The Red Bow [Chaelisa]

8. Little Things

November 2, 2014. – First year of college.

The weeks passed quickly and with the month of November that, for Chaeyoung, became magical for the simple fact of being Christmas. Yes, she was cliché to the point of being in love with Christmas lights, snowmen, Christmas trees and the family gathered around the table for supper. That’s how she was raised, in a large family where Christmas was celebrated every year in a simple way, but in union. Chaeyoung loved being around people, she loved her parents’ protective form, and she knew she owed everything she had to them who always believed in their dreams, especially Mason who encouraged her to sign up for Juilliard since she was sixteen years old.

The day was November 2, 2014 and the Giants had lost the game of the last season of the year to the Chicago Bears. Lisa was a beast like most of the students who had scheduled to watch the game at Blue Note, a jazz bar frequented by Juilliard students located between 6th Avenue and MacDougal Street. Now most of them just grunted by paying the lost bets while a young DJ went up to the small stage and started the attraction that night.

“Never underestimate bears, baby!” Somi said euphorically as she turned her fourth glass of whiskey. “Spend the money, girl.”

Lisa grudgingly spent sixty dollars and soon turned towards the stage ignoring any that came from Somi and Jisoo at that table. Jennie and Chaeyoung were unaware of the game talking about the release of the new album by an American girl group.

The DJ had started the playlist with singer Katy Perry’s Dark Horse causing some students to shout excitedly and cheer, most of them already too drunk to stay seated. Although the place is a Jazz bar, the owner always gave special nights to the students, releasing small ballads like that one, to the delight of everyone in Juilliard who loved that place.

“You’re not going to let this ruin your night, are you?” she heard Chaeyoung comment poking her leg under the table. “Somi is just being Somi, the game was no big deal anyway.”

“You heard music all the time.” replied the Thai girl looking to the side and meeting the brown eyes full of guilt. “I’ll be fine, soon the anger will pass.”

The two had become an inseparable pair since their walk in Jisoo’s cottage. Lisa saw her not only on her internship days, but also when she was free from college studies, it was when she picked her up at Juilliard and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Park family home feeling included as a daughter. Chaeyoung locked herself in denial in the meantime, on the outside she acted as she always did with Lisa, but in the most intimate moments she managed to escape and curl up the Thai girl when the subject of feelings came up. She knew it was ridiculous to act in such a way, Jennie made a point of throwing that fact into the air every five minutes and maybe even Lisa was tired of her childishness, but the fear was greater when it came to loving someone. It was not a joke, for Chaeyoung, love was something much more than just holding your hand and exchanging affectionate kisses; love was the knowledge of the person’s soul, to surrender totally to someone without fear of tomorrow, it was to throw oneself from a mountain without caring what you would find down there.

And her biggest fear was that Lisa wasn’t expecting her at the end of that freefall.

Jennie waved toward the door where a group of students entered the bar, taking off their raincoats due to bad weather. Chaeyoung turned and, to her disappointment, Ashley was part of one of the groups. Not that the blonde girl didn’t like Ashley, they were good colleagues in Juilliard and the redhead had always proven herself to be a good person, but her crush on Lisa bothered Chaeyoung who did everything she could to not show it up.

“Well, look if you are not the losers of the house.” Ashley joked approaching the table and resting her hand on Lisa’s shoulder, which at first was startled by the touch. Chaeyoung closed her eyes. “I think they owe respect to bears now.”