Good News or Bad News?

Within a period of a couple months, my life had taken a sudden turn, and definitely not for the worse. All throughout my entire childhood, ever since Mom had informed me to keep a safe distance from the male species, I had rarely talked to boys. Except for Kyungsoo, all of my friends -- the very few I had, that is -- were girls. I couldn't help it, though; I was just too shy to strike up any form of conversation with a boy. That's why, if someone had told me a few days before meeting Zhang Yixing that I would have a boyfriend, I would have laughed at them, and would have asked them not to talk about the impossible.

Well, Yixing had not actually asked me to be his girlfriend or anything like that, but I couldn't see any other way of interpreting that kiss we had shared. So, for now, at least in my mind, I was dating Yixing until he specifically said so.

His little fiasco, however, almost made me lose my job. I reached the convenience store literally seconds before my reporting time, and saw the manager glaring at his watch before he turned to look at me. He gave me a stare for a few seconds, then proceeding to shake his head as he walked over to man the cash register. For whatever reason, he never let any of his employees near the cash register. Maybe he suspected us of trying to steal the money when he was distracted with some customer. At least he hadn't said anything to me, and it was a good sign as I made my way over to the aisles; I knew I wasn't going to be fired.

Finally, my shift ended at 8:30 PM. I stepped out of the store, wrapping my arms tightly around myself as a shield against the cold wind. Even with a thick, warm sweater, I could feel the goosebumps on my skin, and I let out a shudder as I began the walk home. However, my mind kept wandering back to whatever had happened at Yixing's place just a couple hours ago. The thought of that kiss alone was enough to make me heat up a little, but as long as I wasn't freezing to death, I didn't try to get rid of those thoughts. Unknowingly, a smile appeared on my face, and there was a spring in my step as I increased the pace.

Soon, I reached home while humming a tune under my breath, my hand outstretched towards the doorknob. Voices from the other side made me stop, though, and I slowly moved my ear to touch the door as I tried to make out who was talking. Both voices were all too familiar.

Swinging the door open, I was met with the sight of Yixing bending down while putting on his shoes, and my mother leaning against a wall, hers arms crossed casually as she talked to him. At the sound of the door opening, their heads turned towards me; I blinked questioningly at the sight of their welcoming smiles.

"Well, I should get going now, Mrs. Cho. It was nice to talk to you," Yixing said as he bowed to her, then gave me a quick wink and a wave before walking out the door, closing it behind him. Being caught by surprise like that, I wasn't aware of how red my cheeks were becoming as I looked at Mom, my mouth moving, yet no words came out.

"I approve of your boyfriend, Daeun," she said simply, the smile not leaving her face. She turned towards the kitchen, but not before glancing at me once again over her shoulder. "Come on in, you must be cold."

I stood rooted to the spot, my knees feeling wobbly as my brain tried to process her words. My boyfriend? So was that what he had come to talk about? Wow, way to go, Yixing. He could have at least given me some idea about it, or maybe a teeny little hint, but noooo. He just had to secretly meet my mother while I was away at work, inform her about apparently -- but seriously -- dating me, and then just run away hurriedly before I could say anything, be it in support of his dating claim or in protest. Not that I would have ever protested to it, though.

Once the reality had finally sunk in, my face split into a wide grin, and I literally hopped to my room to get changed into casual, more warm clothes before having dinner with my mother. At the dinner table, I could feel the 'discreet' looks she was throwing at me, but I kept my eyes on my plate of food, an absent smile on my lips as I ate.

The next day, I did not have my Mandarin class with Yixing. I was extremely aware of how sneaky he had been the previous day during our class, but no way was that going to stop me from learning his language. In the couple of months that we had gotten to know each other, I was starting to look forward to meeting him even more. I mean, I know that sounds too cheesy, but I guess love makes you stupid. Or, in my case, more stupid than I already was.

Somehow, I ended up in the bookstore. It was not like I needed to buy anything, but there was just something about the place that rid me of my boredom. Even window shopping became really interesting when it came to books, I loved them that much. (If I had to choose between Yixing and books, it would be so hard. But shhh, don't tell him that.)

As I was strolling casually through the aisles, my gaze sweeping over the science fiction section, I felt someone's presence behind me. Before I could turn around, though, that someone placed their hands on my eyes, and I felt a soft breeze on my ear as I heard them whisper, "Guess who?"

I frowned; I wouldn't have been able to guess it, if it weren't for the slightly high-pitched giggle that fell on my ear right after that. With a sigh, I let my shoulders sag.

"Why, hello there, Hyerin."

Hyerin let out a groan of defeat as she withdrew her hands, but grinned happily at me as I turned around. She surprised me further by embracing me in a tight hug, which I gladly returned. "Welcome back, girl," I said with a chuckle, then looked over her shoulder with an amused frown. "Where's Kyungsoo?"

"Oh, he's in here somewhere, wandering about," she said with a mock dismissive wave. Putting her hands on her hips, she regarded me from head to toe. "I knew I would find you here, somehow. Call it a girl's instinct." I laughed, already starting to feel better after running into her. Her presence in my life, even if somewhat passive sometimes, was really important to me, and it was so good to see her back from Jeju.

"Hey, look who I ran into-" Kyungsoo walked out from the neighbouring aisle, only to stop in his tracks as his eyes fell on me. His face broke into a grin as he approached me, but I was distracted by the person who had followed my best friend. I wasn't allowed to be distracted for too long, however, as Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around me fondly, successfully grabbing my attention as I hugged him back. This day was starting to be full of surprises.

"Oh, hello Yixing," Hyerin greeted him politely, and he warmly smiled back at her as he watched the two of us 'reunite' after a week.

I had no idea how Kyungsoo had managed to meet Yixing in the bookstore, nor could I figure out how the four of us eventually ended up in a nearby café, a different one from the one Yixing and I usually frequented. I sat next to my boyfriend -- I wanted to pinch myself every time I thought of that, just to ensure that I wasn't dreaming or being delusional -- with Kyungsoo in front of me as he sat next to his girlfriend. This was beginning to feel a lot like a double date.

As if reading my thoughts, my childhood friend leaned over the table, his arms folded on it as he smirked at me. "Nice day to go for a double date, huh?" He asked, totally catching me by surprise as I sputtered, trying to frame a coherent sentence. He let out a hearty laugh as he looked at both Yixing and I, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Your face reveals it all, Cho Daeun."

Did it really? Wow, well, I must have the world's worst poker face ever. I glanced at Yixing for a second before giving a sheepish grin, that was quick to turn into a grimace; I was sure that Kyungsoo would tease me about it for weeks on end. Beside him, Hyerin was all smiles, almost like a proud mother.

"Anyway," Kyungsoo continued, "we can talk about your love life later, because I have some news for you." I could tell from his smile that it was definitely something big, he looked like he was trying not to smile too widely but was failing horribly.

"Oh yeah, sure, go ahead," I said, waving my hand towards him as I ignored his previous comment about my 'love life'. He leaned even more over the table, our foreheads almost touching as he began to speak in a conspiratorial whisper, for God knows whatever reason. As a reflex action, even Hyerin and Yixing brought their heads closer to ours.

"While I was at the wedding with Hyerin, she told a relative of hers about my singing ability, and I was made to sing in front of everyone," he said, voice shaking slightly with anxiety and excitement. "Apparently, that relative owns a performing arts academy in South Korea. So, guess who's going to train to become a professional singer?"

My eyes widened as I tilted my head back to stare at him, my mouth hanging open as I realised how huge of an opportunity this was for Kyungsoo. With an excited shout, I leaped out of my chair, flinging my arms around his neck as I hugged the life out of him.

"That is so amazing, Kyungsoo!" I squealed, letting go of him as I held him by his shoulders. "I am so happy for you." I shook his shoulders lightly before sitting back down on the chair. I was aware of a few eyes on us, especially me, but nothing could stop me from being this happy. Yixing grinned softly at me, then extended his arm towards Kyungsoo, shaking the latter's hand with a bright smile.

"Congratulations, man, that is really good news," he said. It was a really surprising sight to see the usual stone-faced Kyungsoo with a smile brighter than the Chinese's. He thanked Yixing, then turned to me once again, the light on his face dimming slightly. Oh no...

"There's just a little problem..." he trailed off, proceeding to avoid my gaze as he rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. My smile fell, and I blinked a few times, biting my lip in confusion. What exactly was the problem now?

"A-and? What is it?" I said, starting to feel a bit afraid of that question as well as his answer. He finally looked at me, holding my gaze for a few painfully silent seconds, that seemed like minutes, hours, or even eternity. He opened his mouth, and I could see him struggling to speak. What was it exactly that was so difficult for him to say? He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he closed his eyes for a couple seconds, before looking back at me.

"The academy I need to go to has only one branch, and... it's not in Seoul," he said, a sad and sympathetic look in his eyes as he gave me time to understand the gravity of the entire situation. I straightened up in my seat as I stared at him, my eyes getting wider with each passing second. "I will have to go and train there for at least a year," he explained.

"B-but... then- y-you-" I stammered, unable to form proper words as I realised that once again, fate was going to separate me from my best friend, this time for a longer period of time. Out of the corner of an eye, I saw Yixing and Hyerin exchange looks of sorrow, mainly because of my reaction. I couldn't understand why things like these had to happen in my life.

Before I knew it, tears rolled down my cheeks, and I lowered my head as I felt the cool air against the wetness on my face.

Author's Note:

Ugh, I hate myself so much sometimes. Before my hiatus, I had written a lot in this chapter, but it was so cheesy and cringey, that I had to delete almost 90% of it. And then it took me more than two days to write it all over again, after making a few much needed changes.

It feels so good to be able to write this one again, though! I'm slowly getting back into the flow of writing, and hopefully, I can write a lot more till my next exam (which will be in June).

Anyway. This chapter seems like it ended on kind of a cliffhanger. That's kind of what I had intended to do haha.

I hope my writing skills haven't become rusty, and I really hope you liked it!