Friday

Hyejeong's POV

When I woke up, I found Seolhyun looking intently at me. I gave her a poker face before shoving her face away from me. 

"Good morning." She smiled brigthly at me.

I frowned because I am obviously not a morning person. I could probably kill anyone who annoys my life this instance. 

I hate mornings. I hate noisy things, especially during mornings. 

Seolhyun is noisy. 

But I don't hate her. 

"Let's eat breakfast!" She exclaimed. I'm glaring daggers at her right now but she couldn't care less.

"No." I slumped back in the bed as I covered my ears with pillows. 

"Aww come on!" She removed the pillow and pulled me up. "You said you'll tell me everything about you today!"

"That's not a reason for you to be disturbing me early in the morning!" I shouted as my annoyance raised again. 

"Fine." Seolhyun cutely slumped back into the bed. 

I frowned at her, "I thought you wanted to eat?" 

"You're not gonna join me anyway. I'll eat when you eat." 

"Ugh. Go down. I'll follow." I motioned her to leave the room. She brightened up and quickly left the room. 

I went to the bathroom to refresh myself. I splashed water into my face and sighed.

Once I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I puffed my cheeks. 

I'm making the right decision, right? Seolhyun will be different. I can trust her. 

After some self encouragement, I made my way to the dining room. I saw Seolhyun eating with Yuna. 

"Oh. You're back." I asked my bestfriend.

"Yup. Since last night. I saw some interesting things in your room last night Dongdongie. You know. Two people were cuddling each other. In one bed. " She smirked at both me and Seolhyun. We both turned red. 

"Shut up." I faked annoyance as I sat down to eat.

"Aye!" Yuna replied but I could hear giggles here and there. 

I just ate in silence while Yuna and Seolhyun kept on talking. I don't really care what they're talking about so I don't try to join the conversation. When Seolhyun finished eating, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. 

Yuna took this opportunity with me alone to interview me.

"How is she?" Her face turned serious as she started. 

"Fine. She doesn't annoy me. For some reason, I can't get annoyed with her." I said. 

"You two became pretty close." The normal Yuna would smirk to tease me. But Yuna's in the serious protective side of hers. 

"Well, she saw my vulnerable side twice. She said she'll protect me. And all those warm words. I feel like she really is going to keep those promises." I confessed and felt myself blush. 

"You trust her enough?" Yuna asked. 

For some reason, I nodded. I know I'm not quite sure if I could trust her. But, my body just moved and nodded by itself. 

"So...you'll tell her?" From a serious Yuna, she shifted to a surprised Yuna.

"Yeah. I'm actually planning on telling her today." I said. 

Yuna held my hand and pulled me in her arms. 

"You're going to tell her the things that even I don't know? Seolhyun must have really created a spot in your heart." She buried her face on my neck. I could feel my shoulders getting damped and I panicked. 

Yuna's crying. 

"Yah! Why the hell are you crying?" I asked out of worry. 

"I'm just happy. Happy for you. You're finally opening up to someone. You haven't even told me about your childhood. We've been friends since we were six. But you never told me what happened before we met." She sobbed in my chest. 

"So...you're happy?" I questioned out of confusion. 

"Yeah. But I'm jealous also. I've been with you longer yet I don't know about your past fully. On top of that, I'm your bestfriend. Shouldn't I know before Seolhyun does?" 

I smiled. Maybe Yuna won't be like Minjun or Mina. 

Maybe Yuna and Hyejeong will really stay with me. 

"Sorry. For being a horrible bestfriend to you." I cupped her face and kissed her cheek. "I promise I'll tell you after Seolhyun knows. I promise." 

"Good." She wiped her tears and slapped me in the arm.

We just shared a friendly look with each other. 

I love Yuna. I love my bestfriend.

"Anyway, where were you? You keep on leaving my side these past few days?!" I asked. 

"Oh yeah. I was with Hyejeong's sister. She's pretty cute. I like her." Yuna confidently said, "I'll introduce her to you once I make her mine." 

"Whatever, you player!" I teased. Yeah, back in school, she's the known cassanova. 

"Yah! I'm serious about Minaring this time!" She said. 

"Minaring's her name?" I asked.

"My pet name for her." She winked at me and I just rolled my eyes. 

---

"So, you're finally telling me?" Seolhyun excitedly asked as we walked out of the house. 

"Yeah. Just...I don't want to tell you in this house. Too many people can hear." I went inside my car and asked the driver to drive to Han River. 

"Can you atleast give me a clue about this past of yours?" Seolhyun pouted. Cute.

"This isn't a storytelling Seolhyun." I gave her my pokerface. 

She just mumbled incoherent things and I decided to ignore it. Too many things are rushing to my mind. I feel nervous. Anxiety runs in my system. 

---
When we reached Han River, I felt myself getting more nervous. Maybe Seolhyun noticed this. That's why she held my hand. When I looked at her, she stared straight into my eyes and nodded. A sign of encouragement. 

I forced a smile to lessen the tenseness I feel. Once we found a bench to sit on, I figured that I have to start talking. 

"I'm sure you've noticed things about me." I started. "Starting from me acting like a to you. And then I just suddenly broke and you saw me. So I warmed up to you. Then with Minjun and all." 

Seolhyun nodded. 

"Seolhyun, tell me. What do you think my past is? What do you know?" I asked her. I wanted to know up to untill what extent she knows about me. 

"Well...Yuna, kind of told me about Minjun. That Minjun did things to you." 

My eyes widened in shock. She knows that I was ? 

"You knew that?!" I exclaimed. I don't know what to feel. Angry, surprised, relief. I don't know. 

"Yeah. But only that. There's more to it right?" Seolhyun looked at me. Her expression shows that she's panicking. She might be scared that I'm angry or something. 

I tried to calm down. So...Seolhyun knows about that. Is that why...

"Is that why you keep on insisting that you'll protect me from Minjun? Since you already know?! You know that I was by that monster! Did you just have pity on me?! Is that why you're acting like you want to be my friend?!" My voice raised without my control. Too many emotions are rushing to me and everything that I said is out of control.

"Hyejeong! Calm down." Seolhyun held my shoulders and turned me to face her. She looked at me straight into the eyes. 

"I know that you were . But before I even knew about that, I already decided to protect you. I just had that kind of feeling when I first saw you. You were unique. You made me interested. That's why I entered your life. And that's when I started knowing things about you. Listen, I wasn't acting like a friend to you because of pity.  I really want to be close to you and  to be your protector." 

I thought for a minute. The look in her eyes made me want to believe her. I sighed and nodded. Relief washed over me. She wasn't my friend just because she pity me. 

"So...when you knew. What did you think of me?" I asked as another wave of anxiety washed through me. I swear I kept on feeling countless number of emotions at once. 

"I didn't get disgusted or anything like that. To be honest, I felt angry. Annoyed. Minjun doesn't have the right to do that to you. I just felt angry at that time to even think about my view on you. Someone like you should be treated like a princess. The fact that you had that kind of past doesn't affect my thoughts on you at all." She said as she held my hand tighter. The look in her eyes feels like it's dragging me in. 

"I s-see." I removed the blush that started to form on my cheeks. Now I'm sure. I'm sure that she won't leave me even after she knows my past. She'll be able to accept me. 

"Hey, clean your ears. I'm not going to repeat anything that I will say twice." I slumped back into the bench and looked at the river. 

"Right." Seolhyun nodded. She became serious once again. 

I took a deep breath. This is it. I'm going to remember those painful memories. And I'm trusting Seolhyun to keep it for me. 

"I was born in a poor family. We literally had nothing. My father is a drunkyard and he gets quite violent. My mother, well, she's a gambler. They both at parenting don't they?" I bitterly smiled. Tears are starting to form as I remembered the life I had. "I had a twin sister. Her name is Mina. She's the only one I had. We were hand in hand against our parents. The neighbors took pity on us and supplied us with food. The kids in the neighborhood also taught us to read and write, since we can't afford education. That's how life went. Every night, our father would get home late and beat me and Mina when he's asking for money and we can't give him any. I can't really give the little bit of money the neighbors gave us. It was for food after all, not for liquor or gambling. Aside from that, my parents kept on fighting and cursing at each other. Our parents never wanted to have us. They got drunk and my father ended up getting my mother  pregnant. That's how our family was formed. Love didn't exist. My father...comitted crimes for his vices. And one day, he killed our mother. Right infront of us. I could remember how he mercilessly stabbed her countless times. Mina and I couldn't take it anymore. We got scared that he'll kill us too. So we ran. We ran away from home. We didn't care much about our mothers' death. We didn't care about any of them anyway. We stayed in the streets. We were six years old during that time. We slept beside the road, ate food from leftovers and trashcans. I felt very discouraged countless of times. I tried killing myself. But Mina always supported me and reminded me that life can get better. So I didn't end up killing myself. We wondered the streets for three years. Then, an orphanage person saw us. She took us to her orphanage. Life was beggining to be better. I started to have friends. But then, a couple went there to adopt someone. I got chosen. I didn't want to go and leave Mina. We promised that we'll stay together. But in the end, I got taken away. The couple that adopted me, gave me the Shin as my middle name. I've been lonely without Mina. So I decided to visit the orphanage, only to know that she's been adopted also. I didn't hear any news about my twin sister after that. Years passed, and my fake parents wanted me to study hard. They needed me to inherit their riches. But I rebelled. So I decided to act like some child who doesn't appreciate the parent's efforts. I bullied other students, I failed my subjects even though I know the topic. That's why you came in. To tutor me. But before all of that, when I was feeling lonely without Mina, I met Yuna and Minjun. We became friends. I trusted someone again. I became happy again. I fell for Minjun. When he decided to turn and show his true colors, I still decided to love him and hoped that he could change. He asked me for a date, but in reality, all he wanted to do was to get my body. I was broken for the third time. I wanted to kill myself so bad. My new parents don't even care. As long as it's for the sake of their business. Then one day, I heard from Minjun that Mina died. He showed me evidences and pictures that my twin sister died in a car accident. I went crazy. All of the frustrations built up and I couldn't take it anymore. I was administered to the mental hospital. I don't know for how long I stayed there, but I recovered. I became normal again. When I got out, my view on the world changed. I started acting like a to everyone. I wanted to keep all this horrible past to myself. My real parents created me from a mistake. Then I became the daughter of a criminal, an orphan, a victim. I couldn't trust anyone. They kept on leaving me or turning against me. All I needed was love from someone. I never got to feel parental love or live like a normal teenager. I went through hell again and again. Up till now, suicide still crosses my mind once in a while. I just don't feel any motivation to continue living anymore." 

After I told the story, thousands of emotions flushed through me. I cried as I started to remember those things. 

I cried when I remembered those memories. I also remembered about Seolhyun. Now that she knows about my past, there's no guarantee that she'll stay and protect me just like what she said.

While I was crying, warm arms wrapped around me. 

"I love you. So don't ever try killing yourself." She whispered in my ear as she buried my face into her neck. 

Tears started to overwhelm me. I drowned in countless emotions and what Seolhyun said just caused me to cry more. 

"I...I don't know what to say. I can't say that I understand you. I've never felt those kind of things in my life. But even though I can't relate with your pain, I want you to share it to me. You said you can't trust anyone. Well, you trusted me. And I won't ever leave you. What I said back then that I'll protect you, I meant to keep it. No matter what kind of s you faced in your life, I'll still be here. You said you needed someone to love you. I'm here. I love you." 

She cupped my face and stared into my eyes. She wiped my tears with her thumb and smiled at me. "Stop crying. I don't like seeing the person I love cry." 

What she said only brought me to more tears. What the hell is she saying?! She loves me?! 

"Love...you..love me?" I asked between my sobs. 

"Yeah. And I'll prove it to you." She smiled again. That warm smile that makes me feel secure whenever I see it. 

"Don't say that you love me just because you pity me." I said as I wiped my tears. Somehow, what Seolhyun said calmed me down. 

"I do pity you. You should have never gone through that. I regret that I wasn't able to know you earlier. I would have protected you from all of those. But...I'm not saying that I love you just because of pity. I really do love you. I fell for you." She blushed once she said that. 

I didn't know what to say. Too many things are going through my mind right now. I can't process anything.

"I don't know what to say..." I said as I hugged her tighter. I can't explain my actions anymore, I can't explain what I'm feeling. 

"You don't have to say anything." She said as she hugged me back.

We stayed like that for a while, me crying myself out, her comforting me. I felt myself getting sleepy. So I just slept in Seolhyun's arms. 

---
Seolhyun's POV

When I felt that Hyejeong fell asleep, I sighed. 

I can't even process how bad I'm feeling right now. How can one person go through so much in the early half of her life? I felt like my heart broke again and again everytime I discovered a thing about her past. I wanted to now her past so badly. To understand her. To be able to know her more. 

I do know her. She basically gave her sole secret to me. But...do I understand her? Never in my life have I felt those kind of pain. My parents lived happily. My father died but atleast he was a good person. My mother, she has cancer. But I can still save her. And I have Mina. 

Wait...Mina?!

Hyejeong has a twin sister named Mina? And Mina was adopted. My sister, Mina was also adopted by Choa Umma. Maybe Hyejeong's Mina and my Mina is the same? 

But...Hyejeong also said that Mina died. That's according to Minjun. So I guess they aren't the same person. 

More thoughts flushed through my mind as I registered Hyejeong's story into my brain. 

She showed me that life isn't always a bed of roses. Someone may be always happy, but another person may be always sad. That's why life is unfair. 

I felt tears fall in my eyes. I don't know why it hurts me so much. Why it hurts me to know her past. It had nothing to do with me but I can't help but sympathize with her. 

And...I even confessed. 

You've done a stupid thing again Seolhyun. 

I looked at the sleeping Hyejeong face. Her face is contorted and her eyebrows are furrowed. Is she having another nightmare? I put her into my arms and hugged her tighter, so that even if I don't wake her up, she knows that I'm here. 

Soon, she calmed down. Her face looks more peacefull now. 

Minjun said that once I know Hyejeong's past, I'll turn my back on her. But no. It only made me want to be by her side always. To be always there for her. 

As Hyejeong slept, I felt myself getting sleepy too. So I sat behind a tree, with Hyejeong in my arms, and then slept. 

---
When I opened my eyes, I saw Hyejeong already awake. She's looking in the Han River again. Her eyes look so distant and cold. It's like she doesn't have any emotion at all. 

"Hey." I scooted closer to her and rested my chin on her shoulder as we both looked at the Han River. 

"Hey." She replied. 

"How are you feeling?" I questioned. 

"I don't know. I feel so empty. Everything that I was keeping is gone. I blurted it all out. So...I feel like I've lost my identity. All I'm feeling right now is relief. Relief that you didn't turn your back against me even when you discovered my past. There are only a few people there who stays with me. So I really appreciate you being here." 

"Hmm. But hey, Hyejeong. What I said earlier. That I love you. I want to make a proper confession on that." I said as went infront of her and looked straight into her eyes while I held her hand.

"I like you. I love you. You don't have to feel the same way about me. I just wanted you to know. So that you'll know that you have someone who loves you. Someone who can't live without you. So don't try to kill yourself. Yuna is also there. We would both get hurt if you'll stop living." I sincerely said. 

She sat there, dumbfounded of my words. She bit her lip as I saw tears threatening to fall from her eyes. I panicked. 

"Don't cry Dongdongie!" I wiped her tears as I put on a smile on my face. 

She wiped her own tears and moved closer to me. I felt myself blush at the close proximity of our faces. 

"Thank you." She said as she pecked on my lips. 

---
Yes, sorry for this chapter. I didn't have motivations in writing this. Some of your expectations may not have been fulfilled so sorry about that. And yeah, haven't updated in a while. Been busy. 

Comments are greatly appreciated. Tell me if you liked the story so far. And I'll have some YunaRing on the next chapter. And share some of your opinions on this story.