Chapter LXIII – Yeona’s Secret

“Are you sure we bought enough?” Yeona asked Ari as they slowly approach Sophie’s house.

“It’s just us three. . . We might’ve gotten too much if you ask me,” she referred to the countless snacks they carried. “Why so nervous?”

“I- Umm. . .” she sighed knowing how ridiculous she sounded. “I don’t know. . .”

“Hmm. . .” Ari raised her eyebrow in suspicion. However, she wasn’t the type to pry if someone wasn’t willing to share. “You’re lucky I’m not Sophie,” she chuckled. ”We’re here.”

Ari suddenly stopped in front of the wide-open metal gate. Stepping up to the door, she rang the doorbell.

“Coming!” Sophie yelled from upstairs as loud footsteps echoed from within.

“She’s so gonna hurt herself one day. . .” Ari whispered knowing that Sophie liked to skip around the house.

“Finally!” Sophie yelled as soon as she opened the door, smiling broadly. “What took you so long?”

She moved out of the way, inviting the two in.

“Shopping took a while longer than expected,” Ari chuckled stepping into the house.

Yeona followed along, refusing to take the blame for being late. Sophie took the opportunity to hug Ari from behind while stealing away the bags from the convenience store.

“Is Art home?” Ari asked while following the two towards the living room.

“The boys dragged him away,” Sophie chuckled. “Always up to no good.”

“Sounds just like them from what I’ve seen,” Yeona smiled.

“Right?” she chuckled turning toward her. “Oh right, Yeona! It’s your first time here, isn’t it? You didn’t join last time for the sleepover. . .”

“Yeah. . . Mom called so I had to go after the party at Don’s,” she reminded her.

“Well, shall I give you a tour?” Sophie smilingly offered.

Yeona accepted her offer. While Sophie showed her around, Yeona simply acted intrigued. Not that she wasn’t curious, it was just that it wasn’t her first time in the house, something that she couldn’t tell Sophie nor does Arthur remember. Yeona didn’t know the exact layout of each room since it had been a while, however, she knew that Sophie skipped Arthur’s room until it was the last one, never showing how it looks on the inside.

Going through the house ended up being quite the trip down memory lane and deep down woke feelings deeply buried within Yeona, one’s that she couldn’t share; one’s that made her feel saddened as they remind her of what she lost.

“You okay?” Ari asked Yeona who was lost in thought.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Yeona chuckled and faked a smile.

“You sure? You seem a bit out of it,” Sophie looked at her worryingly. “Did the tour bore you?”

“Nothing like that!” Yeona started to panic a bit, not knowing how to convince them that everything was fine.

“Alright, I believe you,” Sophie smiled at her reassuringly, almost as if hinting that whatever Yeona felt was alright and if she needed someone, they were there for her.

Yeona didn’t say it, but she felt comfort knowing that she made such friends.

“You girls up for some card games?” Ari suggested.

“Good idea,” Yeona jumped at the opportunity to show her cheerful side. “I have a game I could show you.”

* * *

What Yeona expected to be a few hands of fun at most turned out to be intensely competitive three hours of back and forth struggle to win. The game was simple; each player started with six cards, one card placed on the table face up, and the youngest player started first. Each player had to place one or more of the same card on top of the previously played card which was valued less or more by one; meaning that a player could place down a card that was a six or an eight if there was a seven previously played. The players took turns doing so until they had no cards left in hand. The trick was that one could lie about what they placed down. Any player could test if a hand played was a lie, but they risked drawing all the cards played on the table if the person told the truth. If that happened, the turn order continued as normal with the next player choosing the starting card which was also face down. If one had no cards to play and lying wasn’t an option, then they could just draw a card from the deck and skip instead.

“Three sixes!” Sophie yelled out placing three cards face down.

“There’s no way. . .” Ari sighed.

“That’s three times in a row she said sixes,” Yeona squinted her eyes at Sophie who just kept smiling smugly while shaking her shoulders.

“Check it if you want. . .” Sophie smirked while gesturing toward the card.

“Fine!” Ari yelled out as she revealed the top three cards.

Sophie found Ari’s disappointment amusing after finding out that she told the truth, meanwhile Yeona couldn’t help but facepalm.

“Fuck. . . She has only one card left as well,” Yeona dreaded the idea that Sophie might win three times in a row. Looking at her cards, all she could do was keep on playing. “Two fives.”

“Three sixes. . .” Ari sighed.

“Ladies,” Sophie smugly grinned. “That makes it three in a row. One seven.”

She placed the final card face down.

“Dammit. . .” Ari shook her head before throwing her large held pile on top of the cards played.

“She’s too good at this,” Yeona tapped the table.

Sophie burst into laughter as Ari decided to shuffle the deck.

“What’s so funny?” Ari asked.

“I can’t believe you didn’t even check!” Sophie was in tears.

“No way. . .” Yeona looked shocked.

“What?” Yeona’s shock and Sophie’s laughter only confused her more.

“I lied! I never had a seven.”

“That’s it. . . I’m never trusting you again,” Yeona joked while Ari looked genuinely frustrated.

“Is this how our summer’s gonna look like?” Ari put her head down on the table.

“I hope not. . .” Yeona answered. “Though, it does remind me to ask you guys if you had any plans for the summer.”

“No, but I’d love for us to travel somewhere,” Ari pushed herself up. “Doesn’t have to be outside Korea.”

“I was thinking the same,” Sophie dropped the smug attitude. “I even started saving up money for it. Though my budget is questionable.”

“Don’t tell me you’re starving yourself by saving up your allowance. . .” Ari looked worried knowing that Sophie can go days without eating lunch.

“No, no! I found an online job that I’ve been doing at night so I’ll save that up.”

“I hope it’s not that kind of job. . .” Yeona teased.

“Sophie, you’re not even 18 yet. . . Though the trend is getting popular nowadays.”

“What are you talking about?” Sophie looked confused for a second before realizing what they were joking about. “Not that kind of job! I can’t believe you’d even joke about that. . .”

“Thank god. . . Imagine if someone else we knew saw you naked,” Ari kept teasing.

“You don’t think she’d region lock it?” Yeona asked.

“That’s the thing you’d be worried about?” Sophie was in utter disbelief. “Like that’d be the first time. . . Besides, why do you two know so much about this?”

“What?” Ari looked at her wide-eyed.

“Huh?” Sophie got confused by her stunned reaction. “Why are you looking at me that way?”

“Someone saw you naked before?”

Sophie instantaneously covered her mouth realizing that she slipped up. It wasn’t the first time she blabbed her secret in front of Ari casually since she doesn’t typically keep secrets from her in the first place.

“Ha. . .” she lowered her hand before bursting into fake laughter. “You should’ve seen the look on your face. I’m just joking. . .”

“No way, I don’t believe you,” Yeona called her out as she leaned closer.

“Seriously?” Sophie tried to play it cool. “If you must know, Ari saw me plenty of times when we took a bath together.”

“You take baths together?”

“Yeah, since we’ve known each other for so long and don’t really mind. You should join us sometimes,” Sophie tried changing the subject by shifting the focus.

“I think I’ll pass. . .”

“You’re lying,” Ari stared at her intensely. “I said someone else and you heard that. . . Are you keeping secrets again?”

“N-. . . No. . .” Sophie became flustered after realizing Ari wasn’t going to drop it, something that she’d typically do. Ari looked at her silently. “Okay, fine. . . Geez. Yes. I was seen naked. Though it was an accident. . .”

“When? Who?” Ari kept asking follow-up questions, shocked as to why that was the first time she heard anything about it. “Was it some boyfriend I didn’t know about again?”

“You’re awfully nosy today,” Sophie let out a sigh. “Fine. . . It was Max.”

“Max?!” Ari yelled out shocked. “Since when were you two together?”

“We’re not! I told you it was an accident.”

“Max and Sophie, huh?” Yeona mumbled.

“There is no Max and Sophie!” she defended herself.

“When did this happen?” Ari followed up.

“It was a few days ago,” she sighed knowing that there was no going back. “You’re not to say this to anyone, understand?” Both nodded in agreement. “He came to find Art and entered the house uninvited. Apparently, they’ve been doing that as of late which is why I’m glad you girls knock, though I guess I wouldn’t mind if it were you. . . He thought the bathroom wasn’t occupied so he walked in on me by accident. End of story. Arthur doesn’t know either and it’ll stay that way. . .”

“Woah. . .” Ari looked at her in awe.

“Was it like a full view?” Yeona became intrigued.

Sophie looked at her awkwardly before letting out a frustrated sigh. “Yeah, it was. . .”

The girls sat in silence after that.

“So. . .” Ari mumbled. “What happened next?”

“Art wasn’t home, so we ended up hanging out together since you canceled on me.”

“Oh, so that’s when it happened. . .”

“So you went on a date?” Yeona asked.

“It wasn’t a date, we just hung out. . .”

“It was totally a date,” Yeona kept teasing. Seeing Sophie flustered, she decided to ease up on the teasing afterward. “For real though, do you like Max?”

Ari looked intrigued as well.

“No. . .” Sophie answered, but didn’t sound too convincing. However, it could’ve appeared that way to Yeona due to Sophie feeling embarrassed already. “I’ve never thought of him that way. . .”

“He’s cute though,” Ari commented. “Popular too.”

“You date him then. I’m sure you would if you weren’t already crushing on someone else. . .” Sophie retaliated.

“Ari has a crush on someone?”

“You’re no better. . .” Sophie didn’t hold back at all. “You’re also crushing on that mysterious person of yours.”

Yeona smiled awkwardly before averting her gaze. There was no way she could tell them that she was into Arthur.

“Maybe we went too far. . .” Ari lowered her voice.

“You think?” Sophie crossed her arms, not liking it when she wasn’t in control.

“Sorry. . .” Ari lowered her head.

Sophie couldn’t help but sigh before taking out her phone to browse for food to order.

“You two wanna sleep over tonight?”

“Sure,” Ari answered without hesitation.

“Yeona?”

“I- Umm. . .” she refrained from answering as she was uncertain if she should.

“Come on, you skipped out on us last time,” Sophie tried convincing her.

“It’ll be fun,” Ari added.

“But you haven’t asked your grandpa nor Arthur.”

“Grandpa doesn’t mind, we already talked about it plenty of times. He likes it when there are people in the house, makes it livelier. As for Oppa, he’s currently with the boys and maybe he’ll sleep there. Besides, I doubt he’d ever mind.”

“Shouldn’t you ask him?”

“What? No way. That’d be weird. . .”

Yeona was still uncertain, however, the pleading eyes got her to crack. “Fine, but I have to make a phone call.”

“Yay! Then I’ll order us some food.”

“We could go shopping and cook ourselves,” Ari suggested believing it’d be a fun idea.

“I could make us some killer kimchi if you guys are up for stretching our legs a bit.”

“The point is for us to do it together,” Ari pointed out.

“I’m not the best cook, so I can help cut what’s needed,” Yeona mentioned, ready to dial her grandma.

“Alright, then go make the call and we’ll run to the store,” Sophie said as she turned off her phone.

* * *

After a long day of having fun cooking together and continuing their games, the girls eventually decided to hit the bed. They were small enough to fit in one bed so after Sophie gave her some spare clothes, it was lights out.

Arthur hasn’t returned and Yeona couldn’t fall asleep unlike the two next to her. Yeona always wondered how it felt to fall asleep easily since she often struggled due to piled-up anxiety. She didn’t show it, but Yeona was deeply troubled by her everyday life. That was partially why Arthur and she got along in the first place.

Yeona eventually gave up and got out of bed. Sneaking out of the room was easy since the two were soundly asleep. Ryung on the other hand was downstairs so she had to worry about being loud.

Once in the hallway, she took a deep breath before letting out an extended sigh. She couldn’t help but look at Arthur’s door. The curiosity got the better of her as she approached and slowly shifted it open. Part of her wanted it to be locked since she couldn’t stop herself through willpower.

Yeona was surprised at how foreign the feeling was. Stepping in, she found countless things that were mismatched from the last time she entered. Part of her wondered how Arthur would react if she told him the truth about how much she truly knew him. It was a secret she swore to keep.

The room was emptier than before, but it smelled nicer. There were no longer drugs lying around as Arthur probably used or threw them out before attempting suicide.

The thing that interested her the most was a secret that even Arthur didn’t know upon regaining consciousness. There was a secret hidden under a loose floor tile next to the PC. However, now it was covered with countless boxes.

After taking some time, she managed to move them all to the side as quietly as possible before checking if it was still there. She wasn’t sure if Arthur removed the contents upon making his decision. To her surprise she managed to find it, a small black box without a label on it.

Picking up the box, she sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. She felt nervous as if she didn’t know what might be inside. Upon opening it, tears formed in her eyes.

The small box contained hidden letters, drawings, and an old medallion that upon picking up made Yeona sob. The medallion was small and made of silver with an engraved tree on it.

Yeona felt heartbroken that Art didn’t remember her. While she refused to tell him the truth when they just met, she secretly hoped he’d remember her at some point. Their so-called friendship that was on top of the construction site was a lot deeper than she admitted it to be. However, since he woke up from the accident she had no way of approaching him that felt natural.

Yeona wouldn’t dare read the letters nor look at the drawings which were hers. All that she could do was remember countless memories that she couldn’t share.

Wiping her eyes, attempting to stop herself from crying, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She tried relaxing, but fate wouldn’t allow her such luxury. At that moment, Yeona heard the front door open.

The house was quiet enough that the loud noise of the front door reached Arthur’s room. Panicked, she closed the box and tried putting it back. The issue was pushing all the boxes that covered the compartment before Arthur came into the room.

Knowing that the best-case scenario was her being branded as a stalker, she let out a sigh and focused on returning everything to normal. To her surprise, she managed to do so before he returned.

Upon leaving the room she heard the toilet being flushed. It appeared that Arthur went to the bathroom before going to his room.

With a sigh of relief, she stood in the middle of the hallway knowing that she should just return to Sophie’s room before she was spotted. However, her desire to see him overwhelmed her so she waited a bit further from the door to make it seem like she had just come out of Sophie’s room.

When Arthur finally came into view, Yeona was left speechless.

“Yeona?” he called out to her as she hid in the dark hallway.

He pushed his door open and turned the lights on so that there was something illuminating the hallway.

“Oh, sorry. . . I just wanted to go to the bathroom,” she tried justifying herself. “However, I heard someone was in the bathroom so I waited.”

“I see. . . You and Sophie alone?”

“No, Ari’s here as well but they’re soundly asleep.”

“Something troubling you?”

“I-. . .”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I just hope you’re doing okay.”

She turned red at the sound of his words, but luckily for her he probably couldn’t tell since it was still fairly dark where she stood.

“I’m fine,” she lied.

Deep down she wanted nothing more than to tell the truth that she kept, but she felt as if she had no right to do so.

“Well, I’m off to sleep. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I suggest not waking Sophie up, she can be nightmarish sometimes.”

She wasn’t sure if he told her that to make her feel better, which worked as she chuckled, but it felt comforting knowing that he offered help.

“Thank you, but I’m fine,” she smiled.

“Alright, talk to you in the morning then. Sweet dreams,” he said before stepping into the room.

Yeona turned to the bedroom before heading back to bed. Though she felt sad, she felt comforted knowing that he was doing well. It was only upon closing her eyes that her overthinking kicked in again as she realized that she never went to the bathroom after allegedly having to go. The thought of him realizing she hid something made falling asleep that much harder yet again.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.