Jo Yuri. 16. A Dreamer Caught Dreaming.


Kang Hyewon. 17. Has Trouble Expressing Herself.


"If it all falls apart faster than we have planned, we'll just plan for something else. You'll always be that something else."


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Vanilla Sunshine
Chapter 2: All The Good Kids


 

Yuri stares at the pamphlets she has messily scattered across the surface of her classroom table, a result of the new hobby she has acquired over the past few days.

As it turns out, Incheon has a surprising amount of job vacancies at this time of year. The city is littered with people handing out pamphlets and flyers trying to recruit new employees, and Yuri has spent the past few days trying to collect as many of them as she could. Her path on the way to school in the morning now ends with Yuri walking to class with an armful of job prospects.

Job prospects that she couldn’t capitalise on, due to strict intervention from BOTH her parents. Her mother had told her father about the talk they had that night, which lead to Yuri getting a 30 minute phone call from her dad explaining to her why getting a job was a bad idea. She would try to argue her case, but she really didn’t have much of one to begin with.

Her interest in money started as a whim.

A mere whim was not enough to change the minds of two Asian parents.

Does she even dare to complain about this first-world problem out loud? “Oh my parents won’t let me work because we already have enough money!”. Ridiculous. She recognises her privilege of course, but—

“Yo.”

“JESUS CH—“ Yuri practically shoots off her chair and nearly brushes her head against the ceiling, caught completely off-guard by the random disembodied voice that came from out of nowhere and was a little too close to her ears for her liking. Heck in her fright she even managed to forget that she wasn't even a Christian. “What are you doing unnie?!”

Hyewon.

Of course it was Hyewon. On her knees and crouched behind Yuri’s chair like an absolute freak. The creep! Skulking around on the floor—Yuri could have gotten a heart attack! Her poor heart nearly leaped out of ! She could taste her own heart at the back of her tongue! And of course Hyewon was wearing the ghost of a satisfied smirk on her face, obviously proud of giving her young friend a taste of close death.

“Your mom asked me to make sure you weren’t applying for any jobs behind her back.” Hyewon stated, looking over Yuri’s shoulder to take a gander at the incriminating pamphlets on the younger girl’s table while the latter tried in vain to shield them from view.

“You’re colluding? Even my best friend is against me??” Yuri asks, sounding both appalled and amazed in equal measures. She was not aware her mother had the ability and resources to recruit followers to this cause! Planting spies in her school—what else did this devious woman have up her sleeve? Nowhere is safe! Her mother has managed to turn her best (and only) friend against her.

Hyewon shrugs, emotionless eyes staring a hole right into Yuri’s soul. “Call it what you may. Your best friend still wants to be invited over for cookies. That ain’t happening if your mom finds out that I allowed you to do something she didn’t approve of.”

Cookies!

Yuri should have guessed that Hyewon’s loyalty could be bought with such a low price.

Her mother’s cookies weren’t even that good! The bar was set a lot lower than Yuri would have ever thought possible! Maybe she should counter that offer with some hockey pucks that she could knick out of the school's athletic's closet. There was little doubt in her mind that some solid chunks of rubber would prove fair competition for her mother's pitiful excuse for cookies.

“It’s not illegal to want to work!” Yuri sputters weakly, trying to defend her case while Hyewon simply shrugs at her younger friend’s feeble attempts at justifying herself.

“It’s not illegal to want it, but it’s kinda illegal to actually do it. We’re underage.”

“What’s this we business? Who said anything about a we?” Yuri asks, eyes narrowing in suspicion at her friend’s choice of words.

Hyewon hums, getting up off her knees and brushing the dust off her uniform. “Of course I’m coming with you. It’s not illegal if you have your parents’ approval. We can convince your mom together.”

Huh.

Of all the illogical—

—Yuri had no idea what was in it for Hyewon. The older girl’s suggestion seemed to take it’s sweet time making the journey from Yuri’s ears to her brain because it just made zero sense. Everything about it just made zero sense. From the idea that the almost-lazy Hyewon wanting to get a part-time job, to the insinuation that somehow bringing her into the picture would change the situation. Hyewon was the type of person to buy a brand new TV remote and have it delivered right to her just because her current one was a little too far out of reach. The idea that this Hyewon wanted to get a job? 

The confusion must be a little too apparent on her face, as Hyewon sighs and crosses her arms.

“She trusts me more than you. It’ll work out.”

Yuri’s eyes opened so big they nearly fell out of their sockets. There was no way—her own mother wouldn’t actually trust Hyewon more than—what a bold claim! What a brazen declaration! Yuri scoffs out in disbelief! She huffs and puffs and the growing smirk on Hyewon’s face was not helping matters at all. Forget what Hyewon's motives were, this insinuation by Kang Hyewon shall not go unchallenged! Not in this household! Never!

“If you’re able to convince her when I, her OWN DAUGHTER failed to do so, then I’ll be very insulted!”

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

“I have never been more insulted in my life!”

Betrayal. Pouring out of every orifice and staining every corner of Jo Yuri’s poor soul.

She had decided to humour her best friend. When Hyewon said “oh let me talk to your mom she definitely trusts me more than you”, Yuri had thought this would end with Hyewon sad and disappointed at the realisation that no, she isn’t as dependable as she thinks she is. She had figured that this would knock Hyewon down a peg, remove that smirk off her face but...but...

“Oh if you are doing it with Hyewonnie then go right ahead! I was so worried you’d be up to no good by yourself, but Hyewon will keep you in line.”

“You bet I will, Aunty!”

“I don’t have any doubts. After all, Hyewon here is a good kid.”

A GOOD KID.

Like Yuri herself wasn’t.

And then the two of them proceeded to give each other a High-5 right in front of her!

Almost as if this was planned! As if this entire situation and all prior rejections dealt to her by her parents was just to set up this one punchline. Yuri has NEVER been more insulted!

“Really? Never?”

Yuri turns to look at her best friend who was currently wearing the smuggest grin on her face with no attempts at trying to conceal how obviously proud she was. It annoyed Yuri, but she really couldn’t do much. They had retreated into Yuri’s bedroom after her mother had given them the green light and she has been sulking ever since.

“Get that look off your face. I mean it!” Yuri pouts, trying but failing to sound threatening.

They were both seated on her bedroom floor, surrounded by blankets, plush pillows, and with their backs leaning against the wooden frame of Yuri’s four-poster Queen-sized bed. Looking around her room, which is admittedly more opulent than average, she can kind of understand why her parents said she had no need to work at such a young age. She had a room all to herself, with a large bed and an obnoxiously large TV. Yuri was wanting for nothing. But maybe it was the idea of earning her own money that was so enticing. The novelty of feeling independent, of gaining her parent’s trust.

...trust that apparently they didn’t seem to have in her. She couldn’t help sulking, and Hyewon being the little git that she was just couldn’t help prodding the hornet’s nest.

“You grumpy? Yah. Yuri-ah. You grumpy?” Hyewon asked as she continuously bumped her shoulder against Yuri’s.

Urgh.

“Yes.”

Yuri’s answer was curt. It took almost every ounce of strength in her very veins to not follow up her response with a string of colourful expletives. She was annoyed, yes, but she wasn’t angry. It wasn’t even that serious. Maybe she just wanted to be consoled by her best friend. She just wanted some love and affection and to just be babied like the way only Hyewon does for her.

And true enough as if on cue, the older girl brings an arm up to wrap around Yuri’s shoulder, pulling their bodies closer and the latter could almost feel the exact moment she melts like butter into Hyewon’s side. Hyewon was always like this. Always there to make Yuri feel safe. Always there to just...to hold her tight and never let go. Hyewon’s arms were strong and muscular for a girl of her frame. Her body was warm and soft.

Like being strapped to a marshmallow.

“Better?” Hyewon asks gently, almost cooing as she tries to placate the grumpy girl in her arms that’s suddenly finding it difficult to stay grumpy.

“...No.”

Perhaps Yuri was just being a brat now. Perhaps she just wanted to be doted on just a little longer. If Hyewon knew this, the girl made no indication of it and continued to try and pamper the pouting girl in her arms. Throwing a larger, thicker blanket onto them, Hyewon pulls Yuri in even closer and seals the little snuggle fortress she has built with a kiss to the top of Yuri’s head.

“How ‘bout now?” Hyewon asks, voice so low Yuri felt more than heard the question being asked.

It was hard to deny. She was fast melting into a warm puddle under Hyewon’s affections. Yuri could try to deny a final time, but thought better of it. She was just so relaxed and Hyewon was so warm that she couldn’t even feel her limbs anymore.

Her eyelids were getting heavy.

“...it’s not bad.”

Yuri faintly heard a deep chuckle coming from her best friend but chose to ignore it because...because Hyewon knew just how to placate a pouting Yuri. The secret was to shower a grumpy Jo Yuri with so much love and warmth and hugs that the girl just could not stay mad any longer. A dastardly secret that Hyewon takes full advantage of whenever it’s in her favour.

Limbs turning into jelly, Yuri was now so relaxed she has become more liquid than human.

“Hey, Yul?”

“...Mmm...?”

Yuri barely registers her friend addressing her. Her eyes had lulled closed and the calming feeling of Hyewon’s fingers gently combing through her hair wasn’t helping matters either.

“I...I want to tell you something.” Hyewon begins, and it sounds important. Otherwise Hyewon wouldn’t be stuttering like that. If not, her best friend with whom she shared everything with would not be struggling this much to get her words out.

“You know how...how we’ve been friends for such a long time?” the question stumbles from her friend’s lips like a drunken sailor out of a pub at 2 in the morning. Yuri nods absentmindedly, trying to coax her friend into continuing the rest of what she had to say, but it was becoming difficult. She wished Hyewon would talk quicker. Yuri wanted to listen. She really did. She tries her best to stay awake, to keep her eyes and ears open.

“I think...I think I’m—“

...but she fails. The rest of Hyewon’s words disappear into heavy air as sleep unwillingly claims Yuri.

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

They get employed. Together, just like always.

It didn’t take too long to find a job once the appropriate people ( namely their parents) had given them the green light. They could have picked various jobs from a wide assortment of fields, but upon Yuri’s insistence they had decided to work as kitchen hands for a Korean restaurant. Part of Yuri’s romance with the idea of employment revolved around the coming-of-age novels and movies she consumed all too readily, meaning working in the service industry was a definite must-do.

That’s what all the heroines did. They worked in diners or cafe’s, serving desserts and gathering tips and ending the day with a walk to the train station while complaining amongst themselves about the rough day they had at work. With those two places being her only options, Yuri decides that cafe’s were a little too...upscale? No, that wasn’t what Yuri wanted.

She wanted to work. To sweat in an environment that made her feel like she was earning her money, not in a posh hipster cafe serving fancy, frothy beverages to snooty patrons. With that being said, she and Hyewon managed to find a nice little Korean diner to work in. One that was close enough to their school and was short enough on staff to hire two people at the same time.

Actual, real-life work however, was VERY different from the movies.

It was exhausting. Not quite the experience Yuri had hoped for it to be, but it was rewarding in it’s own right. She’s messed up at least a dozen orders in the past few days, but she was never really given the opportunity to mess up at anything before. Previously sheltered and protected, tiring as it was Yuri was enjoying her venture into the open world.

Sort of.

Her heart was elated, but her feet were on fire.

“Have I ever told you how much I love chairs?” Yuri asks after unceremoniously dumping herself into one at the first chance she gets.

“No.” Hyewon replies coolly, munching on some deep fried seaweed as she watches her friend practically become one with the piece of furniture she was currently melding into.

“I love chairs. Especially this one. This specific one that’s taking all my pain away from me.” Yuri says, patting the foldable chair with an open palm, as if praising a prize-winning horse at the races.

Hyewon barely looks up over her snack, appraising the furniture with the most minimal of efforts.

“That’s a good chair.”

“The best chair, unnie.”

“Is that a cupholder? Fancy.”

“You know how we do, you know how we live.” Yuri makes an inhuman sound as she stretches her limbs, still seated in this miracle chair.

It has been two weeks since they’ve started this job. Yuri would say that she’s gotten used to this routine of sneaking breaks in between the flood of customers by now. There was a pattern to this that Hyewon and Yuri discovered. The restaurant was always busiest between 12pm until about 2:30pm, and the customers would slowly dwindle down in quantity until 6:30pm, when the dinner shift starts.

In between 5pm and 6pm, the pair of them have realised that they could get away with taking extended breaks without it being detrimental to the eatery or their jobs. This was what being employed was all about! Finding creative ways to not do one’s job without getting into trouble!

Yuri was as giddy as she was exhausted.

“15 minutes left on our break.” Hyewon reminds her shorter friend. 5:45pm on the clock. They needed to be back up front and out of this storage closet soon in order to begin preparing for the dinner rush.

“Who knew that working would be so much work? I’m sleepy as heck now.” Yuri whined, not quite feeling rested yet.

“You always get sleepy when you’re supposed to stay awake.” Hyewon replies almost dismissively.

That was true. That was very true.

Yuri has a penchant for falling asleep at inappropriate moments. Maybe she should get that checked. The last time it happened was...

“Oh yeah. I think I fell asleep while we were talking that one time. Sorry about that.” Yuri said to her friend, belatedly apologizing for something that happened all too long ago. “I know it was like a couple of weeks back, but was it anything big? We could talk about it now if you want.”

Yuri almost missed the way Hyewon’s entire being seemed to stiffen at the offer. Almost, if it hadn’t been so noticeable. It was like an electric current had just shot through her best friend’s body, causing a weird spasm that would be comical if it wasn’t so concerning.

“No. No it...it’s p-pretty unimportant.” Hyewon says, herself sounding unconvinced of the claim. Was that a stutter? What was up with that? What was Hyewon hiding?

“You sure? I mean you could always tell—“

“I’m heading back. It’s rush hour soon so the shop floor’s gonna be packed.”

And with that, before Yuri could even get a word in edge-wise, her friend turns around and leaves the room, so quick it was almost as if this disappearing act had been rehearsed.

“I...” Yuri begins, but stops herself almost immediately as she was left staring at the wooden door Hyewon had just disappeared through.

Weird. Very weird.

“Yeah. Yeah okay. Will join you in a bit.” Yuri says to the ghost of Hyewon’s presence. Her friend had been acting weirdly lately. Even more so than usual.


Maybe one day Yuri will find out the reason for it. She wasn't going to rush Hyewon. When Hyewon is ready to talk, Yuri will be sure to stay awake this time and listen. The older girl knows that she could tell Yuri any and every concern she had, of course. 


After all, they were best friends, and that is what best friends do.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Hello! Hans here!

This chapter is a little bit shorter than the previous one, and it might possibly be the shortest in the entire fic. I had to just get this one out there to set up the rest of the story. Initially it was supposed to be part of Chapter 1, but I just didn't like the pacing of cramming everything into one chapter.

As a result, you get this relatively shorter chapter. My apologies for that! The next one is going to be waaay longer, and a lot more things will happen, I promise! Everything picks up from Chapter 3. 

Character-wise, you can kinda call this a Hyewon fic, without her being the main character. A lot of the things and happenings in this entire story will revolve and only be made possible thanks to Hyewon. I enjoy writing her character a lot. I actually based her entire personality and her motivations around a Go Radio song, called The Truth Is. It's one of my favourite love songs, and I think the lyrics to this just helps me picture Hyewon's character in this story.

The next update will come faster than this one did. I'm planning on getting it up maybe on the 26th of April? Please look forward to it.

And thank you for all the supportive comments and upvotes! When I start writing a fic, I realised I usually pay too much attention to the upvotes and all that. But this story is a little different. It's one that I want to tell and I want to get out. Thank you for all the love and support, and I love reading new comments! 

Till the next chapter!

-Hans