Not Alone
Mystical Love
chapter two
Not Alone
"So I can believe I'm not alone anymore
Not alone now, not sad anymore"
– Not Alone, Park Jungmin (SS501)
It didn’t take long before Eunji enrolled to a high school on the nearby town (the same town as Namjoo’s and Hayoung’s school) and since Chorong already graduated, she had nothing to do except lazing around at home. Dara and Chanyeol were off helping their father with opening new business, and Chorong was not allowed to help them by her own father, who wanted her daughter to enjoy their new, hopefully better and peaceful life. Although Chorong knew that her father was trying to be nice to her, she couldn’t help but think of herself as a burden to her family.
“Maybe walking around the village can help me ease up.” She thought, and took her coat. She never went out without the coat since her mother’s death, because it was kind of a reminder that her mother would always be beside her everywhere she went. After she locked the door properly, she walked to the village.
Everyone in town was being extremely nice to Chorong. They greeted her with such a cheerful and friendly manner that managed to make Chorong smile uncontrollably, something that Chorong never did since the unfortunate incident five years ago. She also managed to remember some names, like Mr. Lee, the owner of the village’s only grocery store, and Mrs. Yoon, the wife of the only doctor there. Everyone also complimented her on her beauty, some even joked around by asking if Chorong was actually a famous model in disguise, something that Chorong found hilarious. She had never been praised like that, and she was more than thankful for coming to the little village.
‘I wish I can stay here forever…’ she thought, ‘everyone is really nice to me. If only you’re here, mom…’ the thought of her mom made her sad again, but she refused to cry in front of the villagers. ‘That would be too embarrassing,’ she thought.
After walking around long enough to meet and know every single person in town, she caught a sight of two familiar kids walking toward her with big smiles on their face. “Chorong-unnie!” they shouted and waved to her. The called girl smiled and shyly waved in response.
“Unnie, did you find the ‘forest elf’ yesterday?” Namjoo asked her. Chorong kept her smile but she was actually wondering about what she should answer to the hopeful two. Eventually she told them the truth, “finding it was not as easy as I thought it would be. I didn’t meet the forest elf, Namjoo-ya, Hayoung-ah. I’m sorry…” she mumbled sadly, eyes glued on the ground. Namjoo and Hayoung felt sorry for her and hugged the older girl, “Aww, it’s okay unnie… don’t be sad…” Hayoung said to comfort the girl. Chorong smiled and returned the hug, “thank you, kids…”
“Unnie, I’m not a kid anymore!” Namjoo broke the hug and puffed her cheeks cutely, lips pouting and brows creased. Chorong giggled at the cute sight in front of her and pinched the fifth grader’s cheeks, “says someone who’s still an elementary school kid.”
“UNNIE!” Namjoo looked baffled, which made Chorong cracked up, “ahahaha, I was just kidding Namjoo-ya. So, where are you two going? Don’t tell me you are going to the forest again…”
“You bet! Hahaha of course we’re going there! Right, Hayoungie?” Namjoo asked her friend, grinning. Hayoung smiled brightly at both Namjoo and Chorong, “that’s right! Are you coming with us, unnie?” Hayoung asked Chorong with a hopeful glint in her eyes. Chorong fidgeted with her fingers, contemplating whether she should come with the kids or not. She remembered how her father gave her a good amount of scolding last night, but she could never say no to these two adorable kids. So she finally sighed and said “yes”.
“YAY! Unnie you’re the best!” Namjoo yelled happily and hugged Chorong. Chorong saw Hayoung giving her the exact same look as yesterday and pondered whether she should return the hug or not. She opted for the latter and Hayoung’s expression changed to slightly happier one.
After Namjoo broke the hug, she entwined her hand with Chorong’s and swung it happily, “let’s go, unnie!” and again, Hayoung gave Chorong an I’m-so-jealous-at-you look and followed them, cheeks puffing in a cute manner and stomping her way exaggeratedly. Chorong silently chuckled at the youngest action, amused.
‘Kids nowadays…’
Eunji walked her way home after school, tired after her first day at her new school. Being the social butterfly that she was, she quickly made more than half her new school’s students her friends. However, she opted to walk home alone because she wanted to familiarize herself with her surroundings and going with her new-found friends would only distract her.
The only road connecting her village and her school’s village was really close to the only beach around, so the tired Eunji decided to relax herself for a while. She removed her shoes and socks, and stepped on the sand barefoot. The sand swallowed her feet immediately, giving her a giddy feeling. It had been a while since she last came to a beach, so she already forgot the feeling.
“Hm… nice view.” She said to herself, enjoying the magnificent sights of pearl white sand and clear blue sea. The beach itself had yet to be tainted with trashes, adding more to the beautiful views. “If only Chorong-unnie is here. She had never been to a beach before, as far as I can remember…”
Her eyes trailed around, trying to capture as many sights as possible, until it landed on a certain figure quite far from her current position, looking at the vast ocean. For some reason, Eunji felt attracted to it (she couldn’t determine if it was a boy or a girl) and so she made her way toward the figure. That person seemed to notice another presence at the beach and turned their head to Eunji’s direction. Eunji widened her eyes.
It was a girl, possibly Eunji’s age or younger. She had pale white skin and silky jet black hair. Her eyes looked sharp yet had a tint of sadness and coldness on it, as though Eunji was looking at someone who was ‘as cold as the night sea’. She was wearing a black hoodie and black short jeans. To Eunji, the girl looked so surreal, beautiful, yet somehow ethereal as well. Like, it seemed as though the girl had no aura of existence.
The said girl looked away from Eunji and started running, shocking Eunji. “W-Wait!” she called, but the girl was unrealistically fast, so fast that despite there was nothing else on the beach, the mysterious girl quickly disappeared, leaving Eunji flabbergasted.
“Just who… was that…?”
Namjoo and Hayoung was called home by their parents, and Chorong stupidly promised the two kids that she would find the ‘forest elf’ alone, again. And as though she experienced déjà vu, she found herself lost deep inside the forest, except now it was still daytime and she could see her surroundings better.
“Park Chorong, just how many times are you going to get lost?” she said, scolding herself. Suddenly, she heard familiar giggles from behind her, but when she turned around, she saw nothing.
“Up here, Park Chorong.” The voice said, and as soon as Chorong looked up, she saw the girl from yesterday still clad in her previous clothes sitting on top of a branch with the same manner as she was yesterday, petting a squirrel while giving her a mischievous look. “You got lost again?” she asked, and Chorong shyly nodded, embarrassed.
“I don’t know if I should laugh or pity your clumsiness,” she said teasingly, “maybe I should just do both.” After she said that, she bursted into laughter, turning Chorong’s face beet red in the process. “It’s not funny.” She protested, pouting. Bomi stopped laughing and pinched Chorong’s cheeks, “don’t pout, it doesn’t suit your age.”
“YAAH!” Chorong yelled, giving the other girl a scandalized look. Bomi laughed again, harder than before, “AHAHAHAHA you are so funny, Park Chorong! I might just fall for you!” she said.
“W-What are you t-talking about!?” Chorong gave Bomi a surprised and flustered look. Bomi just shrugged, “so, what makes you so interested with this forest that makes you come and get lost twice in here?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows in a playful manner which earned her a slap on the hand by Chorong. “If it wasn’t because of those two elementary kids, I wouldn’t have come here.”
“You mean Namjoo and Hayoung? You can’t refuse them, can you?” Bomi asked, smirking. Chorong sighed and nodded, “even though I wanted to tell them that ‘forest elf’ definitely doesn’t exist…” she said. But to her surprise, Bomi suddenly said, “what are you talking about? The ‘forest elf’ does exist.”
“What!? Are you serious? Don’t joke around, Yoon Bomi.” Chorong threatened, but the said girl kept giving her a smile, “I’m serious. Why would I lie to you?”
“Because we’re still practically strangers and you could lie to gain something from me?” Chorong said, unsure. Her smile was not of a liar, but having been born in a city where scams and lies were a common thing forced me to not trust anyone easily. However, the way Bomi smiled gently at her while saying such a thing just made her seem so… trustable, and Chorong hated to admit it, but she couldn’t help but to believe the mysterious girl. “Ahahaha, I guess people nowadays cannot trust others easily, eh? But no worries, Park Chorong. I will never lie to you. I’m telling you the truth; ‘forest elf’ does exist.”
Chorong still had her doubts, but she tried to at least ask the weird girl, “so… where is it?”
Bomi looked at Chorong with an unreadable expression for a short while before bursting into laughter again, “ahahahahaha! You’re so funny, Chorong! Did you seriously ask that question?” she said in between her laughs, “but I don’t blame you. I can’t tell you its whereabouts, though.”
“What? Why?” the new girl in town asked, frowning, “if you can’t tell me where it is, then I won’t believe you.”
“Trust me, whether you know that or not, you’re bound to believe its existence.” Bomi said, “Hey, since it’s still day time, why don’t we play together? You know, maybe we can be uhm, friends.”
Friends? Hearing that word, something struck Chorong’s heart. Unknowingly, she had undergone a change after she arrived at the village. She smiled often, she already talked with everyone in town, and she even befriended Namjoo and Hayoung. She looked at Bomi who was still smiling gently at her, expecting her answer. ‘Maybe it won’t hurt to try and befriend her,’ she thought. “Well… okay.”
“Awesome! Let’s go then!” Bomi said and held Chorong’s hand, causing the latter to blush slightly. Bomi took her to the deepest part of the forest, and to Chorong’s surprise, there was a vast flower garden there, filled with a huge variety of flower, like jasmines, tulips, and even sunflowers. “Surprised much?” the mysterious girl asked, earning a nod from Chorong as an answer, “glad you do. This is my favorite spot. Let’s go to the center!” she said happily, skipping her way into the garden while still dragging Chorong with her. The latter didn’t protest and just let Bomi pulled her around. As soon as they reached the center of the garden, Bomi lay down on the ground and tugged the hem of Chorong’s trousers, prompting her to do the same. Chorong hesitantly did so and lay down beside Bomi.
“So, now that we’re friends…” Bomi looked at Chorong with a huge grin on her face, “tell me more about yourself!”
“Ah, well… there’s nothing much to tell you…” Chorong said shyly, “I was born in a big city, far from here… My family had always been nomadic. We never stayed in one place for more than a year, and the last time we stayed on a place for a full year was when I was five years old. We used to be quite a prosperous family, but after my mother passed away ten years ago, we started to move more often than before. This village is probably our 20th stops…
Because we move so often, I don’t want to make friends. I studied harder and graduated school earlier than anyone else, so that I don’t have to befriend anyone. I don’t want to feel emotionally attached to something or someone, because I’m afraid that one day when I have to leave, I won’t be able to let go of them…”
“I see…” Bomi said after being quiet for a while, “so you don’t want to make friends…” Chorong nodded, “but, why did you make friends with Namjoo and Hayoung?” the mysterious girl asked.
“I… I don’t know. After only a week, my belief started to change. I started to talk to everyone in town and even befriended those two kids. It just happened… well; this included,” Chorong pointed at the girl next to her, “even though I keep telling myself not to befriend anyone…”
“But, Chorong, you said that you don’t befriend anyone…” Bomi asked and the said girl nodded, “but, don’t you feel… lonely?”
That hit Chorong. Up until now, whenever she argued with Eunji about friendship, there was always this one strange feeling inside her. She felt empty, sad, and all other negative feelings. She couldn’t tell what it was, but Bomi just made it clear. Chorong felt lonely.
She was alone.
“…” she couldn’t say anything. Bomi was right. Not befriending anyone made her feel lonely. “Chorong, when was the last time you ever befriend someone?”
“…uh… twelve years ago, perhaps? I don’t remember… it has been so long…” she mumbled. Bomi suddenly got up and cleaned off her clothes from dirt, “wow, Park Chorong… just, wow… I never thought it’s possible to not being friends with someone for twelve years.” Chorong blushed a deep shade of red, embarrassed by Bomi’s remark.
Suddenly, Bomi held her hands and leaned closer to her ears, whispering…
“Thank you for the meal,” Chorong said, famished. As usual, Dara’s cooking was extremely delicious. Today, however, she ate more than usual (and Chanyeol even said, “noona, aren’t you on a diet?”). Maybe it was because Chorong was tired after her little adventure with Yoon Bomi.
Yoon Bomi. Just thinking of that name brought giddy feeling down Chorong’s spine. She shook off the weird thought and feeling, excused herself, and returned to her room. Not long after, Eunji entered the room as well, “unnie, did something happen today? You look so happy.”
“W-What are you talking about?” Chorong stammered. Her cousin raised an eyebrow and smirked, walking to her desk and picked up a small mirror, “well, why don’t you look at yourself?” she said teasingly. Chorong looked at the mirror and saw a reflection of herself blushing while smiling like an idiot. Eunji smirked, “so… what happened?”
“T-Tsk… nothing happened, Jung Eunji…” Chorong said, avoiding Eunji’s teasing look. Actually, something did happen…
[FLASHBACK]
Suddenly, Bomi held her hands and leaned closer to her ears, whispering…
“Do you still think that you’re alone?”
Even though the question was innocent, the way Bomi asked it made Chorong flustered like never before. She blushed even more and felt her knees going weak. If not because of Bomi holding her hands, she might just fell down on the spot.
“Uh… maybe, just a bit…?” she said unsurely while biting her lips. Bomi was still leaning too close to her and her breath was seriously tickling Chorong, and the latter was afraid that she might let out a weird noise if she didn’t bite her lips. Bomi giggled and pulled back, still holding Chorong. Then, she said something that touched the lonely girl,
“Well, you’re not alone anymore. Come; let me show you what you’ve been missing: the beauty of friendship.”
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author's note » Tsk... I take my words back, 1) turns out that my brain is ing around with me and made me type this like I have no other things to do, 2) HaJoo is just too adorable and they keep on appearing -_- but but 24 subscribers? Are you serious? I only posted one chapter and there are 24 subscribers already? What happened LOL and yeah here you go~ bet you already know who Eunji saw on the beach right? *smirks* ;)
@akumatsubasa: aish this chingu hahaha thank you~ there, your ChoMi just became friends kekekeke ;D
@athousandreveries: ah, thank you~ hm, did she? I don't know~ ask her yourself~ *gets thrown with a rock*
@BlahItsJaniceee: thank you~ ahaha what do you mean by new? I think this kind of story is quite old :D
finally putting this story to a rest. final chapter is up gaiiissss :D that 'complete' status makes me a bit teary :"
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