I Used To Be Alright

Chapter 35

Yeji

Contrary to what she was expecting, Yeji actually slept like a baby after the DTR talk with Ryujin. It was the exact opposite of those nights when she was uncertain about everything.

It also ironically didn't feel exactly like how they describe it in the books and movies. Yes, she was giddy and jumping out of joy (internally, of course) when they finished the conversation. Who wouldn't?

But the biggest part of it was the calm – how good and satisfying it felt to finally let go of all the things she's been holding back for so long. It felt like literal baggage had been offloaded from her chest.

When she woke up the day after, the first thought that she had was.

Wow. I have a girlfriend.

She smiled to herself as she stared blankly at the ceiling of her bed.

Not even a minute later, she heard a soft knock on her door.

She panicked a little but then remembered that she had company. Right, Ryujin stayed the night in the guest bedroom.

She cleared her throat and answered. "It's open."

She sat up properly and waited for the other girl to come in.

After a couple of minutes, the door slowly opened and Ryujin's head peeked in.

"H-hey."

"Good morning."

Yeji smiled and motioned for her to come in but Ryujin stayed glued to the door.

"Sorry Yeji-ah. There's a bit of an emergency in the kitchen, if you don't mind checking it out please."

Confused, Yeji stood up and walked directly to the kitchen.

She took her time to look around – the floor was wet. It looked like an aftermath of a poor attempt of cleaning whatever was spilled, or sprinkled. She looked up and saw droplets around the sprinkler. She also spotted the pile of used kitchen tissue sticking out of the garbage can.

She glanced towards the stove and saw burnt bread (?) on a plate. The pan was still full of black crumbs, and the spatula carried some of the evidence too.

She took a breath and started to tie her hair up.

"S-sorry, Yeji-ah. I tried to make breakfast for us and I-"

Ryujin explained behind her, voice shaking.

"I accidentally burnt the bread and activated the sprinkler on."

It took everything in Yeji to hold herself back and not laugh – so as to not make the other girl feel bad. But she must admit that, despite the huge semi-destruction that happened in her once clean kitchen, she found the gesture endearing. Only it didn't result in how she wanted it to.

She turned around and saw the brunette's eyes focused on the floor.

"I appreciate it, really. And it's really cute."

She paused, slowly held Ryujin's chin and tilted her head up so that their eyes were meeting.

"It was really sweet." She reassured her and gave her a quick peck.

Surprise was evident from the brunette's eyes – but really, Yeji was also bewildered by her actions. But she was feeling a little brave since earlier that morning and didn't see anything wrong with making the first move. Besides, they're girlfriends now.