Let's Play Pretend

| Eleven |

Ryujin loves the weekend, but when the weekend comes right after the Friday that Yeji slaps the truth in her face, it's not that relaxing anymore. There are about two months left until summer vacation, which means that Ryujin's time is limited. Yuna's family goes all out during the summer and she knows that if the Shins could leave Korea for all three months, they would do it again this year.

She needed to fix things before Yuna left.

So when Monday comes around, Ryujin is ready to risk her heart again. She doesn't care if Yuna rejects her. She's sure of one thing. Yuna deserves nothing but her honesty.

The first person she sees is Chaeryeong and perhaps, that isn't a bad thing. Chaeryeong started to approach her after she chased her out of the hospital for yelling at her team member. As a coach, she doesn't regret confronting Ryujin. As a person, she realizes she has grown some sort of interest in Ryujin. Not because she's affiliated with Yuna, but rather because she is Ryujin.

So she lets Chaeryeong into her small and intact circle of trusted friends because she sees that the coach simply wants to see her and Yuna happy... together.

Chaeryeong swings her arm around her shoulder like they didn't just become close two weeks ago. For Ryujin, she never expected Chaeryeong to be bubbly and warm. Her coach exterior always made her worry for Yuna, but now she understands why Yuna liked her a lot. Chaeryeong was only fulfilling her duties as a coach, but deeply cared for the well-being of the team. She also had great intuition and could read emotions well. Overall, Chaeryeong cared a lot and Ryujin wishes she saw it sooner.

I would've been happy if you and Yuna ended up together, Ryujin can't help but think.

Once again, her confidence wavers. Could she really have the guts to confess to Yuna?

The two girls enter the school gates and Yuna is outside their classroom, behind a few people. She clutches her notebooks close to her chest and her eyes wander as she waits for the students to get in.

Her gaze lands upon Ryujin and Chaeryeong who are both chatting about random stuff like who's taller between the both of them. Yuna sees herself in Chaeryeong and it hurts. As Ryujin's eyes land on her, she immediately darts her eyes away. She could still feel her stare and she squeezes between the door and the last student in front of her. She grabs her seat and sighs in discontent. She's trying so hard to support her best friend in her pursuit of the person she likes, but it's hard. Her own feelings don't go away that quickly.

Ryujin is there not long after and sits next to her. Yuna tips her head down awkwardly to show that she acknowledges her presence but says nothing else. Ryujin leans a little too close to her as she fixes the leg of her chair that got caught on the leg of the table. Her hair brushes against Yuna's cheek, and like a reflex, Yuna scoots in the opposite direction.

The older girl finally gets her chair fixed and she sits down, her eyes staring straight across from her. She bites her lip, not daring to budge an inch. Both of them are silent and deep in thought, but neither wants to be the first to share what's on their mind. Chaeryeong, who sits diagonal from them and one row back, sighs at the sight.

"Do I really have to help them?"

The professor arrives two minutes late and Yuna, like a good student, opens her notebook and writes her name at the top left corner. Ryujin follows suit and the class goes on.

Fifty minutes flew by, yet the students rush to pack their belongings as if the class was a lot longer. To Ryujin, this class would always fly by. She never wanted to leave Yuna's side.

As Yuna stands up to zip her backpack, Ryujin places her hand softly on her wrist and her head tilts up. The younger girl stares at her - her eyes are unreadable, but there's an emotion Ryujin wishes she couldn't read.