Stories I Write When I Can't Sleep

Growing Pains 0.2

"Hyeri-shi, don't forget your sandwich!" The 15 year old girl heard her maid call as she was about to step through the gate. "Oh right, thanks Eunbi!" Hyeri smiled sheepishly as she took the packet and placed it into her bag. "Come home safe,Hyeri-shi." Eunbi bowed and Hyeri nodded, stooping to bid her 2 pet dogs goodbye before shutting the gate. She belonged to one of the richest families in the neighbourhood and could easily afford to take a car to school everyday. However, she prefered walking as she would walk past her crush's house. As she walked, she spotted a firmilair figure in the distance. "YURA EONNIE!" She yelled annd started running to catch up to her childhood friend and school senior. They were close and Yura's family always joked that she was the younger sister that Yura never had. She had walked past her crush's house but saw that Minah had already headed off to school.
"You got ditched?" Hyeri clucked in sympathy only to be whack by the older girl. "Hey,be polite!" Yura said as she rolled her eyes at the younger girl. They fell into an easy conversation after that, talking all the way till they reached their school gates, where they parted ways. Hyeri headed to her classroom where there were already boys waiting for her. It was no surprise that her 'fans' were there. She was popular for her good looks and honest personality. However, the juniors knew of her 3 best friends, all of which were seniors. So the boys who vied for her attention either were brave or stupid because everyone (except Hyeri) knew of how the president of the Taekwondo Club made a boy who apparently got too close to her junior suffer utter humiliation at her hands. Needless to say, the boy never looked at flour the same way and stayed away from Hyeri from then on.
Without her bestfriends in her class, Hyeri stayed quiet, almost falling asleep a few times. When the bell rang for recess, Hyeri all but bolted out of her classroom, heading towards the towering iron fence that seperate the juniors from the seniors. The four friends would meet there every recess to eat and chat about things that were happening. As she headed towards the fences, she saw something that made her stomach drop. Minah was laughing next to Hak Yeon or N, as he liked to be called, as the older boy pointed at the football that was in a tree. "Boys," Hyeri could only mutter in annoyance and hid behind the bushses, waiting for them to leave. It was no secret that Hyeri liked the older girl, Minah just seemed to be the only one oblivious to her advances. When they left, Hyeri only slouched towards the fence and despontdantly stared into the distance.
"Hyeri!" Someone's voice snapped her out of her reverie. Yura was walking towards her and all she could muster up was a tired smile in return. "Hey, what's wrong?" Yura asked, concern written on her face. "I saw Minah eonnie...." Hyeri did not need to finish her sentence, Yura knowing the younger girl too well. "It's fine... Aren't we both in the same predicament?" Yura smiled, albiet sadly as she awkwardly reached through the metal grails to pat Hyeri on the head. Hyeri only smiled as she continued to eat her sandwich. As she ate, her gaze focused on someone far out, eyes widening when she realised that it was Sojin. "Eonnie!" She greeted and Yura spun around so fast, she got a whiplash. Hyeri could only giggle as she saw how meek Yura acted around their oldest memember. However as she was laughing, she saw Minah, with N, and her smile dropped.
Minah came towards them and greeted them all but Hyeri could only return the greeting quietly, mood brought down by the presence of N. "Are you sick?" She heard Sojin ask and reacted instanly,hoping to reassure her friends. "I'm fine!" Hyeri cried as she flailed her arms around trying to convince them. But as the other two turned away laughing, she caught Yura's eye and sighed. After a while, she stood up and dusted off her skirt. "I'm gonna head back, some unfinished homework..." Hyeri mumbled as she left. "Don't slack off, kid!" She heard Minah yell as she jogged off. Only lifting her hand, Hyeri merely waved and ran back to her classroom. When the final bell rang, signalling the end of lessons, Hyeri received a message from Minah, saying that she was going to accompany the younger girl home.
She was in high spirits, excitedly telling Yura when she saw her in the hallways of the sports complex. Hyeri skipped to the track, smiling like a fool. Her training ended early because of the sudden downpour that drenched the track team. With nothing left to do for the next half and hour, she waited outside the gym for Minah to leave. Finally, it was 5 and people began to exit the gym, slowly at first before the seniors all left together. "Hyeri!" Another senior called to the girl as she saw the track star sitting on the window's ledge. "Amber eonnie!" Hyeri greeted,hoping down from her perch and bowing. Amber came over to ruffle her short hair, saying," Minah's inside now. There was an accident so Minah's treating N's wounds." Hyeri's bright expression darkened at the mention of the boy's name and it did not go unnoticed by Amber. "I'm sure they'll be out soon. Get home safe, Hyel!" Amber called before departing with the rest of the seniors. "Bye eonnie!" Hyeri called back and resumed her position by the window.
After what seemed like a long time (15 minutes), Hyeri's patience wore out. "What is she doing?" She mused as she pushed open the gym doors a crack. A male's voice, N's, floated out of the room followed by a very familiar tinkling laugh, halting Hyeri in her tracks. Then it got quiet, something that would not have been adnormal if not for he fact that people generally talked when in a room together. Except the 'people' in question were Minah and N. Hyeri wished she was not so curious because she would not be feeling her heart sink and her lungs trying to collapse in on themselves. For if she was not so curious, she would not have looked inside. If she had not peeked, she would not be currently staring at a position that looked extremely familiar but only that she is someone on the outside looking in rather than being one of the participants.
Minah's face was extremely close to N's, so much that Hyeri could not tell for sure if they were kissing or not. Even though her angel is bad, Hyeri can tell that Minah's eyes are closed,head at the perfect tilt that is impossible to be anything but a kiss and honestly, that was all she needed to see.
She knew today was not a good day.
Feeling like her air supply was getting cut off, Hyeri turned and ran, only slowing down when she reached the Arts Building's courtyard. She was soaked, having ran through the rain to get here. Curling up on a bench, the young girl finally allowed the tears that were building behind her eyes to flow. That was how Yura found her an hour later, drenched beyond belief, sobbing pitifully. "Eonnie,it hurts..." Hyeri could only stutter as she felt her heart being crushed with every breath she took. Yura said nothing, only wrapping the younger girl in her arms and stroking her back. As the rain slowed to a drizzle, Hyeri heard Yura lightly sniff," You know we're gonna be so sick tomorrow." Hyeri could only crack a small smile at the light joke as she sneezed. "C'mon, I'll call my Dad to pick us up." As soon as Hyeri was dropped off at her house, Eunbi came rushing towards her, fussing over her bedraggled state. Both girls received a sound scolding from their parents that night.
Monday rolled around and Hyeri was still sick, confined in her bed as she suffered through the bad cold. "Come in..." She whispered, throat raw from coughing. Eunbi pushed open the door, balancing a tray of soup and bread. "Your lunch, Hyeri-shi." She said and began setting up the small table next to her mistress's bed. "Thanks Eunbi. Just leave it there, I'll eat it later." The lump under the blanket muttered. Eunbi sighed in disapproval before grabbing Hyeri's desk chair and sitting next to the bed. "I'm staying here till you tell me what posessed you and Yura-shi to stay in the rain like that." Hyeri peeked out from under the blanket and Eunbi frowned at how bloodshot her eyes were. "Well?" She pressed, picking up the bowl of soup and a spoon. "It's Minah..." Hyeri mumbled, shame practically lacing her tone.
Eunbi frowned as she prodded the girl's mouth with the spoon, forehead uncreasing only when Hyeri sipped the soup. She had been her maid ever since Hyeri was a child, taking care of the loud, mischevious little monkey all the way till now. Eunbi was sure she knew more about Hyeri than the girl herself. With both parents busy almost the whole day and no siblings of her own, Eunbi had became the little girl's confidant and was the one to suggest getting dogs for Hyeri. It hurt her to see how depressed Hyeri looked ever since she found out that the Bang's youngest daughter had feelings for the boy that Hyeri merely refered to as 'him'. Eunbi knew of the crush Hyeri had on Minah and had tried many times, without success,to disuade her mistress.
"I told you time and time again,Hyeri-shi, that you should give up on Minah-shi." Eunbi began, sternly holding Hyeri gaze. Hyeri bit her lip and looked down before mumbling," I can't,Eunbi..." The maid could only sigh as she continued to feed the sick girl in silence. Time passed quickly when you were trying to avoid someone, it seemed. Because without anyone realising it, the day for the monthly gathering finally rolled around. Usually, the girls would enjoy the times spent together but Hyeri and Yura were dreading it this time. They had heard that Sojin and Minah were bringing the boys along. Hence Yura had a slept over at Hyeri's mansion. They talked about how the boys were getting closer to their crushes and stayed in the gym the whole night, only falling asleep in the wee hours of morning. Which is how Eunbi found them in the afternoon, sprawled on the bed, hidden under the blankets and soft toys.
"Wake up,Hyeri-shi," Eunbi called as she shook the smaller lump. Hyeri's face popped out from under the mess and she blearily looked around before muttering," What? Eunbi?" Eunbi could only shake her head before moving towards Yura. "It's almost time,Hyeri-shi." Her sharp eyes did not miss the grimance that passed over the younger girl's face. "It'll be over quickly. I'll make sure the food is served as soon as possible,okay?" Eunbi promised as she shook the other lump awake. Hyeri nodded but a frown still marred her features. "Smile for me?" Eunbi patted the 15 year old on the head as Yura sleepily mumbled. Smiling suddenly, Hyeri hugged her maid tightly before heading to the toilet, leaving Eunbi to wake the log that is Kim Yura.
It was almost time for the dinner and Yura along with Hyeri, were sprawled on the floor of the gym. It was their safe haven, deep in the basement of the mansion. Hardly anyone came down here and it was where the girls would disappear to if they needed time to themselves. "I don't wanna see them." Yura groaned as she squeezed a small ball in her hand. The two were already dressed for the dinner, which was going to held in the Lee's garden. Hyeri could only sigh as she sheilded her eyes from the glare of the lights. "I don't wanna see them either..." Their musing were cut short as they heard barking from upstairs. Not long after, two dogs, a german shepard and a beagle puppy came down the stairs. Hyeri gave a long suffering sigh and stood up to pull Yura along with her to greet the guests.
"Welcome! Mr Lee greeted his guests, both of which sat next to his daughter's and Yura's crush, he noticed with a frown. The boys greeted him back and he saw his daughter's expression or lack thereof. He knew of his daughter's crush on Minah and so did the rest of his family. The dinner continued pleasantly albiet with the two girls at the end of the table hardly saying anything. "Well, to what pleasure do I have of these fine gentlemen coming to our gathering?" Mr Bang asked as he sipped his wine, eyeing the two boys with distaste. "Well sir, we're courting your daughters." As soon as N said that, he heard a low growl from behind him and to his shock, saw that a huge german shepard was behind his chair, hackles raised. The entire table looked to Yura and Hyeri, fearful about their reactions but were only met with the sight of them silently shoving food into their mouth.
"If you'ld excuse us." Yura montonously bowed as she headed into the house. Hyeri followed behind her, only pausing for a minute to call the dog off, "Thunder," She called and the dog immediately fell silent and followed his owner into the house. "Well,it looks like its time for our guests to leave." Minwoo, Yura's older brother said as he stood up. The butlers all but dragged the two boys out of the house. All the attention instanly was on Sojin and Minah. "Explain." Minwoo crossed his arms. He was met with mystified looks and all but growled out. "They like you, for almost half their lives. You just had to bring those idiots here for them to tell them this?" Sojin and Minah looked at each other and faced Minwoo with fierce looks of their own. "We need to find them." "I'm not letting you go till you tell me what just happened." "Please, we'll explain later." Sojin begged and Minah nodded, adding, "We need to talk to them." Minwoo glared at them before setting his mouth in a firm line and nodding.
Minah ran into the house with Sojin at her heels, only to be met with silence. Thunder and Hyeri were nowhere to be found and only Daisy, the beagle puppy sat by the basement staircase. As Sojin followed her down the stairs, Minah glanced wildly around, trying to find their youngest friend. "Hyeri-shi is not here, Minah-shi." Startled, Minah whirled and saw Eunbi calmly wiping the grand piano. "Eunbi! Where's Hyeri? I need to talk to her, please." Minah all but begged as the maid continued to wordlessly wipe the polished wood, eyes hard. "She is not here." Eunbi merely repeated and turned to leave. "Wait! Please, I know you know where she went. I need to talk to her. It's important." Eunbi blinked at her, face giving nothing away. "Please..." Minah felt hot tears prick her eyes but mantained her unwavering gaze on Eunbi. "She was heading outside." Eunbi finally said and turned towards the kitchens.
"Thank you." Minah whispered before running out of the door. She got to the front lawn and saw Hyeri and Thunder in the distance. "HYERI!" Minah screamed as she saw Hyeri whirl around, fear in her eyes even from such a distance. "C'mon Thunder," Hyeri promptly turned around and started running towards the one place she knew Minah would not follow her to. The orchards. It was common knowledge that Minah was deathly afraid of the dark and the orchard was pitch black at night, without a single lamp to light the way. Hyeri was still panting from her sprint when she entered the treeline without hesitation. She had spent her childhood playing among the apple trees when she was younger, knowing her way around even if she could not see a single thing. Even if she did get lost, she always had Thunder. He was one of the many orchard gaurd dogs but was Hyeri's favourite and knew the trees even better than the head gardener.
As she headed deeper into the grove, Hyeri heard a piercing scream calling for her from somewhere behind her. Spinning around and all thoughts about the dinner forgotten, Hyeri shared a look with her dog before taking off in a dash towards where Thunder was leading her too. She had not expected Minah to follow her into the dark orchard, where visibility was almost zero. As she neared the place where Minah was, she heard a faint sobbing. Gritting her teeth, Hyeri stopped in front of the girl and sighed," For a taekwondo club's president, you sure are a crybaby." Minah glanced up and sprung up, hugging Hyeri close. "You came..." she sighed in Hyeri's shoulder and the younger girl awkwardly returned the hug, stiffly putting her arms around the shorter girl. "You called so..." She shrugged as Minah buried her face deeper into her neck.
"C'mon, let's go back to the dinner." Hyeri gently pried Minah off her and took her hand, leading her out of the dark orchard with sure-footed steps. When they emerged from the treeline, Hyeri made to let go of Minah's hand but the other girl hung on. "You know how to get back to the garden, right?" Hyeri asked uncertainly, face bright red at their close contact. When Minah remained silent, she added," I'm full so I'll stay out here with Thunder for a little- " "The dinner's over." Minah suddenly said as Hyeri halted in surprise. "Then what about your date?" Minah felt a small tremble pass through their joint hands and frowned. "We're not dating. I don't know why he said that but we're really not." Hyeri made a small noise of acknowledgement and once again tried to wriggle her hand out of Minah's vice-like grip.
"Ah, I thought you guys were dating though..." Hyeri mused, her tone and expression unfocused. "Well, I think Thunder wants to go so maybe if you could-" "Minwoo told me." Minah cut her off again and she saw how Hyeri's face paled under the light of the moon. "Told you what?" Hyeri kept her tone light but her brain was in a turmoil. "Don't play dumb with me, Lee Hyeri. How long have you liked me? Why didn't you tell me?" Minah growled, experated at how her younger friend kept avoiding the question. "You have no right to tell me that." Hyeri's voice was suddenly soft, dangerous. Minah felt the grip on her hand tighten as Hyeri took a step closer to her. "Hyeri?" "You have no right to say that all! I've liked you for almost 8 years, Bang Minah! 8 years. I could have chosen anyone else but it was you. Then, N came into the picture. I listened to you talk about him forever but I never said anything because your happiness was more important than mine. If I had a choice, do you honestly think that I would choose to fall for you? Someone I obviously cannot even dream of having!"
Minah was shocked into silence and her hand slackened, dropping to her side. Hyeri sighed, regret immediately replacing the anger previously coursing through her veins. "I'm sorry, Eonnie. I shouldn't have yelled. You should go back." As she turned back to enter the orchard, she heard Minah whisper," You may not have chosen to fall for me but I would have chosen to fall for you." Hyeri's eyes widened and she spun around."I'm sorry?" She choked out, unable to believe what she just heard. Minah looked up from the ground and Hyeri was stunned at the intensity of her gaze. "I like you, Lee Hyeri, ever since that boy who tried to confess to you got you covered in flour." If it was possible, Hyeri's eyes got even wider. "That was your doing?" The boy had later explained to Hyeri what had happened and the two had stayed good friends, even though he refused to tell her who filled his bag, desk and locker with flour.
"Believe me, please Hyeri. I really did not mean for this to happen. I really want us to go back together." Minah had tears in her eyes and Hyeri could only agree, heart weak against pouting lips and chubby cheeks. That was when what she said registered. "Together or Together." Hyeri stressed and was rewarded with a kiss on her forehead. "Together. Lee Hyeri, you're mine. Always remember that." Minah said before pulling Hyeri towards her and closing the distance between their lips.