Seven, Eight... (1/1)

"I will tell you the next part of my story."  Sooyoung didn''t quite grasp what's happening, she was suddenly here—sitting in front of the window, with Yoona silently fidgeting on her side. It was still raining outside, and it's midnight already. She had waited for the younger girl to start speaking since thirty minutes ago, but Yoona kept lost in her own mind. "Yoona?" Sooyoung finally called after the nth time she saw Yoona shook her head. "Um, y-yeah?" "Are you going to speak anytime soon?" asked Sooyoung carefully. "It's okay if you won't tell me now, and... I'm sorry if I annoyed you earlier." And I need to get some sleep I start to miss ever since I accompanied you sight-seeing the stars, Sooyoung thought briefly, but of course she didn't have a heart to tell Yoona that part. "No, I want to tell you now," replied Yoona in a low voice. "I just... just... give me a minute to organize my mind, alright?" At Sooyoung's nod of approval, Yoona closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath through her nose, then proceeded to exhale from her mouth. She repeated it several times before finally opening her eyes again. She glanced at Sooyoung, who could sense the change in her eyes, and finally  began her tale. *~;:>o<:;~* The morning after her lonely night, little Yoona sulked on the couch. She forced a smile when her cousins bid her goodbye, but immediately went back to sulking when the door was closed again. Her parents had been trying to get a smile from her, even bribing her with candies and chocolates, but little Yoona wouldn't budge. She was so sad. "What happened with our daughter, dear?" she faintly heard her father asking her mother. A soft sigh was heard, "I don't know. Maybe something happened when she went to the rooftop last night." Little Yoona hadn't told her parents about her rooftop-sessions' companion. It wasn't like she didn't want to, but she didn't know anything about the raven haired girl. What if she climbed into the rooftop without her parents' permission? What if her parents asked the neighbor and the neighbor became angry? The tanned girl didn't look so happy everytime Yoona stole a glance at her. What if her parents, in one way or another, made her companion lost the opportunity to see the stars at night—and costed Yoona her one and only companion in the process? Little Yoona frowned at her wild thoughts. She had been told that the way she thought was way too complex for kids in her age. But this time, her thought actually sounded believable in her mind. "Why don't you take Yoona to the park," her father's voice faintly entered her ears. "Maybe she can use one or two socializing." "Are you serious?" replied her mother, sounding doubtful. "I don't know, but... I don't think Yoona is ready to face it again."  "Come on, dear, it's happened like what... a year ago? Something must've changed, and Yoona can't be locked up in this house forever." Little Yoona covered her ears, having heard enough of the battle seemingly won by her father. Going outside. She had almost forgotten how it was like, but the humiliation she had received—she remembered it by heart. She relived it sometimes on her dreams, and it still haunted her everytime she thought about the Elementary School she'd soon have to attend. Going outside... The only 'outside' Yoona felt comfortable with was her rooftop. Rooftop? Little Yoona's eyes widened as her brain drew a line between 'rooftop' and 'outside'. The raven haired girl! Right—how could she never think of that before? The reason of why she couldn't identify her companion at the first day... maybe because of her lack of contact with the outside. She had been keeping track with the outer world only through the window in her room, silently watching what's happening behind the glass. But what if her rooftop companion was an outgoing person, and she liked to go at places Yoona couldn't see from the window? Little Yoona was bouncing up and down on the couch now, her earlier sulking state was long gone. She jumped off from the couch and padded her way towards her parents, with a request to go to the park ready to roll off the tip of her tongue. *~;:>o<:;~* Sooyoung swallowed once. "And, did you see her in the park?" Yoona hummed for a while, ignoring the impatient stares Sooyoung was giving her. She raised her hand and made a lazy circle, connecting the stars only seen by herself. "I didn't." "You didn't?" Yoona smiled. "No, I didn't. I walked around the park two times, but she's nowhere in sight." She drew an imaginary rectangle before turning to Sooyoung, her smile widened, "I met her that night, though. On the rooftop. And it's worth it—the effort and the wait." *~;:>o<:;~* The night came. Little Yoona climbed into the rooftop, holding every pieces of her heart that wished for a miracle to happen—for her companion to show up no matter how short. She wanted to apologize for not showing up two days ago—and maybe promise not to miss out the session ever again. Little Yoona bit her lip, was a promise enough? What if she broke it, tho? She climbed the last step and stepped onto the rooftop. The moonlight was at its brightest state today, and as its light swept the rooftops of the neighborhood, Little Yoona watched, amazed, as a miracle did happen in front of her eyes. There, sitting on the other roof, was a raven haired girl Little Yoona had wished to meet. Her tanned skin glowed in Yoona's eyes, thanks to the moon for its magical shine. The former noticed her presence almost immediately, but Little Yoona had done what she never did before—she waved first. And the raven haired girl waved back, a wide smile apparent on her own lips. After acknowledging each other's presence, the raven haired girl bent down to pick something, and Little Yoona had to try hard not to peek—not that she could, anyway.  When her companion raised the thing she picked up, though, Little Yoona's eyes widened in excitement. It's a small white board! Yoona watched intently as the girl scribbled down something with a marker she'd brought with her. 'HI!' 'IT'S GOOD' 'TO SEE YOU' 'AGAIN' Yoona's smile widened each time the girl erased the past words and jotted down the next part. She had to do break a sentence into several parts because she had to write big enough for Little Yoona to read. And Yoona was happy enough—for the first time, they interacted with something more than a wave. And it was nice to spend your night with something other than empty silence. *~;:>o<:;~* "You could read even before entering Elementary School?" asked Sooyoung in awe. "Well yes—I didn't have same-age company before, did I?" answered Yoona with a shrug. "I found a friend in books my parents bought me." Sooyoung shook her head at the revelation. "Then, how was it going? Was it only one-way communication?" she asked, curious. "Two-way, actually. I asked Appa for a white board too, so the next day we chatted through the words written in white boards." Yoona closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. "And the next day after that. And the next day after the next day. Weeks after that, really. We chatted about anything... everything. Well, everything two kids could think of. And, I got to know her name." "Who?" "Yul," said Yoona softly. "She introduced herself as Yul." "Yul, huh," mumbled Sooyoung. She didn't know where, but she felt she'd ever heard of that name. "But what's the correlation of her with you counting the stars?" Yoona turned to the older girl and smiled—this time, it was a sad smile. "That," said Yoona, "is another story for tomorrow, unnie."