DAHLIA - Xu Minghao

Chapter 18 - Home Is Where The Heart Is

"Until my heart stops,
Baby, it's not the last of us."

***

And so, three weeks after her visit to her brother, Meilin found herself on Jihyun's doorstep, in need of a place to stay as well as her school uniform. When the talkative girl opened the door, she screamed loudly, earning herself a punch to the shoulder from Meilin.

     Jihyun groaned softly, but hugged Meilin nonetheless before pulling her and her suitcases inside. Meilin brought more luggage than she left with, but there was plenty of room for everything. Her suitcases were brought to her old room by Jihyun as Meilin made her way to the kitchen, where Chaeyoung was looking through a magazine with a steaming cup of tea in her hand. The young woman looked up and gasped when she saw Meilin, putting her tea away immediately.

Meilin received a kiss on each cheek, a habit Chaeyoung had picked up in her time in Paris. She had participated in an exchange program, and spent two semesters in the French capital about two years earlier.

"Lin, when did you come back? Is everything okay?" Jihyun yelled from one of the bedrooms. She appeared in the kitchen doorway again when Meilin didn't answer her question, her hands full of different colors nail polish. Meilin smiled as she remembered the first thing she did when she moved in with her best friends.

"More than okay. Jihyun, babes, can I ask a favor?" Meilin changed the subject. Jihyun nodded. "Can you arrange me a meet up with Wonwoo behind the company's back? They're really not allowed to know, but I need to talk to him. And Hao, but I'll fix Hao myself."

Jihyun nodded eagerly, overjoyed that Meilin wanted to clear things up with her friends. "Did I tell you, by the way, I'm leaving PLEDIS." Meilin's eyes widened. "I've had enough of their bullshit. They keep abusing us but can't even afford our debut. Seventeen is the main focus, and anyone around that is discarded, only kept for the sake of having trainees. It's not worth it anymore." Jihyun sighed, "I've been a trainee for four years, I've learned everything I can here. My time is over."

Meilin smiled optimistically. "I have good sense of timing, it seems. When are you quitting?"

Leaning against her girlfriend's chest, Jihyun shrugged, "not sure, but soon. I can't take it anymore. This as well as school, it's impossible. You're lucky you're so smart, you won't have any issues studying for exams even though you've been gone for a month and a half. I'm already struggling and I pay attention every day."

Meilin put a comforting hand on her best friend's shoulder, smiling. "I'm sure you'll be fine. And I'm not that smart. At least not here. I haven't spoken a word of Korean these past few weeks, so I can promise you, honey, I will be struggling too." Her short friend smiled. "We'll fail together, deal?" Jihyun laughed and shook Meilin's hand. "Now, I don't start school until two days from now, but I'd appreciate it if you let me borrow your notes. Especially Math."

"Not so fast, missy. We have a tradition to complete first." Jihyun said, and with that, the three girls made their way to the living room and sat down on the floor.

Meilin's nails had grown beautifully in the time she spent away, to the point where with the right skill, they could look like acrylics with just a few layers of nail polish. But Jihyun was an expert, so Meilin trusted her best friend.

24 hours later, and with beautiful baby pink nails, Meilin was standing beneath a lamppost, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited. She looked down at the watch on her wrist and sighed. Wonwoo was ten minutes late already, and Meilin was freezing. She made an effort to dress up for her meeting with him, but her outfit wasn't very warm, however beautiful she looked with it.