Clueless | DAERIN

29: reunited

h a e r i n
—

"Are you sure?" my grandmother asks me in an unsure tone of voice.

I firmly nod my head with a joyful smile. I literally could not be any more sure.

"I feel way more at ease now than I did when I first arrived here," I vulnerably inform her.

When I first arrived, I was really stressed and just wanted to get away from everything. It took a few weeks before I was mentally ready to be around other people.

"Plus, I really miss my parents and my friends," I add.

Especially Danielle.

My cheeks instantly begin to heat up when I think of a certain blonde-haired girl.

Oh god.

My grandmother laughs humorously at this reaction, which causes me to groan with embarrassment and bring my hands up to cover my warm face.

"Well then, you should start packing your bags. If we leave soon, we might be able to get you home before nightfall," she says.

I nod my head. I jump with excitement and stand up from my seat at her dinner table before quickly making my way over to my messy bedroom.

Living here again for the past three months has been nothing less than memorable and nostalgic. At one point, I wondered why I even went back home. Although my first two weeks here were not the best due to adjusting to the new environment, Hyein made them bearable. I seriously cannot thank her enough.

"I can't believe you're leaving," Hyein says from my doorframe. She seems to be neutral judging by her tone of voice.

I roll my eyes at this. "How come?" I ask genuinely.

Hyein shrugs her shoulders and sits down on my bed, distractedly watching me take my clothes out of my closet and shove them into my black duffle bag. It is a pretty repetitive process; I have no clue why it has her so entranced.

"I just got used to having you around all the time, and now I have to go back to being alone, essentially," she says with a sad tone.

I stop in my tracks and bite my bottom lip with guilt.

Oh.

I didn't stop to think about how she was feeling about all of this.

I walk over to my desk and grab a random, unused journal that I found in this bedroom when I first moved in three months ago. I have no idea who it belongs to. I do not remember leaving it here the first time I moved out of here years ago.

"How about you write your thoughts, feelings, or random stories down in here and show them to me whenever you visit?" I suggest. It is kind of a weird idea, but I feel like it could make us closer. Plus, we could both exchange stories.

Hyein has verbally expressed her interest in wanting to visit us more regularly, preferably once or twice a year so that she does not get too homesick.

She smiles thankfully at this and holds her hand out to accept the notebook from me. I smile back at her and hand her the notebook before making my way back over to my open duffle bag to continue packing it.

The both of us rest in a brief silence, only for it to be interrupted by Hyein's sudden laughter.

I furrow my eyebrows at this.

What is so funny?

"Wouldn't it be funny if I were to look back at this journal in a few years and turn all the interesting portions into a book?" she joyfully chuckles.