- JEON SOYEON! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?

 

Soyeon's mother received her at the door, extremely worried since she was hours late. Her sister and her father looked at them from couch in the living room.

 

- Sorry, mom, I missed the bus…

 

- And it was hard to send a message warning me!?

 

- Sorry, I was with Yuqi and ended up losing track of time.

 

Silence. Her parents and sister looked at her in surprise.

 

- Yuqi? who's Yuqi?

 

- It's a girl from the music school.

 

- Soso has a friend? Is that a miracle!?

 

- Sohee!

 

- What!? You're gonna tell me you're not surprised too?

 

- Don't mind your sister, Soso. Now let's dinner. Sit down and tell me all about your new friend.

 

- She's not my friend, she's just a girl I saw playing.

 

- But you already know her name, why don't you ask her to come and have dinner here someday?

 

- Mom…

 

- Love, don't force it. I'm glad you met her, baby, and I hope one day you'll bring her to dinner one of these days… no pressure.

 

Soyeon smiled at her father. Unlike her mother and  sister, he understood her loneliness and didn't bother her about it. The dinner went without any major problems, Soyeon heading to her room after she finished. She took her guitar and her notebook, full of songs composed by her, songs that she didn't have the courage to show to anyone, not even her teacher.

 

---x---

 

If a week ago someone told Soyeon that she would go out with a group of friends she would laugh out loud, but there she was, sitting at a table while Yuqi, Minnie and Shuhua argued about which cookie flavor was the best. Shuhua's girlfriend, Soojin, drank her coffee while watching the discussion with a slight smile on her face. After the initial awkwardness between them, Soojin showed she was a pleasant companion, her reserved and calm temperament was similar to Soyeon's and that she appreciated a lot. There was enough noise with the foreign trio. Surprisingly, Yuqi got along very well with the other girls, she didn't even look like that mysterious girl she had met before. She was talking animatedly with Shuhua in Mandarin while Minnie complained.

 

It's not fair, I want to know what you're saying and the girls too!

 

Minnie pouted while looking at the girls.

 

- I can speak Mandarin.

 

Soojin shrugged.

 

- I don't care either.

 

Soyeon replied.

 

- Sorry Min, you're right, it's been so many years since I met someone who speaks Mandarin that I get excited.

 

- Okay, Shu.

 

Soojin put her hand on Shuhua's shoulder giving a smile to her girlfriend, who smiled back. They're beautiful together. Soyeon thought as she sighed and found herself looking at Yuqi, who coincidentally looked at her as well, a slight flush rose from their cheeks.

 

---x---

 

Soyeon strummed her guitar in her room, her music book resting on her knee, all scribbled and wrinkled while writing another song. She seemed to have been hit by the muse of inspiration, a muse who seemed to have a name and surname, Song Yuqi. Yuqi was an enigma to Soyeon, her expressive eyes seemed to know all the secrets of the world and her loud laugh seemed to have the power to wake up the dead. She didn't understand how someone so different from herself could attract her so much, but Yuqi seemed to have a magnetic field that held Soyeon to her side; the same Soyeon who cherished silence now spent her free moments with the girl, sometimes accompanied by a group of friends and sometimes not, sometimes immersed in her music, sometimes just enjoying a comfortable silence with her. However, the music Yuqi played gave her a sense of familiarity that she didn't understand. When asked about the song, Yuqi replied that it was her grandfather's favorite, but didn't extend the subject. Soyeon realized that talking about her grandfather was a delicate subject for the girl and respected her feelings. Yuqi also respected the fact that Soyeon didn't let anyone read or listen to her songs, so like that they understood each other.

 

As her mother insisting became unbearable, Soyeon ended up asking the girls to have dinner at her house and they loved the idea. With the proximity of the school presentation, the out-of-school meetings had become scarce so the dinner would combine the useful with the pleasant. She spent the afternoon tidying up her room and she didn’t know why, but imagining Yuqi in there gave butterflies in her stomach, the sound of the bell knocking her out of her thoughts.

 

- SOYEON, YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE!

 

Soyeon tried to calm herself down and left the room, heading for the living room and seeing her mother chatting animatedly with Shuhua while Minnie and Soojin nodded. Apparently not even her mother could resist to Shuhua's charms. The praised the smell of her food that permeated the room.

 

Also, hanging on Minnie's arm, there was a girl Soyeon never saw before but already heard about her. Minnie said previously she would bring her girlfriend, Miyeon, along with her for dinner.

 

- Shu, this is Miyeon.

 

Both girls shook their hands and Soyeon found the girl's smile cut