Always Been You (Ryeji Converted)

Chapter 11

6 months later...

Senior Year:

"Who's texting you?" Yuna

asked, looking up from her phone to glance at Yeji's phone, which was sat face down on the table between them.

"It's Monday morning, which means it's probably Ryujin with her 'MMM'."

"M&M? The candy?"

The brunette flipped over her phone and opened the message for Yuna to read, "M-M-M. Monday Morning Message. She's been sending me one every Monday since Christmas."

{Ryujin} Good morning Yeji. Here's this week's MMM: I miss the way you used to kick my ass when we did the Sunday Times Crossword together.

Yuna raised her eyebrows, "Are they all like this?"

"Uh-huh," Yeji nodded, "Some are downright cheesy. I pretty much ignore them now."

"You don't write back?" Yuna scrolled upwards, skimming over the texts.

"Why should I? I didn't ask for her to send these. It's basically high-octane spam without the promise of zillions from a Nigerian prince."

"For a straight-A student, you're pretty fucking dense, Yeji."

"Don't give me the 'she's reaching out to repair the friendship so I need to be open-minded' speech, okay?"

"Why didn't you tell Ryujin about Doyeon? Or Jeongyeon?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"That has everything to do with everything! Ryujin almost drove our car off the road when she found out."

"WHAT? SHE FOUND OUT? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

"Uh, because she lives across the street from you and I thought she would have talked to you about it. I mean, she was shocked."

"She's gay! If she has a problem with me being gay, that's her issue, not mine."

Yuna stood up so forcefully that Yeji looked up in surprise. Yuna gestured to their room, "Come on, we're getting you packed. We are scrapping plans for this week and we are putting you on the first train home."

"What? No. This was our week to chill before our internships start. I'm not going back home. Mam and Dad are in San Francisco..."

"All the better. No distractions. You are going to go home, and you and Ryujin are going to sit down and talk. None of this texting nonsense."

"I am not having a cheesy reality-show coming out moment with Ryujin Shin. That's the most ridiculous thing ever."

"Yes, that would be the most ridiculous thing ever. This is not about you being gay. This is about how you and Ryujin need to sit down and talk about how you each have a thing for the other but you are both too chickenshit to own up to it."

"What kind of low-grade crack are you smoking? Ryujin is with Julia. I'm just getting to a place where it doesn't make me crazily angry thinking about the two of them together, so just cool it, okay?"

"You like her, right? A lot? You've figured out that much?" Yuna looked at her friend. The brunette shrugged.

"I'm willing to bet my tuition money that she likes you too. This is full-on courtship-by-texting, Yeji. You're just too stubborn to see it." Yuna held up the brunette's phone.

Yeji shook her head, "Nope. Not with the J-bomb in the picture. Bad bet, Yuna."

"Before she almost drove us off the road, she made a comment about how it was almost over between her and Julia. I never got to ask her about it because she was so fixated on finding out about Doyeon and Jeongyeon."

"Almost over? What the hell does that mean? And you didn't tell me that either? And what kind of a crazy ass ride was that anyway?"

"Don't know. But like I said, I'm willing to bet good money that she likes you too."

"She doesn't. I'm not all glamorous and super-model stunning like her girlfriends."

"You aren't glitzy, I'll give you that. But I bet Ryujin doesn't actually care for that stuff. Maybe all that glamor and drama was a way to block out how she really feels about you."

The brunette tried hard not to love hearing that comment, "You don't know that."

"Maybe not, but I've been a witness to the way you two have bickered since god-knows-when, and it's like you've been engaging in verbal foreplay for years."

"No we have not!"

"Yes, you have. Listen to yourselves next time: you doofus... no, you dumbass... boobless wonder... you perv... Oh my god, it never ends. It's like you guys argue just to pretend you don't like each other."

Yeji picked up her phone and opened up the texts from Ryujin. Her heart started pounding. Suddenly, something started to made sense.

She held the phone to her ear after punching in a number.

"You're calling her?"

Yeji held her hand up, "Oh hey Mam... oh shit, I woke you... No, I just had a question... You know how you keep asking me to call Ryujin?"

Yuna raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah. Is it because you heard from Debbie that Ryujin and Julia broke up?"

Yeji's eyes widened, "MAM! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

The brunette started shaking her head, "Okay, okay. I get it. Yeah. Okay Mam. Love you too."

When the call ended, Yeji lowered the phone, "Ryujin swore her mom to secrecy, but of course, Debbie told my mam. Apparently Ryujin wanted to tell me in person... but I've been ignoring her, so..."

"Time to head to Penn Station, my friend."

Yeji pulled up the blonde's texts, "First, let's see if she's up for it."

"See what I mean?" Yuna shouted, "Verbal foreplay!"

Yeji smiled and hit 'reply',

{Yeji} So you're finally admitting to being a functional illiterate?

Ryujin's reply came several minutes later: {Ryujin} Hardly. Yesterday's Sunday Times crossword puzzle -- send screenshot of completion time when done. Loser buys dinner tonight.

She grinned.

{Yeji} Challenge accepted. How are you going to buy me dinner when you are all the way in Boston?

The blonde didn't respond for a while, but when she did, her text read: {Ryujin} I'm not in Boston. I'm done with the first quadrant, by the way.

"What the hell?" Yeji read the last text again.

"What, what?" Yuna asked.

"Quick -- pull up the Times Crossword from yesterday. I think Ryujin's in New York."