you're annoying | ryeji

THIRTY-ONE

chp. 31

Popping a blueberry into her mouth, Jimin nudged her friend. "So? How are you and Ryu? Valentines is coming up, has she asked you out yet?"

Yeji instinctively frowned at her girlfriend's name, remorse already taking over her. She slumped against the restaurant's front counters, thankful for her break, and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"I'll take that as a no," Jimin sighed, reaching down to caress her best friend's hair. "You're absolutely miserable. Was it really that bad?"

"I... I didn't even know I was flirting with him, and god knows what flirting really is in Ryujin's eyes." Yeji pressed her lips into a fine line, shook her head subtly at the reminder of what went down a few days ago. Ryujin still wasn't talking to her.

Yeji was taking a sip of her water bottle right after she changed out of her sweaty gym strip. Yes, she participated. And yes, she sweats!

After waiting for everyone to head out the locker room, Yeji proceeded to follow the crowd, walking back to her class before the bell rang. But as she exited the gym, one of the guys in her class was leaning against the door. Normally, Yeji would cast a glance and smile if they made eye contact—which, was what happened. However, something that differed this interaction from the others was the fact that the guy began to walk alongside her.

"He... he just started walking beside me, and we began talking. It was casual. We discussed some random stuff, like the upcoming basketball game and our favourite ice cream flavours." She paused, taking a moment to organize her thoughts.

"And when we were talking, I didn't think much of it, y'know? I just thought that he wanted to be friends or something— but then he said something that caught me off guard. He asked if I'd like to go see a movie with him on Valentine's Day." Yeji's eyes met Jimin's, and she could see the sympathy in her friend's gaze.

"I didn't realize it was a date until it was too late," Yeji admitted with a sigh. "What's worse is that when I declined, he looked so disappointed. That's when I realized I had unintentionally led him on."

"Oh no," Jimin sighed. "I'm assuming Ryujin heard about it?"

"Yeah, but apparently someone twisted the story and made it so that Ryujin heard the worst version of it," Yeji replied, her voice tinged with frustration, and she took a small water break before continuing. "Someone told her that I willingly accepted a Valentine's Day date with this guy. She didn't even give me a chance to explain."

"These kids... Who asks a taken girl out for Valentines?" Jimin rolled her eyes as she shook her head, uncrossing her arms when she hopped off her stool. "Don't stress it too much now. I'm sure she'll come around, she's Ryujin."

"Right... But what if she doesn't come around?" Yeji's grip around her water bottle tightened.

"Yeji, babe, as much as I love you, you're an idiot." Jimin pursed her lips, puffing her cheeks out unintentionally. Yeji just knew that if Minjeong was here, she'd be snapping millions of photos because of how cute the girl was.

"What are you saying right now?"

With a low sigh, Jimin hopped back onto her stool. "She's literally in love with you, everyone sees it. There's like, absolutely no chance that she wouldn't come back to you." She smiled at an incoming customer, checking their bill before turning on the card receiver. "But first, you also have to explain what happened."

"Do I really have to?" Yeji murmured under her breath, quiet enough that the customer couldn't head, but Jimin could.

The older girl briefly glanced at her with furrowed brows. "Pardon?"