“Ah, I’m full…” Seulgi exhales a little too lightly while stretches her muscles before leaning back with her arms supporting her. “Thanks for the food.”

The older woman across from her does the same, her eyes scanning over the empty food containers on the table. “I can’t believe we really finished all of that.”

“Not quite all of it.” Seulgi chuckles lightly. “We still have a few snacks though.”

“Right… Let’s just put them away for now.”

Seulgi spares a quick glance at her girlfriend, thinking of what to do next. Perhaps, it’s now a good time for them to talk. They washed, they ate and now they will talk.

“So…” She starts, trying to act casual about it when she caught Joohyun’s attention. “I think we should talk now.”

Joohyun hums, “Yeah… But can you play something on the TV while we’re at it?”

The request made Seulgi raises one of her eyebrows in question. She thinks that’s quite an odd thing to ask. If they’re going to talk, why leave the TV on?

“It’s to make me less nervous.” Joohyun said as if she knew Seulgi was questioning her intention. “Like a little background noise so it’s not completely silent when none of us is talking.” She gets a little embarrassed once she’s done explaining it out loud.

It’s too practical now that she thinks about it again, but she really thinks the background noise would help ease her nerves. After all, she’s at a place she’s never been before and they’re going to talk about their relationship again, though right now it should have more positive outcome than the last time.

“Alright, as you wish.” She didn’t get to explain further when she watched Seulgi rose from her seat to grab the remote.

“Thank you.” She mutters, followed with a sigh of relief.

“Anything to help you be more comfortable.” Seulgi gives her a charming smile and Joohyun blushes almost immediately it’s embarrassing. “Would you like me to just put on a movie? I mean, I can confidently say I have quite a nice movie collection here.”

“Really?” Joohyun laughs, it’s not every day where she can see Seulgi being cocky of her movie collection. ”Well, surprise me with your choice then.”

Seulgi stops navigating in the TV’s interface and simply put the remote close to . “If you’re going to let me choose then, I’ll definitely go with a movie that I kept going back to every now and then.”

“Your personal favorite?”

“My personal all-time favorite.”

Joohyun gasps when Seulgi starts talking into the remote.

“Play ‘Before Sunrise’ on Netflix.”

Joohyun’s eyes went wide in surprise. She was smiling so wide, happy, and surprised to know that Seulgi’s all-time favorite is also her own favorite movie! She was flabbergasted because it’s a romance movie and to be quite honest, she really didn’t think Seulgi’s type of movie will go near anything romantic—and yet here she is.

“You watched ‘Before Sunrise’?” Joohyun asked, she had to.

Seulgi’s smile remains. “Several times, I lost count actually.”

“The whole trilogy?”

“No, just the first one.”

Joohyun chuckles, amused. “Turns out you’re a helpless romantic, huh?”

Seulgi only shrugs, still smiling. “Maybe? Honestly, I never really thought about it but every time I watched it, I used to imagine how it would be if I were to be in any of Celine or Jesse’s shoes. But it’s hard to imagine something that never really happened in your life before. The movie made everything look so…easy.”

The movie starts playing and Seulgi starts tuning down the volume to a reasonable level.

“So, who would you rather be? Celine or Jesse?”

Seulgi narrows her eyes, sitting back down way closer next to Joohyun. “Neither? But if you insist, then I think I’d rather be Celine? Because walking up to a stranger and ask them to spend the rest of their day with me sounded way too out of character of me, don’t you think?”

Joohyun laughs, Seulgi has a great point there.

“Contrary to that, I think you’ll suit Jesse’s role perfectly.”

The statement intrigued Joohyun’s curiosity. “And why’s that?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Seulgi raises an eyebrow again, smiling ever so slightly. “You were the one who asked me out first. That’s something Jesse would do.”

Joohyun blushes deeply, in the back of her mind she can hear someone saying ‘does that mean she wants me to be the Jesse to her Celine?’ She feels something in her stomach flips and she feels so giddy thinking about it. Does she even realize what she’s trying to say? She couldn’t help but wonder when she didn’t find anything close to a teasing remark from Seulgi.

She blushes more when Seulgi eyes stays on her, like she was studying something on Joohyun’s face.

“You also have such beautiful eyes. They may not be blue like Jesse’s but I’d surely pick yours over his.” Joohyun couldn’t handle more of it, so she let her reflex act on it by playfully pushing Seulgi away from her. The gesture made Seulgi chuckle, now being aware that her words have gotten to Joohyun so much that she’s visibly blushing. “I’m sorry, was it too much?” She offers an apologetic smile.

“Was it too much?” Joohyun slaps Seulgi’s arm with a pout that follows. “Yah, I can’t believe you’re secretly a romantic.”

This time it’s Seulgi’s turn to laugh. “Well, ‘Before Sunrise’ is my favorite movie of all time. I think that says a lot, yeah?”

It only makes her girlfriend pout more. “Yet you only begin to be an actual romantic after months.” And that fact still able to frustrates Joohyun.

Seeing the cute pout makes Seulgi’s insides squeal. Joohyun looks so cute pouting like a kid, so she laughs a little at her girlfriend’s childlike behavior, while at the same time her right hand reaches out to pull Joohyun gently closer to her side, successfully having her girlfriend lean her weight on Seulgi in a warm cuddle.

“I’m sorry.” She kisses the top of Joohyun’s head softly, hoping it will soothe the pouty mood her girlfriend is having now. “I’m not going to deny that I really am slow when it comes to the actual dating thing… No matter how much of a romantic I actually am.”

“Well, I guess it’s okay now…” Joohyun said, her eyes trained to the movie that’s playing on the TV. “I was just being a bit petty about it. It’s all good now, we’ve went through this before and you’re trying to be better and it shows. I think that’s more important right now.”

Seulgi agrees with a hum, her hand find its way to Joohyun’s hair, caressing it gently as the two begin to focus more on the movie.

“How about you?” Seulgi suddenly asked, eyes still trained on the big TV screen.

“Mm?”

“Who would you rather be?”

“I think…it’s Celine too.”

“So, you used to imagine a random cute guy will come up and start talking to you?”

“Well, not to sound cocky but it happened numerous of times. You know, random guys asking me out.” She shrugs, none of them attracts Joohyun this far. “Some are pretty cute, but I’m not interested so...” Seulgi feel Joohyun roll her eyes. “It can be girls too… I think I’d have higher chance of saying yes if it’s a girl. But…” She sighs, “I ended up doing what Jesse did instead, I mean, it’s not bad. It’s not bad at all.” She softly finishes as her arms slightly tightened around Seulgi as if wanting to make it obvious for Seulgi that being together with Seulgi isn’t a bad thing at all. “I can say doing it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

That putting herself in a spot where she had to be the one to ask another girl out, was the best decision.

Seulgi landed another soft kiss on Joohyun’s hair almost out of habit. Lowkey telling her that she appreciates her bravery for doing all that and even willing to stay with Seulgi until now.

The two fell on a comfortable silence.

Their focuses were back to the movie before Seulgi then makes a comment, “Isn’t it fun?”

“What is?”

“That.” She gestures to the movie. “Going on an impromptu trip like that. It always fascinates me thinking the two were complete strangers yet they clicked so well in a span of a couple hours. Even the two ended up falling in love…” Seulgi’s eyes narrow, the gears in her head turning. “Sure, they were awkward at first, but they eventually got along… The way they think, sometimes they share the same ideas and yet in other areas they’re so different… But they still matched.”

Was it supposed to be that easy? That quick…to fall in love?

Seulgi then starts to analyze the movie further. Celine was very pretty and Jesse was a very charming and such an interesting character. Was it really love or was it mere attraction…? But then they get to certain scenes where both characters look so deeply in love and without them saying it out loud, Seulgi can tell that they have fallen for each other.

But how did it get to that point?

The two didn’t talk more, only pointing out certain memorable scenes here and there.

And then comes the scene of the two characters walking by the alleyway. The topic fall back to talking about what love is. What being in love means, what being together with someone else means. Jesse gave a speech about wanting to be remembered in life knowing he had done something great rather than spending it in a nice relationship. The thought of being invested in loving someone deeply could potentially ruin his life in a way, or at least prevent him from being something greater.

But then Celine’s way of telling him otherwise, struck Seulgi in a way it never did before.

She never really gets it back then, not in an emotional level at least. But now that she’s in a relationship and not even her Byulyi-unnie can really explain to her how to know that you’re in love—yet with Celine’s explanation, Seulgi somehow understands it.

Love isn’t something she can own or acquire.

Like Celine said, “If there’s any kind of God, I believe it wouldn’t be in any of us… Not you, not me… It’s this little space in between.”

It’s unique and make so much sense for Seulgi.

Love can mean anything, really. But this one seemed very fitting for her.

It’s the way one person was willing to understand and connect with the other in any sort of form. Seulgi agrees to this because that means in general, she does love everyone she knows and that’s true. She loves her friends, she loves her parents, she loves her cousin… Her mind was silent for a short moment, Seulgi’s eyes moving down to the person she’s been holding in her arm, her hand stops caressing the smooth long hair and suddenly it’s not only her mind’s gear turning but also her heart.

And for once, the two were in sync.

Seulgi is in love with Joohyun.

And she realizes this moment right here isn’t exactly the moment she falls for her.

No, it’s way before this. Now that she knows, it’s the moment when she decided that she wants to stay with her, the moment she decided that she wanted this to work, the moment she decided she was willing to try to understand Joohyun better and be better for her.

And then the words just slip away.

“I love you.”

She can feel the other woman freezes in her arm, it almost feels like time has stopped.

Seulgi can feel her heart thumping so loudly, she can tell if Joohyun heard and felt it too.

She knew she caught Joohyun off guard with that, but Joohyun isn’t the only one. Seulgi herself was caught off guard too, suddenly blurting out those three words out of the blue. And yet, she feels anything but regret. She thinks she’d regret it more if she didn’t say it out loud, if she didn’t let Joohyun know.

She loosens her hold, giving Joohyun space to move.

Joohyun lifted her head and her eyes immediately locked with Seulgi’s.

Joohyun nearly gasp because she’s had moments where they’d look each other in the eyes and sometimes it’s more intense but she swore the look in Seulgi’s eyes right at this moment was different. It’s not only the intensity because Joohyun can also see her sincerity and even how vulnerable she looks. It feels like Seulgi is baring herself for Joohyun and it’s almost too much for her to handle. For a second there, she doesn’t know how to act. Everything was so overwhelming, but calm too at the same time.

Seulgi’s eyes were telling her again, those three words.

And as if it wasn’t enough, Seulgi says it again, “I love you, Joohyun.”

“I heard that.” Joohyun said without losing a beat, her voice small as her hands cup Seulgi’s face, eyes still locked with each other, foreheads touching. “I heard that, Seul…” Was the only thing she managed to say. “Are you… Are you sure? I mean… We should be talking about it right now, right?”

Joohyun was thinking of asking if Seulgi was sure with that but the moment she met her eyes, she got all the answer she needed. Seulgi was sure of what she said, she was being truthful of her feelings.

And Seulgi loves her.

Kang Seulgi is in love with me.

Joohyun pushes herself up a little, meeting their lips in a kiss.

For some reason, she can feel herself tearing up.

“I love you too.” She whispered back.

And then she pulls Seulgi in a tight hug.

She always imagines how it would be when Seulgi finally falls for her. How Seulgi would say it to her. How Seulgi would look when she tells her. Where it would play out. If she will do a grand gesture just to show her. How she’s going to respond to it when the time comes. But it was never like this. This was out of her expectation. The simplicity of it, the way Seulgi looks at her after she says those words—while she said those words. She admits she expected herself to be overwhelmed but not this much and right now, all she can think of doing is to kiss and hold Seulgi tightly in her arms.

Joohyun then remembered they were in the middle of watching a movie and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why are you laughing?” She heard she says, still holding Joohyun in an embrace.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Joohyun pulls away first, Seulgi lets her and rest her hands on Joohyun’s waist. Joohyun turns her eyes back to the movie, it was coming to an end. “I can’t believe out of all scenarios that could play out… You had to confess while we’re watching ‘Before Sunrise’ together.” She laughs some more, finding it ironic and a little ridiculous.

Seulgi joins her laughter for a moment and once she stops, she smiles fondly at Joohyun.

“You have the movie to thank for that.” Joohyun raises an eyebrow and it’s silly how Seulgi thinks she looks extra attractive doing that. “You can say it helped me a little to understand what I’m feeling.”

The look of curiosity turns surprised. “For real?”

Seulgi smiles, reassuring. “For real.”

---

The morning comes and Joohyun was the first to wake up.

The first time they spent the night together in a tent, Seulgi was the first to got up and now it’s the other way around. The first she sees when she opens her eyes was Seulgi. She can now understand what Seulgi was feeling when she said she doesn’t have the heart to wake her up from her slumber, because right now, as she’s laying in bed with Seulgi, her head resting on Seulgi’s collarbone and Seulgi’s arm wraps around her body like a shield and how soft Seulgi looks—she sighs, she doesn’t want to wake her up.

Joohyun bit her lower lip to prevent herself from smiling wider, her cheeks feel warmer and somehow, she’s feeling shy despite being fully clothed. She runs her hand on Seulgi’s other collarbone lightly, reminiscing their moment from last night.

It felt like a dream.

Seulgi told her she loves her.

She didn’t just tell her, it shows.

And although, nothing more happened last night. It was still perfect for Joohyun and she wouldn’t have it any other way, she herself wasn’t sure anything more than kissing and cuddling is available for options at their stage of relationship. But god, thinking that Seulgi was a romantic type makes Joohyun giddy about what to expect more from now on.

She sighs again, letting the smile lingers on her face as she traces Seulgi’s face lightly with her fingertips. She giggles a little seeing Seulgi’s mouth wide open carelessly. She didn’t make any attempt to close it, afraid it would disturb her sleep besides she hadn’t really thought about what to say to explain what she’s doing right now. But luckily for her, Seulgi didn’t wake up.

She spends a couple more minutes watching her girlfriend, then her mind starts to wonder about the time. And then she starts to wonder about her classes—

“Oh my god!” She shouted, getting off the bed so abruptly that her companion was woken up by it.

“Hyun?” Seulgi asked, her hair disheveled in almost all direction, she’s trying to force her eyes open and there’s very visible concerned frown on her face, clearly she was concerned about Joohyun. “W, what? What happened? Are you okay?”

Seulgi looked funny putting on that frown while looking fresh out of bed complete with bad morning hair. Although Joohyun feels a little bad for waking Seulgi up, she couldn’t help but wonder if this is how Seulgi look every time she wakes up in the morning. It’s kind of cute—

“Joohyun?” The younger one asked once again, this time she managed to enter Joohyun’s personal space, touching Joohyun’s arm carefully while her other hand tries to wipe one of her sleepy eyes. She then shakes her head a little, chasing away her conscious.

Joohyun bites her lower lip, holding back the urge to kiss Seulgi because she’s aware about morning breath and she doesn’t want to gross Seulgi out by that. So, she settles for a hug that sends them both slowly laying back down on the bed.

“Hey, is something wrong?”

Joohyun shakes her head, content when she feels Seulgi returning her embrace and Joohyun immediately feels so warm and she loves it so much. “Nothing’s wrong.” She mumbles, trying to get more body heat from Seulgi by nuzzling the spot between Seulgi’s neck and collarbone. It was so comfortable, Joohyun doesn’t want to part from it.

“Are you sure?”

“Mmhm, it’s just…” She bit her lower lip again, now remembering why she shouted earlier and accidentally woke Seulgi up. “I think I have classes to attend today.”

Seulgi lets out a relieved low hum, her shoulders relaxing.

“Don’t worry. Mother would’ve taken care of it already, I believe.”

“What?” Joohyun pulls back, a frown on her bare face. “Why?”

“It’s best if you don’t wander around anywhere alone for now.”

Seulgi’s words did not put Joohyun at ease when the frown stays and Joohyun lo