Chapter 26: Trust

The girls gasped in shock upon hearing the news, just how much of secrets had Chorong been hiding from them? Bomi especially, had her heart hurt the most. She felt confused and betrayed, the person she loved the most broke the promise. The two had promised each other to tell everything about them but yet, the older girl refused to reveal everything about her personal life. 

"Is that why Chorong unnie had been in such a bad mood lately? Because she kept hiding all these secrets from us, she built up so much stress?" said Naeun carefully, figuring out the puzzle.

"We need to find her now, no matter what." said Eunji firmly, with worry. It was then, Bomi stood up without any word however, Eunji quickly grabbed her hand in order to stop her from going anywhere.

"Where do you think you're going?" said Eunji, looking at her same-aged friend. She didn't want to lose her again, she wanted to help her, she didn't want Bomi to put all the blame on herself.

"I'm going back to Chorong unnie's house."

"We're going together." said Eunji, not letting go of her hand. Bomi turned around to see the girls looking at her with worry. It was then she had realised, that she wasn't alone. It all made sense that she had four other sisters to rely on. For the first time in awhile, Bomi smiled.

"Then what are you waiting for slow-pokes? Hurry up!" teased Bomi with a wide grin. The girls could only smile on, the happy and bright Bomi they knew was back.

"You guys can go ahead first. I'll pay the bill and meet up later." said Hoya.

"Are you sure?" asked Eunji.

"Yes, yes. Don't worry about me."

The girls then left the restaurant, following to wherever Bomi had walked to as she knew where Chorong's house was. They walked for quite a while along the endless road path, embracing the green nature and the cool breeze of the countryside. The same-aged friends walked side by side, Eunji glancing occasionally waiting for a chance to properly talk with Bomi. She felt sorry what she had said before and wanted to make up. She didn't want their relationship to tatter, she didn't want to feel uncomfortable around her friend.

Naeun who could notice Eunji's obvious change in mood, lightly tapping her as a means to support her. Eunji could only smile, taking a deep breath and turning her head towards Bomi, whose eyes were only focused on the road.

"Bomi-ya..." called out Eunji.

"Yea?"

"About the thing that I said to you...." mumbled Eunji. She found it difficult and awkward to say those three magical words "I am sorry". It was at the tip of her tongue but the girl couldn't say it.

"Oh that? I wasn't angry or anything. What? Don't tell me you felt sorry?" said Bomi as she cracked into a laughter leaving Eunji dumb-founded. The girl was left speechless at Bomi's easy-going personality.

"I can't believe it..seriously.." sighed Eunji in relief, facepalming herself. Indeed, her friend wasn't exactly someone who would take things seriously, all that worrying was nothing.

"What? You were saying something?" asked Bomi as she couldn't hear Eunji.

"Nothing. I was just saying how stupid you are sometimes." teased Eunji while pulling Bomi's cheeks, letting out all her frustration she had against Bomi. The 93-line sisters were back, fooling and playing with each other. It was clear that their own fight had been resolved, leaving the maknaes smiling at the sight.

Soon, they arrived at Chorong's house which was a small, grounded home with a tiny, cute fence that even children could just climb over. For the city girls, it was fascinating that houses in the countryside were very open to each other that anyone could go in and out of their homes. Carefully, they walked over the fence and gently opened the wooden door revealing Chorong's little home. There was a tiny make-shift kitchen in the middle of the cramped one-room space where mattresses were laid on the floor and a table was placed at the side. 

"Do you think Chorong unnie might scold us for tresspassing?" asked Namjoo.

"Well, we will scold her for keeping secrets from us." said Hayoung.

"Oh~maknae looking for trouble?" said Naeun.

"You know what, forget I said anything." smiled Hayoung, after remembering Chorong's wrath last time when she forgot to clean the dishes.

"Told you, she isn't here." said Bomi as she looked around the tiny, empty house.

"What about Chorong's mom? Did you try to look for her?" asked Eunji. Upon the mention of "Chorong's mom", Bomi felt nervous as if she was meeting her mother-in-law. The girl quitely took a few steps back, with a nervous grin.

"I-I probably shouldn't meet her yet....." said Bomi, avoiding eye contact with Eunji.

"Oh god, seriously?" sighed Eunji speechless but she could only smile because Bomi was cute.

Naeun and Hayoung walked towards the back of the house, where there was a wide, empty garden and a lonely table with a chair. However, there was a letter carelessly placed out in the open.

"Unnie, we found something!" said Hayoung as Naeun picked up the letter. Carefully, she opened it and revealed the content that was Chorong's resignation of her job. It was a personal letter from Huh Gak himself, expressing his dissapointment for losing an employee but simply wished Chorong luck for her future journeys. Naeun turned the letter behind, and saw a small note written at the bottom left corner "P.S I wish you luck on your journeys in Greece!" The girls became even more confused at this situation, there really was a lot of things that Chorong had been hiding from them.

"I swear, I'm going to interrogate unnie once we get her." said Namjoo.

"I'll hold her, you talk." said Hayoung.

"Shouldn't Bomi and Eunji unnie be doing that, they are stronger..." said Naeun.

It was at that moment, the girls heard a wood crack from behind. They turned around and saw a figure, at the entrance. As the sunlight was blocking their vision, they couldn't tell who it was but that figure suddenly started to run away. In just a split second, Bomi ran after that figure leaving the four girls behind. 

~X~

Knowing Bomi's athletic skills, she was quick like a tiger and immediately caught up with the running figure that showed the back of a girl. Bomi was certain who it was, and reached her hands onto her shoulders.

"Chorong unnie!!" shouted Bomi as she stopped, grabbing tightly onto the girl who turned around and was in tears. She was still breathing heavily, while tears simply flowed out of her eyes. That girl was the one whom Bomi had been looking for since the beginning. The girl who suddenly dissappeared from her reach, was finally in Bomi's arms. The younger girl wrapped her arms tightly, not letting her leave ever again.

Bomi looked carefully at Chorong's face while gently rubbing away the tears that continued to flow out, even though the younger girl was angry at her for the actions that had been done, seeing her face like that hurt her heart even more. Chorong's face was clear that she hadn't been sleeping for a few days, fatigue was written all over her face and her hair was not in a good condition. The older girl continued to sob non-stop, she tried to avoid eye-contact with Bomi but the younger girl was persistant, pulling her face closing to her eyes not missing a single point of Chorong's face.

"You have a lot of things to explain unnie..." said Bomi with a sigh. She didn't like seeing anyone cry in front of her, especially the one she loved the most. Even though Chorong had made her angry, frustrated, she still loved her despite all the harm she has done.

"Don't cry. I know you feel guilty with what you have done. Of course, I'm angry. All of us are. You broke the promise we shared together. I hate you for that unnie. But even so, I still love you." said Bomi as she gently leaned her head forwards, placing her lips onto hers. The older girl tried to move her head away, wanting to rejecting her love but the younger girl didn't give up. Wrapping her within her arms, Bomi forced her lips onto Chorong.

It was kiss that represented all of her anger yet forgiveness. It was a message to tell Chorong that Bomi still loved her no matter what. However, that simple kiss calmed the older girl's movements and eventually, she gave up. Two girls kissed each other in the middle of the empty road, surrounded by nature. It was world only meant for them, no one else was around to see nor disturb their privacy.

"Have you calmed down yet, unnie?" asked Bomi with a smile. The older girl's tears stopped, her shivering was gone and she was able to make direct eye-contact with Bomi.

"I-I'm sorry Bomi-ya...I thought this was better...." stuttered Chorong, as she took deep breaths due to side effects of crying really hard. The younger girl was patient, she waited for Chorong to take time and to carefully speak her words.

"I've been really stressed, especially due to my work. What's worst was that my father passed away recently and that's when I realised that I couldn't cope with it anymore. I thought that I could start a new life, if I just left. After all, I'm just causing trouble anyways. I'm simply just a burden to you girls. I am nothing." confessed Chorong, who also seemed to be suffering from depression. Hearing her words made a hole inside Bomi's heart. It was like the bright light that surrounded her beloved unnie was no longer there, Chorong was shrouded in darkness.

"Stop." said Bomi. All it took was one word, the younger girl who was always bright and cheerful became serious. Her expression stiffened and she slowly interwined her fingers between Chorong's, feeling the coldness of her hands. The warmth of Bomi's hand was comforting, as the younger girl looked directly into her eyes.

"Haven't I told you this before unnie? You are a blessing, a saviour. Since when were we a burden to you? Don't you know how much your dongsaengs love you? Don't you know our excitement whenever we wonder what breakfast you're gonna cook for us every day? You have been a figure for the maknaes and they follow you well. Without you, it is just going to be chaos. You can't just keep everything to yourself-"

"That's why I need to protect you and everyone else! I can't let you become involved in my own issues, this is my battle. I can't let you become involved in this." said Chorong, interrupting Bomi. Frustrated, the younger girl stared at her with a frown.

"Does it look like we are being protected? Do you think what you are doing is right unnie? Do you not trust us anymore unnie?" Bomi's questions, shook Chorong. The older girl was left silent, she couldn't answer her questions. For the first time, Bomi's words made sense. Even though at times she was often stupid and happy-go-lucky but today, Bomi was different. The younger girl managed to knock some sense into Chorong, who was speechless.

"Let's go to where the others are. Stop being so selfish and let us help you out unnie. You need to trust us. You can't stop us anyway, especially when we came all the way here just for you." said Bomi, pulling Chorong's hand along as they walked back to her house.

~X~

Meanwhile, the girls didn't follow Bomi as they believed that she would be able to take Chorong back and simply relaxed at their unnie's home. They looked around, finding childhood pictures of Chorong hanging on the walls and small pencil marks at the wall which showed her height growth throughout the years. There wasn't much to do, there was no television, no internet, no signal, nothing. 

"What should we do unnie?" asked Hayoung as she sat on the floor, stretching her arms out wide.

"Don't lie down otherwise you're gonna take up the whole space." joked Namjoo as the house was very small with barely much space to move about.

"That's right, if only you stopped growing..." teased Eunji.

"Unnie, they are teasing me again..." pouted Hayoung, moving her seat behind Naeun who only smiled. The younger girl then wrapped her arms around Naeun's ant waist, hugging it like a pillow. The two other girls only smiled on, they were glad to see Hayoung back to her normal self after all that has happened.

"By the way, is Chorong unnie going to Greece?" asked Namjoo as she took out the letter, placing it on the floor.

"If she's got a new job over there, that's kinda amazing..." said Hayoung.

"But if she does, that means she's not going to live with us anymore." said Eunji.

It was at that moment, there was a knock on the door and it was Bomi, while Chorong tried to hide herself behind her. The older girl was embarassed and guilty to face the girls, she had planned to never see them again but it backfired.

"Unnie...." said Namjoo in worry. However, Bomi smiled, signalling the girls that everything was alright. Eunji stood up first, walking towards the older girl who continued to hide herself behind Bomi.

"Chorong unnie..." said Eunji as Bomi removed herself from Chorong, exposing her in front of the girls. Chorong had her head down, she was in guilt and didn't know what to do in front of them.

"All of us have many questions after all that's happened, but we need an answer from you." said Eunji with a sigh. Namjoo then showed the letter in front of Chorong.

"Why are you going to Greece unnie?" asked Namjoo. Upon seeing that letter, Chorong finally looked up. Her expression stiffened as she sighed.

[END OF CHAPTER 26]

A/N: Chorong's finally back but...there's still lots of questions to ask her. Greece?! Thank you for waiting for my updates, reading and subscribing! I've been having a little difficulty updating but no worries, I will work hard for the next chapter! Thank you! :)