True Beauty: An Alternate Universe

Chapter Thirteen

Suho:

The line was longer than I expected. It seems like a new device had been released because everyone was lining up to purchase it. I waited for about half an hour, continuously checking the time. Once I got to the front the sales clerk told me it might take a while so I waited on the chairs towards the side. I thought about how Soojin was doing. Was she eating? I wouldn't be home in time to make dinner. After another half hour the clerk told me the phone was ready. He took and plastic off and handed it back. All the cracks were gone and a screen protector was installed. I payed for the repairs and headed to the bus stop. By the time it came it was starting to get dark. The bus was mostly empty, just a few people coming home from work. Once I got back to the house I unlocked the door and called for Soojin, "I'm home!" I said and took off my shoes. I didn't get a response back and turned the corner into the living room. Soojin was laying down on the couch, eyes closed, fast asleep. I smiled, she must have waited out here.

I put all my stuff down and silently walked over to her. I gently picked her up and carried her to my room, placing her on the bed and tucking her in. I moved the hair away from her face and placed it behind her ear. Pretty. I smiled and walked to the bathroom to take a shower, changing into comfier clothes. I ate some cup noodles and packed my suitcase for tomorrow. I placed mine and Soojin's bags near the front door and went to check on her. She was sleeping peacefully. I debated whether I should sleep next to her again but decided against it, and placed her fixed phone on the bedside table. I was about to walk out of the room when Soojin woke up. "Suho?" she said. "Sorry did I wake you?" I asked gently. She shook her head, "When did you get back and what took so long?" she asked angrily. I chuckled and sat on the bed with her. "The wait was longer than expected but you should get some sleep, we have to be up early tomorrow," I said, patting her head.

Soojin nodded and laid back down, but when I tried to walk off she grabbed my hand. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked. "I was just going to sleep on the couch," I replied. "Nope, you're sleeping here," her voice was groggy and exhausted. "Are you sure?" I asked smiling. "Just lay down Lee." "Alright, alright," I laid down beside her and slid myself under the covers. Soojin turned around and placed her head on my chest again. "Goodnight Suho," she said, yawning. I smiled and held her close, "Goodnight to you too Soojin," I played with her hair and watched her until she fell asleep again. One of these days I'll be able to tell her how I truly feel about her. Maybe when her mind becomes more peaceful. Maybe when her dad can finally leave her be. Maybe when I have full confidence she'll return what I'm feeling. Maybe that day will be near or it will be far, either way I am willing to wait for her. But for now, I'll savour these moments, the moments where I can see her smile, and be the one to make her laugh. I closed my eyes, hoping I'll wake up to her voice the next morning.

Soojin:

An alarm went off beside me and my eyes opened gently. I felt movement next to me and saw that Suho had reached over to turn it off. "Oh you're already awake? I was going to let you sleep a little longer," he said after he took a look at me. "Nah I'm good," I said stretching. I got up and Suho followed me out of the room, "Do you want something to eat?" he asked. "Yeah but nothing too big though I want to snack on the bus," I replied. "Well go get ready, I'll just prepare some cereal," I nodded in response and picked out an outfit for the day. I ended up going with a white long sleeve, foldover, off the shoulder cropped sweater top paired with a white tennis skirt. I wore white knee high socks and white chunky sneakers. I put on pearl jewellery and attempted to tie a white ribbon in my hair but struggled as I couldn't see in the back. I huffed out of frustration. "Everything alright?" Suho asked, walking into the bathroom. "No, I can't get this ribbon to work," I said, shaking my arms as they started to ache.

"Here let me do it," he took the the ribbon and gathered a few pieces of hair. Suho used the brush to smooth out the sections and tied the ribbon into a bow. "There, all done," he said rubbing my shoulders. I turned my head to the side to see in the mirror, my hair was now in an elegant half up half down. "Thanks," I said softly. "No problem, go eat some breakfast I'll start getting ready," I nodded and walked out. A bowl of cereal sat on the table. Cereal, it brought flashbacks from the other day. I ate it silently, sipping on my strawberry milk when Suho started making his own bowl. I finished up my food and thanked Suho for his help. I walked back to the bathroom and finished getting ready. Brushed my teeth, then cleansed my face. I applied serum, moisturiser and sunscreen then decided I would do a little bit of makeup today. Concealer, pink eyeshadow, silver eye glitter, clear mascara, pink blush, highlighter, pink lip tint and clear gloss. After spritzing on a floral perfume I stepped out and saw Suho carrying his bag.

"Ready to go-? Woah..." he stopped mid sentence and took a second to stare at me. "Are you okay?" I asked, feeling kind of flustered. "Did you do something different with your, um, face?" he asked. "You mean my makeup?" I couldn't help but giggle. "It's just all together you look, great. I mean not in that way but you look great, pretty even? Wow that's weird," he started muttering. I laughed, "Thanks Suho, we better get going," I grabbed my suitcase and bag then headed out the door. We decided to walk today as we couldn't imagine trying to squeeze our suitcases onto the bus. It obviously took longer than usual but we made it on time anyways. While we were walking towards the school gates, Jookyung ran up to me. "Hey Soojin!" she said, "Are you excited for the trip?" I smiled at her enthusiasm. "Yes I'm very excited, it will be a nice break from school," I replied. She smiled brightly, "I'm going to run down to the convenience store last minute and buy some snacks do you want anything?" she asked.

"No I'm alright I already brought some snacks," I said. "Alright then I'll get going see you!" she said. As Jookyung was walking away, she was only paying attention to me and hadn't realised she had walked onto the road. A car was coming towards her but she didn't notice. "Jookyung watch out!" I shouted. She turned her head as the car got closer. Suho jumped onto the road and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back onto the sidewalk. The car sped past and Jookyung had a shocked expression on her face, she was staring into Suho's eyes, frozen. "Be careful next time alright?" he said, letting go of her. "Y-yes, thank you," she said and blinked a couple times before turning away. I noticed her cheeks had darkened in colour and she safely crossed the road after a moment. I also stood there for a bit, processing what had just occurred. Suho gently tapped me on the shoulder, "Come on let's head inside," he said. I nodded and followed him into the school. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy when Suho held onto Jookyung's wrist, but I brushed it off and tried to forget about it.