Hwayoung #6

Hwayoung stood in front of the elementary school gates, looking down the dirt road in hopes of spotting her friend. It was 10 minutes past their meeting time, and even though it wasn't a long period, it was starting to make her feel nervous. What if Yuri decided that Hwayoung wasn't worth it? Afterall, she was the one that didn't maintain contact with her friend, she was too concerned in trying to please Kris, so maybe Yuri wanted to do the same. But to her relief, Yuri came through, just like the great friend she was, and appeared in Hwayoung's line of sight, waving frantically as she ran over.

“Sorry, I'm late!” Yuri apologized through her wheezing breaths. “I got lost.”

“That's fine.” Hwayoung waved off, not caring about her tardiness, she was just relieved that Yuri had showed up.

The two girls hesitated for a second, staring at each others appearances and gauging the other's movement before throwing their arms around each other for a much needed and long awaited hug. It had been years since they last saw each other and this moment practically brought tears to their eyes.

“Hwayoung...” Yuri whispered tearfully, tugging her friend closer. “I've missed you. It's been way too long.”

“I know.” Hwayoung replied, holding onto the taller girl just as firmly. “I've missed you too.” The last time the two girls saw each other was during Hwayoung's wedding, which was grand, yes but also very lonely for the bride. They had kept in contact lightly after that but drifted apart when both were so busy with their separate lives.

Yuri pulled away from the embrace and eyed the pregnant woman up and down, observing the changes in her friend. “You look different.”

“Do I?” Hwayoung self-consciously placed a hand on her cheeks and grew red. Quite honestly, Hwayoung had self-esteem issues and always grew wary when someone commented on her appearance. She was very insecure about her looks, it just came with the territory of marrying a superstar husband, and didn't see herself as attractive nor pleasing in any way.

“Yeah.” Yuri continued to examine Hwayoung's features, staring at her face from top to bottom before drifting down to her form. Nothing drastic changed, she looked the same but her eyes and complexion were so.....dull. She used to have the brightest of eyes and sunniest of smiles but the Hwayoung before her now was a rather stark contrast. “You lost a lot of weight.” Her once full cheeks were now sunken in too, her usually gleaming eyes were lifeless, and her once radiant smile now looked force. What had happened the her best-friend?

“Oh....I haven't noticed.” Of course she has. Hwayoung had only started to eat regularly again because of her cravings but before, she didn't have much of an appetite and tried her best to maintain a slim figure because the pressure she felt from the media.

“Yeah....” By no means was Yuri a doctor, nutritionist, or someone who had experience with pregnancy but she knew enough to know that Hwayoung didn't look healthy. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” The pregnant woman replied with her best reassuring smile. “I'm...doing my best.”

“Hwayoung...” Yuri hesitated on the subject, knowing how sensitive this topic was but asked regardless. “What are you going to do about the baby and Kris?” Being a single mother was hard, she learned that from her mom, where you had to be both mom and dad and it hurt to see that her friend would be going through the same situation.

“I'm gonna live my life like normal, Yuri.” Hwayoung sighed while running a hand through her dark locks. “I don't need Kris to survive.” She had depended on Kris too much in the past and it became one of her biggest downfalls because the person she had trusted the most, her. “I need to learn how to take care of myself.”

“I know but what about the baby?”

Hwayoung looked away from her friend, ashamed at how her life had taken a turn for the worse. “He doesn't believe it's his so there's no point.” She tried sounding nonchalant, shrugging off the question, even though she was so broken over her ex-husband's choice. “I'm not gonna waste my time anymore.”

“But he's the father!” Yuri argued, enraged at Hwayoung's passive nature. “He needs to take responsibility, Hwayoung – even if he doesn’t want to! If he doesn’t believe you then take a paternity test. Why should Kris get out free?!” Screw Kris to hell! Yuri fumed in her mind. What makes him think