Ballroom Fever - Ryeji

Smell of Afternoon

Ryujin's POV

"Princess!!" Someone suddenly yelled that startled me. Lia, Yuna, and I were walking away from school after a very exhausting day. My shoulders were aching so much, because of the difficult shoulder dance step that our teacher made us do. I was able to do the dance perfectly, but now I feel like my shoulders are going to fall.

My friends and I stopped walking and looked behind as we heard someone roughly place their steps on the pavement in a rapid pace. I felt even more miserable when I met eyes with Yeji who was running towards us with a broad smile on her face. She was ready to tease me again.

Behind Yeji, there was Chaeryeong who was running towards us too. It looked like they were on a fun little race. The two of them had a competitive and serious look on their faces while running. They were focused at us, they maintained a 90-degree bend in elbows, their hands were lightly cupped, and their ankles maintained a 10-degree bend.

"I am going to win!" Yeji yelled in a weak voice. She was tired from all the running and her legs were about to give up, but I remember that Chaeryeong told me that Yeji doesn't give up easily. Even when on the verge of defeat, she'd still strive for triumph.

Chaeryeong, on the other hand, was silent and she was very chill. To be honest, she looked very pretty when she was running. "Yeji, I'm bored. I'm going to beat you now!" she yelled and suddenly zoomed off. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped a little bit as I watched Chaeryeong run like Usain Bolt. I was astonished by her speed and honestly, she was kinda hot.

Yeji dissolved into silence while she watched her friend travel across the road like lightning. As Chaeryeong approached us, she stopped for a moment and looked at Yeji whose run turned into a jog. Yeji jogged her way to us and as she got closer to us, she slouched and put her hands on her knees while facing down and catching her breath. "I almost beat you, Chaeryeong," she said while panting.

Chaeryeong chuckled while standing besides me. "Yep. It was a close one," she said in a sarcastic way. Chaeryeong faced the three of us and smiled. "By the way, we raced here to tell you that you are invited to my party at my house." She smiled.

"A party?" Lia asked.

"Yep. I sent everyone from class an e-mail about my party and the address of my house. I just want to drink and have fun this weekend, that's all," Chaeryeong explained. "Do you guys wanna come?"

"Yeah!" Lia and Yuna said in unison.

It took me a while to decide, because I was scared of parties. Everytime I attend a party, I feel so claustrophobic. When I enter a room or a house filled with music, people, and the smell of cigarettes and beer, I find it hard to breathe. "Well, I...." I struggled to say anything.

"You don't have to come, Princess!" Yeji suddenly placed her arm around me. She was being annoying once again. "We don't have to attend the party. Let's just eat tteokbokki and talk this weekend, sounds good?" she asked.

I honestly wanted to agree with Yeji's plan. We haven't seen each other for 10 years and I feel like we have to talk and catch up about the things and challenges in life that we've encountered separately. I wanted the two of us to spend an entire day talking. I looked at Chaeryeong and I noticed that her smile dissolved, so I decided to say, "I-I'll think about it." I switched my attention to Yeji. "Stop calling me Princess!"

"Come on, Prin-" Yeji was cut off when Chaeryeong suddenly attacked and put her in a headlock. I was scared that Chaeryeong was hurting my bestfriend, but she wasn't. I forgot that they are very close. "Chaeryeong, stop!" Yeji yelled. Even though they were playing around, it seemed like Yeji was in pain.