“I’m here!” announces Soeun the moment she steps through the door.
The blue-haired girl quickly discards her jacket and bag and plops down on the couch, on the empty space next to Zoa.
“Now spill!” she orders her taller friend, eyes twinkling with excitement and a bit of mischief.
“There is nothing to tell!” states Zoa for the umpteenth time since Monday told Soeun and Soojin about Jihan's unannounced visit, bearing baked goods for Zoa who happens to love sweet things. Their Kakaotalk chatroom has been filled with interrogations from the two friends but Zoa kept insisting that it was nothing special. So they decided to gather at her apartment and personally conduct a more thorough interrogation.
“They were being all mushy nostalgic in the bedroom,” quips Monday who has chosen to sit far from Zoa to avoid any incoming attack from her friend.
“We were not being mushy!” argues the red-haired girl.
“How mushy?” Soojin asks Monday, ignoring the owner of the apartment.
“Well, they reminisced about that photo of them Hyewonie has placed on her bedside table-…”
“You put a picture of the two of you next to your bed?” Soojin looks at Zoa with wide eyes then jumps to her feet, running towards the bedroom to see the photo herself. “Wow! You two look really young here. How old were you?” she asks a minute later, her hand holding the old frame.
Soeun asks for a look and Zoa warns them to be careful with that aged item before clarifying that she and Jihan were simply trying to remember where they took that particular photo.
“But Jihan gave her that frame and that picture was always in Hyewonie's old room,” adds Monday. “Can’t believe you still have it. And the notes and letters too.”
“Notes and letters?” Soojin's ears practically perk up like her dog’s. “You keep everything she wrote you?”
“I did but I didn’t remember it myself until I met her again and started digging through my old stuff,” answers Zoa.
Soojin carefully places the frame on the coffee table and leans back against the couch. “So what are you two now, exactly?”
“We’re friends,” says Zoa. “Isn’t that obvious?”
“But you clearly still have feelings for her,” Soeun replies. “Does she feel the same way too?”
“It’s hard not to consider her special because of our past and I think she shares the same sentiment. But it’s too early to confidently say that we’re more than just friends,” explains Zoa. “I don’t even want to think about dating her right now. We might not go there again, maybe this closeness is all just because of nostalgia. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I know one thing. I like the way we are now. Comfortable, relaxed…”
“You guys are making great progress, that I agree with,” interjects Monday. “Does it feel weird to be friends with her again? Does it feel like meeting someone new?”
Zoa shakes her head. “Strangely, no. It doesn’t feel weird and she’s not as different as I had expected her to be. She’s pretty much still the same old Jihan.”
“If she’s willing to continue where you left off, will you take the opportunity? I mean, confess your feelings and have that relationship with her?”
The red-haired girl shrugs then stands up from her couch to take the precious photo frame back to her room without answering Monday's question.
