Lover | (Ningselle)

all the stars, you make them shine like they were ours

Aeri and I haven't spoken after since she rudely interrupted my time with Sunghoon, with him dropping us back off at my place at the end of the day.

Once we walked into the house, Aeri and I got into screaming match. I was angry at her for being so rude, and she was angry at me for choosing to be with someone, in her words "is way out of my league".

I can still hear it in my head, her loud voice.

I asked her to leave me alone after that.

She did, grabbing her luggage and stomping out of the door.

Truth be told, I felt no remorse for Aeri after watching her walk out of the door. Not even a ounce of guilt, not even single a fibre of my entire being itching to run after her. And I thought, wow, this must be me moving on.

-

I was at the small little cafe downtown, taking a break in the middle of the day on a Thursday, all because work was stressing me out and I needed a breather. I sat next to a window, staring outside as car drove by and people walked by. I was happy on my own, it was rare to have a alone time nowadays given the fact that I spent any free time I have left with Sunghoon, so this was a treat.

"

Ningning?" A voice suddenly called out for me.

I looked up to find Yeji and Aeri's mom.

"Oh, it is you" Aeri's mom said as she walked to me.

"I haven't seen you in a ages, how have you been?" she asked as gave me a hug which I quickly returned.

"I've been alright, how have you been?" Returning the question back before inviting them over to sit with me at my table.

The three of us were talking amongst ourselves, engaging in casual conversations about how work has been, how my family has been, and Mrs Uchinaga making a comment on how she hasn't seen me much lately.

"How are you and Aeri been?" Yeji inquired, taking a sip from her cup after.

"Aeri and I?" I asked dumbly. I decided to take a sip from my own cup as well.

"Yeah, when are you getting married?"

The question did a double purpose of making my eyes widen and making me want to spit the liquid that was still in my mouth. What?

Thankfully, Mrs Uchinaga decided to answer for me.

"Oh, my Aeri has a girlfriend In new York," she sighed, "a very pretty one, i might add."

Minjeong. I haven't thought of her in a while. Just the sound of her name was able to elicit a dull ache in my chest.

"Oh," Yeji said "I'm sorry."

I smiled at her. "It's alright" I said. "But if you must know, I'm actually seeing someone as well."

This seemed to have piqued Mrs Uchinaga's interest, learning toward the table. "And who might that be?"

"His name is Sunghoon," i began. "We worked at the same company."

"Oh," the both said in unison

There was an awkward silence that engulfed us,which is strange because I've never actually had to sit through awkward silence with these two people before. Being friends with Aeri for as long as I have, I've grown close to her family as well, with Mrs Uchinaga sending me a bouquet of flowers every single birthday, and a Christmas card for my family every holiday.

There's also the endless invitations to the magnificent parties the Uchinagas loves hosting, with me declining every single one of them, citing that Aeri wasn't around to accompany me and that I would feel awkward on my own. Mrs Uchinaga never pushed anymore, but always personally send invitations my way.

I did used to go to these parties before, when Aeri still lived here. Every time we came home from university, the Uchinagas would host these grand parties where they would invite everyone that was anyone. I always found it awkward to be around such important people, but Aeri always assured me that these parties are meant for important people in her family, and I was important to her.

Mrs Uchinaga cleared her throat, taking me out of my thoughts. And it was as if she read my mind because the next words tumbling out of her mouth was yet another invitation to one of these parties.

"You can't refuse me now, dear," she smiled gently "Aeri is going to be there."

And so that's how I ended up standing at the foyer of the Uchinagas mansion.

Even after years of knowing Aeri and having been here countless, I can never quite get over the magnificent and sheer extravagant of this place. It was such a clear contrast to the whole family. They're such warm-hearted people, you would think they would lived in a cottage in the wood, yet there are, living in the middle of the city, crystal chandelier hanging above and fancy sport cars sitting in there large driveway.

"Ningie!" I heard someone call out for me.

"Welcome!"

Mrs Uchinaga walked towards me with outstretched arms, inviting me for a hug. I let a chuckle escape me, walking towards her to meet her halfway. She placed a small kiss on my cheeks before taking a step back to distance herself from me, eyeing me up and down and then nodding in approval.

"Beautiful as always," she said, engulfing me in another hug.

We made some small talk, with her guiding me towards the house, to the garden, where the party was at.

If I thought the house was magnificent, the garden is incredible.

I've always known the garden was huge. I always used to joke to Aeri