Moondust Chapter 2

Song For This Chapter// My Friends by Oh Wonder

“And oh my friends. I am ready. Can I beat within your heart? Can I bleed within your love? Oh my friends.” ~ My Friends

SoHyun’s POV

Please don’t tell him I’m back. Just don’t tell anyone. Please.  Was the text YooJung sent to me the following day after I bumped into her in the dormitory hall.

I won’t tell. Don’t worry about it. Was the reply I sent in return.

I sat in the university cafeteria at lunchtime with Sungjae, BoGum, and JooHyun, who just so happened to be BoGum’s girlfriend. The new semester had started, so we were all hanging out together more often than usual. Usually it was just Sungjae, BoGum, and I hanging out. Sungjae and BoGum headed to the restrooms together, while JooHyun was asking me about going shopping this weekend.

“This Sunday? Why not?” I smiled at her in response a bit late as my thoughts were occupied with my run in with my best friend, YooJung. Then the chair next to me was pushed in as Sungjae took ahold of his tray to dispose of. As we walked across campus, the burden of knowing that YooJung was back weighed on my mind heavily. I was the last one to see her before she left and now I also the first one to see her after she returned to Korea.

Thinking back to the way I reacted enthusiastically to YooJung’s return, I concluded that it was merely my way of coping after everything that has happened three years ago. When my emotions begin to overwhelm me, I opt to choose one emotion and act on it. The second I recognized YooJung, I chose glee, because too much somberness has surrounded us like a perpetual gloomy cloud.

However, now as I witnessed BoGum’s genuine smiles, worry was all that was on my mind. I was worried about how YooJung will react to BoGum’s reaction, for I already knew how BoGum would react. He would deny it at first unless he saw her with his own eyes. Then he would ignore her as if YooJung was never there, because that is how he coped all these years.

“I’m home!” I announced, taking off my shoes before reacting to my younger brother, who was playing video games on the television in our living room. “Don’t you have anything else to do? Perhaps, studying? You’re now a senior in high school. When will you realize that?” This caused my brother to throw me a look before issuing a snide response all while his attention was on his video game.

“At least I study. Unlike you, no one went lenient on me, because they thought I needed grief counseling.” As soon as his response left his mouth, I watched in dismay as his eyes widened in shock at what he just said to me. “Noona! You know I didn’t mean that!”

“Too late!” We both whipped our heads around to see our mother standing behind the couch.  “Kim Hyun Min! Watch your mouth, young mister! Please be more sensitive to what happened.”

“Sorry.” Hyun Min lowered his head apologetically towards me.

“It’s okay. Just don’t say it like that anymore. Also Mom?” After warning my brother, I looked at my mom.

“What is it, honey?”

“I saw YooJung yesterday.”

“Yoojung?”

“Yoojung Noona?” My brother and mother were now standing in front of me with shock flashing across their faces. I nodded with a heavy heart. My mom was the one who had to deal with my erratic behavior after YooJung left. She was my best friend and practically my sister. BoGum was so distraught to the point he stared at the wall for weeks in a fugue state. Sungjae cried in secret behind his bright smile and so did I, because we had to be there for BoGum. Recalling those memories, which we all desperately tried to move on from I felt helpless once again.

“I don’t know what to do. I can’t be there for the both of them. How am I supposed to cope? Does this mean that everything will be okay now that she’s back? Will we all be okay for once?” For a while I vented to my mom and younger brother as I swallowed back the tears until I couldn’t restrain them any more.

The following weekend, I invited YooJung to stay the night at my house. Our lively conversations about her time in New York and Julliard died down as the clock ticked by. Underneath the blankets and as we stared up at the blank ceiling, I began to remember that events of that night. Underneath the moon, I became aware of the moondust surrounding us. It was a constant reminder of the dismal past that haunted us all.

YooJung broke the dreary silence with one simply apology.

“SoHyun, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the person you should be saying that to, YooJung. It’s BoGum. It’s been three years, you know that? That is jus