Crossing The Line (Seulrene)

Starting to Open Up

The instant they walked into the kitchen, Yeri's moms greeted them with warm smiles, and it made Joohyun realize that it had been a long time since her parents had smiled when they greeted each other in the morning. It was always the same routine of her dad scrolling through his emails on his laptop and her mom watching the news on TV. They greeted each other out of habit. Joohyun hadn't truly felt a connection with her family for what was surely a good decade. So her heart was a bit aching to witness such an open display of affection. It seemed like Seulgi sensed it because she put her hand on her lower back, it was barely grazing but Joohyun felt it perfectly, and guided her gently toward the table.

« Hey, girls! » Tiffany sent them her eye-smile « How was your night? No one got sick, right? » Taeyeon chuckled behind her.

« Let them breathe, Boo » She said in English, putting a plate of scrambled eggs on the table and looked up at them « No but seriously, you weren't sick, right? You didn't eat too much of these sugary craps? » Tiffany snorted at her wife and shook her head because she was exactly the same over-protective type as her. Yeri snorted as well as she went to hug Taeyeon.

« Don't worry, Mama. We are all fine and there are still plenty of snacks left untouched » She smiled brightly, receiving a peck on her forehead from her mom before she moved to greet Tiffany « We had a good night overall. Right, Sooyoung? » She smirked wickedly at her friend who had just sat down.

« Please, Mrs. and Mrs. Kim, can you forbid horror movies next time? I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks now » She complained. They all laughed and Joohyun could feel herself ease up. Seulgi, next to her, glanced at her with a smile to make sure everything was alright and she smiled back shyly. Yeri took the seat next to her and sent her a smirk that made Joohyun confused, but Yeri diverted her attention back on Sooyoung quickly, leaving her wondering what it was about.

« Don't be such a scaredy-cat, we all know you like it because you can snuggle with Seungwan and fall asleep in her protective arms » Yeri hugged herself dramatically with her own arms, clearly mocking her friend.

« Yah, Kim Yeri! » Sooyoung let out offended. Seungwan and Seulgi were laughing their asses off next to her, even the two moms were trying to suppress their laughter and remain serious. Joohyun was surprised that her cheeks were starting to hurt because of how wide she was smiling. For a moment, she thought she could get used to it, having friends, and messing around with them. Months ago, if not weeks, she wouldn't have ever imagined it possible to be this close to people again. Suddenly, she found herself remembering her childhood....and them. Three girls that she had thought would be her sisters for life. She had given them her whole. She had opened up like she never did to anyone else, except maybe now Seulgi. But at the time, everything seemed perfect and simple. The four of them were as tight as anyone could be in elementary school....Right?

She really thought she had people that knew her and accepted her for who she was until...until she overhead the truth: 'Being friend with Joohyun sure helps being the most popular of the school, right?' 'My mom says we should stay friends with her even if we don't like her because she's rich and her dad is working for the government and it can help us a lot in life' 'She's so annoying though' 'I swear, I can't even listen to her talk about painting anymore. She's childish' 'Maybe if we changed her into liking the things we like we could...' 'She's a loser, Hyeon, but she's rich so...'

The friends that she trusted with her life turned out to be liars and manipulators. She never addressed them again after that day. She closed off to everyone because she thought everyone that would approach her would do so for their own benefit. People were two-faced and she couldn't distinguish between them. So....she hide herself. She thought it would be like that for the rest of her life. She lifted her gaze to Seulgi who turned her head toward her with a caring expression and it made her body tingle. Letting people in again didn't seem so bad at that moment.