It Was Like A Dream

Chapter 4

-Yeji

I was running like hell because I was late. The meet up time was supposed to be 1pm but now as I am running, it's currently 1:58pm. It's not my fault I like to sleep in late every Saturday, is it?

I entered the school and made my way to the library. I dashed at halls after halls and finally I saw the door to the library. I slowed down my pace and walked to the door to open it.

As I entered the library I met with a cool breeze from the air conditioner and the smell of books. The tables were placed in front of the book shelves so I spotted Chaeryeong and the others.

A few people that were sitting in their tables looked at me, probably attracted because of the noise the door made as I opened it.

I closed the door and made my way towards Chaeryeong's table. Jisu and Yuna were talking to each other and then turned their heads together as they saw me.

I couldn't help but notice Jisu's casual look. She was wearing a white shirt that said "Still Stay" on the upper left corner. The shirt was tucked inside her high-waist denim shorts and a pair of sandals.

Even she can rock this simple outfit. What else cant she do?

"Sorry I'm late—"

"Where were you? You're almost an hour late. I thought you were gonna bail on us." Chaeryeong complained.

I chuckled. Every time when Chaeryeong gets angry(usually doesn't happen) her mouth forms a pattern where the bottom lip rises to the upper one. In short, she pouts. It always looked so cute. Even when we were kids. Her still doing that for 13 years never fails to surprise me.

"Hey, I'm sorry. You of all people should know I sleep in late whenever it's weekends." I said as I placed my bag on the table as I pulled my chair and sat down.

"You still could have texted." Her pouty nature never fails, I guarantee it.

I stifled a laugh and sighed. "I'll treat you to Burger King later. Now stop pouting." I said.

"Burger King it is. Apology accepted." And this is why we're best friends.

We spent the whole 3 hours on the project. We were writing it on the computer. There was WiFi so we could look up some terms that we don't understand from the books. Cramming my brain on chemistry has never been my style. I still wonder how I still pass the class. Maybe Ms. Minatozaki just can't give bad grades. She might this time though.

"Ugggghhhh." I looked up from the book I was reading and found Yuna with her head on the table.

"What's wrong?" Jisu asked.

"This is too boring. I need some excitement up in here." Yuna replies in a boring manner.

"Well, how about we get some refreshments and snacks? I used my car to get here." She said as she twirled her car keys on her fingers.

"That'd be cool. What do you guys want—" I was immediately cut off when Chaeryeong reached her hand on my back pocket and took out my wallet. "I do recall you saying that you'd get us Burger King, Yeji." She said as she opened my wallet and took out my credit card.

I looked at her with pure horror. Instead of complaining, I just sighed. "Please don't abuse my credit card this time." I said as she gave my wallet back on my hand. I returned it in my back pocket. "I'm still not over what happened at McDonald's last month." I said as I furrowed my eyebrows, remembering the memory.

"Don't worry, dear ol' friend! I'll just abuse it less." Chaeryeong says with a smile. Her gaze turned to Yuna and said "Hey Yuna. Do you mind going with me? Arms like these can't carry two bags of food." She said as she stretched her arms out.

I smirked. I didn't know this was your type of way of asking someone out, Chaeryeong.

"YES." Yuna exclaimed as she stood up. My eyes widen as I jumped, surprised by the noise that echoed when Yuna slammed her arms on the table.

I looked at Jisu and she was smirking too. Yuna looked at Jisu, then at me, then at everyone else who was looking in our direction. Yuna turned red and apologised for the noise while me and Jisu tried not to laugh.

"I-I mean...Y-Yeah, sure." Then the two walked to the exit. I noticed that Chaeryeong smirked at me before leaving the library. I got confused, but I immediately understood what it meant when I saw Jisu staring at me.

Oh. So Chaeryeong left to abuse my credit card AND to leave me alone with her.

"So..." Jisu said. I looked at her, showing my interest in what she was going to say. "Should we take a break too?" She asked.

I smiled and stretched my arms upward. "Yep. I think we could use it."

There was a moment of silence between us, and I didn't like it.

Maybe I should start by getting to know her.

"Oh by the way, can I ask you something?" I said.

Jisu nodded and said a light "Yes?"

"I often hear people call you "Lia". Is it your nickname?"

"Ah, no. It's just what I prefer to be called. I went by "Julia" back at Canada, and 'Lia' for short." She explained.

"If I were to shorten the name, I think it would be 'Jul' or 'Jules'."

She shook her head in disagreement. "I thought about that too, but It sounds kind of boyish for me. Lia sounds more of like a princess."

As if you don't look like a princess enough.

"Should I start calling you that then?" I asked as I placed my arms on the table.

"What?" She asked cluelessly.

I chuckled and responded, "I mean, should I call you 'Lia' too?" I asked with a smile.

Her eyes widen at what I had said and she looked down and started twiddling her thumbs together and even though I thought it was cute, I couldn't help but think,

Damn it! Abort mission! She's uncomfortable! Apologise, hurry!

"I—"

"Yeah."

She looked up back at me and showed me a big smile. Her eyes disappeared when she did. How adorable.

I smiled with her. "Does calling you Lia act as a contract for us to be friends?"

"It can be." She replied. I chuckled and started flipping some pages and we went back to work. Occasionally talking about each other's interests.

She likes watching Netflix in her room. Her favourite subject is English. Her talent is singing(which I would like to hear one day), she has a little brother, her mom is a chef and her dad is a doctor. Her favourite colour is light blue. Her favourite food are fruits and different kinds of pasta.

Knowing her personality, she seemed easy to get along with. It was like the facade she put up with Hyun disappeared. She isn't as mean as she made herself out to be.

I was too focused on writing on the computer I didn't notice Lia had fallen asleep. Her head rested on her arms while holding a pencil.

I was sitting across from her, but I couldn't see her face as her arms and hair covered her face. And since the air conditioner was blowing too strongly on my side, I decided to change seats and sit beside her.

Now that it was warmer for me, (because I'm wearing my grey hoodie) I noticed that her legs were shivering from the cold under the table.

She shouldn't have worn shorts. She looks cold.

Well, I couldn't turn the AC off, since there are people in here. I can't wake Lia up to change tables to somewhere warmer. So I just decided to take off my hoodie, which revealed my plain white shirt tucked inside my black high-waist pants. I carefully placed my hoodie on her lap making sure she was good and covered.

I pushed the books on the table farther and rested my head on my arm, facing Lia's head. I got a little too sleepy, and we're almost done anyway.

I close my eyes and thought,
A little nap won't hurt.