You are my Universe (1/1)

Yoorim didn’t know how everything turned out to be the way they were today. She didn’t know what she did to make Yiren avoid her like the plague. It has been two weeks since the girl had stopped talking to her, two weeks since she last walked to school with her and two weeks since she even sat and had lunch with her. To add up with her frustrations, Yoorim’s texts to Yiren were all left on read and never replied to. It was driving her crazy.Yiren has been Yoorim’s closest friend since she was in primary school and the first person to ever want to befriend her, and it breaks Yoorim’s heart to be avoided by the very person she least expected.As per say, Yoorim’s mornings weren’t as exciting and exhilarating as before. Just a little over two weeks ago, Yoorim was obviously happy and excited every time she woke up for school, primarily because Yiren would walk with her. It was one of the highlights of Yoorim’s day, the other being their walk home, hands clasped with each other as they basked with the warmth of the setting sun, laughing together at some random joke or engaged in small talk.Yoorim missed it. She missed Yiren.More than she possibly should.~-~-~-~-Yoorim yawned as she made her way downstairs to grab some breakfast. When she reached the last rung, she saw her mother and father having a lighthearted conversation complete with the loving look in their eyes as they spoke to each other. God, how she loved her parents. They were the most loving people she could ever have in her life and she was so thankful for them.With a smile, she made her way to the dining area and slumped down on the chair next to her father. Her parents looked at her and smiled, welcoming her to the table.“Goodmorning, honey! Here, have some toast.” Her mother placed a plate of French toast in front of Yoorim and stood up to get milk for her daughter. Yoorim loved dairy products and bread so much that her parents kept up a few stocks of those items inside the refrigerator.“Thank you, mom.” She smiled and started to dig into her breakfast, smiling when the familiar taste of toast graced her taste buds.“Your mom showed me your exam results, honey! I’m so proud of you for passing all of them!!” Her father got her into a headlock, laughing heartily at his daughter’s achievement. Yoorim was by any means an average high school student. Her grades definitely weren’t a failure but weren’t that high either. Luckily, her parents were so supportive of her and never pressured her into becoming an honor student. That was one of the reasons why Yoorim loved them so much.Yoorim’s family was also of middle class. They weren’t very rich and at times have financial struggles to deal with as they sent their daughter to school. Although her parents never talked to her about these struggles directly, Yoorim understood them.“Oh come on, dad! It’s not that big of an achievement!” Yoorim laughed, shrugging her old man off of her.“Your father is just very proud of you, Yoorim.” Her mother gently rubbed her back.Eventually, the dining table was blanketed in comfortable silence, save for the occasional clang and scrape of cutlery against the dishes.A few moments later, Yoorim and her parents were already done eating.“Bye! Gotta go honey! Yoorim! Be careful on your way to school, okay?” Her father pressed a kiss on her and her mother’s heads before heading out for work. Yoorim’s mother laughed at her father’s antics, even shaking her head slightly.When the laughter died down, she turned to her daughter, who was already tidying up the dishes. She gently held her daughter’s hand, stopping her.“Let me take care of that, honey. Get ready for school.”“Okay mom…” Yoorim smiled and headed upstairs.Despite the smile her daughter gave her, Yoorim’s mother knew there was something up with her daughter, for the smile she gave… didn’t reach her eyes.~-~-~-~-“I’ll be heading out, mom!” Yoorim grabbed her bag and made her way outside.“Wait…”Yoorim turned to look at her mother in question. The woman just smiled softly at her and wrapped her arms around her daughter.“I hope you patch things up with Yiren-ah.” With that, she released her daughter, almost chuckling at her daughter’s reaction. She looked so much like a fish out of the water.“H-how did you…” Yoorim stuttered.“Oh please, honey. You and Yiren used to walk to school together every day. Of course I would know.” Her mother sent her a sympathetic smile.“Yes… I hope I knew what’s wrong too, mom. She has been avoiding me for the past two weeks and I don’t know what’s going on with her. She’s okay with her classmates but to me… she’s particularly avoiding me and I don’t even know what I did wrong. I… I miss her mom. I miss her so much…” Yoorim’s voice broke, and it pained her mom that she couldn’t do anything to ease her daughter’s sadness.“Talk to her… maybe you just need to reach out…” She gave her daughter small pats on her shoulder to comfort her. Yoorim looked at her mother and let out a small, sad smile.“She left all my messages on read and never even replied to a single one of them. I feel like I’m being stupid.”Yoorim’s mother was about to say something but was cut off when her daughter announced the need to go for school.“I need to go now, mom. See you later.” Yoorim kissed her mother’s cheek and dashed for the door. The woman just stared at her daughter’s retreating form, a sad smile playing on her lips.“Dearest daughter… love is never stupid.”~-~-~-~-Yoorim arrived at school thirty minutes before homeroom. She quickly made her way to the lockers to get her books. When she shut her locker, she didn’t notice someone standing beside the locker door.“AH CRAP!” Yoorim’s books flew out of her hands when her peripheral vision registered the figure standing beside her door. This made the figure laugh, hands clapping as if she were a seal who was given a treat.“Dammit, Kim Sihyeon…” Yoorim hissed and started to pick her books up one by one, her cheeks flaming red in embarrassment. She could feel the other people present in the locker room giggle at her little scene. When she was done picking up her fallen things, she turned to glare to the culprit.“Oh man, you should’ve seen the look on your face!” Sihyeon kept on laughing, even going as far as to rest her hand on the locker for support. Yoorim slapped her behind the head and started to walk to their classroom.“That wasn’t funny!” She exclaimed.“Relax. I was just trying to make you laugh, Yoorim.” Sihyeon wiped the happy tears on her eyelids and turned to look at her taller friend. “Heh… here, let me help you with those.” Sihyeon helped her friend with some of the books (there were a LOT of books for school, apparently). Yoorim sighed and handed the said books to Sihyeon, adjusting her own load for easier movement. It was a long walk to the classroom, after all. It had been at least two minutes already and Sihyeon still felt as if Yoorim was still angry at her little stunt.“Look, Yoorim… I’m really sorry for startling you. It’s just… for the past days, you seemed so glum. You never even smile that much anymore.” Yoorim was taken aback by her friend’s sentence.Yoorim and Sihyeon became close since they shared a lot of classes since the previous year. Aside from Yiren, Yoorim knew she could trust Sihyeon whole heartedly. The girl may be a bit of a crackhead sometimes, but Yoorim knew she was a genuinely good person who had her back.“I’m not angry at you, unnie. It’s just…” Yoorim’s sentence was cut off by the school bell. Sihyeon sent her an apologetic smile.“Let’s talk about this during lunch.”~-~-~-~-“Yiren’s been avoiding me for the past two weeks… I don’t know what I did wrong, though.” Yoorim said as she chewed on her lunch. Sihyeon sat across from her, listening to Yoorim’s words intently.“Have you tried asking her?” Sihyeon asked.“I’ve tried TALKING to her… but every message I’ve sent was left on read and never replied to. I think I’m gonna go crazy…”Sihyeon looked at her friend in pity. She knew how close Yiren and Yoorim were, and she had also observed that Yiren avoided her friend like a plague, but she used to shrug it off as them being busy, but hearing Yoorim’s voice, she couldn’t help but wonder as well.“Try reaching out to her, Yoorim. Maybe… maybe she needs you to talk to her…” Sihyeon placed her hand on top of Yoorim’s, reassuring the younger girl.“Well… I think her friends are handling that job pretty well.” Yoorim muttered, a stinging pain dwelling in her chest.At the side of her eye, Sihyeon saw Yiren and her group of friends, Jiwon, Eunji and Serim laughing off at some random comment Jiwon made. Sihyeon grit her teeth, staring at the group of friends laugh while her own friend dwelled in the pain of Yiren ignoring her.Sihyeon was about to stand up and give Yiren a piece of her mind, but she stopped. It was Yoorim’s fight, and no matter how much she wanted to help her friend, she knew that she had to handle this on her own, and Sihyeon could only muster a, “Reach out for her more.”Before Yoorim could respond, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Sihyeon’s phone did, too. They pulled out their phones at the same time to check the issue.Yoorim sighed after she read the message.“Fencing practice tomorrow after class.” The tall girl sighed, faceplanting on the cafeteria table. Sihyeon chuckled slightly, patting Yoorim’s back.Yoorim and Sihyeon were part of the academy’s Fencing Team and are two of the best fighters. Yoorim was known for her calculated and strategic way of thinking, a trait that helps her win over her opponents in a competition. Sihyeon, on the other hand, was known for her agility and speed, making it hard to target her during a match.~-~-~-~-Yoorim felt her hair stick around her face because of the sweat. The heat of being confined in her Fencing Gear is one of the things she really hated about Fencing, but she loved the sport, so she had to deal with it. Gripping the foil’s handle tightly, Yoorim performed a double advance followed by a lunge, successfully piercing her opponents and gaining a point. She heard Sihyeon cheer from the side, and instead of feeling happy for the support, Yoorim instead felt down. Yiren usually joined Sihyeon in cheering for her whenever she had a friendly match with her team. Just… what had she done for Yiren to avoid her like a plague?Because of her thoughts, Yoorim lost her concentration and was only woken up by her trance when she saw her opponent about to perform a lunge at her, the movement halfway done from being executed. Gritting her teeth, Yoorim attempted to perform an evasion. Her attempt, however, was fruitless and instead ended up with her on the floor.The whole team was shocked, as it was not everyday Yoorim made mistakes nor was it everyday that Yoorim lost her footing during a match.“Whoa… whoa… Yoorim, you okay?” Sihyeon rushed to her aid along with some of her other teammates, concern written all over their faces. Yoorim smiled, waving her teammates off with a shrug.“I’m fine…” The tall girl’s words betrayed her, however, when she tried to stand. A sharp pain shot up her right ankle when she tried to stand, making her hiss. Her other teammates looked at her pitifully. Yoorim wasn’t used to this kind of attention.“Can you stand, Yoorim-ssi?” Their coach, Im Nayoung asked, kneeling beside the injured girl. Yoorim attempted to stand, but faltered once again when her ankle experienced the same pain as her first attempt. She shook her head.“I’ll take her to the infirmary, coach.” Sihyeon volunteered. She took Yoorim’s arm and slung it around her shoulder, gently helping the taller girl stand. Yoorim hissed at the action.“That’s a great idea, Sihyeon-ssi.” Nayoung nodded in approval.“Let’s go, buddy.”Unbeknownst to them, Yiren had watched the whole scene transpire. She was about to get some files from the faculty when she caught sight of the Fencing Team’s training. Without further ado, Yiren started to sprint to the direction of the infirmary as well, since she suspected that the nurse would not be present since it was break time.~-~-~-~-“Okay, buddy. Up you go.” Sihyeon helped Yoorim up to one of the gurneys of the infirmary. Truth be told, Yoorim hated the place so much. Infirmaries made her feel so weak, vulnerable and… sick. Well, the last part was true.“Where the fuck is the nurse where you need her?” Sihyeon sighed. Their school nurse was pretty much absent most of the time that she wondered if there even was one in the school.“Calm down. I just need rest. I don’t need her.” Yoorim grumbled, adjusting her position on the gurney. Sihyeon, however, eyed her friend’s injury and rolled her eyes.“Well, you should look at your injury and see if you still wanna repeat that sentence.”Yoorim’s ankle was swelling and was turning purple. The tall girl got the point.Before Yoorim could voice out her agreement, the infirmary door swung open, startling the two people in the infirmary.Yoorim was the most shocked between the two, gaping at the person standing at the door.“Y-Yiren?” She whispered.“Oh, hey, Wang!” Sihyeon grinned.“Hello, Sihyeon-unnie…” Yiren smiled at the older girl and eventually set her gaze on the younger one. “Hello, Yoorim-unnie.”There was an enormous amount of tension in the room. Yoorim suddenly felt like she had superhearing. She could feel the beat of her heart in her chest and the soft humming of the airconditioner started to strain her ears. She had no idea why she felt this way when Yiren came in.“Ummm… I’ll just go. I’ll tell Nayoung-unnie that you’re gonna be off practice for a while. Get well soon, Heo Yoorim!” Sihyeon bowed at the two and left the room, sensing the tension rising.When the door closed behind her, Yiren started to make her way inside to collect the bandage from the nurse’s desk and an ice pack from the refrigerator. She did these without sparing Yoorim another glance. The taller girl, however, could not take the tension anymore and attempted to start a conversation.“H-how were you, Yiren?” Yoorim asked, hoping to break the tension.“You should be asking that to yourself…” Yiren stood up with the two items in each of her hands. “But to answer your question I have been fine.”“Oh… that’s good to hear…” Yoorim chuckled awkwardly. Yiren pulled up a seat and settled beside Yoorim. She gestured the older girl to give her the injured foot. When Yiren applied the ice pack on Yoorim’s injured foot, the taller girl hissed in pain. She forgot to register the way Yiren rubbed her thumb on one of her toes to calm her down in hopes to ease the pain of the sprain.“I walk to and from school alone now, you know…” Yoorim voice out. Yiren stopped what she was doing momentarily when she said it, which didn’t go unnoticed by Yoorim. Yoorim’s beautiful best friend moved on and wrapped the bandage around the foot, seemingly ignoring what she said.“Yiren…” Yoorim reached out to touch the shorter girl’s shoulder, causing the girl to freeze. “Why are you avoiding me?”There, she dropped the bomb. She dropped the bomb that had been repeatedly imploding within her for the past two weeks. She hoped and prayed with all her heart that Yiren would answer her.However, God seemed to have other plans for them and instead of Yiren directly answering her question, the shorter girl stood up and met Yoorim eye to eye. Since Yoorim was sitting, Yiren had the height advantage, making Yoorim look up to her from her position. The pain in Yiren’s eyes made Yoorim want to embrace her and tell her everything is okay. There clearly was something bothering Yiren. However, being the coward that she is, Yoorim chose to stay still, her hands gripping the bed sheets tightly instead. She was paralyzed under Yiren’s intense and sad gaze. She felt heat rush up her cheeks and she was a hundred percent sure that she was blushing.When did Yiren ever have this kind of effect towards her?Yiren closed her eyes and rested her forehead against Yoorim’s, her hands coming to rest on the injured girl’s shoulders. Yoorim was shocked at the gesture but made no move to reject Yiren.‘Calm down, Yoorim. This is Yiren, your bestfriend. She’s always touchy, right? This should not be new to you.’“I’m sorry, Aisha…” Yoorim’s eyes widened when Yiren called her by that name. ‘Aisha’ was the nickname Yiren had given Yoorim as a term of endearment when they were young. She reasoned out that ‘Aisha’ was the name of her cuddly teddy bear at home. Furthermore, Yiren only used this during only two occasions.When she is extremely happy or when she is extremely sad.Yoorim is a hundred percent sure it was the latter.“I can’t tell you right now… not yet.” Yiren opened her eyes and stared at Yoorim’s orbs briefly yet intensely. Yiren’s hands cupped her cheeks and stroked them with her thumbs softly before pulling away. She turned away to leave as she felt tears started to prick her eyes, but Yoorim’s hand caught her wrist in a vice grip.“Yiren… come on…” she pleaded“No …” Yiren weakly pulled her hand away from Yoorim’s, relieved when she didn’t feel Yoorim pull her again. God knows what she might say if she did.“It’s something you would never understand…” Yiren spoke softly before she slipped out of the room, leaving Yoorim confused and heartbroken.Her mom picked her up from school after that.~-~-~-~-The next day, Yoorim was able to come to school with a slight limp in her steps. Thankfully, the sprain on her ankle wasn’t that bad, although she was told that sports weren’t allowed for a few weeks. She smiled and greeted every student back as she made her way to the lockers.She was greeted and accompanied by a concerned Sihyeon who once again brought some of her books for her on their way to class.“So… how’d things go between you and Yiren?” Sihyeon asked. Yoorim slightly flinched at the very mention of the Chinese girl’s name. Her eyes turned solemn and her gaze lowered to the tiled floor of the hallway. Sihyeon felt a surge of sympathy for her taller friend.“Guess it didn’t go well, huh?”“No… it’s not that… She…” Yoorim breathed “She apologized and said she can’t tell me the problem now because it’s ‘something I would never understand’…”“Maybe she just needs time.”“Or maybe she just doesn’t want to be my friend anymore.” Yoorim chuckled bitterly, gripping at her books until her knuckles turned white.“Come on, buddy. Don’t say that…”“But that’s exactly what she’s showing, unnie! We used to talk about everything, tried to solve every goddamn problem no matter how big or small it was! She used to tell me everything, but now she’s shutting me out like we’re not even friends!”Sihyeon wrapped her arms around Yoorim’s trembling form and stroked her back. Yoorim clutched at her just as tight, sniffling slightly into her senior’s arms.Luckily, there was no one in the hallway to see the strong Heo Yoorim bend and break because of one Wang Yiren.Sihyeon decided that it would be best to talk to Yiren herself.~-~-~-~-Yiren finished arranging the last of her things a few minutes after the bell rang. Her classmates are already gone, and because she was the class rep, she needed to make sure the classroom was okay before she left. The orange hue of the setting sun streamed through the windows and cast an ethereal glow inside the classroom. It wasn’t every day that Yiren experienced this kind of tranquil atmosphere.Yiren decided to stay for a few more minutes. She took out her phone and headset to listen to music.As if on autopilot, her thumb hovered over the gallery app of her phone and tapped it, scrolling through the array of photos she had taken over the course of the school year.She stopped scrolling when she saw one particular photo.A selca of her and Yoorim. Unconsciously, she hugged the phone tightly to her chest and tears started to stream down her face.~-~-~-~-All Yoorim did was color peacefully on her desk. She tried to play with the other kids, but they didn’t want to play with her, keeping all the toys for themselves and asking her to go away. Probably because of her height. She was, by standards taller than other kids her age, after all, and knowing how kids acted, they would avoid what they thought was “weird”.So here she was, seeking solace with the company of her coloring book and crayons. The teacher in charge, Kwon Eunbi, was kind enough to offer some snacks for her and the other kids, but slipping an extra cookie into Yoorim’s share. Yoorim has always been her favorite student, although she wouldn’t tell. Eunbi knew she didn’t need to dote on Yoorim that much, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t concerned. After all, kids her age should start to socialize with other kids.While Yoorim was busy coloring, another girl stopped in front of her. Her shadow obscured Yoorim’s source of light, prompting Yoorim to look up from her work, and what she saw was… a Disney princess.Heck, if Yoorim had a spacious vocabulary as a kid, she would’ve thought of Yiren as a goddess, but right now, the best way she could describe Yiren was that she looked like a princess from one of the fairy tale picture books her parents read to her before bed.“Hello! I’m Yiren! Let’s be friends!!” The girl squealed excitedly, holding out her hand for Yoorim to shake. For a six-year old girl, Yiren really had good manners. Well, that was what Yoorim thought since her mother and father had taught her about basic manners, and she really knew she should shake Yiren’s hand.“I’m Yoorim.”They had been inseparable ever since. People always commented how glued they are to the hip, and Yoorim couldn’t be more thankful of that.Although Yiren knew deep in her heart, that she would never belong.~-~-~-~-The memory sent Yiren to a vulnerable state. Her body began to shake uncontrollably and her breathing became ragged. She couldn’t stop tears from streaming down her face as violent sobs rack her body. Her phone was still pressed against her chest, and a little more force would have caused it to break under Yiren’s hold.“She cried too, you know?”Yiren jumped slightly when she heard the voice. A familiar voice she heard just a day ago. She turned towards the speaker’s direction, and she wasn’t surprised to see Sihyeon leaning on the doorframe of her classroom, looking at her with a gaze that could pierce through her soul.“Sihyeon-unnie-““You’re breaking Yoorim’s heart, and yes, I am being direct.” Sihyeon said with a no-nonsense tone and dragged a chair from nearby and sat on it, her eyes still not leaving Yiren’s. The younger girl was dumbfounded by the straightforwardness of her elder, but soon regained her composure.“You won’t understand.”“Oh cut the SHIT, Wang. You’ve been avoiding Yoorim for two weeks now. You stopped going home with her and you even stopped talking to her. The painful part is, you still go on being friends with your other classmates while you ignored Yoorim SPECIFICALLY.” Yiren’s fists started to curl in anger as she listened to Sihyeon rant. “Goddammit, Wang. You have been a constant in Yoorim’s life for a long time, even longer than I have! Just imagine having one person whom you are used to see and talk to EVERYDAY be plucked out of the chessboard because of something you don’t even know! You LEFT her, Wang! You didn’t even tell her what was wrong and you just… left! It’s taking a toll on her! It’s hurting her fee-““IT’S FOR HER OWN GOOD!” Yiren exclaimed. She stood up so suddenly that her chair was sent flying backwards a few feet away.“Don’t you know how much I wish I could go home with her again? Hold her hand? Talk to her? Laugh with her? Be there for her? DON’T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I MISS HER?!” Yiren yelled through angry tears, her voice echoing through the empty halls of the third floor. Sihyeon stared at her in shock, seemingly unable to protest that Yiren had just yelled at her. She may not have interacted with the younger girl as much as Yoorim did, but she did know that it was out of character for the girl to act the way she was at the moment.“I WISH I COULD DO ALL OF THAT NOW BUT I CAN’T! NOT WHEN I DON’T BELONG IN THIS UNIVERSE!”“Wang, I had a feeling that you would dramatically confess why you haven’t been seeing Yoorim for weeks, but this is way out of line! You sound crazy”“No, I’m telling the truth, unnie.” Yiren spoke with a calmer tone, and Sihyeon saw her raise her arm to wipe at her nose.“It-It’s happening again.” Yiren stuttered after she finished wiping her nose.“What do you mean, Wang?” Sihyeon felt alarmed. The younger girl was growing weirder by the minute, and Sihyeon knew something was going on with her. Sihyeon’s sense of alarm heightened when she saw Yiren’s nose bleeding profusely, with the younger girl trying to wipe it off before the older girl could see.“Whoa… You okay, Wang?” Sihyeon approached Yiren and laid a hand on her shoulder. The girl looked back at her with wide eyes.“I…” Before Yiren could form a coherent sentence, her body felt limp, and she crashed onto Sihyeon as a result. Sihyeon reacted quickly and slung Yiren’s arm around her shoulder.“I got you, kid. You can explain later.” Sihyeon rubbed Yiren’s palm with her thumb to soothe her. She sat the girl down on one of the chairs. She made Yiren lean forward slightly and brought out a tissue from her pocket. Yiren’s nose was still bleeding, and Sihyeon, ever the kindhearted soul beneath her cheery persona, wiped Yiren’s nose with the tissue. After the bleeding slowed down, Sihyeon deemed it okay to relax and sit beside Yiren.“Does this always happen to you?” She asked calmly.“I wouldn’t say always… but often.” Yiren answered with a soft voice, and there was something in her tone that made Sihyeon’s heart clench.“Does Yoorim know?”“NO!” Yiren steeled when she saw Sihyeon raise an eyebrow at her. “I mean… no. Please don’t tell her?”“Okay… but she at least HAS to know why you’re avoiding her.”“She can’t.”“Why? Because she’s gonna chase you to the ends of the earth to regain your friendship? Wang, I may not have a lot of friends, but I think you should tell her. That girl had enough heartbreak to-““Have you ever heard about the Multiverse Theory, Unnie?” Yiren cut Sihyeon off.“Huh, what is this all of a sudden? We are talking about Yoorim here, why are you suddenly-““Just… just answer the question, unnie.” Yiren said with an exasperated tone. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a way that clenched Sihyeon’s heart. She had never seen the girl like this before. Hesitantly, Sihyeon raised her hands up in surrender.“I’ve heard about it.”“How about Parallel Universe?” Yiren picked at her nails and looked at the floor.“A facet of the multiverse which states that all the choices you’ve made in this life play out in alternate realities.” Sihyeon answered, leaning back on the table, pondering where Yiren was getting at.After a few minutes of silence, with Yiren letting Sihyeon sink in the few sentences they have exchanged with each other, Sihyeon’s eyes widened slightly, realization dawning onto her like a pile of bricks being slammed onto her head.“Wait… When you said you didn’t belong in this universe… you meant…”“Yes… I don’t belong here. I don’t belong in Universe 318.” Yiren felt tears stream down her face once again. She picked up her phone and stared at her selca with Yoorim, her thumb running across the photo. Yiren let out a teary, bitter smile. “In this universe, or should I say, reality, I should be dead by now.”“What the hell are you talking about? You’re alive! You’re right here!” Sihyeon exclaimed. Her brain was unable to process the information her younger friend gave her. “If this is some kind of sick shitty game you’re playing, I don’t think I’m the right person you should be playing around with.” Sihyeon avoided Yiren’s gaze as she stood up to leave.“It’s the TRUTH, unnie! I would never mess with you! Please, believe me!” Yiren exclaimed in a pleading tone.“How can I believe you if you’re spouting nonsense, Wang?! Parallel Universe?! Multiverse Theory? What, you’re gonna preach about the Big Bang theory next and how you’re related to it?”“Will you please… just sit down and listen to me? I promise you I am NOT crazy!” Yiren pleaded. Sihyeon sighed and complied, seeing the girl’s serious and broken expression.“Fine.”Yiren then started to tell her everything.~-~-~-~-Yiren was born on December 29th, 2000 on Universe 824. She came from a well off family, comprised of loving parents and siblings. Gifted with a kind heart and an ethereal appearance, everyone around her was smitten by her presence and treated her like a princess. It was all good at the start. As a child, Yiren loved the attention she received especially from her peers. Everyone wanted to play with her on the sandbox and everyone wanted to talk to her, believing she was some kind of Disney Princess they saw in fairy tale books.Eventually, Yiren felt as if she didn’t belong. She felt as if everyone only looked at her because she was beautiful and ‘befriended’ her because she was kind. Despite all of the attention she received, at a tender age of six, Yiren felt as if she couldn’t trust anyone other than her family. She felt as if she was an ‘idol’ rather than a person. The people who gave her attention and ‘befriended’ her came and gone, casting her aside once they weren’t interested in being friends with her anymore. She didn’t have any friends, she had ‘minions’, as her teachers would affectionately call it. She felt… tired. When she had come to this realization, Yiren had started to isolate herself from everyone. She started to decline invitations to parties and play dates. She started to shut herself out…Until Yoorim came.Yiren was reading a book silently on her desk as her other classmates chattered amongst each other. Suddenly, someone obscured her light source, leaving Yiren no choice but to raise her head.She was about to gently ask the person to move aside when she saw another tall girl her age beaming at her with the brightest smile she had ever seen.“Hello! I’m Yoorim! Let’s be friends!!” The girl squealed excitedly, holding out her hand for Yoorim to shake. For a six-year old girl, Yoorim really had good manners. Well, that was what Yiren thought since her mother and father had taught her about basic manners, and she really knew she should shake Yoorim’s hand.“I’m Yiren.” She replied. Yiren accepted that Yoorim may be like the rest of them and may eventually leave her when she became uninterested.However, Yoorim proved her wrong. She was consistent on being her friend, sitting next to her every time she had the chance to and chatting her up as if there was no tomorrow. Yoorim was nice company, and Yiren’s heart slowly opened up to the possibility that there is someone other than her family whom she can trust. Yiren and Yoorim’s friendship grew over the years and they have started to become best friends.Years and years have gone by and they were already fifteen. Yiren and Yoorim were once again placed in separate classes for the school year. This has happened multiple times before, but their friendship still prevailed and this kind of event made them closer than ever.It was at that same year, however, that Yiren started to feel different when she was around Yoorim. She would tense up when the taller girl held her hand while they walked. Her heart would beat erratically and threaten to jump out of her chest when Yoorim hugged her, and her hands would curl into fists when she would see Yoorim interact with their other friends. Yiren started to realize that what she was feeling was akin to that of what she read in her favorite romance novels.Yiren found out that she was in love with Yoorim.Yiren found out was in LOVE with her BEST FRIEND.It was raining when she realized that she couldn’t take it anymore. She realized she couldn’t stop her feelings from growing. She realized that there was nothing she could do to unlove her, and based on what she read, she knew that confessing to Yoorim would leave her heartbroken. It was raining when Yoorim once again proved her wrong like how she did when they first became friends.Yiren saw Yoorim waiting outside her classroom during last period. She assumed that Yoorim’s homeroom adviser, Lee Chaeyeon, was much more lenient than Kwon Eunbi, her own homeroom adviser.When she made her exit from her classroom, her eyes immediately met with Yoorim’s, and Yiren wished her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her when she saw Yoorim blush followed by a small wave. The taller girl pulled out an umbrella and pointed at it before pointing outside. The gesture made Yiren giggle as she made her way to the taller girl. She wrapped her arms around Yoorim’s torso, snuggling into the taller girl’s embrace. Yoorim tensed up slightly but eventually returned the embrace.After a while, the best friends broke apart, both sporting matching blushes on their cheeks."Can we stop by the rooftop first? I need to tell you something." Yoorim sounded so nervous as she spoke, and Yiren saw her hands tremble slightly as well. Out of concern, she reached out and held Yoorim's hand gently. She let out a small smile to comfort the taller girl."Of course we can." Deep inside, Yiren was nervous. Had she done something wrong to Yoorim? Had Yoorim grown tired of being friends with her? Or worse, had Yoorim finally caught wind of her feelings and planned to tell her off for it?Yiren's thoughts were interrupted when she felt a warm hand on her lower back. She looked up at Yoorim and saw her smile gently at her before leading her to the rooftop.A few moments later, Yiren and Yoorim reached the rooftop. It was still raining as per say, so Yoorim brought out her umbrella and cast it over them. She led Yiren outside and they stopped by the safety railings.Yiren was at awe. The city below them was a sight to behold. Though the view was blanketed by the grey hue of the sky and is a little blurry because of the rain, Yiren concluded that it was one of the best sights she had seen in her life, and she knew it was because of Yoorim, although she would never admit."It's beautiful." Yiren muttered softly."It is. I come up here whenever I want to be alone or simply want to relax...""So all those times you told me you were going to have lunch in the classroom... it was just an excuse to go here and relax, isn't it?" Yiren asked in a teasing tone and almost burst out laughing when she saw Yoorim blush. The taller girls stumbled on her words to explain and Yiren found it utterly adorable."I was just joking, Yoorim. People need to be alone to think sometimes." Yiren smiled and patted the taller girl's cheek."Well... you aren't wrong about the thinking part... and there's something that's been on my mind for a while now. Actually, it's the reason why I brought you here..." Yoorim rambled off, and Yiren saw her rub the back of her neck, a mannerism she had whenever she was really nervous. She remembered Yoorim rubbing at the back of neck furiously when she had her first stage fright during a class play when they were in third grade. Luckily Yiren was there to reassure her.Yiren reached out for Yoorim's hand to soothe her. She looked up and saw Yoorim blushing madly, the hand which was holding the umbrella over the both of them were trembling as well."I don't think there is a better way to say this..." Yoorim breathed in deeply."I'm in love with you, Yiren."And that was when the world stopped its turn for Yiren. Her sense of hearing suddenly didn't exist and she suddenly saw the world in vibrant colors. Her hands suddenly became clammy and she suddenly couldn't speak without the fear of stumbling on her words.Was this real? Is Yoorim telling the truth? Did she mean those words?"B-before you ask, I've given it a lot of thought! You’re the first thing that comes into my mind when I wake up and the object of my last thoughts before I sleep. Whenever I'm with you, I feel as if I can take on the world, the universe even. Whenever I'm with you, I feel like the happiest person alive... You make my world whole, Yiren. You bring color to the world I once viewed as a monochrome. Yiren, you light up my world during my darkest days... I..." Yoorim bit her lip. "You are my UNIVERSE, Yiren... and I..." She took Yiren's hands in hers. "I understand if you don't want to be part of it anymore. After all, I don't even know if you like me back. I mean, I've thought about this for a long time but I stopped myself from telling you earlier because I think you're going to hate me for it but now, I can't help it anymore. My feelings for you are too strong to ignore and I-"Yiren didn't know what came over her. It was as if some kind of force gravitated her towards Yoorim, and next thing she knew, she did something that could never be undone.Yiren kissed Yoorim.As far as she knew, kissing should make you see fireworks, make blood rush up to your face and make you heart beat so strong it could leap out of your ribcage, but instead, Yiren felt as if she were flying, making her the fireworks itself instead of seeing it. Blood didn’t rush up her face, instead, blood made her whole body warm as if she were on fire despite the rain that was pouring down on them. Her heart didn’t feel like it could leap out of her ribcage, it felt as if it could leap out of her whole chest.Yiren has never felt an emotion so extreme and it drove her crazy. The kiss DROVE her crazy. More so when Yoorim started to kiss back. The taller girl had discarded the umbrella somewhere near their feet, wrapping her arms around Yiren’s waist to deepen the kiss. Yiren wrapped her own around the taller girl’s neck and she felt fuzzy when she noticed that Yoorim was leaning down to match her height so that she won’t stand on her tiptoes.They were getting soaked and neither of them seemed to care, and after a few minutes of exchanging kisses, they finally decided to catch their breaths. As they did so, they looked into each other’s eyes, breathing labored and cheeks flushed. They were each other’s first kiss.‘I hope she is also my last’ They thought simultaneously.“Does that answer your question?” Yiren asked softly, reaching up to touch Yoorim’s cheek. She smiled softly when she felt Yoorim kiss her palm. The rain was beating down on them and had them soaked to the bone already, but the two girls couldn’t care less.“Yes… but I have a follow-up question for you.” Yoorim held the girl’s hands and placed a kiss on each knuckle. She chuckled slightly when she saw Yiren blush a shade of red.“Will you be mine?” Yoorim asked, and although Yiren has known her for a large chunk of her life, she had never seen the taller girl so determined and focused. The idea made her heart beat faster. It was as if the universe had drawn them two together.“Do you even need to ask that?” Yiren responded and pulled Yoorim in for another kiss. When Yiren was about to pull away, Yoorim chased her lips and planted another kiss against it. A few more kisses were exchanged between the two girls before Yiren stopped Yoorim from going for more using one word.“Yes.”Two weeks have passed since they started dating, and Yiren couldn’t be happier to spend those days with Yoorim. The taller girl proved to be a very kind and caring girlfriend. Although she was kind and soft with Yiren when they were still just best friends, Yiren noticed a lot of differences as soon as they started dating.Yoorim now waited for her outside her classroom instead of the school gates everyday.Yoorim randomly bought things for her like flowers and chocolates when she had enough savings to do so.Yoorim carried her heavy bags to and from school.Yoorim woke up early everyday despite not being a morning person.They said it’s the little things that count, and Yiren was a firm believer of that because of Yoorim.However, those weren’t the only differences she had observed. Ever since Yoorim confessed to her on that rainy day, Yiren hasn’t seen the sun ever since. Not even a peek. Everyday, it was raining cats and dogs. The clouds were constantly grey and the skies were dark all the time. If Yiren was being honest, she didn’t like the weather, it gave her the chills every time she leaves her house to go on a date with Yoorim.Yiren felt as if something was wrong.Very, very wrong.“Hey, earth to Yirenie…” Yiren was knocked out of her stupor when she registered Yoorim’s hands waving in front of her. Her eyes met Yoorim’s concerned gaze.“Are you okay, love? I’ve been talking to you for the past minute and you’re just staring blankly like that.”“Oh… um… I’m fine. A little tired, I guess?” Yiren forced a smile for her girlfriend.“Yeah. The weather’s been kind of gloomy for the past weeks. Do you want to spend time in my house instead? I have some newly downloaded action films for us to watch.”“What? But how about the new movie you insisted on showing me?” Yiren didn’t want to be a burden for Yoorim. After all, Yoorim had been so excited to show Yiren the new movie she’s dying to see.“It can wait.” Yoorim placed a kiss on Yiren’s temple and rubbed her arm with her free hand. The other was used to hold hers and Yiren’s purses. “Let’s go to my house. You seem to be very tired.”Those simple sentences made Yiren melt. Yoorim really cared for her so much. She felt so special, so… loved. She knew that Yoorim loved her so much. She was Yoorim’s number one priority and Yiren felt like crying.“Thank you. I love you, Yoorim.” Yiren embraced Yoorim.“I love you, too, my universe.”The next few days were filled with so much happiness. Yiren and Yoorim were happy as they explored their new relationship. They went on a lot more dates, and Yiren never felt bored with Yoorim.Until that day came…It was a Thursday when everything went crashing down on Yiren and Yoorim.On August 24th, 2017, the whole of South Korea was on emergency lockdown. The city raised the emergency alert to the highest level as soon as they saw the approaching tornado just south of Seoul. It was raging, and it was expected to at do a great deal of damage to several establishments around the city. In the history of humanity, no one has ever recorded such a violent disaster ever occurring.Yiren was right to worry, and she knew this was beyond science.Electricity and power lines were shut down due to the onslaught of the storm. The stormy winds caused by the tornado was so strong it wiped out a lot of billboards even though it was far away. Luckily, the communication satellites were still up.Yiren hastily dialed Yoorim’s number.“Come on. Pick up, pick up, pick up!” She muttered impatiently as she paced around the living room. Her parents and siblings were also there, making some calls to their extended family members and friends as well. Her youngest sister was crying so much that she had fallen asleep.Eventually, Yoorim picked up the call.“Yiren? Are you guys safe there?!” Yiren felt a wave of relief wash over her when she heard Yoorim’s voice from the other end of the line. She was, however, alarmed when she heard a lot of objects clanging from around Yoorim and some explosions from the distance as well. She felt as if Yoorim was in a warzone. To add up to that, Yiren also heard Yoorim’s ragged breaths and hurried footsteps.

“We… we’re fine. Yoorim, what’s going on?” Yiren asked.“We’re… we’re running. There are a lot of explosions around the area.” Yiren heard Yoorim catch her breath from the other end of the line. “I got separated from my family. God, Yiren. It’s so horrible. A lot of dead bodies are littering the area. There’s a lot of debris too. It’s too unsafe here.”“Yoorim, oh my God…” Yiren teared up at Yoorim’s explanation. Concern started to wash over her whole system as she absorbed everything the older girl told her.“Listen, Yiren. I’m going to your house… I’m going there, okay?”“What the hell are you talking about? You have to find shelter or better yet, find your family! Why are you going here?!”“There aren’t any more options here, Yiren. Every single building is either dilapidated or cracked because of the flying debris. Your place is the only place I know my parents would consider safe. I’m a hundred percent sure they’re going to head your way too.”“But…”“Yiren, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I love you. I love you so much… If… If I don’t make it there alive-“

“NO! You are NOT going to give me that talk, alright?! You’re going to be here, okay? I will meet you here! Promise me, Yoorim!” Yiren yelled, her eyes glassy. Her parents merely stared at her.“Okay. I promise. Just look out your window. I’ll be there soon. I love you.”“I love you too, so much.” With that, the two lovers hung up.“How is Yoorim, Yiren-ah?” Yiren’s mother asked, her concerned eyes glassy and tired from crying. Yiren’s father and siblings were sported the same expression. Every single one of them was at edge.Everyone was afraid.“She… she’ll be here later. Her parents are going to be here too” Yiren sniffled slightly and lowered her phone. She sat on the space between her parents. After all, as a family, they had to stick together. Mr. and Mrs. Wang embraced all of their children, cradling them close, hoping that maybe, just maybe, their combined prayers would be enough to keep the storm at bay.Several minutes later, Yiren was getting impatient, she started to watch the outside of their house for a sign of Yoorim. It had been at least thirty minutes after Yoorim’s call and Yiren was starting to get more and more worried each passing minute. The storm was still raging from outside, and the tornado was getting closer and closer. The Wang family had nothing to do but wait for rescuers to come for them to evacuate them, but they had been stranded ever since. The streets were now littered with a lot of dead bodies and broken power lines.After a few more minutes of pacing and looking outside the window, Yiren finally saw a familiar mane of dark brown hair that belongs to her girlfriend. Yoorim was finally here.Yiren immediately dashed for the door, ignoring the calls of her parents to stay inside and let Yoorim come in instead. She threw the door open and started to run towards Yoorim.“YOORIM!!!” Yoorim’s tired eyes lit up when she saw Yiren running towards her. Her tired legs were almost giving out and she had several lacerations all around her body due to the small debris she encountered along the way. Yoorim’s expression, however was replaced with fear when she caught sight of a flying pointed pole which was heading for Yiren’s direction. Without further ado, she started to run towards Yiren despite her tired legs, desperate to meet her halfway and shield her from the incoming pole.“YIREN, WATCH OUT!”It all happened in slow motion. Yoorim taking the end of the pole for Yiren when she tackled the younger girl on the ground. Yoorim hugging Yiren close. The cold bite of the raindrops piercing their soaked skin.Yoorim had been impaled by the pole.Yiren’s eyes were still ringing and her head still hurt from being unceremoniously tackled to the ground. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, especially her back, which she was sure had several lacerations now that she was certain that she landed on the rough ground.“Yiren finally got her bearings and looked up from her position, catching sight of Yoorim lying a few feet away from her. She started to crawl towards Yoorim weakly despite the concussion which was forming in her head.She screamed at what she saw.Yoorim’s stomach was punctured by the sharp end of the pole, a small part of it sticking out of her stomach. Blood oozed from the wound, soaking her white button up shirt with red, blood. Blood also dripped from her mouth, to Yiren’s horror. The sight made Yiren sob violently, and with all her might, she crawled towards Yoorim.“Yi…ren…” Yoorim coughed out blood, reaching for Yiren’s hand.“Yoorim… you’re going to be alright, okay? We can fix this. My dad is a doctor… he can…”“Yiren… stop.” Yiren pulled herself up to a sitting position, grunting as she did so. Tears started to stream down her face as she stared at Yoorim. The older girl was losing so much blood. She was going pale. Yiren could barely register her parents’ worried voices as they rushed down for the couple.“No! Don’t you dare die on me, Yoorim! You’ve come this far! Don’t you dare!” Yiren sobbed, desperately trying to apply pressure on Yoorim’s wound. She looked up at her father with pleading eyes. “Dad, please, you have to cure her. Please…”“Yiren… I think she’s… She burst an internal organ…”“NO! She’s not gonna die, dad! She just needs medication! Please, dad! I can’t lose her!” Yiren cried.“Yiren… look at me…” Yoorim caught Yiren’s attention as she weakly reached up for Yiren’s cheek. “Don’t speak, love. Y-you need to save your energy!”“Yiren…”“You’re going to be okay, dad is going to take care of-““Yiren, please…” Yoorim cut her off with a pleading expression. Her thumb started to stroke Yiren’s cheek as the girl continued to sob violently.“You can’t leave me, Yoorim… Not when…” Yiren sobbed “Not when we’re supposed to… grow old together. Please don’t leave me… please…”“Love, I will never leave you…” Yoorim let out a small smile. “I will always be right here.” Her other palm touched the left side of Yiren’s chest, where her heart was.“Yiren… I want you to be strong… I want you to live your life, okay? I want you… to have a family… I want you to…” Yoorim coughed. “I want you to… move on”“I… I don’t know if I can do this without you…”“Yes you can…” Yoorim chuckled slightly. “You’re strong…”Yoorim reached up for her neck and fished out her necklace. It was made of silver and had a bear as its central design. With little strength she had, she ripped it from her neck and handed it to Yiren. The necklace was something Yoorim bought in secret to surprise Yiren.“Her name is… Aisha.” Yoorim smiled weakly as she placed the bear necklace into a sobbing Yiren’s palm. “I want you to hold on to her… for me…”“Yoorim, please…”Before Yoorim could respond, she started to cough, and blood started to ooze out from her mouth. She knew her time in the world was up.“I love you, Yiren. I love you so… much… You are my universe… don’t ever forget that…” Yoorim, with her remaining strength, reached up to pull Yiren’s head down for one last kiss…Their last kiss.“I love you too, Yoorim… In another universe… I hope we meet again.” Yiren rested her forehead against Yoorim, tears still streaming down her face.“We will… don’t worry… We always will… I promise.” With that, Yoorim’s eyes slowly closed and she had finally surrendered to death’s awaiting claws, leaving Yiren sobbing and screaming for her to come back to her.~-~-~-~-Sihyeon didn’t realize she was crying when Yiren finished her story. At this point, she found it so hard to doubt every little thing Yiren told her. She was convinced that Yiren really had come from another Universe, and although everything Yiren said sounded crazy for her, she couldn’t help but feel the weight of her every word pushing down on Sihyeon’s very heart. She knew Yiren was telling the truth.“After that, I was transported to this universe as a six-year old child with all my memories intact… I don’t know what happened or what caused this nor how I was transported, but all I know is that these… memories are real. I need to find out how this happened.” Yiren wiped her tears.“Yoorim has to know about this, Wang! Maybe she can help you!” Sihyeon exclaimed, her emotions getting the better of her.“No! You can’t tell her, Unnie! You can’t!” Yiren grabbed Sihyeon’s arm, a pleading look making its way to her eyes.“Why not?!”“Because she will die if she finds out.”~-~-~-~-A/N:Hello! RikaHiraga here. I decided to cut it here.I don’t know if this story is great, but I hope you enjoyed reading up to this point.This story is somewhat based on Life is Strange. I’ve been so engrossed in it for weeks and I’ve already played it five times. 100/100 would recommend.Actually, I was planning to write a generic school/slice of life/romance fanfic but one thing led to another and it led to me basing it to Life is Strange in some way.Disclaimer: I have super limited knowledge about the Multiverse Theory and Parallel Universes, so please don’t bash me for it :’(Also, this isn’t the end of the story. The remaining plot will be presented in the next chapter. Note: This story is still subject to edits and changes.Thanks for reading! RikaHiraga, out!