[CONTENTID1] 23.05.20. written by hanseungbi [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] A Place to Call Home ch. 2: Can we kiss? [/CONTENTID2] 

[CONTENTID3] I just need to hear the sound of you. [/CONTENTID3] 

[CONTENTID4] How did she end up in this situation? As a matter of fact, why was she in this situation? A puzzled look was plastered on her face as her lips, a momentary panic overcoming her body as she tried to process the current predicament. At the moment, she was standing in front of her apartment, and it was late at night, at the time they had finally arrived at Minjoo's apartment everyone was asleep. And yet, Minjoo leaned against the door to her apartment, and her friend was standing only inches away. Chaewon's right hand gently laced with Minjoo's left. The short-haired female's left hand gently cupped and thumbed the cheek of the flushed female. A hint of rosy red cheeks plastered on Minjoo's face, and her heart raced faster as she stared at her best friend, Chaewon, who was right in front of her. The short-haired female leaned in forward for a kiss. Minjoo could feel Chaewon's soft and supple palms gently cupping her cheek. Her own body wanted to close the distance that separated their lips from one another. 

"Min, can we kiss?" Chaewon whispered as she pressed her forehead against the female. 

Minjoo wanted to say yes, but in the corner of her eyes, she felt her heart begin to subside. Her eyes had met with the big-dark-brown irises of another, Ahn Yujin. "How did I end up in this situation?" Minjoo thought to herself. 

A Few Days Ago

Minjoo stared at the female in front of her. A phantom of her past, someone who she believed didn't exist, stood right in front of her. Her mind seemed to malfunction. Why was Yujin here? Her lips pursed in as she rubbed the nape of her neck nervously. "Ah, I must be going crazy. That's' right. I'm probably just a little tired. It was a long day," Minjoo stated as she walked over to her door. She approached the door where the tall female stood. Minjoo could feel a sharp pain in her heart, and soon she could feel the touch of the other, their hands felt the same as they did when she was younger. Minjoo looked up as she stared at the tall female, Yujin's dark-brown eyes. A deep sigh escaped Minjoo's lips as she slowly pressed the numbers into the keypad. "Are you here?" 

"I'll explain when we get into your house if I'm still allowed to come in." 
"Sure, are you hungry? Did you wait long?" Minjoo questioned as her hand turned the knob and opened the door. She took her shoes off and heard the female following her into her apartment. "I only have ramen. I didn't have a chance to head to the grocery store today." 
"That's okay, I'll eat anything," the other responded. 
"Of course, you would..." Minjoo muttered to herself as she slid her feet into the house slippers then proceeded into the kitchen. 

She grabbed a packet of ramen and a pot to boil the ramen. The sound of the water pouring into the pan echoed throughout the apartment. In the corner of her eyes, Minjoo could see the younger female lean against the counter and watching Minjoo. She reached for the packet of ramen, and as she prepared to break it in the back, she heard a loud yell. 
"Kim Minjoo! What are you doing?" 

Minjoo stared over at the other female in surprise. She could see a dumbfounded face on Yujin's front, followed by almost a concerned look. She looked at the block of dried ramen noodles in her hand and back at the tall female. "Don't you usually... break up ramen before you cook it?" 

Minjoo rubbed the nape of her neck before she looked back at the block of ramen then back at the younger female. "I'm not... sure? I always see my parents break up the noodles before putting it in." 
"That's the old way of cooking! Nowadays, on television, they say that its best to put the sauce packet in with the water, then to add the noodles and stir it, lifting the noodles occasionally to make it chewy!" 
"Ah... do they..?" Minjoo questioned as she rubbed the nape of her neck in concern. Was she that behind on the times?

And like that, Minjoo made ramen the "proper way," according to Ahn Yujin, who she was still confused about the situation about the younger. Either way, after the breaking-noodles-incident, Yujin watched Minjoo make the ramen and walked Minjoo in through the "proper" way of cooking. 

She sat across from the younger after she finished cooking. In front of Yujin was a glass of water and a bowl of ramen. Minjoo had written Yujin off as an imaginary friend who she had made up during her early elementary school years because she craved companionship. She never thought that the younger would be sitting across from her again. The sudden realization hit Minjoo once more if Yujin was not real, does that mean she just made ramen for someone who will be most likely unable to eat it? They still weren't real, right? 

"So..." Minjoo decided to finally break the silence as she watched Yujin slurp up the noodles. "Are you still not... well..." How was she supposed to word it? She was never the type that was comfortable with confrontation at the very least.
"Am I still not real? 100%." 
"Then, why am I feeding you? You should have stopped me!" the female let out a deep sigh. In her head, she was beating herself up over and over again, that was one pack of ramen wasted. 
"Well, you offered, how could I say no to your cooking?" Yujin grinned cheekily with a bright smile plastered on her face. The deep dimples revealed themselves to Minjoo once more as she let out a soft and loud laugh. For some reason, it comforted Minjoo to hear their laughter fill up the empty walls of the lonely apartment. 
"So why are you here again? I thought that people grow out of having imaginary friends," Minjoo softly stated as she looked at the female who continued to eat. "Why did you leave on your birthday? Do imaginary friends even have specific birthdays? But that's beside the fact. I was worried, sick! I looked for you everywhere, and I cried every night for months!" 

The long-haired female remained silent as she continued to slurp on the noodles. She took occasional sips now and then as she rubbed the nape of her neck. The female who was full of laughter only moments ago, the noise of her eating was the only sound that echoed throughout the apartment. 

"I guess you didn't need me anymore," Yujin responded plainly. Her eyes met with Minjoo's, Yujin's dark comforting puppy-like eyes, meeting hers. Minjoo stared at the other, the response was simple, but at the same time, in her mind, the answer made no sense. 

"What are you saying? I needed you. I had no friends. I barely talked to people!" she felt the tears in her eyes begin to well up. The sudden memories of loneliness that she spent for the year without Yujin, her imaginary friend, during her childhood, began to flood her mind once more.
"I'm here now, don't worry," Yujin stated with a soft but reassuring smile. "Your parents are gone for around... what? Four years? You won't be by yourself in the big scary house."
"I'm not that big of a cry baby. I'm more mature, you know!" 
"And that's why you're crying right now, right?" Yujin questioned in a soft tone. Her hand reached over to the other side of the table and gently rubbed the stream of tears that ran down the younger's cheek. 

She was furious. She wanted to be angry with the female who continued to spew out wrong answers, but for Minjoo, it just made sense. At least, that was the only answer that she could trick herself into believing. Their touch was cold. Minjoo raised her hand and pushed Yujin's hand away as she rubbed the lingering tears away from her face.

"Are you finished? I'll go and wash your dishes now then," Minjoo stated as she tried to fight the overwhelming amount of feelings that rushed through her head. She stood up from her seat and grabbed the dishes as she walked away from the younger. She could feel the weight of the ramen and the full glass of water in her hand. A bittersweet smile formed on her lips. Indeed, Yujin was not real.

************

In front of Minjoo were her textbook and one of her notebooks, a few highlighters, and some pens. She color-coded her notes and highlighted parts in the book that she found were important. Her hand wandered over and took a few gummy worms before throwing them into and chewing on it. It helped her study because while she stimulated her brain and self-fueled herself with candy. Her pen gently tapped against the wood of her study desk before she heard a loud and exasperated sigh echo throughout her room. Minjoo looked up from her textbook, and her eyes naturally guided her towards the female who laid on her bed. Her old and tattered book of The Little Prince laid down beside Yujin. 

"What is it now?" Minjoo questioned as she looked over at the female with a quirked brow. "Do you not like the book?" 
"You would think that if this were your favorite story, you would have taken better care of your only copy," Yujin softly stated before she looked over at the Minjoo. "You were a lot funnier back when you were six-years-old!" Yujin let out a deep sigh and ran her fingers through the strands of her hair before she proceeded to begin to toss and turn on the bed, playfully throwing a tantrum. 
"What am I supposed to talk about with you then?" Minjoo questioned as she repositioned herself from facing the textbook to look at Yujin, who became immediately interested in the attention.
"You should talk to me about how you've been. What you've been up too, or..." a wide grin formed on the younger's lips as Yujin stared intensely at the older. "If there's anyone that you're interested in!" 
"Is that all?" Minjoo questioned before she turned her attention back to her notes. She began to work on her notes again. "I'm going to college to be a nurse. But I want to study and explore musical therapy too." 
"So you picked up on music? Do you play any instruments?" Minjoo could hear the genuine interest of the younger female. 
"A little bit... guitar and piano mostly." 
"Are you interested in anyone? You're twenty-years-old now! It'd be strange if you didn't have any interest in love!" 

Minjoo remained silent for a moment. Her hand stopped taking notes. Her lips pursed in as the image of her first love and best friend Chaewon popped into her head. Almost naturally, her lips curled into a soft smile. She could feel the tips of her ear turn red, and her cheeks were a rosy tint. "There is... someone." 

"I knew it. You were too pretty to be single!" Yujin leaned from the bed, and her lips curled into a soft smile. "So who is the lucky person?"
"Would it be okay to tell Yujin? She's not real anyway," Minju thought to herself. "Kim Chaewon." 
"Ah... she's pretty," Yujin muttered to herself before she let out a soft sigh and spread herself on the bed. "So, are you two together?"
"She's pretty?" Minjoo found it strange, considering that she did not remember introducing Chaewon to Yujin, but she decided to brush it to the side and continued to write her notes. "Not really, we're just friends." 
"If you love someone, you should take hold of those feelings. Keep them close. Or else, when you leave them, or they leave you, it might be too late," Yujin stated softly with a small smile before she looked at Minjoo with soft eyes. "You know, like the Little Prince." 

Minjoo stopped herself from taking her notes once more. Her lips that curled into a smile had formed into a frown. "But what if she says no?"
"You already know what the worst can be. You shouldn't stop yourself from living your life because of the worst. Would you still be living at that point then?" Yujin questioned as she stared at Minjoo. Although the younger tried to hide it, in their dark brown eyes, a hint of sadness hid behind her smile.

For some reason, the words that Yujin said made sense to Minjoo. In the back of her head, she thought it was strange that the younger was back all of a sudden. She felt that she had grown up. She always associated Yujin as the person she wanted to be when she was younger. Was there still some lingering characteristics that she wanted? Maybe, it was the younger's boldness or bravery. "So what do you think I should do? Ask her out right now?"
"If you think it's appropriate."

"Okay, I'll go meet her right now." 
"Wait, isn't it a little late--" 
"I wouldn't be living if I'm scared of the worse possibilities, right?" 

Yujin remained silent for a few moments before she let out a soft but forced laugh. "You're right. You should go to her, but isn't it late?" 
"If it's Chaewon, she's probably awake right now. She doesn't live that far from me." Minjoo firmly stated as she reached over for her cell phone that rested on her desk. Her fingers gently tapped on the screen to type out the message. 

To: Chaewon
From: Minjoo

Chae, could we talk? Meet up at the usual spot, maybe? 

Minjoo stared at the message, her pointer finger hovered over the send button. She could feel the nervousness and anxiety begin to build up in her once more. Sudden floods of doubt continued to run through her mind. The possibility of being rejected again, ignored, or her feelings not being reciprocated, those doubts overwhelmed her. That was when she felt an unusual warm touch against the back of her hand. Minjoo turned her head and saw that Yujin was standing behind her. Their hand gently brushed against the back of her own. "The worse she can say is no. Right? I'll be here for you, always." Yujin whispered as she stared at Minjoo with a warm smile. 

Minjoo took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly before feeling her finger touch down on the screen. The message sent. Minjoo felt more anxiety build up as seconds passed before she felt another squeeze on the back of her hand. Her eyes naturally moved. Her lips curled into a soft smile as she saw Yujin's thumb gently, and soothingly continued to comfort Minjoo. Before, she finally saw the small notification under her message "read."

From: Chaewon
To: Minjoo

Sure, be there in a bit. See you in fifteen!

"Looks like you're about to get a girlfriend, Minjoo," Yujin looked at the older with a bright smile. "Don't worry. I'll be there with you if you feel nervous!"

A million thoughts had rushed through Minjoo's mind, but the one th