Icy like diamonds || Ryeji

Chapter 38

Ryujin second guessed putting on her old hoodie, the one that was oversized and had been with her for years. The hoodie that somehow made her feel safe when everything around her was rough.

Surely Yeji would judge her chosen outfit. That thought ran through her mind as she put on the hoodie and took one last look in the mirror.

Her shoes were once white but now they looked beat up, her hoodie had seen better days and her hair was shorter now. Thanks to a sudden impulsive decision she had made after getting back from the game date the previous night.

Her own anime character moment, if you will. Just some scissors and a need for a fresh start.

Yeji had texted her earlier.

No hey or how are you. All the message said was that Yeji would be picking her up at 3pm. So there Ryujin was, anxiously waiting for the familiar car to pull up into the driveway.

As soon as Yeji arrived, she received a text. One word and Ryujin quickly rushed outside.

Somehow, Ryujin hadn't noticed how she had been counting down the minutes and constantly checking if Yeji had arrived. Or how the nervousness she felt inside was mixed with a hint of excitement.

As she entered the passenger seat, the younger girl fully expected a snarky comment on how she looked. Yet was met with silence. Even her choice of comfortable clothing as opposed to expensive ones hadn't earned her a single word from Yeji.

Settling into the car seat she couldn't hide her disappointment, a crinkle forming between her eyebrows while she stared out of the window.

The car ride wasn't as awkward as one would expect. There was silence between them but it was easily filled by the music playing. It took her a while to notice that it was actually Yeji's playlist and not the radio. Which in turn resulted in Ryujin making a mental note of every song that played.

They were stuck in traffic when she caught a glimpse of Yeji taking a photo of her. Turning immediately and staring at her in confusion.

"What is it?" Yeji spoke before shaking her head and driving once the cards ahead of them did the same. "Before you start acting like I wanted to do that, I did tell you the purpose of this."

"So you weren't taking a photo of me because I looked good?"

To that, she got a snorting sound coming from Yeji. Who seemed entirely too amused by her question. Maybe a little too much for her taste.

"Just how big is your ego?"

Rolling her eyes, she shrugged trying to brush off how funny Yeji had found her remark. Was it that crazy to presume she could find that Ryujin looked good?

"You know what they say... big ego, big..."

"I'm fairly certain that doesn't apply here and that you're the only one who has ever said that."

"You're no fun. Annoying." she muttered, resting her chin on her arm that was rested against the passenger door. Looking at the street view to avoid eye contact with the girl that bothered her in so many ways. And the one she desperately wanted to impress.

"I'm the annoying one?"

"Yes, actually."

"Okay."

Ryujin peaked at Yeji, watching her eyes focused on the road ahead and her hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. She looked just as serious as always and maybe even more intimidating than before.

"Aren't you going to ask?"

Yeji sighed, looking tired of her already. "Ask what?"

"Why you're annoying."

"I don't care to know why you find me annoying."

"Fine."

She busied herself changing the song, which only seemed to irritate Yeji more. Until she suddenly took her phone from Ryujin so that she would stop.

"God, you're infuriating."

Luckily for Yeji they arrived to the ice cream shop and she quickly found a parking space on the other side of the road. Parking and leaving the car as fast as humanly possible.

Ryujin followed, both of them rushing inside the ice cream shop and greeting the employee at the counter.

"Yogurt?" Ryujin asked, looking through the flavors.

Looking back at the other when she didn't get a reply, she found Yeji looking right at her before she simply nodded and looked away. "Yogurt is fine."

A few minutes later they sat at the back of the shop, across from each other and busy eating their ice creams.

Grabbing her phone, Ryujin took a photo of Yeji without her noticing. Looking at it immediately after and finding herself smiling before the other took notice.

"What are you doing? You have the dumbest smile right now."

Ryujin rolled her eyes, locking her phone and looking at the girl already staring at her.

"Stop being nosy, Yeji."

Of course the other only rolled her eyes in response. Going back to ignoring her, while continuing to scroll through her social media as she could see. Occasionally double tapping a photo and going back to scrolling.

"I'm sorry."

That seemed to grab Yeji's attention because she slowly raised her gaze to meet Ryujin's.

Staring at each other, Ryujin was waiting for something that never came. Only being met with an empty stare.

"I'm sorry for what I did that night at the party. I shouldn't have left the way I did, without letting you know. And I shouldn't have..." Ryujin played with her ice cream, stabbing it slightly with her spoon as she avoided eye contact. "I shouldn't have got drunk with my ex and kissed her."

The other nodded once, she could vaguely make that out even while avoiding the eye contact between them. "I don't care who you kissed. I care that you made me look stupid because I believed you'd be... It doesn't matter. I was offended that you left without a word. Still am. Making me look foolish in front of my father's business partners only hurts me."

Ryujin placed some ice cream on her spoon before tasting it, taking in the words said.

"I didn't think-"

"That's the problem, isn't it? You don't think." Yeji wasn't yelling but there was harshness to her words. "You come into people's lives and mess with them with your impulsive and impossibly irritating attitude and for what reason? What do you even offer? Why do you do these things?"

At some point in her monologue, Yeji had lost Ryujin. Who found herself staring trying to figure out if Yeji was ranting about that night or something else that had clearly gone over her head.

"I suppose... I do it because we had to. Isn't that why we were both doing it?"

Yeji pressed her lips together, clicking her tongue before smiling to herself. Her reaction only confused Ryujin more and honestly she felt like she was missing some key pieces because nothing was making any sense to her.

"I can't get rid of you, at least not yet. So instead of apologizing, stop. I'm tired of you. Just let me be as much as possible, please."