Closer with you (ongoing)

CHAPTER 14

Bridesmaids had only been playing for thirty minutes when Moonbyul stood up from the couch, heaving a labored sigh as she did so.

"Okay, I'm gonna head out now," she softly declared. There was some hesitance in her announcement. The way she avoided Yongsun's eyes told the latter that Moonbyul wasn't expecting her to take this news well. Instead of blowing up, Yongsun rearranged herself on the couch, sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest. The sudden loss of physical contact with Moonbyul was disappointing, but she attempted to make up for it by wrapping her arms around her legs.

With furrowed brows, she addressed the elephant in the room, "But you just got here." Not just just, but 45 minutes ago, which was essentially the same thing.

"I know, but I forgot I was supposed to hang out with Sunmi." Still no eye contact. "She just texted me about it."

"Oh, okay!" Yongsun winced a bit and internally rolled her eyes at herself. In an attempt to sound affable and unaffected, she'd laid it on a bit too thick and ended up sounding overly excited and fake. It was cringey.

Moonbyul finally locked eyes with her and Yongsun saw the regret there. The smallest part of her held onto hope that the athlete wouldn't do this. It immediately vanished, though, when the other broke eye contact. Yongsun turned her head to focus on the television screen but she heard Moonbyul say, "I'll text you later, okay?" Her voice was cautious, but Yongsun didn't understand why. She hadn't caused a scene any of the other times over the past week and a half that Moonbyul had ditched her "to hang out" with Sunmi, why would she start now?

Yongsun simply nodded her head and busied herself with whatever antics Kristen Wiig's character was getting herself into. Moonbyul, she thought, could let herself out. And a minute or so later, the blonde did just that.

Once the door softly clicked shut, the graduate student promptly turned the movie off, gathered her blanket, and headed to her bedroom. There was no point in finishing the film. It had been Moonbyul's idea that they watch it in the first place, but she left.

Moonbyul grabbed the blankets they'd need. The food she and Yongsun had ordered was already set up in the other room. Reaching to close her friend's bedroom door with her free hand, Yongsun yelled after her from down the hall, "You can leave it. It should be open cause it's civil rights. This is the '90s."

The confusion all over the blonde's face was like a shot to Yongsun's heart.

"Bridesmaids. You've never seen Bridesmaids?" She asked incredulously.

Moonbyul made her way into the living room and plopped herself onto the couch, dropping the blankets down before reaching over the table to grab her chopsticks. "I think I've heard of it, but have never seen it."

"You're joking, right? You had time to watch all those other weird movies and shows you watch, but couldn't watch Bridesmaids?!"

"Choosing to ignore the insult and judgment. I didn't realize this movie meant so much to you," the younger chuckled lightly. "Let's watch it then. We can do a movie marathon or whatever next Tuesday since there're no classes. I'll bring popcorn."

The popcorn she had brought now sat untouched on the living room table.

Yongsun leapt onto her bed and lay sprawled on her back. The ceiling was suddenly the most interesting thing ever.

Bored. Bored. Bored. Yongsun had nothing to do. This semester's classes had officially ended yesterday, but the university granted students a couple days to study and prepare before finals started up on Thursday. As a graduate student, though, she had nothing to prepare for. None of her classes had final exams that she'd have to sit for. They all required projects or papers that had already been turned in, so she had nothing but endless free time for the next month. 'Be careful what you ask for' they say, and 'they' were right. Ever since the semester began, Yongsun prayed for its end, and now, with her wish granted, she had nothing to do. It had only been one day of being unoccupied, but restlessness was already gnawing at her.