Room 2129 (A 2yeon Fanfic)

Chapter 21: Nayeon

"Unnie, you look like shit."

"Mind your language! I'm older than you." I scold Yeri as she helps me move frames to the stock room. Sure, I'm a part-timer under her, but manners must come first.

"Give me that, you might get me fired for dropping it," Yeri says, asking for the painting frame from my hand.

"Sorry, it's acting up again." I rub my lower abdomen. Why are women given the punishment of menstruation? Can't I make a living without getting incapacitated by a biological drawback?

"Have you taken painkillers?" Yeri asks as she reaches for a tablet in her purse.

I nod. It's just that, for some reason, they just slightly dull the pain. "No thanks, I don't want to overdose."

Yeri laughs. "It's not like you're taking a lot. Come on, let's take a break."

***

"How's Doctor Yoo, by the way?"

"She's not yet a doctor, not until she gets to her internship, then her residency," I clarify. Weirdly, the two of them have gotten close after finding out they both have a strong interest in the visual arts.

"Ah, right," she says, dipping her spoon into the Oreo bingsu. "It's just that I haven't seen her in over a month, and that's me visiting your place."

"Yeah, I'm basically living alone at this point," I say in jest. The joke's partly true—lately, the only interactions we have are her bringing the packed lunches I make, and us cuddling before sleeping (the second one is on a fifty-fifty basis). Hell, even her weekends are spent observing doctors in the hospital.

Yeri, not even looking at me, shrugs. "That's the price of dating someone in the medical field, I guess. You just have to endure this for," she pauses, looking up with a finger on her lips. "A few more years. I should know."

I actually forgot that she dated a doctor two years ago. She told me that, when it comes to dating doctors, you have two main obstacles: time and the proximity theory—that they tend to date with people near them. She also added shared anxiety, so I guess there are three problems after all.

"Well, I hope she doesn't forget your birthday, which is in...ten days from now."

"Of course she won't—she even marked the date on the calendar for me to see." I say, looking at a girl outside the window, hugging her boyfriend from behind, the latter buying tteokbokki. Oh shit.

"Yem Yem-ie! What day is it today?"

"It's, uh...the twelfth. Why?"

My face scrunches at the realization. "Shit! It's our sixth monthsary today!"

Yeri immediately scoffs. "Ew, you guys celebrate that?"

"Why? What's wrong with that?" My voice raises quite a bit that people nearby glance at our table.

She retreats a bit, after noticing my agitation. "Nothing. It's just something students would do."

"I should probably text her and apologize," I say, whipping out my phone.

"No, unnie! That's worse! Just, uhm, surprise her tonight or something," she counters.

"You're right. You're so smart, Yem Yem-ie!" I pinch her cheeks.

***

Okay, everything's set: a nice, warm boiling pot of tteokbokki and a small cake. That should be just about right. Now all I need is for Jeongyeon to show up.

Fearing that a microwaved tteokbokki is worse than a freshly cooked one, I text her: "Jagiya, are you almost home?" (A/N: For those that don't know, Jagiya is a Korean term of endearment between couples, like "babe".)

A few minutes pass by, then an hour. Still, no replies from her. Don't tell me she's mad at me—she didn't greet me, too!

Suddenly, our door beeps and clicks open. It's Jeongyeon—barely conscious, her arm clinging onto Seulgi. Wait, what?

"Nayeon-ah! A little help?" Seulgi cries out. I rush over and sling Jeongyeon's other arm over my shoulder.

"What happened to her?" I ask, as we drag Jeongyeon's dead weight to her bedroom.

Seulgi alternates between huffing and chuckling, her face a little flush as well. "She joined us—me and some doctors—for a little drinking. It's kind of an initiation, get in with the professors' good graces," she says, as we manage to hurl Jeongyeon into the bed. She calls this "a little"? Jeongyeon looks like she tried to drink a whole keg!

She pats down her blouse and looks over to the table. "Why is there a cake? Is it your birthday?" Seulgi asks, before chortling.

I shake my head. "We're supposed to celebrate our monthsary, but I guess that's not happening anymore."

Upon hearing this, Seulgi's jolly expression drops; her eyes darting aimlessly as she purses her lips.

"You can just join me, if you like," I offer. I wouldn't want this to go to waste, anyway.

Seulgi frantically shakes her head and waves her hands. "No! We already ate! I should," she pauses. "I should be going anyway. A car's waiting for me downstairs."

Before exiting our apartment, Seulgi utters, "Sorry. Happy Monthsary to you both."