A Dangerous Friend - Nachaeng

Goodbye to All That

"What?"

"Me!" Chaeyoung repeated, spreading her arms even wider to increase the chance of the taller girl falling into them in gratitude. But Nayeon was still too befuddled to move.

"What do you mean, 'you'?"

"I mean me. I'm going to live here. With you."

"But... How is that going to work?" Nayeon asked. "You can't drive to college every day from here, it's not physically possible."

"I won't need to."

"Then what, you're going to stay down there?" Nayeon tilted her head, confused. "But how is that going to be any different from-"

"I'm leaving college."

"What do you mean, leaving college?"

"I'm going to leave. Give it up."

"What?"

"Well, it's not going great," Chaeyoung said, with a shrug, "And if I'm honest I kind of hate it. So I'll just give it up, get a job, and support us both."

"Whoa, there," Nayeon said, horrified. "Forget it. You are not leaving college for me."

"Why not? All I really want is to be a writer, and you don't need college for that. Just experience. Think about it, you can do your music thing, I'll work and write in the evenings, it'll be great."

"No!" Nayeon disagreed. "No, no, no. No," she added for clarity. "No way. No."

"You don't want to live with me?"

"Of course I want to live with you, Chaeyoung."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem," Nayeon said, "Is that I'm not going to let you do something stupid."

"It's not stupid."

"Yes it is." Insists Nayeon. "You're not doing it."

"It's my decision."

"No it isn't! Jesus, Chaeyoung, this is not the way I want our relationship to start."

"What way?"

"With you just deciding stuff without talking to me!"
"I'm talking to you now."

"No, you're telling me now! Please, Chaeyoung, don't do this. I had enough of this with Nana."

...

"Oh, I get it."

"What?"

"Every time I say something you don't agree with, you're going to say I'm just like Nana. Well, thanks, Im."

"I'm not saying that!"

"She robbed you blind and she cheated on you, but me, I'm some kind of monster because I want to spend more time with you."

"No!"

"Or maybe you don't want to spend more time with me, is that it? Is that why you don't want me here? So you can go back to her and get a little action?"

"Don't you dare!" Nayeon was almost incandescent. "Just... just ... don't you dare!"

"Sounds like it to me."

"Oh, does it?" Nayeon hissed. "Well maybe I should just do that, if the only alternative is spending the rest of my life with a deadbeat!"

There was a long, cold silence.