A Silent Voice (on hold for 2 month)

XI

XI: That face

Third Person's Point of View

Heavy footsteps could be heard in the corridors, by the sound and vibrations you could feel that someone was running. When she saw the door open in a harsh way, Chaeyoung already knew what was coming for her, but it still startled her, no matter how many times it happened. So when she saw her little sister jumping in the bubbly bath with her she just stared at her waiting for the news. " I bumped into Jennie yesterday, and... She was with her girlfriend."

Surprised by the rapid movements Chaeyoung didn't know how to respond to the news she gave a small smile to her sister and played with the small yellow duck thinking the latter was done, unfortunately, she seemed only to begin. " And on top of that, I heard she's been fooling around with all the girls in her class. Oh, she's a total playgirl! Aaand her girlfriend's ex was a real womanizer too, it's just one thing after another for that poor girl... " she finished to sign to her older sister. Chaeyoung stayed calm anyway and signed something back which left the latter speechless, sensing it was no use anymore to talk about Jennie, they finished their bath talking about the rest of their day. 

_____

"One moment, Ryujin." the young girl stopped in her tracks after she heard her mom, " Yes?", " Show this to Chaeyoung, and tell her to stay away from that girl from now on," she stated as she handed her tablet with the article about Jennie on the screen. The short-haired girl chuckled, trying to hide her smile behind her fingers, "Pfft, she got suspended?! Oh, boy!!" At the same time, the blonde walked into the room, drying her hair with a baby pink towel.  Ryujin sighs taking her jacket before giving the tablet to her sister, " Tell her yourself, Mom." 

Ryujin's Point of View

I took my shoes and my camera and went outside to get some fresh air. As I walk I remember what Chaeyoung told me earlier in the bath. ' I'm glad she's happy ' I don't know if she was genuine though... 'And first of all, why is she glad uh? Does she really want that girl to be happy??' I pondered loudly in my head while snapping pictures of my surroundings. That pisses me off so much! The flashbacks of the both of them talking for the first time in the corridors come back to me, I was hiding behind a wall. ' Why do you know ... sign language? / B-Because I studied it... ' So what, You think that makes you a decent person?? Because you learned? ' She's just like others...' I thought as I lost myself in memories...

*A few years back...*

I kept on throwing small rocks at this group of boys who were annoying us earlier. I turned back to my sis after they ran off. I'm waiting for her on the small bridge while she searches for her hearing aids in the small stream. " Those hearing aids are light, so it might have drifted away. Mom's gonna get mad at you again because of those jerks. " I poorly signed. She just sighed of frustration and went back to search in the water, I moved behind my ear my long hair as I continued to observe her behavior. 

That's right sis, get mad. Then they might leave you alone... Surprisingly, Chaeyoung got what I said, she must have read on my lips and signed, " Getting mad is hard? What is that supposed to mean? " I responded to her. No sis, getting mad is important. You may be smiling, but there's no way you can be happy, right? How do you really feel? When I see you making that smiley face, it makes me feel uneasy. I haven't once...seen you angry.  

"There she is!! It's Deafo's sister!" I hear a familiar voice calling out behind me, I quickly and shakily sign Chaeyoung " Why don't you look for one more hour ?" she nods and so I  face the group of bullies. ' I'm her younger sister, but I need to protect her'. " Whadda you want?" I said trying to maintain a poker face. " You're gonna pay for what you did yesterday!" one of the boys said. " Y-you guys started it by throwin' rocks."  I stuttered, " But she was smilin' like she liked it." one smirked, " Yeah, we were just playin' with her, right, guys?" 

I grabbed a rock lying around and raised my chin, "Then... why don't you finish playing your game with me!?" And from then it was me against them, but I'll take it no matter what. ' I won't forgive anyone...who hurts my sister!! ' I was so focused on gathering rocks that I didn't realize someone coming closer. 'Sis...'  " Whoah, the deaf monster is here!! Eww gross!" Chaeyoung was in front of me, taking all the rocks, and she was smiling again. Maybe sis doesn't know how to get angry...She stood in front of me and wouldn't budge. 

One day, a short time later... She came home all beat up. She said she got into a fight with a girl at school. That girl was Kim Jennie... Did sis get mad that day? No...The rumors said she was smiling. My sister doesn't get mad ... and she probably never will. 

*Back to the present*

The sun was no longer shining in the sky and the moon had replaced it, I took my time to get back home, taking a few more pictures of the stars. Opening the door, shoes already in my hands  I throw them on the floor. As I lift my head I see a silhouette in the dark, thinking it's mom, I already know what she is gonna tell me so I switch the light up. But to my surprise, it isn't her, " Oh? Hey sis, you're still awake? " I signed happily, nothing would have prepared me for what was coming next. 

In less than 4 seconds, Chaeyoung unnie was in front of me, pointing at me accusingly, my camera, and the article multiple times. "Pfft, You wanna know if I took that picture?" finally getting what she was trying to tell me, " That's right. I did it. Because I hate that girl!-" Soon after those words left my mouth, Chaeyoung unnie grabbed me forcefully, making me stand before her, I looked into her eyes and got instantly scared by her poker face. ' Uh...What the heck, when the hell did you learn ... how to make that face? ' I thought as I gulped, afraid of the new look my sister was giving me...

AN: Hey, I'm so sorry for the long wait, I've been working a lot and I'm actually traveling to SK in 2 weeks so I've been focused on this particular trip but I did not forget this story, I have no plan to discontinue this story and I planned to finish and then give you another one. So do not worry about the span between the updates.

 If you like the story, you can also show your love by commenting, or if you want to express theories and all.  Just make sure to start a small thread to not spoil others in case you got it right.  I hope all of you are doing fine, and I'll try to update the next chapter before the end of July <3