Chaewon stretched as best as she could, legs hitting the seats in front of her. The backseat of Sakura's car was crowded, Chaewon the lone passenger amongst a mountain of luggage and home goods. In vain, she shifted a duffle bag to free up some space and to try and get comfortable. She had spent the last few hours in relative silence, listening to Sakura and Eunchae laugh and sing along to the radio, taking mental pictures of crumbling rock and towering trees lining the side of the highway. She checked her phone more out of habit than curiosity, and was silently relieved when there were no new messages.
"Since when was Chaewon this quiet?" Sakura asked Eunchae, presumably trying to annoy Chaewon into joining the conversation. She was right though, Chaewon wasn't quiet. There was just a lot on her mind.
"Since never." Eunchae laughed, turning around in the passenger seat to face her.
"What's the deal, Chaewon?"
"No deal, just taking it all in." Chaewon shrugged. It was the truth, mostly. She was taking in the scenery more as a distraction from the knot in her stomach. The summer was over. She was on her way to a new school with her best friends, miles away from home, from her mom, from all the people who wanted something from her. She knew in her mind that she should feel good, but apparently the message didn't make it to her body.
"So are you going to tell us, or what?" Sakura asked plainly.
Chaewon furrowed her brow. "Tell you what?"
"Tell us about your mysterious summer hookup, duh." Eunchae said. "And don't try to deny it, because I know you started reposting a bunch of romantic stuff for a reason." She laughed, looking at Chaewon expectantly.
"Are you going to acknowledge how creepy that is, or should I?" Chaewon chuckled. It was weird to think about now, those few weeks of calm in the middle of her shitstorm of a summer.
"Oh whatever! I wouldn't have to be creepy if you would just tell us things." Eunchae huffed, slumping dramatically in her seat.
"Seriously Chaewon, talk, because if I have to hear one more time about how gorgeous Chaemin is, I'm going to drive us right off the road."
"Hey!" Eunchae pouted. "You're both just jealous that I went to orientation and got a boyfriend and you guys didn't."
"Why would I have gone to a freshman orientation?" Sakura chuckled.
"Not the point, and anyway, he is gorgeous!" Eunchae shouted.
"That's it!" Sakura laughed as she intentionally swerved into the empty right lane, threatening to move even further.
"Oh my god Sakura stop! Stop!" Chaewon couldn't help but join Sakura in laughing at Eunchae's shrieking. "That was so not funny! You could've killed us!" Eunchae said, breathless and clutching her chest.
"It's not like I didn't warn you." Sakura laughed. "Anyway, Chaewon, don't think I forgot about you. Come on, spill."
"Yeah, spill!" Eunchae joined in, momentary terror suddenly forgotten.
"It wasn't serious, if that's what you're wondering." Chaewon shrugged. She had been debating on whether or not to tell her friends about her coffee shop romance when it had started, eventually deciding the fling wasn't worth coming out for.
"That's not what we're wondering and you know it, Chaewon," Eunchae said flatly. "If you don't give us deets, Sakura is really gonna drive us off the road, right Sakura?"
"No, that's reserved for you and your obsession with your new boyfriend," Sakura said.
"Hey!" Eunchae punched Sakura on the shoulder, "You're supposed to be my bad cop!"
YOU ARE READING
Room 508 - Purinz
FanfictionKim Chaewon is not nearly as enthusiastic as her friends to start the new semester. Maybe, it's because she's a transferee, new school already tainted by the bad experiences of the last one. Maybe it's because her mom hasn't called, or because her e...
