In Another Realm (AU)

22

(I'm sorry in advance.)

"Guess what? It took us five months to come back here together. It wasn't our typical spot, but we used to hang out here at least once a month," Yuna laughed.

The three of them agreed to hang out together, like they were meant to do. Even though Ryujin wasn't familiar with the location, she pretended to be because Chaeryeong mentioned that it had always been their favorite spot to hang out together. However, it had been a while since they visited the place, and due to their growing circle of friendship with the other girls, they decided to further explore the idea of finding a new place to hang out together.

"Yeah, I nearly forgot this area existed,"

Ryujin remarked sarcastically, smirking at Chaeryeong, who had just given her deadly glances.

"I remember we made a deal the last time we were here," Yuna said, setting her phone on the table to refocus on the two girls. "Jinro for each..."

"No, no, Yuna, we're not going to have that," Chaeryeong said. She already knew what Yuna was going to suggest.

"But you said we'd have it when we got back here, and look... I'm an adult. What's wrong with that?" Yuna pouted at her girl.

"We're not going home wasted, Yuna. You wouldn't want to put your trust in Jinro," Chaeryeong stated, knowing how intoxicating Jinro is even in a few shots.

"How about just one big enough for all of us? It won't hurt, right?" Yuna said, flashing Chaeryeong a bright grin to persuade the woman.

"Let's set a date for that." Chaeryeong proposed it. "We're not going to drink today, Yuna."

Despite her best efforts to persuade her friends, Yuna was lost. She gave up, attempting to understand why the girls didn't appreciate her suggestion.

"We understand that you want to try new things now that you're an adult, but we have to know how to be responsible, Yuna. We can have a taste, it's just not the appropriate time," Ryujin lectured, hoping to help Yuna understand more.

"I know, unnie," Yuna said, smiling and nodding. She couldn't help but smirk at Ryujin, causing the other girl to raise an eyebrow.

"W-What?"

"Unnie... I know it's not ideal to tell you this, but after knowing you for a long time, I still couldn't believe that some things in you changed. Not that I'm judging you or anything, and not that I don't like the old you, but I think this is your better version of yourself right now," Yuna admitted.

Ryujin smiled, giggling nervously, and unknowingly received a scowl from Chaeryeong because they both knew Yuna was unaware of the secret.

It feels so awful to lie, but they thought it would be best not to tell her, especially to avoid hurting her if something happened.

Ryujin merely nodded and smiled at Yuna since she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

There was a brief stillness after that, which didn't bother Yuna, but the silences got awkward for Ryujin and Chaeryeong.

"Unnie..." Ryujin's attention was drawn again when Yuna called her. Ryujin simply stared at her, while the youngest among them looked at the other woman beside her, smiling to encourage Chaeryeong.

Ryujin saw how the two gazed at each other with admiration, which made her pleased to see her friends in love but also embarrassed to have to witness them in front of her.

"We're going to tell our parents about us," Yuna said as she stared at Ryujin while clutching Chaeryeong's hand.

Ryujin squinted, picking up on Yuna's words as she stared at them repeatedly.