Chapter Text
They say that time heals all wounds.
It's a funny thing, though, because wounds don't heal. They disappear, maybe, the pain lessens, sure. But they're still there.
Hidden beneath layers upon layers of scar tissue that form with the time that passes, but still they remain.
So, if anything, time buries all.
...If only time could move any faster though.
Moon Yu-jin resists the urge to bury her face in the crook of her elbow as the clock on the wall slowly ticks, second by second.
She can't waste her day thinking of trivial stuff like this, like it'll do her any good.
With some effort, the girl sits up straight and forces her eyes to focus on the paper in front of her, the numbers seeming to swim along the sides.
Something about t-intervals and z-intervals and chi-square tests for goodness of fit....
Yu-jin briefly rests her eyes before setting to work. She can already feel a headache coming on.
~~~
"I don't understand why you care so much," Tae-Sung absent-mindedly comments, his head swiveling around like an owl as the two walk.
It's afterschool now, and though Yu-jin had argued against it, she ultimately ended up agreeing that she should wander around town with Tae-Sung before heading home.
Of course she had agreed, she always agrees.
"The test is 20% of my grade, Tae-sung, of course I care," Yu-jin half-heartedly explains to him, though her words fall upon deaf ears. Yu-jin has no doubt that they will repeat this conversation at least two more times by the end of just this month alone.
"Ooh, there!" Tae-Sung excitedly points to the DVD store to their right and places a hand on Yu-jin's backpack, ushering her forward.
Yu-jin ignores the way her heart treacherously, almost shamefully leaps at his push.
How long has it been, since she first started noticing these changes? Since her breath first started quickening, her pupils dilating, each and every time Tae-sung came into view?
It can't be that long, only a year or two now. Maybe this will be the year she'll finally tell him, though who is she kidding. He's been in an on-and-off relationship with Choi Ga Hyeon for the last couple of months.
Speaking of, she hasn't heard much about that girl from Tae-sung lately.
"Hey," Yu-jin starts as they step in the store, the ring of a bell distantly registering in her head. "How's it going with.. uh what's her name again, Choi Ga Hyeon?" She tries not to sound too curious, letting finger trail a DVD as they pass.
Tae-sung's step falters for a second, though he quickly plays it off so confidently that Yu-jin almost thinks she had imagined it.
"Oh, her." Tae-sung stops and leans down to peer at Yu-jin, a cunning smile on his face. "Why're you asking, you interested?"
Yu-jin rolls her eyes, forcing her heartbeat to slow down. Why she fell for this player of a man she doesn't know.
"Don't make me laugh. Choi Ga Hyeon keeps looking at me funny each time I see her."
Tae-sung frowns at this and straightens up, and Yu-jin immediately regrets bringing up the girl.
"Is she bothering you?"
Yu-jin shakes her head. At least, the girl hasn't been physically or verbally bothering her. Just throwing strange looks. Not that Tae-sung needs to know, if he and Ga Hyeon are still together.
"Hm." Tae-sung doesn't seem to entirely believe Yu-jin but relents. "Well, we're split up for good this time, though she doesn't seem to understand that yet."
"Oh." Oh.
Maybe Yu-jin does have a chance this year then.
Well in that case...
The conversation trails off as the pair drifts apart, Tae-sung seemingly on the search for a specific DVD. Yu-jin on the other hand doesn't care much for DVDs and picks up the closest one, placing it on the counter as she approaches.
A girl behind the counter smiles brightly at Yu-jin as she takes the DVD and rings it up.
"That will be 5 dollars please!" The girl, the name tag on her chest proudly reads out Im Sol, beams.
Yu-jin simply nods and pulls out her wallet, placing her card down.
"Oh wait," Im Sol glances at her register before glancing back the DVD with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry but I'm going to need to see an ID." The girl flushes hard as she pointedly stares away from Yu-jin.
Yu-jin just blinks down at the DVD, confused as to what the girl is referring to, before noticing the 18+ label on the spine of her DVD.
"Oh!"
She finally takes in full sight of the DVD she had grabbed and dies a little on the inside. Of course the one DVD she chose out of this entire store happened to be an adult movie.
Yu-jin rifles through her wallet and slaps her ID down, which the counter girl quickly takes and scans. The rest of the purchase is made without the exchange of another word.
Face flaming red, Yu-jin shoves the DVD deep down her book bag to hopefully the depths of hell and with a jerky nod to the girl at the counter, finds the aisle that Tae-sung is squatting at.
"I'm leaving," she informs him, refusing to look him in the eye or take no for an answer.
"I haven't finished yet, wait hey-!" Tae-sung's complaint is cut off as he follows after Yu-jin, who marches out of the store and until they are a safe distance away.
"What's up with you and," Tae-sung finally notices Yu-jin's face, "why is your face so red?" He pats Yu-jin's cheek with the back of a hand, a hint of concern behind his eyes. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Yu-jin automatically replies, though bile rises up her throat at the thought of the extra weight in her book bag, and she shakes her head back and forth. "Sorry, I actually feel sick right now. I'm going to head home now."
"Oh." Tae-sung's disappointment that their evening together is cut short is evident, though he tries to hide it. "Okay."
Yu-jin bites her lip before forcing a smile at Tae-sung. "I'll make up for today, we can hang out again tomorrow if you want."
Tae-sung immediately brightens. "Okay, but only if we get some food, your treat!" He cheekily grins at Yu-jin, making her heart throb.
"You leech," Yu-jin chastises him and smacks him on the shoulder, though she knows she's going to end up agreeing anyway.
The two continue to bicker until they finally have to part ways, and Yu-jin waits for Tae-sung to disappear around the corner before she heads back to the DVD store.
Thankfully, her face has cooled enough by now for her to regain a little confidence.
Yu-jin takes a look around her surroundings, making sure no one's around, and digs out the DVD from her bag.
"Basic Instincts," she reads the title out loud, holding it out in front of her. She examines the back, and her nose wrinkles as she scrunches her face. "I paid 5 bucks for this. That's 5 dollars I'll never see again."
She glares at the DVD a final time before sliding it through the slot of the DVD return box, and picks up her bag from the floor.
In the midst of her mental rant as to why she's never coming here again no matter what Tae-sung says, Yu-jin just narrowly misses the soft ringing of the door bell, completely unaware of a guy with a baseball cap entering the little store.