(GxG) Friends Can Break Your Heart Too || JENLISA (COMPLETED)

30 - Everything Comes Back To You

Unknown

Walking in this same old street, I passed by the same places we used to hang out growing up in this small town: the rusty old swing with broken wooden seat we used to just sit on while we chatter away on a clear, bright day; the big oak tree we used to lie under during one of those frenzy hot summer afternoons; and then there's your big, ole' house that I spent countless nights staying over. Nothing has changed since the last time I was here about two years ago. Living in the cities where nothing is still and everything is fast moving, it was easy to forget how simple things were in this town.
But now that I'm back, walking the same gravel path I've strolled on a thousand times before, and breathing the clean country Spring air that smells of earth and trees, I was overwhelmed with an intense feeling of nostalgia and longing.

How could I have gone on for two years without stepping back into this tranquil haven? I guess time does really fly, especially in the cities; it's as if two years there had gone by with just the blink of an eye.

"Jisoo, is that you?! What a wonderful surprise!" Chaeyoung's mom had fondly greeted me earlier with a welcoming hug, as if I was a close relative that they haven't seen in a long while. Considering how close I was with their daughter, I might have well been but my two-year distant and cold relationship with my best friend had made me squirm in guilt at ajumma's arms. I didn't know if I still deserve such warm and welcoming hugs with the way I handled Chaeyoung's feelings for me. She was one of the reasons why I deliberately didn't go home for the past two years; I was trying to put as much distance to us as possible to help her move on, but maybe I had put too much, causing irreparable damage into our friendship that I would forever regret.

After asking about their daughter's whereabouts, I was told that she was out today, working at her part-time job at one of her ahjussi's coffee place. Not knowing anything about Chaeyoung's current job, I would have scratched my head in confusion and bitten my lips in embarassment but before I could open my lips to ask them for directions, I remembered in the nick of time that my friend had posted a picture or two of a very chick coffee shop downtown. It must be the same shop her mom was talking about so I quickly bit down the question that was about to spill out of my mouth, pretended that I knew about their daughter's job, and politely thanked them before saying my farewell.

Once I had stalked my best friend's profile and navigated my way through the busier part of town, I finally spotted my friend working inside the dandy-looking coffee shop located just a few blocks away from the bookshop where we used to spend our Sundays hunting for old discounted books that had piqued our interest. Seeing my hardworking friend with a brilliant smile on her face despite probably standing around for hours brought a smile to my lips; I felt relieved. She looks so at ease in her surroundings, and it seems like the problem that had weighed her down the last time I saw her was now a distant thing in past.

I was about to enter when I suddenly felt my  nerves get the better of me, making me anxiously contemplate what to say or how to act around her. God I don't even know how I would even start. Would an 'I miss you' be all too much? Or would it sound empty and insincere to her ears even though I meant every word of it?

Just go Jisoo! There's no use standing here like a dimwit.

So I stopped overthinking and entered the coffee shop, making a beeline towards the counter. "Hi!" I greeted when the last customer before me got her order and it was my turn to face my friend on the counter. Looking up, Chaeyoung's smile faltered and her cheerful demeanor instantly turned sour upon landing her eyes on me. I commanded my lips to hold my smile despite the awkward atmosphere.

"Hi", Cheyoung said when she finally got over the initial shock of seeing me after two long years, "what can I get you?" She asked, forcing an unnatural smile on her lips as she tried to act professional and impersonal.