Domino (Ryeji)

4

YEJI

*One month earlier*

Yeji was woken slowly by the constant buzzing of her phone next to the pillow she had been sleeping on. Bleary eyed she picked it up only to see eight missed calls and twelve unread text messages from her mother. She glanced at time at the top of the screen and furrowed her eyebrows. What was her mum so desperate to tell her at six in the morning?

She sat up, rubbing her eyes before suddenly remembering where she was, her heart jumping in surprise at the sight of Ryujin deeply asleep next to her. Of course, how could she have forgotten. Your first kiss wasn't something one easily forgot.

Yeji smiled at the memory before finally realizing why her mum had been spamming her phone. Yeji quickly read through all the messages, worry and desperation written in all of them, asking where Yeji was and if she was ok, pleading for her to come back home so they could talk. Yeji sighed knowing she couldn't ignore it, hoping perhaps her mum had had a change of heart now she'd had time to cool off and think about things. Maybe she didn't mean all those things she'd said to her the night before.

As quietly and slowly as possible, in an effort not to wake sleeping beauty next to her, Yeji slipped out from under the duvet and silently got changed back into her own clothes. However, not wanting to just leave with no explanation she hastily grabbed a sheet of blank paper from Ryujin's desk and scribbled down a quick note detailing why she'd left so early without saying goodbye. She placed it carefully on the pillow, hoping Ryujin would notice it when she woke up. She then slung her bag over her shoulder and tip-toed out of the room, easing the door shut quietly.

The walk back to her house wasn't all that far and in fact the early morning air was quiet refreshing. The streets were still fairly empty and the clear blue sky brought a sense of calm and peace over her entire body. Naturally her mind wandered back to last night, a night she'd originally thought she'd remember with pain and sadness now overwhelmed by a warm fuzzy feeling. Yeji chuckled to herself and shook her head, wondering how on earth she'd gotten so lucky. Ryujin had not only accepted and supported her but she'd actually liked her back! Yeji had to keep reminding herself she wasn't dreaming.

Soon enough she stood on her doorstep, staring at the door bell. She inhaled deeply, the city air seeping into the far corners of her lungs, before ringing the bell. Within seconds it was flung open, her mother looking wide eyed and disheveled.

"Yeji where were you? I've been calling you all night!" She said in a raised, panicked voice. Ushering Yeji inside and immediately closing the door.

"You kicked me out?" Yeji replied, slightly irritated that her mum was making it out like she'd run away without telling anyone. "You shouted at me to leave?"

"I know, I know but I didn't mean it like that." Her mum said, bringing Yeji into an uncomfortable hug. "We both said some things in the heat of the moment we didn't mean." Yeji awkwardly squirmed out of her mum's arms.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"All that nonsense you were saying last night."

"What nonsense?" Yeji was eyeing her suspiciously.

"All that stuff about, what, your sexuality? Which was, quite frankly, ridiculous darling."

"Ridic-" Yeji was baffled, "Mum I'm not making that up. I told you, I like girls. All that stuff I said was true."

Her mother was now shaking her head. "Unbelievable." She scoffed. Yeji's heart sank. "You know I was really worried about you. I was up all night calling you and you didn't reply once, only to come back here and continue to argue with me." Yeji's eyes fell to the floor.