YOU•JJK

<1> Prologue

'I return'

₸

'A call on line for you." This was the message I got from Monica, the receptionist, at around eleven in the morning and I can only guess which one it is.

I sigh on the receiver, I have exactly fifteen minutes till another patient walks in through the door, which I wanted to use to get some sleep. The bags in my eyes were prominent, and the concealer barely worked on the purple hues. I needed sleep.

"Okay, get me on it," I reply, closing my eyes to control the strain I was feeling. I heard Monica hum something under her breath but I was too tired to ask her to repeat, plus the line beeped right then and a soft breath spoke.

"Jinah?"

And to say that I almost threw down the receiver. I couldn't believe my ears. My heart ran rapidly, as I try to concentrate myself on what I heard, is that her? Or is it the sleep getting to me? I was staring at the go-to pictures we took at our high school graduation after coming back at my apartment yesterday. I was lonely, and sad, and I missed her.

But now my imagination was stretching quite a lot.

I stay quite for a long time, still processing if I should reply, still wondering if this is who I think it is.

"Um, Jinah?" And now, I'm sure.

"No way," I breathe out before I can control myself, still not settling with the fact that this was her. Tori. How did she even get my number? But wait, she remembered me?

"Oh my God, Jinah? This is really you? I can't believe this," Her voice rose to a higher octave, and I can visualise her jumping up and down. "It's been so long, God, I cant believe I finally got hold of you." She went on about how she got hold of the wrong phone number at first, and how she was afraid she'd get told off like the last time. But I wasn't hearing her, my mind was spinning.

I need a drink.

"Yeah I cant believe it too," I finally muttered, making her stop. Guess we both reminded each other that this isn't how it used to be. Everything isn't normal.

It's been four whole years since I talked to her. But it still feels as if I'm back in time, in that summer when I almost burned the house down while trying to make bacon cause she came over, that winter when we walked downtown and talked for hours in the park, that spring when we got our acceptance reports in the university.

"Um anyways, how are you?" She asked tentatively, and I noted that she was trying hard to not be awkward. I appreciated that, as much as I appreciated my ability to still hold onto the reciever without dropping it like a bomb.

"Good, I'm good, how about you?" I laid down on my chair, trying to stay calm. This was unnerving me in the worst possible way. My feet are tapping the floor and my breaths are barely normal.