Nocturnal Buddies ✩ Yang Jeongin

Chapter 43

There was a single knock that pulled Sohee out of her slumber, bringing her out of her dreams and back into reality. A quiet groan fell from her lips as she tightly squeezed her eyes shut, trying her best to block out the early sun infiltrating her bedroom. The sound of her door clicking open caused her ear to perk up, knowing exactly who had entered without her permission.

"Sohee, breakfast is ready, come eat."

"Go away!" the younger girl shouted at her sister, feeling annoyed by how consistent Hyunjoo was everyday.

She pulled a pillow over her face as she tried to avoid acknowledging the new day. The shuffles made it clear to the younger girl that Hyunjoo was cleaning up her room again, something she didn't even need her sister to do. An annoyed groan escaped her as she kicked her feet, feeling irritated by the older girl. Silence would surround Sohee seconds after Hyunjoo left the room, who wasn't particularly in the mood to put up a fight with the younger girl.

It felt suffocating for Sohee though, knowing she was all alone in her bed when she could clearly hear the faint sounds of her family members outside. A sigh helplessly escaped her, before she pulled the pillow down to her chest. She pried her eyelids open, ones that felt too heavy to even stay up on their own. Her eyes traced the bland ceiling as she squeezed the soft cushion in her arms. There was much contemplation filling her mind, wondering if she should try to join her family today.

However, it all ended the same. She procrastinated too long in her bed, and, before she knew it, her sister would knock on the door minutes later, informing her that her food was placed in the exact same place. It had become a routine for the younger girl, a distasteful one at that. Although she wanted to change it, she felt like she couldn't. She felt trapped in the claws that forbid her from moving forward from her past. Things were different now, yet she couldn't find the strength to be different as well.

Sohee listened to her family members' laughter travel throughout the house, taunting her for her obviously distant relationship she had with them. Shaking away the feeling that was suffocating her under its weight, she reached for her phone, wanting a distraction. Her phone screen lit up, displaying her Lock Screen blank of any notifications. She unlocked the device before going onto her messenger app.

Contrary to her Lock Screen, she had piles of notifications from various people and group chats- people she wasn't even sure she could consider her real friends. Sure, she hung out with them, but she only did it so she could get drunk or even distract herself from her life back at home. It helped numb the feeling constantly eating at her, reminding her of the person she was- the person she hated the most.

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It had all become a routine, something she couldn't seem to break away from. Sohee would spend most of her time in her room, refusing to leave it. She would only go out to eat food, but, most of the time, she'll stay inside her bedroom and binge eat the snacks she stored away in her closet. Her day consisted of the same things, where she'll sit in bed and be on her phone all day, wasting her life away. Admittedly, it got boring for the girl, but she would just go hang out with people to give her life some spark.

Today was one of those days, where she grew tired of the repeated cycle that felt like the exact same day dragging on for months on end. Her phone illuminated her eyes as she read the messages displayed on the small screen, indulging in any type of happiness she could find from it. Was she truly happy though? She wasn't too sure. There was always this void that she wanted to fill, but she didn't know what she was missing, what she was longing for.

Her ears perked up at the sound of the front door opening, drawing her attention away from the device occupying her hand. Time had passed by relatively quickly like always, minutes turned into hours and they ran on until her siblings returned home from school. She had wasted her day again, doing nothing but being on her phone, and she honestly hated admitting to herself that this wasn't the life she wanted. There was so much she wanted to do, yet she couldn't find the motivation to do any of it.