The night was young. Darkness had begun to descend over a neighborhood, enveloping the road with a rather peaceful silence. On the second turn from the west, right in the left side of the road, sat a simple, two-story building painted mostly in white. To passerby, the building was what you called a house. To the neighborhood, it was a dorm.

 

To the seven girls living in it, it was a home.

 

A figure walked up to the building’s door, fumbling around to retrieve a key from her bag. The sound of the door creaking open interrupted the surrounding silence, but she knew better. Silence wasn’t meant to be permanent, not in—

 

“NAYOUNG UNNIE!”

 

—her home.

 

She shook her head in mild amusement, allowing the owner of the excited voice to grab her hand and pulled her in. Someone else walked past to close the door back, throwing out a “Yeah, yeah, your key is with me, I don’t leave it outside, mission cleared,” before Nayoung could warn her about her key. Then just as Nayoung about to let out a sigh, someone had tackled her into a hug and suddenly Nayoung found herself inhaling into auburn hair.

 

“You’re home! Took you long enough—two hours! I was starting to get worried. Somi was trying to guilt-trip me because I came home without you.”

 

“Jieqiong…” Nayoung awkwardly patted her hugger, “…release me.”

 

“Oh. Right.” Jieqiong released her and took a step back, grinning. “Come on, everyone is in the living room.”

 

“Give me your bag, I’ll drop by our room.” Nayoung looked to her left, finding Chungha extending a hand with an expectant look in her face. She smiled and handed her bag over, muttering thanks. Chungha smiled back, shrugging as if to say, no problem.

 

While Chungha went to their room, Nayoung followed Jieqiong to the living room.

 

“SEE SOM! NAYOUNG UNNIE ISN’T LOST!” Jieqiong joyfully announced, long before they reached their destination. Nayoung twitched, an exhausted sigh escaping her lips.

 

“WELL SHE WILL NEXT TIME IF YOU COME HOME WITHOUT HER AGAIN!” a voice shouted a beat later, and Nayoung facepalmed.

 

Truly, Somi’s confidence about her sense of direction was touching.

 

The moment they reached the living room, Nayoung made a point to sit between Doyeon and Sohye, not wanting to be near Jieqiong nor Somi while they were engaged in an endless banter. Although, she probably should have avoided Sohye, too, because the latter was apparently keeping tabs on the bickering duo’s score.

 

Chungha came into the room a moment later, a pillow in her hand. Nayoung almost wanted to whine as she eyed the fluffy thing—she wanted a pillow, too. She was so tired.

 

“Alright, everyone is here.”

 

Chungha’s announcement put a halt on Jieqiong and Somi’s ongoing arguments. They had gone from Nayoung’s yet-to-happen-missing-accidents to penguins’ fart (which made Sohye stopped counting their scores, face aghast) in the span of ten minutes, and Nayoung really didn’t want to know how.

 

“Okay!” Somi clasped her hands together, “There’s a reason why I called for this urgent meeting…”

 

“This better not be about your exam’s score,” Chungha warned, resting her head on the pillow in her embrace.

 

“Or the neighbor’s annoying cat,” Nayoung added, remembering that one time Somi ranted about Mr. Oh’s grumpy cat that secretly plotted against humanity in general and made it a hobby to eat someone’s homework.

 

“Or a new brand of jellies you’ve taken a liking recently,” Jieqiong continued, sweating at the prospect of listening Somi droned on about jellies’ ingredients and why one tasted better than the other.

 

“I’m sorry for traumatizing you with those experiences, my elders,” Somi deadpanned, bowing in mock apology.

 

“Now, now,” Doyeon said as a pillow flew across the room to whack the youngest in the head, “it’s not time to be childish, everyone.”

 

“Indeed,” Somi let out an exaggerated sigh, returning the pillow to Chungha by sliding the fluffy thing across the floor. Nayoung stared at the sliding pillow, for a second thinking to intercept it and have it for herself.

 

Don’t judge her. It was tempting.

 

Somi cleared , “I was going to speak about Yoojung unnie.”

 

“Yoojung?” Chungha parroted. She turned to look at the said girl, five pairs of eyes following her suit. Yoojung was staring at the ceiling, smiling at something invisible up there. Sohye wondered if there was a ghost haunting the dorm and Yoojung was actually holding a staring contest with the ghost…

 

The thought made her scoot closer to Somi just a little bit.

 

“Yeah… see? She’s sporting that dreamy smile and not focusing on us at all,” Somi pointed out. “She’s been like this for three days already. I’m afraid she’s in a dire need of professional help.”

 

Doyeon huffed and looked away, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “She doesn't need professional help. She’s just love-struck.”

 

Jieqiong whistled. “Oooh. Again?”            

 

Sohye pursed her lips. “Is it Jinyoung sunbae, still? But Yoojung hasn’t brought his name up for, like, four months already…”

 

“That’s because it’s not Jinyoung sunbae,” Doyeon said, scowling. “No. I don’t even know who is it this time.”

 

Nayoung nodded in understanding. No wonder Doyeon looked and sounded pissed. She had always known who was it that Yoojung adored from time to time. This would be the first time she’s as clueless as the rest of the girls. Nayoung narrowed her eyes at the unfocused gaze Yoojung had.

 

This kid had to be high.

 

“Firstly, we have to get her attention—“

 

A pillow flew across the room and whacked Yoojung in the head.

 

“Ow! What the Hell!”

 

Chungha smiled serenely as Sohye slid the pillow back to her while Nayoung chastised Yoojung for her language. Somi snorted, wondering if Chungha had actually brought the pillow for this very purpose rather than just for her head’s rest.

 

“I was focused,” Yoojung defended herself. Not that she had anyone’s backup.

 

“Yeah, sure, what did Somi and Jieqiong unnie were bickering about earlier?” Sohye inquired.

 

“…whether or not dragons are classified as reptiles?”

 

Jieqiong snorted. Everyone knew dragons are reptiles.

 

Right?

 

“Alright, kid, who is it this time,” Chungha said.

 

Yoojung blinked. Silence stretched, and they waited as Yoojung tried to find a way to play dumb or escape the question. Granted, it was impossible, but surely it wouldn’t hurt to try—

 

Another minute passed, and Doyeon rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Oh, honestly. It’s a guy she knew through SNS.”

 

Yoojung looked up in shock, not expecting her roommate to break the news. “Doyeon!”

 

Others were in shock, too, although for an entirely different reason.

 

“SNS,” Nayoung repeated in disbelief. “Seriously?”

 

“What’s wrong with SNS?” Yoojung defensively said. “He’s a good guy. We’ve talked for three months so I know—I’m serious!”

 

Jieqiong felt like clawing the wall nearby… Yoojung couldn’t be serious about this. “Yoodaeng, look, I’m glad that you find him to be a good guy, but—“

 

“He said he likes me very much,” Yoojung offered, beaming so bright Jieqiong felt her own heart breaking. I sure hope so, Jieqiong mentally thought. Yoojung, unaware of her unnie’s concern, clasped her hands and continued,

 

“He also said that he wanted us to meet sometime this week.”

 

“Then meet him,” Doyeon snapped. Everyone paused, lips closing back as pairs of eyes stared at the girl in shock. Yoojung’s smile turned into a confused frown, wondering what did she say that came off wrong.

 

Her outburst was met with silence, and Doyeon had had enough.

 

“I’m heading to bed,” she said, rising from her seat. “Good night.”

 

Nayoung rubbed her temples as she heard Somi’s whisper of ‘hell hath no fury like a woman with PMS’.

 

“Alright. Back to topic…” Nayoung wondered if Chungha or Jieqiong also underwent a rising headache. “So this guy…”

 

“A good guy,” Yoojung nodded.

 

“Who is this guy?” Chungha asked. The guy had been nameless for a while now, it’s starting to make her curious.

 

Yoojung paused, a hesitant smile on her lips. “…I don’t know.”

 

“WHAT?” Somi exclaimed, resisting the urge to take a sound amplifier and shout a louder ‘what’ one more time. Others looked like they were about to yell the same word, and Sohye smacked Jieqiong’s forehead.

 

“Ow! What was that for!”

 

“I was helping you to do a facepalm, unnie.”

 

“Oh.” Jieqiong blinked, “Thanks.”

 

Sohye solemnly nodded, “No problem.”

 

The rest of the girls didn’t have the same help, so they settled with facepalming with their own hand.

 

“Yoojung…” Chungha started after letting out a deep sigh, her forehead beginning to feel warm from the facepalm. “…do you realize how ridiculous everything sounds?”

 

“Of course! This world is ridiculous,” Yoojung nodded. “I mean, look at Somi. She’s ridiculous half of the time.”

 

It’s at times like this that Somi regretted not having a pillow handy.

 

“I didn’t mean that, oh my God. I mean this guy! And the SNS! And you!” Chungha ruffled her hair in frustration, “You don’t know him—”

 

“I know him,” Yoojung insisted, scowling. “Just not his face, nor his name.”

 

Sohye perked up at that. “His height?”

 

“That too.”

 

Somi leaned forward, “His weight?”

 

“And that…”

 

“What about his favorite animal?”

 

“The usual length of his nails?”

 

“His most embarrassing hair style to date?”

 

“The characteristics of his poop?”

 

“His choice weapon if apocalypse were about to happen?”

 

“His spirit dinosaur?”                                

 

“His House in Hogwarts?”

 

“Okay stop, stop!” Yoojung yelled, “That’s why we’re planning to meet up, to know more about each other! And why should I know about the characteristics of his poop?!”

 

“Medical purposes, obviously,” Somi calmly replied.

 

“And what the heck is spirit dinosaur?”

 

“Would you rather ask him his spirit penguin, then?” Sohye wondered.

 

“Alright, stop all of you…” Chungha sighed, rubbing her temple as she felt a rising headache. “Yoojung, I’m sorry. We just don’t want to see you heartbroken again.”

 

Yoojung always fell too easily.

 

“He said nothing will make him like me less,” Yoojung said.

 

See? Chungha twitched. “Fine, ask him to meet up in the café Nayoung and Jieqiong work for. On Wednesday or Saturday.”

 

“When it’s our shift,” Jieqiong nodded.

 

Nayoung cleared . “Inform us for further development. For now… let’s sleep.” When she caught glint of mischief in Somi’s eyes, she swallowed and put front her best pleading look. “Somi… please?”

 

“Awww.” Somi pouted. “I was planning to do dorm party.”

 

“No dorm party, young lady,” Chungha chided her, thankfully without a flying pillow this time. “Let your unnie have some well-deserved rest.”

 

“Yeh, yeh…” the youngest tonelessly mumbled under her breath, “...lethargic elders.”

 

 

---

 

 

Everyone in the dorm knew that Doyeon was, sometimes, a night owl. Some days, she couldn’t sleep until after the clock ticked past midnight. It’s not that her brain offered some life-changing questions the moment she reached her bed. It’s just how her body clock seemed to work.

 

The lack of sleep didn’t really give her much problem, because Yoojung was there to accompany her through the nights.

 

Usually.

 

She would wake up the shorter girl, plead her to chat or do simple games with Doyeon until sleepiness kick in. Yoojung would oblige, although not before grumbling about ‘closed growing plates’, ‘height’, ‘growing kid’, and ‘decent sleep’. Doyeon would detect the exasperated fondness behind those routinely repeated words, and Yoojung would tell her to stop smiling weirdly over nothing.

 

Again, it was usually.

 

Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked…

 

…and Yoojung started to occasionally giggle at her phone, roughly two months ago.

 

Doyeon had chalked it up to Yoojung browsing pictures of cute puppies. Yoojung was a puppy at heart, and cute puppies made her smile and gush like there’s no tomorrow.

 

Then Yoojung started to get a dreamy look in her gaze as she typed something on her phone. One month ago. Doyeon abruptly threw away the puppy option, then. The last time, Yoojung had the dreamy look when she talked about Jinyoung sunbae.

 

What was it, or who was it this time?

 

Doyeon’s attempt to strike conversations at night were replied with sleepy responses, if not complete silence, as Yoojung curled with her back against Doyeon, eyes on her phone.

 

“Doyeon?”

 

She waited, then, for Yoojung to tell her about the newfound interest. Yoojung had always told her. About Beenzino, the rapper they saw on TV, or a hotdog stall guy whose name Doyeon already had forgotten, or the basketball captain whose name, again, Doyeon didn’t bother to remember, or Jinyoung sunbae, the latest male name Yoojung associated with the word ‘like’.

 

But no, one month passed and Doyeon had no clue. Not even initials.

 

“Yo, Dodo?”

 

Instead of telling her, Yoojung drifted away. By giggling at that damned phone. Chungha had expressed concern when Yoojung managed to miss two of their team’s dance practice, but Yoojung merely smiled and apologized, not spilling out anything or any names.

 

Doyeon dreaded to think that this time, it’s not merely ‘like’.

 

“Doyeon?”

 

It’s not that Doyeon was jealous or anything. Yeah, of course not. Doyeon was just terribly concerned—there’s a dance competition they’re planning to join in two months. Yoojung was one of their aces, aside from Somi and Chungha. It wouldn’t do any good if Yoojung kept being distracted.

 

In short, Doyeon was pissed at Yoojung’s unprofessional act. Yes, that would be the reason why Doyeon vehemently refused the offer to come along to Yoojung and nameless guy’s meet up—

 

“Kim Doyeon!”

 

She blinked, and grinned sheepishly at Chungha’s waving hand. She turned at the older girl, apologetic.

 

“Sorry, unnie. What was it?”

 

Chungha sighed. “Took you long enough. Well, we’re here.” Doyeon’s gaze flickered outside the cab, where a café proudly stood to greet its customers. “We need to get off from your side because Somi’s side is way too crowded with vehicles.”

 

Doyeon frowned, a childish refusal bubbling up inside her—

 

“I don’t want to go.”

 

Somi made a frustrated noise. “At least get off first!”

 

“Doyeon,“ Chungha patiently said, her tone persuading.

 

“...tell you what, fine, I’ll get off,” Doyeon muttered, opening the door. “But you guys can go inside first, I need to take some fresh air outside.”

 

“It’s totally polluted with smoke and vehicles’ fart and whatever bacteria people sneeze out from their nostrils,” Sohye quipped from the front passenger seat, opening the front door herself. “But of course, fresh air.”

 

“Yup,” Doyeon absently nodded, not bothering to question Sohye on vehicles’ fart. “Fresh air.”

 

 

---

 

 

“Where’s Yoojung, anyway?”

 

“Let’s see…” Somi mumbled, looking around.  They had entered the café, and was now trying to spot their subject of attention. Somi pouted when she couldn’t find her. “...do you think Yoojung unnie walked there, as in by feet? Maybe she hasn’t reached here yet?”

 

“Yoojung is love-struck, Som,” Sohye pointed out. “Not suicidal.”

 

“Try looking for her head,” Chungha suggested. “Dang, this would be so much easier if Doyeon is with us. She talked a bit with Yoojung before Yoojung left.”

 

“I eavesdropped,” Sohye said, frowning as she tried to recall the conversation. “Eh… I only remembered her answering ‘Choi Yoojung’ when Yoojung asked how did she look.”

 

Chungha snorted. “That truly helps us so much, Sohye.”

 

Somi squinted at something akin to dotted handkerchief on someone’s head. Or was it a ribbon? Oversized ribbon? Who in their right mind would put an oversized ribbon on their head?

 

She frowned. “Hey… do you think that’s Yoojung unnie?”

 

Eyes followed the direction Somi’s finger pointed to, and Chungha groaned.

 

“That’s her alright. Oversized dotted ribbon… seriously…”

 

“Let’s book the best seats!” Sohye cheered, dragging Somi and Chungha to vacant spots she’s been eyeing since she stepped into the café.

 

“Hi, Siyeonnie! Yebin unnie!” Somi waved as they passed two girls standing by a nearby table.

 

Siyeon waved back, “Hi, Som! Jieqiong unnie, Nayoung unnie, your minions are here!”

 

Chungha looked offended at being referred to as ‘minions’, but was too busy being dragged by Sohye to reply.

 

“This spot okay?”

 

Somi blinked. There was only a table between their spot and Yoojung’s table, and Chungha had thrown a crumpled piece of paper to get Yoojung’s attention. No idea where she got the paper from.

 

“This spot is great,” Somi confirmed, watching as Chungha signaled Yoojung to check her phone. Probably to comfortably exchange words without having to yell them out loud. “Actually, I don’t have to use my binoculars. It’s double great.”

 

“You bring binoculars?” Sohye asked incredulously.

 

“Hey, desperate need calls for desperate measures,” Somi defended.

 

“That’s beyond desperate and you know it.”

 

“Oh shush.”

 

 

---

 

 

Stupid Yoojung, stupid nameless guy, stupid meet up…

 

Doyeon kicked a rock in front of her, watching as it rolled away to a random direction. It stopped near a motorbike’s wheel, which had just come into its own stop. Someone had just arrived, Doyeon noted, as the motorbike’s engine died down seconds after.

 

She looked up from the rock, eyes narrowing as a guy with dark jacket took off his helmet.

 

Clearing , Doyeon walked…

 

…past the guy, who started to walk towards the café himself. Doyeon stopped in front of a girl whose gaze was focused on a piece of paper tacked next to the café’s ‘OPEN’ sign. Hands in her pockets, Doyeon slowly leaned forward.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

The girl jumped slightly, seemingly startled of Doyeon’s sudden appearance. The girl spun around, eyes wide,

 

“Huh??”

 

Doyeon leaned back slightly while maintaining a bored expression in her face. “You have been standing here for a while, now, Miss.” She glanced to what seemed to be a poster, the thing that had occupied the girl’s interest a while ago.

 

“Is this what you’re here for?”

 

She mentally read the poster. It was a recruitment notice. The girl next to her gulped,

 

“Oh… ah, yeah, I’m thinking of applying…”

 

Doyeon hummed. “Café singer?”

 

“Y-yeah…”

 

Doyeon nodded slowly. She figured just as much. She straightened up, glancing at the girl with a raised brow,

 

“Why aren’t you coming in, then?”

 

“I’m… just nervous,” the girl stammered, looking down to her fidgeting fingers. “What if I didn’t do well? What if my voice… cracked? What if they laughed at me instead? What if—“

 

“We won’t know through what if,” Doyeon told her, effectively stopping the nervous girl from diving straightly to ‘nervous wreck’.

 

The girl blinked, looking up at her, and Doyeon gave her a smile and shrugged.

 

“We know through trying and risking things.”

 

Doyeon knew her words weren’t much, but the girl seemed to relax slightly, and her smile widened.

 

“You’re… right.”

 

“Well, come in, then…?” Doyeon gestured, wordlessly asking for a name.

 

“Yeonjung. Yoo Yeonjung.”

 

“Yeonjung,” Doyeon repeated. “Well, I’m Doyeon. Kim Doyeon.” She smiled, tilting her chin towards the café’s door.

 

“Let’s go get you your new job.”

 

 

---

 

 

Somi scowled. “What took you so long?”

 

Doyeon had finally joined the group, alone, a small smile on her lips.

 

“Sorry. Was lost in the road of life. Hi, Jieqiong unnie, where is Stone unnie?”

 

“Playing waitress,” Jieqiong answered, thumb jerking towards her left. Indeed, Nayoung was walking towards a table across them with a red menu in her hand. Doyeon narrowed her eyes as she saw Yoojung and… hey, isn’t that the guy from earlier?

 

“Yo!” A wild, blue shirted girl suddenly ambushed their table. “You guys finally visit our café again after a century, huh?”

 

“Eunwoo unnie!” Somi whined as the girl ruffled up her hair. “Go away you monster!”

 

“Oh, my broken heart,” Eunwoo mocked. She grinned and gave them the same red menu Nayoung brought, sparing a glance to the direction they had been looking at. Eunwoo snickered, “What are you guys doing here? Stalking poor little Yoojungie’s date?”

 

“We’re just looking out for her,” Chungha mumbled, scanning the list of beverages.

 

“Looking out, huh? Say, I have an offer—a rotten tomato for three hundred won, two for five hundred. What do you say?”

 

“And what, pray tell, do we need those rotten tomatoes for?”

 

“Chaos,” Eunwoo smoothly replied, eyes twinkling with mirth. “You know, if the guy broke Yoojung’s heart, we broke his carefully gelled hair.”

 

“Eunwoo,” Jieqiong started.

 

“What? Offering rotten tomatoes to potential customers is your job, Jieqiong,” Eunwoo frowned in mock disappointment. “I’m covering for you since you’re taking the day off.”

 

Doyeon blinked. “You take a day off, Jieqiong unnie?”

 

“Stalking is a serious business,” Jieqiong responded.

 

Sohye nodded thoughtfully. “That must’ve been Dispatch’ motto at some point.”

 

“Well, we don't offer rotten tomatoes to just anyone. We offer it only to potential ‘date goes bad’, and the date over there doesn’t seem to go as smooth as a good date usually goes,” Eunwoo said.

 

Pairs of eyes looked back to their stalking target. Doyeon had to turn around, because she had her back facing the table. The guy was focusing on his phone, ignoring what seemed to be Yoojung’s little attempts to start a conversation.

 

“Does he not know how to socialize outside SNS?” Sohye mused. “Antisocial in real life, perhaps?”

 

“That could be,” Nayoung joined in, taking the vacant spot next to Chungha. “Hi, everyone. Chungha, do you happen to bring a pillow or something we can throw?”

 

Chungha gave her an odd look. “I never thought you’d ask. Pillow, no, but I accidentally bring several rubber balls with me.”

 

Jieqiong snorted at the word ‘accidentally’, but didn’t comment further as she glared daggers at the guy. Doyeon’s eyes narrowed dangerously as the guy grinned at his phone, causing Yoojung to tilt her head and ask something. Somi’s hand started to take interest in a bottle of mustard in front of her when the guy didn’t respond.

 

“Well,” Eunwoo solemnly said, taking the list of requested drinks Chungha had scribbled onto the paper, “the offer for rotten tomatoes is still there.”

 

 

---

 

 

Nayoung accepted the glass from Minkyung, nodding in understanding that she had to bring it to Yoojung’s table. She eyed the glass for a while, brows furrowed together,

 

“Hey, Minkyung.”

 

The mentioned girl stopped scribbling on the order list and turned back to her. “Hm?”

 

“By any chance—does this contain any form of rotten tomatoes?”

 

Minkyung slowly blinked, thrice.

 

“Not that I know of… why, should it?”

 

“No.” Nayoung sighed, “Alright, thank you. Back to your place.”

 

She carried the drink carefully, eyes already on the occupants of her destination table. The guy was picking up a call. A freaking phone call. Nayoung wanted to smack the guy, preferably in the head. Yoojung looked lost, head tilted and quietly mouthed, ‘who?’

 

The guy waved a dismissing hand to Yoojung’s question, and Nayoung glared.

 

Can I spill the drink on him? Nayoung pondered. And just innocently said, oh, I’m sorry, my hand was itchy and it just sorta slipped.

 

“Here’s your drink,” Nayoung tonelessly said, her glare directed at the guy who spared her a glance. A little too long. Then he was back grinning at something the caller said on the phone.

 

Jerk.

 

Nayoung turned to Yoojung, who merely gave her a faint smile and shook her head. Nayoung took out her phone and put it on the table. Yoojung stared questioningly, but Nayoung slid the phone closer to her, and patted it briefly. Yoojung nodded.

 

Nayoung glanced at the guy, who didn’t seem to be aware of what happened in front of him and laughed at the phone again. She sighed and turned around, walking back to the group. Somi was swinging the yellow sauce bottle wildly in the air, enraged. Jieqiong’s expression was starting to resemble that of an angry ostrich. Chungha held a rubber ball in her hand, while Doyeon fully turned around, watching the scene in front of her with impassive expression.

 

“How did it go?” Sohye asked.

 

Nayoung called for Eunwoo, and Eunwoo came right away, bringing a phone with her.

 

“Thanks.” Nayoung put the phone in the center, and everyone except Doyeon leaned forward. The phone was in calling-mode, and Somi whistled in appreciation as it’s connected to Nayoung’s phone.

 

“This is a good way to eavesdrop,” Sohye noted, typing the new technique on her phone’s memo and saving it for future purposes.

 

“Speaker?” Chungha asked.

 

Nayoung nodded, “Sure.”

 

They put the phone on speaker, careful not to make it too loud.

 

“Ah sorry I think I have to go.”

 

Jieqiong growled at the guy’s voice.

 

“Wait—what about—“ Somi clenched her fingers around the sauce bottle, her blood boiling at the hurt in Yoojung’s voice. Eunwoo cringed, taking pity on the poor bottle.

 

“I think this whole meeting is a mistake.”

 

“A rubber ball, please,” Nayoung requested. Chungha silently passed her one.

 

“He’s still calling… I want to slap the guy,” Doyeon commented, her gaze fixed on the scene in front of her. Her voice betrayed nothing she felt, but no one doubted that she’s just as angry as they were.

 

“I haven’t even known your name—“

 

“My name? You’re not good enough to know my name.”

 

There was a cruel, low chuckle that followed the reply, and Somi snatched the rubber ball from Chungha’s hand. Chungha wordlessly reached for another one from her bag.

 

“The guy gets up,” Doyeon reported.

 

“Eunwoo unnie?” Sohye called, “How much did you ask for two rotten tomatoes again?”

 

“…but, what about… what about your words?”

 

“Yoojung grabbed his wrist,” Doyeon gritted out.

 

“Tsk, tsk, our little Choi Yoojung…” there was a mocking tone, and forget eavesdropping. Everyone turned to see the scene, pairs of eyes narrowed in distate. Eunwoo passed two rotten tomatoes to Sohye and Jieqiong, informing them that it’s ‘on the house if you hit the target‘.

 

“…have you never heard of empty words?”

 

The guy pushed Yoojung’s hand away with his phone, and walked off, bringing the phone back to his ear again casually as if nothing had happened.

 

“On three,” Chungha called out.

 

“Two,” Nayoung continued.

 

“One!” Somi whispered.

 

For the first time in the guy’s life, karma greeted him in form of three rubber balls and two dripping rotten tomatoes, all five miraculously struck his head and shoulders with frightening accuracy…

 

…actually, no. Sohye’s tomato failed to meet the guy’s head, and fell several inches instead, colliding against the guy’s .

 

“What the f—!”

 

The girls immediately turned their gaze elsewhere, faking a chat around themselves. The guy wildly looked around, enraged, but Siyeon had shrieked about rotten smell and how it invited cockroaches to visit their café, all the while ushering the guy to exit quickly with Yebin’s help.

 

“Jerk,” Somi scoffed when the guy was nowhere in sight.

 

“Doyeon?” Chungha called in worry. Doyeon hadn’t reacted with rubber balls or rotten tomatoes. Instead, she merely stared at the lifeless girl across their spot, whose head was on the table, sighing.

 

“Empty words, huh…”

 

They fell silent as words rang from Nayoung’s phone.

 

“I’m such a dumb dumb.”

 

Was it this bad the last time? No. Jinyoung sunbae had been a gentleman throughout, and never gave Yoojung false hopes. It had been easy, for Jinyoung sunbae was a kind guy, and Doyeon could see why Yoojung liked him so much.

 

Doyeon clenched her fist.

 

Yoojung slowly turned her head to face the group’s table, and their eyes met. Doyeon stared, and although it wasn’t near, she could see the faint smile Yoojung was trying to put on her face.

 

Doyeon wanted to look away. She couldn’t handle seeing how broken Yoojung seemed. How weak she looked like. How unshed tears filled those eyes, even though Doyeon wasn’t supposed to know from the distance.

 

But Yoojung didn’t need her to look away, not now. Yoojung wouldn’t want her to look away.

 

So Doyeon smiled back, although her palm started to hurt as she clenched her fist way too hard.

 

 

---

 

 

Days passed, but Yoojung’s heartbreak didn’t.

 

“I say we call another urgent meeting,” Somi proposed as she and Doyeon watched over the lifeless lump of a sleeping Yoojung on the couch.

 

“Hm,” Doyeon responded.

 

“We can do something. We need to do something. I know. Let’s give Yoojung unnie a make over,” Somi furiously jotted down her ideas in a piece of paper.

 

“Hm.”

 

“We’ll make Yoojung unnie so awesome. We’ll make that guy eat his empty words and fall in love.” Somi nodded to herself and shaded the heart she had drawn on the paper.

 

“Hm…”

 

“We’ll make him look at Yoojung unnie—“ Somi blinked, “—what’s this guy’s name again?”

 

Doyeon sighed. “No idea. But I think I’ve seen him somewhere…”

 

“The café, duh.”

 

Doyeon pinched the youngest’ hand, and Somi yelped.

 

“Sorry!”

 

“Hmh.” Doyeon turned back to the sleeping lump again, “Whatever.”

 

“Why are you so lifeless?” Somi exclaimed, throwing her arms up in exasperation. She had had enough of Doyeon’s short hums. “How are you going to cheer Yoojung unnie up if you’re lifeless!”

 

“Nayoung unnie lifelessly asked Yoojung to take selfies with her,” Doyeon recounted.

 

“And Yoojung unnie did an angry flop to her bed, refusing to be cheered up that way,” Somi pointed out.

 

“Sohye tried to talk to Yoojung through her lifeless larva plushie,” Doyeon offered.

 

“Her ventriloquism .” Somi shrugged, “And fifteen minutes later, Yoojung unnie wrestled the gigantic plushie angrily.”

 

“Nayoung unnie had—“

 

“Oh my God, Doyeon unnie, don’t tell me you’re planning to be Stone Junior now!”

 

Smack!

 

Doyeon winced. Somehow along their conversation, Nayoung had stood behind Somi, a pillow in her hand. Somi whined, holding her head as she turned around to see who had smacked her. Her whine died in , replaced with a nervous chuckle the moment she realized that she had summoned Stone Ninja.

 

“Oh… hi, Nayoung unnie. Ehe he heh.”

 

“Hi, Somi,” Nayoung smiled sweetly. “What is this Stone Junior I’ve just heard of, hmm?”

 

“Nothing! Nothing!” Somi’s face clearly screamed abort. She glanced at Doyeon frantically, asking for help. Doyeon shrugged and turned to look at the sleeping Yoojung again—which made Somi brighten up,

 

“Ah yeah! I was about to look for you to, you know, suggest another urgent meeting…”

 

 

---

 

 

“How do I look?”

 

Doyeon tilted her head slightly at the question, “Choi Yoojung.”

 

Yoojung scowled.

 

“What… you don’t like it?” Doyeon allowed an amused smile to form on her lips. “How should I tell you how you look? How do I look?”

 

Yoojung hummed, her gaze carefully studying her, and Doyeon felt something funny happened inside her as Yoojung scanned her from head to toe.

 

“Your eyes are big,” Yoojung slowly stated. “Your lips are bright, it suits you…”

 

Doyeon swallowed.

 

“Your half-shirt—“

 

“Crop top,” Doyeon corrected her.

 

“—as I was saying, half-shirt,” Yoojung playfully repeated, grinning. “It looks good on you. You look gorgeous today and… your make up is… pretty. Of course, you’re pretty even without them, so…”

 

Doyeon smiled. “Well—“

 

Yoojung’s phone rang, and there went Yoojung’s attention. Doyeon felt the words she was about to say ran back, frantically shoving each other down .

 

“I need to go now…” Yoojung cheerily said, pocketing her phone back and looking up at her. Then Yoojung’s cheery tone died down, replaced with concern as she called her name.

 

“…Doyeon?”

 

Something inside Doyeon’s chest ached.

 

“Yeah,” Doyeon waved away, not meeting Yoojung’s gaze, trying to push down the horrible feeling in her heart.

 

“Go. Bye.”

 

She turned around quickly, because she knew Yoojung would look at her questioningly, wondering what’s wrong. Nothing was right, Doyeon wanted to tell her, but of course she couldn’t.

 

For Yoojung, everything was right today. Who was Doyeon to say otherwise?

 

 

---

 

 

Doyeon entered the same café again, by herself, two days after Somi had declared another urgent meeting. She paused in the entrance when she noticed that the only staffs around were guys.

 

“Doyeon!”

 

Doyeon looked at the source of voice and grinned to see Eunwoo waving her hand excitedly. She approached the girl who, she noted, didn’t wear the nametag like usual.

 

“Hi, Eunwoo unnie. Where’s your nametag?”

 

Eunwoo laughed. “I’m not working right now, Doyeon. So no nametag.” She gestured to the working guys, “Monday, Thursday, and Friday are their shifts. The girls get Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.”

 

Doyeon blinked. “I… see. So that’s why Nayoung unnie and Jieqiong unnie seem less tired on some days than on others. What about Sundays?”

 

“Sundays are when Boss let us have a day off,” Eunwoo smirked. “Boss has a squad of her friends who’ll serve this place every Sundays.”

 

Doyeon nodded thoughtfully. “I see, well—“

 

“…Doyeon?” a hesitant voice called.

 

Doyeon turned towards the voice, a surprised smile on her lips as she came face to face with the girl from days ago.

 

“Yeonjung, right? What a pleasant surprise… hi!”

 

“You know each other?” Eunwoo laughed. “How?”

 

“Long story,” Yeonjung said, smiling. “Hi, Eunwoo unnie.”

 

Eunwoo shrugged, “Well, it’s nice to see. Hi Yeonjung. And, although you’ve known each other… this is our frequent customer, Doyeon. She usually comes with six other girls, you’ll probably know them later. Doyeon, this is our new singer, Yeonjung.”

 

Doyeon grinned at the beaming girl, “So you got the job, after all.”

 

“Thanks to your motivation,” Yeonjung replied, grinning back. She looked at a spot in the corner of the café, where her stages would be. She turned back to the two and winked, “I wish I could stay around to chat longer, but I need to perform.”

 

“Kick !” Doyeon cheered.

 

“I don’t think kicking is on her job description…” Eunwoo mumbled. She turned to Yeonjung and pumped her fist up, “…but Doyeon is right, KICK , YOO!”

 

Yeonjung laughed and waved them goodbye, feeling a little more energized by their encouragements.

 

Doyeon leaned forward and whispered, “What’s she gonna sing?”

 

Eunwoo whispered back in a voice that carried nothing but secrecy, “This is supposed to be a secret, but I believe she’s going to sing Gemini… so, why are you coming here alone?”

 

“Can’t I?” Doyeon leaned back and stuck her tongue out. Although, it’s true that she had never visited the café just by herself before. Doyeon smiled, “Well, I just want to.”

 

Just like that, the two began to chat lightly among themselves. Among the café girls—that’s how people seemed to nickname them—Doyeon had been closest with Eunwoo. The girl was humorous, and sometimes cared too little about image—judging from the expressions she made. It’s like talking with a walking meme, and Doyeon liked that about Eunwoo.

 

What words should I say?

What thoughts are you immersed in like that?

You and I remain here

 

Their conversation halted as a Yeonjung’s stage began. Eunwoo closed her eyes, humming along the beautiful voice that graced every little corner of the café. Doyeon turned to look at the stage, where Yeonjung stood, singing her heart out with a confidence that made her shine.

 

“Her voice is beautiful,” Eunwoo hummed.

 

Doyeon nodded in agreement. Why did she ever worry with a voice like hers?

 

Oh remember, we liked, we cried and also laughed

So we can go back to that time in the beginning (you)

We were always together, we became alike

I can’t even imagine forgetting you—

 

“Do you know that we speed up the instrumental? It’s 1.18 times the original.”

 

“…pardon?”

 

Full of anticipation, your whispers

Like a dream we’ve drawn together, you and I

Will we be able to love?

 

“Yeah, it’s Kyla’s new hobby, messing up with instrumental’s speed,” Eunwoo absently said. “Yeonjung passed the test because she could perform Standing Egg’s Old Song with the speed being altered from 1.39, to 1.18, to normal, and to 1.39 again, all in the span of three minutes.”

 

Doyeon blinked.

 

“Wow, this café is weird.”

 

“Hey, we sell rotten tomatoes. Weird is the unofficial name of our café.”

 

Our eyes that always looked at the same place

It keeps becoming disjointed

Even though you’re nearby, I can’t see your heart

 

Doyeon frowned at the lyrics. It reminded her about someone, but she'd rather not to think about it right now—

 

“How’s Yoojungie doing?” Eunwoo asked.

 

Trust Eunwoo to force her to think about the thing she'd rather not to think.

 

“I… don’t know.” Doyeon didn’t like her answer, but she truly didn’t know. At Eunwoo’s raised brows, Doyeon sighed. “This is the most heartbroken I've ever seen her. It doesn’t help that the guy has engaged her in a chat for, like, three months—”

 

“Three months!” Eunwoo gasped.

 

“—all the while saying things to convince Yoojung that he liked… loved… her. Yeah, three months full of s.” Doyeon clenched her fist again, “Eunwoo unnie… have you ever heard of empty words?”

 

“Plenty,” Eunwoo instantly answered. “You see, Kyungwon lies a lot. Siyeon uses empty praises to bribe us—which works wonders, sadly—and Nayoung unnie has several times said how happy she was, without any trace of happiness in her face.”

 

Doyeon blinked. “I… see.” She didn’t know Eunwoo would spill so much dirt only to answer her yes or no question. “Well, Yoojung doesn’t.... didn’t. Not about feelings, anyway.”

 

Eunwoo nodded, signaling her to continue.

 

Doyeon sighed. “Jinyoung sunbae, her former crush, wasn’t one to sugarcoat his words… or using it to stab people’s feeling.”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

“And then… Beenzino, a hotdog stall guy, and the basketball captain—Yoojung didn’t have the chance to engage in a deep conversation with them.” Doyeon ticked off her fingers as she mentioned Yoojung’s crushes, and smiled sadly. “I don’t know… maybe Yoojung actually has had deep talks with the jerk? I think—the jerk probably has had a place in Yoojung’s heart through words… so what you witnessed several days ago was… yeah…”

 

Eunwoo grunted. “I should’ve given you more rotten tomatoes, then.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Nothing.” Eunwoo shook her head, “So… the kid is heartbroken.”

 

“I’ve never seen her that heartbroken,” Doyeon whispered weakly. I've never felt so helpless, what she left unsaid. Doyeon shook her head, “So… that’s why we’re going to give her a make over.”

 

Eunwoo blinked. “Make over?”

 

Doyeon nodded, “Yoojung wants the guy to like her. We’ve started since yesterday, actually. Yesterday, Somi and Jieqiong unnie were giving her make up tips.” Today is supposed to be me and Chungha unnie's turn, Doyeon thought, shifting in her seat. She didn’t know why she had agreed…

 

Bull. You know. You want to make her smile.

 

Doyeon sighed at her thought, not finding any argument good enough to refute.

 

While Doyeon was arguing with the voice inside her head, Eunwoo silently studied the girl in front of her. In the meantime, Yeonjung had reached the finishing note smoothly, and Doyeon clapped together with several customers who had enjoyed the performance, hushed praises being passed around in satisfied tone. Yeonjung kicked indeed.

 

“Doyeon,” Eunwoo called softly.                                                                                              

 

“Hm?” Doyeon turned to Eunwoo again. Only then did she realize that she hadn’t ordered anything since stepping into the café. Oh well, she’d do it after listening to what Eunwoo had to say…

 

“So what is it?” Doyeon asked when Eunwoo kept mum.

 

Eunwoo tilted her head slightly and smiled in concern,

 

“Is your heart okay?”

 

Doyeon blinked, all thoughts about what to order crashing down.

 

Is my heart… okay?

 

 

---

 

 

The door’s bell was ringing.

 

“Yoojung!” Chungha’s voice boomed from her room, “Open the door, please!”

 

The door’s bell rang again. Yoojung stumbled through the stairs as she tried her hardest to make it to the first floor quickly.

 

“Yoojuuung??”

 

“Neh! I’m here I’m here!” Yoojung nearly slipped as she skipped the last two steps from the stairs, jumping off for the sake of arriving faster, landing on the floor with as much grace as a clumsy person could have.

 

The bell rang again.

 

Yoojung sprinted towards the door. She skidded into a halt and took quick breaths only after she had reached the door’s knob, face flaming red from her rush.

 

As if not letting her to rest, the bell rang yet again, making her flinch.

 

“Yes! Yes! Geez,” Yoojung unlocked the door, and pulled it open. “CHUNGHA UNNIE DID YOU ORDER FOODS? Because I don’t remember ordering foods, although it’s time to lunch—eh…" Yoojung blinked,

 

"Who are you?”

 

In front of the door was a girl with shining forehead, a small part of it was covered by dark locks.  She wore an oversized shirt with a jacket tied loosely around her waist, and… thighs! ...wait a second.

 

Yoojung quickly looked back up and gulped.

                                                                            

“Ah, hello. Is Chungha here?” the visitor asked, smiling with a flicker of mirth dancing behind her eyes. Yoojung mentally kicked herself—the visitor totally knew that she had judged her appearance.

 

“She is, but—“ don’t look downwards, don’t look downwards, “—who are you?”

 

“Sejeong!”

 

Yoojung blinked as, instead of the visitor's, Chungha’s voice came after her question. She turned slightly to find the older girl arrived behind her, a little bit out of breath. Did Chungha unnie run?

 

“Hello, Love!” the visitor cheerily greeted, her smile brightening at the arrival of the person she’s seeking for. Yoojung regarded the visitor again, eyes narrowing.

 

So her name is Sej—wait, LOVE?

 

Chungha didn’t seem fazed by the greeting as she chuckled, “Aish, this greasy ahjusshi. Yoojung, this is Sejeong. Sejeong, Yoojung.”

 

“Oh, so this is your pokemon,” Sejeong noted, “she was critically eyeing me a while ago. A defense-oriented pokemon, eh?”

 

“I’m not a pokemon,” Yoojung scowled, her gaze flickered down briefly, then back up again, “you… you pantless stranger!”

 

“Was that supposed to be an insult?” Sejeong laughed. “Cute.”

 

“Pantless?” Chungha leaned forward and squinted at the oversized shirt, “Nah, Yoodaeng, she has a short pants on. Well, mind telling me where your decent pants go?”

 

Sejeong held her hands up, “On my way here a car ran over a puddle of water, and it splashed on my pants, so I had to change to the spare I happened to bring with me. I didn’t know that I brought this one, sorry.”

 

Yoojung snickered, sure, a puddle of water, sure…

 

“Oh, I’m serious,” Sejeong huffed. “You can check my bag. The dirty pants’ still there.”

 

“Well, want to borrow mine?” Chungha offered. “Anyways, come in.”

 

“That’d be great,” Sejeong beamed. “Oh, have I told you? Your pokemon is as short as y—OW! Why d’ya pinch me?!”

 

“You’re not that tall.”

 

Yoojung closed the door as the visitor stepped in, locking it back as it had been. She turned around and watched as Chungha ushered the visitor to the room she shared with Nayoung. The visitor… Sejeong, wasn’t it? Yoojung tilted her head, playing the scene she had witnessed earlier in her mind.

 

She called Chungha unnie Love? Yoojung frowned thoughtfully, …and Chungha unnie didn’t object it.

 

 Yoojung pondered over that little thought over and over again.

 

Maybe… just the kind of love Chungha unnie often said to me?

 

Oh who was she kidding. This was new.

 

Chungha unnie’s ears were red earlier.

 

…maybe she could straightly ask Chungha instead of trying to get herself a headache. Yoojung straightened up, right in the moment Chungha opened the door and walked out, with Sejeong wearing black trousers she must’ve borrowed from the former.

 

“Oh, Yoojung!”

 

Yoojung obediently approached the two, her mind racing to think of the best way to ask what’s bugging her mind…

 

“I’ll be out for a while with this greaseball.”

 

…huh?

 

“But unnie!” Yoojung protested, tugging on Chungha’s shirt. “You’re supposed to train me today, with Doyeon.”

 

Sejeong coughed two words that suspiciously sounded like pokemon trainer, and Chungha smiled an apologetic smile.

 

“I know, I’m sorry… but I’ve planned today since a month ago. Besides, Doyeon isn’t around.”

 

Yoojung worried her bottom lip, “Then can I tag along?”

 

Chungha blinked. “Uhhh…”

 

“Of course you can!” Sejeong clasped her hands, grinning. She didn’t seem to mind that a stranger was about to tag along to something they had planned for a month. Yoojung twitched—what a strange girl.

 

Chungha blinked, not expecting Sejeong to approve so quickly, if at all.

 

“Wait, are you serious?” Sejeong looked at her, nodding, and Chungha furrowed her brows. “Well, not that I object, but how are we going to go there? We’re three now.”

 

“Well, I bring a motorbike, but I suppose we can’t use that with three of us so we can walk instead. No worries! We can bring your pokemon to the Gugu Bakery—“

 

“I’m not a pokemon!” Yoojung yelled.

 

“—so what d’ya say?”

 

Chungha looked back and forth between a frowning Yoojung and an innocently smiling Sejeong. Walking, huh? It wasn’t… bad, she supposed. After all, she and Doyeon were tasked to train Yoojung in the fitness area. Walking could be a form of training too.

 

Well, even if it’s a little bit reaching.

 

Chungha sighed.

 

“Alright… notify Nayoung that you’ll be out with us, Yoodaeng.” Chungha pinched Sejeong’s cheek, then, “And you, stop calling her pokemon.”

 

 

---

 

 

Doyeon glanced at the clock again and frowned. It had been three hours since she came back from the café. Three hours with silence. Somi and Sohye had said that they would be late because they had planned to visit their family, while Nayoung and Jieqiong were out somewhere… doing something… that Doyeon wasn’t aware of.

 

It left her with Chungha and Yoojung.

 

It supposed to.

 

But here she was, alone, wasting the time away by glancing at the clock every now and then, growing increasingly restless. She messaged Nayoung again, asking if she knew where Chungha and Yoojung might be—if they weren’t supposed to be in the dorm.

 

Doyeon sighed and glanced at her phone. The way it didn’t budge at all seemed so mocking to her, but she probably shouldn’t feel offended by an inanimate object such as a phone. It wasn’t healthy at all. Still…

 

The ignorant phone seemed to sense her owner’s distress, for it had, finally, vibrated to life.

 

“Oh!” Doyeon quickly grabbed her phone and swept her finger against the screen. A message. From Nayoung. She opened it and began reading, careful not to miss out anything.

 

So Chungha unnie has said that she’d be out with someone she know…

 

Doyeon shook her head. Then where the heck would Yoojung be? Could it be that she ran away because Doyeon and Chungha hadn’t been there to train her?

 

No, Yoojung isn’t that reckless… is she?

 

Doyeon got up and paced around, getting more and more worried as she turned all possible scenarios in her mind.

 

Okay, yes, Doyeon was probably at fault. She knew today was supposed to be the day she and Chungha trained Yoojung—helping her grow taller a bit, in Somi’s words, or helping her to be more fit, in Jieqiong words. Yet, she chose to disappear to the café, only alerting Nayoung. But…

 

Doyeon’s ears perked up at the sound of the front door being opened. She pocketed her phone and took long strides towards the door, hoping it was Yoojung—

 

“We’re home. Oh, hi, Doyeon!”

 

Doyeon felt her shoulders droop slightly. “Hi, Nayoung unnie. Jieqiong unnie.”

 

“Somi and Sohye haven’t come back yet?”

 

“No…” Doyeon watched as her unnies tiptoed out from their shoes, slipping them into the storage rack they kept next to the door. “Chungha unnie hasn’t, either.”

 

“I see.” Jieqiong looked up, being the first to notice the strange silence in the dorm. “Is Yoojung sleeping?”

 

Doyeon twitched. “She’s not here, unnie…”

 

Nayoung looked up, frowning. “What do you mean she’s not here?”

 

“She’s not here,” Doyeon threw her arms up, finally letting out her frustration. “I thought you’d know where she is, I’ve not seen her since morning! I don’t even—that’s it. I’ll look for her. I’m borrowing your tandem bike, unnies!”

 

“Wait, Doyeon—!” Nayoung started, but Doyeon had already gone out, slamming the door close.

 

“¡Adiós!” Jieqiong waved excitedly, although Doyeon wouldn’t hear her.

 

“So Yoojung isn’t here?” Nayoung muttered, taking out her phone and scrolling through her inbox. “She didn’t say anything about going out to me…”

 

Jieqiong pushed the other to walk, “Well, Yoojung is in her appropriate age to do youthful rebellion!”

 

“I’m too old for this,” Nayoung mumbled, pocketing her phone back. “Way too old for this.”

 

“Careful with your steps, grandma.”

 

A light shove was Nayoung’s response to Jieqiong’s following chuckle.

 

 

---

 

 

Yoojung was starting to question her decision to tag along.

 

First off, when Sejeong mentioned that they would be walking, Yoojung had thought that the distance they were going to cover wasn’t far. Especially since Chungha wasn’t the type to have a load of energy bursting through her every being.

 

Yet Yoojung felt like her legs were about to file a lawsuit against her when Sejeong finally announced that they’d finally arrived. Chungha had noticed the screams of murder in Yoojung’s eyes, and chuckled. Chuckled. Chungha didn’t look half as tired, and Yoojung wondered if it’s because Sejeong was there.

 

Second off, when she heard Sejeong saying Gugu Bakery, Yoojung hadn’t thought much of it, so she couldn’t believe her eyes when the bakery in front of her sported a huge sign with ‘9x9 Bakery’ written in bubble font.

 

“Legends said that the founder initially wanted to name the store as Gugudan Bakery, but thought against it when he got a wife that hated multiplication tables with passion,” Sejeong told them.

 

It didn’t make the name sounded better in Yoojung’s mind.

 

“Sejeong unnie!” a voice called, and the three of them looked at the source of voice. A girl was sprinting towards them—or to ‘Sejeong unnie’, to be exact—with an apron around her.

 

“Mina!” Sejeong waved innocently, “How are you?”

 

Mina skidded into a halt in front of Sejeong, and brought a spatula Yoojung belatedly noticed to stab Sejeong’s stomach.

 

"Ow!"

 

“Stuff it, unnie!” Mina scowled, “Where have you been?! Haebin unnie was spitting fire because you left the battered brass without telling anyone to watch over it!”

 

“But I’ve told Mimi—ouch! Today is also not my working d—ouch! Stop!” Sejeong whined, trying to hold off the spatula from poking her stomach again. When she did, though—“OUCH! HOT!”

 

“Of course it’s hot. I poked you with the handle for a reason,” Mina snorted. “Serve you right, ahjusshi.”

 

Yoojung eyed the spatula, fairly sure it had just come fresh from a boiling pot of frying oil, or something like that.

 

Yep. Tagging along must’ve been a mistake.

 

While Yoojung was coming into an epiphany, Sejeong looked at Mina with watery eyes, “Behave, Mina, I bring guests!”

 

Mina blinked. Only then did she seem to notice Yoojung and Chungha’s presence, because she quickly took a step back and bowed ninety degree,

 

“Ah, hello! I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you two before—“

 

Yoojung twitched. I don’t know I have the ability to be invisible.

 

“—but welcome to our Gugu Bakery.” The girl straightened up and beamed, “Since you two seem to know Sejeong unnie, it’s probably expected of me to introduce myself. I’m Mina, Kang Mina.”

 

Sejeong grinned, still gripping her hand that had come in contact with Mina’s burning spatula, “She’s my pokemon!”

 

Another stab.

 

“I’m not a pokemon!”

 

Yoojung inwardly cheered. It was always a joy to know someone shared the same sentiment about being called a pokemon. Yoojung wondered if Mina would allow her to borrow the spatula… after all, Yoojung hadn’t gotten back to Sejeong for calling her pokemon, four times.

 

“I’m Chungha,” Chungha replied, smiling. “And this is Yoojung.”

 

“Oh! So you are the person Sejeong unnie has been blabbering about.” Mina had a glint of mischief in her eyes as she continued, “She can’t shut up about you, and Mimi unnie can’t shut up about how Sejeong unnie can’t shut up about you. Poor Haebin unnie is having her headache more frequent than ever.”

 

“Hey!” A flushed Sejeong attempted to headlock Mina, who smoothly avoided the ambush and in return stuck her tongue out to the blushing girl.

 

Chungha laughed. “I’m so sorry to cause that, Mina-sshi. And Sejeong, let her be.”

 

“Let her be!” Sejeong let out an offended gasp, “You didn’t let me be when I teased your pokemon.”

 

Mina turned to face Yoojung, who was scowling at Sejeong now. “She called you pokemon too?”

 

Yoojung solemnly nodded, “Yes.”

 

“I see,” Mina paused, looking at Sejeong who seemed to get a half-hearted scolding from Chungha, and then back at Yoojung.

 

“Wanna borrow my spatula?”

 

 

---

 

 

Whose great idea was it to search for someone without knowing where to search first and foremost?

 

That’s right, herself.

 

Doyeon stopped the bike and frowned as she found the road ahead being surrounded by rice field and grasses lot, left and right. In place of tall buildings and houses were trees, and as far as her vision went was green, a lot of green, with a river flowing calmly on the side.

 

Doyeon felt a bead of nervous sweat trickle down past her left cheek. Had she lost so far that she arrived to the place foreign to her? Had she been out of town?

 

“Where am I?” Doyeon mumbled. “Oh my God, this is stupid… I can’t be lost now when I’m supposed to find a missing person.”

 

She took her phone from her pocket, wishing that there’d be a message from Yoojung, or Nayoung. None greeted her, but there was a message from Chungha’s number. Doyeon opened the message, curious. She had messaged Chungha to ask where she was, in hope that maybe Yoojung tagged along. After all, Chungha had always babied Yoojung and Yoojung always loved being babied by Chungha.

 

“Gugu… Bakery?” Doyeon spelled the strange name out loud, eyebrows furrowed together. “Is there such place?”

 

She read further as Chungha described the place. A few hundred meters after rice field and grasses… follow the river… Doyeon blinked. She gazed at her surroundings, noting the reference Chungha explained in her message.

 

It seemed like she was on the right track to the weird-named bakery Chungha had mentioned.

 

Doyeon hummed, pocketing her phone, and began to cycle again.

 

“So Chungha unnie said… to expect several houses down the road. It means the bakery is near.” Doyeon whistled, squinting far ahead. “I think I’ve seen the roofs.”

 

Her worry of the missing Yoojung momentarily set aside as grasses around her gently swayed, following the direction dear wind blew. Doyeon smiled, feeling comforted by the nature around her.

 

It took around ten minutes until Doyeon actually passed by the aforementioned houses. Although, unlike around the dorm, the houses had fairly wide spaces between one another, with trees and mini gardens filling the gaps. Then, there was a water fountain ahead, and Doyeon was fairly sure it was a bakery she saw standing after the fountain.

 

“The sign is… nine times nine Bakery? Nine nine… Gugu?” Doyeon cringed. “Oh my God. And here I thought Chungha unnie was joking about the name.”

 

 

---

 

 

Chungha watched with an amused smile as Sejeong attempted to throttle the Evil Force, who had introduced herself as ‘Mimi’ two hours ago. Apparently, Mimi liked to spill people’s dirt. Mina had dutifully nodded when Sejeong dubbed Mimi as Evil Force, so Chungha felt less guilty for associating Mimi like that in her mind.

 

“It’s not my fault if you farted at such comical timing!” Mimi yelped, dodging Sejeong’s hands. She had just finished telling the tale of Sejeong’s farts, and Chungha had to admit that Mimi had a talent at retelling stories. It was entertaining, although she wouldn’t say it in front of Sejeong’s shredded dignity.

 

“Sejeong, let Mimi go!” Hana yelled from the cashier, before turning and flashing a thankful smile as a buyer paid for five towering cakes. The buyer laughed heartily, thanking Hana back for having humorous co-workers who knew how to have fun and light up the mood inside the bakery.

 

It was a wonder they still had customers with such hooligans like Mimi.

 

“Don’t let her go!” a girl chipped in, bringing two drinks over Chungha’s table. The girl with the nametag ‘Soyee’ smiled at Chungha and put down the drinks, “Your order, Chungha-sshi.”

 

“Thank you, Soyee-sshi. Are your unnies always this wild?”

 

Soyee shrugged, “Kinda, but Sejeong unnie usually isn’t on the receiving end. She’s the one going around teasing people.” She smirked, “I guess Mimi unnie is lucky you come to visit us today.”

 

Chungha let out a light laugh at that. Was that why Sejeong kept warning her about Evil Force so much when they had planned to visit the bakery?

 

“Sejeong unnie seems so fond of you,” Soyee observed, her smirk turning into a small smile. “I think I can see why.”

 

Chungha smiled back, happy to hear so. “She talked a lot about you guys…” she told Soyee, deciding to offer a bit of story from her side. “I recall Sejeong telling me that you aren’t one to sit around and chat.”

 

“What a profound misunderstanding of my character,” Soyee replied in a straight face. Then the mask broke off as she chuckled, “Well, as you see… I prefer to stand around and chat, Chungha-sshi.”

 

“I’ll pass it along to Sejeong later,” Chungha smirked. “And please, you can drop the formality.”

 

“Neat—Chungha unnie.” Both shared a smile, feeling a tad bit more comfortable with each other now. It was then that the bell located on the front door rang, cluing them about a new visitor. Soyee glanced at the man entering their bakery, and then back at Chungha.

 

Chungha nodded knowingly, “Go. We can ‘stand around and chat’ later.”

 

Soyee chuckled at the inside joke, and waved her goodbye. Right at that moment, Haebin hollered Mimi’s name from the room where they baked and made their stuffs. That signed the end of Mimi and Sejeong’s over-the-top little fights, and Chungha rested her head on top of her twined hands as she watched Sejeong walking towards her table, smiling broadly.

 

“I’m back!” Sejeong announced, plopping in front of Chungha and flashing a lopsided grin towards her and her pokem—no, I mean Yoojung. Yoojung, Chungha, Yoojung. Right. Yoojung isn’t a pokemon.

 

Chungha shook her head, amused that Sejeong had rubbed off on her that much.

 

“Welcome back,” she said, “I haven’t ordered anything for you, though.”

 

“Haven’t ordered anything!” Sejeong clutched her heart dramatically, pouting. “But I thought you’re going to ask me to share yours?”

 

Yoojung cleared . Chungha glanced at her dongsaeng, amused to see Yoojung’s narrowed eyes. She had a feeling that she knew what Yoojung was thinking, or had been thinking. Sejeong didn’t have the advantage of living with Yoojung for more than two years, but she seemed amused all the same.

 

“Do you enjoy the cake, Yoojung-sshi?” Sejeong asked, gesturing to the half-eaten cheesecake in front of Yoojung.

 

“You are a girl,” Yoojung stated, looking at Sejeong.

 

“I bleed every once a month, yes,” Sejeong nodded, as if she had already practiced to answer that statement for a while now. She didn’t seem fazed by her unanswered question.

 

Yoojung twitched. “You bleed—“

 

Sejeong tilted her head slightly and thoughtfully said, “Yeah. From a place boys don’t normally bleed, if I must add.”

 

Yoojung sputtered at that. Chungha kicked Sejeong’s leg under the table, hiding a smile as she did so. Sejeong merely shrugged, putting up an innocent expression.

 

“Well, uh, yeah,“ Yoojung swallowed and turned to Chungha, for she couldn’t form a response while looking at the strange person that was Sejeong. “And Chungha unnie is—“

 

“The love of my life,” Sejeong nodded again, grinning this time, resulting Yoojung to gape. Chungha delivered another kick to Sejeong’s other leg, but she didn’t bother to hide her smile anymore.

 

“Ow!” Sejeong winced, looking at Chungha with a pout. Chungha’s smile only widened, and Sejeong pouted even more. “Well, my Lady, fancy to know that you love me too.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Chungha replied happily. She glanced at Yoojung, who seemed to have zoned out from the conversation after Sejeong’s answer, and her smile faltered if only slightly.

 

Chungha had always wondered how her dorm-mates would take same gender relationships, and it would be a lie to say that she wasn’t nervous to have Yoojung here today. After all, she had planned to visit Sejeong’s workplace—Sejeong’s second home, in her words—with only Sejeong. She hadn’t counted the possibility of one of the girls tagging along.

 

She looked back at Sejeong, who had been watching her, the earlier pout now replaced with a patient smile. It seemed that somehow Sejeong knew what’s running through her mind.  Chungha smiled back, and she noticed then, how Sejeong’s shoulders relaxed slightly, her smile growing, eyes starting to resemble crescent moons Chungha loved dearly.

 

Sejeong had always been one to worry silently.

 

“Where’s Mina?” Chungha asked, noticing that Mina hadn’t been around ever since they stepped into the café. She would let Yoojung ponder on her own, but she wouldn’t let her thoughts to dampen what should be a good day for her and Sejeong.

 

“Working,” Sejeong replied instantly. “We had a big delivery coming up for tomorrow.”

 

“Why aren’t you working?” Chungha asked again, curiously.

 

Sejeong smiled, “Not my shift. For today, it’s Soyee, Mina, Hana unnie, Haebin unnie, and Mimi unnie.” She blinked, as if realizing something, then she grinned. “Well, it’s a good thing you aren't here on my workdays.”

 

“Some secrets you don’t want me to know?” Chungha teased, “An affair with your co-workers?”

 

“No, just that I wouldn’t be able to accompany you through your visit,” Sejeong laughed. “I lose my throttling privilege when I’m working. I wouldn’t dare to imagine what Nayoung unnie’s gonna tell you, she’d have a field day digging a grave for me. Or Mimi unnie, if she ever visited on her day off.”

 

“Nayoung?” Chungha blinked.

 

“Kim Nayoung, yes,” Sejeong grinned. “Another Nayoung. I know. Small world and all that jazz.”

 

“Huh,” Chungha smiled. “I hope she’s not a stone.”

 

Sejeong waved her hand dismissively, “Nah… she’s a dying chicken.”

 

Chungha laughed. It didn’t help that the Nayoung she knew had once showed her an impersonation of a dying chicken, too. If these two Nayoungs ever met, they could probably hold a dying chicken impersonation contest. Now that would be a contest worth watching.

 

Sejeong smiled widely, “I love your laugh.”

 

Chungha’s laugh subsided, replaced with a smile of her own. “Really, now?”

 

“Well yeah, always,” Sejeong drummed her fingers against the table, tilting her head slightly, staring at Chungha’s idle hand on the table while letting out a thoughtful hum.

 

“And… you know, my hand is kinda bored.”

 

Sejeong opened her palm, and Chungha couldn’t stop her smile from reaching her ears as she let her fingers pretend to tiptoe across the table. A moment, and their fingers slid against each other, clasping together snugly, warmly.

 

Perfectly.

 

Nothing could break this moment, nothing could steal this from them—

 

—except Yoojung’s exceptionally loud gasp, followed by a cry of “Doyeon!”.

 

Sejeong blinked owlishly, no doubt thinking ‘what on Earth is a Doyeon’. Chungha turned her head towards the mirror on their table’s side, her jaw dropped as she saw Doyeon standing on the other side, face stoic. Several meters behind her was Nayoung and Jieqiong’s tandem bike, and Chungha’s eyes widened.

 

I don’t think she’d actually go here when she asked me where I am! Why does she— Chungha’s gaze traveled towards Yoojung, whose attention was focused solely on Doyeon, —on second thought, of course. But still, should she actually come here?

 

“Doyeon!” Yoojung exclaimed, placing her hands against the mirror.

 

Doyeon opened , about to say something. Then she shook her head, seemingly thinking better of it and settled for a bitter smile instead. She shrugged, rolling her eyes, slowly turning to leave.

 

 “Dodo! Hey! Are you mad?? Hey!! Wait!!!”

 

Yoojung panicked, turning to Chungha and giving her all sorts of body language for ‘excuse me unnie please clear the way I need to go’. Chungha shook her head, releasing Sejeong’s hand and getting up from her seat. Something clicked in her mind, and Chungha turned to Yoojung sharply,

 

“Yoojung, don’t tell me you didn’t notify Nayoung—“

 

“I forgot!” Yoojung yelled over her shoulder as she began to sprint. “See you at home, unnie! See you later, Sejeong-sshi!”

 

“—goodness,” Chungha sighed, facepalming as she sat back. So that was why Doyeon went as far as actually coming to the bakery. Because Yoojung was practically missing for how many hours. Of course Doyeon would come here…

 

“Are they, you know… an item?” Sejeong’s voice carried over Chungha’s mental facepalms, an underlying tone of amusement was present beneath her words. Chungha looked up at her incredulously, but Sejeong merely smiled and jerked her thumb towards the mirror.

 

Chungha furrowed her brows, but looked to where Sejeong signaled, nevertheless. Even the distance and the piece of glass between them didn’t prevent them from hearing a faint yell of “Doyeon!” as Yoojung jogged over towards the taller girl, who had begun walking alongside the tandem bike.

 

Chungha squinted, almost sure that Doyeon slightly slowed down at Yoojung’s call.

 

“What of them?” Chungha asked, although she herself knew what Sejeong had meant.

 

“Nooothing,” Sejeong replied knowingly, smiling. “And look! My hand is bored, again.”

 

 

---

 

 

Doyeon sighed as she pulled the tandem bike along, walking away from the bakery. She spared the water fountain a glance, wondering in passing if the people living around there would understand a stranger dumping their head randomly into the pooling water.

 

Probably not.

 

“Dodo! Wait!!”

 

A sigh escaped her lips as Yoojung’s voice reached her again. Doyeon quickened her steps just a little bit, if only to satisfy the clawing feeling inside her. A part of her was glad that Yoojung was actually with Chungha, instead of seriously missing from the face of the Earth. But another part of her, a smaller but more vocal one, had wanted to snap.

 

I came all the way here being worried as , the voice in her head bitterly groused. And there you are eating cakes! Stupid Yoojung!

 

“Doyeon!” Yoojung called again, her voice a little bit strangled this time. Doyeon didn’t have to glance to know that Yoojung was running.

 

With her luck, she’d probably trip over a stone or something soon.

 

The thought made Doyeon slow down, even as she resolutely kept walking. She wasn’t exactly happy with Yoojung, yes, but that didn’t mean she’d be okay seeing Yoojung go and injure herself.

 

Sound of footsteps that weren’t hers had gotten closer in a short time, and Doyeon schooled her expression into a straight face.

 

Just don’t listen to what she says, and tell her to go back to Chungha unnie.

 

Doyeon mentally ran through possibilities—Yoojung would probably jog lightly next to her, trying to talk through her ragged breaths, or jump in front of her with arms spread wide, blocking her way, or hop onto the back bike, adding weights to it, or hold onto the back bike, trying to stop it from moving forward.

 

Tug.

 

Doyeon resisted the urge to groan when she felt the back of her shirt stretched. Yoojung had tugged on it and stopped moving, causing the fabric to strain more than it should be.

 

“Doyeon,” Yoojung softly called between her gasps of air.

 

“Go back to Chungha unnie,” Doyeon responded as monotonously as she could, her legs had stopped from walking—but made no effort to step backwards. She doubted Yoojung would rip her shirt open, anyway.

 

“Are you angry at me?”

 

No , Sherlock.

 

“Go back to Chungha unnie,” Doyeon repeated, glaring at the pavement in front of her. She didn’t want to say anything more. She didn’t want to lash out. So please, Yoojung, do me a favor and go—

 

“Why are you angry at me?” Yoojung whispered, taking a step forward. Doyeon could almost hear every inch of her shirt’s fabric sighing in relief as it avoided the fate of being ripped open.

 

“It’s foolish of me to worry about you,” said Doyeon in a clipped tone.

 

Her answer didn’t garner an immediate reply, alerting her slightly of her own temper. Doyeon closed her eyes, trying to think of the green grass, quiet rice fields, hoping to find any bits of calmness in her heart. But it only served her the memory of her initial panic, her frantic thoughts about Yoojung running away.

 

She swallowed. So much for trying to control her temper.

 

“…but you’re the first to leave, Dodojjyu.”

 

Doyeon tightened her grip on the front bike’s handles. Oh do I? You have no idea when you first left, do you?

 

Yoojung took another step forward, and Doyeon opened her eyes, ready to continue her role as a broken record, telling her yet again to just go back to Chungha unnie—

 

“…why did you leave?” Yoojung whispered weakly. “Where did you go?”

 

Yoojung released her hold, as if giving Doyeon a choice—to answer, or to walk away without as much as a glance. The tall girl smiled bitterly, knowing that just minutes ago, her choice wouldn’t need a second thought. Her choice would’ve been clear. Her choice would be the latter.

 

Now, Doyeon found herself in a quiet wonder. If she had turned around, if she had looked back—what expression would she see? Did those eyes hold questions, did those eyes have a flicker of hurt?

 

Would your eyes mirror the spark of longing flashing before mine?

 

Doyeon carefully moved her hold on the front bike, keeping it standing as she slowly turned around. She had the practiced words ready in the tip of her tongue, I’m sorry, I was searching for Nayoung unnie in the café, go back to Chungha unnie, but really, Doyeon should’ve expected that plan to fail, too.

 

She hadn’t fully turned around yet when Yoojung rushed forward, arms going around Doyeon’s waist. Then the iceberg settling in the bottom of Doyeon’s stomach cracked, slowly melting away as her mind registered what just happened.

 

Yoojung hugged her.

 

Nothing went according to Kim Doyeon’s plan today.

 

“You’re too skinny, Dodojjyu.”

 

Doyeon snorted, of course, I’m not the one going around eating cakes. She shook her head, opting to say instead,

 

“You didn’t tell anyone where you’d go.”

 

“You didn’t tell me where you’d go,” Yoojung countered, loosening her hug enough to be able to look up. A sad smile was present on her lips as she continued,

 

“I suppose I don’t have the right to know where you are anymore, do I?”

 

Doyeon wanted to tell her how she didn’t know what she’s talking about. Doyeon wanted to tell her the ache her words had caused, unseen and unheard within Doyeon’s chest. Doyeon wanted to tell her how in the last three months Doyeon had repeatedly thought that she didn’t have the right to know anything about Yoojung anymore.

 

So Doyeon shifted, staring straight into Yoojung’s clear eyes. The clench in her gut tightened, but no sound came out of her angry thoughts. Words died down in as she saw a flicker of doubt lurking behind those eyes.

 

In the end, she pulled Yoojung closer, hugging her back, burying her face on top of Yoojung’s head.

 

“You’re a ,” was what Doyeon managed to say instead.

 

Yoojung twitched, letting out a muffled word that suspiciously sounded like ‘boo’.

 

"...ing ," Doyeon continued, smiling to herself. And then, it was both hesitant and rushed. Doyeon was meant to just pull back from their embrace, and maybe half-heartedly tell Yoojung to seriously, go back to Chungha unnie, but the reckless part of her—that constantly yelled YOLO! every time Nayoung told her to behave—had guided her hand to reach up and lightly ruffle Yoojung’s hair, compelling herself to lean in and press a tender kiss to the crown of Yoojung’s head.

 

When she had finally pulled away from their embrace, there was a rush of heat that warmed her neck, traveling up to her cheeks. It was fleeting, or so Doyeon had wanted to think. Yoojung probably wouldn’t feel it, so she wouldn’t react to it… but Yoojung took a small step back, looking up at her, her eyes twinkling in a way that brightened Doyeon’s world.

 

Her lips smiling a smile Doyeon had longed to see again.

 

Doyeon smiled back, her gut unclenching, the scent of Yoojung’s shampoo still lingering idly in her senses. But still, her brain worked out some words she had repeated again and again—

 

“Go back to Chungha unnie,” Doyeon half-heartedly murmured.

 

“Do you even know the way home?” Yoojung teased. She moved to look at the temporarily forgotten bike, smiling, “So you stole unnies’ tandem bike. I want to ride it.”

 

"No."

 

"You don't know the way home, Dodojjyu." Yoojung shook her head, as if she had known that Doyeon spent an hour being lost searching for her before finally arriving at the Bakery because Lady Fortune pitied her. Yoojung looked up at her, a childish grin plastered on her face, "Let's ride it together! Pleaaase?"

 

“I’m not giving you a free ride,” Doyeon said, sighing. Yoojung was true, she didn’t know the way home. She had practically arrived to Gugu Bakery purely through sheer luck and determination. It seemed that she actually had to go home with Yoojung, after all.

 

“I’m not asking for a free ride,” Yoojung singsong-ed.

 

Doyeon gave her a mock glare. “Alright, but you better pedal, or else.”

 

“Uh huh. I didn’t say that I know the way home, though,” Yoojung innocently pointed out.

 

Doyeon narrowed her eyes, “Yoojung—“

 

“But Chungha unnie knows,” Yoojung quickly added, chuckling. “Relax, Dodojjyu. I’m sure Chungha unnie will come soon, with Sejeong-sshi, then we can ask her to go slowly so we can follow from behind.”

 

“And here I thought about calling the police,” Doyeon let out an exasperated sigh. “You should’ve said so, Yoojungjjyu.”

 

“You should’ve let me finish,” Yoojung retorted, hopping onto the back bike. “And… Doyeon?”

 

Doyeon settled on the front bike, turning over slightly to look at Yoojung. “Hmm?”

 

“You aren’t mad anymore, are you?”

 

Doyeon pretended to ponder, “Hmm… I guess I can be bribed by two or three portions of pudding.”

 

She laughed heartily as Yoojung sputtered in disbelief, claiming her heartless for demanding Yoojung to give up her babies. A sound of motorbike’s engine growled meters behind them, and they prepared to greet Chungha, their only hope for a way home.

 

As Yoojung proceeded to tell her about a ‘greaseball ahjusshi’ named Sejeong, Doyeon cherished the time they’re together silently.

 

You aren’t mad anymore, are you?

 

It didn’t take long until Chungha and the ‘greaseball ahjusshi’ reached them, and Yoojung animatedly spoke to the amused two, occasionally glancing at Doyeon for moral support (why exactly, Doyeon didn’t know, so she merely nodded every now and then).

 

In the end, they had agreed to go slowly, with Sejeong exclaiming ‘the more time with the person behind me, the better!’.

 

As the motorbike’s engine got started again, Doyeon took a last glance to the person behind her, who flashed her a bright smile, and Doyeon found herself thinking—if only you knew, Yoojung.

 

I’ll never be able to be truly mad at you.