Chapter Text
I’ve been having bad dreams. Sleepless nights. Countless times of staring into nothingness. Then tearing up, for no apparent reason. Or maybe there is.
Maybe this is okay. It is part of making yourself feel alive, right? To feel hurt kind of validates that, yeah, you’re still here in this world, breathing, feeling, like any other human do.
Maybe this is okay, to constantly feel empty, and to abhor that feeling because you actually knew the feeling of belonging to someone. To know that someone wants you and appreciates you took you into different heights but, for some reasons – reasons that no one had control of – life made a way to just cut those wings and let you fall into the deep, dark void of your insecurities and flaws. And now, you can see nothing but those.
Maybe this is okay, because at last, I can see her smiling without forcing it. At last, she can now laugh genuinely and wholeheartedly. At last, she can do whatever she wants. At least I can still witness it, even though I’m pretty sure I’m not the one giving her those anymore.
At last, she found happiness.
But not in me.
And maybe, this is okay.
I’ll be okay.
--
The strong aroma of coffee tickled her nose and the loud playing of “Mr. Brightside” on speakers inside the bathroom woke her senses.
7:30 A.M, the clock reads.
It’s a Saturday, so there are no classes – meaning, college students are supposedly still snoring at this kind of hour, trying to take advantage of the whole day to recover all those sleepless nights spent for studying (and for others, partying.)
So, the fact that her roommate is brewing coffee on a Saturday morning got her baffled.
“Jeongyeon, I’m gonna throw your speakers down the road!” Dahyun shouted from her room. She managed to get up – well, she’s sitting on the corner of her bed, eyes still closed, hair still dishevelled. She barely had some sleep last night. Having done three papers for three different classes and one video presentation for her major class got her busy until 4:00AM. Or was it 4:30? She can’t even remember. All she know is that she deserves an undisturbed 12-hour sleep but thanks to her best friend’s jamming session in the shower, the much-anticipated sleep became a 3-hour blink. It felt like a blink.
She was about to get attracted by her bed again until her door harshly open, with Jeongyeon behind it, continuing her little karaoke show.
“IT WAS ONLY A KISS, IT WAS ONLY A KI—“, Dahyun flung a pillow towards Jeongyeon, expertly hitting her face, and stopping her so-called concert.
“I swear if you bug me any longer, I’m gonna strangle you.” Dahyun uttered groggily.
“Oh, you wouldn’t do that~”, Jeongyeon replied, in a cute tone that she knows Dahyun hated the most.
“Yeah I think I would, I’d do everything just to shut your pie hole up.” She lied down her bed again, covered her entire body with a blanket, silently hoping Jeongyeon would just disappear and let her sleep.
“Hey, are you going to sleep again? You should get ready!” She jumped beside Dahyun’s bed and shakes her to prevent her from going to dreamland.
“For what? Did you schedule something for me that I’m not aware of?”
“Our girlies are coming back today! We gotta fetch them from the airport.”
Dahyun cried. “But I’m really sleepy today… I barely had 3 hours of sleep. I didn’t even get to have a good morning because I woke up to your singing.”
Jeongyeon retorted, “Oh come on! I can totally sing. Mr. Brightside is a song that not everyone can sing easily! Definitely not for beginners.”
“Okay whatever. Can’t you just tell Momo and Mina that I love and miss them so much?”
“If you really miss them, you’ll come with me to the airport. Plus, are you really gonna make me go alone?” Jeongyeon muttered.
Dahyun rolled her eyes and took the blanket off her face. “Fine. But this costs one ramen and you gotta help me with my thesis later.”
“Well that’s easy. Now go get up!” Jeongyeon stands up and pulls Dahyun off her tempting bed.
“Yeah you don’t really have to drag me—AH!” Dahyun exclaimed while clutching her right foot. She stepped on one of Jeongyeon’s lego pieces. Again.
“Yoo Jeongyeon…” Dahyun spoke in a low, scary voice.
Jeongyeon let go off Dahyun’s arm and muttered, “Well… at least you’re fully awake now… right?”
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” Dahyun shouted as she grabs one of her pillows and chased Jeongyeon around their apartment.
--
After their little Tom and Jerry show earlier, Dahyun finally took a bath and is currently getting ready in her room. Meanwhile, Jeongyeon is enjoying her coffee while watching baking videos on YouTube.
After a few minutes, Dahyun stepped out of her room, wearing a Vans snapback, gray sweatshirt, a pair of ripped jeans, and sneakers. “Any updates from the two? Did they arrive at the airport already?”, she asked. She grabs her phone from the table and checked the time: 9:05 A.M.
“Not yet.” Jeongyeon replied, still focusing on the “Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe” she’s watching.
“Did they at least tell you an ETA?”
“Yeah. Around 11:30.”
“Alright.” Dahyun opens the refrigerator, grabs a box of chocolate milk and proceeds to pour herself a glass. “I guess we can still grab some lunch before heading off. Have you tried the new beef place down the block?”
Jeongyeon closed her laptop and replied, “Not yet! Rei’s was the name, wasn’t it? Didn’t they have a grand opening yesterday? I heard they gave away coupons. They’ll also give student discounts until next week.”
“Yeah. Let’s hit that one.”
“They also serve free Soju at 8PM onwards.“ Jeongyeon grinned.
“Shut up. We just got wasted last Wednesday night.”
“That night was really fun. Jihyo was so drunk she laughs at everything she sees. Nayeon better pass more exams so she can continue treating us free alcohol.”
“Oh god, this leecher. Anyway, can you call Chaeyoung and ask if she wants to come with us to lunch?” Dahyun puts her finished glass in the sink, then headed back towards her room. She puts on some perfume, a little bit of powder, and lotion on her skin. She really loved that lotion, it smelled like vanilla.
“Already ahead of you. She said she’ll meet us there.” Jeongyeon went to her room to keep her laptop and grabbed her black leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses. “Oh, by the way, Momo asked if we can pick up the giant penguin stuff toy she ordered for Mina’s birthday. She said it’s a surprise.”
“How big are we talking about? And how the hell are we going to hide it from Mina?”
“I haven’t seen it yet. And Momo told me to just drop it in their apartment. She already told her landlady that we’re coming.” Jeongyeon proceeds to tying her shoelaces and dusting her shoes off.
“Okay then. Let’s go before Chaeng decides to hibernate again.”
--
The weather was surprisingly good that day. It was a bit cloudy so the sun’s rays wasn’t that harsh, plus a slight wind. Dahyun thought of asking Jeongyeon if they could just walk down to Rei’s but Jeongyeon has a car and they have still have to do a lot of things after lunch. Ah, such a waste of a good weather, she thought.
After Jeongyeon unlocked the car doors, both of them hopped in. “My playlist for today,” Dahyun exclaimed.
“Okay, wow. First of all, this is my car. Second of all, why would I let you? You literally just insult my singing earlier this morning!” Jeongyeon retorted.
“Because I’m your best friend for 5 years and you love me,” she replied while showing her cute gestures with finger hearts.
Jeongyeon pushed Dahyun’s face. “I do love you but stop making me cringe. I feel like my lifespan has just been reduced by 10 years. It’s going to be your fault if I die early.”
“Fine.”
The ride was short, but they did enjoy jamming to Beyonce even if they were only able to play 3 songs before reaching the restaurant. Dahyun went out of the car and into the restaurant first while Jeongyeon parked her car. She made a quick scan of the resto, looking for the familiar silhouette of their friend.
All of a sudden, her vision went black as someone’s hands were blocking her eyes from behind, holding her head firmly.
“Give me your money and your phone,” the person mumbled in a low voice.
“….” Dahyun did not reply.
“Hey, I said—“
“You , Son Chaeyoung. I can still smell a hint of morning breath out of your mouth.” Dahyun answered, as she grabbed the hands and took it off her face.
“Hey! I brushed my teeth this morning! How dare y—“
“Yeah you may have but I also know that you took another nap before going here so shut up and find us a table.” Dahyun looks around for an available space.
Chaeyoung chuckled. “Wow. I didn’t know you could tell whether I took a nap or what.”
“Can’t doubt the years of friendship, eh?”
“Right.” Chaeyoung spotted a table near the glass window. “Let’s sit there so I can check out some pretty boys and girls outside.”
Dahyun smacks Chaeyoung’s head for her remark, but walks toward the table anyway. Just seconds after, Jeongyeon opened the door and joined the both of them.
“Ey!” Chaeyoung exclaimed at the sight of Jeongyeon. She gets up excitedly and greets her with a hug. “How are you? I missed you so much, do you know that?”
“Okay, you’re squeezing me too tight I can’t breathe.” Jeongyeon muttered.
Chaeyoung releases Jeongyeon, leaving her gasping for breath. “Sometimes I don’t like it when you miss me.”
“Oh come on, I know you missed me too. Also, you still promised to treat me a meal! I guess that day is today~” Chaeyoung replied as her eyes glimmer at the thought of free food.
“Now I get why you miss me.” Jeongyeon rolled her eyes. “Go pick whatever you want on the menu.”
They started scanning the menu. Dahyun picked the first thing she saw and continued checking her phone. Jeongyeon wasn’t feeling really hungry so she ordered a beef salad.
“What’s yours, Chaeng?”
“Uhm, I’m gonna have this, this, and this.” Chaeyoung replied while pointing onto the three different meals she wanted.
“Who do you think I am, your mom? Keep it under $30.” Jeongyeon retorted.
Chaeyoung frowned. “But you told me to pick whatever I want! Plus you already have a job, I know you can buy this much.”
“Hey, an accountant’s salary is just average and I’m saving up for that cool pair of shoes I saw on the internet. Now pick. Under $30 dollars.” Jeongyeon said while scrolling on her phone.
Chaeyoung heaved a sigh. “Fine.”
After placing their order, the three continued to chat with each other. Since Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung have a lot to catch up on, Dahyun just let them talk to each other. She sees them both almost everyday anyway. Jeongyeon’s her roommate, Chaeyoung’s her classmate in one major subject and one extra subject. She glanced outside the glass window, just silently watching the busy streets. Across the street, she saw a familiar Ramen place.
“I still have lots of energy. Let’s go somewhere else!”
“But I’m hungry. I wanna eat.”
“Hmm. Okay. But don’t tell me the food that’s on your mind right now. I’ll try to guess.”
“Okay.”
Clutching each other’s hand, she dragged her to a nearby Ramen restaurant.
“Well, aren’t you a mind reader.”
“I know, right? I’m awesome like that.”
“Yeah. That’s why I like you.”
“W-what?”
“I’m really hungry now. Let’s go! My treat.”
“But—“
Jeongyeon smacked the back of Dahyun’s head. “You’re spacing out again! Eat your food while it’s hot. We still have a lot to do.”
Dahyun clutched the hit area while glaring at Jeongyeon. “I hope you choke on that beef you’re eating.” Her threat fell on deaf ears so she just went on eating her meal.
Although deep in her mind, Dahyun thanks Jeongyeon for stopping her train of thought.