Changes and Chances

Chapter 9

Yeji was walking around the festival, checking out the booths and waiting for the next set of musicians to come up on stage. The place was pretty packed since it's the weekends and most universities are already done with quarterly exam seasons.

"Yeji-aaaah."

She chuckled, already knowing the voice even before she turned around to face her best friend.

"You're late", she sternly told Chaeryeong.

The other girl pouted and gave Yeji an apologetic look.

The latter instantly broke character and hugged her best friend back.

"Arghhh. I thought you're gonna ditch me! I know events like these aren't your scene."

"It's okay. You always go with me to the places I like, anyway." The other girl answered. "And I ran into Ryujin, that's why I came in late."

Yeji was aware that Ryujin would be here, but she gave up the idea of running into her when she saw how big the crowd was.

When she found out that she finally got a date, or whatever you call it, she figured her help wasn't needed anymore.

As much as Yeji hated to admit, Ryujin was really an interesting person to hang out with. When she was able to shake off the dating app encounter, she realized that they actually like the same things - they both listen to the same artists, they both have a sweet spot for pets and they even talk about business classes during the meet ups.

She also appreciated that Ryujin remembers the minor rules that she set - no changing or complaining about the music when they're in the car, no food (even take outs!) as she didn't want the car smelling like food, no questions or inquiries about any of the things she'll find on the backseat. The afternoon drop off went on for a whole month and it's almost like a reflex to walk out of the coffee shop together.

"You remember her, right?" Chaeryeong brought her back to her consciousness.

"Ah, yes. She's the one with the pink hair?"

"Black now. She dyed her hair months ago. But yeah, that's her."

Yeji just nodded and led their way towards the stage.

She hasn't told her best friend about the meetings, either. Aside from it being something that Yeji did not see herself liking, she also did not want to be a subject of Chaeryeong's questioning. Especially since the latter has always been looking forward to the day that she actually 'dates someone for real.'

When the last set was done, they decided to check out the food trucks around the area. Chaeryeong is a huge foodie - she likes to try a lot of different food since, growing up, she didn't have that much freedom in doing so. And Yeji is always supportive of what makes her happy.

They've already spent an hour tearing through the food trucks and booths when they ran into Ryujin and her date.

"Ryuu!" Chaeryeong shouted as she pulled Yeji towards where the two girls were sitting.

Yeji did not miss the way Ryujin paused and gazed at her before returning the greeting.

"Hey guys", she said and nodded casually.

"You remember Yeji, right?" The red-haired girl turned to Yeji.

"Yeah, hey." Ryujin quickly gazed away and gestured to the woman beside her.

"This is Ji-min. We attended the festival together."

The girl then greeted us with a wide smile.

She's really pretty, Yeji thought to herself. So this is Ryujin's type.