A/N ;

italics = thought

Eunha rang the doorbell, took a step back, and started to jump from one leg to the other while waiting for the door to be opened. Usually Sowon was the one who will pick her up but today Eunha decided to pick Sowon up for a change. And maybe to surprise her too. And maybe because she kinds of missing Sowon. What are you talking about? You just saw her yesterday?! How do you miss someone who you see on daily basis?? But, I do miss her, it’s… strange… Eunha stared at her feet. You are weird, Jung Eunha… yeah, weird.

Eunha’s conversation with herself was interrupted by sounds of door opening.

“Huh? Eunha? I am just about to go to your house,” Sowon greeted.

“Um, I just feel like picking you up, unnie,” Eunha said.

Sowon smiled. “Okay, let’s go to school.” Sowon walked pass Eunha.

Eunha didn’t move.

“Eunha?” Sowon was already at the gate.

Eunha walked slowly toward Sowon. She gazed determinedly at Sowon’s hand.

“Hm?”

“Unnie, can you help me holding something?”

“Sure,” Sowon replied easily. She offered her hand to Eunha. “What is it?”

“This.” With that said, Eunha put her hand on top of Sowon’s outstretched hand.

“Huh…?” Sowon looked confused.

Eunha’s cheeks were tinted pink. “That, hold that for me.” She looked ahead on the road. Refusing to look at Sowon. “Unnie, let’s go to school, we are going to be late.” Eunha pulled Sowon with her.

“Eh? Sure? But—“ Sowon’s words were stopped midway.

Eunha looked questioningly at Sowon who started to laugh.

“What?” Eunha pouted at Sowon. “I can’t hold your hand?” Eunha asked defensively. She looked at Sowon who laughed even harder.

“Should have just said that you want to hold hand, dummy.” Sowon flicked Eunha’s forehead.

Eunha pouted through her blushing cheeks. But, she kept hold on Sowon’s hand. “I don’t get why I miss you, this meanie unnie.”

A beat of silence. Eunha looked at Sowon. “Unnie?”

Sowon was blushing. “Ah, you really are too cute. My cute little rabbit~” Sowon squished Eunha’s cheeks. “

“Unnie!” yet despite her protest, Eunha let Sowon squished her cheeks.

Though, Sowon had stopped squishing her cheeks, both of her hands still lingered on Eunha’s cheeks. She continued to just looking at Eunha with a small smile.

“Unnie?”

“Isn’t it weird?” Sowon asked.

“What’s weird?”

“That I feel the same,” Sowon replied, “The moment I turned around and went on my way, the growing distance between us, it felt like we are so far away. Like, you are so far away from me. And it’s making my heart ache.” Sowon’s tone turned wistful.  “It’s good that you actually feel the same. Well, kind of.”

Sowon’s words tugged at Eunha’s heart, making it throbbing painfully. And Eunha couldn’t say anything. She put her hands on top of Sowon’s hands. She squeezed it gently. “Unnie, don’t be sad?” because a sad Sowon is wrong. And Eunha couldn’t bear it if she’s the cause of that sadness.

Sowon smiled at her. “I am not sad, because you are here.”

And then Eunha’s heart fluttered.

--

Eunha dozed off when they rode the bus to school. She swore she’s leaning on the window yet when she opened her eyes, she found herself to be leaning on Sowon’s shoulder.

“Already awake?” Sowon asked.

Eunha nodded.

“Drools.” Sowon said, “On your face… oh… and on my shoulder too.”

Suddenly, Eunha wasn’t so drowsy anymore. “Huh?! Wait, wait. I am sorry—I—“ Eunha frantically tried to wipe the drools off. She stopped the moment she heard Sowon’s laughter. “Yah!”

“Nah, you don’t have any drools,” Sowon teased, “You are sleeping beautifully. Don’t worry.”

Eunha slapped Sowon’s hand, half because she’s been fooled and half because she’s blushing. Sowon was still laughing even when Eunha continuously hit her.

--

“Unnie, wait… something is weird,” Eunha said. She looked at the street that the bus has passed. The view she saw from the window is very wrong.

“Hm?”

“The road—it’s—unnie, the road is—“

“You realized it too, huh?”

“We have missed our stop, haven’t we?” Eunha sighed.

Sowon nodded. “Yep.”

“Why are you being so casual about this? Why don’t you wake me up?”

“You are sleeping soundly, I feel bad waking you,” Sowon said, “Besides, you look adorable when you sleep. So, I might have been too captivated in watching you to notice that we have missed our stop.”

And again, Eunha’s heart was fluttering.

--

They have missed all of their classes today. So, in the end, they decided to just ditch the school completely. The bus last stop was a station that Eunha never visited before. In that unfamiliar place, Eunha was glad that she’s with Sowon who seemed unfazed and calmly ask the receptionist at the information booth.

“Say, want to go to the aquarium?” Sowon asked.

“Aquarium?”

Sowon pointed at the information booth with her thumb. “The lady in the information booth said that the next bus is going to be arrived in four hour. So, to kill time, she suggests that we visit an aquarium near here.”

Eunha nodded. “Alright, it’s been such a long time since the last time I visited an aquarium.” Eunha smiled. Wait, sounds like a date actually... huh, a date?! With Sowon-unnie? A DATE?! Why do I say it’s a date? It isn’t!

Just the thought of it made Eunha blushed furiously.

“Your face is red. Are you okay?” Sowon asked. She placed her hand on Eunha’s forehead. “Your temperature seemed normal. Huh?”

“N—n—no, I am fine! Totally fine!” Eunha stammered.

“Well, if you say so…” Sowon didn’t look convinced.

“Unnie, I am fine! I am just—it’s hot! That’s why my face is red.”

“Okay, we should just go to the aquarium then. It’s colder there.”

--

The aquarium was interesting, to say the least. It has a huge hourglass in the middle of the entrance hall. The hourglass was slightly taller than Sowon so, for Eunha it’s huge. Eunha was admiring the hourglass and when she took a peek at Sowon, the later was looking at the hourglass with some kind of determined gaze.

“Unnie, are you okay?” Eunha squeezed Sowon’s hand. Because for a moment, it looked like Sowon was going to disappear.

Sowon turned to her with a smile. “I am okay.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Just that time always continues to tick away, just like the sand inside this hourglass. No matter what, no matter how tight you tried to grasp it, it’ll still fall from you hand. And when you realized it, the moment you desperately tried to keep has passed.” Sowon looked at the hourglass. “And I realized that time is limited. So, I want to spend it all with my precious people.” She turned toward Eunha and smiled. “Before I run out of time.”

Eunha frown hearing it.

--

Eunha was looking at the way the fishes swam inside the glass. Sowon was standing beside her. Eunha’s mind kept on rewinding the words Sowon has said before. Something was bugging her.

“Unnie…”

“Hm?”

Eunha turned to Sowon. She reached for Sowon’s hair to tuck it behind her ear. She smiled at Sowon. “Unnie, even if your times run out. Even if no more sands were left, I will find it. I will find a way to make it ticking again,” Eunha said firmly, “Because I don’t function well when you are not here, Sowon-unnie. So, I wouldn’t let you disappear from me.”

Sowon smiled. Melancholy and sad. The sight made Eunha’s heart felt like it has been pierced by thousand needles. Before Eunha could say anything more, Sowon pulled her into a hug. Wordlessly, they hugged each other tightly.

--

The trip back to their house was calm. Eunha didn’t feel like sleeping yet the soft shake the bus made and the passing view lulled her to close her eyes. This time, she placed her head against Sowon’s shoulder instead of the window. She took a peek every once and then to Sowon. And like always, Sowon has a small smile when she caught Eunha’s gaze. So, she held Sowon’s hand tightly.

Time passed between them without words. While she closed her eyes, Eunha wasn’t asleep so she heard Sowon’s soft whisper.

“Even if my time has run out, even if the earth stops moving… I will keep you safe. My time… the time that has been stopped flowing couldn’t be—don’t worry though… even if it stops flowing, I’ll stay by your side… for as long as you let me… my precious little rabbit…”

Sowon’s words, Eunha was sure it didn’t intend for her to hear. Yet, she heard it anyway. And, Eunha… her mind and heart were a mess. A part of her want to comfort Sowon because she has been sounding so sad yet so firm when she said it. Another part of her wasn’t sure what she’s supposed to do because she’s supposedly already asleep.

If there’s one thing she’s sure of, it’s the fact that, Sowon was important for her.  

--

They have arrived in front of Eunha’s house, yet Eunha didn’t let go of Sowon’s hand. Because there’s something that she wanted to tell Sowon, something that has been bugging her mind.

“Unnie,” Eunha said.

“Hm?”

“I will always come to you. No matter how far the distance between us… no matter what, I will… always come to you, Sowon-unnie. Even if time has stopped flowing… even if we run out of time… I will come back to you… and when I do, I wouldn’t let you go…” Eunha’s gaze at Sowon was unwavering.

Sowon smiled at her. Kind but sad. And then she hugged Eunha.

“If you said it like that, I might not able to let you go, Eunha…” Sowon whispered.

Eunha replied by tightening her hug.

--

A/N : enjoy~ and thank you for reading and commenting! ^^

psst, do you know? red velvet has got a fandom name! it's reveluv <3

i am glad it isn't cupcake (◡‿◡✿)