“Hold the elevator!” Seolhyun shouted, rushing across the apartment hallway on Wednesday afternoon. When she saw that the lone occupant was Youkyung, she automatically slowed her steps. No need to rush; she’d take sadistic delight in letting the doors shut in her face.

To her amazement, Youkyung out her arm and stopped them from closing. Seolhyun hardly knew what to think. “Thank you,” she managed as she hurried into the elevator, loaded down with her mail, the newspaper, her purse and a couple of last-minute Christmas purchases.

The newspaper. She hadn’t even realized Chanmi hadn’t “borrowed” it since their dinner together. That was progress.

“My pleasure,” Youkyung said as the elevator doors glided shut. “Can’t thank you enough for the great dinner.”

It seemed wrong to confess that if it hadn’t been for Hyejeong she would never have thought to invite Youkyung. Try as she might, she couldn’t get Hyejeong out of her mind. She’d given it her best shot, told the other girl how she felt and done what she could to convince her that she shared her feelings.

 But she hadn’t expected the strength of Hyejeong's conviction in denying her love for Seolhyun. Nor could she understand why that matchmaker fought it so hard. What bothered her most was Hyejeong's inability to admit to her face that she didn’t love her. If she had, Seolhyun might have believed her. However, for reasons she’d likely never know, she refused to accept her love.

“Nice girl…”

“I’m sorry,” Seolhyun said. “I didn’t catch what you said?”

“That Hyejeong of yours. She's a nice girl. You have good taste.”

“I…thank you,” she whispered. No need to explain that Hyejeong wasn’t “hers,” or that she wouldn’t be seeing her again. Seolhyun had been sincere when she’d told her she wouldn’t pine away for the rest of her life. Hyejeong had made her decision and Seolhyun had made hers. The elevator stopped, and Youkyung held the door for her to exit first.

When they stepped into the hallway, Chanmi opened her apartment door and, seeing the two of them, waved cheerfully. 

“Oh, nice timing!” Chanmi said. "What's up Youkyung!” she exclaimed.

“Hi Chanmi.”

Seolhyun hid a satisfied grin. Apparently there’d been a breakthrough in that friendship. Wonderful!

“I was hoping to see you,” Chanmi said, smiling at Youkyung. She turned to Seolhyun. “I’d like it if you could come, too.”

“Why…thank you, I’d be happy to.”

Seolhyun’s sister and Mina had invited her to spend Christmas Day with Mina’s family. They’d been generous to include her, and Seolhyun had gratefully accepted.

“I wonder…” Chanmi began. “If you want to invite your girlfriend, go for it. Hyejeong's super hot and nice.”

Seolhyun nodded. “I’ll mention it if I talk to her between now and Christmas Eve.”

That was highly improbable, but again she didn’t feel it was necessary to go into details.

“Why wouldn’t you be talking to her?” Chanmi pressed. “It's the holiday season and she's your girlfriend!”

Seolhyun glanced away. “Actually, she isn’t.”

“No way!”

“They might’ve had a fight,” Youkyung suggested.

“In that case, fix it before Christmas!.”

Rather than tell them there was nothing to settle, Seolhyun just thanked them for their advice. They made an arrangement to meet, and Seolhyun let herself into her apartment. The festive cheer of the season greeted her, and for a moment all she could do was stand and stare at her Christmas tree and the other decorations, at the Christmas cards lined up on her mantel and the pile of wrapped gifts.

She struggled to ignore her heavy heart. As she tossed the mail on the kitchen counter, Hyejeong’s messy handwriting, slanted across a business-size envelope, instantly caught her attention. She grabbed it with both hands. Two or three minutes must have passed before she mustered the courage to tear it open.

With her pulse hammering in her ears, she pulled out a refund check for the total amount of the fee. The check was wrapped in a single sheet of white paper. When she unfolded the sheet, she found it blank. Hyejeong had made the check out to her and in the memo line, she'd written one word: refund. Seolhyun had always assumed Hyejeong would keep the money.

Perhaps this was the only way Hyejeong had of relieving her conscience. The only way of saying she had regrets, too. Not knowing just what she’d do with it, Seolhyun propped the check against the base of the bouquet of flowers—the very one Hyejeong had given her.

She’d need to think about her response. She could refuse to cash it out of pure stubbornness. That seemed silly. When she’d paid Hyejeong, she’d explained that the funds had come from a special savings account, which she’d set up to pay for her wedding. Perhaps Hyejeong was saying she wanted her to have that wedding. No, she mused, shaking her head. She couldn’t second-guess Hyejeong, couldn’t drive herself insane trying to analyze her motives.

The phone rang and, still absorbed in her thoughts, Seolhyun picked it up. “Hello,” she murmured.

“Hello.” The male voice was unfamiliar. “My name is Song Joong Ki and I was given your number by a…mutual friend.”

“