Home; I Found With You // Ryeji FF

taste in music.

The trunk of the car slammed shut. Yeji glanced over at Ryujin, who was leaning against the door of the Evo, basking in the sunlight that broke through the clouds. They were supposed to get food for the group the other day, but their emotionally draining conversation had left them both too exhausted to accomplish the task. They had returned to the house empty-handed, eliciting banter from everyone, even the lieutenant. But one look at Ryujin's swollen eyes, and they all understood.

A few days later, the urgency of their situation became clear when Chaeryeong opened the cabinet to find it nearly bare. Determined to make up for their previous attempt, Yeji and Ryujin set out again to find food. This time, they drove to a supermarket about two hours away from their neighborhood.

When they arrived, the store was locked. Yeji joked that Ryujin should break the window like she always did, but Ryujin found a back door that was already broken open.

Inside, the store was nearly untouched. Ryujin assumed there were still some good people left in the world, taking only what they needed and leaving the rest for others. Following suit, they gathered non-perishables and cases of water—enough to last the group through the week.

Yeji walked over to Ryujin and leaned next to her, "What are you thinking about, Ryu?"

"Imagining the look on the group's faces when we come back with a ton of food," Ryujin joked, then turned to Yeji with a softer expression. "And about how fucking lucky I am to have you."

She placed a hand on her stomach, as if trying to calm the butterflies threatening to escape through her ribcage. Instead, she smiled. "I think I have an idea."

As they enjoyed a few moments of peace before heading back to the house (where they'd be greeted by Lia's and Yuna's banter), Ryujin fumbled in her pants pocket and pulled out her keys.

"Here," she said, placing them in Yeji's hand.

"Huh?" Yeji looked down at the bundle of keys, feeling the jagged edges. "What do you want me to do with these?"

"It's your first driving lesson with yours truly," Ryujin smirked as she slid into the passenger seat and closed the door.

In shock, Yeji immediately opened her door. "What do you mean?! Do you even trust me?"

"No, I don't. I just feel like dying in your hands," Ryujin replied in a deadpan tone before grinning at the sight of Yeji's pale face. "Duh?! Of course I trust you! You literally drove to Seulgi's house with me in the backseat. You could've easily just left the car there."

It's because I know how much this car means to you.

"Besides, the idea of seeing you in the driver seat of a fucking hot car is very..."

Her cheeks flushed immediately, mirroring Ryujin's. She gently closed the door behind her and made her way around to the driver's side. Once she had her seatbelt on, she could feel Ryujin's smile on her.

"Should I, like, drive like it's a test or..."

"I mean, there's no cops around so... just drive however you wanna," Ryujin said lightly, leaning back into the seat without her belt on. "Start up the car."

Yeji blindly picked a key and inserted it into the hole... but it didn't go in.

Ryujin squinted down at Yeji's hand. "Are you using my house key?!"

"Oh, shit—" She quickly grabbed the car key and inserted it into the slot, starting up the car.

With an embarrassed smile, she turned to Ryujin. "Sorry?"

At that moment, Ryujin quickly put her seatbelt on, just as a safety measure.

"Whenever you're ready, release the handbrake and shift the gear to 'Drive'," The younger said with a reassuring smile.