She sprinted as fast as she could, each step felt lighter as she ran forward. She wanted to run more, but her legs wouldn’t allow her to. Droplets of sweat dripped down her face as she bent down to hold her tired knees. The girl gasped for breath as she sat down at the nearest bench.

Her eyes travelled to her arms, which are still a little bruised. Her palm gripped onto her knee hard as she averted her gaze up to the skies. Cloudy, but some stars were still visible. She huffed out a long sigh as she tilts her head backwards.

You are so pathetic, Kim Yong Sun. 

A sharp stab landed onto her neck, making the older girl jolt up as she held onto her poor throat.

“What are you doing running like a mad woman on the streets?” The girl in a grey hoodie asked, but didn’t get a reply from the-currently-choking-to-death girl.

“Yah! You want to die early?” Her hand balled up into a fist, threatening to throw a blow to her. The younger girl took a few steps back as she snickered like the devil she is.

“I got this for you, so don’t be mad.” She took out her hand from her hoodie pouch to reveal a small carton of strawberry milk.

“Fine, you shall be spared for now.” She pouted and started filling her cheeks with the milk.

“I heard you put up quite some fight. That’s very brave of you.” The girl stopped drinking immediately and stared at the younger in disbelief.

“Are you complimenting me? What strange medicine did you eat this time?” Yul turned to see a bunny’s eyes widened as if she’d saw a ghost, and couldn’t help it but to laugh her heart out.

“I’m serious. They have quite the reputation. You’re really brave for standing up to them like that.”

“I wouldn’t want to mess with them as well but they chose to pick on me, and I won’t let it slide just like that anymore.” She played around with the corners of the carton.

“You shouldn’t be so close to me if you don’t want to meet them so often then.”

“Well, I’m sorry that I’m friends with a good looking idiot like you.” The younger girl was taken aback a little, her head faced down to hide her smile.

“Is that a compliment?” She looked up to the older girl, her smile was still plastered on her face.

“Just returning the favour. I’m serious too.” She flashed a smirk.

Yong Sun hopped off the bench and began stretching, letting out a satisfied groan in the process.

“Ahhh! All that running made me hungry. Since I’ve complimented you, can you spend me some tteokbokki?” She asked in an aegyo filled voice, making the girl stare at her for a moment, before dashing off.

“After saving me as MoonFart? No way!” Yul chased after her, and managed to catch the back of her jacket in the midst of the chase.

“Ever heard of something called privacy? And it suits you!”

“If that’s the way you want to play, I’ll save you as YeBa!” She slid her phone out and began furiously typing onto the keyboard. The older girl gave a confused look, not understanding what the given name meant.

“ It means Pretty Fool, you idiot. Haven't I told you this already, YeBa-ssi?” She flicked her nose as she dashed forward. The information sank in, and the chase began as the brunette began cursing at the chuckling blonde that began running faster.

*********************************************

Instead of going their usual separate ways after getting their food, they’ve decided to just sit at the stall to enjoy the ambience. Just the two of them sitting in front of each other, enjoying their steaming tteokbokki.

“You looked like you’re about to kill someone earlier. If I hadn’t met you, you’d probably committed a mass murder.” The older one chuckled.

“I… was just mad at myself.” She sighed, earning a curious look from the other girl.

“Want to talk about it?” The older girl took a hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, before nodding her head.

“I was bullied throughout my whole school life before I shifted here. I thought that I could finally fight back after so long, but it felt like nothing changed.”

“ Well, first things first, you did fight back, against the scary Yul’s fan club, so that’s a plus.” She scoffed at the acknowledgement of the girl’s crazy fan club.

“And, can I just say that I’m really, really amazed at you for that?” Yong Sun laughed, hearing the rare cheesy words from the other girl.

“You know, thanks for listening to me, it really made me feel better.” The older girl was still trying to catch her breath from laughing so hard, but she could feel that the words were sincere.

“I’m not too good with words, so hearing that is really reassuring.” She hastily stuffed her face with a rice cake, feeling a little embarrassed. Yong Sun noticed this, her eyes quietly curved up in response.

“Although it’s really, really cheesy of you.”

“Cheesy is my middle name.” They both laughed.

*********************************************

The night was slightly cool and breezy, and to the older girl’s surprise, Yul had offered to walk her home. There was no conversation shared between them, but they both enjoyed the silence. They soon reached the Kim’s residence with the wooden fence, with a small figure waiting in front of it.

“Yong Sun unn-“ The puppy-like girl was about to run in their direction, but immediately stopped in her steps when she recognised the girl walking beside Yong Sun.

“What a surprise.” She smiled at Yul. Yul just gave an awkward smile before hiding her hands in her hoodie.

“Unnie, your mum is worried about you. You should go meet her.” Whee In cast a worried look. Yong Sun nodded and immediately ran in after bidding her farewells to the two ladies.

After the door was closed, Whee In shifted her gaze to the girl standing beside her who was rubbing her nape. Whee In let out a sigh but flashed a small smile.

“We should talk.” Yul avoided her gaze, but still followed her.

*********************************************

It was just the two of them in Whee In’s house that night. Everything still felt similar. Her house still smells like cinnamon, and her kitten is now a full grown cat. They were both seated on her small dining table. The younger offered some drink, but she refused, thinking that she would not stay for long.

Nevertheless, the younger brought two cups of coffee for the two of them.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you like this. You’ve even dyed your hair blonde.” She gave a warm smile as she rested her head onto her palm. The later let out a nervous laugh in reply to her statement. A cat began rubbing onto Yul’s leg, to which she carried the cat up in her arms.

“I see that he still recognises me.” She pets Kkomo’s head, to which he purred in delight.

“It’s just been 2 years, unnie.” Her smiled remained but with a pained look in her eyes.

“Say unnie, how long are you planning to go on with this façade?” Yul clasped her hands around the cup, her lips were pursed.

“Frankly, I don’t know myself.” Her grip around her cup tightens. Kkomo laid next to her arm, calming her down a little bit.

“What if your mum finds out about this? She’ll break down immediately.” Her head lay low at the thought of her mother. The kindness and gentleness of her words, and the warmness of her hugs made her miss her a little.  

“Whee In-ah.” She almost got choked up, but still manage to retain her composure.

“If they would even care for me a little bit, I wouldn’t end up like this as well. I couldn’t sleep ever since because of the nightmares, Whee In-ah. I didn’t even think that I could make it this far without running away.” Her hands trembled, and the younger girl decided to not push her on the matter anymore.

“It’s alright unnie, no one can hurt you here anymore.” She wrapped her hands around Yul’s which flinched a little, rubbing it lightly to let her know that it’s okay.

They chat for a bit and after Yul finished playing with Kkomo, she decided that she should be going. She thanked her for the coffee and left.

“Unnie, just remember that you can’t continue this forever.” Whee In said as Yul walked out. Yul stopped, and turned to the girl with a reassuring smile.

“ I know, but I will continue this as long as I could.” She took a deep breath, before pulling into a tight smile.

“Because there’s no way I could go back there anymore. Please understand, Whee In-ah.”

“I understand. Stay safe, Byullie unnie.”

The girl nodded in reply, before walking towards the brightly lighted streets leading to the city.

*********************************************

Hello? Is there anyone still reading?

Hahaha I know it’s been a long time since my last update and I’m really sorry for that ><

But no worries! I’m sure to update this story.

Also thanks for waiting 😊

See you next time :D