i. 

They first meet when Joohyun is 17 years old and home for the break from attending boarding school and Seulgi is 10 and Seungwan’s new best friend.

Joohyun arrives home to the sight of Seungwan and her new friend sprawled on the living room floor while eating ice cream. She makes her presence known by poking Seungwan with her foot and after hugs and kisses and I miss yous, Joohyun turns to the new girl who is smiling at the siblings.

“And who might this cute little girl be?”

The girl stands up and bows politely which makes Joohyun giggle. She beams at Joohyun, her eyes disappearing in the smile. “My name’s Kang Seulgi.”

Before Joohyun can introduce herself, Seungwan throws her arms around Joohyun and proudly says, “This is Joohyun unnie! The best unnie in the world!”

There’s a laugh on Joohyun’s part as she pats Seungwan’s head while Seulgi stares at them in awe.

“You look like a model, Joohyun unnie.” Seulgi mumbles shyly.

It’s utterly adorable, from the way Seulgi’s cheeks turned red to how she somehow reminds Joohyun of a bear. She moves closer to the little girl and crouches a bit so they can be in the same height, and playfully flicks the girl’s right ear. 

“And you look like the most adorable bear in the world, Seulgi-yah.”

(When Joohyun leaves the two children and goes to her room to unpack, Seulgi gives Seungwan a nudge with her shoulder. “You didn’t tell me about Joohyun unnie.”

Seungwan looks at her weirdly. “Silly, I’ve told you before that I have a sister. Have you forgotten?”

Seulgi just shrugs and goes back to her ice cream. She hadn’t forgotten, and yes Seungwan told her she has a sister. She just didn’t mention that her sister is that pretty.)

ii.

Joohyun is 19 and on her last year of highschool. Seulgi has become a common fixture in their household and when Joohyun comes home for the break, she is the first person she sees before her actual family.

“Seulgi-yah.”

Seulgi turns at the sound of her voice and there’s a bright smile before she’s jumping off her seat and running towards the older girl. Joohyun lets a laugh bubble out from as she drops her bag to the floor in favour of catching the young girl. Seulgi is strong for a 12 year old girl and Joohyun has to take on step back as the girl’s body hits her so they won’t fall to the floor.

She is going to graduate high school soon but being away from her family has started taking toll on her. School is difficult, exams are horrendous, and she misses her family terribly all the time. It makes her sad and lonely but she was the one who pushed for studying in the prestigious boarding school. Sometimes, Joohyun thinks of just going back home and studying in a normal high school. It wouldn’t be difficult, her parents will support whatever decision she makes and that is exactly why Joohyun always shakes the idea away. She doesn’t want to disappoint her parents who have done nothing but support her all this time.  

So she tries to push the thoughts of how much she wishes she can come to her mother for advice when things with her friends get difficult and of how much she misses Seungwan because her baby sister is growing up without her and Joohyun doesn’t like it one bit. Instead, Joohyun spends as much time with them as possible: learning how to cook from her mother, watching TV with her father, and playing around with Seungwan.

But the thoughts still keep her up sometimes and tonight is one of those nights. She is sitting on the couch, unable to sleep and feeling suffocated in her own room when a soft voice calls out to her.

“Joohyun unnie?”

She turns her head and sees Seulgi standing by the foot of the stairs, one hand rubbing her eyes. Joohyun thinks she looks adorable like that, sleepy and dazed in the bear pajamas Joohyun gave her for Christmas.

“Unnie,” Seulgi says again as she walks towards Joohyun and sits beside her on the couch. “Can’t sleep?” 

Joohyun nods her head in confirmation.

“That’s no good, unnie.” Seulgi says with a frown, seemingly more awake now. “You’ve been so tired and stressed lately.” She mumbles, looking at Joohyun in the eyes.

It surprises Joohyun, the way the young girl seems to see right through her at the very moment. “How do you know that, Seulgi?”

Seulgi shrugs, “I can see it.”

It’s a simple and direct to the point answer only a 12-year-old can give but somehow, it makes Joohyun feel warm. She scoots back until her back hits the end of the couch and opens her arms. “Come here, Seulgi.”

The young girl’s eyes widen a bit and she looks at Joohyun hesitantly as her cheeks turn pink. It’s absolutely adorable and Joohyun has to bite her lips to prevent herself from teasing the poor girl. “Seulgi, come here. Let me hug my cute bear.” She says again, wiggling her fingers invitingly.

Seulgi flashes a shy smile at the nickname that Joohyun gave her when they first met. She nods in acquiesce and crawls towards the older girl. Once Seulgi is hovering above Joohyun, she gently wraps her arms around the younger girl and pulls her down until she is lying on top of Joohyun, her head resting gently on Joohyun’s chest.

“I knew it. My Seulgi bear is better than any stuffed toy or pillow.” Joohyun mumbles as she cuddles Seulgi closer to her.

She could feel the younger girl’s whole face heat up but Seulgi says nothing, only shifting to get more comfortable and resting her hands on Joohyun’s side, gently clutching on Joohyun’s shirt.

They’re quiet for a while, their breaths syncing together. Joohyun thinks Seulgi must have fallen asleep already but the girl in her arms lifts her head up suddenly, looking at Joohyun thoughtfully.

“What’s wrong, Seulgi? Not comfortable?” Joohyun asks, hoping that it wasn’t the case because she is very comfortable with their position.

Seulgi shakes her head and whispers, “You can always hold on to me like this if you can’t sleep well, unnie. I’ll dream of you sleeping well so that you really would.” She smiles and plants a kiss on Joohyun’s cheek before snuggling back to her chest. “Goodnight, Joohyun unnie. Sleep well.”

Joohyun closes and opens several times but nothing comes out. Seulgi’s words and actions, how intuitive and kind the young girl could be, has left her speechless. She sighs and wonders for a moment if this is the same Seulgi that always makes a mess when playing with Seungwan.

For the first time in many weeks, Joohyun is comfortable, warm, and sleepy. She presses a soft kiss on top of Seulgi’s head closes her eyes, whispering a fond goodnight before drifting off to sleep.

(Several days later, on the day before Joohyun has to leave to go back to school, Seulgi drags Seungwan to the mall with all her savings in her small bag.

“It’s not yet Joohyun unnie’s birthday.” Seungwan says as she watches Seulgi carefully examine all the bear stuffed toys line up on the shelf of the toy store. “Why are you getting her a gift?”

“It’s just a thank you gift. You know, for always letting me play in your house and stuff. It’s polite.” Seulgi reasons distractedly as she chooses one of the brown bears. She knows it’s bad to lie but Seulgi thinks just this once is okay. She realized just this morning that she wouldn’t be around for Joohyun to hold when she is in school again and Seulgi thinks one little lie is okay if it means she gets to keep her promise to Joohyun.

Later, Seulgi hands over the purple paper bag containing the brown teddy bear she bought to Joohyun. She lets Joohyun peek inside when the older girl asked if she can.

Seulgi thinks that the big smile and the long and tight hug she gets afterwards is so worth lying for.)

iii.

Joohyun is 22 and she has not been home for almost a year. University has kept her extra busy and when Christmas came around, Joohyun automatically grabs the chance to go home for a while and get away from the exhausting university life.

Joohyun is walking down the stairs when she catches her mother talking to someone by the door. She walks towards them and for the first time since she’s been back, she sees Kang Seulgi.

Joohyun smiles. “Oh, Seulgi-yah.”

“Ah, Joohyun unnie, good morning!” Seulgi greets her and Joohyun is struck by the fact that she had to raise her head to look at Seulgi who is suddenly taller than her. When did that happen? Joohyun wonders to herself.

Seulgi’s height isn’t the only thing that has changed now that she is 15 years old. Her hair is longer, the features of her face more defined, her voice less pitchy, her body slimmer, and her demeanour more refined.

“I didn’t know you’re back, unnie.” Seulgi says with a shy smile. “I would have greeted you earlier.”

“Ah, I just got back last night anyway.” Joohyun answers blankly, her mind still reeling from how different Seulgi suddenly looks.

“You were gone for a long time, weren’t you, unnie? We missed you here.”

Joohyun opens to respond but Seungwan’s loud voice cuts her off.

“You mean you missed Joohyun unnie.” Seungwan butts in with an elbow to Seulgi’s side. “Seriously unnie, Seulgi won’t stop whining about you being away for too long!”

“Y-Yah, Seungwan!” Seulgi exclaims in panic, covering Seungwan’s mouth with one hand harshly. “You’re so talkative!” Her eyes squint in a glare as she berates Seungwan and glances embarrassedly at Joohyun.

She’s so cute. Joohyun thinks with a smile but before she can respond, her mother claps her hands twice.

“Alright, alright, stop it now, both of you.” Joohyun’s mother says. “You two are going to be late if you don’t leave now.”

“Ah, that’s true.” Seungwan says when Seulgi lets go of her. “We need to go, Seul. See you later, mom! See you, unnie!” Seungwan hugs her and Joohyun returns it before gently pushing her sister out the door.

She turns to see Seulgi grinning at her shyly, her cheeks still covered in a pink hue. “Welcome home, unnie. I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, see you around, Seulgi-yah.” Joohyun says as she watches the girl walk out the house and alongside her sister.

“Aigoo, look at how those two have grown.” Her mother gushes beside her. “Especially that Seulgi. That girl is going to be a heartbreaker, don’t you think so, Hyun-ah?”

Joohyun thinks about Seulgi’s sudden growth spurt, about the smooth way her voice flowed, and the way her eyes looked at Joohyun’s. She thinks about the warmth still hidden under the refreshingly new sharp look she is sporting and suddenly she has to swallow to bring moisture to her dry mouth.

Joohyun her lip, nods, and thinks, a heartbreaker indeed.

(A few houses down the street, Seulgi grabs Seungwan in a headlock. “Yah, you need to learn to control your damn mouth!”

Seungwan laughs even as she struggles to get out of Seulgi’s hold. “But you’re so cute with your little crush on unnie!”

“Well, unnie won’t find me cute if you embarrass me like that in front of her!”

“Chill out, dummy, you know Joohyun unnie has this extreme favouritism when it comes to you,” Seungwan says with a giggle as she finally pushes Seulgi away from her. “She always finds you adorable for some reason.” She adds to which Seulgi just smiles smugly. “Anyway, isn’t this nice? Unnie is back for a while and you’ll get to see her all the time again.”

“I guess so…” Seulgi says with a skip to her step as she recalls the way Joohyun looked earlier. From the way hair long hair falls around her shoulder, the pitch black color contrasting perfectly with her porcelain skin, to the way her lips curled into a smile as she waved goodbye at Seulgi.

Seulgi holds her head in her hands and lets out a groan. “Seriously, Joohyun unnie only gets more and more beautiful each time I see her. How can someone be so attractive, Wan-ah?”

“Yah,” Seungwan gently smacks the back of her head. “Stop talking about my sister that way, babo.”

Seulgi just groans again with a resigned nod as her best friend starts talking about something else. She’s trying her best to follow Seungwan’s rambling but her thoughts keep on returning to Joohyun and Joohyun’s smile that outshines the sun and Seulgi thinks, this crush is going to be the end of me.

iv.

Of course Joohyun has noticed Seulgi’s little crush on her. It’s cute, Joohyun thinks and if she is to be honest, she kind of likes it.

Seulgi is not the type to flaunt her affection but she isn’t stingy with them either. The gap in her personality makes her even more adorable to Joohyun’s eyes, how she can be shy and all red one moment and then unconsciously charismatic and sweet the next.

One thing that Joohyun has noticed that Seulgi does is that Seulgi always pays attention to her, even when it seems like she doesn’t. She is incredibly perceptive when it comes to Joohyun, always offering a hand to assist Joohyun and always reminding Joohyun to rest or eat slowly or bring an umbrella. It’s sweet and it makes Joohyun feel special. She likes it a lot. It’s a harmless little crush and so Joohyun lets it be and enjoys it.

Joohyun is 23 and Seulgi is 16 when Joohyun thinks that maybe, this crush isn’t harmless nor is it little at all.

She just got home from a bad date and was about to go straight to her room when she hears a soft sound coming from the living room. She follows it and sees Seulgi on the sofa, browsing through a magazine while softly singing to herself.

“Seulgi-yah.” She gently calls, not wanting scare the younger girl.

“Ah, Joohyun unnie, welcome home.” Seulgi greets with her usual shy smile.

“What are you doing down here? Having a sleepover with Seungwan?” Joohyun asks as she makes her way to the couch to join Seulgi.

“Yes, Seungwan is already asleep upstairs. I can’t sleep though.” Seulgi says with a pout. “I heard you had a date. How was it?”

Joohyun regards the other girl for a moment, surprised by the question. But Seulgi seems genuinely curious like she always is when she asks about Joohyun’s day and so Joohyun starts talking. She tells Seulgi about her date with a guy her friend set her up with. She didn’t even want to go but she owed her friend a favour and so she did. It was a disaster, what with the guy only talking about himself the whole time, attempting to put his arm around Irene multiple times, and even being as stingy as to make Joohyun pay for their meal.

“That’s a horrible date, unnie!” Seulgi groans with a disgusted expression.

“It was.” Joohyun agrees with a laugh. “If I swear off dating it would be his fault!”

There’s a momentary panicked expression on Seulgi’s face as she starts shaking her head vigorously. “Don’t say that, unnie! A lot of people would be hurt and disheartened if you say that!”

The reaction surprises Joohyun and she couldn’t help but to tease Seulgi.

“Does that include you?”

Seulgi sputters for a moment, her