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Jungeun was only five when she met the loud mouthed Jiwoo. She sat alone in the corner minding her own business while reading the storybook she brought with her. She was never for the running around and playing when recess comes along. She’d either sit and watch her classmates play, or she would just bring books and read them, just like what she has done now. Her reading was interrupted when Jiwoo marched her way to her and asked her name.
“I’m Jiwoo. I’m 5. What’s your name?”
Jungeun was surprised by the sudden introduction but nonetheless replied, “Kim Jungeun… I’m also 5,” albeit a bit timidly.
“I forgot my toys today, can I join you? What are you reading?”
“The Princess and the Frog Prince.”
“Oh! I haven’t read that yet.”
“... Wanna share it with me?” Jungeun replied albeit a bit unsure. Jiwoo smiled brightly and nodded, she then proceeded to sit down to her side and peered over the story book.
Jungeun was stunned by the sudden action, but nodded and turned the page back to the first page. They spent the rest of recess reading about princesses, frogs, witchcraft, and true love. They quickly became friends after that day, spending most of their days clung to each other, which is basically Jiwoo dragging along Jungeun to do things she wants and Jungeun following along to her friends weird and loud antics.
~~~~~~~~~
Jungeun was 10 when she learned that she didn’t like boys very much. They were loud, brash, obnoxious, and frankly they grated on her nerves. Her parents and their teachers told her it was just because they liked her, but she disagreed with their explanation. A soft squeeze from the hand holding hers interrupted her thoughts. She looked at the owner of the hand.
“Wanna go get ice cream after classes are over?” The owner of the voice smiled brightly at her.
“Yeah sure,” she replied with a smile of her own. Soon the school bell rang, signaling the end of recess and soon swarms of students were filling up back to their classrooms. Afternoon classes was the most boring for Jungeun but being a good student required her to listen and take down notes of which she fulfilled unwillingly.
Another bell rang but this time, it signalled the end of the school day of which the majority of the student populace enjoyed greatly. Jungeun was one of those students and she walked down the stairs to the classroom of her best friend. She saw the familiar black haired girl and the girl waved at her.
“Jungie!”
They quickly linked hands and dashed outside the school towards the ice cream shop, laughing uncontrollably along the way. Soon the familiar white food truck was within sight of the two laughing kids. The owner of said truck smiled at his new customers.
“Hi there! What can I get you?”
“A strawberry sundae, please,” Jungeun replied. But then she felt another squeeze on her hand. She looked at the owner.
“Jungie… I forgot my wallet. I think I left it at my desk.” This time a small frown bared the girl’s face. Jungeun couldn’t bare her being sad.
“Wanna share mine with me?” Instantly her face brightened and the frown was quickly replaced by a smile.
“Jungie you are literally the best person!” She hugged Jungeun tightly while Jungeun just giggled at her friend’s antics.
“Can I please have two spoons for that sundae?”
~~~~~~
“Psst. Hey, Jungie.”
“What?”
“I forgot my textbook at my locker.”
“I swear Wooming, you are the most forgetful person I know.”
“Hehe.”
“Wanna share mine with me?” As if on cue, the girl immediately took her desk and pushed it up against Jungeun’s desk. Jungeun just watched as she struggled a bit in bringing her chair along. She dusted her skirt off then sat down after the debacle. Soon, the teacher arrived and the chatter in the class was cut down to a hum when he began the lesson.
Halfway through the lesson, Jungeun had a hard time understanding the formulas written on the board. She was never good at maths but she still managed to get by even without tutoring. She sighed to herself and resigned that she needs to look again at this material before exams start again. Unable to digest anymore numbers, she looked to her side and studied the features of the girl she was sharing her textbook with.
Her face was contorted, obviously showing signs of not understanding the lesson. If she was bad at maths, Jiwoo was, for a lack of a better word, worse than her. She failed the first exam, and barely passed the second, even with the meager help Jungeun can provide. Her cheeks puffed in frustration which was frankly the most adorable thing Jungeun has seen for that day.
Her observation was cut short with the ringing of the bell that signaled the end of the period (and their mental torture) and subsequently, the start of lunch. She looked at Jiwoo and sure enough the girl was already packing up her stuff and bringing out her lunch.
“Let’s have lunch at the usual place again?”
“Sure.”
~~~~~~~~
Jungeun looked at the time on the clock hanging off of the library wall. She decided that she had enough of this self torture that she has imposed on herself due to the nearing of her exams. Even though she graduated high school, she never graduated to her problems with maths. It didn’t help that the university required students to take general education courses and of course one of them would be math related. Her course was so mismatched with this class that she almost decided to drop the class, who was to blame her being a Fashion Major taking an Elementary Trigonometry class.
She packed up the papers and exercise sheets she had lying on the table and put them on her bag. She was halfway through cleaning up when her phone vibrated.
“Jungieeeeeee, I forgot my umbrella at the dorm!!! Please help!!! >_<” -Chuuuuu <3
‘Oh right… there’s a storm coming tonight,’ Jungeun thought to herself. She replied back to person who messaged her.
“Where are you right now?” -Lippie
“On the waiting shed near the library. I can’t let my samples get wet or else I would need to restart it. Please help!!! >///<" -Chuuuu <3
“Ok then, see you in 5.” - Lippie
Jungeun put the phone down and finished packing up her things. She swiped her ID to the scanner to indicate her leaving the library. Once she stepped outside, she saw the intensity of the rainfall. It was not that strong but it was continuous and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. She opened her umbrella and started walking towards their meeting spot.
It didn’t take her long to finally see the familiar shade of brown hair sitting at a waiting shed. She was visibly wet as well as the duffel bag she had on her side. Their gazes met and soon Jungeun felt a familiar wave of sunshine washing over her as she looked at the smile that sprouted out of the girl.
“Jungieeee! You came!”
“You’re lucky I was in the library studying.”
“Hehe, I can’t risk getting my samples wet and getting contaminated. Thank you for coming to my aide my knight in shining armor~” She stood up and climbed the bench she was sitting on and looked down to Jungeun as if she was a princess in distress (she was... for a certain someone).
Jungeun just laughed at her friend’s antics and urged her to go down.
“Wooming, let’s get home already so you can change out of those wet clothes. Wanna share my umbrella with me?”
And as if on cue, Jiwoo’s smile brightened a little bit more at that moment.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jungeun stirred up to the sound of her door opening. Soon, she felt a weight sink next to her in her bed.
“Can’t sleep?” Jungeun asked the trespasser of her bed.
“Mmm,” the trespasser nodded, “The thunder is scary. I can’t sleep. Can I sleep with you?”
Jungeun answered by moving closer to the wall and adjusting the bedsheets. The other girl smiled but was left unnoticed due to the darkness shrouding the room. She took the invitation and climbed up the bed. Once she was settled, Jungeun threw the covers to the both of them.
“Wooming, I swear you’re like a kid,” a smile spread to Jungeun’s face knowing that the other is pouting right now. Jiwoo just released an angry puff. “Aww is someone mad?” Another puff. “It’s cute that you are still afraid of some teeny weeny thunder.”
“God, you are so annoying.”
“Then why don’t you stop holding my hand?”
“Just becau- WAHHHHHH!” Her reply was cut short by a short burst of light that illuminated the room and the forthcoming of thunder. “Juungieee…”
Jungeun just smiled and pulled the scared girl closer to her.
“Let's go to sleep now, ok?”
“Mhhmmm.”
“Jungie?”
“Yes?”
“I love you...”
“I love you, too.” Her reply fell on deaf ears as Jiwoo descended into a peaceful slumber.
Jungeun kept an ever vigilant eye over the other. She is amazed at how much they both have grown yet at the same time they were still the same, from the moment they met till now. Jiwoo was still that energetic kid that lights up the room whenever she smiles. She was forgetful and needy and annoyingly loud but she came to love those qualities of her. She, on the other hand, is still the same girl that willingly lets herself be dragged around by the bundle of unbridled energy that is Jiwoo.
The faint scent of Jiwoo’s strawberry shampoo snapped Jungeun from her thoughts. Soon, the sounds of the rain and the light snores of Jiwoo filled the room. Jungeun smiled and pulled the girl ever so closer to her. She drifted to dreamland not long after.
“I want to share the rest of my life with you.”
~Fin~