Hot Chocolate || RYEJI

10

In the middle of a study session with her best friend Chaeryeong, Ryujin receives a text.

Yeji :
I'm out for dinner with one of my friends tonight. Can I count on you to supply the cat food today?

Although surprised, Ryujin taps in a quick Of course and pockets her phone. It isn't every day when Yeji ditches their usual dinner plans, but she figures that she shouldn't expect much. After all, they were just two friends mutually caring for an animal. It's not as big of a deal as Ryujin likes to make it out to be.

"So, what's going on with you and Yeji?" Chaeryeong asks the moment her friend focuses back on their textbooks. Her pencil was tucked behind her ear, books closed, and there was an opened chip bag sitting on top of her laptop. Ryujin assumes that it's their break time.

"Nothing." Ryujin avoids the girl's questioning gaze and flips a page. "What's going on with you and Yuna?"

Chaeryeong rolls her eyes at her best friend's deliberate attempt to switch the topic to her love life. "Nothing unless you want to tell me what's been happening between you and Yeji."

"I said it's nothing," Ryujin mumbles, "She's eating dinner with her other friend."

"What, the same one that walked her? The dude?"

Ryujin pauses before shaking her head. "I don't know."

"Are you jealous?"

Sometimes, she forgets how straightforward Chaeryeong is.

"No."

That might be a lie.

"Well, don't be." Chaeryeong grabs a chip from the opened bag. "You're the one she's raising a pet with."

Ryujin shrugs. "Doesn't mean much really."

"Are you kidding?" Chaeryeong nearly wacks the girl with her laptop. "Raising a pet together is a bond that will never be broken! And that's like the most romantic thing to do with your crush."

Crush, Ryujin thinks to herself. She unconsciously reaches for a chip as she ponders. Is it really a crush? Or is she just attached to the brunette because of her kindness? She doesn't know. Thinking too much about it doesn't bring her peace either. So, Ryujin leans back and shakes her head.

Whatever. It'll pass.

——

It doesn't pass.

When Ryujin comes face to face with Yeji's unit door with a bag, she almost forgets that the latter isn't going to open it and surprise her with Toothless. Thus, she feels forgetful and quite dumb when she stands in front of the door in silence for a couple of moments, awaiting the moment that would never come.

Snapping herself out of it and punching in the door code, Ryujin lets out an exhausted sigh and steps into the apartment. The immediate second she hears the door click close, a meow follows. Toothless stands in the dark hallway, its silhouette outlined only by the well-adorned Christmas tree in the living room.

"Hey, bud," Ryujin puts on a light smile, blindly pressing the light switch to the entrance hallway. She slips out of her shoes and slowly makes her way over, crouching down when Toothless meets her halfway. "It's just me today."

Meow.

"Nope, Yeji's busy." She stands up, places the bag onto the middle island, and starts to unpack the contents inside. Ryujin hears two paws scratching against the wood of the counters when she takes out the large bag of cat food. She chuckles. "You're always hungry, aren't you?" she teases, soon pouring the kibble into the cat's bowl.

The apartment is quiet, save for the soft purring of Toothless and the distant sounds of the city beyond the window. Ryujin glances around, taking in the familiar surroundings. It's funny how she's become so accustomed to this place, almost like a second home. She wonders if Yeji feels the same way.

At that thought, she absentmindedly reaches for her phone, scrolling through the messages. There it is, Yeji's text. She rereads it over and over, trying to discern if there's any hidden meaning behind the strange feeling in her stomach. There is no answer, yet Chaeryeong's question echoes in her mind.

Are you jealous?

Perhaps, she is. Ryujin's spent uncountable hours with the angelic brunette and she's fully aware of how easy it is to befriend her. What if she's replaced? What if instead of her, Yeji invites someone else over for dinner? What if Toothless is involved and ends up warming up to someone else? What if—

Scratch. Scratch.

Ryujin's head snaps to the door, recognizing Toothless' silent question. She sighs and leaves her phone on the counter, walking towards the kitten. "Yeji's not coming back yet, Toothless."

The cat stops and turns to her, head tilting.

Ryujin rubs her forehead and purses her lips. Her knees fold and she's crouching once more. "Really?"

Toothless stares.

"We've went over this."

"..."

Releasing a defeated sigh, Ryujin crosses her arms over her knees. "Fine. Mom is not coming back yet."

Toothless seems to understand, or at least she pretends to, and resumes her exploration of the living room. Ryujin watches the cat pad around, inspecting corners as if hoping to find some trace of Yeji's return. "She'll be back soon, Toothless," she reassures, the words feeling more for her comfort than the cat's.

A sudden rustling catches her attention—a piece of paper peeking out from beneath a stack of magazines on the coffee table. Ryujin leans forward, curiosity piqued. It's a drawing, a hastily sketched doodle of Toothless, presumably by Yeji. The caption reads, "For Ryujin - our little guardian."

"Well isn't that cute," Ryujin smiles to herself, casting a fond glance at Toothless who is also gazing curiously at the drawing, "Did your mom do this?"

Toothless doesn't bother looking at her and instead, places her paw on top of Ryujin's hand. The first second she did so, Ryujin thinks that it's a cute moment—until the kitten moves her hand away and lays on the paper drawing.

"Hey, that's for me," Ryujin huffs, falling onto her bum. Her legs are in a criss-cross position. "Toothless."

The kitty cranes her neck, her chocolate orbs reflecting the city lights outside. Ryujin is immediately reminded of a particular angel and hot chocolate, so she rests a hand on top of Toothless' head. However, before the animal knew, Ryujin scoops her up in her arms.

"Gotcha! You're an easy one to fool," Ryujin grins in triumph. Toothless doesn't object, though. "You're also no fun," she murmurs before letting her go, only for the cat to occupy the drawing once more.

Leaning back against the couch, she observes Toothless with an adoring smile. Ryujin is glad that the random stray cat she befriended on the streets is now involved in a big part of her life. Her daily routines mostly revolve around the two feline eyed. If they were both busy with school, the brunette would start a facetime call. Surprisingly enough, Toothless was smart enough to understand that they couldn't be physically together at the moment, so she often brought her toys to the camera and played in the same area.

It truly is adorable, how an animal could connect two people in a way that Ryujin never imagined.

So when Ryujin thinks of Yeji—and the idea of taking care of Toothless together, her heart warms to an odd extent.

Maybe it's not just a crush.

But if not, what is it?