Chapter 30: New Beginning

Upon Chorong's decision to become a teacher after her two years in Greece, it was something no one had expected. As the unnie had worked in the broadcasting business her whole life, the girls thought that she would continue with that part. In fact, thanks to the advice she had given to both Eunji and Bomi, they were able to handle appearing on television and understand how the whole production business worked. Her expertise in the industry was so knowledgaeble, everyone thought that it was a waste of her talent. However, the girls accepted her decision. It was her life, her choice, no one was going to stop her. As long as it made her happy again, it didn't matter anymore.

The reunion between the six girls continued after they arrived back at the dormitory which has aged a lot during the years. The wall paint had faded, there were visible holes on the wooden floor and an obvious sign of a mess that had been there the whole time.

"Gosh, have you guys ever once cleaned the dorm since I left?" gasped Chorong as she pulled her luggage inside, trying to avoid the scatters of rubbish, unknown clothes and other materials scattered all over the floor.

"We did clean....it's just that it returns the same way after like two days..." laughed Bomi nervously.

"Ah unnie...about your room..." said Hayoung carefully.

"You don't need to tell me. I know everything." smiled Chorong. Bomi told her everything and anything that happened each day. Even the smallest things such as Bomi forgetting her wallet, these were the little stories that was important to tell her. She didn't want to miss a single moment of their life together, even when seperated.

Finally, Chorong arrived at her bedroom in which she had left two years ago. Opening the door, there was still evidence of torn-off tape and glue on the walls. Her room used to be a makeshift dance room for maknae Hayoung who used it for the last year of her senior high school life, before removing everything the moment she entered college. It was now an empty room, with its cupboard and bed back in its original position, covered in sheets so that it wouldn't catch dust.

"I guess some of it hasn't changed at all." said Chorong as she settled down with all her luggage.

"Do you want us to help you unnie?" asked Bomi.

"That's right, let's quickly pack everything and then head outside for some good drinks." winked Eunji.

"Omo, since when have you become like that Eunji-ya?" giggled Chorong at Eunji's signal to take a drink.

"Hey, I'm old enough to drink too. Join me in." said Hayoung.

"You're not exactly legal yet Hayoung-ah. It's not 19th July yet." said Namjoo in which Hayoung answered in a pout.

"It's okay, unnie gives you permission to drink. After all, it's a special day today." smiled Chorong in which the others were quite surprised. The unnie from before was very strict and firm with rules and regulations. Looks like her trip from Greece removed the little chains inside her, revealing her more softer side to the girls.

The girls quickly helped to arrange and unpack all of Chorong's luggage before proceeding into the messy, common area where Eunji took out some cans of beer in the fridge. As this was Hayoung's first time drinking, the girl looked fazed at the can of beer in the grasp of her hands.

"Just take a small sip, slowly. It's not juice so don't chug it all down." warned Eunji.

"As expected of the expert of drinking." teased Bomi.

Hayoung carefully took one sip of the beer, quietly tasting and figuring out this unique flavour that spread across . For a while, the girl was expressionless before a smile was formed.

"It tastes really good unnie." said Hayoung as she sipped some more down .

As everyone drank, they talked about the times they had missed together. Worries, happiness, advice, things that was shared often over alcohol. It had been a long time since the girls were together as six, and it was a wonderful night. By the time it was past midnight, it had gotten quieter.

"Namjoo-ya, go take Hayoung in. It was her first time drinking so she probably went over the limit." said Eunji signalling her to go in.

"You should go in too unnie. Your face is red." said Naeun, looking at the older girl with worry.

"What? Do you want a kiss from me to tell you that I'm not drunk?" grinned Eunji.

"Actually, you are half-drunk Eunji-ya..." said Bomi, sending signals to Naeun so that she would bring her in.

One by one, Namjoo took Hayoung while Naeun took Eunji inside to their own respective bedrooms to rest, it was now Chorong and Bomi all by themselves. The younger girl didn't consume much alcohol as she was aware that she had work tommorow in the afternoon and it was definitely not good to work when sober.

"Unnie, you should go in too." smiled Bomi, staring at the older girl who stared blankly at the empty can of beer.

"Sleep with me then.." mumbled Chorong in her half-drunken state.

"What? Did you say something unnie?" asked Bomi, wondering if she was dreaming.

"Sleep. With. Me. Are you deaf?" Bomi could only smile. Of course, she was happy yet surprised at Chorong's sudden request because she was never this straight-forward before. She found it cute that the older girl was now like an angry baby who whined, wanting to sleep with someone. The younger girl placed the beer on the table and carefully took Chorong into her room, gently placing her into her bed.

"Good night unnie." smiled Bomi who stared at the drunken girl. Although the older girl had asked to sleep with her, Bomi decided not to. Even though they had been seperated for two years, just seeing her well and asleep was enough. Just when she was about to leave the room, Chorong suddenly grabbed her hand.

"You really are disobedient...Didn't I just said to sleep with me?" mumbled Chorong in her sleep.

"Don't do it unnie, if you do..I won't be able to control myself.." said Bom, resisting herself. She had kept her cool ever since they were at the airport, of course it would've been crazy but Bomi was patient. She wanted to fly herself to Chorong the moment they met, but she knew Chorong hated public affection. She didn't like showing skinship in front of others but now that they were alone, Bomi let her guard down. She wanted to challenge herself how long she could hold, but Chorong's words just broke every thought of it.

"Are you sure of this unnie? Me, sleeping with you?" said Bomi, carefully holding Chorong's hand.

"Do I have to repeat myself? Stop talking and come here." mumbled Chorong in her half-asleep state.

"I won't hold back anymore unnie." sighed Bomi with a smile, as she climbed onto the bed, quickly wrapping her arms around the older girl. She cuddled her head in between Chorong's neck, sniffing the scent she had missed. Gently, the younger girl kissed her neck in which the older girl turned around, facing her.

"Go and sleep." mumbled Chorong, whose eyes were wide open but she was not fully concious. But Bomi's answer was simply a kiss. Not longer wanting to hold back, Bomi grabbed her cheeks and kissed for a long time. She didn't want to let go, she wanted to be in her arms forever. Wishing that time would freeze so that their moment together would be endless, a deep kiss into the night. Within her arms, Bomi fell asleep with their lips still touching. They stayed in the same hugging position like glue, never moving away from each other. Their seperation from two years made them even closer and their bond stronger.

~X~

That morning, was different. Instead of Chorong who would always wake up the earliest and make breakfast, surprisingly it was maknae Hayoung. The tall girl woke up with memories that she drunk last night, still sober and a little dizzy but she walked slowly to the kitchen and stared at the fridge.

"What is there to eat?" mumbled Hayoung to herself, looking at the fridge where there was only cans of beer and some kimchi. Clueless, the innocent girl went towards Chorong's room and carefully opened the door, taking a peek inside. The girl smiled and closed the door, she didn't want to disturb the two who still hugged each other to sleep. After all, the maknae knew how much Bomi had longed for Chorong's return.

The girl then walked towards Eunji's room, taking a peek inside to see Naeun and Eunji sleeping side by side.

"Guess I can't disturb them either." pouted Hayoung as she carefully closed the door. The moment she turned around, she almost screamed.

"N-Namjoo unnie!" said Hayoung, covering in surprise.

"Don't just suddenly leave like that, it doesn't feel good to wake up without you by my side." said Namjoo.

"I was hungry, sorry." smiled Hayoung as she gently kissed her forehead.

"Found nothing in the fridge?" asked Namjoo in which Hayoung shook her head in reply.

"No choice. We have to wake up the unnies." said Namjoo.

"Which one?"

"Would you like to get kicked by Eunji unnie or be yelled at Chorong unnie?"

"None." laughed Hayoung.

"Naeun unnie's a safer choice."

"Ok, let's do it." nodded Hayoung as the two carefully entered Eunji's room. Hayoung quietly pushed Eunji's arm away from Naeun's shoulder and lightly tapped the girl.

"Unnie...unnie...." whispered Hayoung to which Naeun slowly opened her eyes, groaning.

"What?" asked Naeun as she turned around to face Hayoung.

"We're hungry. Please wake up Eunji unnie so that we can eat." begged Hayoung.

"You could do it yourself..."

"She will kick me." Naeun only giggled at Hayoung's scared expression.

"Alright. You two go clean yourselves, I'll wake up Eunji unnie." smiled Naeun as the two left.

Naeun then brought herself closer to Eunji, and gently kissed her cheek.

"Unnie, wake up." said Naeun as she kissed again on her other cheek. The younger girl looked at Eunji's sleeping face, waiting for a response. It was then suddenly, Eunji woke up and kissed Naeun's lips up front in surprise.

"Y-You scared me unnie."

"I'm awake Naeun-ah" grinned Eunji as she fixed Naeun's hair and kissed her again.

"The maknaes are hungry and the fridge is empty."

"Alright, let's feed them.  You too. What do you want to eat?" asked Eunji as she woke up, stretching her arms.

"Jjangmyun sounds good."

"Good, let's just order delivery and be done. Nice and quick, no need to use the kitchen." said Eunji as she reached for her phone and dialled the number. While Eunji was busy ordering, Naeun took Eunji's album that laid on the desk. As she had been busy, she didn't have time to fully look through her album. Indeed, the photos were produced well and Eunji looked pretty in every angle.

"It's a beautiful album right?" asked Eunji with a smile as she went towards Naeun.

"You finished calling already?"

"Of course, it's simple and easy. The food will be here in 15 minutes." said Eunji as she wrapped her arms behind Naeun who looked at the album.

"Wanna know a secret?" asked Eunji.

"What?"

"One of the songs was written for you. The lyrics that I wrote was all about you, Naeun-ah"

"Really?"

"Find it." grinned Eunji as she left the room, to clean herself leaving the younger girl behind, who stayed confused at the album upon hearing her words.

~X~

It took time before everyone was up, especially for Chorong and Bomi who didn't want to wake up from their dreams. The two wanted to stay in that position forever but, hunger calls. Eating jajangmyun together, it was a rare moment for the six at the dormitory but their moments spent were precious. Despite being the weekend, the girls were busy. Eunji had to attend an interview and a filming later, while Bomi also had another filming in the afternoon. Namjoo had to practice for her upcoming musical while Hayoung left to the library and studied. Chorong on the other hand, decided to visit several schools who were hiring a teacher. With worries because she didn't have any official qualifications, the older girl attended walk-in interviews at several places and often the same questions was asked. "Why do you want to teach?" 

The older girl had experienced many things back in Greece, good and bad things. It made her to think about life more seriously and didn't want others to make the same mistake. With luck, one school had consider Chorong's application after knowing about her experience. Although she couldn't teach things like math or science, she had experience in the broadcasting field which gave her a chance to become an English teacher. Money didn't matter to her, what mattered was happiness and the feeling of satisfaction when teaching others.

"Do you think you can start work tommorow?" asked a lady.

"H-huh? Tommorow?" asked Chorong, surprised.

"That's right. You are very interesting and I believe it will be useful to the kids here. We're just a small school, and we don't have enough teachers. Good teachers like you."

"I-If that's alright with you, I can start tommorow."

"Wonderful. Let's register you in, Park Chorong-ssi." smiled the lady as the registeration process started. It was far too sudden but Chorong was going to start work again, immediately. She was now going to be an English teacher at a small school, far from the city. It was still in Seoul but in the quieter regions, where there was less noise.

~X~

Meanwhile, Eunji was busy attending a public interview as she had been making headlines of her hot debut that attracted the audience with her unique sound that is different from solo artistes today. The girl answered her answers honestly and calmly, she had been told by her company to not say things that would create a fuss in the media. Especially questions relating to relationships.

"It's really a pleasure to meet you Jung Eunji-ssi. Before we end, we still have one more question for you." asked the interviewer.

"What is it?" said Eunji with a smile.

"Fans have been wondering if the lyrics in "It's Okay" were meant for someone. It was written by you and they were curious if it was written for someone special in your life." Upon that question, Eunji only smiled. She could've followed her company's instructions and create a believable lie that she wrote it out of curiousity or simply referred to romance dramas to create her lyrics. But Eunji couldn't lie, she wanted to tell the truth, because she didn't want to hide away from it.

"Yes, that's right. I wrote the lyrics thinking of my high school crush back then. It was a long time ago, but it's okay. I've moved on." said Eunji with a smile. She knew the company boss would give her an earful if she let out 100% truth, thus she placed a small white lie in between her words.

"Oh, I see. That's interesting, after all we have our own high school love stories don't we? Thank you for taking time for your interview Eunji-ssi. We hope your next album will also be a success!"

At the same moment in a university's library nearby, Hayoung was diligently looking through her textbooks. Ever since she decided on Law, she kept her focus on it and worked hard. However ever since she entered university, she had been getting a lot of attraction from college boys. Although Namjoo had warned her not to fall for their tricks, Hayoung insisted that she wasn't interested in guys and promised to never betray her.

"You're here studying again?" asked a man, who stopped by to see Hayoung who flipped through the books.

"Ah, Mr.Seungho, you don't have classes today?" asked Hayoung who bowed her head.

"How many times did I tell you not to call me a mister? Call me oppa, Hayoung-ah." said the man.

"I can't do that, you're my lecturer."

"That's only when we're in class. Outside, we are man and woman." smiled Seungho as he sat down.

"I will be respectful and still call you Mr, Mr.Seungho." said Hayoung coldly as she didn't even make eye contact with him. Seungho simply laughed, finding the girl interesting. She had caught his attention since the first day of class, amused at her unique personality and her eye-catching intelligence. 

"You're a really interesting girl, Hayoung-ah. Makes me fall for you even more." smiled Seungho as he placed his head on his hand, staring at Hayoung who continued to ignore him and looked at the books.

~X~

Chorong bowed in thanks as she left the meeting room, while holding her file that had her documents. She took a deep breath and sighed in relief, the interview was over and she was accepted as a teacher in that school. She couldn't wait to tell it to the girls how happy she was and how she couldn't wait to start immediately.

Walking down the corridor of the school, Chorong peeked at the classrooms where students were quiet, listening to the teacher inside. It was when suddenly, someone accidentally bumped into Chorong causing her to drop her file as the papers scattered all over the floor.

"I-I'm sorry!!" said a young lady who was surprised and immediately went down to collect all her papers.

"Ah, no, no it's okay. You don't need to apologize." said Chorong with a smile, accepting the papers from the lady. She took a peek at the nametag on her coat which read "Teacher Bae Joo Hyun". Looking at the lady, she had very beautiful features like a flower. 

"N-No, no it's my fault for not looking where I was going, I-" The lady stopped and looked at Chorong. It was as if she was amazed by her beauty, and stay silent. Chorong looked back at her, she felt strange. It wasn't because she was captivated by her beauty, but there was something else. But if she is a teacher here, that only means that this lady would soon become her new co-worker. Chorong thought that it would be best to make friends first, despite not being used to talking to strangers.

"You are Bae Joo Hyun? A teacher here?" asked Chorong.

"Ah, you can just call me Irene. I don't really like being called my original name. The kids often make fun of it and call me Baechu instead(cabbage in korean)." Chorong simply laughed, as she found it funny.

"I'll be starting work here tommorow, so we're going to be working together. I'm Park Chorong, nice to meet you Irene-ssi." smiled Chorong.

"A-Ah, really? Oh..wow, that's cool. I didn't know we were hiring people..." stuttered Irene in confusion yet in amazement. Chorong laughed, she found this girl's behaviour funny yet interesting. It reminded her of Bomi in some sense, as she was slightly light-headed and was in a bit blur in her thoughts just like her.

"Looks like I don't have to worry about working here." thought Chorong to herself in relief.

[END OF CHAPTER 30]

A/N: Chorong meets her new co-worker, Irene? Hayoung gets caught in between a boy who wants her love? Eunji who confesses that she was in love before? A lot of things are happening indeed~ Thank you for reading and subscribing! I had honestly intended to end the story when Chorong came back and create a second book but I decided to continue it as a whole series. See you in the next chapter coming soon~ :)