I'm in the car with Felix since he's the one taking me home. Ryujin wanted to go but Chan told her no because she has to wake up early tomorrow.
I still find it weird that they're more like her parents than her friends at times but I'm getting used to it.
After spending time with Ryujin today, I thought that maybe I can be with her. I think I can take care of her and I can be patient. I feel like whenever she will hug me or hold my hand then it will make whatever struggle I may feel be worth it.
Also the fact that she was willing to take care of me when she thought I was sick is probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever attempted to do for me. Even if she wasn't sure what to do, she still looked up how to take care of someone sick.
I learned more things about Ryujin today too. It hurts me to think that she sees herself in a negative light and she sometimes feels like she doesn't deserve the life that she has.
"So what's gonna happen between you and Ryujin?" Felix ask while he focuses on the road.
I glance at him then I look straight ahead too, "I don't know. I like how she makes me feel."
"Why were you guys freaking out so much when we hugged?" I ask.
"It took us years to be able to hug Ryujin so seeing her hug someone that she hasn't known that long is a big deal for us. Sorry if we were a bit invasive during your time with her" he laughs.
"It's okay. Can I ask something though? It might be too much but I want to know your personal thoughts" I nervously say.
"Sure?" He says without knowing what to expect.
"Do you think that Ryujin is capable of loving someone in a more than just a friend kind of way?" I ask.
He takes a moment to think about it.
"I've always been a believer that Ryujin can. Chan is not sure and even her parents aren't sure but they're hopeful. They want her to find love and find someone who will love her unconditionally. But me, I don't have a single doubt that she can love someone."
"What makes you so sure?" I become curious.
"Because she's still human and love is a natural emotion that we experience. I think the reason why she's never found love is because not until recently, she never went out. She goes to her parents and her doctors, that's it. She doesn't meet new people. She went to the place you work at because we begged her. She saw you and became interested when she wanted to apologize to your friend. This is the first time she's met people in a very long time."
"Now, do I think she will recognize if she starts loving someone? Then probably not. Because she thinks that she's not capable of loving someone. She thinks that no one will love her because of how she is. She's aware that she's different but it's not something she can control so I think she's accepted that no one will want her" he adds and hearing that makes me sad.
"How do you and Chan do it? Have the patience to take care of her? I'm sure it's not easy" I say.
"I know you probably think that we treat Ryujin as a kid and at times we might be doing that but we can't help it. We do it because we want to, not because its something we need to do. We love hanging out with her and we love seeing her smiling so we do everything we can to keep that smile on her face. We've seen her broken and we don't want to see that ever again" I look at him and I see a smile on his face.
He stops the car since were at my apartment already.
"Thank you for the ride" I get ready to get out of his car.
"Wait" he stops me so I face him again, "I like you, Yeji. I think you would be good for Ryujin. I just hope that whatever you're feeling for her is genuine."
"I think it is. I'm not much different than her in that field. I've never loved anyone romantically before either so I'm just trying to figure it out. I won't do anything to jeopardize my friendship with Ryujin until I know for sure" I assure him.
"Thank you" he smiles at me. I do the same and I leave him.
I walk into my building and I take the stairs instead of the elevator because it reminds me of when Ryujin walked me up to my apartment.
I open the door and I see my friends along with my sister in the living room.
"About time you came home" my sister points at her nonexistent watch.
"What's going on?" I ask.
"We've been waiting for you to hear about your time with Ryujin" Chaeryeong is smiling big.
"Don't smile. I'm upset with you that she asked you out on a date" I roll my eyes. I'm not really upset with her because she didn't do anything wrong.
"Would you have said yes if you didn't know that I had feelings for her?" I ask.
"Probably not. I stand by what I said. Her first date should be with someone she likes or attracted to."
"So tell us, what happened? Did you make out?" Lia is eager to hear some juicy details.
"Why would we make out? We're not dating. Besides her friends were there. They kept tabs on everything we did. Even when we hugged for a long time, they were there" I share with them.
I sit down next to Jinni on the floor, "So are you still planning to stop your feelings for her?" She ask.
"I don't think so? After tonight, I saw hope that her and I can work out if she ends up having feelings for me too. She somehow finds a way to get me all flustered. She'll make me blush or feel shy or something so she thought I was sick and she was so cute while she was trying to figure out how to help me. I really can't stop how I feel about her now even if I try to."
"Damn. You're down bad. What are you gonna do to make her fall for you then?" Yuna ask now.
"I don't think there's anything I can do, really. I'm just gonna be there for her the best I can and just hope that she will develop something for me. Or maybe if we're close then I'll confess and see how it goes."
"What are you gonna do with the Mingyu situation?" Chaeryeong changes the subject.
I sigh, "I'm kinda glad it happened. I think that was the push I needed. I'm gonna talk to Jihyo tomorrow but I'm gonna start looking for a different job. Mingyu is just gonna keep paying for me and I won't have time for any other clients. And now that I've accepted that I have feelings for Ryujin, I don't know if I can openly flirt with other people."
"Wow, I know we talked about it but I didn't think you would actually go through with it" Chaeryeong sounds surprised.
Jinni suddenly hugs me.
"What's this for?" I hug her back.
"I'm happy to hear that you're quitting that job."
"You didn't like me working there?" I push her away so I can look at her.
She shakes her head, "No. I get worried that some guys might take advantage of you or they might drug you or something. I was never a fan of that place so I'm happy that you're leaving."
"Why didn't you tell me before?" I ask her.
"Because I didn't know how you would react. You're already worried about me. I just didn't want looking for another job something you had to worry about too. It also helped that your friends work there."
I hug her again, "Stop acting like a grown up already. Enjoy your youth."
"You sound like an old woman. I don't think Ryujin will want to date a cougar" she jokes so I push her away again but harder this time.
"For your information, Ryujin loves my hugs and holding my hand" I smile while looking at my hand that she held, "Why is she so cute?"
"Wow, I never thought I'd see a smitten Yeji but here she is. Creepily smiling while staring at her hand because she's in love" Yuna teases.
"In love? What the hell? I've just come to terms with liking Ryujin and you're talking about being in love already?" I glare at her.
"I don't want to get ahead of myself too. It's not for sure that Ryujin will end up feeling the same for me. To other people, some of her actions might seem like they like me but to her I don't think she knows it could mean like that. She's just doing what she finds enjoyable. Like our hugs and hand holding could mean one thing for me but completely different for her" I say to them.
"But you know, she looked kind of jealous with the whole Mingyu situation. She said she didn't like how she felt whenever he would ask you out and such" Chaeryeong reminds me of the incident.
"Yes but that could just be her being protective of me as a friend since I told her I'm not interested in dating and she doesn't fail to remind me that I said that to her."
"Are you saying you've been friendzoned? It's your first time actually liking someone and you're already friendzoned? Yikes" Lia gives me a pitiful look.
"Yuna, how do you put up with her?" I shake my head.
"She's cute and I love cute things" she makes kissy faces to Lia.
"And that's when I draw the line. I'm leaving now. Good night people" Chaeryeong gets up and she walks directly to her room. She doesn't even give us a chance to say good night in return.
"You should invite Ryujin here next time" Yuna suggest.
"That's something her friends has to approve. They're like her friends, parents, and bodyguard all in one" I laugh.
"Invite them too. We can have like a mini party with just us. We will keep the guys distracted so you can make a move on Ryujin" Lia winks.
"I can't with you. I'm going to bed too" I stand up and while exhaling deeply.
"Jinni, are you coming?" I ask.
"I'm gonna get something to drink first. I'll be right there."
"Okay. Good night to the annoying couple" I say to my friends before heading into my room.
I grab my pajamas then I head to the bathroom to quickly wash up before bed. It's been a long day. A lot happened but for some reason I can only think about my time with Ryujin.
After washing up, I walk back into my room and I see that Jinni is already in bed. I quietly make my way to her because I'm not sure if she's already asleep or not.
Once I'm in bed, I take a deep breath since I can finally rest my body.
"Yeji, I hope you and Ryujin work out" she startles me.
"Why? I want that too but I'm curious why you really like us together" I chuckle.
"I don't know. You just seem different since you've showed interest in her. And I really like that she can punch people because then I know she can protect you. I think you like Ryujin because she's unpredictable to you. You're so used to having everything in order so she's like refreshing for you."
"I think you're right. You know she gave me socks today because she didn't want to see me and not give me anything" I laugh.
"Other people want romance like they see in movies but I like how Ryujin does things. I never would have thought of giving someone socks unless they ask for it as a birthday gift or something, not randomly" I continue.
"I actually need new socks. Do you think Ryujin will care if I take it?" Jinni ask.
"I can honestly say I don't know. Someone else might not care but I don't know how Ryujin will feel about it. I'll send her a text tomorrow to ask if its okay."
"Look at you trying to understand Ryujin's thinking" she teases.
"Go to bed" I hit her with my pillow.
"I love you, Yeji. I hope you can be happy soon."
"I'm already happy, silly. I'm always happy when I'm with you."
"Stop worrying about me, Jinni. Just focus on school and take care of yourself, okay?" I add.
"Yes boss" she jokes and I just roll my eyes even if she can't see them.
"Good night" I say.