ACT 2 — SCENE 6.
SHE WORRIES.
IT'S SO UNLIKE Jeongguk to not call her for the whole day. The last time Seojung saw him had been on friday afternoon, and it was sunday night now. She knew that he had gone on a hiking trip with his friends upon ending his last class of the week, something she had no interest in so she had turned him down when he invited her. Jeongguk tried coaxing her, told her that the sight would be so pretty and it wouldn't kill her to do some exercise once in a while but the idea of walking up a mountain for hours, exposed to the hot and scorching sun with sweat trickling down her temple seemed less appealing that laying on her couch and munching on her favorite snacks.
She was hoping to spend the weekend with him since school's starting to keep him busy and keep him at his dorms doing last minute work. She had joked a lot about how he should start paying rent because he was around so often but now that he showing up less and less, Seojung admits that she's missing presence a lot. She doesn't care that she's biting back her words. She had become accustomed to Jeongguk staying over almost every day of the week that it's odd not to wake up only to realize that he was hogging the blanket.
She can't even enjoy her leisure in peace, wondering if he had enjoyed the hike and if he's just resting right now. What if something happened to him? What if he tripped and fell and had to be rushed to the hospital, and that's the reason why he hasn't been able to call her all day? She asks Arai this, who's sitting next to her on the couch stressed because she forgot she has a paper due tomorrow.
The girl glares at her and tells her to stop worrying (because it's all Seojung has been doing the past hour) and that if her boyfriend truly loves her, he'll show up on her doorstep bearing gifts as an apology. Loosen up, Arai says, because this one of the rare times her boyfriend is not attached to her hip, so she should treasure every second of it.
Arai has a point, except Seojung can't really see herself feeling content and relaxed when she has no idea how Jeongguk's doing. That boy has taken up so much of her life, so much of her being that she both loves and hates him for it. As far as she knows, Jeongguk might be enjoying his free time unlike her, so she refrains from picking up her phone and calling him for the nth time.
Arai is in the middle of saying that she wants to dye her hair back to her original color (dark brown) when the doorbell rings. Seojung has never jumped from the couch so fast, almost tripping as she runs to the door but doesn't miss the sigh Arai gives her, muttering a low "couples" under her breath.
Seojung opens the door ready to nag at him for going radio silent on her, but her hopes are crushed when she's met with the face that stands in front of her.
"Little sister!" Jimin chirps excitedly, sporting a grin that makes his eye disappear. If only Seojung could mirror his brother's excitement. She lets out a disappointed sigh before slowly closing the door again but Jimin jams his foot between the opening before it can fully shut. "Hey, that's rude."
"What do you want?" it's not her intention to come off bitter, but she's disappointed that Jeongguk's not the one who's here. She's been two whole days for him, what's so hard about coming over just to make sure she knows he's alive? She'd be content with just a text, but the ones she sent him have all been ignored.
"What, I can't drop by just because I want to check in on my favorite sister?"
"I'm your only sister," she reminds him.
"You're the smart one in the family, we get it. But I meant it, I'm just stopping because i happened to be going down the street and... who's that?" Jimin cranes her neck to look at the person over her shoulder. When she glances at her friend, the red-haired girl is smiling and waving from the couch.
"Arai. She's my friend."
"I see... Anyways, good to know that you're alive. I'll get going now since I have––somewhere to be. Bye!" Jimin scurries away quickly, even opting to go down the stairs rather than taking the elevator.
Seojung quirks an eyebrow, fazed at her brother's sudden change in demeanor. Did he really go through the trouble of dropping by just to leave without emptying her fridge? Her eyes might've been deceiving her, but Jimin looked quite desperate to get out of here. Seojung looks back at her friend who has the same puzzled expression on her face, but then she finally gets it. Smirking, Seojung kicks the door closed with the side of her foot and joins Arai on the couch.
"Why did he leave so soon?" Arai asks, looking disappointed. "You didn't tell me your brother's cute."
"Because he's not. He probably thinks you're pretty. He gets shy like that." Arai smiles
"I thought you said he was a flirt?"
"He hasn't been dating a lot, not since Taehyung stole his girlfriend." Arai wrinkles her nose in disgust at the mention of the boy.
"Speaking of Taehyung, I'm gonna be honest and say that he's the reason why i get so reluctant whenever you invite me over. I'm so repelled by the idea of running into him and going back to this familiar apartment. Can't believe you live across that guy."
It puts her off whenever Arai talks about Taehyung like this. Seojung knows the two aren't really on good terms and she doesn't mind the dispute, but it's so odd hearing her say his name with so much hatred.
"What happened between you two that made you hate him so much? If it's okay for me to ask." she doesn't know if it's a touchy subject or if the boy had hurt her friend in some way, but the curiosity is starting to put her on edge.
"It's nothing big," Arai plays with loose fabric on her jeans, "except that he kind of messed things up for me."
Arai and Taehyung became a thing a year ago. They started off as close friends who bonded through their different but oddly complimenting one another personalities. Alongside Arai's other friend, bora, the trio were each other's drinking buddies when friday night came around. But it was often that it was just Arai and Taehyung, especially this one particular evening where Arai was taking out her anger on booze after being rejected and Taehyung was the only one present to keep her company. There were so many things she could do that she normally wouldn't when sober, and kissing Taehyung had been one of them. Arai ended up being under him at the end of the night, all because her heart was mad, but to say that she didn't enjoy it would be a lie.
They were mature about it. They were friends and they knew the consequences it could bring but they were clear with what they wanted. Arai wanted it to be on the low for her own personal reasons and Taehyung didn't mind. Everything had gone smoothly up until bora announced that she had a crush on Taehyung and made things complicated.
Arai told Taehyung this one night when they were together. All he did was laugh it off and asked her if she wanted to stop their arrangement but Arai said now, and it was the dumbest thing she had ever done.
It had been hard for her to look at her best friend in the eye, knowing that she was sleeping with the boy that she liked behind her back. But bora herself had said that it was nothing but a small attraction, so that made Arai feel less bad but still bad in general.
The worst of it happened when bora had come barging into her apartment one day, cheeks flushed with anger and tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Bora was hurt. Hurt because Arai still lied even after she had told her she liked Taehyung and hurt because she would have kept lying to her if Taehyung never said anything.
Taehyung told bora. The boy claimed it to be an accident but he still told her nonetheless and he had done nothing to fix the friendship that he ruined. The way he had acted like nothing was his fault was what really ticked her off and made her drop him altogether.
She learned a lot of lessons that day but lost two and her only closest friends in the blink of an eye. It was a win-lose situation.
"I'm sorry," Seojung says, not knowing what she's apologizing for but it seems appropriate. The story sounds rather familiar, alike to the one that happened all those years ago back in busan. And to think that she thought Taehyung was a guy who would learn from his mistakes.
"it's whatever. I was using him as much as he was using me, but it was shitty of him to not handle the situation at all when he was the one who told bora what we were doing." This is the first time Seojung has seen Arai look this serious. "He might be your childhood friend, but he's not as innocent as you probably remembered him to be. I hope you know that."
Before Seojung can say anything in response, her phone rings on the coffee table. Arai picks it up and shows her the caller id.
"Lover boy finally came through."
Snatching the phone from Arai's hands, Seojung quickly excuses herself to her bedroom to answer the call. Even with how distressed she was thinking about him, she can't seem to focus as Jeongguk explains his reasons for not responding to her. She had intended to be mad at him just to make sure he knows that things like this make her worry. Her mind is just elsewhere right now. Thinking about Taehyung, thinking about the things he has done and keeps doing, and how he keeps disappointing her with every piece of him that she learns about every day.
a|n
why is taehyung such an asshole omg i hate him. i'm going out today to meet up with my cousins so i finished this in a rush. sorry for any mistakes! can't think of a specific question so just tell me your thoughts.
love and kisses,
mara