Scribbles

Never Really Over

An adopted child, Cha Mi-jo dreams about finding her place in the otherwise chaos world. Being abandon is her fear and she needs stability. Something that Kim Dae-sik can never give, given the nature of his job as a fighter pilot.

Meeting again in their high school reunion after separating for seven long years, they fall back into old habit. One say they were over— but can they be over if they never have a beginning?

•••••

There is a reason why Cha Mi-jo despises high school reunion so much. Wait, scratch that— tons of reasons.

First and foremost— it reminds her of her younger self. The lanky, weird, out of place Cha Mi-jo. Not to mention her status as the adopted child of the prestigious Cha family. It made her very conscious of herself, and in turn made everyone else conscious of her as well.

At least, that was how it felt for her. She always felt like all eyes were on her everywhere she went. And she didn't like it. It was so hard for her to find herself in that kind of environment. Didn't matter that she was a valedictorian, she— never found her place. Not once.

Mi-jo had changed so much since then; her confidence was built over the years as her shell came off and her beauty shone through. Having the best of friends and family surely helped.

So, yes, she hates high school reunion. And not because she has nothing to show off; being a celebrity dermatologist has covered that part pretty nicely. Even more so when her dermatology clinic receives an award as the best clinic in the district.

She just doesn't like to be reminded of that time.

Alas, when her sister banged her apartment door last week to deliver the news of the upcoming reunion of their high school, she sent her daggers. Especially with how she woke her up.

Mi-jo woke up with a bad case of headache. She believed she had promised at some point last night to never touch those shots again. Much to her best friends amusement, of course. Because they knew they would end up at the same table a week from now.

Drinking had always been part of Mi-jo's routine whenever she met with Jeong Chan-young and Jang Joo-hee. And it was only gotten worse as they got older, it was a miracle they didn't end up as alcoholic at this point.

She groaned when her phone rang its ear splitting ringtone; a ringtone specifically assigned to her quirky older sister, Cha Mi-hyun. She reluctantly reached to the bedside table to check the time and cursed when she saw it was only seven in the morning.

"Really, Eonnie? Can't it wait? It's 7 in the morning on weekend, for God sake!" Mi-jo yelled into her phone.

"Well, tell Eomma! We're on your door, open it." And she hung up. That was when she heard the loud bang on her door. Arrgh. That older sister of hers. Mi-jo reluctantly got up from the bed and went to open the door.

And there they were.

"Morning, Mi-jo dear." Her mother greeted her softly, smiling with a pity at her condition before sauntering inside her apartment. "You look like a mess, by the way."

"Thank you, Eomma. I would be more presentable if you drop by later, say— at 7 in the evening." She glared at her sister who only giving her a big grin and shrugged.

"Oh, cheer up, sister. We don't mean any harm." Mi-hyun blew her a kiss and followed their mother inside. Mi-jo scrunched her nose when Mi-hyun ruffled her hair as she passed her. She always thought Mi-hyun never moved on from thinking about her as her kid-sister, not a 39 years old woman. That ruffling hair gesture only proved her right.