It was the middle of the night when Yongsun woke up. The room was covered in quiet darkness, only the calm breathing of Hyejin on the bed opposite of hers filled the silence.

Yongsun wasn't sure what woke her up. The night was calm, there was no storm outside. It was dark, just the dim light of the stars entered through the window and let her see the familiar shadows and shapes of the room.

Yongsun closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again, but despite the gentleness of the night, she couldn't take another rest.

Just lying wide awake in bed wouldn't get her to sleep again, she realised. In order to not wake Hyejin up, she carefully tiptoed out of the room and entered the kitchen. Maybe a glass of water would help her. So she leaned against the counter, took slow sips of the cool liquid, and stared out of the window, gazing at the beautiful, clear night sky. When was the last time that she had taken the time to appreciate the stars? She honestly couldn't remember.

On the spur of the moment, she suddenly felt like going outside and letting the beauty of the night envelope her. She emptied her glass, put it down on the counter, and left the apartment. By reaching the stairway, she didn't go downstairs in order to get into the streets. Instead, she took the elevator to the highest floor and continued her path by following the stairs leading to the roof.

Then, finally, she was standing outside. The building was high enough to not see the walls of neighbouring buildings around her, just the calm darkness of the night enlightend by the soft glow of the stars. She could see them clearly, no cloud covered the sky, and she was mesmerised. A feeling of happiness engulfed her, and she was glad that she woke up. It wasn't common to have a night like this in a city like Seoul. Emissions, fumes and gases were normally clouding the sky even when the weather was nice. So to see a clear, beautiful night sky like this was a rarity and Yongsun appreciated the fascinating sight.

“Pretty, isn't it?”, a soft voice broke the silence, carefully, as it could disturb the night if they rose the volume too much. Yongsun knew the sound of that voice. It was a pleasant one and not at all unwelcome.

“Byulyi-ah,” she answered just as quietly, “Mind if I sit with you?”

“No,” the other whispered, almost not audible, but Yongsun caught the word nevertheless.

Silently, she walked to the middle of the rooftop where Byulyi was sitting and watching the starry sky. She sat down next to her and a shiver ran down her body as she touched the cold cement floor. After all, she was still wearing her night robe.

“You cold?”, Byulyi asked and directed her attention fully from the sky to her group member.

“It's okay. I'm just not wearing the ideal clothes for stargazing,” she replied softly and set her eyes on the night sky surrounding them.

Byulyi didn't say anything else, but she shifted closer and laid her arm around Yongsun, pulling her close and warming her up with her own body heat. She would have given her her jacket, but she didn't wear one. Just as the elder, she also had nothing more than her nightrobe covering her body. So they both comfortingly cuddled and protected each other against the cool air and the fresh night breezes with their warm bodies.

Yongsun didn't know how much time passed and she honestly didn't care. It was just her, Byulyi and the night. Quiet, beautiful, comfortable.

“Eonni?” Byulyi broke the silence and caught her attention, “do you sometimes miss a relationship? Like a boyfriend? Someone you can come home to? Someone who is waiting for you at the end of the day? Someone who showers you with love and goes stargazing with you on a night like this?”

Yongsun didn't answer at first and let the silence engulf them again. But she wasn't ignoring Byulyi's question, she was honestly thinking about it. Did she miss something like that? She never gave it a second thought, felt happy with what she had, felt fortunate to be successful with what she enjoyed doing and with such lovable members by her side.

“I honestly don't know,” she finally answered, “I don't feel like I'm missing anything, but it's not like I thought about it before. I'm just too happy with everything I have at the moment to think of even more, I guess. And I can't really say that I know the feeling of being in a relationship that well. I just had a few relationships during my time at school, but it was nothing serious, just playing around and experiencing the feeling to have a boyfriend. I guess I can't really miss what I don't know, do I?”

Byulyi hummed in response, thoughtful of her own.

“Do you miss a relationship?” Yongsun asked carefully. She didn't want to touch a topic the younger was uncomfortable with, but she also had the feeling that this topic has lingered at the back of Byulyi's mind for a longer time already.

“Maybe, maybe not,” she answered vaguely, “In highschool, I had a relationship that I took rather seriously. He broke up because he couldn't cope with my personality. I wasn't female enough, he said.”

She rolled her eyes.

“You don't need to meet all those girly stereotypes to be a woman,” Yongsun interjected.

“I know,” Byulyi sighed, “but it makes me wonder. Will I ever find love with the way I am? I'm not missing anything in general, but...”

She didn't finish and Yongsun just watched her. She looked at the woman she saw everyday, but somehow, Byulyi looked different under the fade light of the stars. Vulnerable.

“I love you.”

The words slipped her lips before she could even think about it. She said them instinctively, it was her heart talking. Three words and a feeling she didn't notice before, but when they left , they felt just right, and Yongsun realised that yes, she really did love Byulyi.

The younger turned around and locked eyes with her. The surprised expression was soon replaced by a shy smile.

“Can I kiss you?” she whispered.

Yongsun replied with a timid nod. Their lips met softly, carefully, lovingly, and their hearts beat loudly and rapidly in their chests while the silent, starry night covered them with its magic.