Hazelnut - Ryeji

14

While sitting down besides Yeji inside the train, I spaced out for a moment as I couldn't stop thinking about what Yeji said to me. 'What did she mean by that? I only see her as a friend. Does she have feelings for me?' I thought to myself.

I looked at the window and I noticed that we are already in Seoul and we are probably 5 minutes away from our stop.

I breathed a sigh of relief as we are going to return without me feeling dizzy or vomitting. Even though I've been riding the train for years, I still get a little nauseous after a train ride.

Yeji, on the other hand, is scrolling down through her phone. She was wearing her glasses with circular frames, black jacket with a white shirt inside, black joggers, black shoes, and her plain black beanie that I find adorable.

'She looks like a cat.' I thought to myself.

I was wearing my blue jacket with white wave-like designs with a white shirt inside, black joggers that help me with the coldness, and white shoes.

"Hey." Yeji suddenly spoke that made me snap out of my thoughts.

I looked at her cat-like eyes with a curious expression on my face. Both of my eyebrows were raised as I switched my attention to her. "What is it?"

Yeji turned off her phone and put it in her pocket. "You're still thinking about what I told you at the beach?" She said. "If you think that every word that comes out of my mouth has a meaning, you're wrong." She chuckled.

"Oh. Okay." I replied with a slow nod.

After that short conversation, we both fell into the voids of silence. It made me a little confused that Yeji is not her usual talkative and energetic self.

I looked around the train and I noticed that there isn't much people around. It was very warm and silent inside the train. I assumed that the train is only full on weekdays.

I started caressing the back of my head as I wanted to ask Yeji a question, but I'm hesitating. I was afraid that my question might make her cry, angry, or confused. I couldn't decide if I should ask or not.

I inhaled and exhaled sharply through my mouth. Without hesitation, I said, "Yeji."

Yeji stopped looking around the scenery outside the window and switched her attention to me. "What is it?"

"It's been a while since I heard about your condition." I looked at Yeji in the eyes. "Tell me, are you fine or not?"

Yeji's eyes widened. I can tell that she was caught off guard by my question. Her eyes slowly wandered around as she tried to think of an answer.

Yeji fixed her beanie and let out a small smile at me. "Don't worry, Ryujin. I'm fine." She tilted her head as her smile formed into an eyesmile that melted my heart.

I let out a sigh of relief. "Alright. I believe you." I said in a calm voice. "B-by the way, we're getting close to our stop. We should get ready."

I tried to stand up, but Yeji suddenly hugged my arm.

I got a little confused because of the cat clinging on to me. I let out an awkward chuckle while looking at Yeji who is pouting while tightly hugging my arm. "Is breaking someone's arm part of your bucket list?"

Yeji chuckled as she let go of my arm and looked into my eyes. "N-no. I just don't want us to get separated yet. I feel like something bad happens when we're not together."

I let out a small laugh amd gave Yeji a pat on the head. "Hey, we will see each other tomorrow at school."

"I know, but..." Yeji couldn't continue her words.