After waking up, the short-haired girl peered over to her left, only to find that Yeji was at the left edge of her mattress this time and not on the couch. It appeared the latter had pulled up a chair and laid her head on the bed next to her, like if she refused to leave her side.
It took Ryujin a moment to notice the fingers laced with hers, loosely, but there. The sight of it broke her heart about as much as it mended the fragile organ. She remembered what happened a few hours ago, how Yeji brought her back to bed and insistently offered water. There was a second voice while she was in and out of sleep, assumably a nurse or doctor's.
How she was, and her condition right now wasn't at the peak of her worries. Rather, she was more focused on the girl who was with her. Besides, if she remembered correctly, her ex said she was glad that she was okay. However, the fact of the matter is that Yeji could have gone by now. She didn't have to stay. She could've left. Ryujin felt there could only be two reasons behind that.
"You're awake." Too concentrated on their hands, she hadn't noticed Yeji was awake. Ryujin noted the swollen eyes. "How are you feeling?"
Ignoring the question entirely, sights fixated on her ex's front, Ryujin let her hand slip out of the other's, and a few tears fell as she delicately caressed her ex's face. It was an instinctive behavior. "Y- you were crying."
"Of course." Yeji smiled, puffy eyes squinted more than usual. She was noticeably tired. "I was worried sick. You scared me, dumbass."
She stared at her, a tad bothered that Yeji allowed herself to cry like that when she didn't deserve it. "Why would you waste your tears over a dumbass like me?"
"Because I..." Suddenly, Yeji hesitated and took a deep breath, her lips afterward parting repeatedly. Saying those words weren't as easy anymore, even though she meant them with all her heart. To declare them brought along a fear, one that had struck her mind any time she ever considered giving her ex a chance, even before she had any form of an apology.
"You...?"
Yeji shakily moved the hand lightly pressed against her cheek away from her face. Despite missing the way it felt, things weren't exactly good between them. Nothing about this was normal. A confession letter didn't solve their problems. "We need to talk, Ryujin. About your note... I didn't finish it."
"You didn't?"
"Not yet, no."
"Rejection again..." The moment Yeji slowly backed away made Ryujin want to grab her hand and tug her back, but she was too scared to, too afraid to make a move like that. She knew she didn't have the right to. And it reminded her of that night where she denied Yeji. It made her heart ache more than any physical pain caused by the crash. "It hurts like hell."
"It's because I— "
RIIIIINNNGGGGG!
Both turned toward the interruption. Ryujin watched Yeji walk to the small table near the couch, pick up the phone, and stare at the contact. She hesitated to pick it up, leaving Ryujin to wonder who it might be. Seconds later, she formed a good guess.
Though it felt weird to say, she was sure it was the girl who was currently her competition, the only other that had Yeji's eye. She's seen her, briefly witnessed how she acts around Yeji, and figured it was safe to say that the girl, whose name she still didn't know, no doubt had the upper hand here.
Meanwhile, while Ryujin was in her thoughts, Yeji tapped the side of her phone against her palm a few times, seemingly in deep thought as well, until the ringing eventually ended. After a few minutes of silence, she turned around to her ex and made a face. It was a face Ryujin knew well of despite only observing it twice on the oldest. With it, she understood what Yeji was feeling. Ryujin did, in fact, what she originally didn't want to do. She complicated her ex's life once again.
