Recovery

Chapter Eleven: Spring

Gaeul leaned against the wall outside Y/n's dorm, hugging her knees. She contemplated returning to her dorm, but the idea of leaving Chaewon alone, if the other pair didn't attend, weight at her.

Reluctantly, Gaeul worked to her feet before trudging back to the party. She went straight for the back tables, downing a cup of bitter alcohol before taking another and crashing into a seat.

"Hey! What's wrong? Where's Y/n?"

Gaeul lifted her head, meeting Chaewon's animated smile "He went back to your dorm with some girl—he was hammered too."

"What??" Chaewon gasped. "Hold on. I'll be back."

A small sigh seeped through Gaeul's lips while she watched Chaewon approach a man on the other side of the room before dashing out.

Chaewon rushed down the stairs, sliding her hand down the rail as her shoes tapped against each step.

There's no way, right?

She fumbled her key into the lock, creaking the door open. Faint feminine giggles seeped through the walls, drawing Chaewon to Y/n's door. She glanced toward her room, widening her eyes at her own, open, door.

I closed it when we left...

Chaewon snuck into her room, feeling for anything out of place. She checked her bed, her closet, and her desk. Lastly, she checked her nightstand, gasping as it laid bare.

No! No!! No!!! No!!!!

With her conclusion cemented, Chaewon rushed through the dorm, turning the kitchen lights on before barging into Y/n's room. Betrayal, horror, and sorrow filled Chaewon's eyes as she watched a woman resembling herself make out with Y/n.

"Mr. Ki- Y/n?? Is that my dress??"

The redundant question pinched at her heart. She knew the answer already. The symbol of her duties toward the man and the bond between the two hugged the body of another woman.

Y/n pulled away, wide eyed. The embrace he wrapped around the woman's body quickly unraveled, but it was too late. The image of Chaewon sitting in the woman's spot branded itself in her brain.

The woman pulled away, panting softly, "Who is she, Mr. Kim?"

The feeling of Y/n's lips upon her own erupted disgust from the depths of her stomach. She stumbled backward with her hand over her mouth, gagging as she tried to stave off her nausea.

"Oh my god..."

She straightened herself, taking a conformational glance to sate her curiosity. Beside Y/n sat a woman with the exact same body shape, face shape, and demeanor as Chaewon herself.

"Is this what you've really wanted??" Chaewon questioned. "Is this your fantasy?!"

"Wait-" Y/n reached out toward the radish, "Chae-"

"SHUT UP. DON'T TALK TO ME AGAIN."

Chaewon slammed Y/n's bedroom door, beet red. She stomped out the dorm, slamming the entrance as well before sliding down the hallway wall.

The somber situation sank into Chaewon's heart, wrapping around her chest like fingers to a hand of sorrow. Her tears bled into her sleeves, and her sniffles echoed off the walls.

Why... Did he even get over me in the first place? Was everything just one big lie so that he could play the long game??

"I don't remember if it was the top floor, or..."

The familiar voice staggered, causing Chaewon to raise her head. Her bloodshot eyes met Kwangsun's shocked stare and Daeun's subtle empathetic gaze.

"H-Hey, Chaewon ah..." Kwangsun nervously smiled. "This doesn't happen to be the right floor for the party, right...?"

Chaewon shook her head as Daeun smacked the man's arm. The small student stepped forward, pulling Chaewon to her feet.

"Is Gaeul ssi the same way?"

Daeun turned to the towering man in response to Charwon's silence. "The party's on the top floor. Grab Gaeul; I'll meet you at the front of the convenience store."

"Wait what-"

Before Kwangsun could finish his sentence, Daeun escorted the dejected radish to a nearby corner store, sitting her down at a table outside.

The clicking of crickets and Chaewon's sniffles composed a gloomy melody underneath the moonlit sky. The two young woman sat upright with their backs straight, but Chaewon's head hung low.

She wiped her tears with her palms, smearing her mascara across her skin. Her sniffles turned to sobs, as her pain-stricken face contorted. The quivering of her lips matched her uneven breathing, only stopping at the touch of Daeun's tiny hand on her back.

"Ya. Don't barf on me." Kwangsun scolded. He settled Gaeul into a chair of her own before placing himself next to Daeun. "So... Gaeul is drunk, and Chaewon is a sobbing mess; I don't suppose we'll be getting an answer of what happened-"

"Gaeul ssi, you have a crush on him and saw him with another woman. They went back to his place causing you to feel down. When you explained it to Chaewon ssi she went to check it out before finding them engaging in something indecent—probably something to do with maids," Daeun concluded.

Chaewon and Gaeul raised their heads, their eyes wide and their jaws on the floor.

"How..." Chaewon trailed.

"Gaeul ssi having a crush on Y/n ssi is telegraphed, so it hints to why she looks defeated," Daeun replied.

Chaewon shook her head, "I mean: how did you know about the maid thing?? And even the indecent part?!"

Daeun gestured toward Chaewon, "Your posture resembles that of a maid, and you periodically catch yourself walking a step behind him, causing you to quicken your pace. Even some of your sentences toward him, and him only, come out formally as if it were habitual. You are his maid, correct?"

Chaewon gulped. She turned toward her cupped hands on her lap, sighing. "He didn't want anyone to know..."

"And the betrayal in your eyes is because the woman you walked in on him with was wearing your dress," Daeun pressured.

"Mm..."

Daeun leaned her head against Kwangsun, earning a gentle head pat.

"Good job~" he cooed. "I don't know how you pieced all of that together, but you weren't at the top of your class for nothing I guess."