“Naeun-ah, buy me some of these!” Eunji pointed at the spiral-cut potatoes neatly placed in one of the stands. “No! I want some fish cakes better!”

After the bowling championship, the girls had decided to walk the streets of Insa-dong, enjoying the street food at the busiest time of the day. Walking past all those street-level food stands, the girls enjoyed their time together, even if the losers –at least some of them- were still sulking.

“Bomi-ah.” Chorong tried to comfort her girlfriend, but she couldn’t help her laughter. “I thought your pride would heal faster.”

“Unnie…” Bomi was sulking. Chorong stared at her for a couple more seconds and Bomi finally smiled with a blush.

“You’re so cute when you’re mad.” Chorong ruffled her girlfriend’s hair.

“I’m not mad,” Bomi had a quick answer. “I’m just disappointed in myself.”

Chorong looked at her. Bomi stared back. Their eyes locked in that short span of time, their gazes lingering on each other and transmitting more than they could ever say out loud. The attraction and love they felt for each other could be felt in the air, their feelings so obvious that Bomi thought everyone in the crowded street would start to point at them.

The magic was broken when Hayoung called them over for some amazing food discovery she had found, and Chorong blinked twice before linking her fingers with Bomi’s and making her way towards where the maknae was waiting for them with the other members.

“Don’t worry,” the leader whispered in her girlfriend’s ear as they approached their friends, her lips brushing against Bomi’s smooth earlobe. “I am never disappointed in you.”

∼

“That was delicious!” Namjoo used a napkin to clean every remaining trace of ddeokbokki in her plump lips.

“I’m glad you liked it.” There was some bitterness in Naeun’s voice, even if it was only in a jokingly manner. “You’ve spent all my money for this month in food.”

Namjoo pouted, using her maknae-ish charm to make them all laugh it off.

“It’s alright.” Chorong slid an arm over Naeun’s shoulders. “I can pay you back if you want; Bomi-ah didn’t really eat that much.”

The decision of buying food for one of the winning members each had been something out of the blue, but the most logical thing to do. Even though, Bomi had been extremely quiet and strangely, not really hungry, which meant Chorong had used most of her money in her very own chicken feet. Hayoung, on the other hand, and Namjoo, had been using every won that Eunji and Naeun could offer them until the two unnies were sick of so much food.

“Oh, no, unnie,” Naeun blushed at the offer; she didn’t really mind that much. “It’s really okay, don’t worry.”

“Our leader-unnie is just taking care of you, unnie.” Hayoung caressed Naeun’s side lovingly, a sweet smile plastered on her face.

“I’m not a leader.” Chorong’s comment surprised them all, and Bomi felt her blood freeze on the spot. “I’m not anyone’s leader. Not anymore.”

Even though Chorong had spoken with a smile on her face, the sadness and bitterness could be heard in every syllable, no matter how hard she tried to pretend it was okay.

“What are you saying?” It was Eunji who raised her voice this time. She’d been quiet for most of the evening, but this out-of-the-blue comment got her back in track. “You are our leader. You will always be our leader.”

“You will be our leader as long as we need you,” Naeun chipped in. “And we always need you.”

“Unnie, what would we do without you guiding us?” Hayoung lowered her voice while speaking, her eyes ramming around the asphalt.

The six girls remained quiet for a while. A long while. Bomi couldn’t help but feeling that she had to say something, she had to speak. After all, this whole situation was solely her fault, and she felt the guilt all the time. And now Chorong was taking this somewhere even further into the sad aftermath of the decision. She moved uneasy in her place, wondering how to begin to explain how she felt, but that’s when she felt a warm hand on the small of her back, making her entire body relax in relief.

“I’m sorry,” Bomi whispered, loud enough for Chorong to hear but soft enough so the other girls wouldn’t. She didn’t want to raise another argument. She had learnt.

“I know.” Chorong didn’t say that Bomi didn’t have to feel sorry. She just spoke the simple truth, and that’s what the younger girl valued more. “It’s alright. Everything’s going to be alright. I love you.”

Bomi turned around slightly so her face was right in front of her unnie’s. She shrugged cutely and smiled shyly, until Chorong grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. It wasn’t a rough movement, nor fast, but strong enough to push Bomi towards Chorong, their lips colliding. Their hearts sealed.

“Let’s go home,” Chorong spoke out loud when she moved back after a few seconds-. It’s getting late.

∼

 “Wait for me!” Naeun exclaimed when she saw Eunji walk swiftly towards the next shop.

It was dark, even though it was still around the time of having dinner, the streets full of tourists and couples and groups of friends having fun and enjoying the summer night. It was the beginning of July, and that was the typical season for tourists to visit Seoul and enjoy their food offerings at that time of the day.

“Hurry up, Naeun-ah.” Eunji smiled when she turned her head back to look at Naeun. “They’re going to close the shop if we don’t hurry. It’s almost closing time!”

After Chorong had decided that it would be better for them all to go back home, Naeun and Eunji had decided to take some alone time and go look for this special dessert both of them suddenly craved. There was this small, popular shop in the city where they sold this typical sweet, and they were hurrying to get there before its closing time.

Eunji turned back and waited for Naeun to reach her, the younger girl panting heavily. They’d been running through the streets for the past twenty minutes, and the girl could feel the tiredness in her breath.

“Come on, grab my hand.” Naeun blushed at the offering, but took Eunji’s hand before running together with her girlfriend, with renewed energy.

Girlfriend. She wasn’t used to that word yet. It was so weird to think that she and Eunji were finally an item, after everything they’d been through in the last few weeks. And before that, Naeun didn’t remember really crushing on her unnie for that long; she just remembered the awestruck feeling of being in love. But this, this was more than she could have ever wished for.

“I can’t believe we suddenly had this shared craving for dongpang,” Eunji pointed out when they slowed their pace, getting closer to their destination. “I guess it’s fate.”

Naeun’s heart skipped a beat, like it always did when Eunji blurted out some romantic comment out of the blue. Her compliments and romantic actions were so sudden that they still shook Naeun’s entire world, making her flushed face a common sight.

Out of a sudden, Naeun decided to act impulsively too, and stopped in her tracks to cause Eunji to turn around and stare at her. When the two girls stood still, their gazes intertwined, she gained enough courage to step forward and kiss the older girl. She intended for a soft peck on the lips, but Eunji thought differently. The older girl grabbed Naeun’s hips so the girl wouldn’t move back in hesitation, and she deepened the kiss.

“Come on, they’re going to close on us,” Naeun whispered at Eunji while they shared a deep breath.

“And we wouldn’t like that, would we?” Eunji pulled her closer once again, the tip of her tongue tracing Naeun’s lower lip, making the younger girl burst out in giggles. Their hands roamed freely around each other’s bodies, as much as they dared to do in the middle of the street. Eunji’s fingernails scratched the lower part of Naeun’s back, making the girl shiver and roll her eyes in pleasure. Naeun tightened her grip on Eunji, her fingers grabbing the waist of the girl’s pants so she wouldn’t take a step back. Not that she wanted, though.

“Did you want anything?” An older woman’s voice got them out of their daze, and the two girls blushed intensely when they saw the shop owner staring at them with a smile from afar. At least she’s not judgmental, Eunji thought. That’s good.

“Yes, uhm…” Naeun hesitated and took a step away from Eunji. The older girl, when she saw the action, grabbed Naeun’s hand and pulled her back against her. Surprised, Naeun was a loss at words, so Eunji took the lead.

After paying, the woman thanked them and wished them a goodnight, the smile on her face never faltering a bit. She also mentioned what a cute couple of long ladies they were, which made them blush and bow in awkward thankfulness.

“Let’s go,” Eunji said while holding a dongpang in front of Naeun’s mouth so she could feed the younger girl.

Naeun chewed slowly, enjoying the taste she hadn’t tried for a long time.

“Wow, they’re really good!” She exclaimed, and held another piece in front of Eunji’s face so the older girl could take a bite as well.

When they kissed in the elevator right before entering the dorm, fingers always intertwined, their kisses tasted like sugar and adventure and stardust and hope.