind a wall near the living room so I could listen to their conversation.
"She hasn't talked to me since that night though..." I heard Shuhua cry. "Why was she so into it if she doesn't love me and won't talk to me afterwards?!"
I peeked out a little to see Shuhua pull Soyeon into a hug, when it probably should've been the other way around. Whatever makes her feel comforted, I guess.
"Why can't she see it? What do I need to do for her to see how much I love her, Soyeon?"
"I guess you should just tell her." Soyeon replied to her softly. "Soojin would never be the one to say it."
Shuhua sniffled.
"Or invite her over again, and just let things end up like that night." Soyeon added.
"But what if she doesn't want to anymore?"
"Then she just doesn't. There's nothing you can do about that."
Soyeon looked at the notification she got on her phone, then looked at Shuhua again and twirled strands of Shuhua's long hair around her finger.
"I need to go." She said. "Please don't cry about her. At least not without me here."
Shuhua pouted, then forced a sad smile and waved at Soyeon as she exited the apartment. Shuhua was surrounded by soju bottles, but then somehow she looked up, saw me and chuckled at herself.
"You've been there the whole time, right, Yuqi?"
"Yeah." I replied casually.
Shuhua patted the spot next to her on the sofa. "Come here."
I walked over and sat down next to her. Shuhua popped a bottle for herself then offered me some.
"I've already drank too much for today." I said. "Thanks though."
"Oh, okay. I'm guessing that's why almost half of the soju in our house was missing."
"Probably. Sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it." Shuhua replied. "You sound really tired."
"I've had a weird day." I said.
"Oh. Well, Soyeon will be back soon I think. Depends on how she herself is feeling."
"What do you mean?"
"Soyeon has her own studio. Didn't she tell you?" Shuhua asked, now looking at me.
"Um...no? So like, she actually makes music?"
"Yeah. I accompany her there usually."
"Wow.. That's really cool." I said.
"I'm sure she'll take you there someday." Shuhua said, then narrowed her eyes slightly. "You really like Soyeon, don't you?"
I felt my cheeks turn slightly red, then nodded. Shuhua smiled.
"I tell Soyeon all the time she can trust you and open up to you but she doesn't listen. Just be patient with her, please." She said.
"I'll be patient for as long as it takes." I replied softly, looking down at my hands.
"I'm glad. Soyeon deserves someone as nice as you." Shuhua replied, then chugged down the rest of her soju bottle. I smiled at her.
~~•~~
I went to bed a bit later, and Soyeon still wasn't back. I decided to sleep in her bed, not knowing if she would have a problem with it or not. I didn't sleep on the side she slept on though, I left that to her for when she gets back.
It didn't take long for me to kinda doze off, but I woke up after a little while and saw Soyeon asleep next to me, facing me. A small light she always kept on above her bed wasn't turned off, and I could see Soyeon still had the light makeup on and hadn't even changed her clothes. She must be tired. Since I felt a bit cold right as I opened my eyes, I moved closer to her and positioned myself in a way that Soyeon would be resting her head on my chest and keeping me warm. She didn't feel a thing, and I smiled faintly at how adorable she looked.
But just as I expected, Soyeon woke up after a little bit aswell. She pulled away from me and sat up, her eyes glued on me.
"I felt cold," I explained. She nodded, then turned off the small light above her bed. Soyeon then pulled me closer to herself and hugged me, and I did the same. I breathed in her wonderful scent again, and I felt my body tense as for some reason, I felt like crying. Soyeon softly rubbed my shoulder with her thumb.
"It's okay." She said just above a whisper, then kissed my forehead.
And I felt safe in her arms, after so, so long.