"Joo, are you feeling alright?"

Namjoo nods, then shakes her head, then shrugs. 'Hayoung...'

"What did she do?" Chorong asks concerned. She pats the blonde’s head.

Namjoo shrugs again. "I can't be mad, you know?"

"What? What do you mean?"

'She's sleeping with Naeun again,' the blonde thinks fleetly. "I can't be jealous or mad, 'cause we are not dating. I don't know how to make it stop." Namjoo’s head is down, kicking her right foot just enough for her to pout even deeper.

"Make what stop?" Chorong can't bear to look at her like that.

'It hurts,' Namjoo shakes her head. "I'm confused."

Chorong sighs. She pulls the sad girl to her and squeezes her as hard as she can.

"We'll fix it, okay?" Namjoo nods into the embrace. "C'mon let's go to class."

Chorong hasn’t seen much of anybody through the week, but Bomi has keep her promise to try to get to know her. It were little things like a fleeting "hello," a quick glance during classes, a shy smile. When Thursday came and Bomi sits next to her in Math, with a soft "hey," Chorong has to fight the urge to clap and jump on her seat.

'I'd kill for some water.' Bomi thinks halfway into the lecture. 'I'm so thirsty.'

Chorong, quickly and without thinking, grabs her bottle from her bag and offers it to her.

"How did you...?"

.

"Oh, I- I'm a little psychic you know?" she quickly adds, "I just saw it on your face."

Bomi smiles amused. "Psychic, right." She drinks a good half of the bottle. "You're such a nerd."

Chorong gasps. "I am not."

Bomi smirks, raising her eyebrows. "Oh, you are. A cute nerd though."

Chorong does a double take.

The auburn-haired turns around and stares at the teacher, her face flushed. 'I did not just say that out loud.' ", she coughs, "thanks for the water, Rong."

"You're welcome," Chorong answers softly.

With the exciting thought that Yoon Bomi called her cute- not in her mind, but out loud, Chorong walked in a daze the rest of the day, failing to notice the weird way Hayoung was acting.

She kept throwing knowing smirks Chorong's way and stood more silently than usual. Her brow was always furrowed but the corners of her lips were tugging upwards and her gaze was lost in space.

In fact, if Bomi would have paid more attention to Hayoung than to the back of Chorong's head, she would have noticed what she had learned over the years: Oh Hayoung was plotting.

"Sleepover at Joo's house tonight, Rong. Don't be late or there won't be booze for you."

Chorong's eyebrows raises to her hairline. "What kind of sleepover is this?"

Hayoung smirks evilly, much like she has been all week. The mind reader fixes her gaze on her, trying to hear what the girl was scheming. Hayoung squints her eyes in response.

‘... apple-pen, pineapple-pen, uh! Pen-pineapple-apple-pen…'

"What?" Chorongs asks. Hayoung laughs, nodding to herself.

"I can't believe that worked."

There's complete silence in the basement of Namjoo’s house as the girls change into their respective sleepwear. Well, silence for all but one girl.

'I- I don't even think that is considered pyjamas. I mean, she might as well go ! Wait, no. I so don't need that mental image.'

'Gosh, look at Bomi! She's so freaking obvious! I bet she's making a mental list of ways to get into your pants, isn't she, Rong?'

"So, what should we do now?" Chorong asks. She plays with the hem of her long-sleeved- but short- top self-consciously.

"I'll go get the booze." Hayoung walks out of the room.

"We could play Truth or Dare," Namjoo chimes in.

'I don't think that's a very good idea.' "Isn't there another game we can play?" Bomi asks uncomfortably.

"7 Minutes in Heaven." The blonde states calmly, making Bomi choke on her own spit.

"Yeah, no Joo, that won't work either."

"What about Never Have I Ever?" Hayoung comes back with two bottles and four glasses.

"We could play that." Bomi nods and Chorong shrugs. "Settled then."

The girls sit on the floor, Chorong and Bomi leaning back on an armchair, Namjoo on the couch next to them and Hayoung on the coffee table at her left.

"You do this very often?" Chorong asks as she sees how expertly Hayoung fills their glasses.

"Bomi and I used to do this every weekend with Eunji since we were in middle school.”

"Not the alcohol! The sleepovers," Bomi clarifies. 'God, she's going to think I'm an alcoholic.'

Chorong chuckles. For her, Bomi looks adorable in that right moment.

"Who starts?"

"I'll start. Okay. Never have I ever..." Namjoo frowns. She glances at Hayoung, then frowns some more. "Slept with someone to masks my feelings."

Bomi and Hayoung drink. The first with a firm nod, the second looking guilty as hell.

"Rong." Namjoo calls.

"Uhm, I'm not... really good with this but, never have I ever..." she starts, "watched ."

"Duh." Hayoung drinks, followed by Namjoo and Bomi.

"You have?" She can't help but ask Bomi, surprised. The auburn-haired girl blushes profusely.

"Just once, okay?”

"Sure, Bomi-ah. Nothing to be ashamed of." Chorong giggles as the blush darkens.

"My turn." Says Hayoung as she glances at Bomi. "Never have I ever lied to myself about my feelings for someone."

Bomi looks at Chorong out of the corner of her eye. Chorong sips discreetly from her glass and Bomi grabs hers firmly but before drinking says, "Like hell you haven't, Hayoung."

Hayoung squints her eyes at her and mutters something that sounds suspiciously like 'backfire'.

The girls keep playing for an hour. Round after round, the questions grow in difficulty. They start feeling lightheaded after the second glass and by the fourth their words are slurred and everything is ridiculously funny.

"Okay, okay, I have a good one," Chorong slurs. "Never have I ever had a dream-" Hayoung and Namjoo already reach for their glasses, "wait, wait, there's more. About someone in Performing Arts Club."

The girls look at each other before drinking.

'If you knew. The things I do to you... legs, skin, so much skin... in my dreams. Every night. Oh God, Chorong everywhere, my hands, my mouth...' Bomi watches Chorong intently as she thinks this, her hand picking up the glass on its own accord and bringing it to her lips.

Chorong coughs, her cheeks feeling like they're on fire. Her whole body, come to think of it. "Maybe we should take a little break. I could use some fresh air."

"I need to pee." Namjoo jumps and runs to the bathroom.

Chorong stands- not as easily as she thought she would- and makes her way upstairs and to the back yard. It's one of those chilly nights when the Jeju City sky is clear and the light coming from the stars and the moon is enough to see around.

Suddenly the sound of steps catch her attention.

'What a jerk. I'm just trying to help and she just tells me to mind my own business.' The door to the house opens and closes. "Hey."

She turns and smiles to Bomi. "Hi."

“It's a little frustrating, isn't it?" The girl is scrubbing her eyes a bit forcefully.

"What is?" Chorong asks, curiously, turning to the girl and watching her auburn locks dance with the breeze.

"Hayoung and Namjoo. Well Hayoung, mostly. I mean they- God, she is so- like me" Bomi slurs.

Chorong smiles easily to calm Bomi.

It seems to work just fine, because Bomi's next thought is, 'Woah, her eyes are like pools of chocolate.' Chorong giggles and Bomi follows her, not aware of the reason. They keep staring at each other for a few seconds and when Chorong’s eyes get tired of roaming all over Bomi’s face and not finding a single flaw, Bomi speaks again.

“We should go back. We may not feel the cold because of the alcolo- alclo-  alcohol, but we could be very well freezing to death."

Chorong giggles. "After you."

After they go back, no one really feels like playing anymore. They put on some music, sing and dance drunkenly to the 80's songs Namjoo’s dad keeps on the shelves and slur their way into irrelevant conversations about anything and everything.

About two hours later, Namjoo starts dozing off on the armchair and they decide to wrap it up and go to sleep.

"J- Joo, why don't you just-"

"I'm fine here, Hayoung" Namjoo answers stubbornly from her spot on the armchair. Hayoung, from the couch, looks at the other two pleadingly and Bomi just gives her a face as if to say, 'you asked for it'.

'Chorong, what did I do? I don't get it!' Hayoung thinks confused. Chorong shakes her head sadly.

Bomi, at Chorong’s side, watches the exchange unamused, like she wants to smack Hayoung in the face with the reason why her blonde friend is upset. Chorong grabs her shoulder gently and turns her around.

"You have to leave them alone to fix their own issues," she whispers.

"I know, it's just-" 'They're both hurting and it kills me,' "they're just being morons," Bomi says instead.

Chorong smiles softly. "You're a good friend, Bbom-ah."

The dancer blushes. "Where are you going to sleep?"

"Uhm, on the floor, I guess?"

Bomi chuckles. "I mean where on the floor?"

"I'm not sure... why?"

''Cause I want to sleep next to you.' "I... no reason." Bomi shrugs.

"Oh." Chorong bites her lip to keep from smiling. "Would you mind sleeping next to me? I mean, it's okay if you don't want to, but I'd feel more comfortable having someone next to me." She plays it coy.

Bomi’s eyes brighten at the request. 'I can't believe my luck.' "Oh, sure, yeah. I mean, if you'd feel better then I guess- yeah."

Chorong beams at her and together they move the armchair- with Namjoo on it- a little to make some space for two people to fit on the floor between it and the couch. They spread the sleeping bags and slip inside them snugly, giggling at their own silliness.