Letter 2

When Yeona found herself alone that day, she sought refuge in the toilet. Why did she even come in the first place?

After they had received their national middle school diploma, some of her classmates decided to have a graduation party. Two girls had mentioned it the day they came to check the results, and she started to daydream about it. Attending the party seemed implausible to her. While she had a fairly decent relationship with her classmates, she did not really have friends.

In fact, Yeona didn't even bother telling her parents about it. They were not particularly strict, but they were not particularly lenient either. Was there anything more important for them than having a daughter they could be proud of? Of course not. Yeona was that high-achieving student they could always brag about every time they had the opportunity to. She was a very kind and responsible child, quiet and obedient even when she was little. No friends to do shits with, no hang-outs with random kids, no parties…

The birthday parties she ever attended were always for her cousins or other close relatives. Sometimes for the children of her parents' colleagues. Knowing that, how and why would they allow their little Yeona to attend that kind of party with only young teens, alone, doing what only God could know?

Her parents found out about it, even though she didn't mention it herself. The young son of her mother's coworker invited her. When he realised she just never talked about it with her parents, he asked his mother to tell them herself. And so she did. As soon as Yeona's parents heard about this, they were distraught and a bit upset that she hadn't mentioned it herself. After that, how could they not let her go? They were the kind of people who cared way too much about appearances.

Yeona was quite impatient, and she couldn't help but think about it. She was not the kind of person who liked to go out or even be in a place with more than two people. However, that party was going to be her first real experience of the teenage life she thought she could never have. It was just like taking a small bite of the forbidden fruit.

She had to wait two weeks. Two long weeks where her mom was sizing up every single opportunity she had to say and repeat over and over again that she was just going to make a good impression. Of course, it was pointless for her to consider doing anything somewhat wrong because they'd figure it out.

"I'm not even going to mention alcohol. "You are aware of our thoughts on that.

It was nothing new for Yeona to hear sermons like that.

When they got in the car, she expected they would still be discussing that, but her mom wasn't there, and her dad was surprisingly quiet, listening to the first random radio programme he found.

"Have fun, my sweet little pumpkin," he said as she was getting out of the car.

"Thank you…. I'll see you later, dad."

She stayed a minute outside, looking at the house in front of her, listening to the blasting music and colourful lights coming from the backyard. The sound of her dad's car fading away brought her back to reality. Due to all the excitement, Yeona did not really prepare herself mentally for any disillusionment. And yet, the evening was full of debauchery and peaks and valleys.

She did not know how she had the confidence to even dare to think that it could go well. She had no close relationships with her classmates—none of them. Her first impression was that no one had even noticed her when she arrived. They were all way too busy boozing.

The music was playing so loud, people were laughing and screaming. There was a good atmosphere, and she would probably have so much fun if she had someone to hold on to. The only thing she wanted to do at that time was be in the car, silent, on the way back home. If she had asked her dad to come back, he probably would have, but would they ever let her go outside after not even enduring it for twenty minutes? She had to survive and stay there at least for three hours. How could that be so difficult?

Somehow, she ended up going upstairs. For a while, she was just sitting in front of the stairs, scrolling on her phone endlessly. But when more people decided to continue partying inside instead of in the garden, she decided to seek refuge in the bathroom. No one had gone upstairs since the moment she was there, so she was not going to bother anyone, was she?

The door was slightly open. She just pushed it slowly and stepped in.

"Ah?" she let slip by surprise.

Jemina.

She was just sitting against the wall alone. She raised her head when she perceived a shadow out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh. Did you come here to hide as well?" she laughed.

"Yeah…"

"You can come and sit next to me if you want. It's surprisingly peaceful and quiet here."

Yeona closed the door before approaching. The situation was kind of awkward from her perspective, but Jemina was just happy to have someone besides her.

"It's difficult to have fun when you are alone, don't you think so?" she asked

"Yes, but you… How did you end up here? I mean… You know…"

She's the one who came up with the idea for that party, and worst of all, it was at her house.

"I'm just tired of these people."

"These people?"

"Yeah. I can hardly call them friends. I'm so done with all that; I didn't think it would be this much. I kind of want to just throw them away all. How am I even going to get all of that cleaned up before my parents get home tomorrow?

"Technically, you can throw them away. They can continue it somewhere else if they want."

Jemina looked at her with a mix of amusement and irritation.

She said mockingly, "You are sooo funny.

People were still laughing and screaming, and the music was still playing loudly in the background. But despite that little odd circumstance, the two girls found enjoyment in one another's company.

The events that followed are still a little hazy in Yeona's mind. That night, they were exceptionally close—almost too close for two students who had never talked to one another all year—and everything happened quickly.

It's impossible to say if it was the ambiance, the solitude they shared, the strange tension in the air, or a combination of all of these things. They were so close that they could hear each other's heartbeats.

What happened next was only witnessed by the moon.