my sunshine

chapter two

danielle pov:

after our burst of laughter, which i kinda wish was longer as i missed laughing like this with haerin, both of us fell into a comfortable silence, the happy ambience being long gone while i just stare at haerin's pretty face, her cat eyes, her perfectly plump lips, her adorable cheeks, how her hair seems so soft to touch (it was really soft back when we were kids) and how she still has a small smile on her lips.

actually, since i've known haerin since we were two (well she was one but same thing), i can perfectly look through her, meaning i'd notice if her smile, laugh or body language would be sincere or not; this one isn't, it's not 100% sincere, it seems unsure.. maybe even disappointed, either way it's pretty much a fake.

"hae.. i know that your smile is fake, what's on your pretty mind?",i gently ask haerin, careful to not surprise her as she looks like she's in her own little world, but i can't blame her, it's stressful to always place first of our grade in terms of exams.

"oh, i.. forgot that you have that ability, well..i'm just worried whether i did well or not on the exam just now",the cat answers, her face still looking distant and just unsure, but cute either way. wait, what?  "what? no, haerinnie i'm sure you did well just now, have trust in yourself, kang! either way i know we'll be proud of you!",
i try to cheer up haerin, successfully doing this as haerin's smile finally gets bright, her eyes turning into crescent forms.

how come i never recognized how pretty she is? i mean, i did notice that she's prettier than others but she's a literal angel, not just her looks, either.
wait what the heck, dani? of course she's always been pretty.

haerin pov:

when the words leave dani unnie's mouth, i immediately smile, like, for real this time, which makes her smile too, and i missed this. i missed just being carefree and not having to worry about my studying schedule, not thinking about school all the time.

but i need to, unless i want to fail my classes.. maybe that's a bit exaggerated, but you see, i've always been serious about school, even more nowadays since i've skipped 3rd grade (elementary) to be with nielle unnie, and my parents expect a lot from me because of that, too.

of course, i'm not only doing this for them, i'm doing this for myself, so that i can show my best to others and i made a goal to myself since like the second middle school to always place first in my exams, i originally only wanted to be first in my class but it soon turned into being first of my grade and even if i don't, dani unnie would as she's always been second.

hence the reason why i've been distancing myself from my social life, which includes nielle unnie. yes, i regret shutting myself out from having fun, but also, no, i don't - the reason for why i also don't is clear, because i've always stayed on top of my schoolwork, of course.

when i stop thinking, i just stare at dani unnie in front of me, her radiating smile making me smile as well. what did i do to deserve her? even if we've distanced ourselves from each other and our friends, she's still the best friend a girl could ask for.

suddenly, dani unnie turns towards me, her sweet smile melting me badly as she opens her mouth to say something. "hae, don't you miss being a little kid?",my dear soulmate starts, her smile turning sad in an instant. i just hum, nodding slowly as she puts on a pout.

that pout that used to be used to make me forgive her when she made a mistake, the pout that got us to be outside to play with each other longer, that adorable pout that showed up whenever she accidentally hurt me. that pout that i missed seeing.

breaking our little moment, the sound of someone humming to some song sweetly brings us back to reality, that sounds like hanni unnie. "dani! kang kitty!! how was the exam?",a familiar voice shouts out, i shoot a glare at her, which makes her grin awkwardly.

right, we've known hanni unnie including minji unnie and hyein since elementary school, since like 2nd grade we've all been inseparable, well until now. "it was fine~ rin was a little unsure of herself just now but we're fine, and you?",dani unnie answers for us as she notices that i'm zoning out again, bad habit, i guess.

"what do you mean, unsure? how could THE kang haerin be unsure of an exam? the top of the whole school??",hanni unnie starts rambling dramatically, which makes me snicker a little.

"okay guys, anyways, enough of school, okay? the exam is over now so let's have fun!!! guys we have one more year of school, don't you want to have fun? loosen up a bit?? ",hanni unnie, again, dramatically gestures, referring to dani unnie and me shutting out everything and everyone, but i just shake my head, shrugging. i'm okay like this, i suppose.