Differences

What does it mean to be friends? How do you know if you really are friends?

Did you have to like all of the same things? What if you disliked a lot of the things your friend liked? What if your differences outweighed your similarities? Does that lessen your friendship with someone? How do you know? How can you tell?

Joohyun wants to know but she doesn’t want to ask. If she were to ask Seulgi if they were friends, she would, in all likelihood, say yes.

And that was good enough, wasn’t it?

Her usual routine had been altered. She doesn’t sit on the benches as often anymore, watching the other kids play and run about. Instead, every day at recess, she runs to the swings and sits. Feet dangling as she sways a little forward and then a little back, waiting for Seulgi in quiet anticipation.

Usually, Seulgi would come out five minutes later or so, running as fast as she could to where Joohyun was. She’d be panting for air, hair disheveled from the wind, shoelaces untied, and a giant smile on her face--the same smile she always wore as if it were permanently a part of her.

And Seulgi would say, “Hi, Joohyun! I’m here!”

Every day, without fail, it was the same four words. And upon hearing them, Joohyun would simply smile and nod. Then, she would swing and Seulgi would draw.

Images came to life in the dirt. Seulgi never drew the same thing twice. And with a new picture, came a new story. A new adventure that Seulgi would share with Joohyun. Lines weaving and dancing through rock, grass, and earth as Seulgi spoke excitedly. Illustrating. Bringing it to life. Telling her everything she could. If Seulgi could draw it, she did. And Joohyun listened. She liked to listen.

There was the time Seulgi went wandering in the woods. She found a small pond and swam to the bottom to find a turtle. She named it, Yerm.

A different day, Seulgi got lost on the way home and when she found her way back, she saw the biggest candy shop she’d ever seen. The entire place was red, she said. The reddest thing she’d ever seen. That day, she bought a lollipop the size of her face and still didn’t finish it by the time she got home.

And a few days ago, while mindlessly flipping channels on the television, she discovered a cartoon she’d hadn't watched before. From the way she laughed just trying to describe it, it was the funniest thing on Earth. Funny enough that it made her stomach hurt.

The stories were endless. Each one of them captivating in their own way. Little did Joohyun know, that her own eyes sparkled with every tale. The only time she would ever speak was to ask questions, wanting to know more. Small details Seulgi might have skipped and the former would oblige happily in telling more.

Seulgi seemed to be an endless spring of stories. Even the simplest event was worth hearing through her voice. And Joohyun listened contently. Every day without fail.

Her routine had been altered to this. Truth be told, recess was beginning to be her favorite part of the day.

And Joohyun was more than happy.

But today was different.

Her hands held the metal chains tightly as she swung, keeping close to the ground but high enough where she could feel the breeze. Tiny feet kick back and forth. Her eyes shut and she breathes in the brisk air that brushes her face and dances through her hair. It was the smell of crisp leaves and damp earth from light rains. Below her, just a few feet away, Joohyun sees an unexpected sight--Seulgi wasn’t drawing.

Seulgi stabbed at the dirt with her stick, mindlessly marking the earth. It was the same motion over and over. Hardly a blink. Not even a twitch of the mouth. She was almost like a statue, if only her arm were as still as the rest of her. The taller girl was uncharacteristically quiet as if she were somewhere else entirely. Maybe she was tired, Joohyun thought. Was it even possible for Seulgi to get tired? The silence was worrying and Joohyun found her swing slowing down. Her toes touched the ground. And she stared at Seulgi with eyes full of concern.

“H-Hey Seulgi,” Joohyun calls quietly. “What are you doing?”

“Thinking,” the girl replied absentmindedly.

Joohyun nibbled on her bottom lip. Debating on whether she should pry further or perhaps, Seulgi wanted to be left alone with her thinking. If it were her, Joohyun would’ve wanted the time to herself. She had always wanted the time to herself. But this was Seulgi--the girl who persisted, the one who managed to wrangle Joohyun out of her shell, albeit just a bit but more than anyone else had ever tried or succeeded in doing.

Seulgi would ask more. A friend would ask more, wouldn’t they?

“About what?” Joohyun questions weakly.

Her tiny hands gripped the chains more tightly. For some reason, she felt nervous.

A few of the other kids run by, shouting and laughing as they played their game of tag. Irene’s eyes followed them as they ran towards the opposite end of the playground until their voices became faint echoes in the wind. And still, Seulgi poked at the Earth. Once more. Twice more. Maybe she didn’t hear Joohyun.

For a moment, the taller girl hums to herself then sighs, letting the stick slip from her fingers. She takes a seat on the swing beside Joohyun.

“What kind of stuff do you like, Joohyun?” she suddenly asks.

“Me?”

Joohyun’s eyes grow wide, somewhat taken aback by the sudden interest. Seulgi’s eyes twinkle with curiosity, looking at her attentively and patiently. A stark difference from her previous lifeless state. The shy girl’s brows knit together, closer and closer as she thinks. An immediate answer doesn’t come to mind. A minute passes and she hasn’t uttered a word. The question was surprisingly difficult.

Somehow sensing her struggle, Seulgi laughs and tries to help her. If Joohyun couldn’t answer it alone, they would answer it together. The inquiries come one after another.

“Do you like animals?”

No, she was scared of animals. Just as she told Seulgi before. Even the tiniest puppy terrified her. Not because she was bit before or any kind of bad experiences of the sort. She was just afraid of them. Unreasonably afraid but afraid nonetheless.

On the other hand, Seulgi adored animals.

“How about candy?”

Candy--candy was fine. No particular favorites, really. Plus, she never really ate too much candy. Not since last Halloween and one dentist appointment shortly after, they found a cavity. And that was painful. After that, candy was a rare thing she ate.

But Seulgi loved candy, especially lollipops. And by some miracle, she’s never had a cavity in her life. Not yet, at least.

“What’s your favorite color?”

Purple. An easy answer to an easy question. When she was younger her mom had bought her a purple watch. The color was pretty and it stuck in her mind. It was broken now but it still sat on top of her drawer. Every once in a while, she’d take a look at it.

Orange was Seulgi’s. She liked the brightness of it.

“Your favorite show?”

Joohyun didn’t watch much television. There were a few cartoons she’d watch from time to time but she didn’t really know the names. Didn’t bother finding them out either. She liked reading books more than she did watching shows.

In contrast, Seulgi hardly read at all aside from comics. But she had five favorite cartoons she regularly watched.

As the questions began to die down it was becoming more and more apparent of how different they were. For every one that Joohyun answered, Seulgi would answer as well. And their replies were almost always the opposite. It was both fascinating and worrying to Joohyun.

How can two people be so different?

“What else do you like, Joohyun?”

She bites her lip, thinking, and gazes up at the clouds. So free and fleeting. Slowly moving, slowly changing. Rays of morning sunshine peek through. All above in the wild blue yonder beyond her reach. But the sight of it enraptured her and filled her with content.

“The sky,” Joohyun says softly.

“The sky?” Seulgi repeats.

Day. Night. Sunrise. Sunset. Clouds of all different shapes. Rainbows. Stars. The sun. The moon. Every day, it was a new sky. Every day, it was so--

“...pretty,” Joohyun mumbled to herself.

Seulgi blinks and smiles from ear to ear.

“I like the sky, too.”

At least that was one thing they had in common.

At the end of the day, Joohyun walks out the front doors to wait for her mom. She goes down the steps, careful not to bump into anyone else when a running figure speeds past her and whisks her by the arm, twirling her around. She yelps and a familiar laugh rings in her ears. Crescent eyes and messy hair.

“S-Seulgi!” Joohyun squeaked, wobbling as she tried regaining her balance. The taller girl helped steady her.

All the other kids walking by flashed them quick glances. Most of them were surprised to hear Joohyun’s voice raised higher than a whisper. Heat flushed her cheeks. But of course, Seulgi was oblivious to those around them. Or rather, she just didn’t care for them as her eyes--all of her attention--was solely focused on Joohyun.

“Here, look at it! I made it for you in art class!”

Seulgi eagerly hands Joohyun a folded piece of paper. It appeared to have been folded in quite a hurry. Carefully, she unravels it and in her hands, completely undone, was a picture. Two figures standing next to each other on a beach, pointing upward. The taller one had big unruly hair and the other wore a set of bunny ears. Above them was a sky painted in beautiful hues of orange and purple, the midst of a sunset.

“My classmate told me that the sky was really pretty when they went camping by the beach. One day, let’s do that and look at the sky together.”

Joohyun gazes upward to see Seulgi wearing the biggest smile she’s ever seen.

“What do you think?” she asks.

And Joohyun holds the paper closer to her as if the wind might steal it. For some reason, her bottom lip quivered. Why? She’s not sure. But she trembles and she nods. Unable to utter a single word. All she could do was press the picture closer to her heart.

“It’s a promise then,” Seulgi grins as she wraps an arm around Joohyun’s small shoulders and walks with her.

Despite our differences you never made me feel different. With you, I felt like I belonged. Because of you, I finally had a friend.

A real friend.

a/n: Surprise, surprise! This fic has been resurrected~ I know it’s literally been forever since I updated this but it’s back. I’ll be updating this fic alongside Temporarily Yours from now on, although the word count on the updates for this fic are much less in comparison to Temporarily Yours. I hope that’s fine. There’s a reason for it. Thank you to everyone for being so patient while I take forever to update my fics lol. A special thanks to one of my readers, Seulgikangjjang. Their love for this fic was a big motivator. Well, as always, thank you to all the subscribers, silent readers, and commenters! Basically, thanks to everyone who’s read haha I’ll do my best to update again soon and hopefully post my oneshot that I’ve been working on~ Until next time! Let’s all continue to love Red Velvet :D