A little late but Happy Holidays

It was the night before the date, Seol-a laid out her outfit that she planned on wearing to the ballet. She had purchased it with Min-jeong, the two of them spent hours shopping before they both agreed on a simple red dress. The dress was modest with a shoulder sash that went across her chest, the dress hugged her curves ending just below her knees with a slit that went up to her mid-thigh. She had hesitated on some of the more suggestive dresses, the thought of seducing No-rea was tempting but she wanted to confess her feelings in a serious manner. Even with all the encouragement and help from Min-jeong, Seol-a was feeling incredibly nervous.

She had been a mess since No-rea had agreed she would go to the ballet. She burnt her breakfast the morning after No-rea replied to her invitation leaving it completely inedible. The next day, she went to one of her favorite cafes to get a pick-me-up after a long day of classes, ordering her a black tea, but she didn’t check to see if the top was properly secured to the cup and when she took a drink of tea the top came off dump almost the entire cup onto her jacket.  Tonight was another catastrophe, while she walked home from the convenience store her bag ripped, dropping everything, she sighed looking at the jug of milk now leaking onto the ground. It felt like the world was working against her but Seol-a was determined that no matter how hard the universe tried to deter her would confess her feelings to No-rea. 

After laying out everything for the date, Seol-a sat on her couch watching an old melodrama. The story revolved around a man and women that had missed the opportunity to date each, throughout the years they would meet again. Each interaction they grew closer and more fond of each other, until they both realized they had been in love with each other the whole time. 

Seol-a mind wondered as she remembered the opportunities she had missed to confess to No-rea how she felt. She had been so worried that their friendship would be ruined if she said anything. Not being able to continue having the sweet interactions they shared with each other would be heartbreaking but she couldn’t ignore the pain in her chest any longer.

Watching No-rea with her ex felt like a stab in her chest. Seol-a reached for a nail filer. She had yet to get her nails done and she was reluctant to get acrylic nails, she had been so proud of her nails ever since she was a teenager. She still felt angry that Sung-pyo forced her to cut her nails, the audacity of that man. She shook her head, she couldn’t continue to hold these nasty feelings toward him. She was projecting her own insecurities onto a man that might still love No-rea. The only way for her to get any closure to all the feelings she had trapped inside would be to be honest with No-rea. Tomorrow would change everything.

No-rea walked briskly down the street. After Seol-a invited her to the ballet she spent all night rummaging through her closet, pulling out every outfit that seemed mildly appropriate. She sent Hye-kyung nearly twenty photos trying to pick the perfect outfit, both of them agreeing on the dress she wore to her brother’s wedding. Seol-a had warned her that the event would be cocktail attire and No-rea was not cocktail ready.

No-rea looked around as she turned the corner and walked into the dry cleaning store down the street from her apartment. She felt as if she was sneaking around, worried she would run in Seol-a while she had the dress. She had never been a romantic but she wanted her outfit to be a surprise. She went up to the teller and picked up her dress, looking it over for wrinkles and lint.

The teller smiled at her sweetly, “Do you have a big date with your boyfriend this Christmas?”.

No-rea blushed all the way to her ears, feeling the heat on her face, she smiled, “Something like that.”

Walking out with her dress she rushed back to her apartment, stopping when she saw a familiar back. No-rea slowed down as she watched Seol-a beautiful form walk down the street. She had never felt such a magnetic connection to anyone before. She often felt like a stone at the bottom of a river watching life pass her by while she stayed the same, content with whatever life gave her. Watching Seol-a she felt herself yearn to be close to her. She watched Seol-a stop in front of her apartment complex and looked up at the window to No-rea room. She stood there for a moment before walking further down the street to her own apartment. She hugged her dress closer, a date, she smiled, if only that was true.