~ 𝘼𝙇𝙇 𝘼𝙇𝙊𝙉𝙂 ~

<15>

YEJI

I smiled, placing my hand on the car door about to close it, and thanked Yeonjun for a fun time. He jokingly saluted and I chuckled before waving him off and closing the door.

After his departure, I dashed up the steps to Ryujin's porch and knocked on the door. It swung open within seconds, revealing all four of them, with Ryujin at the center. She ushered me inside, closing the door behind us, and I was immediately bombarded with questions as soon as I settled onto the couch.

"Did he hurt you?"

"How was it?"

"What'd you guys do?"

"Did he slap you aga-"

"Why are you smiling?"

Ryujin sat down beside me and sighed. "So, how did it go?" she asked, and there was a moment of silence.

"It went well. He took me to a cat café," I replied, smiling at the memory of playing with the adorable kittens and hearing about his past experiences with a girl he used to play with. It was comforting to know what brings him happiness.

"I knew I should have followed you guys," Yuna grumbled, stomping her feet as she plopped down on the couch.

"He said cats bring him comfort," I explained before Chaeryeong interrupted.

"What does?"

"Cats," I replied, pursing my lips. They all fell silent for a moment.

"I thought he would be a dog person," Lia chuckled.

"That's weird. I have something in common with him then," Yuna muttered.

"Really? Do cats give you comfort?" I asked curiously.

"Of course, they're like little fuzz balls!" Yuna exclaimed, thinking about her cat Sarangi at home.

"Anyways," Ryujin interjected. "Did anything special happen?"

"He told me about his childhood a little," I shrugged and stood up, only for Lia to pull me back down.

"Where are you going? We're not done yet," Lia protested.

"I'm going to take a shower. All we did was eat at the café, talk, play with kittens, and then go home," I summarized, assuming they had let it go since there were no more questions.

After taking a shower, I went looking for the others in the living room, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Girls?" I called out, but there was no answer. The silence was eerie, and for a moment, I thought I had traveled to the future or something.

I checked the backyard, but nobody was there either. Finally, I decided to check the basement. As I walked down the steps, I heard laughter and immediately felt relieved.

"Yeji-unnie, come play with us!" Yuna waved me over as I entered the game room. The two Shins were competing in Mario Kart, while Chaeryeong cheered Yuna on and Lia filmed them for posting later.

I sat beside Ryujin and watched them play. Her fingers were fumbling with the controller, her eyes glued to the screen, and her mouth agape, not saying a word. I found myself watching her intently, feeling something stirring in my chest, which was weird.

THIRD PERSON

After Ryujin's victory dance, Yeji stood up, wearing a confident smirk that challenged Ryujin to a game. The two had a brief staring contest before beginning the game, and the rest of the group watched with anticipation, each secretly betting on who would win.

Finally, the game ended with cheers and groans, and Yeji emerged as the winner. She stuck out her tongue playfully at Ryujin and high-fived the others. Ryujin pouted, but couldn't help but laugh at Yeji's excitement.

"I'll get you next time," Ryujin declared, prompting more laughter from Yeji.

"Sure you will," Yeji teased, snapping a selfie with a sulking Ryujin in the background. She posted it online, proud of her victory over Ryujin. The rest of the group joined in on the celebration, enjoying the playful competition between their friends.

After several never-ending rounds of Mario Kart, the group decided to wind down by watching a horror movie. Chaeryeong went upstairs to turn off the lights, creating a more eerie atmosphere for the movie. They had all agreed to spend the night at Ryujin's house.

As they settled onto the large and comfortable couch, some of them cuddling under blankets, Ryujin turned to the youngest members of the group. "Are you guys going to watch the movie this time?" she asked, remembering how they had giggled and whispered throughout the last movie.

"Absolutely," they both said, nodding emphatically.

As the movie began, however, it was clear they weren't paying attention at all. They were completely engrossed in their own conversation, giggling and whispering loudly, much to the annoyance of the others.

During the scary movie, Lia kept getting scared and clung onto Yeji. But every time Lia jumped, it startled Yeji too and made her cling onto Ryujin, who was calmly eating her crackers.

"Stop jumping on me, Lia! You're scarier than the movie," Yeji whisper-yelled and moved closer to Ryujin.

What was Ryujin feeling at the moment? Her stomach was doing flips that seemed like they were going to last forever, her heart pounded to the point where she could hear it in her ears, and her cheeks were definitely pink. Thankfully it was dark in the room so the others couldn't tell. At this point, she was stuffing the crackers in her mouth to calm down whatever was happening in her body.

There was only one person who could make her feel this way, and it was always going to be Hwang Yeji.

"Can I have some?" Yeji whispered in Ryujin's ear, which made everything worse. Goosebumps were all over, and Ryujin's ears were hot as hell.

"Y-yeah, here..." Ryujin gave a piece of cracker to Yeji, avoiding eye contact so her body wouldn't react so strongly.

"Thanks, Abu." Ryujin peeked out of the corner of her eye and found Yeji smiling at the cracker before eating it.

Cute, she thought.

Soon, Yeji noticed how Ryujin kept putting more and more crackers in her mouth, causing her to worry about her friend's well-being.

"Ryu, why are you eating so many crackers so quickly? Is everything okay?" Yeji asked with concern etched on her face as she turned Ryujin's head to face hers.

Ryujin felt her heart flutter at the touch of Yeji's hands on her chin. She took a deep breath before replying, "I just really like these crackers."

Yeji looked at Ryujin with a mixture of concern and confusion. She couldn't help but notice how Ryujin seemed to be acting a little differently today, more flustered and nervous than usual.

As the monkey's gaze drifted downwards to Yeji's lips, the brunette felt her cheeks heat up. Ryujin appeared to be lost in a trance and began leaning in slowly. Yeji only realized what was happening when she felt their breath on each other's faces.

"Yeji-"

"HOLY SH-"

Lia's sudden jump and cling from behind startled Yeji, causing her to lurch forward and their lips to meet by accident. They both pulled back in shock, their eyes wide open. Yeji touched her lips, her mind racing with a flurry of emotions and thoughts. It was an accident, but why did it feel so significant?

"I need to go to the bathroom," Yeji quickly stood up and rushed out of the room, leaving Lia confused and Ryujin feeling disappointed.

Both were taken aback by the unexpected contact, but neither of them seemed to hate it. However, one of them regretted it as she was already in a relationship.

Hopefully, this incident wouldn't make things awkward between them.

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