WARM HUGS [SOOLIA]

Chapter 015

[This photo is not mine; credits to the owner🥺]

>>>Clarifications<<<

"Jisu!" Jisu looked up from serving one of the customers hearing her name being called out. Surprised to see Yeji, she hurriedly took her leave before rushing over to her excitedly.

"What are you doing here?" Jisu grinned as Yeji pulled her into a small hug. Yeji shrugged before tugging a loose hair strand behind her ear. The gleam on her ring finger caught Jisu's eye as she gasped before grabbing her hand.

"When? How? Who?" Jisu squealed as she admired the engagement on her friend's finger, eyes widening as she counted every diamond on the simple rose gold ring.

Yeji bit her lip as she offered a shy smile, pulling her hand away gently before admiring it as well on her own slender fingers. A playful smirk played on Jisu's lips as she nudged Yeji seeing her cheeks grow pinker by the second.

"Yeonjun proposed to me a few weeks ago." Yeji shyly revealed, covering her cheeks in embarrassment as she shot Jisu a pointy glare. Jisu giggled childishly before walking over to the counter.

"I didn't have time to find a present, but I guess you can have this in the meanwhile." Jisu hummed as she revealed the cactus that was still packed under the counter before pushing it toward Yeji.

Yeji gasped excitedly as she grabbed it from the table, turning it around as she adored the features of her favorite plant. Jisu gave her a weird look before shaking her head lightly, smiling to herself.

"Wait, why do you even have this?" Yeji asked in amusement, knowing how Jisu never really knew the point of a cactus. Jisu shrugged silently, picking at her dried skin.

"Soobin got this as a gift for me." Yeji's eyes flickered as she looked at the cactus, piecing two together as she recalled their past conversations. Yeji sighed slightly before placing the cactus back down and clearing her throat, attracting Jisu's attention.

"You remember when Soobin and I had that date?" Yeji hummed as she suddenly found her ring very interesting. Jisu nodded her head slowly as she watched how Yeji distracted herself when talking about Soobin.

"He had stronger feelings for me, and when he found out I picked Yeonjun over him, I think it hurt him a lot. I think...I think he thought you as me for a while."

Jisu stared at Yeji blankly, shocked at the news she never knew of. It slowly started to make sense, how Soobin had been acting weirdly over the span of a few days.

It made Jisu's heart ache knowing that he was loving her a little more extra just because he thought of her as a replacement for Yeji. But at the same time, it made her determined to gain Soobin's love, as weird as it sounded.

"So is it bad if I have a crush on him?" Jisu slowly asked as she traced smiley faces on the counter, choosing to avoid Yeji's eyes. Yeji's eyes glimmered with hope watching the preoccupied girl.

Jisu flinched slightly when Yeji suddenly grabbed her hands, an excited grin plastered on her face. She leaned back slightly as she observed Yeji's excitement with a weird look.

"Do you really like Soobin? Like, true love?" Yeji squealed dreamily, giggling giddily afterward as she covered her mouth, her rose gold engagement ring gleaming beautifully.

Jisu eyed Yeji from top to bottom, slightly concerned for her friend. Jisu shrugged slowly, averting her eyes shyly. Yeji cooed before nudging Jisu, pleading for her to spill everything.

"Well...yea. He's just so dreamy and so tall...and his hugs are the best. His kisses come a close second." Jisu swayed slightly as she revealed her feeling shyly, covering her eyes in embarrassment as Yeji squealed once again.

"You guys kissed?! Tell me~" Yeji whined needily, pouting as she looked at Jisu eagerly. Jisu sighed before shaking her head, grabbing her rag, and looking at Yeji pointily.

"I have work, shoo." Yeji clicked her tongue in annoyance, glaring at Jisu playfully as she started to wipe the counter to avoid the conversation. Jisu's ears perked up hearing Yeji speak again but in a much softer tone.

"Take care of Soobin. I feel really sorry for what I did to him, so please stay by him even if he's at his worst?" Yeji played with the ring on her finger, biting her lip as she suddenly found her ring the most interesting in the world.

She looked up again seeing Jisu's hand being placed on hers. They locked eyes before Jisu exchanged a warm smile, her eyes getting smaller as her grin got wider.

"Do I seem like a quitter to you? I've been around Min Jeong long enough to know never to give up." Jisu assured her best friend, to which she returned the smile with an equally lovely grin.

"But...I can see Soobin's still in love with you. Not going to lie, it kind of hurts." A weak chuckle left Jisu's lips as she glanced down at her fingers insecurely. Yeji's eyes soften before a small sigh left her lips.

"I'm not going to let that continue. I'll come up with something." Yeji stated firmly, a slow smirk adorning her face as her eyes narrowed, a mischievous glint in her eye. Jisu eyed her suspiciously before shrugging it off, trusting her friend not to do anything stupid.

"But seriously, how is Soobin? Like, around you." Yeji asked, winking playfully before laughing at herself, tugging a brown hair strand behind her ear. Jisu shook her head in slight disappointment at her cringey friend.

"Well...he's sweet. He's not so good at comforting, but he tries his best. He walks me to the bus stop whenever he comes over. He even bought me a Carebear! Not to rub it in or anything, but you lost a good one."

Yeji looked at Jisu pointily, knowing full well that Jisu also knew about how hard the decision was on her. Jisu raised her hands guiltily, giving an apologetic look as a cute grin played on her lips.

"Sounds like an A-grade boyfriend to me." Yeji teased, finding joy seeing the blush that crept up Jisu's cheeks. She nearly fell off her chair laughing when Jisu whined at her, pushing her.

"Do you think of him as boyfriend material? To be specific, do you see him as your boyfriend?" Yeji smirked as she looked at her friend who was clearly blinded by love.

Jisu sighed dreamily as she rested her chin on the palm of her hands. Yeji rolled her eyes slightly seeing Jisu drifting away to her own thoughts. Jisu flinched slightly when Yeji snapped her finger, raising her eyebrow as she awaited Jisu's answer.

"I want him as a boyfriend. So much that I'm getting angry that he's not mine yet." Yeji's eyes widened slightly seeing a slight smirk playing on Jisu's lips, flustered at the sudden attitude change.

"Let's hope you don't have to wait for too long." Yeji grinned before the duo fist bumped, chuckling slightly at their childish behavior. The duo started to stray away from the topic as they caught up with each other.

But, deep in Jisu's heart, she really hoped God heard Yeji's wish and was trying His best to make it happen.

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~Viky
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