The exhibition went very well. Even though Wheein was not the only one to expose that day, her paintings were the ones that got the most attention.
After the presentation of the works, and a couple of interviews, the after-party started: Hyejin was so proud of Wheein, but she couldn’t help the twinge of an old bitterness at the sight of Wheein and Byulyi together, their body locked in a tender embrace. And she hated herself for that. She felt like a horrible woman, jealous of her best friend happiness and success.
It was not a good idea to come back, Hyejin had known that even before buying the plane tickets, but she couldn't say no to Wheein that time.
She was Wheein’s best friend, after all. A bad and selfish friend, probably.
She took refuge in a corner of the bar, spied on the guests with a hint of curiosity.
She saw a lot of familiar faces, old university friends, even some professors, with their old peculiarity. One by one, they stopped to say hello, to ask how she was, how she was not, if New York was beautiful as they say. She smiled through the whole time, offering small replies and kind greetings. It was exhausting.
I was like nothing had changed but herself.

"If you didn't want to attract attention you shouldn’t have dressed so well, Hwasa"

She turned, taken by surprise from the use of her old stage name.
Hyuna smiled, offering her a glass of champagne and a smooth kiss on the cheek. Just like then, the beauty of Hyuna left her breathless: she was wearing a floral print dress extravagant as usual, her brown hair long and wavy.

"That's rich, coming from you", she replied, smiling back "bet you are dressing an original Chanel. Are you still a model?"
"Until I get too old",  Hyuna shrugged, getting closer to her "Chanel, you’re right! But I'm still waiting for your collection. You were at the top of your class"
"You'll have to wait for some time", Hyejin laughed, having a sip of her drink "They make me do the coffee, for now. It’s normal. At last, if I do not succeed as a fashion designer, I will open a cafeteria"
"You'll conquer the world of fashion, Hyejin, I’m sure about it. And I'll be the first to wear your dresses, just like very old times. Rely on me for publicity, I still have some popularity"
"Then I will make you a special price"

They got silent after that little exchange of words and enjoyed their glass of champagne sitting at a small table, in the chaos of the bar. Nobody got near her anymore, probably intimidated by the beauty of Hyuna. Hyejin felt relieved, and more relaxed. Her eyes wandered around the room, automatically looking for Wheein. She spotted her and Byulyi at the back of the room, hand in hand, busy talking about something. They fit together perfectly, like a puzzle, like always.
No space for her, t