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"Hi Jia," a friendly voice greeted her as she entered HYBE
"Hello," Jia replied with a smile, returning the greeting.
"Good morning don't forget to get everything ready before 1 pm" someone else chimed in, reminding her about the meeting later that day.
"Morning J," a third voice said as Jia smiled at them all in turn.
"Hii, how are you?" another voice asked, and Jia smiled and returned the greeting once again, grateful for the friendly faces greeting her as she began her day.
Jia grabbed her phone to check her schedule for the day. "Write 3 songs, make the instrumental for new jeans," she read, and then added, "Meeting, 1 PM."
"Not bad." Jia shrugged, and started down the hall toward the studio. Hoping her friend would already be there.
"Chen Jiayi!" Adora, a blonde-haired girl, shouted, startling Jia.
"Why are you late?" the blonde cried, before shaking her shoulders in frustration. "Do you know how much I suffered listening to Bongcha talk about her husband?"
Jia let out a small chuckle at her friend, she hugged her tightly and told her, "Shut up, she might hear you."
"Stupid," Adora stuck her tongue out at Jia's words, annoyed by her tardiness. "I was late because my neighbor decided to throw his trash at my door again."
"Again?" Adora's eyes widened in shock. "Why aren't you reporting him? That man is crazy. Why aren't they doing anything about it?"
"I did, but they can't do shit," Jia sighed, resigned to her neighbor's bad behavior. "He's old and rich so they'll do nothing"
Adora continued to rant about how much she hated that kind of thing, cursing the old man too. Jia laughed, finding her friend's anger amusing.
"Anyway, do you want to go out later?" Adora asked. "We can hang out at the park, or maybe grab lunch."
The question immediately filled her with feelings of sadness and guilt, her heart aching with memories of the girl she once loved. Beautiful moments, both shared and stolen, played in her mind, each one bringing new waves of pain.
Jia wanted to forget the past, to move on and find happiness. But every time she thought she had finally started to move on, a memory would come up and send her spiraling once again. It seemed she was destined to relive the joy and pain of her past, over and over again.
"I'm sorry, but I'm actually really busy today," Jia responded in a smooth tone. "I've got a meeting during my break, so I have to pass."
Adora frowned, finding it hard to believe her friend's sudden excuse. "I'm not seeing you in the cafeteria either," Adora pressed her friend for more information.
