𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 - 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐬

(TWELVE)

Jiwoo woke up early to ensure she'd be able to hide the evidence of the previous night from her sister.

She winced in pain every time the makeup blender touched her skin, but forced herself to continue. She had hidden this lifestyle from her sister for nearly four years, and she wasn't about to mess it up now. Jiwoo brushed her hair and limped into the kitchen where her sister waited for her.

For whatever reason, breakfast was awkward. The Kim sisters sat across from each other eating cereal in silence. Finally, Hyunjin spoke up. "Hey, uh, Chuu... were you crying last night?" Jiwoo shook her head. "Are you sure? Because I could've sworn I heard somebody crying last night. And you're walking weird this morning," she added, "So it must have been you. Are you hurt?"

Jiwoo was caught. "Oh, yeah," she said, "I slipped in the shower last night. My ankle still hurts." She rubbed her ankle and flinched, trying to be convincing. "Sorry if I woke you up when I fell. I don't think it's a big deal, though, I should be fine in a few days."

Hyunjin nodded. "You had me scared," she mumbled. "I was worried you had gotten really hurt, but by the time I was awake enough to go over to the bathroom and check on you, you were already gone."

"I'm sorry for worrying you." She glanced at her phone when it pinged and noticed a new message. She rolled her eyes, expecting it to be someone else demanding something from her.

Hyunjin laughed. "Wow, who texted you? You seem pissed."

Jiwoo set her phone face down on the table. "It's an unknown number," she answered. That part was true. "I'm just gonna delete it." ...and there was the lie. She knew people handed out her phone number, so she got plenty of unknown numbers hitting her up.

Once Hyunjin stood to leave, Jiwoo read the message.

Unknown: Hi Jiwoo!

Her heart raced. Today was the day she was going to tell someone no and have them actually accept her declining their requests. She told herself it was time to be a new person, someone better. Someone with self-respect.

Chuu💖🐧: Hi. I don't know which of my friends gave you this number, but let me answer you before you even ask, because they probably misinformed you. I'm not doing favours anymore. No, not if you pay me, not if we're friends, not for any reason whatsoever. Starting today I'm a new person. I don't do that shit anymore and that's final. I'm no one's toy anymore.

After sending the message, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She said no, and she felt good about it. At least, she felt good until her phone pinged again.

Unknown: Sorry, I should've said this in my first message. This is Ha Sooyoung- we met yesterday at the bookstore.
Ms. Ha Sooyoung: You seem to have some really heavy shit on your mind. Want to talk about it? We can meet at the coffee shop again, I'll buy you another lemonade. If you want to hang out, just let me know what time works for you :)

Chuu💖🐧: Is now okay?

Ms. Ha Sooyoung: I'll be there waiting for you. See you soon