*Now Playing: I Wonder If You’re Hurt Like Me – 2AM*

It’s all dark. I’m in pit darkness. All I can hear is my own deep breathing sound as I’m harder to breathe. I feel warm in my cheeks as tears keep flowing from my eyes. I can’t stop. It’s like the tear-dam in my eyes leaked and it keeps on flowing on my cheeks like river stream.

Have you ever felt suffocated; you thought you could die if you forget how to breathe? It’s like I have to keep thinking breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out…

 I keep pressing the pillow to my face, afraid that someone could hear though no noise is coming out. Coincidentally, no one is home right now. I just don’t want to wake up. Yet.

I’ve been like this since the moment I woke up. The reality struck me so bad that after I saw my cell phone, I keep closing my eyes and not wanting to open it even slightly of it. You know, when dreaming nightmare seems like a better choice than to face the reality, because if this is really nightmare, I still can keep hoping someone would wake us up then. But I know it’s not. So I keep shutting my eyes even when I feel it burning.

I don’t how long I keep doing this, lying in my bed with pillow upon my face. I just woke up, I guess I cried myself to sleep for few hours. My face feel so swollen and my eyes is so tight like someone just put glue between the eyelid. After few trials, I finally see. I checked my cell phone. It’s already 6 pm.

*knock on the door*

Who’s that, I’m thinking to myself. My sister won’t be coming until few days from now. And the maids may already at their own house by now. It’s better be someone important as I bring myself out of my bed and walk crippledly towards the front door.

I come closer to the intercom. When I see an eye coming to close top the intercom camera and filled most of the screen, I know whose eye that belongs to. As there’s no answer, my guess is specify to that one person.

*ding! The door opened*

“Young~ah!!!!!!” She rushed to hug me. I did nothing. Just stand there like stone.

As she releasing her hugs i give her what-are-you-doing-here-?-look. 

“I’m so worried about you. I know your sister won’t be home until few days from now. You must be alone at home. So, Jung Eun Ji has come to the rescue!” I stare at her face blankly as she keeps talking.

“Hey, have you eaten? I’m so hungry. Today at school, I only ate 3 chocolates bread and 2 cartons of milk, you know. Let’s go to the kitchen, your maids might have cooked something yummy.” She embrace me while we keep walking.

“You’re face is so swollen. I suggest you wash your face first. It’s so sticky and oily” she touched my cheeks. I stop my step in front of the wastafel and wash my face. Still in silent.

“Wow, you’re maid make Samgyetang (Boiled chicken with jinsom). It’s a healthy menu. Let me get your bowl and scoop one for you and one for me. Do you want to eat with rice?”

I shook my head.

After few slurps of soups and some pieces of meat I already feel full. This is weird, considering I am somewhat of a girl that has enormous appetite. Usually Eunji and I can finished one whole chicken together and today I even can’t even finish the thigh area. When I put my chopstick on my bowl, Eunji just keep starring deeply at my bowl then my face. Maybe she has a lot of question but she thinks this is not the right time. 

“Are you full?” She asks me with soft voice. I nodded.

“Okay let me clean the table first.” Eunji said as she gets up and walks toward me to get my bowl.

Suddenly I feel my right hand moves grabbing Eunji left arm. Tightly. I grasped her until I can feel her thick bone.

“What’s the matter? Can you let go of me? Let me get these bowls to the sink and I'll come back”

But my hands won’t do it. I grasped her arm with both of my hands now. I lowered my head, can't face her stare.

“Hayoung~ah” she put the bowls on the dining table again and turns her back. She kneel in front of me.

“Young-ah…” she call my name so soft like whispering as if I’m a piece of glass that can be broken into pieces if she speaks any louder. Her eyes finally met mine.

“Eu-eun…. Eunji-ya…” I tried to speak but I sound like a wounded puppy.

“Yes, dear? What’s the matter?” She asks in the same soft voice earlier.

I keep being silent for few minutes, can't bring myself to talk, until Eunji gently asking.

“Is it Chanyeol?”

“Cha-cha-chanyeol…” I stuttered saying that name.

My whole body suddenly drops to the floor, landed on my knees. The chair that supposed to support me sitting, is also fell down with a loud noise. Now me and Eunji is in the same level, sitting on the floor. My hands loss it’s energy and just dropping beside my body. I burst into tears rightaway. My whole body weakening, trembling as my breathe sped up crying, it's like all bones inside it has gone. Eunji then hold my shoulders, supporting me to keep sitting.

When Eunji finally hugs me, in her embrace I feel warm. As I keep crying, hundreds drops of tears wetting her shirts. I keep crying louder and louder, Eunji keep hugging me tighter and tighter. No word was spoken. There no sound in the house except my roaring and crying. Both of us knew what is happening. I’m expressing my pain and Eunji's existence is to embrace me and keeping me in one piece.

“You can cry as much as you can, Young-ah” Eunji whisper to my ear.

“I’m not going to leave. I already said to my mother that I’m going to keep you company. I already bring my backpack and uniform. So we can go together to school tomorrow. Umm... Can we go to your bed now? My knees won’t be moving at all tomorrow  if we keep this position until morning.” She releases her embrace and smiling to me.

When we arrived in my room, she lies right away on the bed saying “Your bed is so humid and wet; you should change the bed sheet tomorrow.”

As I lay in bed, I put myself in her spreading arm, and I was folding myself. She hugged me back and pulls my heads towards her shoulder. I keep crying in silent in her protection as both of us slowly falling asleep.

*Now Playing: Present by K.Will feat Eun Ji Won*

In the morning when I wake up, the pain is still there choking my hearts and lungs. I find my chest filled with stone that is so heavy. But at least, Eunji existence is helping to ease the weight I'm carrying. I opened my eyes to find Eunji was not in my bed. She has the habit of cannot sleep still in just one position. She is going to keep moving from one corner to another. When I finally sit down, I found Eunji was lying on the carpet. She must be rolling out the bed. Eunji’s sleeping on her belly.

Eunji may not be the prettiest girl in school, or the smartest, or one of the it-girl. In fact she’s the kind of rebel student and famous for her mischievous act. I’m also not someone who has no friends but Eunji is my closest. Our personality is kind of different but the similarity that we have is something I don’t have with another friend. Both of us enjoys eating very much, we love comedy show; we actively participated in various school events, we hate Math or something that include counting in the process, we love watching films. But she's more of a singer, as I consider myself more of a dancer.

But most of all the things I love about our friendship is that each of us can finish the other one sentence. It’s like I can read her mind, and she can read mine. Sometimes just by looking at each other’s eyes we know what the other person is thinking. Like one soul in two bodies.

Maybe that’s why she didn’t ask much about the reason I’m crying and absent from school. Other students probably have spread the rumor and she heard it so she rushed to my house as fast she can and shout “Jung Eunji has come to the rescue” like always. She didn’t ask for any reply or explanation. She just there, giving me warmth, make me feel listened and loved.

That bright smile and act is just what makes people like her. Though she’s a mischief-maker but she has kind’s hearts and I knew it. No, I prove it many times. She’ll always be my side no matter what and I always run to her whatever bad happen.

Once again she proved to be my best friend. As I remember our moments.

Two year ago, We were just freshmen back then. I was at the school cafeteria to see one female student is pleading to the food-stall owner saying that she will pay her food tomorrow because she left her wallet at home. But the seller insisted she must pay it today. I walk towards them and paid her bill. Then she look at my face intensely while saying that she going to pay them back, I insist it’s on me. Then she said this with wide smile while shaking my hands.

“You’ll be my friend. I’ll take care of you. I promised. I will give as much as I’m given. You have saved me today.”

Back then I thought that line was too weird to be said by a female to the other female on their first encounter but she keep her promise and we become very close though we’re from different classes. Last semester she made a scene and asking the teacher to transfer her to my class, reasoning that she got problem with somebody in her previous class. Nothing was happened though, she’s just using that person’s name as a reason. 

From that point, we were always together. Not that we depend that mush to each other but just from the thinking that each one of us completes the other one.

Eunji is a humorous girl; she always makes me laugh. Once she said to me.

“We’re friends. Since this very second, we are going to share everything. We have each other to lean on to, nothing to be afraid, I’m going to protect you.” Though she sounded compulsive but I find my assurance in her face.

If someone ever dreamed of a friend somewhat like superhero, girl-friend, gag-man, mischievous plus have the voice-to-die-for, Eunji is the person. She’s somewhat like the gift God sent me though I’m not asking it. God knows I need someone like her. 

I lost my parents 3 years ago and left with only one sister. My sister is now busy to take care of the business our parents left us. She is rarely home. The maid that did the housework only work at office hour, so after the house is clean and they left, I’m all by myself. Eunji is the only person whom my sister have trust in and the maid already treat her like the family member. I guess no one can resist the warm of the almighty Jung Eunji.

She’s the warm sunlight that slightly warms your room. She’s the refreshing feeling you feel after a good sleep. She’s the one that teach me how to be a good friend. She’s the one who approach me and come in to my heart without me realizing it.

In my eyes, she’s just perfect the way she is.  

I pray for God made us stay like this. Together Forever.