Rent A Girlfriend - Ryuryeong

Chap 11

After having to sheepishly ask the teacher if she could go to the bathroom and insist that she just really needed to go and no, it really couldn't wait. Ryujin spent five minutes getting lipstick off her teeth with wet paper towels and awkwardly waving and avoiding the eyes of anyone who walked in the bathroom and stared, probably wondering what the fuck she was doing.

When she got back to class, the teacher had moved on to something she had absolutely no clue how to do, so she doodled on her notes like the disappointment she was. She absentmindedly drew hair next, roughly filling in strands of what was to be a long haircut, maybe even a light wavy style. When it was finished, she added a head, then two eyes that looked sly. It was only when she sketched plump lips set in a smirk that Ryujin realized she drew Chaeryeong.

She shaded the entire thing just because it pained her to leave it unfinished. Bubbly letters of Chaeryeong's name were drawn as an afterthought.

Then Ryujin realized how this could easily be compared to some cliche trope in a movie where the unpopular girl stares dreamily at the annoyingly oblivious boy and draws him surrounded by hearts in her notebook. Ryujin scribbled over Chaeryeong's face so hard that the point of her pencil broke and attempted to focus on the lesson. She failed rather quickly.

Thankfully, the class went by fast. The bell rung, shaking her out of her stupor, so Ryujin got up and lazily packed up her things. Ugh, it seemed like today was going so slowly. At least it was time for lunch, so Ryujin had about forty minutes to laze about and eat all the unhealthy food she stashed in her bag.

She walked down the hallway. She was almost outside when she remembered that she had a girlfriend she probably should eat with.
That's what couples do, right? Or do they? Shit, she should've asked Chaeryeong back when they were in Ryujin's room.

She yelped when a hand grabbed her arm.

"Wha-"

"Oh, calm down. It's just me." Chaeryeong scoffed, letting go of Ryujin's poor arm.

Ryujin made a show of rubbing where Chaeryeong grabbed with a hurt look on her face, and Chaeryeong rolled her eyes.

"Don't go around grabbing people's arms with those steel claws of yours, geez."

"It was practically a loving embrace, so shut the hell up." Chaeryeong sniffed.

"Boy, do I feel the love." Ryujin retorted dryly. "So, we're eating together aren't we?"

"Well, obviously. Are we eating outside, or....?"

"Definitely outside. It's really nice today, plus there'll be a lot of people to gawk at us, and that's just the greatest."

"If it wasn't so endearing, I'd tell you to cut it out with the sarcasm." Chaeryeong said casually, and Ryujin almost stopped walking when it registered that Chaeryeong called her endearing. Casually so, like it was a normal thing to say!

"Yeah, well..." She lamely attempted to reply and gave up, face heating up. Chaeryeong's smile was coy, and her expression was awfully similar to Ryujin's drawing. Once the two of them made it outside, Ryujin asked, "So, where do we eat?"

"How about that candlelit table over there?" Chaeryeong said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I assumed we'd be eating on the ground."

There weren't many options, Ryujin'll give her that. The few cement tables were filled already. Ryujin looked around for a minute, and spotted a place that could actually be just as good.

"What about under that tree?" Ryujin pointed. "We'll have shade at least, and something to lean on."

Chaeryeong surprisingly didn't protest, so they both sat underneath the tree. Ryujin pulled her bag into her lap and pulled out a bag of potato chips. Ah, time to make her body hate her a little more.

"Is that all you brought?" Chaeryeong asked suddenly, staring at the bag of chips in Ryujin's hand like it was the bane of her existence.

"I brought a candy bar too..."

Chaeryeong's stare was deadpan. Ryujin shrugged. The blonde began fishing through her bag, and Ryujin moved to open her chips. She almost dropped the bag when an apple was shoved in her hand.

"What's this for?" Ryujin asked. The apple was clearly part of the kind that you bought individually at the grocery store, nearly bigger than Ryujin's hand and deep red color. Ryujin had to admit that it looked pretty good.

"For eating." Chaeryeong answered, delicately setting her own apple in her lap like it was a five-star meal and not a goddamn fruit.

Ryujin sighed, "I meant, why did you give it to me?"

"Because you can't just eat chips and chocolate for lunch."

"The candy bar isn't even chocolate..." Ryujin grumbled, biting into the apple anyway. It was just as good as it looked, soft on the inside and sickly sweet in the best way. She took another huge bite, then another. Pretty soon, all that was left was a core. Chaeryeong wasn't even halfway done with hers.

"Wait, why'd you bring two apples?" Ryujin asked. "Can you secretly see the future or something?"

"Of course! I can see the future, and you are obviously a time traveler. Match made in heaven, right?"

"The sarcasm isn't needed, thanks."

"Well, truthfully..." Chaeryeong's tone changed, and Ryujin raised an eyebrow when she hesitated. "I knew to bring it because...you're...the apple of my eye."

...

"Oh my god, that's the worst pun I've ever heard."

"That laugh says otherwise, Shin."

——
Work really wore me out these days. Enjoy!