First love - the most destroying thing right next to cancer and, I guess, anything.
Wonyoung had lived in a blissful fantasy for months as dreaming of the stoic artist and her subconsciously while she tapped her pen in class, while she ate, when she woke up, before she went to bed. They texted deep into the night when Yujin wasn't drawing and called when she was.
Despite being total opposites, they coexisted so peacefully, it was like they were puzzle pieces made for each other.
"Hey? Wonyoung?" Fingers snapped in front of her face. "Hello Jang Wonyoung?"
"Sorry. I must've spaced out," Wonyoung chuckled apologetically, coming back to earth.
They were alone in the library, lights dimmed above the other shelves to cut down on the electricity bill.
Was she always this radiant? Wonyoung thought, shifting her focus to honey-coloured skin and plump lips. She admired Yujin's nose bridge,
"Have you had your first kiss yet?" Yujin asked casually, as if she was asking if she'd eaten today.
"No," Wonyoung breathed after a second. "What about you?"
Yujin looked up from her sketchbook.
"No? A pretty girl like you hasn't had her first kiss?"
Words half-formed in Wonyoung's brain repeatedly before crackling out. "No."
"That's," Yujin mumbled bashfully, resting her chin on her hand, "unbelievable."
They stayed silent for a minute, basking in the dim light and each other's company. It would've been nice if not for the prior question, which made the air pregnant with tension.
"Wonyoung," Yujin started, tone shifting as well as the mood.
With hope almost suffocating her, Wonyoung hummed enthusiastically. Was Yujin-
"We're friends, right?" Yujin asked, sadness unable to hide itself.
Wonyoung shattered. Yujin must've heard it.
Nevertheless, she blinked away tears.
"Best friends," she agreed, looking away from Yujin.
.
Yujin didn't come to school the next day.
Wonyoung ate with Gaeul.
Picking at her tray with her spoon, Wonyoung let her mind take over. This was tougher than any tuition and levels more crushing than her parents' expectations.
"Yujin said she's dropping out," Gaeul mumbled glumly, flipping green beans around with a chopstick. "She won't even sleep at home, I have no idea what that punk- Wonyoung?"
Wonyoung had broken so many times while knowing Yujin, and this might have been the straw to break the camel's back. A tear rolled off her cheek and plopped onto her tray, food barely touched.
Gaeul chased after her, but Wonyoung was quick. There was still time before lunch ended, still time to find Wonyoung.
She found her locked in a shower cubicle, sobbing, hiccuping, eyes red.
She rattled the lock. "Wonyoung-ah, let me talk to you, please."
After a moment's silence, the latch rattled on its own, and the door fell open.
"We're all seniors now," Gaeul began, crouching down to Wonyoung's level and patting her head. "Yujin is impulsive, but I don't know why she'd just drop out."
