Rent [Yeonji]

Chapter 005

[This photo is not mine; credits to the owner🥺]

>>>Hallucinations<<<

Yeji stared blankly at the food Yeonjun had bought for her. Her grip on the fork slackened, causing it to fall out of her grasp. She flinched, coming back to her senses. Yeonjun looked up from his food, furrowing his brows as he pursed his lips. Yeji let out a deep sigh before grabbing her bag, muttering under her breath. "I-I'm gonna go." Yeonjun grabbed her wrist, locking eyes with her. "Is something wrong?" Hearing no response, he sighed as he laced his fingers with her. He smiled sadly at her, looking at her endearingly. "At least take some food with you. You can't afford to lose any more weight." Yeji smiled weakly, telling him to send it over at her place later before leaving the restaurant.

Yeji ran her hand through her hair, her emotions overwhelming. She shut her eyes tight, to prevent the tears from escaping her eyes. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked to the side of the street, spotting a library. Making up her mind, she walked toward the modest library sandwiched in between clothing outlets.

She brushed her fingers against their spines, smiling softly to herself. Due to her depression, Yeji was an introvert and preferred to be with her books. Books never left her, considering the fact that she now takes Literature in University as her major now. "So many memories..." She mumbled under her breath, seeing the familiar titles that she spotted when choosing new books. "I liked that book too!" a familiar voice made her lookup. Her eyes widened seeing the familiar features of the smiling boy. "H-Hyunjin?!" she whispered, moving her hand upwards to touch his ethereal face. But just like that, he disappeared right in front of her eyes.

Yeji frowned, shaking her head as she lightly smacked herself. "Stop imagining things." Disturbed, Yeji walked out of the library without any books, which was something that she never did. She kept her head down, looking at her black sneakers as she weaved through the masses of people who had decided to visit the street that offered a variety of things. She knew. She knew it was going to be the beginning of her hallucinations.

>>>

"Doesn't this dress look beautiful?" Xiaoting sighed dreamily, pulling the white summer dress off the rack. Yeji shrugged, looking through the shirts on sale. "Oh come on, Yeji! I want to buy a dress for you, but you don't even spare a glance at them!" Xiaoting whined. Yeji sighed dreadfully as she turned around to look at the dress. She forced a smile before giving Xiaoting a thumbs up. Xiaoting grinned in satisfaction before grabbing Yeji's wrist. Yeji let out a yelp in surprise as she got pulled into a dressing room. "Try it on!" Xiaoting giggled as she pulled back the curtain. Yeji groaned in displeasure, staring at the dress.

Yeji pulled the hem of the dress down as she exited the dressing room. Yeji's always been quite shy about showing her milky legs. She tugged a hair strand behind her ear as she waited for her evaluation from the fashionista. "You look so adorable! Oh my gosh, the white bow will go so well with your red hair!" Ziaoting squealed, showing off the white bow that came with the dress. "Imagine putting a leather jacket over this look! Oh god, I'm simping." Xiaoting laughed nervously before ushering Yeji to the dressing room again, telling her to take off the dress so she could pay for it.

Xiaoting passed her the paper bag, smiling gleefully. "My cousin passed me a leather jacket, but it's not really my style, I prefer cardigans. But you could totally pull off the bad bitch style." "Xiaoting!" Yeji hissed, hitting Xiaoting's shoulder lightly."Alright, alright. Let's go get some iced coffee before we go home." Yeji hummed in agreement as Xiaoting laced her arm with hers, dragging her toward the coffee shop just down the street.

"What would you like to order?" the teenaged boy hummed behind the cashier. Yeji and Xiaoting scanned the menu, Xiaoting deciding before Yeji could. Yeji looked up from the menu to face the boy with her order ready. She flinched in shock as she saw the face that had haunted her for a while now.

Seeing her best friend freeze, Xiaoting's eyebrows creased as she nudged Yeji. Yeji shook her head, and the boy's real face started to form, Hyunjin's slowly fading away. "You okay, Ji?" Xiaoting asked worriedly. Yeji chuckled nervously as she apologized to the boy. "I'm having a headache right now. I'll head home first." Yeji walked away from Xiaoting before she felt her hand wrap around her wrist.

"You can tell me what's wrong, you know." Yeji nodded weakly, shaking her friends' hand off before walking home fast. She knew it was cowardice, running away whenever she saw Hyunjin's face appear in front of her. But what could she do? It made her go insane only thinking about the one she missed the most.

>>>

Yeji massaged her head as she walked out of the lift. She walked toward the bus stop, completely forgetting about Yeonjun. A horn made her snap out of her thoughts, as her head whipped toward the sound. Yeonjun waved his hand cheerfully, motioning to the bike.

"I'll take the bus today, thanks!" Yeji called out, walking away quickly. The sound of footsteps behind her made her quicken her pace before she broke out into a run. Just Yeonjun's fingertips grazing against the porcelain skin on her wrist made her burst. "I'm not playing, Yeonjun! You really need to give me space right now!" She cried out desperately, turning around. She didn't even flinch when she saw Hyunjin's face, but it did cause her eyes to water.

"Yeji, you can talk to me."

"I fucking know, okay?! I know those close to me will listen, but I'm so much of a coward! I'm afraid Yeonjun, don't you see? I feel so fucking useless and dramatic. So just...leave me alone." She sighed sadly, running a hand through her hair in frustration. She walked away from Yeonjun without a sound, Yeonjun ultimately decided to give space to Yeji.

Yeji dug her fingernails into her thigh, overthinking the scene just now as she sat on the bus. The congested bus felt different after a month of riding at the back of a bike. She bit her lower lip as she thought about Yeonjun, her eyes darting around frantically.

"For fuck's sake, why am I so dramatic?" Yeji cursed under her breath, tugging onto a hair strand unconsciously. The businessman sitting next to her glanced at her weirdly, hearing her incoherent mumbling and pulling of her hair strands.

Yeji was embarrassed. She always felt embarrassed in front of Yeonjun. The fact that she's close enough to him to let these things happen and just completely shun him out for a while after that. She admired Yeonjun for his persistence, but deep in her head, she knew he wouldn't wait around for her to accept him.

Yeji shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she scanned her bus card and walked out of the bus stop, toward school. She stopped in her tracks, remembering that the next therapy session would be tomorrow. "Oh my god Yeji, you're just destroying yourself right now!" She hissed, gripping her tote bag tightly as she walked toward the school gates.

>>>

Ms. Sukie stared pointily at both of them, not failing to notice the space between them and the suffocating silence. She sighed and shook her head, placing her clipboard on the table. "Never knew this will turn into couples' therapy."

Yeji and Yeonjun glanced at each other before looking away, the atmosphere tense and awkward.

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~Viky
🎶🌸☕