Love In Progress | RYEJI

5.

It took Ryujin few more days to muster the courage to go see her ex. Few more days spent rolling around in Yeji's bed, who had lent her a good ear but was also an incredible distraction. She didn't know how to label it, but it seemed they were working fine with their arrangement and both had no intentions to stop it.

She stood on the familiar doorstep, wearing a simple t-shirt with board shorts and a pair of worn-out All Stars. It was too hot to go for something different. She rang the doorbell and waited, having heard some noises from inside the house, meaning someone was home.

"Coming..." Jisu's voice could be heard on the other side. When she opened the front door, she was surprised to see the raven-haired on her porch. "Ryujin..."

"Jisu, hey..." Ryujin stepped forward. "Is it a bad moment? I can come back another time." She looked around the house, maybe she was interrupting something.

"I'm on my own, just watching Buffy reruns." She let the raven-haired in and closed the door behind her. "May I offer you something to drink?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Ryujin followed the brunette in the living room and took a seat on the couch. The house hadn't changed much since the last time she had been there. There were new pictures, but the furniture was all the same. It still gave Ryujin more warmth than her big mansion.

"You look good...new haircut?" Jisu sat across from her, perched on the edge of her coffee table.

"Yeah." She nodded and took in her ex's looks. She had become more mature, indeed, but she still looked like the girl that had stolen her heart in a school's hallway. "How was London? Did you like it?"

"It was amazing, Ryujin. I took so many courses and met so many people from around the world. I was in the center of everything and the city is so beautiful." She was literally gushing about it and in that moment, Ryujin realized she had made the right choice. She couldn't have made Jisu happier than this experience abroad.

"I'm glad you liked that." Ryujin nodded tersely, looking away from her.

"Ryujin..." Jisu tilted her head back to stare at the raven-haired. "I'm sorry..."

"For what? London made you happy..." Ryujin looked at her, hands clenched in tight fists. "You needed to do that, for yourself."

"You made me happy...you made me very happy." Jisu reached for her hands, covering them with her palms.

"But not enough to be your top priority." Ryujin couldn't help it. As much as she had tried to move on, part of her still held onto that emptiness left by the brunette's choice of leaving her behind. She stood up and walked to the window, staring out at the backyard.

"You could've said something. You always put those walls around you, expecting people to read your mind, Ryujin..." Jisu stood up as well. "If you had said something, I could've made a different choice..."

"I didn't want you to choose me because I wanted it..." Ryujin shook her head. "You should've chosen me because you wanted me more than London or any other program they had to offer."

"Easy to say it now." Jisu stared at her ex's back. "We could've done many things, Ryujin, but we didn't...and you know you can't dump it all on me."

"No, I can't and I'm not going to." Ryujin turned around to stare at her. "We could've given us a chance to stay together, despite the long distance, but we didn't even think of it..."

"I thought about it." Jisu looked away from her. "I thought about it when you took me to the airport, after our last night together."

"And why didn't you say anything?" Ryujin took a step forward. She was close enough to brush the back of her hand against the brunette's. Close enough to smell her perfume.