Pretend (Ryeji)

Chapter 2: The Play

"... then twist and step to your left like this." Lisa said, demonstrating the choreography as she instructed. It was surprising a little over a year ago, and the improvement was visible, but as of recently, she was certain that her girlfriend's little sister was a talented dancer.

"Did I do it right?"

"Girl, you know you did." She laughed, and the one she heard in return confirmed her accusation. Ryujin knew she did well. "You should join the dance team soon."

"Oh, she will." Rosé chimed in, wiggling her brows. "Cat-eyes is on the team."

"Rosie!"

"I didn't know you knew Yeji." Lisa added, and if it weren't for Ryujin's hair covering her ears, the couple would've noticed the redness. Not that Ryujin was already crushing, but she's not used to being teased either.

"Hardly. Rosie's just talking nonsense."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Why bother? You know she'll believe me over you."

"No, no." Ryujin linked her arm with Lisa's. "Dancers stick together."

"Not a chance." As if she were a little jealous, Rosé slipped her arm around Lisa's waist. "Girlfriends do."

"Oh, please. I'm the reason you two got together."

"Don't bring that up."

Not fazed by the siblings competitiveness to be right, Lisa chuckled at the memory. She thanked Ryujin for that, even if the young Shin only did it to annoy her sister. To know that Rosé had wrote a song to confess after they'd been friends for so long moved her to tears. "Actually, babe, I thought it was super cute."

"ɪᴛs ᴇᴍʙᴀʀʀᴀssɪɴɢ... "

"Are you kidding?? I loved every second."

"Eww." While Lisa moved to give her girlfriend a sweet kiss on the forehead, Ryujin's face noticeably cringed with disgust before wandering off down the hall, not caring to see them be all lovey-dovey. "Get a room."

"We— oh, she's leaving."

"Byeeeee!" Ryujin called out whereas Lisa and Rosé merely laughed at her reaction, going on about their day like they normally would, supposing that one day Ryujin would understand.

Meanwhile, as the pink-haired girl neared her class, she noticed a familiar figure. Her eyes peeked at the clock nearby, and when she stepped into the room, she set her bag down. After having a brief chat with her teacher, she rushed down the hall to see if she'd still see the person she had previously.

"Chaeryeong!" Ryujin called out, only to get no physical or verbal response back. Because of this, she sighed and ran toward her friend, assuming the latter had some earphones in.

Truth be told, she didn't expect the young Lee to show up considering she claimed to be sick yesterday. Their conversation was held around nine at night. So, unless Chaeryeong woke up without a fever, she couldn't fathom what would explain why she was present. Then again, Chaeryeong was always bent on perfect attendance, but, despite that, Ryujin failed to acknowledge the obvious.