Chapter 9: Love

Chorong tried to avoid eye contact, out of all people she didn't want Bomi to see her like this. Tears flooded her cheeks, her eyes were red and she sobbed softly. Without hesitation, Bomi pulled Chorong into her arms. Even if she tried to get out, Bomi didn't let her. The younger girl was still stronger than her, and there was nothing she could do but cry on her shoulders. Even though at times Bomi tends to joke around and act like a child, there were times where she was mature and knew how to take care of others.

For awhile, Chorong cried until she felt better. In Bomi's arms, she could feel warmth and it did lessen the burden she beared.

"Unnie, you said yourself that we shouldn't be hiding things from each other. It's your turn to tell me your problems." said Bomi.

"Ever since I came here, I only focused on the job I was assigned for. I worried a lot, wondering if I could take good care of all of you. But instead, I've caused even more harm. With the thing that happened with Naeun and now Hayoung, I feel like I'm just a curse brought over."

"Unnie."

"If I didn't come here, maybe things would have been better. None of this would've happened, and everyone wouldn't have to suffer."

"Unnie!" said Bomi, making Chorong silent as she stared deep into her eyes.

"You are a blessing brought to this dorm. Without you, we would've continued to struggle to live a perfect life. In the first time for a long time, I had a wonderful homecooked meal and it reminded me of my hometown. For the first time, someone scolded me for doing the wrong things. For the first time, someone told us and gave us advice on what we should do. For the first time, we had someone to talk our troubles with. Without you, we are nothing unnie."

There was silence from Chorong, who was surprised at Bomi's truthful words.

"The five of us had discussed this before, we want you to be with us forever. You are already part of our family and when you are suffering, we suffer together. Even though we've known each other for almost a week, you are not even a stranger to me at all. I love you unnie, we all love you. So, please don't put the blame on yourself because none of this is your fault. Alright?" said Bomi as she broke into a light smile, caressing Chorong's hair.

Chorong's heart thumped for a moment because of Bomi's mature thoughts, but it also thumped because of the words "I love you". She stopped crying and smiled as well. Bomi then proceeded to pinch her own cheeks, making weird expressions in front of Chorong that left her laughing

"Thank you Bomi-ya. I'm better now." smiled Chorong. Bomi could only grin uncontrollably.

"But, why aren't you asleep?"

"It's a Sunday tommorow~ why do I need to sleep so early?" pouted Bomi.

"It's 2am. I don't think that's early....." said Chorong in suspicion.

"Got caught didn't I? I can't sleep unnie." said Bomi, blurting out the actual truth. After hearing her words, Chorong wondered whether it was due to the air conditioner which faced Bomi's bed making it uncomfortable for her. Or, she simply can't sleep.

"Want to sleep in my room?" said Chorong with hesitation.

"Can I?" said Bomi breaking into a wide grin, that would almost break her cheeks.

"Oh god, look at you liking this already. Come on, you need to sleep." sighed Chorong, taking Bomi's hand and leading her into the room.

That night, the two slept together with their arms wrapped around each other. It was slightly different compared to Hayoung and Naeun sleeping together as they only stayed in one position. Bomi on the other hand, was more of an active sleeper and moved around, occasionally kicking her legs. This of course, woke Chorong up several times. But she couldn't get angry at the younger girl, her face looked so cute yet peaceful at the same time. 

~X~

Sunday morning had arrived, Chorong was up as usual preparing breakfast leaving Bomi to have the whole bed by herself. Namjoo woke up early as well because she forgot to do her homework making Chorong crack in laughter. As Hayoung slept with Naeun, it was Naeun's turn to help the maknae out. Changing her clothes, brushing her teeth, Naeun was reminded of how she used to take care of her younger sister Saeun during her childhood days.

"Hayoung-ah, my sister is the same age as you. You remind me of her." said Naeun, helping to brush her hair.

"Oh really? Where is she now?"

"She's studying in an international school overseas. Even before I ran away from home, she was already there."

"I didn't know unnie had a younger sister. It would be fun if I could meet her one day."

"Not when you're in this condition." joked Naeun.

Bomi and Eunji were still fast in their sleep, each with their own peculiar positions and seemed to enjoy being in their own dreamland. The three girls had already eaten their breakfast and went to do their own activities. Hayoung simply stared at Namjoo's homework while Naeun went back to her room working on her artwork.

"Are those two racing to see who sleeps the longest or something?" sighed Chorong as the clock reached 11am.

"Unnie, you're supposed to move x over here. Then, divide the y values there." said Hayoung pointing onto the worksheet Namjoo was doing.

"Wait, you haven't even learnt this yet." said Namjoo, staring at the young girl with suspicion.

"I looked through the textbook already. You're doing it wrong."

"As expected of the top student in school.." said Namjoo as she erased her answer.

Chorong who continued to watch drama episodes shown on the television, decided to wake the two girls up. Bomi was easy, all Chorong had to do was pull her blanket and she was wide awake. Eunji however, was like a stone. Chorong tried everything, removing her blanket, shaking her, clapping her hands at Eunji's ears, nothing would wake her up. Naeun who heard the noise next door, came in.

"How do you even wake her up?" asked Chorong.

"Easy." said Naeun as she bent down, and tickled Eunji's feet. She immediately woke up, laughing.

"That's it?" said Chorong, baffled.

"Yup." smiled Naeun as she left the room.

As the two girls sluggishly cleaned and dressed themselves up, Chorong headed to Naeun's room where she coughed at the smell of paint. She opened the window, where a sudden burst of fresh air entered as sunlight shone inside.

"Naeun, don't you get sick breathing all these chemicals?"

"Not...really...." 

"Did you take your medicine?" asked Chorong in which Naeun replied with a nod. She was rather concentrated on her painting, carefully mixing certain colours and striking her brush. Chorong learnt that Naeun doesn't speak much once she enters into the world of art.

~X~

Everyone in the dorm was finally awake, Namjoo managed to complete her homework thanks to smart Hayoung while Bomi and Eunji ate the breakfast that turned cold. It was a Sunday after all, a day of relaxation and doing nothing. For Chorong however, she would start work tommorow thus she was busy preparing things like her documents, items for her office desk and other stuff.

"I'm heading to the shopping mall nearby to buy some items." said Chorong as she wore her shoes.

"I'll follow you unnie." said Bomi.

"You have no plans for today?" asked Chorong.

"None of us have anything." chuckled Bomi as the two left, leaving the four girls behind. Hayoung in particular, was nagged by Chorong to never ever step out of the house.

Namjoo who felt bored staying at home, ended up watching a horror film that was played on one of the channels with Hayoung. Eunji on the other hand, went to Naeun's room and casually relaxed on her bed while browsing through her smartphone. Although the two didn't talk much, their presence itself was comfortable.

~X~

"What are you going to buy unnie?" asked Bomi as the two walked to the train station nearby. The nearest shopping mall was an hour away and would take forever if they walked. Chorong didn't reply her question as she was too confused on how to buy tickets via a machine. Coming from a rural town, this was all too unfamiliar for the countryside girl. In the end, Bomi helped out and managed to get two tickets.

"You still haven't answered my question unnie." pouted Bomi in sadness.

"Right, sorry. I need to buy some sticky notes, a bunch of stationary and some pen refills."

"But what does a secretary do anyway?" asked Bomi in curiousity. Ever since in school, she only focused on sports and never bothered about other subjects. 

"You are kind of like the right-hand man. You help the boss in pretty much anything like writing transcripts, organising meetings, making appointments, there's a lot of stuff."

"That explains why you're so organised unnie." smiled Bomi as the train arrived. Inside was packed with people until there was barely any space to move. The two girls squeezed in between where tall, huge men trapped their movements. In order to protect her unnie, Bomi placed her arm around Chorong and held on tightly. As she was a bit taller than her, Bomi made sure Chorong was in front of her and kept her arms around to prevent anyone from touching. After a while, there was a breath of air as the two finally left the crowded train and headed straight for the shopping mall. The two spent a lot of time there, in which Bomi would occassionally drag Chorong into a pastry shop because she was hungry while searching for the shops that had the items.

By the time Chorong got the things she wanted, the sun was beginning to set. Bomi helped Chorong carry her items as they rode the train back home.

"Wow, were we there for that long?" asked Bomi.

"Because of you. You kept visiting bakeries, stealing food samples, got distracted by arcade rooms..." sighed Chorong. Bomi could only smile as the two walked along the pathway that lead to the dorm. The two stopped by the conveniece store below their dorm to gather some last-minute items like snacks and drinks before climbing up the stairs.

However, there was something strange. The lights were turned off, and it was quieter than usual as if there was no one home. Bomi noticed this as well, in fact she realised that their group chat had been quiet lately. Usually, Hayoung would spam images of cartoons otherwise referred as "memes" and Namjoo would either say that she's bored or send random stuff over.

By turning the knob slowly, the door creaked open. It was dark, the lights were all off and there was nothing but silence. Chorong the lights as the two walked around the dorm, checking their rooms, no one was home. This was strange as Chorong had told them beforehand that if they were going somewhere, they were to inform her via text.

"Bomi, try calling Eunji." said Chorong as she placed her things on the table.

"On it." said Bomi, worried as well while dialling the number.

It rang once. Twice. No one picked up. 

"What do we do unnie?" asked Bomi.

"Try calling everyone else." 

But, still no one picked up. This brought worry to both of the girls. There was no evidence that something would've happened that made everyone leave for a particular reason. The girls looked around to see if there was any hint that was left behind.

As they entered into Bomi and Eunji's room, there was a piece of paper on the desk. It read,

"Dear Unnies, we are going to Busan." -Namjoo

[END OF CHAPTER 9]

A/N: I think it's pretty obvious whose story is up next haha This chapter is more of a breath-taker from all the events that happened in the previous ones. What do you think they're doing in Busan? Thank you for reading and subscribing! Next chapter coming soon~ :)