Yeji parked her car at the back and entered the library.
She has been eyeing this library since she came back 4 months ago - Chaeryeong was driving her home from the airport when they passed by the building.
It looked a little too intriguing that after months of settling in, processing the necessary residential documents, and renewing her Korean driving license, the first thing that the cat eye did was to visit the place.
She walked past the door and the scent of old books and flipped pages greeted her.
She spent the next hour going through shelves and browsing some familiar titles.
While she was rounding the section of the classics in the back, a painting caught her attention. It was hanging just above the small shelf containing art books, tutorials and art for beginner series.
She stopped in front of it to appreciate the details. She didn't know much about art but this particular one caught her attention. It's an abstract painting of geometric shapes and lines that somehow forms a shape of a... woman? It looked like a woman. Felt like a woman, the more Yeji stared at it.
And the colors, they felt... freeing.
She stood still for a few more minutes until she heard someone coughing behind her.
She turned around and was surprised to see Ryujin.
Of all the places that they might run into, she didn't think it'd be in a library.
"U-hm. Hi."
"So what do you think?" The brunette asked.
Yeji looked at her confused.
"About the painting."
Realization dawned on her. This is her piece. She looked over the hanging art and surely, she saw Ryujin's small signature on the bottom right corner.
"I like it a lot. The colors and the imagery are very interesting." She smiled towards the brunette and the latter smiled back.
"So... what brings you here? Chaeryeong with you?"
She's being nice and is trying to make small talk. No need to act surprised. Yeji told herself internally.
They haven't really purposely hung out or talked since she came back, aside from the group outings they've been to. Yeji was always with Chaeryeong and multiple times, Lia and Ryujin would tag along, too.
And although Lia has been welcoming and immediately fell into the old habits with Yeji, the cat eye still treads lightly when it comes to engaging into conversations with Ryujin when they're all hanging out.
Along the lines of their talks, she casually discovered that Ryujin and her girlfriend had broken up even before Yeji returned to the US several months ago. And so she thought that the brunette must've been feeling aloof towards her because of it.
That's why she's a bit taken aback by how relaxed Ryujin sounded.
"No. I visited alone. This library has been on my list since I got back."
The brunette gave her an acknowledging nod and turned her attention towards the painting.
"So what else is on the list?"
There was a pause.
"My energy's quite high having finished this piece a couple of hours earlier than intended, and the owner wanted it displayed right away."
Yeji looked over and confirmed that Ryujin's hands were still covered in faded paint.
"So yeah, I got time today. In case you have other things on that list that you'd like company to."
Ryujin flashed an inviting smile.
It was nice seeing her genuine smile again.
The cat-eye made a thinking gesture. "I do have this cafe that I'd like to check out in Mapo-gu. It has a unique theme and from the looks of it, it hasn't gotten a lot of the public's attention yet."
The brunette's eyes glimmer with recognition. "I know exactly what you're talking about."
She made a gesture that looked like she was about to reach out for Yeji's hand but stopped herself immediately.
There was a brief silence.
"Come on."
They rode in their own cars and convoyed their way towards the coffee shop. When they reached the parking lot, Yeji had to stay a couple of minutes in the car to make sure that she's not making things up, and that she really was about to have a coffee hang out with Ryujin.
The brunette was already seated inside when she entered.
Yeji walked slowly towards her as the latter looked up to wave and smile.
She couldn't help it. She smiled back and muttered a small "hi".
It felt all too familiar.
"You know, for someone who grew up in Seoul, I couldn't believe that the US was what made you love coffee. They're literally in every corner here."
They both chuckled with the realization.
The anxiety slowly faded as they continued to talk. Ryujin was telling her about her job and how she was able to break through the Korean art industry. Despite not being there during the process, Yeji was proud of what the brunette had achieved.
"I'm glad that you were able to do what you've always wanted to do." The cat eye remarked genuinely.
"Yeah. And I'm glad that you've... that you're now enjoying life. In general."
Yeji nodded. She didn't have to explain, she knew exactly what the brunette meant.
After an hour, they finished their cups of coffee and headed out.
They both could sense that the other was purposely walking slower than usual - dreading to part ways without talking about the elephant in the room.
"You up for a quick walk around the area?" Yeji was the one to extend the invite this time.
The other girl nodded and followed her.
"So..." the cat eye started.
"I was actually kind of surprised that you... don't hate me."
Ryujin looked at her.
"I did."
She paused.
"For a long time. I did hate you. I promised myself that I would never take you back in my life, despite knowing that there was very little chance of that happening."
Yeji just nodded.
"But I've come to understand it over time. When I actually had the taste of life outside college. It was very difficult for us back then. I also learned about all the tricks that your Mom used to make you agree to fly out West."
Yeji halted in her steps.
Chaeryeong must've told her – about the threat to stop funding Yeji's schooling and cut off all her finances, her Mom hinting to contact every industry that she would probably run to, and even implying that she could ruin Ryujin's pathway, too, with a few phone calls if she didn't get what she wanted.
It was a low move. And Yeji still despises her until now.
"So are we... are we good now?"
Ryujin looked at her and smiled. "Yeah. I guess we are."
For the first time since she returned, Yeji actually felt relaxed being around the brunette.
"Is it my turn to ask questions?"
They were checking out the third stall in the mini street bazaar when Ryujin asked.
Yeji could only nod.
"So this Aeri... the girl you were with."
The cat eye raised her brows in surprise. Why is she asking about Aeri all of a sudden?
"Are y- you're not dating her?"
The brunette stammered.
Yeji had to repeat the question in her head to make sense of it.
Aeri... Dating...
Me?
She almost burst out of laughter - just thinking about it. It's not that Aeri is not date-able. It's just cringey to think about it - especially since they're basically family.
And, wait, has she thought that I am dating Aeri all this time??
"What?" She couldn't help the incredulous expression on her face. "Why- Aeri and I are not dating."
She took a deep breath and collected herself. "We're best friends, and business partners."
Ryujin just nodded while looking straight ahead - too embarrassed to look at her, ears turning red as she listened to the cat-eye's answer.
Yeji couldn't help but smile towards the brunette.
She didn't want to add to the embarrassment and decided to stir the conversation elsewhere.
After checking out the rest of the booths, they decided to head home.
They did a quick, semi-awkward goodbye wave and proceeded to their own cars.
Both of them unaware of anything else but the road as they drove to their respective places - smiling from ear to ear all the way home.