missed
HARBORED"is it me or does this joohyun unnie of yours look a bit like jisoo?"
you shot your head up at your friend seungwan, who's sitting from across you. for some reason, 'joohyun unnie of yours' had put a smile on your face. however, your smile faded when her words finally made sense.
"they don't look alike." you frowned.
seungwan snorted. she pushed your phone back to you. "look closer."
you stared at the picture. it's one of the many selcas joohyun took using your phone. after staring at it for another five seconds, you realized what seungwan meant.
"well, there's a bit of resemblance," you admitted, browsing through her other pictures. "but maybe in that angle only. if you see her in person, you'll know what i mean."
"mmm-mmm. is she really coming to watch our show next week?"
"yeah. she said she wants to see me dance."
"isn't she attending school?"
"her birthday's coming up. she's staying for another week to spend time with her family."
"ahh. and jisoo knows her?"
"i've mentioned unnie to her several times. she knows all about our closeness."
"by closeness, you meant jisoo knows about your feelings for this woman?"
you eyed seungwan. "she doesn't need to know about that. besides, i'm over unnie. there's nothing to tell anymore."
seungwan slumped forward on the table, her eyes on your phone. "over her, huh? but you haven't deleted her pictures yet. has jisoo seen your gallery?"
you sighed. "we've fought over the pictures before. i told jisoo we're only friends. i gave her all the access to my social media accounts so she can view all my conversation with unnie. that somehow convinced her nothing is going on between us."
seungwan nodded, pushing herself back from the table. "how about joohyun sunbae? she knows about jisoo?"
"i've mentioned jisoo a few times but only as a friend. she doesn't need to know about the relationship."
"what? why? you've been with jisoo for over a year now. why not admit to your friend what you really are? i'm sure she'll understand. she's been very open with you about her relationships too."
"i can't, wannie. i'm not sure if she's open to this type of relationship. i don't want her to avoid me."
seungwan's mouth opened. she blinked a few times before sighing. "seulgi, please tell me you didn't pursue jisoo only because she reminds you of your friend."
"no!" you answered quickly. "what i feel for jisoo is genuine. it's got nothing to do with her looking somewhat like unnie. i didn't even realize that until today after you mentioned it."
seungwan gave you that look like she's expecting you to continue. "but?"
"there's no but. i love jisoo, okay?"
seungwan raised her palms. "okay. okay. i am not arguing about your affection towards your girlfriend. i'm concerned about your feelings towards your very special friend. if what you're saying is true--that you've already moved on--then that's good for you. but if you still feel the same way towards her, i'm sure jisoo would notice. and it'll hurt her."
spot on. you sighed.
you've been avoiding joohyun for a year now by going on out-of-town trips whenever she comes home to visit. constant apologizing and saying you'll make it up with her somehow fixes the issue with the older woman.
but now, you can't escape her. she's coming home to see you. and she demands to see you.
you wonder how you'll feel when you see her again.
you wonder if it's going to be the same between the two of you.
and jisoo, will she notice? what will you tell her if she does?
the last thing that you wanted to do is to hurt her.
---
this will be your last performance with the dance club as you're going to graduate from high school in a few months.
so, you gave it all.
you danced like you owned the stage and the world. you set aside your personality for a while and performed like you're some sort of star. it worked because people kept screaming your name.
the performance ended with a blast. you and your club members were so happy you decided to have a little dinner celebration.
as you walked out of the dressing room with jisoo and seungwan, you spotted a familiar figure from afar waiting. you stopped in your tracks because even with that distance, you can identify the person.
oversized maroon sweater, tight fit pants, hair tied in a topknot style--yup, that's her.
she got to her feet after seeing you, a broad smile etched on her face. she took a step towards you. you did the same.
another step.
you felt your heart beating fast, like for the first time in months, you felt alive again.
few more steps.
your steps accelerated. you find yourself striding--running towards her--excited to touch her and feel her again.
halfway there, she stretched her arms wide, and you knew what's coming next.
she jumped at you, her arms encircling your neck. you held her by the waist to support her as you twirled her around.
her shrieked laughter echoed in the area. you spun her around twice before putting her down slowly. she pulled back.
"you were so cool, seul! i didn't know you can dance like that!"
"i didn't know either, unnie!" you chuckled. "thanks for coming here tonight."
joohyun punched your arm. "yah. i'm still mad at you. you've been doing this for the whole duration of your high school, and thought of mentioning it to me recently? i could have watched all your performances if i had known!"
you smiled at her apologetically. it usually works when you do that.
it did work because she smiled back. she eyed the collar of your checkered dress shirt and fixed the creases gently with her hand.
"and you were so hot there, seul," she whispered, almost inaudible. "if my hearing still works perfectly, i think you had more female fans than men."
you chuckled, looking away to hide your blushing face.
did she just say you're hot?
"eherm." jisoo appeared on the side with seungwan.
crap. how could you even forget you're not alone?
"by the way, unnie," you said, bringing a hand to joohyun's waist to face the other two people. "these are my friends from the club, seungwan and jisoo. and guys, this is joohyun unnie in the flesh."
"wow. we can finally put a face to the name. seulgi has told us a lot of stories about you," said seungwan.
"awe. that's so sweet of you, ddeulgi." joohyun playfully pinched your cheek. "this bear over here has told me stories about you two as well. it's really nice to meet you finally."
"same here." jisoo looked at you. "unfortunately, seulgi forgot to tell us how you look this pretty in person."
you gulped.
"why, thank you." joohyun slightly leaned her head on you. "it's such an honor to be regarded as pretty by a pretty person herself."
you and seungwan looked at each other.
joohyun turned to you. "i'll see you tomorrow, seulgi, okay? i'm guessing that you'll have a little celebration with your club members."
"yup. we're going out for dinner." you turned to seungwan and jisoo. "guys, i'll help unnie get a cab. wait for me here, okay?"
"hmm. why don't you come with us?" said jisoo, making you turn to her with bulging eyes. "i'm sure seulgi wants your company as well."
"b-but she doesn't know anyone from the club," you said, unsure of what's running on your girlfriend's mind.
"it's just my suggestion. what do you think, sunbae?"
"well, i'm pretty hungry myself." joohyun nodded. then she looked at you and fixed your bangs. "plus, i really missed spending time with this bear. so, why not? sure. i'll come with you guys."
seulgi.exe stopped working.
you stood there like a robot, unsure of what trouble you had put yourself into.
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