"Thank you all for showing up for the final. I trust all of you did your best and I wish you guys good luck and have a great break."
Songmin stood from her seat at the back of the lecture hall and followed behind the rush of chattering students leaving the classroom, her classmates finding their friends to discuss the exam as they walked out.
Bowing to her professor as she passed her, Songmin felt an unexpected relief at leaving the room. Finally done with the first semester! No homework for the next month and a half, thank goodness. Now, what do I want to do with the rest of my day...
Before she could answer that question, a person from somewhere down the hallway called out, "Songmin-ah!"
Songmin turned towards the sound and saw Eunhye jogging toward her from the direction of the Visual Arts building. Eunhye reached her and stopped, setting a hand against the wall for support as she caught her breath.
Songmin chuckled, giving Eunhye a pitying pat on the back. "You're so out of shape, unnie. You should start going to the gym."
Eunhye gave her a feigned exasperated look, punching her gently in the arm. "Look who's talking, pipsqueak," she panted between breaths, straightening up a little. "You're not so fit either. Remember how tired you were after laser tag? I practically had to carry you back to your apartment."
"What can I say, I'm an academic, not an athlete," Songmin said, shrugging. "But what brings you here? If you wanted to talk to me, you could've texted me or met me at home."
"Home? We're not going home," Eunhye exclaimed, looping her arm around Songmin's shoulders and starting to walk down the hallway, pulling the younger with her. "Since both of our finals are over today and it's only three o'clock, I thought it would be nice to have a girls' day out. Do something fun, get some dinner, and then go home to watch a movie or show. Sound okay?"
Songmin knew she couldn't refuse. She didn't have any homework to do now that her first semester classes were over and none of her personal projects were urgent. They hadn't done an official girls' day out in a long while either, both being so busy with classes and jobs that they hadn't found the time to spend a whole day together since the start of the school year. Thinking on it now, Songmin had missed being able to just spend entire days with her best friend and she was surprisingly excited at the prospect of finally being able to do so. She loved math but the college workload had been so intense that she knew she needed a break, and hanging out with Eunhye was almost always something worth looking forward to.
So, smiling, Songmin replied, "Sounds great. What are we going to do?"
Eunhye grinned, giving Songmin a mischievous pat on the head. "You'll see. Come on, I made an appointment and I can tell you from experience that we absolutely can not be late."
A car ride later, during which Eunhye still wouldn't tell Songmin where they were going no matter how many times she asked, the two arrived at the mall.
Eunhye marched briskly into the shopping center, holding Songmin by the hand and dragging her along. Songmin barely managed to keep from tripping and completely embarrassing herself in public as she tried to keep up with her taller and longer-legged best friend. Darn my short legs. I should've taken Ma's advice to drink more milk when I was younger. Maybe I actually would have grown taller.
After towing Songmin up the stairs to the second floor and down a ways of the length of the building, Eunhye finally stopped. Songmin nearly slipped at the abrupt halt, gripping onto Eunhye's arm to avoid face planting into the polished floor as she stumbled to a stop.
"Here we are," Eunhye declared, looking up at the big white store in front of them. Songmin followed her gaze up to the sign above the doors. A hair salon. "What are we doing here?"
"I made an appointment for us to dye our hair," Eunhye explained, moving forward to open the door for Songmin to enter first. "I've been wanting to for a long time and I figured it would be a fun thing for us to do together so I booked us an appointment here, at the best reviewed salon in the city."
Songmin hesitated, looking into the well-lit store through the open door at the individual stations lining the walls. "I don't know. I appreciate the thought, but I don't think Ma would be very pleased with me if I colored my hair. Remember when you brought it up in high school? She was totally against it."
Eunhye sighed. "Songie, you are an adult now. You're allowed to make your own decisions regarding the way you present yourself. I won't force you to dye your hair but know that I am totally willing to talk with your mom if she has any problems with it."
Maybe if I get something subtle, it'll be okay. I'm sure I could talk to With a little reluctance. "Okay, I'll do it. I won't get anything drastic though."
Eunhye's expression lit up and, still holding the door, she gestured for Songmin to go in. "Of course, I won't force you to do anything drastic to your hair and if anyone else does, they can talk to me." Laughing to herself, Songmin entered the salon.
The man at the receptionist's desk smiled good-naturedly as Eunhye approached him, Songmin trailing behind her. "Welcome, ladies. How can I help you today?"
"We have coloring appointments with two stylists, both at three forty-five, one under the name Lee Eunhye and the other under Jong Songmin," Eunhye answered.
The man typed some information into his computer. "Great, I see both of the appointments right here. Sit tight for just a moment while I call over your stylists." He gave both girls another smile and went off.
True to his word, not long after his departure, a woman came up to them. "Hi, I'm Kim Boyeon and I will be the stylist for Ms. Songmin today." She looked expectantly between Eunhye and Songmin as if looking for confirmation for which one of them was her client. Songmin, who was standing a little behind Eunhye, shuffled out beside her. "I'm Songmin."
Boyeon clutched her hands together satisfactorily. "Ms. Songmin, please follow me."
The woman took off for a station at the back of the salon. Songmin looked at Eunhye with a please-come-with-me gaze. Eunhye nudged her forward. "I'll be with you until my stylist calls me."
Following Boyeon, Songmin took a seat in the fancy salon chair, taking a second to admire how nice the cushioning was. I don't think I've ever sat in such an expensive chair.
Boyeon opened one of the drawers of the mirror in front of Songmin and took out a black cape, draping it over Songmin. "Alright, what would you like me to do for you today?"
Songmin looked beggingly at Eunhye, hoping the older would understand she had no idea what she wanted and needed a suggestion.
From beside the mirror, Eunhye smiled as if to say I've got you. "I think you'd look great with a peek-a-boo hairstyle."
Two painstakingly long hours of struggling not to fall asleep later, Songmin's hair was finally complete. Boyeon removed the cape and folded it up, setting it on the counter lining the underside of the mirror. She fluffed up Songmin's hair and draped it over Songmin's shoulders. "How does it look?"
"Ms. Boyeon, I love it," Songmin replied without hesitation, staring at her hair in the mirror in awe. She was telling the absolute truth. The newly dyed silver under-layers of her hair contrasted her naturally black hair in a way that made her unreasonably happy. There was something so satisfying, so exciting, about the fact that she'd made an alteration to her normally due black hair, the black color she'd seen her entire life. My hair. Is silver. Permanently.
I love it.
She turned to thank Boyeon but the stylist was gone. Since we're done I guess I can... go now?
Slowly getting up off the seat, she looked around for Eunhye and spotted her at the receptionists' desk. Looking around the station to check that she didn't leave anything lying around, she hastened to join Eunhye.
"Thank you ladies for coming in today, hope your experience was good," the receptionist man said. Eunhye gave him a nod and thanks back, then turned to acknowledge Songmin. "Ready to go?"
Songmin ogled at her best friend speechlessly. Eunhye poked the younger's cheek. "Earth to Songmin. Are you okay?"
"Unnie, your hair looks incredible."
Eunhye's straight hair was now a deep blue at the bottom. The color spread up and faded seamlessly into her hair's natural shade of dark brown. The shade of blue perfectly complemented Eunhye's skin color and brought out the brown of her eyes. In Songmin's eyes, she looked like a goddess.
Eunhye laughed, pinching her cheek. "Thanks, kid. Let's get out of everyone else's way and get going."
The girls left the shop and began their walk to the mall exit, traveling at a normal pace this time. "So, what do you think of your hair?" Eunhye asked.
"I think this is the second best decision I've ever made in my life," Songmin exclaimed, pulling a strand of hair to where she could see it. The sight of the silver dye made her unexplainably happy. "It's super pretty."
"You're not wrong about that," Eunhye agreed, combing Songmin's hair up into a pigtail. "The silver color you chose was a great decision, it looks great on you. You should start wearing your hair up more often so that the color can be seen." She let go of Songmin's hair, letting it tumble down neatly onto her shoulders.
"I do have some hairstyles I want to try. Space buns, braided pigtails..." Songmin mused, running through in her mind the few hairstyles she'd seen some of her classmates (mostly Chaeyoon) wear in class, but she shook herself out of her thoughts before she got too distracted. "The blue you chose looks amazing and fits your natural hair color so well. You used to talk about dyeing your hair green, what changed your mind?"
"Mark and I are dyeing our hair each others' favorite color," Eunhye said cheerfully. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "He's going to dye his hair dark green."
"That's really cute," Songmin commented, dodging a family on their way into the mall as she and Eunhye made their way out into the parking lot. It was already six but the sky was still light, though the sun was beginning to dip near the horizon. "By the way, where are we going for dinner? I'm famished."
"I found this small Chinese restaurant with pretty good reviews. I've been craving some wonton lately," Eunhye said, getting into the driver's seat of her car. Songmin slipped into the passenger's seat and Eunhye reached over to ruffle her hair playfully. "Besides, I know you haven't had good Chinese food in a while."
The drive was quick and soon they arrived. It was located in a small neighborhood off the main city road, behind some larger restaurants that attracted many more customers. Looking beside the door underneath the open sign, Songmin read the name of the establishment, written in both Chinese and Korean: The Red Pan Kitchen.
Eunhye moved forward and opened the door, holding it open for Songmin to enter first. A small bell above the door tinkled cheerfully, alerting the cashier of their arrival.
Stepping into the restaurant, Songmin was hit with a wave of nostalgia at the smell of seasoning and spices that filled the shop. A group of older men sat in the corner surrounding a group of four who were playing mahjong, squabbling in mixed Chinese and Korean over both the game and other matters with accents so heavy even Songmin could barely understand what they were saying.
"Let's order two dishes and share," Eunhye suggested, looking over the menu on the wall above the cashier's counter. Each dish's name was written in both Chinese and Korean, with the Chinese names in smaller script under the Korean names. "I'm going to order a wonton soup, what do you want?"
Songmin skimmed over the menu, unexpectedly pleased to find that she was still faster at reading Chinese than she was at Korean. There were so many foods that she hadn't eaten in a long time that she had a hard time making up her mind, but in the end she decided to go for a childhood favorite. "I'll have the cai bao."
Eunhye nodded. "Okay. You go ahead and find a table while I order."
Scanning the room, Songmin spotted a clean table across the room from the group playing mahjong and went to sit down, weaving between the other tables. Taking the spot facing the mahjong players, she propped her elbows on the table and took a good look at the little restaurant while waiting for Eunhye to finish ordering.
The walls were painted a light shade of tan, with the occasional fissure visible along the corners. A few paintings lined the walls, most of them depictions of scenery like rivers and mountains, with the largest painting being one of a Chinese dragon wounding through some hills. A few red lanterns lined the edges of the ceiling, casting a weak red glow on the walls nearest to them.
The rectangular tables scattered throughout the room were all wooden, each one wiped so clean that their surfaces reflected the white lights embedded in the ceiling. The chairs were just as spotless, scratch marks visible on the floor from them being dragged amongst the tables.
The squabbling Chinese men, the fragrant smell of food she'd eaten for as long as she could remember, the paintings in the traditional Chinese style, the scratched up floor, the lanterns, and the wooden furniture all reminded her of the restaurants she'd been to as a child in China.
It felt like home.
Eunhye finished up the order and joined Songmin at the table, sitting on the opposite side with her back to the game of mahjong. "Can you understand what they're saying?" she asked quietly, pointing behind at the game.
Songmin shrugged. "Not really, their accents are too heavy for me to understand easily. All I can make out is that one of the players is terrible."
Eunhye let out a thoughtful 'hmm'. "I should learn a second language. Maybe Mark would be willing to teach me English."
"I know I'm biased," Songmin said, watching absentmindedly as the mahjong group switched players, "but you should learn Chinese, maybe even alongside English. Then you could talk to me, Mark, Chenle, and Renjun in a language other than Korean."
"Yeah, sounds like a lot of work. But speaking of Renjun, you still haven't told me what happened at the movie theatre last week," Eunhye remarked, looking at Songmin curiously. "What happened?"
Songmin sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I wasn't exactly lying when I said seeing Renjun reminded me of something embarrassing. When we went to the laser tag place for Chaeyoon's birthday, Renjun collided into me while we were in the arena and I felt really embarrassed about it. So when I saw him again at the theatre, I was reminded of that moment, hence my reaction."
"I don't think you're lying," Eunhye assured, "but your reaction at the theatre seemed so much more than embarrassment. My question from before still stands. Do you have feelings for Renjun?"
"No!" Songmin immediately interjected, straightening up in her seat and nearly shouting the word. The force behind her voice surprised Eunhye into leaning back in her chair. Songmin caught herself before she could do anything more embarrassing and sat back, making sure to control the tone of her voice as she started speaking again. "No, I don't have feelings for Renjun. I do feel a little more flustered around him than anyone else, but that's because I find him the most visually appealing out of everyone in Mark's friend group."
"'Visually appealing'," Eunhye quoted, chuckling and crossing her arms. "What a characteristically appropriate word choice. I don't think I've ever heard anyone else refer to someone as 'visually appealing'. As much as I would love to believe you since you're my best friend-" Songmin shot Eunhye a disbelieving look, "-the way you're acting right now is forcing me to believe otherwise."
"I don't have feelings for him," Songmin insisted, wringing her hands. "At least, I don't think I do. Not true feelings. But can we talk about something else, please? I need to figure my own feelings out first."
"Okay, I'll drop it. Just know I'll be checking in on you about this later. Oh, thank you," Eunhye said to the cashier, who was setting their food, tableware, and utensils on the table. The cashier bowed her head in response and returned to the kitchen.
Songmin held her stomach to keep it from growling at the sight of the food. "Eunhye unnie, you are an absolute angel for bringing me here. This looks amazing."
"What can I say, I'm just great like that," Eunhye gloated jokingly, grabbing an empty bowl for herself while passing one to Songmin. "This is a treat for both of us anyways. I don't have to be Chinese to appreciate Chinese food. Let's dig in."
Without another word, both girls began to eat. Picking up the serving spoon, Songmin scooped some wonton soup into her bowl, giving the spoon to Eunhye when she finished. She dipped one of the two white porcelain spoons into her soup, lifted it up to her lips, blew on the pooled soup gently to cool it down, and took a small sip. The soup was still rather hot and burned the tip of her tongue but the flavor was pleasant and familiar.
After a few minutes of silently enjoying their wonton and cai baos, Eunhye was the first to talk. "Me, Mark and his friends, and Chaeyoon have been talking about taking a trip to the beach next week. You should come."
"How long would we stay for?" Songmin asked, taking a bit of half-finished cai bao.
"As long as a week, depending on how long we feel like staying." Eunhye paused for a moment to take a sip of her soup. "Chaeyoon's parents agreed to let us stay in one of their houses on the coast. It's a two story home with enough bedrooms for all of us."
Eunhye's words reminded Songmin of something she wanted to ask her. "How would you feel about letting Chaeyoon into our girls' inner circle? I mean, with her inviting me to her birthday and her parents letting us stay in their house, I'd really like to let Chaeyoon come into our little duo."
Eunhye sat up happily, putting down her soup spoon for the first time since picking it up. "I'm so glad you're asking. I've been wanting to bring this up with you and I just haven't found the right time. I've been talking to her a lot over text for the past few weeks and I have to say, I absolutely adore her and would love to bring her into our inner circle. Maybe we'll have some opportunities to catch her up on our lore and get caught up on hers on the vacation. You'll come, won't you? You should, it'll be fun."
"Seven days away from home? I don't know..." Songmin poked her cai bao. Seven days isolated from society with Renjun in such close proximity?
For the billionth time in their friendship, it seemed like Eunhye could read Songmin's mind. "It'll be a nice hangout with our friends for a week, and you can also take this opportunity to figure out your feelings for Renjun." She ripped a small piece off of the bao on the plate beside her bowl, giving Songmin a teasing glance. "Chaeyoon and I would be more than happy to help you get some alone time with him."
"N-no, no, no, t-that won't be necessary," Songmin spluttered, her face and ears heating up like a burning stove.
Eunhye laughed at the younger's reaction, reaching across the table and booping her nose. "Aigoooo, look at how cute my bestie is~" Songmin turned her head away, hiding her face in her hands. Uugggghhh, I probably look like a tomato right now. "Not funny, unnie, not funny."
"Alright, alright." Eunhye leaned back into her chair, a smile still lingering on her features. "I promise Chaeyoon and I won't leave you alone with Renjun. You should come. Actually, you don't have a choice. As your best friend and honorary sister, I'm forcing you to come."
Slapping her cheeks a few times to compose herself, Songmin turned back to face Eunhye with a sigh. "I guess I can't stop you. But promise me, no alcohol while we're there. Please. I know we're young adults but we don't have to play into the stereotypes of drinking alcohol and partying on vacation."
Eunhye snapped her fingers. "Done. I wasn't planning on bringing alcohol since I don't drink, as you already know, but I'll make sure no one else brings any either. This trip will be fun!"
"I'm sure it will," Songmin agreed, starting to warm up to the idea of a beach vacation as she thought more about it. A week away from society doesn't sound so bad. I can bring my personal projects with me, and a break isn't a terrible thing either. I've never been to the ocean before. Who knows, maybe it'll be as pretty as others say it is. I also can't deny that I've missed gaming with Chenle and Jisung, and I can show them my super cool new dyed hair. Even with Renjun there, I can handle it. I'm an adult now, I can deal with my own feelings maturely.
Yeah, this will be fun.
mediocre filler chapter 😭
1K reads, whoop whoop! :D thank you all for making it this far, I really appreciate you guys taking time out of your probably busy lives to read my writing 🤍🤍 hope everyone is doing well