“I love this place!” Namjoo looked very excited when Bomi opened the door for them.  “You are so lucky!”

Chorong laughed next to Bomi, hugging her friends as soon as they came in. Being used to have them next to her 24/7, it had felt weird to not see them, even if it had only been for a really short while. Even though, she had enjoyed the time with Bomi more than anything in a really, really long time.

After showing the other members around, Apink moved to the restaurant that Chorong had chosen, an old place next to the sea that looked cozy and perfect for them so they wouldn’t attract too much attention from tourists and inhabitants. As a couple, they could run around freer than they could as a six-member group, but there was almost nothing the girls enjoyed more than each other’s company. Lunch was fulfilling, happy and carefree. The girls enjoyed their freedom from managers and trainers of any kind to be with each other like normal friends would, talking about their personal lives more than they usually would.

“It will be your anniversary soon, won’t it?” Hayoung asked her two oldest unnies. “Are you going to do anything special to celebrate it?”

“Maybe we should set up a party for you,” Naeun added. The two friends were the perfect party-planners, a duo whose help anyone would wish for.

“I’ve got an idea.” Namjoo joined the conversation while Eunji just shook her head, smiling. “But let’s prepare it as a surprise. There’s still time.”  

Naeun and Hayoung nodded in agreement, and Eunji mentioned that she had thought of something too.

“Let’s think of something to do. We’ll be back in Seoul at the time, it’s near our practicing time,” Eunji said. “We could throw them a party or something.”

“Let’s go shopping; Jeju stuff is so much cuter than Seoul’s.” Naeun’s eyes shone.

The girls looked at the two oldest unnies, smiles on their faces.

“So I think you two should go do something fun somewhere, together,” Hayoung told Chorong and Bomi, who were staring at the younger members in amusement. “Can you see that bridge over there?”

The maknae pointed at the famous Jeju bridge, and she told her unnies to go for a walk over there in order to see the lights when the sunset took place.

“Be back for dinner at the bungalow!” Naeun added. “I’ll cook for you guys tonight.”

Chorong smiled, happy to see the younger girls’ excitement, and she grabbed Bomi’s hand to leave the restaurant and enjoy a happy afternoon together right before dinner time. They were lucky to have dongsaengs who were that lovely to them.

“Grab a taxi, girls,” the leader added before leaving. “You’d better not drive.”

∼

“I think the lights were supposed to be on already,” Bomi hesitatingly mentioned, grabbing Chorong’s hand between her own.

The two girls had left to go see the famous bridge. It was known for its lights at night, so of course they had to go there and see the lights in the summer night. It seemed to be taking a long time, though, and they were the only people that could be seen around at that time.

“I’m tired, unnie.” Bomi pulled Chorong by her hand until the two girls were standing in the exact middle of the bridge.

“I have an idea.” Chorong’s eyes shone in the darkness when she sat down on the ground and then lay there, her back against the concrete, warm from being exposed to the sun all day.

A while later, both girls were lying on the floor, hand in hand, looking at the sky above them with huge grins on their faces.

“Look at the stars, Bomi-ah!” Chorong was excited. With all the light pollution in Seoul, they weren’t used to see that many stars in the sky at night, so it was a beautiful sight that the older girl loved.

“It’s so beautiful…” Chorong could hear Bomi’s smile in her voice. Both girls lay there in silence for a while, enjoying the stars and the other’s company. Nothing else was needed.

Suddenly, everything filled up with brightness when the bridge’s lights were switched on, and they couldn’t see the stars anymore. Bomi got up and helped Chorong to her feet, and they took pictures of the lightened bridge and of them in that night to remember.

Chorong stared at Bomi, the younger girl’s eyes shining because of the light surrounding them. The older girl pulled Bomi closer and kissed her softly, barely a peck on the lips, but it was full of emotion.

“Thank you, Bomi-ah,” she mumbled. “For being always by my side, where I know you will always stay.”

Bomi’s heart hurt at the mention of an “always”, filling up with guilt. She was going to tell her soon, she told herself. She had to.

“Come on, unnie.” She grabbed Chorong’s cold hand. “We should get going.”

∼

“I am going to stay in this island forever!” Naeun sounded incredibly excited when they entered the house where they would be staying.

The CEO had rented two bungalows for the members, and between themselves and their manager, they’d decided for Chorong and Bomi to have one for themselves and the others would share the other one. There was plenty of space, anyways.

“I want this room!” Hayoung shouted from the end of the corridor.

The other girls had barely left their stuff and their bags full of groceries on the table, when they joined the maknae in the room. The window allowed anyone to see the amazing views of the sea surrounding that part of the island, shining blue even at that time of day.

“This is so beautiful,” Namjoo said. “I am so happy to be here.”

“So you two can keep this room,” Eunji decided. “Naeun-ah and I will share the other one. Are you okay with that, Naeun-ah?”

Naeun blushed in response and nodded in agreement, smiling. Eunji smiled back, and the two girls stared at each other quietly for a while until the maknaes broke the silence.

“We should go and start cooking,” Namjoo started. “Unnies will be here soon; the sun is setting already.”

“Let’s go!” Naeun exclaimed. She sounded excited to spend some quality time with her members.

∼

“We’re here!” Bomi shouted in excitement when she opened the door of the bungalow.

Hayoung came out to welcome them while the others were still working in the kitchen.

“It smells great, Hayoung-ah,” Chorong sounded hungry. “It smells like chicken feet.”

“Is she right?” Bomi asked the maknae. Chicken feet were Chorong’s ultimately favorite food; it was so kind of the members to get it for her.

“Oh, yes.” Eunji looked at them from the kitchen door, smiling kindly. She even felt like an unnie sometimes.

The girls all walked to the kitchen, were a busy Namjoo was finishing the last details of the meal while Naeun cleaned the mess they had made.

“Come on, let’s eat,” the maknae felt like leading the group right then. “I have the table outside ready for you.”

Even if it was just after the sunset, the temperature was still warm enough for them to eat outside, something they hardly ever did. The girls could still see the remains of the orange and purple sky that the sun had left, melting away with the darkness of the night.

“I have never seen so many stars in my life,” Naeun said. “They’re so pretty.”

“Indeed they are,” Eunji answered, coming outside with plates full of food in her hands.

“You’ve stolen Chorong-unnie’s role and have become our mom today,” Hayoung said with a smile, and in answer Chorong laughed quietly and ruffled the maknae’s hair.

The meal went perfectly, in a combination of excitement and the feeling of being relaxed, having nothing to do at the moment and being able to simply enjoy the food and the time they were spending together. And there was nothing they valued more than that.