Wheein was nonchalantly following Byul down the aisles of the supermarket, pushing a shopping cart.  

‘Do we need anything else besides ice cream?’ asked Byul.

‘I don’t think so’, replied Wheein. ‘But we can buy some beers just in case.’

‘Of course you want some beers’, said Byul with a smile.

‘Hey! You’ll be glad to have a cold beer in the afternoon.’

‘I know, I’m teasing you Whee’, chuckled Byul.

Byul turned left to go to the drinks section. Wheein decided to ask what had been on her mind since she woke up.

‘So’, she began, ‘How was the rest of the night after I left?

‘You didn’t miss anything’, replied Byul, ‘we left shortly after you did.’

That's not exactly what Wheein wanted to know. She was mostly interested in what Yongsun did for the rest of night, if she stayed with Eric or not. She wanted to ask but didn’t know how.

‘Yongsun probably stayed longer’, Wheein said instead. ‘She was busy when I left.’

It wasn’t her intention, but she sounded bitter when she said it. Byul sensed it and turn to Wheein.

‘You don’t like that guy either right?’ asked Byul.

‘Of course I don’t like him’, replied Wheein.

She stayed silent for a bit before asking what she was dying to know.

‘Did something happen between them?’

Byul stopped in the middle of the aisle, they were in front of the beers.

‘Nothing happened’, Byul said while scanning the shelf, looking for her favourite brand. ‘He tried to kiss her but she rejected him. She told me it was too soon, she doesn’t like him like that yet.’

“Thank god!” Wheein thought. It wasn’t too late to do something.

But Eric tried to kiss her. He had clearly decided to take it to the next level.

That wasn’t good.

The last step of her plan with Hyejin was supposed to be during their trip.

But maybe it would be too late.

‘I was relieved when she told me that,’ Byul continued. ‘But I’m afraid it's only a matter of time before something really happens between them.’

Wheein really had to do more if she wanted to prevent it from happening.

Byul grabbed a pack of beer and put it in the cart.

‘Okay, let’s go get the ice cream now’, she said. ‘That’s why we’re here.’

Yongsun had texted Byul this morning, asking her to buy some ice cream before coming to her house, because they had run out. Not wanting to go alone, Byul had stopped by Wheein’s house to drag her along to the supermarket. Wheein was quite surprised, when she got out of bed, to find Byul in her kitchen, talking with her mum. She didn't really have any other choice but to follow Byul.

‘What kind of ice cream do you want?’ asked Byul.

‘Mint chocolate’, replied Wheein instantly.

Byul looked at her with a disgusted expression.

‘We’re not buying that’, she said.

‘Yes we are’, said Wheein. ‘Yongsun likes it too, she’ll eat them with me. Choose another flavour for you and Hyejin.’

‘I really don’t understand how you can like that.’

‘What are you talking about, this is so good!’

Byul just shook her head and placed the ice creams in the cart.

‘Did you know that your favourite ice cream flavour says a lot about you?’ asked Byul.

‘Hmm, no’, said Wheein, looking at Byul suspiciously. ‘So, what does my love for mint chocolate say about me?’

‘That you have ty taste’, said Byul grinning.

Wheein rolled her eyes.

‘It’s still morning and I’m already sick of you Byul’, she said.

Byul continued to make fun of Wheein’s taste on their way to the Ahn’s house.

Wheein thought that, if the word “annoying” was a person, it would be Byul. But deep down inside her, Wheein liked it, because when they were like that, she knew they looked like two siblings bickering.

It made her think of Yongsun. Why was her relationship with her so different from her relationship with Byul?

They talked a lot yesterday, and Wheein realised that that this hadn't happened very often before. They got along well, that was for sure, they had the same sense of humour, so they were always laughing when they were together.

But they never had deep conversations like Wheein did with Byul. Most of the things Wheein knew about Yongsun came from Hyejin. And at the same time, Wheein had never doubted that they were real friends. If needed, they were always there for each other. Like that time when Wheein ended up completely drunk at the bar. She was only seventeen, so she didn’t want to go home, afraid of her parents' reaction if they saw her in that state. Hyejin was on a date that night and Wheein knew Byul was going to scold her like her parents would.

So she called Yongsun. At one in the morning. Yongsun didn't hesitate for a second, she got out of bed and came to the bar to bring Wheein to her house. Yongsun took care of her all night, holding her hair as she began to vomit all the alcohol she had drunk that night. When Wheein started to feel better, Yongsun told her to sleep in her bed with her. Wheein was feeling uncomfortable, she had already disturbed Yongsun’s sleep, she could have slept on the couch or in Hyejin’s room. But Yong told her she didn't want to leave her alone, in case she felt sick again. Wheein told her she was feeling better, but Yongsun was someone who was stubborn, and it was hard to negotiate with her. So Wheein lay down beside her and realised that she was sleeping in Yongsun’s room for the first time. She was sleeping with Yongsun for the first time.

They talked a lot before falling asleep. Especially Wheein, the alcohol loosened her tongue. Wheein thought they would be closer after that night.

But not really.

Wheein was still feeling this distance between them. And she was still intimidated by Yongsun, even after that night. Yet, Yong was one of the kindest people she knew. Was it because she was Hyejin’s sister? Maybe, unconsciously, Wheein kept her distance from Yong, afraid of her best friend's reaction if she got closer to her sister.

But she knew Hyejin wouldn’t care. That couldn’t be the only reason.

A lot of questions were racing through Wheein's mind, one of them being; why was she asking herself all these questions about her relationship with Yongsun?

In fact, Wheein had really enjoyed her time with Yongsun yesterday, and had particularly enjoyed learning more about her.

And she wanted to know more.

She wanted to know why she loved books so damn much and which one was her favourite. She wanted to know how she had learned to play pool so well. She wanted to know how was life at her university. She wanted to know her dreams, or just whether she preferred dogs or cats.

Yongsun has always been a mystery to Wheein, someone far away from her, unreachable.

Yongsun was like the sun. She was shining so brightly, Wheein was afraid of getting too close.

But not anymore.

Wheein and Byul barely had time to get out of the car before Hyejin had already opened the door to welcome them.

‘Did you buy the ice cream?’ she asked.

‘I almost thought she was excited because she couldn’t wait to see us’, Byul whispered to Wheein.

‘We’re talking about Hyejin’, said Wheein, ‘you know we’re less important than food to her.’

‘I’ll put the ice cream in the freezer’, said Byul before entering the house.

Hyejin looked at Wheein and smiled when she saw what she was holding in her hand.

‘You brought your sketchbook’, she said.

‘Yeah’, replied Wheein, ‘I feel like drawing today.’

‘You should draw Yong.’

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