𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 - 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐬

(EIGHT)

That evening, Jiwoo arrived home just as happy as she'd been when she was still with Sooyoung. When she shut the front door, she giggled fondly at the thought of the girl.

"Who's got you so happy?"

Jiwoo jumped. "Oh my god," she mumbled, "You scared the shit out of me!" She smacked her sister's arm as she yelled shit. "I made a new friend today," she proudly announced.

Hyunjin beamed. "I'm so glad! When am I gonna get to meet this new friend of yours?"

"Chill, we've only been friends for a few hours," the older chuckled. "And when am I gonna get to meet this girlfriend of yours? You keep talking about her, but at this point I'm convinced she's not real."

"Bet." Hyunjin reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone, then clicked the call button on a contact. "Heekkie," she cooed, "Will you please say something to make my stupid sister believe that I'm not making you up?"

The other line stayed silent for nearly a full minute before anything happened. The girl on the phone laughed loudly and wheezed, "I thought I was gonna be able to prank you, but I cracked! Hi, Jiwoo! This is Heejin. Yes, I exist, and yes, I'm dating your sister."

Jiwoo snatched the phone from her sister's hand and ran up the stairs to her room, locking the door immediately. "Hi, Heejin," she panted, "You seem like a very nice girl." Hyunjin pounded on the door, but Jiwoo ignored her. "But if you do anything to hurt Hyunjin, I'll knock your teeth down your throat."

"Chuu, give my girlfriend back!"

The eldest harshly whispered into the phone, "Don't ever pressure her into anything. Be nice to her. Make sure she knows you care about her." She took a deep breath. "And I'm dead serious when I say you can never pressure or force my sister into doing anything with you," she repeated. "No one deserves that. Especially not Hyunjin. You found the best girl on the planet, so you'd better treat her right."

There was a tense silence in Jiwoo's room despite the shouting and knocking that continued outside.

Finally, Heejin spoke. "I promise."

"And don't tell Hyunjin what I said," Jiwoo added. With that, she ended the call and calmly approached her door. She unlocked it, pulled the door back, and ducked, already knowing her little sister would try to hit her.

Hyunjin pouted and held out a hand for her phone. "You hung up on my baby?" Jiwoo shrugged. "I'm gonna be pissed if I find out you were mean to her."

"I wasn't mean to her." Jiwoo set the phone in Hyunjin's hand and scoffed humorously when the girl immediately called Heejin back.

"Hey." Jiwoo overheard her sister's side of the conversation and tried to listen in for a minute. "What did my sister say to you?" A pause. "What do you mean, you can't tell me? Was she that mean to you?" Hyunjin set her phone down. "One second, I have to put you on speaker so I can untie my shoes."

"Your sister wasn't mean to me," Heejin's voice crackled through the speaker. "But I told her that I wouldn't tell you what we talked about, so I'm not going to."

Hyunjin groaned. "You won't tell me anything? Not even for a kiss?"

Heejin laughed. "No, not even for a kiss. Like I said, I told her I wouldn't tell you."

Jiwoo finally relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. Tears streamed down her cheeks though she was smiling brightly.

Hyunjin is going to end up better than me, Jiwoo thought, That's all I want for her.