The air was slightly chilly at 2am in the morning, despite it being the middle August. Yongsun’s head was resting on Byulyi’s shoulder as they sat on top of a playground slide, silently watching the moon and the stars and enjoying each other’s presence.

*Earlier*

Byulyi glanced up at the clock as her cellphone started ringing. 12:40am. Who the heck is calling me at this hour, she frowned as she reached for her phone. However, her expression changed the instant she saw the call display.

“Hello?” Byulyi answered the phone.

“Byul-ah! Are you going to sleep yet?” A rather cheerful voice was heard through the other side of the phone.

“No, but I do have work tomorrow morning so I’m trying to do the thing where I am a responsible person and go to bed a little earlier.” Byulyi smiled upon hearing the other person’s voice.

“Oh… Sorry to bother you then.” Byulyi can almost feel the disappointment in the other person’s voice, and smiled even wider. She realized the reason for the call, but she wanted to hear it for herself.

“What’s up Yongsun?” Byulyi asked, with a hint of mischief in her voice.

“Well… I don’t know if you looked outside tonight but… The moon is really bright.” Yongsun paused for a moment, as if contemplating on whether she should continue her sentence or not.

“Uh huh…” Byulyi sat down on her couch and propped one leg up as she sank into a comfortable position. “Aaaand?”

“Aaaaand… Well… I just wanted to go outside with you and look at the moon and the stars tonight.” Yongsun finished her sentence so quickly that Byulyi almost didn’t catch it in full.

“Right now? It’s literally almost 1am Yongsun.” Byulyi rolled her eyes.

“I knowwww. But the city lights aren’t as bright tonight so you can see the sky clearly! No clouds either…” Yongsun was trying very hard to convince Byulyi to walk out in the middle of the night just to go sky-watching with her.

“And what do I get out of this?” Byulyi got up from her couch, smiling.

“Well you get to witness a very pretty sky. And you get to spend time with me. It’s a win-win.” Yongsun replied, and Byulyi could’ve sworn Yongsun was pouting on the other end of the line.

“Alright alright, I’ll meet you at the park in 10?” Byulyi never learned how to say no to Yongsun, no matter how ridiculous Yongsun’s requests may seem from time to time. Tonight was no exception.

And that’s how the two winded up at the park at 1am in the morning on a random Wednesday night. Byulyi had work in 7 hours, but she had no complaints. She looked down as Yongsun shifted her position slightly just to snuggle up a little closer to her, and smiled like an idiot.

“Are you cold?” Byulyi asked out of concern, noticing that Yongsun was wearing a thin long sleeve that didn’t do much whenever the wind picked up. Yongsun shook her head but clinged onto Byulyi’s arm even more. Byulyi chuckled and ruffled Yongsun’s hair. She took off her own jacket and wrapped it around Yongsun’s small figure. Even under the faint moonlight, Byulyi can see the slight blush that spread across Yongsun’s face.

“So?” Yongsun asked after a while.

“Hm?” Byulyi responded.

“How is it? The sky.”

Byulyi’s eyes wandered back to the moon and stars that were shining brightly above them. Always having an interest in astronomy, she was able to name most of the stars that were visible tonight.

“It’s beautiful,” Byulyi smiled and glanced down at Yongsun again, “But not as beautiful as you.”

Yongsun whined loudly and shoved Byulyi playfully while she stood up. Byulyi laughed and caught Yongsun smiling despite her actions.

“Cheesy.” Yongsun muttered and moved away from Byulyi, looking up at a different section of the sky now while leaning onto the railing.

Byulyi stood up as well and walked towards Yongsun, who now had her back slightly turned toward her. Byulyi gently wrapped her arms around Yongsun’s waist and laid her chin on her shoulder, feeling Yongsun’s warmth. “You know you love it.”

Yongsun’s hand found Byulyi’s and they stood together just watching the sky again as silence ensued. Yongsun played with Byulyi’s fingers nonchalantly as Byulyi buried her face into Yongsun’s neck, loving the scent and warmth of Yongsun. Not long after, Byulyi felt Yongsun unwrap her arms, and she looked up. Yongsun turned around and moved away slightly so that she was facing the other way, but not standing directly in front of Byulyi. She leaned against the railing and motioned for Byul to do the same beside her.

“There’s more stars on this side.” Yongsun remarked.

Byulyi looked up at thes sky again, “I think this is prime time for me to give you a little astronomy lesson.”

Yongsun turned her head to look at Byulyi and nodded.

“You see those stars lined up over there on the right?” Byulyi pointed up at the sky and Yongsun followed her hand. “That’s the Little Bear.”

“Uh huh.”

“See how it makes the shape of a bear?”

“Uhhhhh, no not really.”

“Well that’s what astronomers thought so let’s just roll with it. You see the brightest one in that cluster? That’s the North Star.”

“Mhmm. Brightest star in the sky, right?”

“Yup,” Byulyi smiled, “My girlfriend is so smart.”

Yongsun rolled her eyes but couldn’t help smiling. “Keep going.”

“Hmm… Well there’s also the Big Bear, which also is supposed to resemble a bear, although you will probably disagree once again. Oh and that over there is the Perseus, named after-”

Byulyi was so engrossed in pointing out the different stars that she didn’t even notice when Yongsun had turned around and was now facing her directly.

“-The Greek hero who...” Byulyi trailed off slightly when she noticed that Yongsun was staring at her. Her lips, to be exact.

“Who what?” Yongsun smirked and Byulyi feels her leaning in slowly. Her back was already against the railing so she couldn’t move, nor did she want to.

“...Who was one of the greatest Greek heroes of his time...” Byulyi gulped as she shifted her eyes from Yongsun’s to the stars, then to Yongsun’s lips. She felt Yongsun getting closer and closer, and all she did was stare.

Yongsun was interested in the stories of the stars and all that, but there was no denying that teasing Byulyi was a lot more interesting. She loved a flustered Byul, and that’s exactly what she went for. She successfully cut Byulyi off in the middle of her sentence with a kiss, and she couldn’t stop smiling against Byulyi’s lips when she felt the kiss being reciprocated. Yongsun’s hands that were on holding onto the railing on both sides of Byulyi moved to her waist, and one hand weaved through her hair slowly. Byulyi answered by snaking a hand up Yongsun’s back beneath her shirt slowly, while resting the other on Yongsun’s waist.

They didn’t pull back until they finally ran out of air and remembered that they needed to breathe. Yongsun sighed and rested her forehead against Byulyi’s, with her eyes still closed. She found Byulyi’s hand again on her waist and slipped her fingers around. She loved how right it felt every time they kissed. She loved how well their hands fit together. She loved how Byulyi looked at her every time as if she was the only thing that mattered in the world.

Similarly, Byulyi loved the way Yongsun made her feel, and she wanted to continue feeling this way for as long as she lived. She loved absolutely everything about Yongsun, and she wanted to be sure that Yongsun was aware of this.

“Hey Yongsun?” Byulyi whispered.

“Yeah?” Yongsun opened her eyes to take in Byulyi’s beautiful features.

“I love you, you know that?” Byulyi said this with so much sincerity and love, that Yongsun couldn’t help but smile wider than she thought she could.

Then she said it too, the words that took Byulyi’s breath away, the words that Byulyi woke up every morning for, and the words that made Byulyi’s life complete.

“I love you too, Byul.”

“Why?” Byulyi clenched her jaw after choking out the question, trying to keep as calm as possible and not meaning to sound as demanding as she did, but it was very difficult to do so.

“You know this won’t work,” Yongsun hesitated, then took a breath. “You know it won’t.”

“But you promised you’d at least try,” Byulyi was furious. She tried to keep her cool, but knowing she is seconds away from the love of her life slipping away from her, she really couldn’t thinking straight at this point.

“You think I haven’t?” Yongsun retaliated immediately, scoffing. “Seriously Byul? You think I haven’t tried?”

Byulyi stared directly into Yongsun’s eyes, her favourite shade of brown that she let herself fall into every time as if it was her first. She thought about the warmth that used to radiate from those eyes every time Yongsun saw her, and how she could never get enough of Yongsun’s gentle gazes. It was completely different from what she sees now.

It was as if Yongsun’s eyes were clouded with a mix of emotions that no longer felt like love and sincerity, but rather just plain annoyance. It made Byulyi wonder when things had changed. Or rather, if anything changed at all.

“Why now?” Byulyi asked bitterly. Her tears threatened to fall but she held them back.

“I’m trying to do what’s best for you,” Yongsun answered flatly.

“This is your definition of ‘best’?” Byulyi shot back.

“Yes,” Yongsun almost shouted. “This is my definition of ‘best’, and you damn well know it, Byul.”

Byulyi continued staring, and Yongsun took a breath.

“Let’s not see each other anymore,” Yongsun repeated the words that Byulyi refused to hear earlier.

“You said you love me.” Byulyi was on the verge of breaking down.

“I did.”

Byulyi almost punched the wall next to her.

“Ah yes, tenses. They matter.”

Yongsun looked away and shoved her hands into her jean pockets, obviously looking uncomfortable and wanting to get of the conversation as fast as possible. Byulyi studied the figure in front of her, still in disbelief at Yongsun’s request, and how unaffected Yongsun looked at this whole situation. Suddenly, Yongsun’s phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her back pocket to check the message.

“Look, I need to go.” Yongsun gestured towards the door with her phone in hand. “I have to meet with someone and they are waiting for me.”

That’s when it all hit Byulyi, square in the face. The realization was strong enough to almost knock the wind out of her, causing her to actually stumble backwards a few small steps.

Byulyi was faintly aware of this, but she was so obsessively in love with Yongsun to the point where she chose to turn a blind eye to everything else that was happening around her, mainly because she did not want to accept the truth. She now realized that not everything Yongsun did was right. And that Yongsun’s gazes were really just pity glances toward the pathetically lovesick fool that Byulyi had become, rather than the love and admiration that Byulyi imagined it to be. And that maybe Yongsun didn’t really mean every word she said to Byulyi.

Byulyi glanced over at Yongsun who was packing things away into her purse, ready to leave the apartment.

“How long has this been going on for?” Byulyi’s voice was shaky and the sentence came out more as a desperate whisper than an actual question.

Yongsun had already walked past Byulyi and was at the door when she heard the question. She stopped in her tracks with her hand on the doorknob.

“How long?” Byulyi asked again, more firmly this time.

Yongsun stared at the door in front of her and bit her lips.

“You really didn’t notice, Byul?”

Byulyi laughed dryly. “Unfortunately, no.”

Yongsun turned around to look at Byulyi.

“This is your problem, Byul. I warned you from the start. You know the kind of person I am, yet you still-”

“I know what I was in for from the start,” Byulyi shook her head and smiled sadly, “I thought I can change your mind. Guess I was wrong.”

Yongsun took a deep breath.

“Remember what you promised me?”

“Yes.”

“Then forget about me and move on. I am the cause of your pain whether I stay or not, you are aware of this.”

“Do I mean anything to you?” Byulyi whispered, voice shaky again.

Yongsun simply sighed.

“Or should I ask, did I?” Byulyi said dryly, and almost laughed at how pathetic she sounded at this moment.

Yongsun stared at the floor.

Byulyi waited, something she had gotten used to doing when it came to Yongsun. She kept waiting, but Yongsun never answered. The silent answer finally made things crystal clear to Byulyi, and it shattered every piece of hope inside her.

“Let me go, Byul,” Yongsun finally spoke up and turned around to open the door, “So you can keep your promise.”

During better days of their relationship, Byulyi had once promised to never leave Yongsun no matter what happened, unless Yongsun purposely pushed her away. Yongsun joked about how Byulyi would just be stuck with her forever in that case, and Byulyi simply smiled at how wonderful that suggestion sounded.

Byulyi never learned how to say no to Yongsun, no matter how ridiculous Yongsun’s requests may seem from time to time.

Tonight was no exception.

Byulyi didn’t say no. Instead, she felt her world crash down on her, and she broke down with it when the door closed behind her, marking the establishment of the final separation between her and Yongsun.

A relationship is built upon layers and layers of trust. The sad truth is you will never be able to know how the other side truly feels or thinks about you. and you will never know who loves who more. That is why trust is the most important thing that anyone can give to another. Actions and words can be deceiving at times, and Byulyi hated herself for being on the short end of the stick between her and Yongsun. Yongsun always built walls around herself and didn’t let Byulyi break them, whereas Byulyi was a blank open book that allowed Yongsun to scribble down absolutely whatever she wanted in it.

In the end, Yongsun got tired of writing their story.

It wasn’t about where things went wrong, it was about how nothing was right to begin with.