hole-and-corner

Chapter 13. A small world indeed

Han Dong looked at her friend who let out a sigh as they sat on the cafeteria, about to eat their lunch.

"What's wrong?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing, really. It's just--"

Her words were stopped when she noticed two familiar people walking towards their table. She felt a bit nervous but tried desperately to keep her composure, thinking that they might just pass by and not approach the two of them.

But sometimes, things do not go the way people want.

Right in front of them stood Yubin and Chaemin. Even Handong was astonished but managed to keep a straight face in front of her girlfriend. Gahyeon, on the other hand, was nervously sweating. She couldn't even get past the thought that earlier this morning, all of a sudden, she coincidentally met the girl she made out with last weekend.

***********

The girl nodded softly before responding. "Small world, eh?"

What a small world indeed. Gahyeon is now standing frozen in front of the girl she met during the weekends and it wasn't any simple meeting. She could still remember what happened and felt awkward suddenly.

"W-Why are you here?" The purple-haired girl asked curiously.

"Visiting an old friend. You work here?" asked Chaemin.

Gahyeon nodded in response. Chaemin suddenly remembered the day she and Gahyeon met and the story the purple-haired girl told her. The older girl got a hunch on who Gahyeon was pertaining to and she had to suppress a smirk.

"Anyways, we met... We should go out for drinks again." Chaemin suggested.

The younger blushed at her words but still agreed and the two decided to exchange contacts. The elevator door soon opened and they both got off the same floor.

"I'd be going now." said Gahyeon as she waved goodbye to Min. "See you later!"

**********

It was literally what she said earlier...

"See you later."

And they met once more today...

Chaemin smiled at the two and looking specifically at Gahyeon, she asked, "Do you have other companions except you two?"

Gahyeon shook her head in response.

"Do you mind if we sit and share the table with you?" Chaemin asked her follow-up question. Gahyeon glanced at Handong who smiled a bit awkwardly as a sign of approval.

"Yeah, sure!", replied Gahyeon with a smile.

"Thank you!" Chaemin said as she sat beside Gahyeon and Yubin took the seat beside Handong.

"Sorry to be interrupting your lunch like this. It's just that every table was taken and you're the only one else I know here." Explained Chaemin.

"No problem at all. It's always crowded at this time of the day." responded Gahyeon, feeling herself getting calmer every second. "Anyway, this is my friend..."

She pertained to Han Dong who introduced herself with an extended hand which the visitor shook lightly while saying her introductions, too. There was a casual conversation exchange on the table, mainly between Gahyeon and Chaemin. Yubin felt uncomfortable with the current situation. She was sitting beside her girlfriend, and her ex-girlfriend was in front of her. She just wanted to shove all the food in and end this lunch already. Handong felt awkward as well, she couldn't refrain from stealing glances, alternating from looking at Yubin and then at Chaemin. She was curious. The girl was notably beautiful and well-spoken and has a warm, bubbly personality... She was very different from her.

"I didn't know you were acquainted to Miss Lee." Gahyeon commented out of the blue.

"We studied at the same university." Chaemin briefly explained as she looked at Yubin who kept her straight face the whole time. "Miss Lee here has been forced to be my company for today because my old friend is very busy and had urgent things to do."

Yubin responded with a little smile and just continued eating. There was an awkward silence between the group for a moment.

Gahyeon noticed the tense atmosphere and tried to keep the conversation flowing throughout the whole lunch. They were about to excuse themselves to go back to work when Chaemin initially did, realizing that she has another appointment for the day.

"I--I'd be going now. Thank you for the company today, Yubin. And nice to meet you Miss Han." There was a noticeable change in her tone of voice and it kinda worried the purple-haired girl.

"I'll walk you to the front.", offered Gahyeon with a smile.

"If that wouldn't be a bother, I would appreciate it a lot." Chaemin smiled back at the girl.

"Of course it wouldn't be." Gahyeon reassured and the two went off, leaving Handong and Yubin alone for a little moment.

Yubin sighed in relief as she looked at Handong who gave her a soft smile.

"Let's go?" The Chinese asked which Yubin responded to with a nod.

**********

If you heard that cracked voice over the phone call, there'd be no way you wouldn't worry. She was surely crying, Gahyeon thought as she walked along the alley going to the train station. It took her a couple of minutes walking until she found her sitting on a metal bench on the train station.

"Hey." She said coolly even though her eyes were a bit red.

"What happened?", asked Gahyeon, settling beside her on the cold bench.

Chaemin let out a sigh before answering the question. "I must've been having a really bad day. I was called over by a lawyer earlier today and got kicked out of the condo unit I was living because of my ex-fiance. He was the one who was previously paying my rent and was the one who initially got the unit for me. I refused to make amends and now I ended up on the streets."

She again took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "This might be my rightfully deserved karma. I called because I wanted to see you. Sorry for... calling you over with such a short notice."

Her voice cracked as she was trying so hard to keep herself from crying. Gahyeon didn't know what to say and how to comfort the girl and all she could do was to pull her close for an embrace. The older girl notably calmed down as she felt her ragged breathing slowly getting a bit relaxed.

"Thank you, Gahyeon."

The two were quiet for quite some time.

"So, what's your plan now?"

"Do you know any nearby hotel or inn where I could stay the night? I'd probably look for a small apartment in the morning." asked Chaemin.

Gahyeon was a bit hesitant to answer as she was worrying a lot about the girl. "Actually, my apartment is just nearby. Do you want to stay the night at my place?"

"Wouldn't that be a bother?"

"Of course not." She smiled at her. "It's clean but quite sma