continued from: here
with: @hrxjinhee
looking over at the younger woman, jinhee offered her a warm smile. “i’m glad you do,” she padded over to jungrin, a bundle of blankets in her arms. the fresh smell tickled her nose – she was glad she had finally summoned the strength to do her laundry today – as she shook it out and wrapped it around jungrin’s figure. at the sight of what she mentally labeled as the jungrin burrito, she giggled. “there, that’s even better, right? ghosts can’t get you if you’re safely tucked in a blanket shield.”
settling in next to jungrin, she crossed her legs on the sofa and turned to face the other woman. “wanna talk about what happened?” jinhee’s tone was soft as she scrutinised jungrin’s face, hoping to coax the story out of her. her worry was expressed in the way she reached for jungrin’s hands, holding them in between her palms. as she waited for her friend to speak, she started rubbing comforting circles onto jungrin’s skin with her thumbs.
“you know i’ll believe anything you tell me,” jinhee assured her, squeezing jungrin’s hands gently. “even if you think it’ll sound ridiculous to everyone else.”
Warmth spreads in Jungrin as she’s wrapped in blankets. Her gaze follows Jinhee’s movements, never once shifting focus. She can’t quite place the feeling, but she’s almost certain the warm feeling spreading inside her chest isn’t all due to the blankets. There’s a sense of affection there, a feeling of closeness. The two women haven’t known each other for long, the younger having been in town for merely a few months, but already, Jungrin feels close to the other. That’s something completely new for her, because while she’s usually the type of person who gets along with everyone, deeper friendships like this one rarely comes out of it.
The older’s smile is easily returned; it’s like a reflex at this point, almost as if simply seeing the other woman immediately brightens Jungrin’s day. She glances over at her friend as she sits down, responding to her words with a simple nod. Her gaze soon moves to focus on their hands as her own are reached for, letting Jinhee play with them.
“It’s stupid,” she says, letting out a huff of laughter. “I just... I was so sure I saw like, a shadow or something in my apartment. I just couldn’t stay there anymore.” She looks back up at the older. “I realized once I was halfway on my way here that ghosts aren’t even real. Sorry about the dramatic phone call. I hope I didn’t disturb you too much, I just didn’t know who else to call.”
Truth is, Jungrin had actually had plenty more options to call. The most obvious choice would’ve been Jae, a friend who also just happens to be her neighbor. But somehow, without thinking about it, her automatic response had been to call Jinhee.