Fifteen minutes later she was on her way to the park, and was on the phone to Yerin who had text her saying that she’d arrived early and that her and Yewon would be sat on the swings to keep an eye on things. “Is there anyone there who looks like they’re waiting for someone?” she asked the older girl.

“Not really. There’s a few parents with screaming kids lingering around. There’s an old man walking his dog across the field. There’s a couple of boys sat in the treeline smoking a joint. And there’s a couple of girls from school who just got here.”

“Who are the girls from school? What are they doing?” Yerin couldn’t help but giggle.

“Why do I get the feeling that this is some kind of secret operation? It’s Eunha and Sojung – I didn’t realise they knew each other to be honest. They look VERY close if you ask me. They look like they’ve just come here from the café around the corner; they’ve got takeaway cups in their hands.”

“Do they look like they’re looking for anyone?” she asked

“No, not really. They look more like they don’t want people to notice them.”

“Hmmm… okay. Is Yewon there with you?”

“She literally just walked in. Are you nearly here yet?”

“Almost, I’ll be a minute. There’s some mad traffic my way so I’ve spent the last couple of minutes waiting for the lights to change”

“Haha, to be you. See you in a minute B!” SinB could tell from Yerin’s tone of voice that she was grinning and that thought made her smile too. She could now see the side entrance to the park so picked up her pace a little. She walked into the green field and saw that Yerin had been right, the park was pretty empty. She glimpsed round and observed everyone who she had been told was present. She could see Yerin and Umji sat on the swing set with their backs to her so she decided to go and have some fun. She crept up behind them quietly and put a hand on each of their shoulders while whispering “Boo” into the space between them. Both girls screamed so hard they almost fell off the swings. Yerin stood up immediately and pretended to er punch SinB in the guts. Yewon laughed at her unnies’ antics.

“You better go sit somewhere visible where whoever it is will be able to see you. What did they say it was about anyway?” Yewon asked

“They didn’t say what it was, just that it was important to them that they met with me” Both of her friends looked slightly confused by the response, but at the same time they gave each other a look that SinB didn’t understand. “Do you guys know something I don’t?” she asked

They shook their heads and laughed. “We have some ideas about who it is, but you better go before they get impatient and start calling you” SinB huffed. She knew that if her friends had decided they weren’t going to tell her, there was nothing she could do to change their minds. She walked towards the bench area beside the kids’ sandpit. She took a seat and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She had a couple of notifications so she decided to start scrolling through.

From: XXXXX XXX 103 (18:07): Sorry, running a little late there’s some crazy traffic this evening. I’ll be there soon xo SinB rolled her eyes, she knew about the traffic so understood, but it was the principle- she’d got here on time.

To: XXXXX XXX 103 (18:10): Don’t worry about it. Get here safely :) She found it funny that she was texting this person as if they were friends when in reality she didn’t have a clue who it could be.

She continued going through her notifications.

From: Yerin unnie*-* (18:08): Me and Yewon are gonna go somewhere else so we’re more inconspicuous. Don’t worry about looking for us. xx

She continued to sit quietly where she was. She put her headphones back in and pressed play on her music. She was pulled into a world of heavy drum beats, vibrant guitar riffs, a soothing voice, and insightful lyrics. She breathed deeply and made herself comfortable on the bench, and closed her eyes. Whoever it was would have to stir her from her own thoughts when they arrived. It’s not like she knew who she would be looking out for anyway.

She faintly heard someone calling her name, but thought it was in her head so she didn’t even respond. She was shaken out of her skin when someone placed a hand on hers, in her lap. She flinched violently and sat bolt upright. She opened her eyes and found Yuju looking intensely at her. “SinB, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you at all.” SinB waved her hand dismissively and let out a laugh.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t scared… just startled. What are you doing here?” she smiled at the older girl, who now took a seat beside her

“What do you mean ‘what am I doing here?’? I asked you here. I didn’t think you were going to come. When you asked if it was important I thought you were going to tell me you were actually really busy” her smile was shy. SinB connected all the dots and her eyes opened wide.

“Oh…umm… right” she mentally slapped herself so hard, and she let out a nervous chuckle. She noticed that Yuju’s smile brightened a little. “I have some stuff that I need to do at home, but it’s nothing that can’t wait. What’s so important then that you couldn’t talk to me at school? Did you really miss me that much? It’s only been a few hours since you saw me at lunch” she winked at the older girl, feeling playful. Yuju turned shy again.

“Would it be so bad if I said yes?” her cheeks flushed red and she looked down into her lap, SinB was a little startled by the answer and felt her cheeks start to turn red too. “The reason I asked you here, and didn’t want to talk about it at school was because it’s kinda embarrassing. I didn’t want to give you this when there were so many people around” she reached into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a gift. If SinB was confused before, she was utterly perplexed by now. All of her self-confidence evaporated, she wasn’t sure what she was feeling just then.

“Yuju, you didn’t have to get me anything. I… we… I don’t know what to say” she felt her eyes welling up, and she didn’t want to break down in tears, so stopped talking before she did. Yuju held out the small, square gift wrapped in flowery yellow paper.

“It’s nothing much. I made it for you because I felt so awful for making you upset. And I wanted to tell you, but couldn’t find the words to do so. I hope this tells you how I feel better than I could. And maybe it’ll help you with what Miss Kim said earlier.” SinB wasn’t sure what to expect from the gift. She could tell just looking at it, that it was a cd case, but why was Yuju giving her a cd? She accepted the present and hugged the older girl.

“Yuna… you really didn’t need to do this for me. I was wrong for acting like such a jerk. I jumped to conclusions without talking to you about it first. Thank you so much. I feel bad for not giving you anything in return” She was overwhelmed by a series of emotion at that moment. Yuna laughed, it was a genuine happy laugh. She nudged SinB’s shoulder

“Open it already.” Both girls laughed. SinB peeled back the yellow paper and was met by an unfamiliar album cover. Instead of a picture, it was a plain white background with only her name across the centre in small cursive font. There was a hand drawn butterfly and flower in the diagonal corners. SinB could feel herself tearing up again. She pulled the older girl in for a warm hug. She felt Yuju tap her on the back “Not so… tight.” She eased up on the girl but still held her in the hug.

“Sorry. I’m just trying to convey my gratitude before I start crying” she sniffled.

“You haven’t even listened to it yet. You only looked at the front cover.” Yuna didn’t say so, but SinB’s response was better than she imagined it was going to be. She was grinning so much, she wrapped her arms around the younger girl’s frame and rubbed small circles around her back. “I should probably let you go now, I’ve taken up quite a lot of your time.” Yuju broke the hug.

“Don’t go yet. I haven’t even looked at it properly yet. It looks like it’s going to rain, did you wanna go find shelter?” SinB grabbed Yuju’s hand and looked pleadingly at her. She watched as her face softened.

“Okay. But if you’ve got stuff you need to do I don’t want to keep you too long.” She relented. SinB smiled. “I quite like sitting here though, it’s nice to be out in the fresh air.” She stretched out and made herself comfortable leaning on SinB’s shoulder. The younger girl smiled. Not only was her long-term crush actually sat here with her when she didn’t have to be, but she was genuinely trying to make their friendship work. SinB couldn’t have been more content in that moment.

That was until her phone started ringing. She glimpsed down at the ID and saw Yerin’s name flash up on the screen. “Ummm… sorry… I should probably take this.” She stood up and walked a few feet away. “Unnie, what’s up? What’s going on?” There was faint giggling in the background that sounded a lot like Yewon.

“I think we’ve seen enough. You two seem to be doing okay on your own. Now that we’re certain things are okay, we were thinking of going to get cake and coffee, you guys can join us if you want”

“Thanks for the offer, but I think we’re good here. Where are you anyway?” she asked looking around, surveying the area but not seeing her friends anywhere.

“We’re sat by the trees, near the climbing frame. But we’re starting to get bored and cold, so like I said we’re heading out.” SinB looked in that direction and sure enough saw her friends huddled under the tree, looking like a pair of girls just having a jolly.

“Okay. Well… thanks unnie. I’ll see you tomorrow. Take it easy now, and get home safe.”

“Yeah. Bye, lovebird” and then the call ended before SinB could make a retort. She made her way back over to the bench where Yuju was now scrolling through her phone.

“Sorry about that. Unnie wanted me to get cake and coffee with her and Yewon” She slid back in next to the older girl who was smiling at her, but there was a crease between her eyebrows.

“Don’t miss hanging out with your friends on my behalf. You should go with them, and have fun”

“But I’m having a nice time here with you. I can always go out with them another time” SinB waved it off, but Yuju didn’t look convinced.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? Don’t feel obligated to stay with me if you don’t want to” it was SinB’s turn to get a little concerned.

“I don’t feel obligated. I want to stay. Are you okay though?” The older girl’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just… you seem distracted and like you don’t want to stay. If you’ve got stuff you need to do, don’t let me hold you up” she grabbed Yuju’s hand and locked eyes with her. She saw all the tension leave Yuju’s body as she smiled.

19. not that. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to stay here. I’ve said what I wanted to say, given you the cd, but I don’t want you to feel like you’re wasting your time here if you’ve got more important things to do.” SinB smiled a warm genuine smile. She cupped the girl’s cheek with one hand, and brushed some stray hairs from her face with the other.

“I never feel like I’m wasting my time when you’re involved. I wouldn’t still be here if I thought I was. Yuju… Yuna… I…” the words she wanted to say just wouldn’t formulate. She left the sentence unfinished and a thumb along Yuju’s jawline. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears. She knew what she wanted in that moment with more certainty than she’d ever felt: she wanted to kiss Yuju. She watched the other girl’s eyes glaze over. There she goes again, back into her own thoughts SinB thought. She kissed Yuju’s forehead and then retreated back to a friendly distance. Yuju smiled a weak smile. Both girls blushed and giggled quietly. Then an awkward silence fell over them. SinB just started talking about the first thing that came to mind. “So ... umm... I saw Eunha unnie here earlier, with another girl. I think Yerin introduced her to me as Sojung. They looked awfully friendly.”

“Kim Sojung?” When SinB’s face remained blank and she shrugged Yuju continued “Tall, pretty face, absolutely gorgeous, perfect proportions, nice smile, well-spoken? That Sojung?” SinB nodded. “I knew it!” SinB looked blankly at the other girl.

“You knew what?”

“I knew Eunha liked her! Sojung is a family friend, her parents and mine go way back, so we’ve known each other since birth really. I introduced her to Eunha about a year ago and they didn’t stop asking questions about each other for months. Eventually, I got bored of being the middle-man (for need of a better expression) and switched their numbers so they could just talk to each other. Eunha got really weird about it and kept trying to impress me in order to try and impress Sojung, until I stopped being friends with her that is. And I guess they figured things out on their own” SinB was impressed that such a thing actually happened.

“I thought that kind of thing only happened in dramas” SinB said. Yuju laughed.

“Normally, yes. But Sojung is into drama like no one I’ve met before. She wants to study at theatre school. So she kind of resembles a walking drama.” SinB whistled through her teeth.

“Exciting, I wish my life was that cool” Yuju looked her in the eyes.

“It is. How many people are as talented as you are? Are as smart as you are? Have friends that love them as much as you do? Are as pretty as you? As faultless as you? ... I’m… going to stop talking now” SinB let out a hearty laugh

“Keep going. I like hearing how amazing I am. Especially when you’re the one telling me” the older girl blushed and looked into her lap. SinB flashed Yuju a cheeky wink, a big sh*t-eating grin creeping up her face. (A/N: please excuse my use of profanity) SinB received a friendly slap on the arm

“Yah! What happened to the quiet stuttery girl who can barely hold eye contact when she’s talking to someone?” Yuju laughed playfully, and SinB started chuckling too.

“You happened. You walked into my life and kept reminding me to be more self-assured.” There was a playful tone in her voice, and a serious glint in her eye. When the other girl didn’t reply, SinB kept talking “Anyway, seeing as we’re now talking about you, I have a weird question. I probably should have asked this a long time ago, but didn’t” Yuju looked her in the eye, her gaze was warm and inviting and friendly. SinB had to swallow the lump in when the older girl hummed for her to continue. “How did you get my number?” Yuju laughed out loud, it was clean and melodic and SinB couldn’t help but grin.

“Seriously? I thought you were going to ask my life story or something! Easy. The day we met, the day we bumped into each other and I gave you my cardigan because yours got covered in my lunch. You left your phone in my pocket when you returned it to me. All I did was copy the number from your contacts into my own phone. That is why you should set up a password or something.” Yuju grinned, a little too proud of herself. SinB breathed out deeply. “Your wallpaper is really cute by the way. You and Yerin are clearly very close” SinB looked down and checked her wallpaper. It was a picture of her and Yerin. Yerin was giving her a kiss on the cheek and SinB was laughing. She smiled at the memory of the photo.

“Me and unnie? Yeah. She’s a good unnie, she looks after me and Yewon, and she makes sure we’re okay before she makes sure she is. I guess you could say that she was my first real friend. I don’t know what I’m going to do when she graduates. Obviously I’ll still have Yewon, but then I’ll be the responsible unnie” SinB hadn’t really thought about what will happen when Yerin graduated at the end of next year, the thought made her sad. Her face sunk and she could feel tears tugging at her eyes at the thought of not getting to see her Yennie every day. Yuju wrapped her arm around SinB and whispered apologies into her ear. It warmed the younger girl’s heart to see that the girl she’d been admiring for so long took genuine care of her feelings. The sadness associated with Yerin leaving was slowly moved to the back of her mind and she simply enjoyed the rest of her time with Yuju before they decided they should probably head home because they had school the next day. It was a nice evening they spent together, and SinB was glad that her and Yuju got to spend some time together out of the school environment.

Author's note: Hey, so second update for today, and this one is quite a bit longer than I expected. I didn't even get to the grand unveil of the contents of Yuju's cd. I'll write that as a short chapter for you guys at a later date.

Speaking of which, this brings me round to my news I've got for you guys. When I say 'at a later date' I mean not for a long time. I'm going to have to put this story on hiatus for at least three months because I have some really serious exams coming up and I can't really afford to spend my free time writing at the moment. That's the reason I gave you guys a double update today- because I wanted to leave you guys something to be excited and happy about before I go. Also, I know it's been quite a long time since I last upated. Also, I didn't want to be the kind of author who leaves a story on hold for months at a time without explaining to the readers why. I hope you guys can understand my decision, and will wait for me to come back.

Let me know what you thought of this most recent instalment below, and I'll try to get back to you asap. While I'm away, I want you guys to take great care of yourselves, stay happy, stay healthy, keep working hard, and most of all keep doing what you love to do. I promise I'll be back soon. Lots of love, Lala. xoxo  :)