After Gaeul left, Yujin locked their door and had the home to herself.
She unpacked Gaeul's millions of stuffed animals and sweaters from their boxes, as well as her own clothes. They all smelled like cardboard.
She had another carton of milk. In the late morning, she did some stretching, and watched half an episode of a drama that was premiering on TV. It was going too slow and kept dwindling on little things, so Yujin huffed and switched it off.
She set up her workplace in a seperate room, overjoyed at having her own office now. All her paints were arranged where she needed them. All she needed now was her table lamp.
As she walked into the living room, she noticed the walls were a sickly off-white, leaning towards grey. It was a complete eyesore and a shame to cast gaze upon.
So, as an artist, Yujin picked up her brush.
.
What do you wear to a performing arts college?
Gaeul wasn't sure, so she'd settled on a pair of cotton slacks and a short-sleeved sweater vest with a white collar. That, and a pair of her chunkiest sneakers, loving the way they thumped against the wooden floor.
Ah, crap, she thought, swamped the among other students in a foreign hallway. I'm lost.
"Hi," she began shyly, approaching a girl who looked the same age as Yujin, "do you know where Class 5C is?"
"Turn a left, and it's right beside the vending machine," the girl said. She had a deep pinpoint dimple by her mouth that displayed itself at the smallest movement. And she had blonde hair that bled into a faded baby pink. Were students allowed to dye their hair here?
"Thanks!" Gaeul said with a little bow, before turning to find her class.
.
Yujin had never painted a mural before. Nevertheless, it was only a small section she'd taped off neatly, and right above the mini fridge beside the couch.
A little mural of an orange tree. A white puppy, frolicking under it.
Yujin paused. They'd definitely had enough combined, and Gaeul's parents were the ones paying for her college tuition.
With a mischievous glint in her eye, she grabbed her own set of keys.
.
The first class had been theatre.
"Theatre acting is dramatically different from film acting," her professor taught, drawing two bubbles on a large whiteboard with a marker and writing "theatre" and "film" in each one. He was an averagely tall man with thick eyebrows and downturned eyes with heavy lids, dressed casually in a button down and office pants.
As Gaeul took notes in the back row, humming softly to herself, she caught blonde hair in the corner of her eye. She looked up.
Sure enough, there was the girl she'd asked directions from, sitting alone. Her head bobbed up and down, alternating between looking at the whiteboard and her notebook. She was taking notes as well.
"Theatre acting," he continued, "is far more exaggerated. Your vocals must be pronounced. If you land a musical scene, you should practice extra."
Subtly, Gaeul made her way two rows down and sat next to the blonde girl.
"Hello," she greeted softly, "I talked to you just now."
With delight, Blonde Girl stuck out her hand to her under the desks. They shook hands briefly.
"Hi!" Blonde Girl whispered. "I'm Liz. You?"
Gaeul was intrigued by her. She completely reminded her of Yujin.
"Kim Gaeul," she said, opening up her notebook to take notes.
"I haven't seen you around. Are you new here?" Liz asked, writing. Gaeul eum'd. "That's cool. How old are you?"
"I'm 23," Gaeul said, to which Liz told her she was a year younger. "Had to transfer here because I moved into the area."
Liz hummed with interest, then offered, "Come eat lunch with me later, Gaeul!"
Shortly after, they were dismissed, and Liz enthusiastically ushered Gaeul outside.
"I'm going to get some snacks," Liz chirped, rummaging around in her jeans pocket with a hand for some spare change. "Do you want anything?"
"That's okay. I'll get something for myself," Gaeul said, bringing her wallet out as well. The bell clinked against the glass door as Liz pushed it open and jingled a beat before coming to a rest.
"Is it okay if we eat with some other friends? I promised them I'd eat with them today - 'cuz I missed them during dance practice yesterday. Had to take a night shift at work."
Why not? What would be the harm in having more friends? The more the merrier, of course.
Gaeul selected a small katsu bento box with rice and pickled radish. They sat near a fountain at a lunch table. Liz peeled the plastic off her rice ball and took a bite.
"Are you Japanese?" Gaeul asked in between spoonfuls of rice. She definitely looked like it. Plus, her name was Liz. She could be American too.
Liz chuckled.
"Nope! I'm fully Korean." When she read the confusion slathered across Gaeul's furrowed brow, she elaborated, "Liz is just a nickname, short for Elizabeth. Like, from Pride and Prejudice. My name is Kim Jiwon."
Two other girls approached them, their own meals in hand.
"Mm, hi guys! This is-"
"Rei?"
"Gaeul?"
Gaeul sprang up, excited to see an old friend. Rei was much taller now, and evidently athletic. "Oh my gosh, it's been so long! How are-"
"Gaeul?" a softer voice called out.
The owner of the voice and Gaeul made eye contact, and Gaeul almost dropped her spoon.
.
Gaeul ran back home on her own two feet, unable to wait any longer. She raced up the apartment stairs and clumsily unlocked their door with a loud clank.
Bursting through the door, she shouted out, "Ahn Yujin! You won't ever fuckin' believe who I saw!"
"KIM GAEUL! WE HAVE A SON!" Yujin exclaimed, emerging from her room with a little white bundle in her arms.
Gaeul froze. "Where'd you get that?"
"The pet store! He was only 500k won!" Yujin announced proudly. When the colour drained from Gaeul's face, Yujin scoffed and reminded her of their savings.
"Isn't he adorable?" Yujin cooed, showing her the sleeping puppy. It was no bigger than her forearm.
"Oh, he's a darling, Yujin, but I really have to tell-"
"His name is Azzo. Azzo Ahn. Or Kim Azzo?" Yujin said excitedly, cradling him.
"Azzo sounds great Yujin, but please! Listen."
"Alright, alright. Spill it."
