faraway | purinz

track 003

TRACK 003

dreams come true

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES ♥ MARCH 7TH, THREE MONTHS LATER

The devil's front door was the name the students of HYBE High had given to their school.

It might've been the best school in the area, but that didn't stop it from gaining the nickname. It was rigorous, with a constant stream of increasingly difficult assignments cluttering up each student's workload. Its music and arts programs were the best around, and the students in its STEM courses had won multiple awards. The school was also notorious for its killer parties. But that was more of a down-low thing.

It was Chaewon's dream school- always had been, always would be- and she worked on her application for months, creating pieces for her portfolio, crafting the perfect descriptions. She was applying for their Fine Art program, following her dream of becoming an artist; Yunjin had been so sure she was going to get it. Yunjin had been supportive through it all: buying Chaewon candy for sugar-spawned inspiration, dashing out to grab supplies at the last minute, and sitting through her best friend's nervous rants. Yunjin was still in seventh grade then, and naive to the process; she knew Chaewon was stressed, but not exactly how much. She would find out a year later when she went through the same process.

When Chaewon submitted her application, Yunjin was there beside her, holding her hand and wishing her well as she clicked the button. Afterwards, Yunjin instantly minimized the page on the computer and dragged Chaewon into the living room to cuddle and drink hot chocolate, to get her mind off things.

Later, Yunjin would look back on those moments fondly; when their biggest obstacle was high school. Chaewon would think the same, thanking her friend for being there.

When Chaewon got her results, Yunjin was in pre-algebra, boredly banging her head against the table when her phone rang. The loud "I go back to December all the time" ringtone blared in the silent classroom, and Yunjin's head snapped up, her cheeks reddening, embarrassed.

"Jennifer, your phone should be off and away," the teacher said with a sigh, tapping her fingers against the board.

"Uh- I- it's a call- I'll-"

Yunjin had accidentally clicked the green answer button, and Chaewon's voice reverberated through the room in loud Korean.

"YUNJIN! I GOT IN!"

The classroom looked on in confusion as Yunjin's jaw dropped and she shrieked, completely forgetting that she was in a classroom.

"Jennifer!"

"Oh, are you in class? Sorry," Chaewon apologized in English, but Yunjin was too pumped to care. She dashed outside, putting the phone to her ear, going where the teacher couldn't hear her, and answering in Korean.

"It's okay! That's amazing! Pupu! I'm so proud of you! Holy shit! You're amazing! I love you! You did so well!"

Oh, no, wait-

"Thank you so much, I couldn't have done it without you," Chaewon's voice replied, still trembling from her excitement. "I'm- wow. I- wow. I just got the result. I love you too! Thank you again!"

"You love me too?" Yunjin asked, dumbfounded, before she realized that Chaewon meant platonically, and her heart broke all over again.

"YUNJINIEEE!"

Chaewon's squeal carried across the yard as she ran to Yunjin, attacking her with a hug as the seventh graders released from school.

Yunjin grinned. At thirteen, she was already taller than Chaewon at 5'3", while Chaewon stood at 5'1". This allowed Yunjin to pick up her best friend and spin her around, Chaewon giggling as she clung to Yunjin.

In hindsight, Yunjin remembered that they probably looked really stupid in that yard full of seventh graders, but it didn't matter; her best friend had just gotten into her dream school, and that was all that was important at the moment.

"Pupu," Yunjin said breathlessly, and hugged Chaewon tight. "You're amazing. You're completely- I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks," Chaewon exhaled, squeezing Yunjin back. "Thank you. I'm so happy."

"You deserve it," Yunjin grinned, as they began the walk home. "You totally deserve it. HYBE High, watch out for my best friend, she'll kick your ass," she said proudly, earning her a poke from Chaewon.

"Yah! No cursing," Chaewon said, but she was beaming, and a light blush dusted her cheeks. "Thank you."

"No problem," Yunjin answered, an equally huge smile on her face.

They walked in silence for a little bit longer, hand in hand, matching smiles on their faces.

"Yunjinnie?"

"Yeah?"

If the universe had shifted when Yunjin met Chaewon, it did a pirouette when Chaewon turned to Yunjin, a curious look on her face. They stood under the shade of a tree, sunlight shining through the foliage in fractures, illuminating slats of yellow light across Chaewon's soft smile.

Yunjin's heart lurched unfairly. It had been four months since she had discovered her absolute, all-encompassing love for Chaewon, and things had not gotten easier. Chaewon was as oblivious as ever.

"What did you mean by 'you love me too?' Isn't it obvious?"

Yunjin's jaw dropped and she shifted from foot to foot awkwardly, her bag suddenly weighing a million pounds on her back. "Ummm. I meant- uhh- I don't know, I guess."

"Thanks for being there for me every time I needed you, Yunjinnie," Chaewon said softly. "I love you. Thank you."

"L- love you too," Yunjin stammered back.

If only she knew how I really love her.