Remember 1999

Chapter 16 - Unfeeling Feelings

"Ye Jin, are you still sleeping?"

Coming out of the shower, Han Ye Seul saw Ye Jin still lying on the bed. It was a peculiar sight because, between the two of them, the latter usually rises early. Ye Jin popped her head out of the duvet and looked at Ye Seul who was now brushing her hair.

"I'll come down later," she replied.

Ye Seul looked back at her with her brows furrowed. She thought that Ye Jin did not sound sleepy though.

"Why?"

"I'm so tired I just want to lie all day," Ye Jin replied. It was, of course, just an excuse. The truth was she just wanted to avoid Hyun Bin after what happened between them last night. The kiss they shared did not let her sleep. Her head ached just thinking about it.

"Did something happen between you and Hyun Bin?" Ye Seul asked curiously which caught Ye Jin off guard. Did Gong Yoo and his friends tell her they caught them kissing?

"Huh?"

"Last night, when you went upstairs first to sleep, Bin-ssi joined us in the karaoke. He didn't sing though but got drunk instead."

"It's a man thing. To drink," she rebutted, showing no hint of concern. But as she shifted to the other side, no longer facing Ye Seul, her expression changed.

Ye Seul shrugged to herself at Ye Jin's obvious avoidance of the topic, but she pondered over something and decided to ask Ye Jin. Ye Jin was about to pull the duvet over her head when Ye Seul spoke.

"By the way, I heard that Hyun Bin is going back to America after his research."

Ye Jin stopped halfway. She knew that he was staying in Daegu only for the research of course. But she did not have the slightest idea that he would fly back to America after.

Not wanting to look like an unsuspecting girlfriend, Ye Jin replied that she knew.

The next question put her off, almost crumbling her facade.

"Are you coming with him?"

"H-how could I leave school? Of-of course n-not. No."

She heard Ye Seul sigh, "This could come across like a bit of unsolicited advice, but I've never seen a long-distance relationship work out well. At first, they will miss you, but sooner or later they will forget you."

Ye Jin felt her throat tighten. Well, they weren't in a real relationship, right? So?

"-I'm saying this because I'm worried about your relationship. Although, I can see that you two are so much in love. You don't know what lies ahead after he comes back to America."

'We are so much in love?' Ye Jin snickered to herself. But then a heavy feeling surged over her that made her muse melancholy afterward.

Ye Seul thought Ye Jin was considering what she had said when she did not reply. So she quietly left the room. Once Ye Jin heard the door shut, she breathed sharply.

So he was leaving her for good and so what? Their relationship was not real after all. But why did she feel upset all of a sudden?

Half an hour passed already when she heard the door open. Half an hour of just staring at the window pensively. She closed her eyes automatically as she heard the footsteps come nearer.

"We're going out for a ride, Ye Jin. Do you like to come with us? Gong Yoo-ssi said we might even stop over at the beach."

The beach. Ye Jin would love to see the beach. But Hyun Bin was probably coming as well and she was still not prepared to see him. She gave Ye Seul a hand sign gesturing that they could go without her.