Jemina was completely duped and couldn’t help but cry for her sad abandoned soul.
It’s been a week since, after gathering all the strength she could find, she handed over that fucking idiotic letter and nothing. NOTHING! Yeona did not respond to her feelings, and even though she thought and convinced herself she could handle it, the only thing she could do was rolling herself in her blanket and scream inconsolably.
That Saturday, about three o’clock in the afternoon, her mother called her from downstairs, and even though she heard her the first time, she feigned to be asleep and ignored her. She finally got up when her mother came to her, waking and shaking her, shouting and baffling a few Arabic words.
"You foolish little thing! Get up! Why are you lazing like that? Oh, God, why do I have to endure all of this?”
She was being dramatic again, as she frequently was.
“Get up! Your friend is patiently waiting for you, and this is how you want to greet her? Take a look at yourself! Oh my goodness! Why can’t you simply...”
She hurried downstairs.
“My friend...” Jemina thought. What on earth was she on about?!
When she initially heard her mother call her, she assumed it was because she needed the television remote, not because a “friend” of hers was visiting. Why would someone come without informing her? That was a stupid idea.
“Ugh, you finally showed up!” Her mother said when she saw her come down.
Jemina’s legs were on the verge of giving out. Was she hallucinating? Why did she have to appear like a complete piece of rubbish that no one would not even consider bother to throw away? At the time, she simply wished to vanish mysteriously. Run away.
“What exactly are you doing there?” Her mother yanked her out of her daze.
Yeona was gently smiling and thanking Jemina’s mother, who was bringing her a glass of orange juice and a few biscuits.
“What brought you here, Yeona?" questioned Jemina while she was standing in front of the other girl
“Oh! I promised you I’d come to give you back your biology binder that you lent me last week!”
She was lying quietly and naturally, and Jemina would have burst out laughing if her mother hadn’t been watching television nearby in the dining room. She simply proceeded along that course.
“Sure thing! I’m sorry I forgot that. Thank you so much!”
She stood up and gestured with her head for Yeona to follow her upstairs.
“Mom, we are going up to chat for a bit” she said while going up.
Jemina had never felt more pressure than when the girl she was deeply in love with sat in front of her on her bed. And the stillness that followed did not make her feel any better. Yeona was the first to break the silence, and she had to explain why she was there.
“I...” she began. Her voice was echoing in Jemina’s brain as if it were the most vacant hall conceivable.“Were you crying before? Your eyes look a bit swollen. Are you all right?”
Jemina stood there without even daring to look at her. Why did she have to be there at that specific moment? Of course she wasn’t okay! How could she possibly be fine? Her skull felt like it was about to explode at that point. She was overwhelmed with emotions, and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Her tears appeared to be ready to burst at any moment.
“I apologize; I should have informed you properly that I was coming. I could not really ask you for your phone number, so I asked a classmate if she could ask you whether it was appropriate to have it. I think she told me she texted you, but never mind. I’m really sorry; coming here like that was a stupid idea.”
“Please, please don’t be sorry! It’s not you, I...” She couldn’t think of anything to say to console that poor girl who had done nothing wrong.
“Um... I tried the tea you gave me, and it was great! The aroma of the flower was soothing to me. Thank you for sharing it with me. Also, I came here to give you this.”
She took out a cute little MP3 recorder and headphone from her tote bag.
“Sorry, it’s not very good. I mean, I gave it my all! I’m not the best at that, but you gave me something you liked in the letter, so here… And my god, I was going to forget that.”
She then pulled out a really adorable envelope decorated with heart-shaped stickers.
Jemina was caught off guard and puzzled. The only thing she could do was listen to the shaky words of explanation Yeona was spitting out so quickly.
“I… I can’t stay much longer as my father is waiting for me outside, in the car.”
“Oh” sighed Jemina.
Yeona was ready to get up when she realized she forgot something else.
" My phone number!” She finally left the room after handing Jemina a piece of paper.
She rushed down the stairs, but stopped to say goodbye to Jemina’s mother, who was about to fall asleep. She immediately hurried outside and apologized to her father, who had most likely been waiting for her for quite a long time. She could finally relax again once she sat down. Yeona could feel her entire face burning.
" Ooh! I see, I see! You finally confessed to your girlfriend? I mean future, girlfriend?” He burst out laughing.
“Come on, Dad! Let’s go home now, stop joking.”
Yeona’s father was the most lovely thing that could have happened to her. And, of course, dad was the first to recognize his darling daughter’s sexual orientation. He, like Yeona’s mother, had extremely high expectations on her, but he was an exceptionally loving and caring father otherwise. He was the sun in her daughter’s life just as much as she was in his.
“Isn’t she the one from the party?”“Yep!”“Oh, I’m so excited to meet her! I’m particularly interested in the person who managed to unfreeze my little pumpkin’s heart.”
Yeona loved her dad.
