Ten... (1/1)

"No." "Aww Yoong. Don't be like that." "No. What about my stargazing time?" "You still can do it. Wait, why don't add it to my activities too? That way we can stargaze together." Did Sooyoung really expect her to share her moment with strangers? "Still no. I refuse to take part of this. You've just informed me now, while the event will take place tonight. Are you mad?" "Listen, I know it's so sudden—" "You call this sudden? This is bloody madness! We're not prepared!" "But it's just a sleepover—" "You said just now that you also need to cook and have a movie night!" "And I assure you, this is something we can face—" "CHOI SOOYOUNG, OUR FRIDGE IS EMPTY AND THIS PLACE IS A MESS!!!" *~;:>o<:;~* Sooyoung stared blankly at the phone in her hand for a while before snapped out of her thought. "Well, that could've gone better," she murmured to herself. She pocketed her phone and turned around, walking back to where Taeyeon and Seohyun chatted quietly. Both looked up as soon as she reached the table. "How did it go?" asked Taeyeon. "She's spouting fire," answered Sooyoung, shrugging. "This is the first time she yelled my name without 'unnie'. But no worries, I managed to convince her to help me out with this. I think she's preparing to go out shopping by now. Said we're ran out of foods." Taeyeon snorted. "Of all times, the day when two shikshins are running out of foods is today? How... convenience." "Shut up. That's life being life." Sooyoung snatched the untouched cup of coffee and gulped it down. She then said, "Speaking of preparations, I need to go home an hour early. Can't let Yoona prepare it all alone, now, can I?" "Of course not," agreed Seohyun. "Besides, it's our bonding time. You should've been the one who's busy, unnie, not others." Sooyoung rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Seobaby. I feel better knowing that." "Ehm." The three of them looked up as Yura approached the table. It seemed, she also had done calling her sister. Taeyeon and Sooyoung looked at her expectantly, while Seohyun broke the question. "How did it go?" Yura scratched the back of her neck. "She agreed," she answered. When the other three just kept looking at her, she added, "My unnie, I mean. She agreed... if it really doesn't bother you guys." "'Course not!" said Taeyeon excitedly. "The more, the merrier. So, does 5 PM sounds alright for your unnie, Yura-sshi?" "That's quite okay," replied Yura, smiling. "And it's only Yura. My age's the same with Seohyun. I only call her Seohyun-sshi because of my position, but outside the office we're same-age chingus." "I'm two weeks older than her." "Now that's something we don't want to know, Seohyun," chided Sooyoung, earning a smack from the said girl. *~;:>o<:;~* Stupid Sooyoung unnie and her stupid bonding time, grumbled Yoona mentally as she parked her bike and entered the convenience store. She thought back about Sooyoung's suggestion to stargaze together, and huffed in indignation. Just because I let her accompany me, doesn't mean I'll let anyone else to do the same! Honestly... She let out a frustated harrumph and pulled a cart. Truth to be told, not everyone of Sooyoung's circle was a stranger to her. She knew Hyoyeon, Taeyeon, and Jessica from their visits, although she wouldn't call it friendship. More like... acquaintances? Yes, acquaintances. Sooyoung also mentioned Seohyun's name sometimes, but other than that, blank sheet. And that was why she refused to share her stargazing session. It was something historical to her. Something so special, she didn't want to do it with just anyone. It was that important. Yoona dropped several goods into the cart and pushed it again. She mentally listed what needed to be bought and what not, making a turn at the end of the food shelves and reaching for the only bottle of ketchup available there... ...when another hand closed around the ketchup at the same time. Yoona looked at her left, "Hey! I noticed it f—" "Oh, sorry..." a voice Yoona could only described as melodic and husky answered. "I... don't know that you were reaching for this, too." And the hand released the ketchup from its hold. That was when Yoona took in the figure in front of her. A girl, with approximately same height as her, wearing a jacket with its hoodie covered her head. Before she could figure out more than that, though, the girl turned around and walked away. Now that worried Yoona; what if the girl walked away mad? She had, after all, snapped, in a way. And so Yoona shouted, "Hey! Wait! I'm sorry I yelled earlier! I... I can give up the ketchup if you want it so bad?" The girl stopped in her track. Without turning around, the girl said, loud enough for Yoona to hear, "It's okay. I don't really need that ketchup now that I think about it. Tomorrow, maybe, but definitely not today." Then the girl resumed walking, leaving Yoona with the bottle of ketchup behind. "Huh," mumbled Yoona, "does offering to give up a bottle of ketchup sound funny?" She swore she heard a chuckle at the end of the girl's... speech, earlier. Yoona looked at the bottle of ketchup which still seated peacefully at its place and sighed. She picked it and put it on the cart. "Well, at least I get you now, little guy." Yoona pushed the cart again, towards the cashier this time. She helped herself to add some snacks and candles along the way, remembering Sooyoung's story about the candle light dinner at one of her past bonding times. Maybe she wanted to do it again for old times' sake. If not, I could always bring the candles stargazing with me. She arrived at the cashier which was vacant from any queue. The store hadn't gotten many visitors today, it seemed. Yoona lined up things she got at the table, greeting the cashier all the while. "Hello, Sunny unnie!" "Hi Yoona. The usual?" Sunny, the cashier, craned her neck to see what's left in the cart. It still looked full even though Yoona had taken quite a lot things. "Oh, that looks a whole lot more than the usual. Are you going to party tonight?" Considering the amount of food she usually bought, which was A LOT, that's saying something. "Just some bonding time thingy Sooyoung unnie has with her co-workers," explained Yoona with a shrug. She proceeded to unload the cart again. "Bonding time, huh," mused Sunny. "Anyway, I've gotten several packs of fortune cookies available! I've tried it myself; t's delicious and the list I got was always wonderful. Wanna try?" Anything that get 'delicious' word out off Sunny's mouth is worth trying, Yoona mentally mused. And maybe from the list, she could decide whether or not today would be raining without watching the wheather forecast. "Okay, I'll have one, please." "Cool!" Sunny grabbed a pack of fortune cookies and added it to Yoona's pile of things as the latter reached for the ketchup and placed it on the table. Noticed the little guy, Sunny chuckled, resulting Yoona to look at her strangely. "Ah! So you're the winner of the ketchup battle?" asked Sunny, more rethorical judging by the tone she used. Yoona's face reddened. "You witnessed that?" "Of course. That's only five meters from here, see," Sunny pointed to the front. Yoona followed the signal and, true enough, she could easily see the place where... the ketchup battle... happened. She turned to face the cashier who took an amused look. "You seemed so eager to get that ketchup," teased Sunny. "I'm sorry to cause such a ruckus," apologized Yoona with face already beet red. She wanted to disappear now, but couldn't, since she hadn't yet paid her goods. Sunny, on the other hand, seemed nothing but more amused. "I should thank you if anything," she said, "that was funny." And then she exploded with laughter. "Unnie!" called Yoona in-between Sunny's laughter. She was starting to flush red into her hairs' root from embarassment, now. "SUNNY UNNIE!" called Yoona again when the cashier kept on howling in laughter. "Sorry, sorry," said Sunny after her laughter subsided... a bit. "But you two were really funny. You should see Yuri's face when she had her back facing you. She's amused, too." Yoona's ears perked at the name. "Yuri?" Sunny wiped the tears that was formed in her eyes from too much laughing. "The girl's name. She reminded me right after that, that the ketchup needs to be re-stocked. Good girl, she is. Doesn't meet her often, though." Yoona's mind replayed the name she's gotten just now. Yuri... Yul... Yuri... Yul... Yuri... Yul... She furrowed her brows and shook her head dejectedly. Close enough, but not exact. She sighed. Besides, what are the chances...? "Yoona? Earth to, Yoona! Yoona?" "Huh—yes?" Sunny looked at her in amusement that seemed so permanent today. "I was just saying that the very first time she came here, this Yuri girl bought... ah, forget it. Is this all?" "Yes, this is all," nodded Yoona distractedly. She pulled out her purse and prepared to pay the price, while her mind unconsciously wondered what the first thing this Yuri girl bought from the store would be. Surely it can't be ketchup? *~;:>o<:;~* Sooyoung signed off the last document and put it at the top of the stack. Putting the pen down, she let out a long sigh and patted herself for finishing her job. She gazed to the towering stack, and suddenly her hand felt so weak. Whoa, that was so... much. She gazed to her own hand, would my hand be okay enough to cook tonight? "Don't exaggerate," said Taeyeon who seated lazily on the couch. She could easily make out what's going on Sooyoung's head when the tall girl gazed to her hand with a victimized look on her face. "You only have to sign 25% of the papers. My father has to sign it all." "Still makes my hand sore, though!" protested Sooyoung, pouting. "Ain't gonna work for me, that pout," waved Taeyeon with a smirk. That kind of pout only worked for Jessica, and Seohyun too, sometimes, when it came to food. Sooyoung groaned and dropped her head onto the table with a 'thump'. Now that her work's done, the sleepiness from the morning rushed back in. "Wake me when it's four PM already," she said in a muffled voice. "I'm going to rest myself a bit." And rest, she did. Taeyeon studied the non-budging person in front of her until... "*snooore*" "Yep," muttered Taeyeon, "definitely off to the dreamland. Aigoo this giant, Jessica has rubbed off her sleeping habit too much on her." Taeyeon checked her wristwatch. 03:00 PM. Still one hour before I need to wake up Sooyoung. She got up from the couch and walked towards the door, humming to herself as she did so. When her hand reached out to the door's knob, though, the door opened. "Unnie!" Taeyeon watched in amusement as Seohyun practically bounced to her. "Unnie, Yura's unnie has arrived! You should come by and say hey-ho!" To think that two years ago Seohyun couldn't greet me without that 'hello Taeyeon-sshi, nice to meet you' crap... "How about you invite her to this room, I'm sure—" a glance towards Sooyoung lifeless body, "—Sooyoung won't mind. Then I can say more than... hey-ho." "Great idea!" beamed Seohyun. She turned around, ready to do what she had to do, but stopped before she could take any steps. Noticing this, Taeyeon raised her brows. "What's it?" Seohyun looked—no, glared—at her. "Just a reminder," she said slowly and clearly, "don't say anything related to butt, unnie!" Taeyeon raised her arms in surrender. "'Kay, I promise. Only if you bring me a coffee. Mine was drunk by Sooyoung—Gosh, even with two cups of coffee on her digestive system she still managed to sleep." *~;:>o<:;~* Dropping the last bag of junk on the bin, Yoona wiped the sweat formed on her forehead and blew off some air. She had been cleaning the house for the past two hours and she was now dead tired. And hungry, too. She could do with some snacks. Yoona re-entered the house and headed straight to the plastic bag packed with snacks. Chocolates, crunchy seaweeds, biscuits, fortune cookies... Fortune cookies! Excitedly, Yoona took the pack of fortune cookies and tore it open. Picking one and unwrapping it, she wondered if fortune cookies can drop hints about wheather—here it is! Pulling a small piece of paper from the cookie, Yoona squared her shoulders, and read. What makes you happy in the past will make you happy in the present. Yoona furrowed her brows as she chewed the cookie. "This is the fortune part?" she wondered aloud. "What does that mean? Is today not going to rain?" She stared at the piece of paper for a while. "That's it; today's not going to rain." Yoona pocketed the 'fortune' and swallowed the cookie in her mouth. Then back to the task in hand, she started to check every inch of the first floor. "Kitchen, check. Except the goods. I haven't inserted them to the fridge yet... oh well, Sooyoung unnie can do that later. Bathroom, check. For biological needs and the sake of polite excuses. Dining room, check. With extra chairs available and a vase of flowers in the middle of the table—damn, I must be sounded like a cafe owner just now. Living room, check. That's where they're going to have movie night, isn't it?" Yoona tapped her chin, thinking hard. "Will they need pillows?" She made her way to the troublesome living room and checked the... fluffiness... of the couch. There were already some small pillows, so Yoona decided against the idea to add another round of pillows. They were, after all, going to watch, not sleep. Oh right—the sleepover part. Exiting the living room, Yoona walked upstairs. Her mind mentally scanned the place where the sleepover could be held. Sooyoung's room was a definite nominee, and the house had a guest room too, right after Sooyoung's and hers. Will they all fit into two rooms? wondered Yoona. According to the stories Sooyoung told her, the bonding time usually involved six people. Surely three people a room won't be too crowdy? thought Yoona curiously. But of course, there was only one way to determine; so she fished out her phone and informed Sooyoung of her dilemma through a message. Unnie, about the sleepover—I think I need a help.

Do your room and the guest room enough?

If I'm not wrong, you're a group of six, aren't you?

Can you survive with three people a room?

Done sending it, Yoona opened the door to her room and entered it. Her room wasn't untidy. It was fairly clean and neat, actually. Except a big box besides the cupboard, everything seemed normal. The big box was initially filled with her things when she first moved in. Now, it was almost empty. Almost. Yoona walked towards the big box and peered in. Inside was two small white boards, three markers, and an envelope. All too familiar with what it contained, Yoona reached out to one of the white boards. She tenderly lifted it out of the box. Softly stroking the edge of the white board, her gaze slowly directed to its content; words she remembered by heart. We will stargaze together again, someday.

I promise. A lifetime promise.

Don't cry. My Yoongie is strong.

See you later.

Yoona embraced the white board and closed her eyes. A lifetime promise. She was getting tired of waiting. Getting tired of making excuses of why the other girl's wasn't around. Getting tired of feeling... lonely. Don't cry. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't, really. Her eyes glistened with tears, she knew, but as long as it didn't get a chance to roll down her cheek... it didn't count, then, right? What makes you happy in the past will make you happy in the present. Albeit the heartache it brought, now,  Yoona remembered the first day her rooftop companion brought a white board with her. It was the start of their interaction with words. The start of so many smiles, laughs, and comforts Yoona couldn't count. The start of her happiness. Does the fortune cookie actually refer to this white board, instead of rain? Yoona opened her eyes, and took in a deep breath. She knew there was a vacant place to hung something between her mirror and calendar. She just had to borrow Sooyoung's hammer, and maybe a nail.