Bomi heard a knock and she raised her eyes from her phone to look at the door. Eunji was standing there, and she looked more nervous than ever, something weird in her.

“Bomi-ah. Can I come in? She asked Bomi. “I need to talk to you.”

Bomi nodded and sat comfortable in the bed, leaving a space for Eunji to sit next to her. She didn’t really know what Eunji wanted to talk about, but she was there for her no matter what. They were only a couple of days apart in birthdate, after all, and they had always felt as close as sisters; they told each other everything, even if none of them was really the oversensitive type.

“Are you okay, Eunji-ah?” Bomi didn’t know what was going on in her friend’s mind, but she had seen Eunji lost in thought a lot of times lately, absorbed in whatever it was she was thinking.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Eunji answered. “It’s just... I have a confession to make. And I need advice.”

“Oh... of course...” Bomi smiled. “But why do I feel like you’re treating me like an unnie now?”

Eunji smiled back when she heard that, and Bomi felt relieved because she had managed to make the situation easier for them both; she had relieved the tension in the air.

“I just... I don’t know how to say this.” Eunji, the Eunji that Bomi had known for so many years, blushed, and Bomi couldn’t believe that. But she said nothing; it looked hard enough for her friend. “Remember when you told me you had fallen for Chorong-unnie?”

“Oh, yeah, I do” Bomi answered. “You haven’t fallen for me, have you?”

Eunji hit Bomi’s arm playfully, and shook her head with a smile. She was grateful that her friend was trying to make it easier for her to talk, but she wanted to go straight to the point, no matter how hard it was for her to say it out loud.

“I think I’ve fallen for Naeun-ah.”

Bomi’s eyes went wide, surprised by the sudden confession, but then she thought about it, and everything made sense. The two girls blushing when staring at each other, the sudden silence when they came into the same room as the other... Everything had indicated a crush, but Bomi had been too blind to notice it then. It was nothing like the beginning of her relationship with Chorong, but the feelings were in the air too, she could see them now. Of course she had noticed Naeun’s crush on Eunji, but she hadn’t realized the older girl reciprocated the feelings until now.

“I see...” She didn’t really know what to tell Eunji. “This is so brave of you to say. Does she know?”

“No! Of course not!” Eunji answered quickly. But then her expression softened and filled with a slight amount of worry. “Why? Do you think she knows?”

“Honestly, I don’t think she does,” Bomi said. “If she did, you would have been together for a long time now. She wants to jump your bones.”

“Yah!” Eunji exclaimed as a response to Bomi’s slang. “Be nicer.”

“Sorry,” Bomi laughed. “But it’s true. Haven’t you seen how she looks at you? Haven’t you noticed?”

Eunji looked at her friend, helpless, and she shrugged.

“I can’t believe it,” Bomi added. “She is so into you it makes me nervous sometimes.”

“Bomi-ah... What should I do?” Eunji asked softly. She looked so maknae right then, so innocent and inexperienced that she almost blushed again.

“Do you remember how you told me to wait because Chorong-unnie was lying to herself and you didn’t want me to go against her wishes?” Bomi asked, and Eunji nodded. “Well, don’t wait. I decided to tell her no matter what her reaction was, because I was just so in love that the pain I suffered every day because of her avoiding me was more than the one I would feel if she rejected me. But you... you are both so different to us. Naeun-ah... she’s so shy compared to you. There is no way she will take the first step, no matter how much she’s into you. So I think you have to confess. It’ll be good for you; I don’t like seeing you this deep in thought, Eunji-ah, this worried about something that can be easily fixed. It will look hard and difficult now, but after you’ve told her, you will feel better; you will feel free. I remember that feeling so much... like it was right now. And Naeun-ah..., even if for some reason she rejected you, you are the strong one here, Eunji-ah. You taught me how to be brave and go after Chorong-unnie, and now you’re scared? Please. Go tell her.”

“When did you get so wise, Bomi-ah?” Eunji smiled softly, not too sure of being able to do what Bomi had told her, even if she was right. But there was nothing she wanted more than to tell Naeun the truth.

“I learnt from you.”

∼

“What are you reading?” Chorong’s voice made Naeun raise her head from the book she had open on her lap.

The two girls were on the porch, enjoying the warm weather and the afternoon sun. Naeun was as happy as she could be, relaxingly reading her favorite book in silence, with no trace of the noisy Seoul they had left behind. She raised the cover so Chorong could see, and the older girl nodded.

“I’m going to have to read it someday,” she said. “You’re told me so much about it.”

Naeun smiled and closed the book after putting the wooden bookmark between the pages. She fixed her hair with one hand, rearranging the loose locks that had fallen from the braid Eunji had done that same morning.

“I’ve brought you some ice tea,” the leader offered. Chorong sat next to her dongsaeng and looked at the beautiful sea in front of them.

“Oh, thank you, unnie.”

They rested in silence for a while, enjoying the scenery and each other’s presence, nothing bothering the peace they felt right then.

“Unnie, can I ask you something?” Naeun gathered enough courage to continue when Chorong nodded. “It’s about you and Bomi-unnie”

If the leader felt surprised, she didn’t show it; she just shrugged and smiled, inviting Naeun to continue speaking.

“How did you know you were in love with her?” Chorong did look surprised then, even if it was only for a couple of seconds. She then looked at the glass of ice tea in her hand while thinking.

“Hum... I think I didn’t actually know, or maybe I just pretended I didn’t. I remember trying to deny it at first, avoiding Bomi-ah and having a hard time myself, but then I felt like a part of me was incomplete. Those weeks I spent without her, they helped me realize how much I needed her in my life. She is the center of my galaxy. Without her, I think I would lose my way in life; she gives every second a meaning, and I just adore her for that. It isn’t something I always felt in the same way, though. At first, all I did was think about her every second of every day. Everything reminded me of her. Every piece of clothing, every song, every sentence I heard, every dance, every meal... I wanted to know where she was, but more than that, I wanted to be next to her. Her presence lightened up my day, and I worried a lot about my dependence on her; I was really scared. But it was part of my falling in love for the first time.”

Chorong’s mind had left the porch, immersed in memories only she and Bomi shared, and Naeun couldn’t help but smiling when she heard her unnie speak that honestly. They were close, but they had never talked about the leader’s relationship with Bomi in such an open way, and it made Naeun happy that she had asked.

“That’s so beautiful, unnie,” Naeun muttered.

“But falling in love is a different experience for every person; it feels different. I just know that it’s the best thing that can happen to anyone.”

Naeun was left thinking, her mind wandering around Eunji and the time they had spent together lately, so meaningful for Naeun.

“I don’t want to ask if you aren’t ready to talk yet, Naeun-ah,” Chorong got Naeun out of her memories. “But let me tell you that you have to go for it. It can feel like jumping off a cliff at first, but it’s the best feeling you can ever get. I still regret being in denial for such a long time, denying myself the best experience of my life. Go for it, Naeun-ah. No matter what, no matter how much rejection can scare you. It’s priceless.”

∼

“Thank you so much, Bomi-ah.” Eunji was looking at her friend like she had deciphered all of life’s greatest mysteries for her. 

Eunji moved towards Bomi and hugged her, something they hardly ever did. As friends, they didn’t need to put their love into actions and explicit words to know how they felt, but that hug was full of thankfulness and admiration, and gratitude and appreciation for each other. Together, they could overcome every obstacle.

A phone started ringing on the bedside table, and they moved apart so Bomi could pick it up. When she saw the caller’s ID, she got nervous and she excused herself from the room to go answer it. Bomi was almost completely sure that Eunji hadn’t seen it, but the younger girl had seen the doctor’s name all over the screen, making her shiver.

As soon as Bomi left the room and Eunji was sure she wouldn’t come back for a while, the younger girl got an idea that would get her out of any doubts. She opened Bomi’s drawers one by one, not really knowing what she was looking for but waiting to find something that would clear out her thoughts. What she hadn’t expected to find was a folded paper hidden beneath the phone charger and the swimsuits, somehow not too hidden, since it was in the most obvious drawer of them all. But when she opened it, she got frozen in her spot. Angiosarcoma. A list of pills and other medicines that will help ease the pain, but not completely help the angiosarcoma remit. Eunji gasped in shock and had to grab the wardrobe door so her knees wouldn’t give in.