Her Bully | BBANGSAZ

S I X T Y S E V E N

M I N J I
—

I stare at the wall in front of my bed, absentmindedly tracing the patterns of the flowers on the bed sheets.

I groan and bite my lip, cupping my cheeks.

What am I doing? I should be enjoying my stay in St. Louis.

This place has a lot of tourist spots for Pete's sake. I should lay on the grass in the park, go to a gym, visit museums, anything.

But no, I'm stuck at my rental apartment after a whole morning of examining and studying the bird I'm going to bring back to Karina in the city, thinking of my encounter with Hanni and her girlfriend, Minjeong.

"Ugh," I groan, falling back on my mattress as I hit the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm going nuts," I say to myself, rubbing my forehead.

"I'm going nuts," I repeat, nodding sadly as I turn my body to face the mini-desk and grab my phone, immediately dialing Ryujin. Damn, I've been calling her a lot lately.

"And I thought I was the clingy one," is the answer I get from her, making a small smile appear on my face.

"I'm not clingy," I reply, pouting slightly. "I'm just bothered right now," I sigh, rolling on the sheets as I suddenly miss the presence of my roommate who I consider my sister from another mother.

"Is this about Hanni again? Min, just make sure you don't see her again. It's as simple as that. Get the job done, only one month, and come back home. I'm here for you."

Oh, how the roles have been reversed.

Usually, it was Ryujin there for Hanni, back in high school, that is.

Then I had Haerin and Dani, but ever since that happened years ago, things changed, and the big reason was because of our destinations.

Sure, Dani was more with me than she was with Haerin and Hanni, but now it's different. She loves Haerin, why wouldn't she go with her?

"That's the problem, I saw her again," I groan, slapping my forehead.

"I'm so done with this, Ryujin. I'm actually ready to call Karina and tell her I can't do St. Louis," I sigh, nibbling on my lower lip.

Ryujin gasps on the other end.

"What? You can't do that. You'll lose your job," she warns me, clicking her tongue as I feel my body turn into a tiny mess all of a sudden. "Don't let your feelings get in the way of your job, Minji."

I frown, shaking my head.

"I don't have any feelings. That's all in the past now," I huff, rolling my eyes at how defensive I sound.

"Yeah, sure, as if it's true," she says sarcastically.

"Okay, listen to me very clearly, okay, Min?" she asks, and I nod my head even though she couldn't see me, but probably felt me.

"You are not going to stay inside your room like a bum. Nope, you are going out and exploring St. Louis like a normal first-time tourist would do. You are an adult now, Minji," Ryujin sighs, almost tired of this whole charade.

Believe me, I'm tired of it as well.

"If you ever see Hanni, you are not going to run away or do something crazy. You, a tough lady, are to speak to her politely and treat her like you both haven't broken each other's hearts. It's all in the past now, and you cannot do anything about it."

I pout but shake my head afterward, pushing myself up into a sitting position as I tell myself that Ryujin's right.

I'm not going to mope around like I usually do back home.