I Used To Be Alright

Chapter 2

Yeji

"Are you sure she behaved properly?"

Yuna asked for the nth time during lunch.

Yeji sighed and sat up. "Yes, Yuna-ah. I told you – she stayed on her side of the bed. We woke up almost at the same time, I explained everything to her, then we said our goodbyes."

She explained and purposely left out the part where she caught Ryujin staring at her while she was sleeping, mainly because she has already concluded that she probably was just wondering how Yeji ended up in her bed – backed up by the panicked questioning afterwards.

"You know we're still a bit doubtful about that friendship that you have with her."

"I know. You guys make sure to tell me that everyday." Yeji said calmly.

"But it's been months... you two. I told you, she's not too bad."

"We still don't get why you kept hanging out with her, though. People talk. And she's definitely known for certain things. But... since you're the most sensible person I know, I guess I'm not really in the position to question your decisions."

Yeji just smiled at Chaeryeong.

She knew that her dynamic with Ryujin isn't the most common. But she finds talking to her a little... liberating.

And exciting.

Two things that she's extremely foreign to.

She has always lived her life in a straight line, and has found endless comfort in the simplicity of her routine.

But when she found herself stuck in a random 10PM phone call with Ryujin apologizing and telling her to just answer and leave the phone where it was before the call – something about a random venting to no one in particular – for the first time, she took a slight curve and stayed on the line without saying anything.

She could vaguely remember what the call was about. But the way the brunette sighed, and groaned, laughed bitterly, and spoke each sentence with gritted teeth... she felt instantly intrigued. How a person who, as she remembered, was so laid back and ever-smiling, could cultivate an emotion that's extremely opposite.

She knew that a lot of people probably are like that – but she has never paid attention to a lot of them. Safe to say that her curiosity was piqued. And everything went from there.

They started to hangout at random times in cafes, grab meals together and sometimes, Ryujin even stops by the library for tutoring sessions. Added to that are the nights when Ryujin would call her at unholy hours – all drunk and twirly, pleading Yeji to come and get her. Ryujin sounded apologetic during all those times. But Yeji wouldn't tell her that.

Instead, she made sure to always come to her rescue.

At first, because she didn't want to be accountable for any possible accidents or dangers the brunette might run into. But on the third or fourth time, she actually developed a certain amount of worry, and care. This was after Ryujin's random outburst of alternating apologies, and storytelling of how she's been so tired of trying to live up to her parent's standards. She cried a lot whenever that's the topic of the drunken night, but would act as if nothing happened the day after.

Yeji's pretty sure that Ryujin never remembers anything when she's drunk. And she's alright with leaving the set up at that.

She's happy to have gained a new friend in her life, after all. It probably won't happen in another half decade or so.

"When's the deadline of the stat reports again?" Yuna's voice brought her back to consciousness.