Rivals

Chapter 2: Infinite Academy

"The girl who carried her last name like a burden." - Unknown

Valerie

"Yah, you better not forget about us." Demands Ha-eun. "You better not." Jiwoo chimes in ruffling my hair. As we walk down the streets of Seoul towards the food tents and stalls. Jisung shoots his index finger at me in a threatening manner, "I'll choke you to death if you do, I don't care if you're 6 feet or not." I chuckle, swinging my arm around his 5'6 shoulders, "I wouldn't dare do such a thing."

We stop by a food stall we're quite familiar with. The pink stall sells fried chicken and tteokbokki. We come here almost every week after school. Which gifted us the owner's acquaintance . Today she wears a yellow dress. Her hair tied back in a bun. She embraces me in a tight hug.

"My sweet, sweet girl. I'm going to miss you so much. Don't forget your poor ajumma (A Korean term used to address a middle aged woman.)" She sobs. "Ajumma I could never forget you. I'll miss you too." I assure her. "So what will it be today, dears?"

"12 drumsticks and 4 portions of tteokbokki please." Says Ha-eun.

Ajumma returns into her stall and prepares our meal. We sit at the table placed beside the stall.

Ha-eun and I sit beside each other while the boys sit across from us. She grabs my hand and intertwines them from beneath the table. I look at her with a raised brow but her head is turned the other way. However, I was still able to catch a glimpse of her pink tinted cheeks. Ajumma brings us our plates and sets the chopsticks down on our table. We give her our thanks before devouring our food. Ha-eun takes her chopsticks and brings it over to her plate filled with tteokbokki. She grabs a piece before bringing it up to my face, "ahh." She says. Jiwoo and Jisung smirk at each other. I roll my eyes at them before giving her a smile. I take the rice cake into my mouth. How delectable.

--------------

The sun's starting to set and I'm suddenly awake from this unsubstantial feeling of happiness. I observe my laughing friends. Why am I playing a game of pretense with something so temporary. Because you have to stay strong for them, a tiny voice whispers from the back of my mind. I shake it off, have we really been out here for this long? These days time seems to go by so fast. I get up from my seat and walk towards the owner. From my backpack, I take out 10 notes of 50,000 won. Which is equivalent to around 406.9 USD. Her eyes widen. She shakes her head and hands, "No, No I can't take that." I grab her hand and put the notes inside her palm, "You know I won't be able to visit for awhile and I know business has been quite rough for you lately. So please take this as a token of my appreciation for the kindness you've always shown me. Please." She stays silent and then sighs and nods her head before embracing me into a hug. I melt into her comfort and she lets me go. She walks into her stall and takes out two containers. Filling one with tteokbokki and the other with fried chicken. She walks back out and hands them to me. She jokes, "Take it. I know they don't serve tteokbokki and fried chicken as well as I do over there in the U.S." Her words influence me to let out a small chuckle, bowing my head I say my thanks. I place the containers into my bag before swinging my backpack over my shoulders. As I am about to walk back to my friends, I feel my wrist being yanked back forcing me to turn around. Ajumma embraces me into a final hug and whispers, "Come back to Seoul as soon as you can, I look forward to the day you walk back into these streets."

We bid our goodbyes. The four of us walk back in a giddy mess. What is it that's so funny? I don't remember but for the sake of them I have chosen to entertain this happiness. Jiwoo and Jisung run to catch the city bus home with tears in their eyes they wave at me from the windows. I walk towards my black motorcycle, taking my helmet off of it before placing it on Ha-eun's head. She doesn't even blink. Her mind must be lost in wonderland. I knock on the helmet, forcing her out of her trance, "Are you okay?" She nods. I get on the bike and she follows my action. Once she's comfortable, she wraps her arms around my waist in a tight hug as I start the engine. However, I swear I heard a quiet sigh from her. What's wrong? You know what's wrong but you're still playing this game of pretense.