Note: All spacing, indentation, and other formatting choices are deliberate.

We Had Everything

Broods

We were young, we were proud, we were promising
We were hiding our innocence, oh
We had time, we had love, we had everything
We had everything

--- 

Yongsun

All eyes are on her as she slips into the room.  Her teacher pounces, and the class snickers. She must've bowed a hundred times before he let her go. Ten minutes late. How can she be so stupid? She takes her seat with haggard breaths and stray strands of hair falling from her loose bun. She carefully avoids her reflection in the window, and spares a glance at Byulyi beside her. Byulyi watches her intensely, her face unreadable. The desk in front of her seems so fascinating in that moment, as if it can swallow her up and hide her in its dark compartments forever. She can feel Byulyi's eyes on her still. Appraising the bags under her eyes, perhaps, or judging her wrinkled collar and muddy shoes. The beautiful genius will surely laugh if she knows that she'd stayed up all night working on their history project. She'd overheard Byulyi tell her friends that she'd finished it a week ago. She works up her courage and catches Byulyi's eye. Byulyi looks away and turns her attention back to the teacher. She sighs and quietly daydreams about crawling under her desk forever.  

 

 

 

Byulyi

Her breath catches in when Yongsun stumbles in as it always does. Even with her messy bun and crumpled uniform, she is beautiful. She clenches her fists beneath her desk when the teacher taunts her. She wants to get up and throw him out the window as he basks in the power,  his stupid face grinning as Yongsun's head ducks over and over like a broken toy in apology. As she sits down, their eyes meet. The morning sun catches the glow of her hair just right, and Byulyi cannot look away. She wants to reach over and squeeze her hand and ask her if she is okay, but all she can do is stare like an idiot. Skipping grades had done nothing to improve her lacklustre social skills. She'd practiced in the mirror all evening yesterday, and even then she cannot work up the right words to say to Yongsun. A good morning will suffice--she knows this intellectually, but it's so damn hard. The simple words twist and tangle in like discarded yarn. By the time she'd run every scenario in her head, the moment is long gone. Yongsun catches her eye once more, as if sensing her tumultuous thoughts. It's sheer panic that drives her to look away, her heart rattling against her chest despite how much she wants to hold those soulful brown eyes like they were her own. She glares down at her notes, wondering when this will get easier.

 

 

 

Yongsun

It’s the last year of high school, and she can’t wait to get out. Counting down the hours, one bell at a time, she pictures herself running out the door and into the streets, as alone as she'd come, but with a proud certificate in her hand. She dreamt often about the day when she no longer worried about her assignments, no longer have to endure voices of her peers. It is only the beginning of the school year, but she feels that it is a good sign when she is seated next to Byulyi once more. The girl is quiet, different, and there is something about her that makes every day just a little easier. They've never spoken, but she loves her calming presence. Just sitting beside her makes her feel like a better person. Even if she isn't. Byulyi is tall, intelligent, beautiful, popular, and everything else that she isn't. None of this matters. Or it isn't supposed to. But she didn’t expect to find herself alone with Byulyi in this moment, standing under the shade of a tall tree. Didn’t expect to see the array of emotions running across Byulyi's face, her cheeks tinting all shades of red. For her! Her confession drives her reality into the ground. Perhaps it’s an elaborate joke. A prank? It’s something out of a fairytale, and it make no sense. But when she tastes those lips for the first time, everything makes perfect sense. With her arms around Byulyi's neck, she is, even if just for a moment, a better person.  

Byulyi

She'd been planning for this moment for weeks. Her friends were getting sick of her lovesick sighs, and she was getting sick of it too. A year of sitting beside Yongsun had driven her up the wall. When the last day of school came, she'd raced after the forlorn beauty, but the voices of her friends hit her all at once, and she found herself pulled in all directions. Except the one she wanted. Summer was mostly spent laying on the floor, in long moments of deep self-kicking meditations. Her friends knocked on her door, but she hated them for weeks. Finally, she blew up, told them the truth, and found herself strapped in for a whole new world of intervention. The latter half of the summer was spent on a three step plan: practice, practice, confess. They relentlessly, of course, but when school began, and she found herself sitting next to Yongsun again, she was hopeful, even. And now the time has come and she stands under that tree with her heart in and her words coming out in globs of anxiety, entirely not prepared. She is ready to walk away and learn to socialize in a way where, "I love you" were not the first words you ever say to someone. But Yongsun’s lips are soft, and their effect nearly brings her to her knees. It is everything she's ever dreamt of and more, and silently hopes she can be by her side forever.

Yongsun

Their senior year is everything. Byulyi is more than she could've ever imagined. She is so sweet, so thoughtful. She is everything. And she, lost in her dreams, can only bite her lip and pray she doesn't get left behind.  

Byulyi

Their senior year is everything. Yongsun is more than she could've ever imagined. Beautiful, kind, quick on her feet, thoughtful to a fault, and more hardworking than anything else. Yongsun wants to be a singer; she wants to be her manager. She pictures a life beside her, on stage, off stage. She doesn't care. She just wants to get her there. They talk about their futures from March to June. Writes their futures together from June to December. But she never tells Yongsun about her parents' master plan, and she prays that she can find the strength to leave it behind.  

 

Yongsun

High school graduation comes and goes. Her days with Byulyi and her friends are the happiest days of her life. They apply to the same universities, they both get into the top, and even when she anticipated their fall at every step, they continue moving forward. Together. Against all odds, together. On their first anniversary, she gives her everything, and Byul returns in kind. Everything about Byulyi is just the way she has always imagined love would be. She loves her so much, but reality isn't going to be kind. The first sign of trouble comes the first time Byulyi's mother sets Byul up with a man. Her family quickly accepted Byulyi into the family when she introduced her three months into their relationship, but Byul is always secretive when it comes to family, and she can't understand why she doesn't turn her mother down. Byulyi keeps her like a secret, and she wonders if this really is what love should be.  

 

Byulyi

Their last winter together as high school students is surprisingly not the tearful mess she expected it to be. She remembers how she picked Yongsun up and spun her around when they both received their acceptance letters, and she smiles just thinking about the prospect of living together. Now that high school is out of the way, she can't wait to start the rest of her life with Yongsun. She dreams about nothing else. Her mother expects her to meet the son of her father's business partner, and deep down she knows this will only be the first of many. But she doesn't care. All she needs is Yongsun.  

 

 

 

 

Yongsun

She drops out after the first year of university. She isn't sure whether her parents are ever going to forgive her. She isn't sure whether she is ever going to forgive herself. Byulyi held her hand, gave her courage, and told her to chase her dreams, but she can't shake the feeling that she betrayed her too. Even so, with her blessing, her love, and her support, she goes to those auditions. She is older than most, but no less starry-eyed. Audition after audition...tens become hundreds. Hundreds become thousands. She never sees Byul anymore. Byulyi...her studies, her obligation, her parents are all so, so demanding. They used to share a dorm, and now an apartment. They used to share a life, but now their schedules overlap. They walk by each other like ghosts. They no longer have the time or the energy, and she is scared to death as Byul seems to slip through her fingers before her very eyes. She can’t do this anymore. Byulyi's voice calls to her, but she can't do it anymore. Byul is trying so hard, and she is so sweet. Byulyi everything, but she knows that she can never be the person Byul deserves, but who is she without Byulyi? Strength. She needs to find her own strength, and there is only one way.  

 

 

 

 

Byulyi

Yongsun dropped out of her life after the first year of university. It wasn't intentional at first, and, god, she tried hard to keep them together. She loved Yongsun so much, but she couldn't save her from her doubts. As her parents' demands grew louder, Yongsun's gentle pleas grew softer. She knew those auditions were taking a toll on them both, and she frequently cursed the world for making her Yongddoni jump through those hoops. For making her feel less than. Unworthy. Undeserving. She can't make her see the other side, and she is tired.   The break-up is mutual, she thinks. She doesn't know how Yongsun dealt with it, but she...doesn't. She thought her tear ducts would dry up after three weeks, but she always manages somehow. Fresh tears always come when she thinks about how much harder she should've tried, and how much braver she should've been. She continues going to those damn meaningless dates and she continues doing those damn meaningless assignments through puffy, red eyes. The world is dull and cruel, but it keeps on spinning. Turning, turning to spite her, knowing she isn't ready to move forward yet. Why the did the world have to keep moving?

 

 

 

 

 

Yongsun

Whenever someone asks, she always tells the story of Byulyi. The love of her life whom she was too stupid and selfish to keep. She tells this story, even when her managers tell her not to air out her relationships as a rookie, but how can she not tell this story when it so perfectly captures who she is as a person? She is young and naïve and too busy wallowing in the pits she digs for herself. They tell her to let it go. Live in the present. But maybe she doesn't want to let Byul go.   

 

 

 

 

 

Byulyi

Whenever someone asks, she is tempted to tell the story of Yongsun, but she never finds the courage. So she quietly follows her ten-step plan, and carefully steps her way inside her father's footprints. She tucks Yongsun in the back of her mind, and pulls her out for rainy days. She wonders what she is doing now, and whether she could ever love with everything again.

 

 

 

Yongsun

She is a star by the time she meets Byulyi again. It is a chance encounter like so many others, the kind that people like to romanticize. But there is no symphony, nothing slowed down. If anything, the world skips forward when her heart drops out of her chest and blacks out for a second. She is embarking a plane, first class. Smiling to herself, clutching letters in one hand and her bag in the other, as she thinks about the wave of dedicated fans who greeted her at the terminal. She has been dreaming about this moment for years, and she couldn't be more grateful for each of them. They worked so hard; she has to work twice as hard in kind. She is lost in thought as she takes her seat, and it isn't until she hears her name from across the aisle that she notices Byulyi. Byul is seated so elegantly, her long legs and narrow shoulders clad in a tailored white suit. She looks just the same, but the confidence, the air of gentle strength, and the worn corners of her eyes are new. And undeniably attractive. All at once, every part of her is filled. Even voids she never knew existed are b with potential. All at once, she is seventeen years old again, both daunted and captivated, suddenly self-conscious and aching, but bound by her own awkwardness to hesitate.  

 

 

 

Byulyi

She is one of the youngest CEOs in the country. Famously wealthy, capable, beautiful, and humble, she'd been groomed to perfection for the world's stage. That's her family's official statement, at least. It was a lie that went too far, and she has spent years battling the media with the truth. It was nothing but pure validation when Time took her story and put her face on the cover two weeks ago. Her parents continue to try and take credit, though in reality, they chose to cut all ties when she refused to marry and was caught one too many times in the beds of strange women during her drunken escapades. She crafted her name, built her empire from nearly nothing. Worked her way up alone. And she hopes now that the world will sympathize. Losing her parents made her invincible, even if it created immeasurable gaps in her soul. But in that moment, when Yongsun walks into her life once more, all the sutures she held inside seemed to burst open and disappear. Her presence alone, so close, but so achingly far from across the aisle, was enough to make her feel less alone for the first time in years. She'd been tracking Yongsun's progress from the beginning, had even bought over twenty copies of her last album so she could collect the full set of photo cards. She is proud when Yongsun steps on stage, protective when she reads the comments, and jealous when fans step into her space. Yongsun isn't solely hers to admire, but she can pretend. At the very least, she is her biggest fan, even if she is long past wishing she can be more. When she saw the curtain of pink hair in her peripheral, she sighed and dreamt about Yongsun's recent makeover. It’s almost the same shade. She doesn't immediately believe her judgment at first, after years of searching for Yongsun in the crowds and the false verdicts. Several sneaking glances had confirms it. Yongsun is smiling as she reads the letter in her hand. A moment of doubt settles, but the rampant emotions of seeing her first and only love, the spark of old embers rekindled, draw her in. Her voice catches in , and she hopes to catch those warm brown eyes. Yongsun is engrossed. Byulyi fights the butterflies. All at once, she is sixteen again, wishing upon every star for courage, just a couple ounces more, just enough to turn to Yongsun, drop to her knee, and tell her she is her world. But all she can do is settle for the next best thing. She calls her name softly. Yongsun looks up and around in a daze  she catches her eye and an audible gasp escapes Yongsun's perfect lips. Byulyi smiles, quickly runs her palms over her thighs, in a breath of courage, and opens to let the butterflies out.  

 

Byulyi

Hey.

Yongsun

H-Hi. Wow. Um, hi. Hello.

Byulyi

Yongsun.

Yongsun

Byulyi.

Byulyi

I can't believe it's you.

 

Yongsun

Yeah I'm...I'm...wow. I can't believe it's you too, I mean, I can't believe...ah jeez, it's been a while, hasn't it?  

Byulyi

It's been a while.

Yongsun

Yeah. You...you look good. How are you?

Byulyi

I-I'm great. Good. Yeah. You?  

Yongsun

I'm wonderful.

Byulyi

That's great. Um, so...you're going to London?  

 

Yongsun

Yeah, there's a festival going on and I'm performing.

Byulyi

Ah, right, I saw that this morning

Yongsun

You did?  

 

Byulyi

Yeah, I, uh follow your fan page and stuff.

 

Yongsun

That information was only released to the fan club, Byul.

Byulyi

W-w-well I—

 

Yongsun

Don’t worry, I’m just teasing you. You’re still cute when you blush.

 

…

 

Yongsun

I’m...I’m happy that you’re a fan. Really happy, actually. It...it means a lot to know that you've been watching. 

 

Byulyi

I’ve always been your fan. From the very beginning. I—

 

 

Oh my god, is that--

Hey, don’t point, it’s--oh my god it’s Solar. She’s so pretty in person, oh my god.  

Shh, you’re being loud!

Ask for an autograph. A picture. Oh god, I can’t even breathe.

Shh, shh, shh! Aigo, you’re so embarrasing.

Hurry!

She’s talking to someone!

Who? Oh my god, is that…

Let’s just go

But--

 

Yongsun

Would you like an autograph?

 

…

…

 

Yongsun

Um, are you two alright? Why don’t you come over here so the people behind you can get through? Do you have a pen?

 

Y-y-yeah, just a moment.

T-thank you so much!

 

Yongsun

It’s my pleasure. Do you have a piece of paper?

Byulyi

Here, you can take my napkin. I can get another one later.

 

Yongsun

Thank you, Byul.

 

…

…

Oh my god it really is Moon Byulyi. She's so cool.

Shut up! She can hear you.

 

...

 

Yongsun

Who should I write this out to?

 

…

…

 

Yongsun

Uhm, what are your names?

 

Oh! I-I’m, uh...she’s, uhm..oh my god, you’re so pretty

...I’m Wheein, and this idiot is Hyejin.

W-we’re--we love you!

Your music really inspired us.

We’re trying to be idols too!

Hyejin! She doesn’t need to know that.

She needs to know she changed our lives!

 

Yongsun

There you go! And thank you. I love your enthusiasm, so I’m sure you’ll both be great. Hopefully I’ll see you both on stage someday. I’ll be cheering you on until then. Fighting!

 

F-Fighting!

Fighting!

Thank you for everything, Miss Solar!

Best of luck in London! We’ll be cheering you on!

 

...

...

 

Byulyi

Your fans are adorable.

 

Yongsun

I know. You would know, wouldn’t you?

 

...

 

Yongsun

Why don’t you come sit next to me? We have lots to catch up on. You can tell me all about your article in Time.

 

Byulyi

You...you know what happened. Do you...do you believe it?

 

Yongsun

Of course. I always knew you had it in you. You were very brave for standing up to your parents like that. It's...amazing what you have accomplished over the years.

 

Byulyi

I..I wish I could've done it sooner. I’m sorry...for all those years ago.

 

Yongsun

Don't be. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. We were...both at fault. I...I just...I wish I could've been there with you when everything happened. 

 

Byulyi

I...me too...for you.

 

Yongsun

Yeah.

 

...

...

 

Byulyi

I...I don’t even know where to begin telling you...everything. There's so much I want to say to you.
I still can't believe you're here. 

 

Yongsun

Well, we have the next ten hours...and the rest of our lives to decide the rest.

 

Byulyi

Yongsun.

 

Yongsun

Yes?

 

Byulyi

I missed you.

 

Yongsun

I missed you, too.

 

 

 END

 

Note: Four days, four stories. I'm on a pretty good roll, don't you think? Comments, subs, and votes, are, as always, greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think about this weird experimental stuff!