Chap 4 - Dreamer

Solji fluttered her eyelids, slowly adjusting to the new morning light. Immediately, she felt a sharp pain jolt her previous sleep away, clutching the side of her head. Just what she needs. A headache. Right before her shift.

‘', Solji thought to herself, cursing as she widened her eyes and jolted upright which only worsened her pain. In doing so, she felt her leg bump into something else on the bed. It was only when she actually looked at where she was, did she realise she wasn't alone. 

Her eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Hani's body, leaned up against the head of the bed. She gulped as she slowly pushed the covers off herself, leaving the bed as quietly as she could. The girl didn't budge. 

The room was near silent, with the exception of Hani's slowed breathing. The girl had her head against the top of the bed, tilted towards her right. Her arms laid beside her sides, her fingers curled slightly on the crisp white bed-sheet. Her eyes seemed to be fluttering, almost moving in her sleep, Solji guessed that she was probably dreaming. Not wanting to disturb her, Solji quietly grabbed her items and took one last glance at the room, making sure she hadn't left anything. Before she left, Solji quickly fixed up the curtains, shifting them so that the few rays of light that had previously woken her up could no longer pass through.

Stepping into the corridor, Solji let out a sigh of relief that she hadn't been aware that she was holding in. With her hand clasped around her bag, she walked into the bathroom and quickly fixed herself up. She realised that she was still wearing the long white T-shirt which only brought back the events of last night. Solji's head throbbed, wincing as she wished for it to at least hurt so much so she couldn't even remember or just not at all.

She didn't have much time to arrive at her job having depended solely on her circadian rhythm to wake her up. Solji splashed her face with cold water, noticing how puffy her eyes were and hoped her manager wouldn't ask anything about it. Hurrying, she left the bathroom and soon exited the building.

That was the closest she had ever been with Hani for years, both physically but also as two people. For a moment, it felt as if they had been transported back in time. As if everything was okay again. Solji found herself smiling fondly, but at the same time almost bitterly. 

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"Wow", Hyojin said after a long pause. "That, wasn't really what I meant but sure."

"Well it's not like I had intended on falling asleep there," shot Hanie back, looking even more frustrated than usual.

Hyojin put her feet down from the table she had been resting them on. She was visiting Hani again, or more like she barged in without warning, causing the two to argue for a good 10 minutes about the borders of privacy, courtesy and sisterhood before sitting down and talking. If it weren't for the fact it was much too early in the afternoon for drinks, Hyojin would have brought with her some beer. 

"Dang I do miss that Solji," she said. "She was pretty fun to chat to."

Hani's eyes perked up, raising one eyebrow.

"You didn't even know her that well."

Hyojin scoffed.

"No need to get jealous, I was talking about her as a friend."

Hani averted her eyes, staring straight forward at the wall. She looked almost as frustrated as Hyojin looked exhausted. With an upcoming auction, Hyojin and been working a lot more than she likes and feeling a lot more stressed as well. Not to mention how little time she was spending with those around her, which was partially why she'd dropped by so unexpectedly though she would never admit that in front of Hani. Hyojin realises that she's simply bored. Tired. She wanted something new.

"In the midst of all this, is Solji alright?"

"Doesn't seem like it."

The two sit in silence once more, before Hyojin gets an idea. Sitting upright, she turned and faced Hani, who lackadaisically glanced back at her.

"Hey, what if I take Solji out for lunch?"

"You what?"

"You heard me, I take her out for lunch, we discuss things and maybe it'll help things?"

"Yeah, I don't know about you Hyojin, but taking someone on a date to convince them to mend relations with your own sister doesn't seem exactly fool-proof."

"No, not a date lunch, just a lunch lunch. As two friends who haven't seen each other in a while."

Hani looked away, at first completely put off by her sister's ridiculous suggestion. Yet, the more she thought about it, the less ridiculous it seemed and the more sense it seemed to make. 

"How would you make her even go?"

"Contrary to your belief, I'm rather a ladies woman so she's practically already agreed. Besides, we were still friends you know, just because you and her were i-"

Hyojin was cut off with the start of her ring tone, sounding clearly in the apartment and demanding Hyojin's attention right away. She shifted, reaching down into her pocket to grab the device out.

"Yes, hello it's LE here. What's up? This weekend? Oh, I see alright I'll..."

Hani looked back up at the clock, calculating how much longer she has until she needed to get up and touch upon her paintings. She wanted them done soon, but she'd been finding it harder and harder to concentrate lately. She had never experienced artist's block this bad until recently. 

Solji going out to lunch with Hyojin didn't seem like a bad idea. From what Hani remembered, Solji did seem to very much like her sister, saying that she was fun to be around and that it was refreshing. So much so that Hani and a gnawing fear that Solji would actually leave her for her sister. But she trusted Hyojin. She trusts Hyojin right now. Hyojin wouldn't do anything to cause Hani trouble she knew that so why was she still hesitant on the idea?

After her internal debate, Hani relented. She knew that nothing was going to progress with just the two of them, and who better than Hyojin. She probably had no other choice. She needed this.

Hani was starting to feel as if Solji wasn't the only one that would be desperate from now on
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Solji walked through the streets of the city, constantly looking up and down from her phone to find where she was headed. With winter approaching, there were less children running about with parents trying to chase them with gloves and scarfs and more adults hurrying along, wanting to get to their destination as soon as they can to shelter from the cold. 
Solji shivered slightly, a little bit fessed up with her lack of navigational skills. She hugged her coat closer to her body as she continued her way down the street, hoping she wasn't walking too slowly and bothering the public.

Soon, after much difficulty and lots of wrong turns, Solji found herself in front of a cute petit cafe. Checking that she was indeed at the right place, she pushed the