The Roommate | Taelice

Part 22

Lisa's P.O.V.

I sat on the floor eating some popcorn and watching Netflix about an hour after waking up. Jennie went back to her dorm the previous evening and was most likely still sleeping since she was last online at 1am, so I was alone in my dorm. I didn't know if Tae came back during the night or slept over somewhere else, but I could guess he probably woke up very early and went to play basketball in the gym with the varsity boys team.

As I stared at the TV screen and thought of what plans I should make for the day, my phone buzzed. 

Yeri? What the fuck, she never texts me.

Yeri and I didn't talk much - we drifted apart this year, but in freshman year we were very close. She was a very nice and genuine person that always made me laugh and feel good, so I was excited to get to spend some time with her again.

I put my popcorn on the coffee table and got up to put some clothes on, not even bothering to pause the TV. I browsed through my wardrobe as I opened it, and realized there was nothing necessarily cute to wear, but I didn't need to since this was just a bit of bonding with an old close friend. 

Probably as a part of my very complex personality, I always took long to decide what to wear. I had a lot of clothes and somehow always bought new ones every time I went to the mall, but I always tried on a bunch of pairs of jeans, T-shirts and hoodies till I decided what to wear, because all of my insecurities took over and made me feel like nothing looks good on me. I was single all through high school, and always felt like it was because guys found me ugly. But when Jungkook asked me out in college freshman year, I felt more confident about myself. Then when we broke up, I spent hours and hours looking in the mirror and feeling ugly again. And now that I knew Tae liked me, I felt good about myself again. I wasn't the type to seek for people's approval, but it boosted my confidence to know someone appreciates me.

I didn't wear something special today, but still looked in the mirror and felt pretty and empowered.

I left the dorm and rushed down the stairs to the entrance door of the university, leaving the campus as quickly as I could and hopping into a cab to the mall. I didn't want to make Yeri wait at all.

The moment I got out of the cab and looked at the mall, I felt a big, strong, yet pleasant wave of nostalgia hit me. This was one of the smallest malls in Seoul, but probably my favorite - this was where Jennie and I used to spend our Friday evenings in high school, eating sushi and buying completely useless things with the pocket money our parents gave us. I looked at the people walking, talking, entering and exiting the mall, and savoring a coffee at the small café Jennie and I used to drink hot chocolates and look at hot guys around. 

When the heck did I even have time to get so old?

Once my nostalgia started fading away, I shook myself awake from my chain of thoughts and confidently walked into the mall, simultaneously texting Yeri to see where she was. I wasn't looking around at all - I was too busy seeing if Yeri was gonna get online and reply or not. 

I suddenly bumped into someone, lost balance and fell, thankfully holding tight enough of my phone to not drop and crack it. 

"I'm sorry", I said, getting up as quickly as I could and wiping the potential dust off my clothes. "I wasn't paying attention. Phew, good thing my phone didn't fall though!"

"You okay?" the person I bumped into asked me, yet not looking at me.

"Yeah, thank you for asking", I said, and smiled to myself. 

A few seconds later, we both looked up at each other and our jaws dropped open.

Shit.

"Oh, Tae, it was you!" I exclaimed, starting to sweat but trying to calm down. "Would never have guessed."

"I would've", he said dryly and shrugged with a slight smile. "I recognized your voice."

I saw he had a big and heavy blue plastic bag in his hand, and was very curious what was inside. 

"What's in there?" I asked in the most discreet way possible. "Seems interesting. Can I take a look?"

"Nope", he said, with the same dry voice tone. "It's a surprise."

I looked at him with an unconvinced facial expression, which made him chuckle softly.

"Lisa unnie!" I heard a high-pitched female voice shout from behind me. "There you are!"

I turned around to see who it was.

Tae saw her too, and waved at her with a pure smile. 

"Hey, Lisa!" Yeri said as she got next to us, and gave me a hug. "Hi to you too, Tae. Where's Jennie by the way? Is she still joining us?"

"She didn't get much sleep last night, so she was too tired, but she said we can meet later", I said in a friendly manner, hugging her back. 

I looked at Tae waiting for him to say something. He noticed my uncomfortableness, and chuckled again. 

"See you at the dorm, Lili", he said with a wink, and brushed shoulders with me as he passed by and left. "Bye, Yeri."

"Bye, oppa!" she yelled after him, but he didn't look back.

I sighed and shook my head subtly, but Yeri still noticed my reaction.

"Ooh, someone likes my unnie, I see!" Yeri said with a smirk, and nudged me. 

"Don't", I said, and laughed. "Everyone says it, but I'm unsure of it."

"I don't know for sure either", she answered. "Nobody told me that as a matter of fact, but I can tell you that it's obvious. And I'm in the extended math club, so you know I'm smart."

I sighed and shrugged, then laughed a little.

"Okay. Maybe you're right, Yeri."