[CONTENTID1] 14.07.2020 written by hanseungbi[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] A Place to Call Home ch. 4 } what if you're gone? pt. 2 [/CONTENTID2] 

[CONTENTID3] Is it selfish not to be selfless? [/CONTENTID3] 

[CONTENTID4]

"Minjoo. Hey. Kim Minjoo!" the duck lipped female waved her hand in front of the brunette. It had been a week since Minjoo last saw Yujin. The other left without a word, and Minjoo had felt responsible for their disappearance. Did she mean to snap at the younger or to turn them down? She could feel a pang of overwhelming guilt. If she had just been more understanding, would they still be here? 

At the moment, she was in a nearby cafe with her friends. Midterms were going to be on Monday, and she had two more days to study. During a time where there seemed never to be enough time, it seemed like there was too much time on her hands. 

"Minmin, are you okay?" another familiar voice spoke up. It was a voice that was all too familiar to Minjoo. The brunette raised her head, and her lips curled into a soft smile as she gave the owner a short nod.
"I'm fine, Chae. I just have some stuff on my mind." Minjoo spoke as she picked up her pencil once more before she began to scribble into her notebook one more. 
"Kim Chaewon, why is Minjoo so miserable? Did you guys fight?" Yuri questioned as she quirked a brow and looked over at Chaewon. 
"I wish I could say that we fought, then I could fix the issue, but..." the short-haired female's lips pursed in as she stared over at the unusually quiet female once more. 
"I'm okay. It's just the midterms are sort of driving my crazy with my grades," Minjoo lied as she forced a small smile onto her lips. "Chae and I are doing fine, and Chae's probably the best girlfriend anyone could ask for." 
"Chaewon is romantic. Unlike Yena, who is constantly acting like a child and makes everything into a competition," Yuri stated teasingly with a bright grin on her lips, which incited a loud whine from the duck lipped female. 
"What are you saying? You said you loved me for my childish personality!" 

As the other couple at the table began to have their usual small but playful quarrel, Chaewon stared at the brunette with longing and sincere eyes. She could sense that the younger had a lot on her mind. Minjoo had been distant the last week, it had become harder to make the female smile, and when they were together by themselves, it was as if their mind was somewhere else. "Why can't you tell me what's on your mind, Minmin?" 

"Are we here to gossip and watch the married couple break into their soap opera acting? Or are we here to gossip? I just want to verify so I can order the proper food for the occasion," the oldest female in the group finally spoke up. 
"Do we ever study when we met up?" Yuri responded as she let out a soft laugh. 
"Cool. Kim Minjoo, come with me," Hyewon stated as she got out of her seat and motioned for the younger to follow after her. 
"Ohohoho! A challenger appears! Kim Chaewon, be prepared, your girlfriend might swerve to Kwangbae's lane!" Yena stated with a playful tone. 

Minjoo looked up at the eldest when she heard her name called. It was the first time she was called out by Hyewon. It was not like the two weren't good friends or anything like that. The two had met through Yuri, who was close with Hyewon back in high school. However, the two never formally spent time together by themselves. Therefore, she would be lying if she said she wasn't slightly nervous. However, she decided to push the thoughts aside and gave the other a short nod. 

"Sure," Minjoo responded with a short nod as she got out of her seat.  She followed after the elder as they made their way to the counter to order some more food. Her fingers gently fiddled with each other as she could feel the awkward silence fill the air once more. 
"How's Eunbi?" Hyewon finally spoke up as they took a step forward in line, which startled Minjoo because she never thought she would hear Hyewon bring up Kwon Eunbi, who was one of Minjoo's cousins. 
"Eunbi...? Ah, she's good. I talked to her before my parents left, and she said she was planning on visiting sometime whenever she has time off from work," Minjoo replied before the realization hit her that Hyewon and Eunbi had never met to her knowledge. "But how do you know her?" 
"She's my girlfriend; I talked to her last night," Hyewon plainly stated as she took another step forward. "Should we get something sweet or savory...?" the older muttered to herself as her lips pursed in. However, in Minjoo's mind, she was still processing and in shock that the two even knew each other. 
"When was this?" 
"We've been dating... the last three years?" Hyewon stated as she hummed to herself. "Minjoo, do you love Chaewon?" Hyewon questioned as she stared at Minjoo with intense eyes. 

Minjoo could feel her heart drop. It was the first time someone questioned if she loved Chaewon, but at the same time, as much as she wanted to say yes, the words, "I love you, Chaewon," those words couldn't, no they wouldn't come out of her lips. Not when she was worrying about where Yujin had run off too. 

"If you asked me if I love Eunbi, I would tell you that I love her in a heartbeat," Hyewon softly stated as she gave Minjoo a soft smile. "I know that at one point, you may have had only Chaewon in your heart, but right now, I think you should question whether or not she is still the only one there. Chaewon's a big girl, she'll understand, but you shouldn't hurt her by being distant." the two finally reached the front of the line, where Hyewon did all the ordering and Minjoo was just there standing beside the older female. Her eyes moved to Chaewon, who sat down at the table with her other friends. Minjoo's tiers gently pursed in as she stared at the short-bobbed female, it was after Hyewon had mentioned it, that Minjoo could see that Chaewon was hurting as well. 

She had to do something.

"Minjoo, do you have money?" Hyewon questioned as she looked over at Minjoo. 
"What?" 
"Pay please, for my advice and kind words, you should pay,"  Hyewon stated before turning her attention to the cashier. "She said that she has it covered. I'll get going now."

Minjoo watched dumbfounded as the older female walked back to the table after ordering. She reached for her wallet and looked at the cashier and her tiers pursed in. "How much is it going to be?" 
"₩85,000," the cashier plainly stated. 

Minjoo stared at the cashier dumbfounded as she grabbed the bills from her wallet, and she reluctantly handed it over. Her tiers pursed in as she watched the cashier take the money and print the receipt. "How much did this girl order...?" Minjoo muttered softly to herself. 

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

"Okay, Minjoo and Chaewon! It's better to apologize than to be hurt! Stop fighting already, you too!" Yena called out as Minjoo and Chaewon boarded the bus. 
"Hey, don't be like that," Yuri exclaimed as she raised a hand and playfully nudged the loud female. Minjoo gave a small but soft smile to the others as she was waved off by her friends. Her eyes slowly wandered over to the quiet and eldest female of the group. Her lips pursed in as she thought about their words. 
"Minmin, let's go and get our seat," Chaewon stated as she grabbed the female's hand and tugged them into the bus, which the other ended up following them. 

Minjoo sat down on the bus seats. It was cold and hard, and the bus itself as a bit chillier than usual, probably from the AC, which was on a high. There were too many things on her mind, but she knew one thing for sure, she had to fix a few things first. But, how could she differentiate between what was right when she was confused about what to do? Her digits gently drummed against her thigh as another sigh escaped her lips. Her eyes wandered up to the right of her, where she saw that the female seemed to be hurt. She could see that there was a lot on their mind, and undoubtedly, Minjoo had to admit, Hyewon was right. She needed to fix things with