Pretend (Ryeji)

Chapter 23: Jealousy

Yeji abruptly wakes up from her slumber in cold sweat, her nightmare at the core of her thoughts. Her body jolts up, hands frantically in search of a certain individual she remembers falling asleep in the same bed as.

'Did she leave?'

Her heart drops when she feels nobody there, just an empty area of the bed and a bundle of sheets. If her bad dream wasn't the culprit to her newfound tears, then surely the lack of a particular individual's presence was. The liquid rolls down her face against her will, her breaths grow heavier, air intake faster, and she finds herself sniffling.

'Maybe I was dreaming the entire time.' She mentally convinces herself that perhaps that's why it all felt so impossibly real. As much as she'd love to believe Ryujin was feeling the same, the sad truth may be that it wasn't a reality.

Her sniffles grow louder, and she curses her heart for compelling her brain to turn the sweetest of desires into a heavenly portion of the dream. She'd give nearly anything to truly see Ryujin gaze at her the way she did, to be held so protectively by her again. These internal wishes could be enacted if she wasn't afraid, if she was certain that Mr. Park was merely bluffing. But she's not sure, and she doubts she ever will be because she fears the threat enough to abide by his words. Had she been the only one who had to sacrifice something it wouldn't be a problem. However, the threat was indirect. It could've been aimed at her co-star, not herself.

Yeji pulls the covers up to her chin, bites her trembling lip in hopes of steadying it. If she knew how to fall out of love, she'd heavily consider it, because this... this feeling of vulnerability for someone who may never feel the same... it hurt more than she can bear. Her heart can only take so much damage—

"YEDDEONG??"

Ryujin, worried out of her mind, rushes over from a separate area of the house the instant she hears the redhead's sobs. She moves so fast, slips in her socks and stumbles over on the tile right in front of Yeji's door, creating a loud thump noise.

"Ow! Stupid socks!" The blonde rips the socks off of her feet and throws them to the side, rubs her head as she sits there, hoping to ease the pain until her mind screams 'Yeji!' She hops right back up, runs over to the woman she heard crying, and sits next to her on the mattress. She tugs the cover down, eyes the tears with pure concern, aching to know what occurred. "Hey?? What happened??"

Yeji's eyes widen, her brain wondering if this was yet another cruel and vivid dream or if it was actually real. She's still sniffling heavily, but her tears stopped falling so freely.

"Yeji? Talk to me, please?? I'm worried."

"You." Her head unconsciously tilts, and she's not sure if she's more moved by the way the youngest ran to her side or the fact that every memory from the previous night is, in fact, real. "Y- you're here?"

Ryujin allows the latter to cup her face, seemingly in disbelief. She's not sure what happened, but she's willing to bet that the woman had a bad dream and freaked out when she didn't wake up next to her. She mentally blames herself for that one, then simply smiles at the girl to incite some sense of reassurance. "Of course, I'm here."

Due to the way her arms are propped on the mattress, the way Yeji's holding her face makes Ryujin chuckle unintentionally. Her cheeks are smushed, eyes squinted. She smiles so bright that her whisker dimples grace the other's presence.

"You're squishing my face, you know." She gently withdraws her co-star's hands, extends her arm and wipes away any tear in sight. "Bad dream?"

"Mhm... " Yeji doesn't know how to explain what happened in the nightmare without breaking down all over again. Ryujin's smile has helped relaxed her beating heart a little, but certainly not enough. It was just that tragic.