Ballroom Fever - Ryeji

Dear Ryu

Ryujin slowly opened her eyes and she found herself in an uncomfortable sleeping position. The first thing that popped in her mind was the memory of her arguing with Chaeryeong and Chaeryeong slapping her, thus making her head hurt like she charged onto a brick wall. All of her limbs weren't cooperating with her, it's like she just fought thousands of soldiers. Ryujin wanted to stay in bed and spend her entire Saturday morning lying down, but her stomach let out a sudden growl.

Ryujin expelled air through her mouth. She slowly stood up from her bed and walked to the mirror in her room. Ryujin looked at her reflection and she scoffed at the miserable look on her face. Her hair was messy, eyes were about to shut down in a few seconds, and even a speck of happiness is not present on her face. Since she didn't want a depressing weekend, Ryujin filled her mind with images of Yeji's eye smile and it instantly shifted her mood. A smile formed on Ryujin's face. She fixed her hair and went outside of her room.

Ryujin went straight to the kitchen to make herself a nice breakfast. The entire house was silent. Ryujin's ears were occupied by the sound of silence. Their kitchen was clean, no dirt or any dust can be seen. Two plates and two coffee mugs were sitting next to the kitchen sink and because of that, Ryujin knew that her parents weren't home. Ryujin walked to their fridge, opened it and grabbed a jar of peanut butter. Their bread was placed on the dining table, so Ryujin grabbed a knife and went there to make herself a simple yet delectable breakfast.

At the dining table, a wave of questions hit Ryujin when she saw a folded piece of paper on their table. A white paper with no designs whatsoever. Ryujin put the knife and peanut butter on the table and grabbed the mysterious piece of paper. 'Did Mom and Dad leave this here?' she wondered. She unfolded it with no hesitation and her eyes were greeted with a bunch of words. Ryujin looked at the capitalized words on top of the paper and it made her eyes widen. "Dear Ryu?" she said.

Ryujin recognized the handwriting. It was Yeji's handwriting. The letter was short and it had a modicum of erasures. Tightly holding the letter and trying her best not to release a river of tears, Ryujin sat down and started reading Yeji's letter to her. Ryujin carefully read the letter from top to bottom. After reading, a solitary tear fell down from her eye. Ryujin furrowed her eyebrows and gritted her teeth, she was feeling a mix of anger and sadness. Ryujin crumpled Yeji's letter and slammed the table with her hand. "Damn it, Yeji! What do you mean by this?!" Ryujin shouted. "What do you mean you're leaving and Chaeryeong will take care of me? What are you saying?!" Ryujin's tears started falling down. She started crying.

However, her tears were interrupted when she heard someone open the door on the gate of their house. Ryujin sniffed and wiped her tears. She thought that her parents were home, so she stood up from the chair she's sitting on and walked to the door of their home. Ryujin was desperate and she knows that her parents still hate Yeji and they will never let her meet with her, but she still wanted to try and ask for permission. She wanted to visit Yeji and talk to her about her trip to America.

Ryujin fixed her hair and wiped her tears. She didn't want to look like she just cried. She put her hand on the doorknob and opened the door. Ryujin was greeted by sunlight, the poignant scent of flowers and plants outside, and Chaeryeong, who was standing in front of her making her feel annoyed and a little livid. Ryujin let out a sigh. "Who told you that you can just open our gate and enter like that? I'll report you for home invasion," she said.

Just by listening to the tone of Ryujin's voice and looking at her eyes, Chaeryeong knew that she is still mad at her, because she kept on pestering her yesterday and she also slapped her. "I'm sorry. Your parents aren't home and I was worried that you won't let me in if I call for your name."

"Do you think I'd let you come inside of our house, Chaeryeong? Go away." Ryujin tried to shut the door, but Chaeryeong firmly held the edge of the door preventing it from closing.