very long oneshot ahead; credits to thedonkatsu
"So when are you coming home?" asks the dark haired girl as soon as she answers the incoming call. She switches the phone to her left ear and hand, freeing her right hand to pull up the handbrake.
There's a chuckle followed by the voice she has been waiting to hear all week. "Miss me?"
"No," she replies curtly even though her heart is screaming otherwise.
"Aw... You miss me!"
"I was just asking a normal, casual question."
"It's okay to say that you miss me, you know. You rarely ever do that."
Knowing that her best friend is just teasing her, she chooses to reply with another question. "Do you want me to pick you up at the airport?"
"Well, since you miss me so much... Sure!"
Ryujin exhales and smiles to herself when she hears the laugh from the other side of the line. "Okay. Text me your flight details," she says in her unchangingly calm and steady tone.
"Will do. How's Hongsam?"
"He's good. He was kinda quiet after you left but he's his old noisy self again now. He probably missed you."
"Aw my poor baby. I'll be back soon enough. What are you doing?"
"Picking him up."
"Oh? Are you driving?"
"No."
"Good. Where are you guys going?"
"Not sure. Probably to that taco place you like."
"I miss that place. Haven't been there in a while. And I should thank him later for dragging you out of the house. If you had spent another weekend at home, I would not hesitate to call Chaeryeong and tell her to take you out to get some sun."
"How many times must I tell you that I'm a big girl and that you don't have to worry about me, Umma?" Ryujin teases, hiding the tiny flutters that always appear whenever she's at the receiving end of her best friend's care and attention.
"And how many times must I tell you to never call me that? I am not your mother, Shin Ryujin."
Just when she's about to reply, she catches sight of the man she's waiting for walking out of the building. Regretfully, she tells her best friend that she has to go.
"Okay. I'll call you back later," comes the reply.
"Alright. Sorry."
"It's cool. Talk to you later. Bye boo!"
She snorts despite her soaring heart, suppressing the urge to break into a huge happy grin. "Bye."
The car door opens just when she ends the call and she tries to act cool while placing the phone down.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," says the man. "And for making you pick me up. My car should be fixed by the end of the week."
"That's okay. It's more practical this way anyway." She starts driving, ignoring the look he is giving her. "How was your day?"
"The usual. Whom were you talking to on the phone just now?"
"Yeji."
"Isn't she in Hong Kong?"
She nods while keeping her focus on the road ahead.
His eyes stay on her, observing for another minute before he turns his head and launches into a story about a colleague, much to her delight. She knows that he's been watching her and the last thing she wants is a serious and honest discussion because honesty is something that she can't give him.
