Moonbyul smiled widely up at her bare ceiling as she recalled the memories of their recent trip to the amusement park, her heart fluttering as she watched Yongsun laugh and fool about in her mind's eye.

 

Earlier that day, Hyejin had endlessly about Yongsun, waggling her eyebrows suggestively as she not-so-subtly hinted at a possible relationship between them. Although Moonbyul had brushed it off with a half-hearted laugh, Hyejn hadn't bought her act and she knew it.

 

Moonbyul knew that she was afraid of confessing, after all, she had never felt like this with anyone else before and their bond seemed so strong yet fragile at the same time. If their feelings weren't mutual, it could damage their relationship and losing Yongsun was something she did not ever want to happen.

 

When she had confessed all of this to Hyejin in frustration and despair, Hyejin had closed the coffee shop early and sat her down with a serious look. That was the most serious Moonbyul had ever seen her, well except for the time when she asked Wheein out but that's another story.

 

"You're not going to find anyone else like Yongsun because she is who she is and there's no other Yongsun in the world, especially not for you. She might not stick around forever you know, so stop dawdling. I'm pretty sure you've got a chance with her, it's just that both of you are afraid to take the first step. Just it up and ask or other people might snatch her up and then you'll regret it," Hyejin lectured.

 

Moonbyul's happy mood and turned pensive as she reflected on those words. Suddenly, her room seemed too small for her thoughts. She jumped up, quickly changed and decided to take a much-needed walk.

 

It was cold outside, and the chilly wind made Moonbyul shiver. She adjusted her scarf before shoving her hands deep into her pockets, wandering around aimlessly. While she deeply contemplated her feelings, her eyes drifted around her surroundings, looking but not seeing. Moonbyul found herself staring at a particular stranger, whose back appeared extremely familiar. As she thought about who it might be, the stranger turned to greet a taller man with a smile. Moonbyul felt her heart stop.

 

It was Yongsun.

 

Frantically thinking back, she could not recall a single time Yongsun had ever mentioned a male in her life, except for her father and even he didn't come up much in conversation. She shook her head to calm herself, trying to think logically. Her feet remained rooted to the spot as she watched Yongsun playfully hit the man's arm, something that she was usually on the receiving end of. As Yongsun and her companion started to walk away, Hyejin's words suddenly echoed in her head. In that split second, she made her choice.

 

Moonbyul took a deep breath and called out to Yongsun, stepping confidently towards the pair. Yongsun turned around hearing her name and her face lit up.

 

"Hey, I saw you back there so I thought I'd say hi." Moonbyul greeted, she gestured to the guy and asked, "Are you not going to introduce me?" Although she didn't particularly want to find out who he was, her curiosity got the better of her and she steeled herself in preparation for Yongsun's answer.

 

"Oh right, this is Eric. He's a good friend of mine. Eric, this is Moonbyul."

 

They nodded politely, acknowledging each other's presence. Moonbyul caught the emphasis Yongsun had put on the word 'friend', and while she internally breathed a sigh of relief, she reminded herself not to get her hopes up.

 

A look of understanding had passed through Eric's eyes as introductions were made. He smiled mysteriously at Moonbyul and said, "Ah so you're Moonbyul, I've heard quite a bit about you. It's nice to meet you."

 

"It's nice to meet you too," Moonbyul replied neutrally, but she was slightly unnerved at the fact that it seemed like Eric knew a secret about her.

 

"I was just going to walk Yongsun home, but I guess I'm not needed here anymore. See you guys later!" Eric continued cheerfully. As he waved goodbye, he winked at Yongsun making her blush.

 

Moonbyul eyed Eric's retreating figure warily, even though Yongsun had introduced him as just a friend, her reaction from his wink made it seemed their relationship was something more than that.

 

"Shall we go then?" asked Yongsun, looking slightly flustered.

 

Moonbyul didn't reply, instead, she took her scarf and wrapped it around Yongsun. "Just making sure I would be walking you home and not an ice cube," she joked, poking Yongsun's cheek as she laughed.

 

Predictably, Moonbyul was attacked by the signature mochi punch, but her keen ears didn't miss the muffled "Thanks" as they began to head off together.

 

Moonbyul felt lighter as she walked with Yongsun, mentally thanking the universe for giving her this opportunity. She had taken the first step, and now it was time to fulfil her desire – while she still had the nerve to.

 

"Do you mind if we take a detour?" she asked.

 

"Sure, where are we going?" Yongsun replied curiously.

 

"Secret," chuckled Moonbyul as she got another smack in response.

 

Yongsun was bubbling with curiosity, but didn't question it any further as she allowed herself to be led off the beaten path.

 

"We're here!" Moonbyul announced proudly, "I found this place when I was exploring the area once, isn't the view here great?" Then, being more aware of her surroundings, she quickly added, "Oh it's a bit cold at the moment though... I didn't think about that, sorry."

 

"No don't apologise! This place is amazing, wow!" exclaimed Yongsun.

 

Moonbyul grinned as she watched Yongsun look around, her eyes filled with wonder, sparkling as they reflected the night lights. Summoning up all her courage, she started, "Yongsun..."

 

Yongsun turned to face her, her gaze expectant but with a hint of confusion due to the seriousness of her tone.

 

"...you're someone who is really special to me and umm, I really like you. Not just as a friend but more than that. So basically I want to ask, will you go out with me?"

 

-x ------- x-

 

Moonbyul smiled widely as she gazed up at the ceiling, unlike hers, it was decorated with stars that glowed-in-the-dark. In fact, nothing in the room she was currently in belonged to her. This didn't make it any less comfy though, and to her, it felt like a second home.

 

"What's up with that creepy smile?" a soft voice floated into the room, and moments later the bed dipped as another body made itself comfortable. Pink hair tickled Moonbyul's nose and she turned to her side to look at the grinning face of Yongsun. "Were you thinking up more greasy lines to use?"

 

Moonbyul snorted, "You love it when I'm greasy with you."

 

Yongsun pouted, "Yah, just tell me what you were thinking about you grease ball."

 

"You."

 

"Aish stop with the greasiness, I want to know," Yongsun whined.

 

"I really was thinking about you," Moonbyul laughed, "do you remember the night I saw you with Eric?"

 

"Yeah? Of course I remember, what about it?"

 

"What did he mean when he said he wasn't needed anymore?"

 

"Ah," Yongsun blushed at the memory, "I was just asking him for some advice."

 

"Advice? For what?"

 

"Umm... advice on how to ask someone out," Yongsun mumbled, burrowing her head the pillow in embarrassment.

 

"What was that? I didn't hear you properly," Moonbyul grinned, she had definitely heard it the first time but there was no way she was passing up this opportunity.

 

"I was asking him advice on how to ask you out ok?" Yongsun shouted, her face matching the colour of her hair. "You're so annoying," she added as she threw the pillow at Moonbyul, huffing in satisfaction as it hit her target square in the face.

 

Moonbyul chucked at her antics. As Moonbyul reached out towards Yongsun, the latter's expression softened as they drew themselves closer to each other.

 

"I love you," Moonbyul suddenly confessed, smiling as a light blush dusted across Yongsun's cheeks.

 

Yongsun felt the familiar butterflies as she heard those words, words she won't ever get tired of hearing from Moonbyul, and she returned the affection, "I love you too."

 

Underneath the glow-in-the-dark stars, they shared a short but sweet kiss, the prelude to something more.