2013
Yeji's backyard was a place where she and Jisu had spent their childhood playing many games together. But what made the backyard distinctive, was a tree in the middle with a treehouse on top.
The two friends imagined the treehouse as many things. A pirate ship, a castle, and one thing that they loved to do there was study the stars together.
Jisu reads a lot of books, and looking for patterns in the stars intrigued Yeji to make them stay up during the weekends and find as much constellations as they could.
The treehouse had a balcony, where a telescope was placed, aiming at the clear night sky, as Yeji stuck her right eye through the eyepiece. As she saw so many shooting stars pass by the lens. She shot up, and ran inside to find a sleeping Jisu.
"Jisu-ah! Jisu-ah! Wake up!" Yeji says, as she shook Jisu awake, from her slumber, the latter forcing her eyes to open.
"What?" Jisu grumbled.
"I found so many shooting stars! Take a look!" Yeji says as she pulled Jisu towards the telescope. Jisu looked, and it took a few seconds before she shot her head up in amusement.
"It looks so cool, right?" Yeji says with a smile.
"It does! Wow!"
"Hurry! Let's make a wish!"
"Isn't that only for when you see one without the telescope?" Jisu remarked.
Yeji shrugged. "It's better than not trying. What if it actually comes true?"
"I don't know. I don't really know what to wish for."
Yeji looked up in the sky, smiling as she took a breath. "Well, I got one."
"Really?" Jisu asked. "What is it?"
"To always be by your side. And that no matter what happens, we'll stay together until we start turning into crazy cat ladies."
Jisu snorted. "So you're abandoning Hongsam and Insam?"
"That's not what I meant! I mean, we can be crazy dog ladies too."
"Silly." Jisu says as she places a hand on Yeji's shoulder. "You got me, and I got you." Jisu stayed, which made Yeji smile. With just one look, they knew what they both said next. A chant that they made themselves, and would remember it as a promise until the end.
"You got me, and I got you,
No matter what we do,
We'll always be right here, as two,
If life gets tough, we'll make it through,
Because you got me, and I got you."
They both shared a quick hug and a giggle here and there. They pulled away and turned off their lamps. "Come on, let's go inside. We can watch scary horror movies until 5am while sipping on coke." Yeji suggested.
Jisu frowned. "I don't like scary movies. You know that, Ji."
"Don't be such a scaredy cat, Ji. It's not even real." Yeji said as she opened the trapdoor and let Jisu climb down first.
"Not real my foot! You know that one movie with the Annabelle doll is real! There's so many things on YouTube about it!"
"Oh really? Maybe we should watch more, so you can conquer your fears."
"Don't you dare!"
Autumn of 2017
-Yeji-
"Ms. Hwang!" My physics teacher called.
Ah, shit.
I lazily made my way to Mr. Jung's table, who had his arms rested on the surface, as he looked at me in anger.
"Your homework?" He said as he held his palm out to me, while I shrugged.
"My dog ate it." I said, as I tried not to burst into laughter with his pissed reaction.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Ms. Hwang, I would understand if you actually have a hard time with my class—"
Because I do.
"—but you can't just act like it won't affect your future. You will be graduating soon. How else are you going to fix up your grade in my subject if you continue being like this?"
Oh, groan. This is so frustrating. So what if I'm not good at physics? Not everyone is good at everything.
That suddenly made me think about Jisu, because she had said that to me yesterday. I couldn't help but smile at her pissed off face as she said it.
"Ms. Hwang, are you listening?"
"What?"
He let out a frustrated sigh. "If you can't improve your grades at the end of the year, then I'm sorry, but I won't have any choice but to fail you."
"Sir, D-minus isn't that bad of a grade, right?"
He looked at me blankly.
I nervously chuckled, because what I just said just proves that I might not get into a good college. "O-Okay, sir. I'll try my best to improve."
He didn't seem convinced, but just gave me a nod nonetheless. "Very well. You are dismissed."
When I left the classroom, I was greeted by Ryujin who had a laid back smile across her lips, her back leaning against the wall, as she tugged in her bag.
"I bet Mr. Jung's giving you a hard time, huh?" She asked.
I raised an eyebrow. "No shit. Wanna help me prepare my resume for Burger King in case he actually does fail me?"
She chuckled as we walked together in the hallway, a few people sparing glances at us.
"Look, why don't you ask for a tutor? For example, Jisu-Unnie. I heard she got the top score in their last test."
I shook my head. "I doubt she'd actually help me. She's probably focusing on swinging a bat correctly, as we speak."
"See? If you help her with baseball, and she helps you with physics, then it's a win-win situation." Ryujin suggested.
Unimpressed, and doubtful, I tilted my head to the side, waiting for her to continue.
"Buuut, you both hate each other." She said defeatedly, which made me smile.
"More like, she hates me. I actually offered her a lesson or two but her pride got in the way, and said she'd rather fail." I scoffed. "What a stubborn girl."
"Unnie, why does she even hate you?"
Her question made me stop in my tracks, as I felt a familiar memory flash through my mind.
"I never want to see you again, Yeji!"
I shook my head and formed a smile, as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "I don't really remember. But she does what she does I guess. A tyrant will always be a tyrant, no?"
She sighed. "Seriously. You guys are the oldest. You should act more responsibly instead of impersonating Tom and Jerry."
"Whatever. It doesn't really bother me how we act with each other anyway. Plus, it's fun to see her pissed."
We entered the cafeteria, and I could see people chatting with their friends as they ate their lunches. I could see Yuna, Chaeryeong and Jisu sitting on a table a few feet away.
"I'll go put my bag down at the table first. You can go an order Unnie." Ryujin says.
"Okay."
I walked to the counter. I scanned the items on the menu, and I could see that there was a last slice of strawberry vanilla cake displayed.
If I bribe Jisu with that, maybe I could get her to tutor me. The plan might be a bust, but it's better than nothing.
"Hi, Yeji." The lunch lady greeted with a smile. "What would you like today?"
"Oh, can I get the—"
"I would like the strawberry cake please."
My eyebrows furrowed, as I saw Soobin stand next to me, smiling at the lunch lady, as she handed the plate with the cake to him.
"Hey! I was here first." I said. He looked at me and smirked. "Too bad."
"Don't tempt me to beat your ass, Choi. Give it back." I said firmly.
He raised his eyebrow as he loosened his tie. "Oh really? You wanna do that here? You never learned your lesson from last time, Hwang?"
Suddenly, I felt my head hurt, as I saw a few people staring at my direction. I clenched my fist, as I tried to calm myself down, and started to take deep breaths, trying to stop myself from remembering that horrible incident, when Soobin leaned in front of me and smirked.
"I'd watch my ass if I were you."
Then he walked away with the cake, as I stood still. When I saw him place the cake in front of Lia, with a smile on his face, angered me. And Lia smiling back at him made me even more furious.
"Tch." I scratched my head as I walked away. I walked out to the field and sat on the bleachers as I watch the cheerleaders practice.
The thought of Soobin and Jisu never left my mind, as I felt myself get smaller. I place my hand on the side of my temple and rubbed it, as I felt tears tickling my eyes.
"Yeji Unnie."
I heard Chaeryeong's voice behind me. I immediately pretended to yawn, so that I could have an excuse in case she would see my tears. I shouldn't let her worry about me.
"Hi, Ryeong. What brings you here?" I asked, as she stepped down and sat next to me, handing me a pack of snacks which caused me to smile, as I happily opened it and munched.
"You didn't sit with us, earlier."
"Oh. Ahahaha, sorry. I just thought that the cafeteria was too crowded." I said as I plopped a piece of the snack inside my mouth.
"You of all people should be fine with crowds. I mean, students come left and right to watch you play."
"Yeah. It just suddenly felt stuffy in there, so I thought it would be best to just stay here."
She suddenly fell silent, which I didn't try to break, because I didn't want her to keep asking questions, but to my disappointment, she asked, "Unnie, why are you angry?"
"I'm not. That's just my face."
She chuckled and smacked my shoulder which caused me to chuckle too.
"Unnie, I mean, why are you angry earlier when you were with Soobin?"
Stay strong. Don't break down. Not in front of her.
"Because he's so damn annoying. I hate his guts just like how Jisu hates mine." I gulped the mush and crushed the wrapper between my hands.
"Yeji Unnie, Di you really think Jisu Unnie hates you?"
Act normal. Don't act suspicious.
"Why would you think she doesn't? You can always see us bickering." I replied with a dry chuckle.
"But... Unnie," she looked at me. "I heard from Jisu Unnie that you both used to be really close, before Ryujin, Yuna and I showed up. Don't you want to be good friends with her again?"
I'm fine with pretending for now.
"Pfft. Ryeong. I'd be too stupid to give up this pestering role of mine. Her pissed reaction when she sees me is always so priceless, that it makes me energetic." I stood up, and placed my hands inside my pockets.
"Unnie, you can tell me what happened. I won't judge. Because I'll still be your friend no matter what."
The last sentence was what Jisu said to say to me all the time back then. Yet, she isn't by my side anymore.
"It's fine, Chaeryeong. I don't have anything to say that can make me feel any less guilty. Plus, it's just between me and her." I turned to her and placed a hand on her head, and softly patting it.
"You guys can just act like we've been like this ever since the five of us met. It won't change a thing, right?"
"You can trust me when you want to talk about it. I'm sorry for being pushy and nosy, but I such a worrywart."
I can't. This burden is only for me to carry, not to share.
"Okay. I'll talk with you when I can, so don't be sulky anymore, okay?"
"Will you promise me that, Yeji Unnie?"
When she said that, a sudden memory played in my head, which caused me to stay silent.
"Will you promise to always be by my side, Yeji?"
"Of course. I promise."
She pouted, as I softly chuckled while caressing her head. "Let's go back. I'll walk you to class."
"Okay, Unnie."
/•/•/•/•/•/•/•/•/•/•/•/
The rest of the day finished, and I was glad that the baseball team didn't have practice. I waited for a few moments in front of a familiar classroom, because I wanted him to take me somewhere.
The bell rung, and the door opened with students pouring out. Then he appeared, as I raised my hand and waited for him to hit it with his.
"I'm not touching your dirty hand."
I whacked his shoulder. "Hyunjin, I hate you."
"Right back at you, dear cousin. So what brings you here?"
I opened my mouth to answer but he held his hand in front of me which made me stop. "Okay, I get it. Let's go."
I nodded. We both went to my car and drove to Linda's Bowling Alley. It's the spot where I go to in order to relieve stress and release the burden a little, whenever I'm reminded of it. The place was empty, so I felt free to just talk, while he picked up a bowling ball, and rolled it, but he didn't hit any of the pins.
"Damn it." He muttered.
"You should've aimed better with stronger force." I suggested.
He picked up his second ball as he looked at me. "Speaking of stronger force, I'm guessing it weakened on you, huh?"
"A little."
"What happened?" He said as he managed to hit a strike.
I clenched my hand around the bowling ball as I rolled it, hitting a strike as well.
"I happened."
He let out a frustrated sigh. "When will you stop thinking like that, Ji? You know that it's—"
"My fault."
He sighed, as he picked up a ball. "Why don't you tell her the truth? If you're just gonna sulk and go bowling on repeat, it's better to end it and come clean."
"You know I can't. She won't believe me anyway. And to top it off, he keeps clinging onto her like a fucking leach." I remarked.
He snorted. "You're one to talk."
"Shut up." I threw the ball harshly, too harshly, that it went to the side and hit nothing, causing me to sigh frustratingly.
"Look, you can literally fix everything. Why would you choose to stay this way and keep blaming yourself? Aren't you tired of it?"
"I did it for three years and still running. The rest of my life can't be that bad."
"I never thought that you and her would end up this way. It's pretty unbelievable."
"It's not like I wished for this to happen. I don't want to ruin everything for her again. Jisu will think that she got betrayed again. Then won't come out of her room for days."
"How do you know that?" Hyunjin asked.
I turned to him and sighed. "Because she's my best friend."
He shook his head. "God, both of you are equally stubborn. No one understands the situation well enough, except for the both of us."
"This way is easier for her." I said.
"But it's harder for you!"
I clenched my fist as I felt myself get heavier, that me feet was starting to hurt.
"I don't care. So what if it's harder for me? I deserve it anyway."
"No you don't, Yeji. You don't deserve this—." He said, but I cut him off.
"And neither does she." I replied.
He clenched his fist as he glared at me. "Are you serious right now!? She abandoned—"
"Hwang Hyunjin!" I exclaimed, which caused him to shut up. "You're walking on thin ice, here."
He placed his hands inside his pocket as he sighed. "Why are you so eager to endure this by yourself? Let her know that everything wasn't your fault."
"Fuck that. She didn't do anything wrong—"
"But she hurt you—" I glared at him, cutting him off.
Both of us huffed for air, before simply calming ourselves down. "Hyunjin, remember what you promised me that day? You said that you won't interfere with this matter anymore."
"I'm not interfering. I'm suggesting that you go and Tell. Her. The. Truth."
"And I already said that I can't, for three years in a row. Let her hate me. But I don't plan on leaving her anytime soon."
He shook his head and picked up another ball. "You're crazy. I didn't know that such a sadistic lunatic existed."
"Look up a dictionary. My picture's probably right next to it." I joked, which caused him to smile softly.
"I know you're a strong person, Yeji. But you can only stay strong for so long. Sooner or later, you'll eventually have to break down and consider giving up."
I stayed silent for a moment, as I looked down at the floor. "I have to at least try and convince her that Soobin isn't as nice as she thinks he is."
"Good luck with that. I've seen him give her a muffin in the hallway. And accepting food that she doesn't like is unusual."
"You're not siding with him, are you?"
"Of course not. I'm just saying, she's either want the chance to be close to him, or her feelings for him never died. Come between them again, you might lose her completely."
What he said automatically made me clench my fists even harder. "I'm not fine with losing her. But I'm not fine with letting her date a jerk like him either."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"Just keep her on my tail, until I can make sure if Soobin really is up to no good. I don't trust that guy, but what am I supposed to do when she's head over heels for him?" I clicked my tongue and jerked my head to the side. "What a stubborn girl."
"Fine. But when I feel like stepping in, I'll step in, 'kay?" He said which made my eyes widen.
"Hyun—"
"I'm not letting you go on a battlefield alone. You got me with you. If you won't let me know when to drop the grenade, I'll drop it myself."
I sighed as I shook my head. But smiled and nodded. "Only when you need to, okay? Don't do it as much as possible."
"Roger that, sergeant."
Now that he won't listen to my warnings anymore, I'll have to stay on high alert at all times, when it comes to Jisu and Soobin.