pretty pretense (chaennie)

V.

Chaeyoung thought that it would be a humid evening but when the gentle breeze greeted her by the empty common balcony of the hotel, she felt a slight relief. Not because of the refreshment it brought, but because she can smoke her lungs out again. She quickly lights a stick beside the woman who have surprised her tonight. Her unforgiving past. Suzy Bae.

"Doesn't seem like you're happy to see me." Suzy breaks the ice as she leans on to the railings. Her eyes gazing at the vastness of the metropolitan lights. The restless city of which she ran away from has greeted her with a yet skirmish delight.

It's been three years since she fled back to Seoul and she couldn't believe the reason for it was jealousy. As if she'll admit that out loud.

"We shouldn't be seeing each other in the first place." Chaeyoung responds as she exhales her first smoke out into the thin moving air. "Why are you here? You're supposed to be in California. Don't you have classes?"

Suzy just rolls her eyes over the blonde, who was trying to be bossy again. "You know people in college can miss their classes too, Chaeyoung. You think I didn't hear about you dating a sophomore?" The older one turns her eyes on the blonde. Piercing it through to make her reciprocate the same eye contact that she's been obviously avoiding. "I'm just trying to figure out what you want, Chaeng. You're making me worry."

Suzy has always been vocal about her attachment towards the blonde. It even grew more when her stepsister, Sooyoung, made them split up over an auction. Now that she's studying college in the States, away from her stubborn family. And she still hopes she could get away with the strings she tied over Chaeyoung. She never had the strength to cut it, and nor does the younger one, even though she would deny it at gunpoint.

The only thing Suzy could do is to wait for Chaeyoung to come to her every now and then. The senior sneaks into the States for several days in a month and that's only the time the older one can let herself breath and let her guard down. They have been doing this for two years and everything was at peace until now.

The blonde sighs on Suzy's unwithered uncertainty over her. "It's a misunderstanding. Apparently that sophomore lied on Krystal's face and announced that she was dating me. And of course, that dumb Jung spread it like wildfire in the school community. Until your sister heard it and threatened me with the auction."

"She's still on to that stupid auction? So childish." The older one almost squealed.

"I'm trying to minimize the possible damage here, Suzy. If your sister knew you're here then it'll get tangled up more." When the latter heard the slight irritation on the blonde's voice, it confirmed the fact that she was her inconvenience. Something that Chaeyoung has been hiding from her for awhile.

Suzy wishes she was naive but she knew that the blonde was slowly walking away from her. So, that's why she's here. Secretly trembling over the fact that the love she always had is fading. And she doesn't even fucking know how to save it.

"It's not my idea auctioning your lead position in Seoul Circle over our fucking relationship." She takes the same irritation back.

"Sooyoung wanted to expose it all. My father was running for president at that time and I didn't want any scandal. I didn't have the upperhand back then. So can you please stay out of this?"

"When are you going to close that auction then?"

"Maybe after I get out of highschool. Important thing is I would stay single until I graduate. That's the deal."

"She just doesn't want to see me happy. She thinks I took everything away from her, so at least she gets a compensation from depriving me from you." Suzy gulps as the memories of the broken string she has with her sister comes to surface.