Chapter Text
It was evening, sure, yet, not late enough to conclude it for the day. Dreadfully past the original deadline for the current chapter, which Yizhuo had planned to conclude by 19:00. At this pace, one would be up the entire night.
The rain smattering onto the clouded window screen was not helping either. Absolutely not a rainfall that could drown out every single other noise, nor so little that it could just bounce off the walls into obscurity. The drops fell out of rhythm, with distorted and intense beats. It was like an out of tune guitar, played by a child on loop.
There had been music blaring in her ears not too long ago. Sound-proof and pristine, being able to cancel out the distracting background noise. However, the young woman could not find herself connecting with any of the music. An irritation had built up inside of her. Switching between tracks, playlists and even random albums — it was either too loud, somber or boring. The constant switching resulted in having to re-read every page, doubling the time. After a while, the woman could not handle the distress anymore, so she threw the earphones across the room.
Raindrops smacked onto the glass like pebbles. It all joined into a discordant melody: the clicking of an old clock, an evening runner’s rubber soles scratching the wet surface outside, birds screeching over feed by the large oak tree and— and, and—
It was too much.
Yet, her brain begged for her to focus on it all at once. Every single detail had to be captured, analyzed and understood. It did not care about the limitations of the brain and body. Yizhuo was like a firework, one too close to the fire.
Shit, didn’t Jimin mention how the campus’ cafeteria had started selling a new kind of bread?
I heard it has a high nutritional value.
Do I even have enough money for it? But… If I get a good part-time job…
Man, should I really waste my time on that though? I need all my spare time to study, even if I am ever going to succeed. But, for that, I need to be energized well, but—
Something snapped.
Everything came to a close. The dissonant melody was terminated with a single snap of a finger. With the musical number closing, so did the theater curtains. Yizhuo was left behind in a vacuum. Peace of mind, just for a brief moment.
Then, it snapped again.
Yizhuo had come back to her senses, leaving the empty space. Urgently gasping for air, like she had run a marathon. Her head felt like it had been replaced by a massive rock. Heavy and ready to break open. Perhaps, something more beautiful could be found inside — or, a chance to be broken into something smaller. A lighter mind, fit for less thoughts. A lighter mind, with room for a single thought at a time.
In her left hand there was a small cut. Blood leaked onto a graceless streak of graphite. As if the notebook was gored, its insides jumbled into a mess. The murder weapon, a regular pencil, was found beside it. Unarmed, with the tip broken off.
As if the headache made it feel like her skin had been completely teared up. The flesh dissolved, until there were only brittle bones left. Just like her brain, the rest of her body was destined to crack.
In utter despair, Yizhuo threw herself onto her bed. Like a wounded soldier returning home from afar, she embraced the warmth and softness of the sheets like it had been her family. They welcomed her with medicine, a pain-killer for her broken skeleton. One that could ease her anguish, maybe give her a little more time before her bones turned to dust. It was euphoric.
Perhaps, it was a medicine too wonderful and strong.
Yizhuo forgot that her bed — her fantastic miracle cure — had side effects. Detrimental side effects.
From the moment she crashed her heavy head onto the duvet pillow, she could not recall a single thing. That is, when she fell asleep, the panicked feeling of waking up late, arriving at campus in a battle for air to the moment where she sat down on the exam table.
Fortunately, the side effects lasted till a few minutes after she walked out of that room. A place, she had not been sure if it was real or not. Perhaps, she was still dreaming. With an accidental push from a stranger and hearing their loud, but distant “Sorry!” had seemingly woken her up from a deep trance.
Yizhuo had not studied the night prior, nor the night before that. Not a single night actually. She could not even recall a single lecture, even if she could swear that she had attended a dozen. Thinking back to how her friends would tease her, Yizhuo came to the conclusion she had probably been staring into space, doodling in her notebook or playing crappy mobile games on her phone.
It was safe to say that the results were not going to satisfy her. A passing grade would be a miracle, one as great as a prince just accidentally stumbling upon the lost princess. Miracles that only existed in fairytales. No shit.
Did she even answer half of the questions? Even if the medicine had worn up, it still felt like she had been enveloped in an invisible blanket. Suffocating her, leaving her feeling light-headed and dizzy. It was a total monstrous, harrowing and sickening burn-out.
If everything kept going like this, her life would surely end.
Just as Yizhuo was prepared to succumb to another panic-induced sickness, she was thankfully rescued by a tap on the shoulder.
“Yah, Ning-ie.”
It was Jimin, her closest campus friend. They shared no classes together, but had bonded through mutual friends at whatever stupid parties they attended. Though no longer the societal hierarchy of high school, but whatever university had, these two were somewhere at the top. Both of them had embarked from South Korea and China respectively to study abroad. Even if they landed into a country with zero contacts, they had easily climbed up the social ladder. Perhaps, that had just naturally come from being born into a prestigious family. Not to mention, being involved in the music and arts industry, doing quite well for being newbies.
Everyone was counting on her, standing by the sidelines and screaming for her to succeed. Everyone at her campus, the connections she had made outside of it, the exceptionally talented music industry folk that had so generously offered help. And of course, her family especially. The pressure was suffocating. Terrified of disappointing them, she would lie about her academic results and carry the weight alone. Yizhuo kept the lie going, even if she knew it would one day bite her in the ass. Real, real hard.
“Dude, you okay?” Jimin tease-fully pinched the other's cheek.
Yizhuo had no intention of answering that honestly, ever. She needed to be consistent.
“Yeah, dude, I am fine, great actually. Why are you asking? Do you think I look weird?” She forced a smile, followed by a sarcastic tone.
She knew that she looked weird, but could counter Jimin’s seriousness with a silly come-back. Yizhuo was like ice, it would take effort to melt her walls. Jimin was well-aware of this and so badly wanted to be of aid, but, nothing could be done in an instant. Especially not on a random Thursday at campus. Only a little step at the time. A step which Jimin had already planned out.
“Oh, shut up.” Jimin pinched her cheek with a tighter grip, letting out a high-pitched whine from the younger woman.
“You do look like you need some cheering up...”, then a brief pause to reveal a mischievous smirk.
“...And I happen to know exactly how to cheer you up.”
“Sure, go on.” Yizhuo replied.
Maybe a side-quest was just what she needed, especially one from Jimin. Even if they are virtually at the same life stage — with Yizhuo only being three years younger, she could liken her relationship with the older as one like sisterhood. As an only child, it was the closest she had felt to such a feeling. A responsible and tender older woman who could instantly make her feel better, even loved. A level of platonic and familial love she had never experienced before. She wanted to welcome it well and return the same adoration, but it was going to take time.
“You know the… uh, alternative-music guys? The people who always blast their rock and emo music so loud it could wake up the entire population? They are having a party tomorrow. We’re invited.”
It was not uncommon for them to be invited to parties, specifically shitty house parties with people playing beer pong all night. Like a frat party straight out of a coming-of-age American film. If they were lucky, fancier ones where you were greeted with champagne at the door. Maybe a late night club playing old classics. However, a house party at someone's worn-down house, with sad alternative rock music in the background, as everyone is gathered in a circle to get fucked up together? That, she had never experienced.
Thinking about it, it did sound kind of amazing — more chill than getting pushed around by a drunk straight guy trying to get laid at the club. Having to cover your glass wherever you go, losing your friend in the crowd and having to drag them out before the police arrive. The former actually sounded just like what she needed. She could never fit into that clique though. Why would those people, out of everyone, invite a pair of rich girls?
“I don’t know them, I have only ever seen them around … or more so, heard them.” She giggled awkwardly, then continued: “Why would they ever invite us?”
Jimin answered with a huge and giddy grin. Her face turned slightly red as she let out a chuckle. Sure, it might have been precious, but one could only reply with a bashful sigh. If Yizhuo knew one thing, whatever Jimin was going to say next was guaranteed to activate a new level of second-hand embarrassment.
“Minjeong, a girl I met. She invited us.” Her face painted with an even hotter red, a shade like her lipstick. She had been smiling so widely that Yizhuo’s vision began to blur the lines between her flushed cheeks and mouth.
It was safe to say that her friend had fallen into some kind of puppy love. She would have to mentally prepare to see them be all up in each other — which she would rather avoid. However, she would have to ignore the fact that PDA quite literally felt like physical assault to her. In order to be a good friend, that is. Furthermore, there was no way Yizhuo would let Jimin go alone to some random place with a girl that she had just met.
Yizhuo sighed. “Ah, you’re so…” Jimin, possessed by some kind of love demon, could not process the tease. The younger woman stopped, then locked eye contact with the older to attempt some kind of communication.
“Fine, sure. But where are we even going? And who are we going to?”
The forced eye contact had exorcised the demon temporarily, because this time Jimin actually concentrated on giving her a full answer.
“Ah, the host is Minjeong’s best friend. Her name’s Aeri. Super cool, just a little shy. I am sure you will get along. Don’t worry, Ning-ie!”
Aeri? An unfamiliar name, a name which had never before grazed her tongue. Yizhuo could never imagine that such a name would one day attain such familiarity, that it came as naturally from her mouth as saliva did. How the name would be injected into her blood vessels, streaming into her brain to leave a permanent lesion. A name that she could taste with every breath.
It would be nice if they could get along.
The late evening air was refreshing. It was almost summer by now. You could tell by the rising humidity during the day and the uncomfortable warmth lingering for a longer time. The chill brought a new sense of clarity, cleaning the brain. It both made her more ready and aware, yet even more anxious about meeting unfamiliar people.
Yizhuo knew that she was pretty, unbelievably so. She had often been told she was of ‘model quality’ and would have people gawk at her. It would be wrong to deny it to seem humble, she was gorgeous and tried to embrace it fully. Although, in comparison to the regular model she was quite short. She had thinness, but it just made her look more petite. In an attempt to fit in, she wore smokier and heavier make-up and made the curls in her long dark hair much more noticeable. Yet, she worried that she would still stand out too much. In a room of alternative stoners, you would still be able to tell that whatever tank-top och skirt she wore was worth more than their entire wardrobe.
Following Jimin’s lead, they made their way to a house on the corner of the street. It was not the fanciest, but possessed two stories and a sizable backyard. Even if it was not as loud as the usual parties she attended, there was still a noticeable activity. The only house in the neighborhood with all of the lights on. She could even pinpoint a few groupings in the backyard and silhouettes dimmed by the windows. Perhaps, a lively night was awaiting her after all.
The moment she stepped into the home, she was hit by an overwhelming aroma of a rainy summer night. It was emanating that distinct smell of damp leaves and muddy pathways. Though the rooms were all lit, it was dim. Comfortable even — no strong, paralyzing lights that assaulted your eyes. Not too loud either that it would be impossible to think, but not eerily quiet to the point where you would be afraid to even move. It was … kind of perfect.
Well, it was kind of perfect. That was until Jimin had taken a leap away from her to God knows where. She immediately knew that she had run off to meet her new love interest. The problem lay in the fact that she had no clue who Minjeong was or even an idea of what she looked like. Yizhuo came to the realization she had to start off what was supposed to be an enjoyable night by looking for Jimin, while awkwardly passing through strangers. Not a good first impression by all means.
She looked absolutely dumb walking through this strangers’ house, desperately asking around for Jimin. Even if the house was not that big, it felt like a jungle, exemplified by the pungent of moisture and dimmed lighting. It was overwhelming. As she had already worried, this was not a place she exactly fit in. The strangers’ meet her with confused glares, wondering why the hell a snobby-looking girl was here.
Yizhuo’s panicked fumbling had been interrupted. A large and slender hand grabbed onto her shoulder gently, lightly pushing her out of the crowd. As previous experiences would suggest, an action like this usually only meant bad. Before she could even begin to make an attempt to push away whatever jerk had latched onto her, she was met by a surprise.
In front of her stood a taller woman, with remarkably slender and tall limbs.
Dressed in just a dark tank top, a zip-up hoodie falling over her own shoulder and well worn jeans. It was grunge-y, just the type of girl she expected to find here. However, that was not what her eyes continued to linger on. Above all, it was the unmistakable dorky quality of the woman in front of her. The stranger wore huge square glasses, accompanied by a grey beanie. Her light pink hair — with a choppy short style — was not only cute, but complimented her mellow facial features well. Big eyes, full lips that curled into a bashful smile that revealed subtle smile lines.
Her focus lingered completely on the stranger before her — an unusual occurrence. From the pressure of concentrating so hard, she felt her face turn red.
“Ah, you are, uh, Ning Yizhuo, right?” The woman fiddled.
“Um, yeah?”
“Oh good, or else it would have been really embarrassing.” The pink-haired girl stumbled.
She continued, nervously waving her hands. “Ah, anyway, I’m Aeri. Um, this is my place. Jimin told me about you and I noticed that you were walking around looking all confused. Without Jimin, so I thought you might be searching for her.”
“I am not sure where she exactly is, but last time I saw her …ah— she and Minjeong were by the patio. I can take you there.”
Aeri had been right, the lovebirds could be found right at the patio overlooking the garden. The Minjeong girl that her friend had briefly mentioned before had a shorter stature, while sporting a blonde bob. It was actually a nice contrast to her friend's long and dark hair.
“Yah, Ning-ie. Sorry for leaving you there. I just got a little excited.”, Jimin giggled sheepishly when her gaze met with Yizhuo. The face of the shorter girl flushed by the last remark.
“It’s fine.” Yizhuo replied.
Her friend averted her gaze to the taller, pink-haired girl who had moved upwards to the pair.
“Oh, it seems like you met Aeri. I told you that she is the host, right?”
“Yeah. I saw Yizhuo looking around for someone and, uh, thought it might have been you.” Aeri explained.
“Thank you, dude. Ning-ie is not famous for her navigation skills.” Jimin chuckled as she presented a playful smile. In a silly rebuttal, Yizhuo gave Jimin a light kick on her lower leg.
Minjeong, who had previously been completely silent, abruptly weighed in.
“Eh, Aeri? I had no idea you knew Yizhuo too. Didn’t I introduce you to Jimin only?”
The remark made the air stand still for a moment. As the tension started rising, so did the redness in Aeri’s face. Yizhuo had not questioned it beforehand, but now she really did wonder how Aeri could find a stranger in a dark and crowded room.
“Well, um, I did search her up too when Jimin wanted to bring her along. Also, you two kinda dress similarly. I did not mean to be weird, sorry.” Aeri awkwardly retorted. It would have been a valid explanation if her face did not look like it was about to burst out of embarrassment.
Yizhuo desperately tried to hide a smile from forming.
The last hour passed by in a blink of an eye. The four of them had quite the enjoyable time and she found herself getting along with the two former strangers very well, actually. By this point, she had been offered enough drinks to have her mind start fading. Yizhuo was not quite sure what they were talking about, but she recognized that she felt blissful.
Sometimes her best friend, Jimin, was her biggest hero. She somehow always knew exactly what Yizhuo needed to calm down, without the younger one even addressing a hint at what she was struggling with. On account of Jimin’s quiet affection, she finally found herself being able to drop her stoic shield that had been put up for the past week. Yizhuo was acting like a fool, laughing so loudly she could have been mistaken for a bird.
This was not solely due to the older, though. If anything, she had found the banter more than often being bounced between her and Aeri. After some splashes of alcohol, the awkwardness of the red-haired woman had disappeared. In such a short time, their connection had felt so strong. It was a weird thing. Yizhuo did not have to know any personal details about the other — her birthday, favorite color or anything else that would come up in small talk. It all came naturally, like Yizhuo could precisely comprehend her character from just watching her.
Their personalities were so different from each other, yet so similar. An attribute that she had begun to enjoy was how skittish Aeri was. A single light poke to her arm or tricking her that a bug is crawling on her hair would send her into a high-pitched scream. Though, instead of getting viciously irritated at Yizhuo, they would both just laugh it off. Aeri would even attempt to strike back, leading to constant back-and-forth banter until their friends broke it up.
Yizhuo was glad to have found another treasured friend. A bond with someone from another part of life could widen her horizons. Plus, she would not have to third wheel her best friend and her new girlfriend completely alone anymore.
By three in the morning, the mood had drastically shrunk. The last quest had just been forced to leave, leaving only the group of four behind. Although, Yizhuo made the observation that Jimin and Minjeong had gotten a lot more touchy with each other, making the atmosphere quite uncomfortable for the rest. Aeri had awkwardly pointed it out too, which the couple had just giggled at.
Eventually they realized that it would be best if they left and spent time alone. Jimin mumbled about leaving to her house and her girlfriend obliged. Since Yizhuo lived very close, she stood up to leave with them. She obviously did not want to tag along and sit in a cuck-chair to watch them, but thought it would be smart to follow them on the bus ride home.
As she neared her exit, she felt a tug on her skirt. It was Aeri, who sat underneath her.
“You sure that you wanna go with them? I— uh, have an extra room here.”, she proposed.
Yizhuo accepted the request. Perhaps it was her drunken state that did not have the energy to leave or she just wanted to spend a little more time with her new friend. She nodded and watched the other two, leaving just her and Aeri alone.
“I am not really tired yet though. I am going to stay outside a while longer, just so you know. You can head in if you want. There’s a, uh, guest room on the second floor… the empty bedroom, that is. You probably want to avoid my room, it is messy.” Aeri rambled.
“It’s fine, I am not really tired either.”
Aeri smiled gleefully at the response, which was returned by the younger woman.
The initial drunkenness had worn off and now Yizhuo just felt completely light-headed and stale. The best choice would have been to sleep, but that would not give her the same satisfaction.
“Ah, you can sit with me if you want. The grass is really nice at night, come!”
It was indeed very comfortable to lay down on the grass. The night breeze left a slight moisture in the field that resulted in the skin feeling so, so soft. In all honesty, Yizhuo could probably fall asleep here if she wanted to. And so, they laid there in silence. Not a single word was spoken between them.
That was until the quiet was terminated by a soft gasp from the pink-haired woman beside her.
“Ah, isn’t that the Summer Triangle? I didn’t think it would be seen this early, hah.” Aeri exclaimed as she pointed at the sky. While Yizhuo was not all that familiar with astronomy, she did notice three bright stars in the sky forming a triangle. Her eyes sparkled — it was beautiful.
“Is it those three bright stars?” Yizhuo asked as she pointed in the same direction.
“Yeah! That’s Altair, Deneb and Vega. Um, I don’t want to be weird, but, you’re… Chinese, right? Ah, it’s your name— ” Aeri questioned, before being cut off.
“Yeah, I am, and it’s okay. Don’t worry.”, Yizhuo explained with a smile, in order to lessen the embarrassment that had been visibly growing in the other’s face.
“Mm, I am Japanese! So, uh, anyway. Do you know about the Qixi Festival? The myth behind it is based on two of the stars, Altair and Vega. We have our own equivalent back in Japan, we call it the Tanabata Festival. We celebrate the lovers’ Orihime and Hikoboshi having their annual meeting after being celebrated by the Milky Way. Oh, and we hang our wishes on bamboo. It is something that I really miss about home— ah, sorry! I accidentally went on a rant.”
Aeri was obviously passionate about this area — the spiritual and celebration of its mythology. Yizhuo found herself being really drawn to the older woman’s voice, it was soothing and sweet.
“I do! It is basically our Valentines’ Day. It's been a while, I only celebrated it when I was young. I do remember it being really beautiful though … but hah, I mostly remember the food and my mom pampering me with love.” Yizhuo replied, before continuing:
“Please don’t apologize either. I really like learning about stuff like this, it is interesting!”
“Man, why have we not met earlier? You’re— ah, we’re kinda a perfect match.” Aeri turned her head to face Yizhuo, smiling. Her gaze kept lingering and Yizhuo could somehow not look away. Maybe she was so tired that she had lost focus, but she had also never felt this awake.
The prolonged eye contact was broken with Aeri abruptly sitting up. She had grabbed her purse that had been next to her, where she proceeded to pull out a blunt and a lighter.
“Oh shit, sorry. Is it okay if I smoke?”
“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead.” Yizhuo smiled.
She was not much of a smoker herself, but had been around enough of them to be immune to the smell. That was limited to regular cigarettes though, but she did not believe a joint would be a huge difference.
With a swift click, Aeri had lit the already prepared joint. She let out a sigh of relief with the first drag, like she had taken a sip of cold water after being dehydrated.
“Ah, I forgot how good this feels. I haven’t smoked since like, what, last week? Man, I had a really huge exam and no shit helps my concentration more than this.” Aeri chortled.
The statement made Yizhuo mentally pause for a second, was that not just what she needed? The idea of getting addicted to cannabis was frightening, not due to her thinking a single drag would kill her like her fear-mongering parents would say. Rather, how much goddamn money would go down the drain. Not being able to function without it. Was that really worth it?
Yes.
Yes. Apparently it was.
Perhaps it was the alcohol in her blood acting on these impulses. There was no reason to dwell on it though, as she had already taken action. This said action did not involve her asking for a taste, nor the extreme method of snatching it right out of Aeri’s fingers. Instead, she eagerly stared at it. Like a cat begging for food. Her cuteness was something that was hard to ignore.
“Mm, you want some too? I have more. It’s okay.” Aeri smiled.
She was quick to give in to Yizhuo’s irresistible adorableness. Her new friend had been so very sweet to her, it was quite unbelievable. They had just met, but she was already being taken care of and spoiled. Without even having to beg or try hard. Aeri could somehow read a single glance and know exactly what Yizhuo desired.
“Eh, ah… is that okay? I mean, I have never smoked a joint before. But I would like to try, hah.” Yizhuo answered nervously.
“Of course. It’s not that difficult, but I can help you.”
Aeri sure was a pleaser. The “help” Yizhuo assumed she was talking about was in fact not a verbal instruction, but the other putting a joint in her mouth and directing her movements. It was not even that intimate, yet made Yizhuo’s face glow with a tint of pink. She did not comprehend why she was liking it so much.
Maybe it was just that she loved being pampered. Everyone likes being treated like a princess and being around someone who is genuinely sweet. Of course, in her head, anyone would start blushing at a moment like this. It was nothing weird, just a developing healthy friendship. It was definitely not that Yizhuo felt goosebumps whenever Aeri’s gentle fingers accidentally brushed against her face, a little too close to her lips. It was absolutely not Aeri’s endearing smile either. Not even her huge, dreamy eyes that were now more clear without her glasses. It was nothing past platonic feelings, just Yizhuo’s natural shyness.
There was absolutely nothing to worry about.
The first drag of the joint was nothing like she expected. She had either presumed it would have been over-hyped. Maybe just a tad calming but not overwhelming or would virtually implode her brain. Though, it was far from any of those results.
The moment it hit, the mind and vision of Yizhuo cleared. Her perception had sharpened and she could seemingly see every star in the sky, as if she was looking through a telescope. The fog that had permanently latched onto her brain had somehow been cleared. It no longer hurt to breathe and no irritating buzz could be heard. She felt greatly sensitive, but the single fucking drag had somehow made her be able to think and breathe. Like a goddamn normal person.
This was her actual fantastic miracle cure.
“Shit, this is actually so good.” Yizhuo puffed, then continued:
“You know, I have also been… struggling with my classes. Fuck, this might have been just what I needed. Thanks, man.” She had fully leaned back and relaxed her shoulders.
“I’m glad it helped. Ah, I figured you were a little tense… makes sense. The end of the semester is always the worst.” Aeri smiled with delight. There was a slight pause before her face had lit up.
“You know, I’m not exactly short on my uh, weed stash. You could have some to take home — for free. I am serious too, don’t worry about it. I don’t really care about money like that.” The older woman offered.
Yizhuo was baffled by the older woman’s persistent kindness. Her mind could not stop running marathons to remind her of how Aeri had pretty much offered everything that was possible to give to the younger. Even if they had just become friends. She was bewildered how one could be so generous and trusting. It was like a character from a drama that would sacrifice themselves in the end for the greater good, or just someone that they hold dear. It was impossible not to like her.
Yizhuo had begun liking Aeri, in the most normal way possible.
The woman had woken up quite dazed, with zero memory of when she went to bed and how she ended up in an unfamiliar room. All that she knew was that both her and Aeri had stayed up until dawn.
Her question had been given its answer when Aeri had walked her to the nearest bus stop. It was not far at all, but Yizhuo made sure to relish each step in the sunlight with her new friend. Though, whatever contentment she felt would be promptly crushed by the statement she received before being waved goodbye.
“Ah wait! Make sure to get some proper rest at home. You kind of passed out there in the grass. I had to carry you into my guest room… but, ah, no worries. It was a little cute.”
It made her heart drop and she could not even begin to combat it before Aeri had disappeared out of view.
Had that woman just called her cute? Not only that, but carried her in and tucked her into bed?
Yizhuo’s imagination began to run wild. She imagined herself, completely out of it, being carried so gently— just like how gently Aeri had touched her before. It made her shiver, thinking of how the woman’s hands would have held her. Large and slender fingers stroking her plain skin before laying her down. Maybe Aeri had caressed her cheek to wish her a proper good night.
Bystanders had given Yizhuo concerned glances as they watched her roughly shake her head and gave it light taps. It was whatever, as long as she could stop her mind from trailing off like this again. As she settled her beaten-up head against the window, she popped in her earphones for the chance of tranquility. Although, with how chaotic Yizhuo’s life had to be, of course this had to be interrupted too.
It was a text message from Jimin, several to be precise.
[jiminn] : Ningiee~~~~
[jiminn] : Did you sleep well???
[jiminn] : You stayed at Aeri’s place, right???
[jiminn] : Hehehehe I hope she treated you well, she is really kind, isn’t she???
[jiminn] : I had a really good time myself hehehehe
Jimin’s writing style had always been kind of obnoxious, but Yizhuo had grown to find it charming. It was full of exaggerated laughing, punctuation marks and no regard just how much one’s phone would lit up with her sending a message for every sentence.
[ningninguri] : yeah, she lent me her guest room. i stayed up really late. but slept well, i think haha
[ningninguri] : aeri is really sweet. i think we got along well, thanks for inviting me lol
She had no intention of ever telling Jimin that she had just picked up smoking, with a decent-sized bag in her purse that she had been given for free. Her best friend would not be told either just how well they got along, Yizhuo would just be teased for it. It would be annoying, considering anything between them was normal. She had just been embarrassed and shy around a new person. Her cheeks would surely stop flushing the more comfortable she got around Aeri. They just needed to spend more time together.
[jiminn] : Yeah, she clearly liked being with youuu too~~~~
[jiminn] : You should have seen how she looked at you, even Minjeongie was surprised hehehehe
Yizhuo did not respond to this. It was clearly just bait, a playful tease — the kind that she always did whenever she had talked to a new woman. Jimin always tried to play match-maker, but now she would stop complying with her games.
She had just been happy to have a new and perfectly normal friendship.