Chapter 12

A New Dawn

At the first sign of dawn’s blue-grey light, Byulyi stood in front of Yongsun’s room. The blinds were drawn this time, but the gnawing pit in her stomach brewed just as it did when she stood here hours ago. Without the familiar noise of Wheein and Hyejin’s teasing, the hallway seemed quieter than normal.

In trembling hands, she held a bouquet of flowers—bright yellow with a splash of deep green hiding beneath the open petals. Wheein and Hyejin had followed her through the night, searching the fields until she had to sit them on her back in her wolf form, where they slumped over and clung to her like a family of koalas. The transformation had been shaky at first, but the secret hours she spent practicing paid off when she bought herself just enough time to finish the bouquet and take the younger girls home.

Her footsteps drawing figure eights in front of the door was the only sound in that lonely hallway.
 

~
 

Two floors above Byulyi, Joohyun was seated outside Seungwan’s room. She’d arrived ten minutes ago, when she’d woken up with just enough energy to think about threatening Seungwan’s doctor once more. And yet, even after he had given her the green light, she felt something—shame, guilt, and pain, to name a few—gnaw at the pit of her stomach.

She sat there with her head almost touching her knees, desperately searching for courage in the speckled floors. In one hand, she held a bouquet of flowers Seulgi had made her take, and in the other, she held her forehead, trying to remember how to breathe.

She glanced up at the drawn blinds and rubbed her weary eyes. She wondered if the light would be too bright for Seungwan.

~

With a final breath of courage, Byulyi knocked gently.

~

With a final breath of courage, Joohyun reached for the knob.

~

A bewildered nurse, an elderly elk-woman, opened the door for Byulyi. “What is with you people?” the nurse muttered. “It’s four-thirty in the morning! Let the patient sleep.”

Byulyi bowed, so swiftly and deeply that her vision rolled before her when she finally stopped. “S-should I come back?”

“Byul-ah, is that you?”

The nurse turned to the voice, then back at Byulyi, then shook her head. “You kids are crazy. Don’t take too long—we need to prepare Miss Kim for a final check-up in a couple hours before we can let her go. Really, you ought to let her rest.”

Byulyi thanked her quickly, and shuffled inside, but when the nurse turned at the door and gestured her inward, she stumbled on her own foot and fell inside less-than-gracefully, barely catching herself in time with a palm against the wall. On the other side of the room, the bubbling sounds of Yongsun’s laughter prompted a sheepish smile from Byulyi’s lips.

“Good morning, unnie,” Byulyi said, adjusting her grip on all the things she was holding, “Did, um, did you sleep well?”

Yongsun shook her head, a tired smile hanging from her lips. “And by the looks of your raccoon eyes, you didn’t sleep at all.”

Byulyi looked down at the bouquet of flowers and fidgeted uncomfortably. “You’re very observant,” she murmured. “I... I wanted to get you these...flowers.”

“Daffodils?”

“Yes. I wanted to apologize for just running out. We were...talking about trust and yet I just left you. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry,” she said, her ears deflating. “I... all that talk about love and couldn’t even take care of you. I should’ve...regardless of whether you accepted me. Isn’t that what love is about? I was—I felt like I was selfish, and I’m...I’m sorry.”

Yongsun said nothing for a while, then beckoned Byulyi over. Byulyi stuck her arm out stiffly and, in her haste to retreat from Yongsun’s immediate sphere of influence, dropped the bouquet into Yongsun’s lap. She apologized profusely, inconsolable as she tried to take the flowers back. But Yongsun simply laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder to forcibly sit her down beside her.

“Byul-ah,” she began—her tone was warm, almost as comfortable and unguarded as it had been in the library. Byulyi felt a sense of calm wash over her, and it was suddenly easy somehow to meet her eyes, “do you know what daffodils mean in the language of flowers?”

Byulyi shook her head. “I was looking for jasmine on the plateau, but these were all I could find,” she replied sheepishly.

“Well,” Yongsun said, casting her eyes on the yellow petals between her fingers, “daffodils have a lot of different meanings since it’s grown all over the world. But I think”—she paused to look up at Byulyi with a secret smile— “it must be some kind of destiny for you to have chosen this particular flower.”

Byulyi swallowed and nodded, unsure what to expect as she waited for Yongsun to continue.

“In some communities, this flower is associated with new beginnings and new hope. Others have associated it with joy. I’ve also read that daffodils can represent unrequited love, but...at the same time, it’s genus, narcissus, is associated with the myth of Narcissus, a symbol of vanity, and in the same stream...self-love. It’s kind of amazing isn’t it? So many people all around the world and had so many different ideas…and…somehow, seeing it in my hands now. They all seem to make sense. I don’t know how, but…maybe it’s just a silly feeling.”

“Let me think about this...” Byulyi mumbled. She lit up not a minute later with a smile. With confidence as her wings, she found exactly the words she wanted to say: “Yongsun-unnie, I think I got it. These flowers—they’re saying exactly what I couldn’t find the words to say….something like…I’ve found the confidence to be with you no matter how you choose to define our love, and I want to step into the future with you and I want to make you happy.”

Yongsun froze, lips parted as her words, unexpected as they were, slowly massaged themselves into her heart.

“T-that’s what I hope these flowers can say,” Byulyi added. “S-something like that…”

Yongsun’s smile then shone brighter than the radiant yellow of the daffodils. “I like that very much.”

~
 

A bewildered doctor, a serpentine creature with wide blue eyes and a shaggy head of hair, hissed at the sudden entrance of Joohyun. “You scared me,” he grumbled. “Knock next time, won’t you?”

But Joohyun wasn’t looking at the doctor. Her eyes were on the sleeping girl behind him, pale and fragile as she’d ever seen her amongst inside a white shell over her lower body with tubes and tape all over the rest. A white, plastic mask with a thick tube was attached to her pale face, revealing only her eyes and her damp brows above them. Her chest moved ever so slightly with each breath as Seungwan breathed through her mask, which brought an unspeakable degree of relief to Joohyun.

When she didn’t say anything, the doctor sighed. “It looks a lot worse than it really is,” he said, gesturing to the white capsule, “The Egg is just a vessel for healing rhythms. Similar to the anesthetic kind we used during surgery. All it’s doing is accelerating the natural healing process.”

But Joohyun couldn’t care less. Not about The Egg, nor the doctor, and certainly not about the social exchange of fake politeness when all she could see was Son Seungwan.

“Leave us,” she said, brushing past the scowling doctor.

He grumbled under his breath in a language Joohyun didn’t understand but did little more to show his displeasure than slamming the door behind him as he slithered away.

Here she was—finally alone with Seungwan

Everything she wanted to say, everything she rehearsed, seemed to slip away into the oppressive silence around them. She hadn’t been prepared for the whiteness of the room and the tubes and the stillness—she wasn’t prepared at all. She’d thought of nothing but this moment in the last several hours, and yet...

Where could she begin?

“I brought you some flowers, Wan,” Joohyun told her as she busied herself by clumsily unwrapping the flowers and putting them in a nearby vase. “They’re hydrangeas. Seulgi said you liked them. I hope you like them.” Her fingers lingered on the stems for a moment as she sought out her next words. “Did you know, Wan, that Yongsun knows a lot about flowers? They didn’t let me see you earlier, so I went to visit her, and, well, we had a lot to talk about, and, um, I hope I can tell you about it someday. Anyway, she knows a lot about everything, and I told her I got you some hydrangeas.”

She smiled, her eyes never leaving the gentle blue petals. “Do you believe in the language of flowers, Wan? Apparently, some people say it means vanity. Other people think it’s about apologies and emotions and all that stuff I’m not sure how a flower is supposed to convey. It fits though, doesn’t it? Vanity. If it wasn’t for my selfishness… Ah, but I promised Yongsun I wouldn’t go there anymore.” She cleared . “It...it means something like gratitude too, and I liked that a lot more. I’m very grateful to you, you know? Maybe I don’t say it enough, but you saved my life, and yet I...I’ve neglected you.”

She sighed then, the words from her lips sounded as hollow as she felt—what the hell was she doing? In a moment of reckless clarity, she sat down in the chair beside the bed and laid down her vulnerable heart. “We...haven’t spoken properly in a while, have we? We’ve been running around each other for so long, and for once! For once, I just want to tell you the truth,” she said, taking Seungwan’s hand and running her thumb along her fingers. “I’ve...been unfair to you. All these years I...maybe you already know this, but I’ve been selfish. I said I wouldn’t go there, but I have to. I should’ve been thinking about your feelings, but I was too blinded by my own and now... why did you pretend to be affected by my song, Wan?”

She kissed the palm of her hand. “I wish I knew what you were thinking. I wish...I wish I could’ve been more honest with you, so you’d know what I’d been thinking—what I’ve been feeling all this time. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I miss you.” She brought Seungwan’s hand to her own cheek and cupped gingerly with both hands. “I think...I’ve missed you since you left for Canada. I guess I just felt like...everything would be different. That we would be different. And when I saw you again on the dock, I can’t tell you how difficult it was to not kiss you right then and there in front of everyone. That’s when I knew that we could never really go back. And yet...Wan, I miss who I used to be when I was with you. Do you...miss me too?”

Though she was alive and breathing, Seungwan did not stir. Joohyun smiled against the familiar warm touch of Seungwan’s palm. “I wish you would wake up soon,” she whispered, “but I’m a coward too. Maybe it’s best for me if you don’t hear me tell you that I...I...love you, Wan, and don’t know how to ask for your forgiveness. I love you so much, and all I’ve ever done is hurt you. And now, it’s because of me...it’s because of me that you’re here. I know I’m not worth your forgiveness, much less your love, but a selfish part of me hopes. Maybe you can forgive that too. God, what the hell am I saying to myself?”

Joohyun placed her hand back onto the bed with a heavy heart. “Even now, I’m being selfish and not letting you rest. Yes, I should go.” She pulled back her hand, but just as she stood to go, a finger twitched inside her palm. “S-Seungwan?” Her heart pounded furiously—Seungwan stiffly moved her hand into Joohyun’s.

She exhaled softly through the tube clamped over . Her eyes, dewy and pleading, sought out Joohyun’s. Whether it was the hopeful imagination of her selfish heart or the welcome splash of reality, she read the words in those eyes and on each breath: don’t leave.

~

Yongsun grabbed the edge of Byulyi’s shirt.

~
 

Seungwan sank her fingers between Joohyun’s.
 

~
 

Kim Yongsun was never one to do things rashly. Fear of rejection, fear of abandonment, hammered into her skull early on by her family—it was just as Joohyun said. She’d let herself be tormented all her life by things she could not control. And now, standing right in front of her, was an opportunity to be reborn.

She let the daffodils fall to the side and opened her arms to embrace the future.
 

~
 

Son Seungwan was never one to say things lightly. Fear of her own overwhelming feelings around Joohyun, fear of change, fear of being good enough—these always held her back. She lived her whole life behind secret smiles, praying her feelings don’t destroy what she’d painstakingly built.

And now, having seen the darkness and the light, she returned to be reborn. At least, her heart was on the starting line while the rest of her laid sleeping.

Because even after she heard Joohyun’s soft spoken words and found her chest was bursting, everything she wanted—needed—to say came out in weak, useless breaths. Her body felt foreign, her thoughts caged behind her unmoving mouth. More than ever she wanted to run right into her arms, but she spent the little energy she had moving her hand and all she could do now was pray that Joohyun could read the love in her eyes.
 

~
 

To be holding Kim Yongsun was a dream she never wanted to wake from. To find her melted peacefully in her arms was a dream she dared not dream. Byulyi smiled against her cheek—it really was this easy wasn’t it? Or perhaps it would be easy if the overpowering scent of the sleeping vampire had not been a war of wills for the last fifteen minutes.

But what could she do when Yongsun’s walls finally came tumbling down as she embraced her open-heartedly. What could she do when she finally asked her to stay? It took everything not to kiss her right then and there. At the time, at least, it seemed to take everything. Little could she have known that, only several minutes later, she would be laying on the hospital bed with her hand on her stomach, pressed so closely against her back that she didn’t even know where her own outline began. Most torturous of all was the scent—a whole faceful of the very scent that tempted her to move her hands anywhere but the safety of Yongsun’s stomach.

Byulyi closed her eyes and hoped her hands weren’t as clammy as she felt. One false move and her inhibitions could destroy everything they’ve painstakingly built. She willed her mind to think about nothing but emptiness. Nothing exists around her: not scents, not people, not war, and certainly not beautiful, vampires softly pulsating with life beneath the thin fabric separating their skin.

No, perhaps she needed to think about something to anchor her down. She had exams coming up. Commercial law—this class was one of her biggest hurdles just yesterday, but she suddenly couldn’t recall a damn thing. The distraction lasted all of two seconds before she officially declared it a dead end.

Perhaps she needed something abstract. Ideas like happiness and love, two things she felt strongly. Inevitably, as it often did these days, the thought led her back to Yongsun. This time, however, she surrendered to them without guilt and drifted off to sleep.
 

~

To be holding the hand of her childhood best friend again was a dream Joohyun never wanted to wake from. To find her fingers wrapped in her own, her emotions out on display, was a dream she dared not dream. Joohyun leaned over and planted a kiss on Seungwan’s forehead. Seungwan exhaled once more, and brushed her forefinger against the back of Joohyun’s hand.
 

Joohyun wanted more than anything to line up the love in their pupils and kiss her right then and there, if not for the mask and the white shell around her legs that reminded her of the damage she’d done.

Suddenly, the door opened and, met by the disapproving glare of the serpentine doctor, the moment was gone. “Still here?” He grumbled.

Yesterday’s Joohyun would’ve throttled the doctor for such rudeness. Last week’s Joohyun would’ve crushed him more subtly. Today’s Joohyun, however, was—although uplifted by Seungwan—worn down by the weight of sadness and guilt, and simply too sleep-deprived to fight any longer.

“Take care of her,” she told him in her quiet way.

The doctor nodded, his features softening. “She’ll be just fine, Miss Bae.”
 

~
 

Several hours later, Byulyi returned to the hospital with a duffle bag strapped across her back. Her steps were airy and her smile almost inappropriately wide as she approached the waiting room, where the elk-lady promised she’d fetch her. She must’ve slept for only an hour, but she could not recall ever feeling so energized. Since her awakening, she’d bid her goodbye to Yongsun with a kiss and a promise to return with her things. The promise, she hoped, would be the first of many in their apprehensive relationship. Truthfully, she was just happy she managed to retain enough control over her senses.

When she entered, however, all the bubbly feelings halted when she met Joohyun’s piercing eyes. The indomitable siren sat on one of the yellow chairs with crossed arms, still as a hunting hawk. Everyone around her kept a careful distance and a wary eye, but Byulyi understood the darkness under her eyes and, exchanging a nod, made her approach.

“How are you, unnie?” Byulyi said, sitting two seats away. “Did you manage to sleep at all?”

Joohyun shook her head. “Tell me, Byul—there’s something I don’t understand. And you...you’re what people in the olden days would call passionate, aren’t you?”

Byulyi turned to her, though she did not meet her eyes. “Well, I-I don’t know about that...” in a breath, she asked. “Is something bothering you?”

“Are you aware of my powers, Byul?” Joohyun asked with a grave expression.

Byulyi unshouldered the bag and dropped it in the empty chair beside her. “From what Yongsun-unnie has suggested...your power involves singing,” she said with a shrug. “She said it very quickly, but she seemed kind of panicked about it. Something about you and me being...together.”

Joohyun, leaning on her hands with her elbows on her knees, wore an incredulous expression as she quietly regarded Byulyi. Byulyi pulled back slightly, suddenly compelled to sit up straight under Joohyun’s intense scrutiny. It was a true mystery how the older siren was able to remain so pretty, yet so menacing at such an early hour. “W-what is it?” Byulyi mumbled.

And if Byulyi wasn’t—for once—wearing her glasses, she would’ve sworn she’d made up the barest hint of a smile, flashing in and out of the night sky like a shooting star.

“Is that what she was worried about?” Joohyun thought out loud. She shook her head, the little smile circling back for a moment once more. “That idiot.” Addressing Byulyi with an open palm, she went on: “Your guess is correct—I’m glad to see that you are less of an idiot than I thought, though I suppose the bar is low.” Byulyi’s ears flattened slightly, though she said nothing. “I’m joking,” Joohyun told her. “All of this was bull, wasn’t it? So easily avoided with a little grace. And yet here we are. I’m tired, and I don’t want to fight you anymore. I’ll try to be nice. For Yongsun’s sake if nothing else. ‘Try’ being the key word.”

Byulyi blinked. “T-thanks...I think?”

“Anyway, I digress. Let me explain. My powers, you see, allow me to attract anyone I want with a simple song. It’s a temporary effect, but I’m sure you’re well aware of the rumours.” Byulyi froze, unsure whether nodding or shaking her head would make her angrier. Fortunately, Joohyun went on and she relaxed into her chair. “So, here’s my conundrum. If one is immune to the effects of such an inconvenient curse, why would one pretend to be under this spell?”

Byulyi toyed with the strap of her bag as she thought about this. She was sure she understood the context behind this question yet did not want to risk Joohyun’s wrath by revealing too much. “So, um, just to get this straight… you sang to someone, but even though they weren’t affected by your song, they still pretended to be in love with you?”

“Yes, exactly. Why would anyone do that?”

Byulyi scratched her neck. “I...don’t know if this is a trick question or anything,” she said carefully, “but maybe they’re not pretending? Like maybe they’re just in love with you?”

“Well, yes, I’ve considered this,” Joohyun replied, leaning her cheek onto a closed fist. “But why pretend to be affected by the curse at all? That’s what I don’t really understand. You’re a passionate one, aren’t you? Would you do that?”

“I’m starting to feel like passionate is not a compliment, unnie,” Byulyi said with a lopsided smile, “but I don’t know. Maybe I would? I mean...there are so many variables.”

“Variables?” Joohyun scoffed. “You sound like our vampire princess.”

“Well I...I just think it depends, you know?” Byulyi tried to explain with an uneasy laugh. “I guess...if it were me and Yongsun-unnie, I’d go along with it if it made her happy. Or if that’s the only way I can be close to her, I’d probably do it.”

“Some people would say you’re an idiot for pretending all these years and not moving on,” Joohyun mumbled.

Years? Ah—this is what she’s really worried about, isn’t it? Byulyi thought with a small smile. “Yes, but I’ve been called an idiot for smaller crimes,” she replied. “People have done crazier things just to be able to breathe the same air as the one they love.”

Joohyun raised a brow. “Waxing poetic and getting cheeky with me now, are you?”

There was a moment of understanding—a truce, perhaps—between them in that brief exchange, and Byulyi suddenly found herself laying down her shields. Maybe it was the hollowed circles under her bright eyes, or the furrowed brow, or the folded-up body, or how genuinely confused she seemed to be about Seungwan’s feelings. Regardless, the sense of camaraderie that grew from this emboldened her to reach over and place a hand on her shoulder.

Which immediately earned a smack across her head with a wing.

“Sorry, reflex,” Joohyun apologized with smile.

Though she didn’t seem very sorry at all, Byulyi was happy to see her relax enough for the smile to turn into a grin, if even for a moment. But just in case, she kept her hands in her lap as she continued. “I also think that I’d keep pretending because your power, well...how do I say this? I guess if I was in love with you, then I wouldn’t want to be the only one. It’s...a very vulnerable place to be. Knowing it could be temporary and one-sided and maybe even meaningless for the other person—it’s really scary. Especially when sometimes I feel like she’s everything and I’m nothing.”

She waited half a moment for a reaction, then shook her head. “I don’t know if I’m making sense; I’m just saying whatever comes to mind now. Sorry if I didn’t answer your question. My situation is kind of different with the scent thing. Um...Oh! I have some apple juice in my bag. I brought a few boxes for Yongsun-unnie but she probably won’t be able to drink it all. Are you okay with apple?”

Joohyun wrapped her fingers around the juice box being pressed into her hand and thanked her before the gravity of her words sank in. “Wait,” she said only after a tentative sip. “Why are you changing the topic?”

Byulyi laughed sheepishly. “I guess I didn’t know what else to say? The last time we talked about love…”

“Right,” she murmured with a faraway look on her face. Suddenly, she straightened up and whipped around to face Byulyi with renewed vigour. “Tell me about the scent thing,” she said. “Yongsun gave me some nonsense about jasmine, but that’s not what it is, is it?”

Oh no, Byulyi thought, Moon Byulyi, you idiot.

Joohyun raised a brow. “Well?”

“Well...it’s...I guess I just smell her...scent...very strongly? I-I mean it’s stronger than most scents I’ve come across. I don’t really think it’s jasmine either…at least not by itself...m-maybe.” She tugged at her collar—it was getting very hot and stifling.

“And? What happens then? Does it make you fall in love with her?”

At this, Byulyi grew even redder as she covered her face with a sigh. “S-sort of...um, it’s a bit more...animal? Than love, I’d say.”

Joohyun’s eyes widened. “Are you telling me it’s…”

“Ahhh! Can we not talk about this anymore?”

“You know I will murder you if you hurt her right?”

“I can control it!” Byulyi’s hands flew up in defense. “I swear, I...I’ve been trying really, really, really hard to control it.”

Joohyun scoffed. “You better be trying. And succeeding.”

They descended into silence for a while then, with Joohyun sipping at her juicebox quietly and Byulyi taking deep breaths in attempt to calm down after exposing a secret she’d been hiding for so long.

“I have another question, if you don’t mind,” Joohyun said finally, “Do you find me intimidating, Byulyi?”

“Well, not as much now that I know you still bite your straw,” she replied with a somewhat nervous grin. Her attempt at being charming, however, backfired when Joohyun glared.

The siren then looked down at her handiwork and huffed. “I was thinking! I just needed to occupy myself while I thought about what you said. You are incredibly rude now that you’re not afraid of me. Again, I not hesitate to destroy you if you hurt my best friend, alright?

“Oh, I’m still afraid of you, unnie,” Byulyi said, inching slightly away in her seat to prove her point. “Don’t worry. I believe it. And I know that’s probably the nicest way you could’ve put it.”

Joohyun took another sip. “Correct. But I asked because I wonder if...others...find me intimidating. Enough to do as I say and pretend to be cursed? I mean, you had no problems defying me even with your tail between your legs, but not everyone is as...stubborn as you.”

Byulyi tapped on her knees thoughtfully. “Are you wondering if...people are scared of you enough to pretend to be in love with you...even if they’re not?”

“Yes.”

She shrugged. “Or maybe they’ve just been in love with you this whole time?”

Joohyun scoffed and tossed the empty juice box into Byulyi’s clumsy hands. “Please. Something more original, please.”

Byulyi scratched the back of her neck. “I don’t know, unnie…I-I mean I still think that maybe it was the only way they thought they could be close to you. People have done worse for love.”

Joohyun buried her head in her hand. “God,” she mumbled, her voice reverberating in the echo of her palm, “You sound like a broken record, but…it’s making me believe it and it’s just…It’s just too good to be true.”

Byulyi, who had been smoothing out the wrinkles of her shirt for the sake of something to do, dropped her hands. “I don’t really think I understand. Don’t take this the wrong way, unnie, but even though you can be a bit scary, you’re also beautiful and loyal and accomplished and, clearly, you can be kind too. Why would you be so surprised if someone fell in love with you for real?”

Joohyun swept a hand through her hair. “You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?” she finally sighed.

Byulyi bit her lip. “Um, yes, I think so. I just thought you wanted to keep it ambiguous. Were my answers too straightforward?”

Joohyun shook her head and scoffed. “It’s fine, I’m too tired for this anyway. You’re a clever girl, but if you knew my history with Seungwan, then perhaps you wouldn’t say these things so lightly.”

“I guess you’re right, but if you’ll forgive me for overstepping, unnie, you’re a lot like Yongsun-unnie in your stubbornness to...believe what you don’t really want to believe? And Seungwan is...honest, yes, but she’s also not someone who speaks her mind if she knows it will trouble others,” Byulyi said, “and for her...I kind of think she just wants to love you despite all the things you don’t think she should love you for.”

Joohyun clenched her fist. She still didn’t understand. How could she possibly understand the guilt and the fear and the uncertainty. A girl as beautiful and kind-hearted as Seungwan—she deserved so much more. Why couldn’t this dumb werewolf understand that?

“Unnie? Are you okay?”

Joohyun shook her head. “Look, I don’t think you”—at the sight of her own ruffled feathers in her peripheral, Joohyun caught her anger and pushed it away with the needless blame— “can hear Yongsun calling for you. You...you should go.”

A quick glance up at the clock was enough to propel Byulyi out of her chair. “Oh no!” she cried, nearly stumbling back down again at the force of her own panic. “You’re right, the elk-lady said she—ah, but it doesn’t matter now—she must be—ahh! I-I should go—but”—she swivelled back and forth on the spot, eventually settling for a half bow toward Joohyun and a half step forward toward Yongsun before stopping and chewing her bottom lip—“Unnie, um, before I go, just...uh...believe in yourself. You and Seungwan—you both have the answers already, so just ask her if you’re not sure. And if you’re still not sure, well, um, trust her a little too! Ahhh, I’m sorry if I overstepped. I’ll go now. See you later, unnie! And don’t be afraid to be happy once in a while too!”

~
 

Joohyun, left alone in the waiting room, continued to clutch her heart and wait.

Don’t be afraid to be happy, she said. Oh, but she was happy. The joy in her chest had been bubbling since Seungwan’s fingers laced into her own. That little gesture alone—it was the kind of happiness she rarely dared to dream in the past, and yet, if it were true, she had put her through so, so much.

She waited for the guilt to settle, closed her eyes, and emptied her mind.

The doctors would be done with their check-up soon.

The courage she needed to face everything she hated about herself and her past—that would arrive soon. Byulyi was right—maybe it was just love. it didn't have to be so complicated, right?

In the meantime, she stared at the palms of her hands, as if they held both Seungwan’s love and sacrifice.

She’ll hear her pretty voice again soon, and then she will know for sure.

For now, all she could do was lean back, let her heart go, and wait.

~
 

Byulyi, racing through the hall, smiled so brightly she received more than one disapproving glance as she passed distraught patients and worn out employees. Still, she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so light on her feet and so happy.

“Good morning, unnie,” she practically sang, as she marched into the room. “Are you ready to g—”

But the sight before her put both mind and body to a screeching halt.

For the rest of her life, she would recall this memory unfolding in slow motion.

Yongsun stood at her window, her arms above her head, mid-motion as she pulled her blinds up. The morning breeze shook through her sun-lit tresses, almost gold in the light. The white scrubs were too big at the shoulders, yet they rose up ever so slightly to reveal a sliver of skin, just enough to push Byulyi back a step with a swallow. Yongsun turned around then, and her eyes lit up, a blinding smile quickly following suit.

“Good morning to you too, Byulie,” she said, ducking her eyes and tucking her hair behind her ear.

Simple as it was, she’d never forget the memory of the most beautiful woman in the world sharing a warm, almost domestic, greeting.

“G-good morning,” Byulyi replied dumbly.

Yongsun laughed and stepped away from the window. “You said that already.”

Byulyi shook herself out of her trance. “Sorry,” she murmured under her breath, “You were just so beautiful.”

Yongsun blushed. “Aigo, I don’t even have makeup on.”

Her wide eyes snapped up. “S-sorry, I didn’t...I didn’t mean to say that o-out...loud.” Before Yongsun could reply, she suddenly found herself cradling an armful of a heavy, purple bag. “I packed some of your things,” Byulyi said quickly, steadying Yongsun with a sheepish smile. “I threw in some snacks. Um, in case you were hungry…”

“Thank you,” Yongsun smiled, clutching the bag against her chest. Then, without a moment’s hesitation to deliberate, she reached up and properly thanked her with a kiss on the cheek.

Byulyi’s face flared several shades redder. “M-my pleasure. Er, you’re welcome. It was no problem?” she stuttered with her hand on her face.

Yongsun grinned.
 

~
 

Joohyun stood.

Tired of waiting, she marched through Seungwan’s door and stood at her side. It was just the two of them among the quiet hum of machinery.

“Wan-ah,” she said, brushing a strand of hair out of her eye. This time, her chest rose and fell wth the steady rhythm of her even breaths, and she did not try to wake her. “I don’t know why you pretended to fall in love with me, or how you truly fell in love with me in the first place. You deserve so much more, and yet you’re here, waiting to be mine. And yet here I am, still having my doubts.”

She bent over, careful of the tubes, and pressed her lips against her forehead. “Son Seungwan,” she whispered, “you may not hear this—you may not even want this—but I promise you that no matter what, I will love you and protect you. I’ll never let anyone hurt you. Especially not me.”

Joohyun grinned. How could simple words make everything so easy?

Light filled her chest, shrugging off the years of secrets she’d weighed down inside. “When you wake up, I might have to rely on you a little more. But hopefully…hopefully, you can rely on me too.” She kissed her brow once more. “I love you, Wan. And I promise you that the next time you open your eyes, nothing will be the same. Our world—it will be different. I’ll be a different person—a better person—because I’ll have you by my side.”

~
 

Even though Yongsun had woken up in a hospital bed this morning, just seeing Byulyi’s pink yet still remarkably handsome face somehow made everything just a bit brighter. She studied Byulyi’s quizzical face and thought back to the nap she’d taken only two hours ago, and the way she’d fit so comfortably against Byulyi’s longer frame, and how natural it felt to simply love and be loved. Was it possible to be this happy every morning?

“Unnie?”

Yongsun shook her head, dropped her bag on the floor, and wrapped her arms around Byulyi’s waist.

“Byul-ah,” she said into her shoulder, “is it possible that I’ve fallen more in love with you in the last few hours? What did you do to me?”

“Ah jeez, what are you saying?” she replied, smiling as she braved her scent and wrapped her arms around her. “Somehow, when I came in, I was thinking the exact same thing. This is weird, isn’t it?”

“It’s nice. I thought I would be more scared, but...you make it really easy.”

“Yeah,” Byulyi said, kissing her softly, “it’s really nice.”

Two weeks later, a gentle breeze blew over the pegasus’ plateau. Beneath the white clouds and the blue sky, Byulyi waded through the grass with a rolled-up blanket under one arm. The path before her had, ever since Yongsun’s initial rejection, become so familiar that she could almost accurately trace the erratic flight patterns and feeding times of the local pegasus herds. It was hard to believe that in such a short time she’d reconciled her love in the hospital room, reclaimed her roommate, and nearly fail her exam if not for several late night studying sessions of the painfully unual kind. But, most of all, to be so openly loved and in love with Yongsun was beyond anything she could have predicted.

The kind of bliss she experienced every day was filled to the brim with so much to love.

She loved their first Monday together, waking up to see Yongsun’s sleeping face from across the room. Tuesday, they pushed their beds together. She didn’t sleep, but taming the scent was becoming a little easier. Besides, just the simple act of fitting their bodies together made her happy.

She loved the lunch they had on Wednesday in the cafeteria. Yongsun had kimchi jigae—a grain of rice had glued itself to her cheek, and she’d been adorably flustered when Byulyi reached across the table to wipe it away. She had—

Well, she couldn’t remember what she ate that day, but she did recall how cute Yongsun looked when the soup had been a bit too spicy for her after a while.

She loved watching her open emotions when they visited Seungwan on Thursday for the first time as a couple. She loved the sound of being called a couple. She loved the fact that Yongsun had called them a couple. Seungwan was barely awake, but starry-eyed nonetheless. Even Joohyun, like a gargoyle standing vigilant beside Seungwan, couldn’t resist a smile when they came into the room holding hands. And she definitely loved the way Yongsun so adorably gushed about Joohyun and Seungwan from Thursday to Friday.

From Saturday onwards, Yongsun’s private study space became heaven and hell: it was the perfect study space, comfortable and quiet, and the perfect place for a battle of wills. Yongsun’s scent, mixed with the old books and the floral candles, proved the most difficult test of all. A test she ended up passing, thankfully, but not without excruciating amounts of self-control and—thanks to a suggestion from Hani—bowls of roasted chestnuts to mask the scent. Still, Byulyi couldn’t remember a single moment when she wasn’t smiling.

“Slow down, Byul!”

The grass rustled behind her, closer and closer until she felt a familiar hand grab her own and a familiar scent wafting gently on the breeze. She turned and grinned upon seeing the muse of all her thoughts, whose puffed-out cheeks were pink from running. “You were being slow, unnie,” she teased. In one quick motion, she dropped the blanket in her arm, tugged the protesting vampire toward her, and picked her up.

Yongsun shrieked, wrapping her arms and legs around Byulyi for fear of falling. Her voice carried louder still across the quiet field when Byulyi spun her around, laughing. “Put me down, you idiot!” she cried, thrashing a fist against her shoulder.

“Nope,” Byulyi grinned. “This is your punishment.”

“What did I do?” she cried, hitting her a few more times for good measure.

“Isn’t it because you wanted to finish your chapter that we’re late?” Byulyi said, snuggling her face into the crook of her neck. “You’re lucky no one is here yet.”

“Excuse you.” They turned to the direction of the new voice. A few metres away, barely visible behind the long grass save for her glaring eyes, sat Hyejin. “Wheein is sleeping because you guys took so damn long. You two are a really disgusting couple, you know that?”

They blushed and slowly untangled from each other. “Jeez, Hyejin, how many times are you going to say that?” Byulyi said, picking up her towel with an awkward chuckle.

“Let’s face it, unnie, it’s not like it changes anything. You two just get more and more disgusting every day.”

“I hope it doesn’t make you uncomfortable,” Yongsun said, smiling as they approached.

“Of course not, unnie,” Hyejin replied, her tone almost sickly sweet when she addressed Yongsun. “I’m happy that you’re happy. Ow!” Suddenly, a hand flew seemingly out of nowhere and slapped itself square on her face. “Wheein-ah! What are you doing?” she cried vehemently.

Wheein sat up just as the two older women arrived and bowed politely as she always did.

“You picked a good spot, Wheein,” Yongsun said, gesturing to the small tree providing a little bit of shade in the small clearing.

Despite her grogginess, Wheein lit up like a puppy being praised for the first time. “Yes!” she said, withdrawing her hand from Hyejin’s face to point in the direction behind them. “There’s a pond just over there, but a flock of young pegusus are playing right now. We thought we could move our things over there later if we wanted to be closer to the water.”

“For the record,” Hyejin intervened, “I found this spot, unnie.”

“Well, I picked it.”

Byulyi quirked a brow. Without a word, she slowly and deliberately wrapped an arm around Yongsun’s waist and pulled her a step closer, which did not go unnoticed. Wheein and Hyejin glanced at each other, mirroring mischievous grins widening across their faces.

“Unnie, we made food! Come sit with us!” Before either Byulyi or Yongsun knew what was happening, they peeled her away from Byulyi’s warmth and set her down on the grass with them, fussing and competing for praise as they clamoured around her almost in unison.

“G-guys, w-wait,” Byulyi said weakly. Yongsun flashed an apologetic smile, but Hyejin simply grabbed the towel from her arm and rolled it out while she and Wheein enthusiastically took turns fishing for Yongsun’s smile.

“Unnie, I love your dress. You’re so pretty today,” one would say.

“You’re always pretty, unnie, but the way your skin looks so refreshed—you’re extra pretty today,” the other would retort.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long when their picnic was interrupted Seulgi’s overexcited voice charging toward them. She burst into the clearing with a mile-wide grin, greeting everyone with a hug before throwing both arms around Byulyi’s neck and jumping on her back.  

“Woah!” Byulyi stepped back and hooked her arms under her legs just in time to catch the two of them. “Somebody is happy,” she said with a snicker. “You’re more energetic than normal, aren’t you, Seul?”

“Yep!” Seulgi declared. “Carry me, unnie!”

Seulgi bounced around like an excited child, tugging at her shoulders without regard for neither gravity nor Byulyi’s clumsiness. “Aish!” Byulyi cried, wobbling back and forth to balance the violent force of her friend’s excitement. “What are you doing? Be careful!”

“Yes, what are you doing, Seulgi?” Yongsun asked. Though she was smiling sweetly all the same, Wheein and Hyejin caught the borderline murderous intent in her eyes.

“Er, Seulgi-unnie, maybe you should stop climbing Byulie-unnie,” Wheein said, with a nervous glance at Yongsun.

“Before someone gets hurt,” Hyejin agreed.

“Okay!” Oblivious, Seulgi jumped off and threw her arms up in the air with a little spin. “Ahhh, I’m just so happy!” she cried, “All my favourite people are here. Ah—wait!” Eyes suddenly wide, she leapt back into the long grass. “Hurry up, unnie!” Her voice, already far away, echoed and was answered by a distant whinny from the nearby pond.

“She’s extra loud today, isn’t she?” Byulyi laughed as she watched a hand bounce up from the long grass.

Yongsun came up from behind her and hooked her chin on her shoulder. “I guess it has been a while since we’ve all been together like this.”

“Unnie,” Byulyi said, “were you...jealous?”

“What?” Yongsun said, straightening up just long enough to slap her on the shoulder. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Yeah, it’s not like you were much better,” Hyejin chimed in with a smirk. “Should’ve seen your face earlier.”

Just then, the grass rustled, and out came Seulgi once more. “Look who I found wandering around!” she said, opening her arms toward the grass, as if presenting an award. “Ta-dah!”

And into the clearing came an exasperated Joohyun, wheeling a grinning Seungwan in a surprisingly mundane black wheelchair “Hello everyone!” Seungwan greeted an enthusiastic wave.

“Unnie!” Wheein cried, leaping onto her lap in tanuki form. “How are you feeling?”

“Ahh, it’s nice to see you all again,” Seungwan said, picking Wheein up like a cat. “I really missed being outside with everyone, but otherwise, I feel great!”

Behind her, Joohyun frowned. “Wan-ah, I brought you here to have fun, but you’re not going to overwork yourself, alright? As soon as you feel tired, I’m taking you back. You need to be careful with your legs too. Wheein, you’re heavy, so get off.”

“It’s okay, unnie, you don’t have to worry so much. I’ll be fine,” Seungwan said with a smile. Still, she released Wheein, who promptly returned to Hyejin’s lap, crawled up her back, and settled on her shoulder like a big, furry backpack.

“Joohyun-unnie hasn’t stopped complaining about how un-wheelchair-friendly the campus is for a full week now. She’s been so protective that even Athena is kind of afraid of her, so I don’t think she’ll stop worrying, Wan,” Seulgi snickered.

Seungwan raised her arms and turned to smile at Joohyun. At the familiar signal, the siren’s features softened as she rounded the wheelchair and scooped Seungwan up into her arms. It was almost comical, if it weren’t so surprising, to see the tiny woman hold her so effortlessly. Seungwan, of course, couldn’t care less about how they looked to the others with her arm wrapped around Joohyun’s neck, smiling from ear to ear as she laid her head on her shoulder.

“I’m not going to apologize for the failures of this institution,” Joohyun huffed. “Especially not toward my dear, sweet Seungwan.” To punctuate her point, she kissed her sweetly, prompting a muffled squeal from beside her that turned everyone’s heads.

“Seul, you’re ruining the moment,” Byulyi laughed.

Seulgi followed Joohyun as she carried her to the blanket. “You don’t understand, unnie—I’ve been waiting for this. All. My. Life.” When Joohyun had settled onto the blanket with Seungwan in her lap, Seulgi hugged them and kissed them both on the cheek. “Aren’t they so cute?”

Byulyi shook her head with a smile. “We know—you’ve said a million times.”

“Also, we have eyes too,” Yongsun chuckled.

“Geez, Seul, you’re so embarrassing,” Seungwan said with a grin. “But in a weird way, I’m happy for you too. You’ve always been our biggest cheerleader, and I love you for that.” Seulgi squealed once more and hugged them both.

“Wan’s right, Seul. You’ve been through so much with us over the years,” Joohyun said. She ruffled her hair and grinned. “We love you, Seul.”

Seulgi gaped at her two childhood friends. “This is the best day of my life,” she whispered in disbelief. She sniffled and hugged them both for a second time. Squishing her face between Joohyun and Seungwan’s, she cried, “I love you two so much!” She squeezed them so tightly that even Joohyun began to wince.

“Seul—”

“I’M SO HAPPY YOU’RE TOGETHER!”

“Seul…let go now. Please.”

“Well, I won’t lie. It’s nice watching Hyun so tied up around someone else’s little finger for a change,” Yongsun added as they watched the display. “You’re going to rule the world someday just to make sure nobody looks at Seungwan the wrong way.”

“And you, Yongsunssi, have gotten much ruder,” Joohyun retorted, sticking her tongue out as she combed Seungwan’s hair with her fingers. “Laugh if you want, but I’m not letting anything happen to the love of my life. Aigo, Seulgi, you’ve made Wan’s hair so messy. She worked hard on it, you know?”

Seulgi blushed and sat down beside Joohyun and Hyejin. “Sorry, unnie, I’ll try to contain my excitement over here.” Hyejin gave her a smile and a pat on her knee, which promptly washed out the embarrassment.

“I’m not complaining,” Seungwan continued with a grin. “I mean, Joohyun-unnie is so cool and beautiful and smart and”—she blushed when she found all eyes on her— “cool, okay? I’m the luckiest girl in the world. Especially when I kind of thought I’d have to go my whole life stealing her affection with my rabbit form. Since I can’t really transform while my legs are healing, it’s nice to be able to sit in Hyun’s lap like this. It’s almost like I’m a rabbit again!”

“I’m pretty sure she wasn’t thinking about rabbits when she’s holding you, unnie. Like ever. If you know what I mean,” Hyejin smirked. “Cute as your animal forms are, I’d never cuddle a random tanuki that wasn’t Wheein.”

“I’d kill you if you do,” Wheein said matter-of-factly.

“Jeez, what are you saying?” Seungwan said, chuckling uneasily.

She looked up at Joohyun, who pinked slightly while feigning indifference with a shrug. “I’ve been in love with you for a long time,” she said simply.

Yongsun laughed and hooked her arm around Byulyi’s. “It’s hard to believe you’re the same person I’ve known to be in denial since first year, Hyun. Seungwan, she used to talk about you and Seulgi all the time, but even before I saw you two in person, it was obvious how much she wanted to—”

“Yah!” Joohyun cried. “Just stop talking, Yong.”  

“Oh! Seungwan was the same!” Seulgi said happily. “Back in high school, we used to always talk about—”

“Seulgi!” Seungwan shouted. “D-don’t! Everything I told you, I told you in confidence!”

Seulgi blinked. “But Wannie, you’re dating now, so nothing is really a secret anymore, right? Like when you used to ask me what kind of lipstick Joohyun-unnie wore and stuff, it doesn’t really matter since I’m pretty sure you’ve seen her lipstick collection by now.”

Seungwan flushed crimson. “T-that’s not…oh my god, Seulgi, just stop, okay?”

Joohyun tilted her head to try to meet Seungwan’s nervously wandering eyes. “You were interested in my lipstick? How come?”

“No reason,” she mumbled, fidgeting with her sleeve.

Joohyun frowned. “What? Why?”

“Hyun-ah…” Yongsun said, shaking her head, “are you that dense?”

“What’s happening?” Seulgi asked with an uneasy smile. “Did I say something wrong?”

“It’s okay, Seungwan-unnie,” Hyejin told her with a mischievous grin, “there’s nothing wrong with fantasizing about making out with a girl you’ve been in love with forever by thinking about her lip colour on you. In various places.”

“Hyejin!” Seungwan cried, covering her face. “S-stop saying weird things!”

Seulgi’s eyes bulged. “Oh my god,” she said, in an almost perfect imitation of Seungwan’s North American accent, “I did say something wrong. B-but you never told me what the information was for! It’s more obvious when you ask me what she’s wearing.”

“Kang. Seul. Gi!”

Joohyun rested her chin on Seungwan’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around her waist to calm her down. “Is this true, my innocent, little Wannie?” she whispered. “My lipstick…in various places?”

“Why is this happening to me?” Seungwan moaned quietly to herself. To Joohyun, she quietly grumbled, “I was in love with you for a long time too, okay?”

“Hey, maybe we should all eat something and stop talking about this,” Byulyi said, gesturing emphatically at the picnic basket.

“Buuuuut speaking of long-term unresolved tension,” Hyejin went on loudly, “I want to hear about the good stuff.” Byulyi groaned and received a comforting pat on the arm from Yongsun. They both knew, of course, where this was going.

“Hyejin, no—"

“The !” Hyejin insisted, waving Byulyi off. “How is it? How far have you gone? Is it mind-blowing?”

“Hyejin!” A crowd of voices cried.

“What? It’s been two weeks! You guys have worked your asses off to get to this point, so I need to know. Tell. Me. Everything!

“W-Wheein-ah—!” Byulyi said with a tomato-red face. “Tell her to stop!”

Wheein, who had been quietly sitting on Hyejin’s shoulders eating a sandwich, blinked her shining black eyes. “But I want to know,” she said innocently. “Seungwan-unnie, have you guys done it yet?”

Seungwan’s eyes grew wide. “W-wha—well I’m not…” she began, anxiously playing with the ribbon on Joohyun’s shirt as she rambled. “Well, I’m, uh, still healing, but, ah…oh, gosh, why is everyone picking on me today? I mean…I…I don’t know if this counts...the two of us…we—”

Joohyun slapped a hand over . “Yes,” she said calmly. “She means yes.”

Silence.

Hyejin raised a brow. “Why are you two being so weird about it?”

“Seulgi’s here and she’s our baby,” Joohyun deadpanned. It was a blatant lie, and everyone was waiting. They turned to Seulgi for answers, but she provided nothing more than a nervous laugh.

Byulyi, in attempt to draw attention away from the increasingly uncomfortable couple, cut in hurriedly: “Uh, well, we’re...taking our time.” After all, Byulyi was, unbeknownst to both Joohyun and Seungwan, the only one who knew of their brief ual past. Though she did not know about anything beyond the one night she’d witnessed, it was a strange secret she felt bound to keep.

“Seriously?” Hyejin said. “I don’t believe you. I mean, you two are disgusting.”

“We’re sharing a bed,” Yongsun supplied with a sheepish smile, “but she’s right. We’re taking things slow.”

Byulyi’s act of kindness, however, backfired when Joohyun’s brows nearly shot up to her hairline. “Moon Byulyi, you poor thing,” Joohyun said incredulously. “Haven’t you told Yong what her scent does to you? I’m sure she can guess, but does she know—”

“U-unnie! Please stop!” Byulyi cried, waving her arms. “Can we please stop talking about this now?”

They laughed when she sought out Yongsun’s wide eyes for help, but Yongsun’s brows were furrowed. “You told me it made you a little crazy, but I thought…”

“Oh, you sweet, innocent idiots,” Hyejin snickered.

“Please stop talking about this,” Byulyi pleaded, slapping a hand over her eyes.

“Yes!” Seungwan said with a sympathetic smile. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Perhaps we should eat,” Yongsun said.

“Ah! Yes! Unnie, I’m hungry,” Seungwan said. Almost immediately, Joohyun was commanding for drinks and sandwiches to be distributed and, when Seungwan gave the word, not even Hyejin’s loudest protests could distract a woman on a mission. The topic was soon forgotten as everyone else began feeling the demand of their stomachs and began crowding around the food.

While everyone else’s attentions were on the picnic basket, she grabbed Byulyi by the elbow before she can join the fray for food, and whispered, “We should talk about this.”

“Right now?”

Yongsun nodded.

Byulyi flushed. “I-it’s really not a big deal, unnie,” she whispered back. She reached up and tried to smooth out the wrinkles in her furrowed brow, but when she continued to pout, she sighed and pulled her into the grass by the hand, ignoring the curious, prying eyes of their friends.

In their own, private world surrounded by the tall yellow-green grass, Byulyi set Yongsun in front of her behind the shade of a nearby tree far from the din of their friends. “Unnie,” she said seriously, “you know I’d never do anything you don’t want me to right?”

“Of course, Byul. I know you’d never hurt me. But,” she said, dropping her smile, “I don’t want to hurt you either. I’m sorry I didn’t think about your feelings. We’ve been spending so much time together that I’d kind of forgotten about the scent thing…”

“No, no, no, don’t apologize, unnie. That’s a good thing,” Byulyi said with a sheepish grin. “I’m learning to control it. And I think I’m getting better, so please don’t worry.”

“But...out of curiosity…after what Joohyun said…I couldn’t help but wonder…” Yongsun murmured, her eyes dropping to the finger that had found its way to playing with Byulyi’s shirt button, “what exactly goes through your mind when the scent becomes...too much?”

The breezy plateau suddenly felt like a savannah, her entire body burning at the suggestiveness of her voice and the sudden intensity of her scent. “U-unnie, I’d...u-um, I would rather n-not say,” she stammered with her arms stiffly down at her side.”

Yongsun chuckled as she pressed a palm to her chest. “I’m just saying,” she purred, flashing her fangs, “you don’t have to be so...in control...all the time.”

“O-okay,” she whispered. Before she could say any more, Yongsun pressed her lips onto hers, gently at first, but quickly and aggressively gaining heat as she pushed her further into the grass. It was a side of her vampire princess that she’d never seen and was wholly unprepared for, yet found herself irrevocably in love with.

She hadn’t thought about whether Yongsun had been holding back, much less how much she seemed to have held back. She threw her arms around her and kissed her back deeply. Her desperate fingers reached for the zipper on the back of Yongsun’s dress. Her own shirt buttons popped open one by one, when suddenly—

A familiar scream came sailing over the long grass, jolting them apart as if they’d been discovered.

“That’s my sandwich!” Hyejin screeched. “Give that back, unnie!”

They looked around and sighed in relief when they saw only their swollen lips and rumpled clothes.

“Wow, they’re loud, aren’t they?” Byulyi said, laying her forehead on Yongsun’s.

“We should get back, shouldn’t we?” Yongsun replied, laughing. “They’re going to tease us so much.”

“Yeah, but we’re two fools in love. They’ll understand.” Byulyi picked up her hand and grinned.

At the end of the night, a small, blue campfire burned brightly in their clearing. Hyejin and Wheein had brought marshmallows and Seungwan her guitar. The starry evening was all music and quiet laughter. Joohyun slept, breathing lightly, on Seungwan’s shoulder while Yongsun sang softly with Hyejin and Wheein. Byulyi, however, was standing by the marshy pond a few metres away, sitting on a rock with her hands in her pockets.

“Here you are, unnie.” A familiar presence came up from behind her and dangled a cold bottle by her face.

She shook her head and grinned. “Ah, it’s Seulgi,” she said, murmuring her thanks as she accepted her gift. “What’s this? Beer?”

Seulgi took a seat beside her and waved her own bottle with a lopsided smile. “Wheein said you liked this brand,” she said proudly.

“Nn, she has a good memory. We should go drinking more often,” Byulyi mused to herself.

Seulgi clanked her glass against Byulyi’s, her face already pinker than colours the pond’s reflected moonlight could hide. “Now that you’re not mopey anymore, we can all go drinking together whenever we want,” she said, leaning against Byulyi’s shoulder.

“You’re already drunk, Seul?” Byulyi chuckled. “Careful you don’t fall into the water.”

Seulgi giggled and threw a heavy arm around Byulyi’s shoulder. “No, I’m not drunk,” she replied. “Just happy. Everyone is happy. Even the little horses you love so much would be happy if they were here, so I’m happy too.”

“Me too, Seul.” Byulyi took a sip. “You know what?” she said as she gazed out into still waters. “The last time I was here, I stayed out all night looking for jasmine. And I was so hurt and upset and lost—it really felt like the end of the world. But even though it was so strong at the time, I could barely remember that feeling now. I can’t even remember what it was like when Yongsun unnie...wasn’t my everyday, you know what I mean? She just makes me so happy, I feel like I’m going crazy sometimes. Like is this even possible?”

Seulgi giggled. “The last time we were here together, I brought you kimbap and we talked about your broken heart. For a week! So, I’m very happy we could make new memories in this place.”

Byulyi raised her bottle and turned to wrap and arm around Seulgi, who compliantly wobbled off Byulyi side long enough to plant her face into her chest and wrap her arms around her torso.

“Thanks for sticking with me, Seul. And believing in me even when I was a mopey loser.”

“I didn’t do much,” Seulgi laughed. “Mostly I thought Joohyun-unnie and Seungwan were a lost cause and I didn’t want you and Yongsun-unnie to be like them.”

“Don’t say that,” Byulyi murmured, snaking her free arm, bottle and all, around Seulgi’s back. “You gave me courage when I needed it most. You’re my first and best friend here, Seulgi, and I will always love you for that.”

Seulgi didn’t reply, her quiet breaths warm and steady against her shirt. “Aigo,” Byulyi chuckled, dropping her arm to ruffle Seulgi’s hair with her other hand. “This kid making me say these embarrassing things just to sleep on me. Seulgi-ah, you better not be drooling on my shirt.”

Just then, a single pegasus approached the marsh and, looking straight into Byulyi’s eyes, spread his wings in greeting. She nodded back. He dipped his head into the water for a drink, so she raised her bottle, took a swig, and placed it beside her. Though the moment was brief, something in the encounter felt perfect. Everything in her life seemed to align, as if everything in her life happened so that she could be here in this very moment.

But the majestic creature, glowing white under the moonlight, disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. She searched the skies and, with a smile, saw the speck of white in the distance, like a shooting star across the plain. Secretly, she made a little wish that this kind of happiness could last forever.

What a beautiful world we live in, she thought as she closed her eyes.

“Byul-ah, what are you doing over here?”

Byulyi turned around and pressed a finger to her lips, nodding to Seulgi’s sleeping form slumped against her. At least, that was her intention. Instead, she turned around and froze. What she hadn’t expected was to see Kim Yongsun with the moonlight washed against her hair, the silvery outline bringing back memories of their first morning at the hospital. Even as she stood with her arms on her hips and her cheeks puffed out she was beautiful.

Yongsun stomped over to put her jealousy somewhere, but when she approached, Byulyi reached for her hand, and grinned up at her in her open, adorable way.

“W-what?” she whispered.

“Nothing,” Byulyi replied, swinging their hands a little. “I was just thinking, ‘ah, what a beautiful world we live in,’ then you showed up to remind me how much more beautiful it can be.”

“Jeez, y-you’re so cheesy, Byul,” Yongsun said, flushing brightly as she tucked her hair behind her ear with her free hand.

Byulyi stilled their hands and threw herself into her eyes. “I love you, Kim Yongsun.”

Yongsun, taken aback by the sudden confession, blinked for a moment—a moment that left a seed of doubt in Byulyi’s heart. She tightened her grip on Byulyi’s hand and kneeled down to meet her eyes.

Byulyi’s heart pounded.

“I…” Yongsun dropped her eyes, her face beet red. “I love you too, Byul. More than I ever thought I was capable of.”

Byulyi let out a breath of relief. “You scared me, unnie. For a moment I thought I was the only one.”

Yongsun shook her head. “Sorry, I just...I’m not as brave as you, Byulyi. I’m not someone who can do this spontaneously, a-and we’ve never said it before. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I didn’t know if it was too soon. This is...all very new to me, and I—”

“Can you say it again?”

Yongsun laughed, relief giving way to clarity. It never ceased to amaze her how easy things could be sometimes with Byulyi.

“I love you, my big, dumb werewolf.”

Byulyi stuck out a tongue, but her smile couldn’t be wider. She tugged at their intertwined hands and kissed her, tender and sweet.

“I love you too, my beautiful, vampire princess.”

“Good. But I want to come here and do this again. Without Seulgi next time.”

Byulyi chuckled quietly as she glanced at Seulgi’s squished face against her chest. “We can come here as many times as you want, my love.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

END

Notes: THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR FOLLOWING ME ON THIS JOURNEY! When I started this story, I hadn't expected this to be a seven-month journey. I've met so many amazing people through this story, and I'll forever be grateful for that. I love you guys from the bottom of my heart. 

My plan now is to put as much energy as I can into Freedom-Bound now, so I hope you'll come meet me over there. I'd like to continued with AIU someday, maybe with a few shorts. I don't want to make promises right now, but despite the story not going how I expected to go, I really do love this world.

So, please comment, vote, and/or subscribe! It really means the world to me! 

Thank you all once again, and I hope to meet you guys again in the future!

Edit: Sorry, friends, I pasted the story twice when I was fighting with AFF. Hope it didn't hinder your reading experiences too much!! ><