I want to be yours // viseul

~7~

Vivi peacefully sipped on her water as the girls around her laughed at something dumb Heejin said, bringing a smile to Vivi's face even if she hadn't heard the words. They were all seated together in some sort of bar, their group conveniently fitting into the large, circular booth. Vivi sat next to Haseul and Heejin, Jinsoul and Hyunjin next to them respectively. The low light of the room made the mood relaxed, and Vivi managed a small sigh. No one was talking to her, meaning she could simply enjoy having people around her. The girls were snacking on the food Sooyoung ordered, and who would definitely end up paying.

"Do you want the last piece, Vi?" Jiwoo offered a piece of meat from across the table. Vivi shook her head no, leaning back in her seat and sighing contentedly.

"I'm okay," Vivi said. "I'm full,"

"Are you excited?" Jiwoo said brightly. "This is gonna be so fun!"

Vivi nodded noncommittally. She actually felt tired from all this social interaction, but she wasn't about to tell the girls that. Being alone for so long meant that she was used to getting plenty of time for herself. She wanted to get used to this though, this felt better.

She was purposely ignoring the way Haseul had turned her back to Vivi, fussing over Jinsoul in that sickeningly sweet way that made Vivi's heart ache. Not the time to be sad. She reminded herself. Enjoy this, Haseul isn't your only friend.

Sooyoung caught her eyes across the table and smiled reassuringly, making Vivi feel a little better. Tonight wasn't about Vivi's hopeless attraction to Haseul, it was about her friends.

"Stop picking at your food, Hyun," Heejin fussed, turning to the younger girl and wiping the sauce from her mouth. Vivi watched them curiously, eyes following the way Heejin's dainty fingers cupped Hyunjin's jaw.

"You're staring. Isn't she pretty?" Hyunjin said to Vivi, in Mandarin. Vivi's eyes widened almost comically and her mouth fell open in shock.

"What?"

"Oh, yeah, she can speak Mandarin," Heejin laughed. "She's pretty much fluent,"

"This is true. I'd like to think my Mandarin is good," Hyunjin agreed. "It's nice to finally talk to you, Unnie,"

Vivi blinked, a smile spreading across her face. "Wow, likewise. I am impressed,"

Hyunjin didn't smile, only nodded. "I spent time in China as a child, so I picked some up. I take classes with Haseul and Heejin, but I'm the only one who is any good,"

"You know, I take Mandarin too," Heejin said proudly.

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. "I just told her, Heej,"

Heejin blushed. "Well, I didn't say I was good..."

Vivi laughed. "Don't worry, my Korean is good, I think. It's nice to speak in Mandarin again, though," She said the last part to Hyunjin, finally getting a smile in return.

"Heejin won't understand a single thing, if we talk fast," Hyunjin smirked. "You could say anything,"

"What about Haseul?" Vivi asked hesitantly. "How is her Mandarin?"

Hyunjin shrugged. "It's a little better than Heejin's, but not much. They can only say basic phrases, and slowly. This school isn't known for its language program,"

"When do we wanna go to the beach?" Jinsoul called to the group. "It's only 9, so we have a couple hours to kill,"

"The beach is what, 45 minutes away? Let's just hang out here," Sooyoung announced.