Chaerin opened her eyes with difficulty as she felt something pull at her sheet. Her greatest desire was to turn around and go back to sleep, but she knew she could not afford to do it. She only opened her eyes slowly, giving a great yawn as the vision of the room replaced the so calm vision of her dreams. She looked away, realizing she was alone in the big double bed. Still sleepy, she managed to ration over the vision. She frowned in confusion. What was happening?

“Mama.” muttered an infantile voice, this time pulling all the sheet of Chaerin's body. The blonde sighed. The boy climbed into bed with difficulty and then lay on top of his mother, his eyes intent on her.

“I'm hungry.” he said. Chaerin smiled, feeling all the bad moods of morning go away from her body. She kissed the boy's forehead.

“I did not have to wake you today, Woojin.” The little boy smiled.

“I'm already big, you see? I'm up early on my own.” he said proudly.

Chaerin laughed, took Woojin out of bed and got up soon after, getting ready for a long day. She listed the things she had to do: get dressed for work, pack Woojin for school, and make breakfast. It was tiring just thinking, usually she did not do these things on her own. Her wife took care of Woojin and she cooked, each one took care of what was best.

It turns out that in the last few days, Sandara has hardly stopped at home. She said that she worked overtime, that she had to go out with her boss and her co-workers and drink until after midnight... It was unbearable. They only saw each other before they went to sleep, when they exchanged a good night and turned to one side of the bed, falling into a heavy sleep. All that was generating a thousand thoughts in Chaerin's mind, she could not stop thinking about.

“Mama Chae, where's Omma Sandy?” Woojin caught the attention of his mother, too busy cutting a few slices of watermelon.

Chaerin stopped cutting the fruit, giving attention to the four-year-old boy, “Omma Sandy is working, Woojin.” she answered calmly, Chaerin thought it funny that Woojin prefers to call Sandara by the nickname that his grandmother calls her, not by Dara, as others have nicknamed her, including her Mama Chae.

“But you work and it's not so much as her.” he pouted, folding his arms.

Chaerin bent down, getting to her knees at Woojin's height. He was handsome, every detail of him was referred to Sandara. Dark brown hair, the nose just like her mother's. They both looked like bunnies. Chaerin thought they were cute and loved their two little bunnies.

“Woojin, we have different jobs. Omma Sandy needs to dedicate herself more so that we can buy  toys for you.”

“At that time in the market you two said they were going to buy that cart later and so far they have not bought it!” Woojin said sulkily.

“That's why Omma Sandy is working too hard, so we can buy your cart someday.” She made up an excuse.

Woojin's eyes flashed,“Can I have the special cart track as well?”

“Let's think.” Chaerin replied, winking at him.

The little one ran and jumped happily through the kitchen, Chaerin just laughed watching him and hoping he would not hit anything.

She remembered that it was her birthday, and not a message from Sandara had been received.

“CHEATING?” Minzy screamed as she heard her friend say, “Are you crazy? She would never do that.”

The two friends were having lunch at Mc Donalds, it was not a day they were in the mood for a healthy meal. The day at work was stressful, working in a fashion company was stressful. Chaerin had to drive three photoshoots of three different foreign models that even the English did not speak, in addition to hearing the constant shouts of her boss. It was a great love for fashion that she had, because if she did not, she would have left that job years ago.

“I do not think she's cheating on me, I'm just saying that ... I guess, she does not love me.” Chaerin sighed.

Minzy rolled her eyes, “Sandara unnie is crazy about you, understand this. Chaerin unnie, stop thinking nonsense.”

“It's not bull, I have not seen her for weeks. You know, I've told you that, it's my birthday, and you remember it, while Sandara did not even remember.” She said in a low tone.

“What a consideration for me, just because I'm forgotten.” The younger girl murmured.

“Do you know those people who find themselves gay after the age of thirty? When they have a family, do you have to separate to be who they really are?” Chaerin began to tell her theory.

“Ah, here comes the nut.” Minzy said.

“So, before Sandara and I dated, you know she always dated men. She always liked men, only them. When we started dating, she made it clear that I was the first girl she liked, first and only. Maybe she confused the feelings of friendship and thought that she loved me during those years, and well, she realized recently that she did not like me. Or women in general. Our relationship fell into the rut and it made her see the reality.” Chaerin ended her confident theory of what she was saying.

“Are you saying she's straight?”

“I think so.” Chaerin shook her hair nervously.

“Then I'm the nut.” Minzy took a sip of her soda. “Chaerin unnie, she was against her own family to stay with you, you both had Woojin, it does not make the slightest sense for her to be straight all the time and to have 'confused' her feelings, honestly you need to work less and sleep more. This is damaging your brain.”

Chaerin snorted. It was clear that Minzy would never understand, she did everything to prove that Sandara and Chaerin were the perfect couple, that nothing in the world would shake them.

“I feel it, Minzy. You do not understand.”

“I understand that you have sanity already affected, yes.” she finished the soda, “Try to remember better when you started dating, maybe it will refresh your memory and make you understand that Sandara loves you. Well, she still loves you.”

Still, that word hammered in Chaerin's mind. The woman was not sure if the wife still loved her and was already beginning to think that perhaps Sandara had never loved her.

What if Sandara was really straight?

As if a lamp had been lit in her head, Chaerin smiled.

“I need to go.” The blonde got up from the table, grabbing her purse and putting on her blazer, “Cover me at work?”

“What?” Minzy asked confused, “What are you going to do?”

“One thing my boss is going to hate me.” She shrugged.

She walked through Seoul, got a full meter, and in an hour's time she was in front of Park Bom's apartment.

Like Minzy, Bom had been her friend since her teenage years. The most striking feature at this stage was to record every moment of the day, whether it was editing a film, drawing or music. She was obsessed with all kinds of art, but in the end, she chose the song. While Chaerin and Minzy ended up working on a gritty fashion company, Bom had a one in a million chance of becoming a star of the song. And Chaerin could not be prouder of her unnie.

“Chae, Happy birthday!” Bom smiled and hugged her friend, “It's been so long since we've seen each other.”

Chaerin smiled back, Bomi's routine made it almost impossible to see her for much of the year, “That's why I came here, actually there's another reason too.”

“What happened?”

Chaerin denied all the food that Bomi offered, felt that she had eaten too much at lunch. The older woman ate as she listened to everything Chaerin had to say, unlike Minzy and her craze to say that Chaerin and Sandara were the perfect couple. However, the judgment of the music superstar was not unlike the younger one: Bom still thought Chaerin was talking bull.

“This is crazy, Sandara really loves you.” She said before smacking her ramen, her cheeks swollen with food.

“I knew you'd say that.” She admitted, “But I wanted to ask if you still have the tapes for the dating request?”

“Do you still remember that?”

Chaerin nodded, “It was one of the best days. And funny too, Jiyong slipped on the pizzeria floor.”

Bom laughed, “I'm going to look, I think I should still have saved somewhere." She said getting up from the table.

Fortunately or fate, the older woman was able to find such a tape of her dating request more than ten years ago. Chaerin felt old when she saw the dusty thing, especially when she remembered they were wearing tapes of her time. They were not CDs, they were tapes. God, she wanted to go back to being a teenager. She did not have to put up with unbearable bosses, get into relationship crises, let alone feel old.

“How do you still have a VCR?” Chaerin looked incredulously at Bom, placing the tape on the old VCR, hidden on the bookshelf.

“I like old things.” The older woman laughed.

“Take your finger off, you idiot.” She heard a familiar voice coming from the screen, it was definitely Jiyong.

“So you shoot.” She turned to the other, and Chaerin's heart quickened. It was Sandara, “Idiot.”

Sandara filled the screen, indicating that Jiyong had taken control of the camera. Chaerin almost stopped to see the teenage version of Sandara, the wide clothes that she wore in adolescence were changed by the tighter clothes of the present day. It was definitely incredible to accompany Sandara by creating more confidence over the years, in fact Chaerin found it incredible to accompany Sandara for all those years.

And if it were up to her, she would accompany the older one even longer.

"So, I'm going to ask Chaerin for a date," Sandara began to speak in front of the camera, “Because if you depend on her, I end up dating someone else and she's going to stay there doing nothing.”

“She thinks you're straight.” Jiyong said.

Sandara laughed, “I like her, that matters. She's the first and last girl to me, end of story. She's my exception.”

“We need to show this to Chaerin later and rub it in her face.” Jiyong laughed, “She's so insecure that she even talks about bull.”

Chaerin took control of the VCR and paused the tape. She felt as if the past were slapping her cheek.

[...]

After leaving Bom's house, Chaerin returned to work at the fashion company, listening to a thousand shouts from her demon boss. The man almost fired her, but ended up going through a tiring job for her. By a miracle, she finished early enough to get Woojin at school and get him to eat at some restaurant. She had not had dinner with her son in a few weeks, she always expected Sandara to have some free time, but that would not happen too soon.

“SURPRISE!”

All the lights went on, Chaerin found himself with balloons glued to the wall of the apartment, flasher lights, a big cake on the table and a 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHAERIN' written on the wall in English and a group of friends close to her. The biggest surprise was to see just the person causing her day of so many doubts in the middle of the group of people shouting, Chaerin immediately released her work bag on the floor, added with her fallen jaw.

“Omma!” Woojin ran toward Sandara, who held him in her arms before hugs.

Chaerin still had no reaction. She looked down at Minzy, massacring the younger one with her gaze, so it meant she knew about this surprise party all the time?

“So, did you remember?” The blonde said softly, as she dropped Woojin to the floor and let her son run to Minzy.

Sandara opened her usual smile that made Chaerin forget all her troubles as she approached her. She nodded in answer to the question she had received.

“I spent these weeks planning your surprise party, sorry for not letting you know.” The brunette laughed, kissing Chaerin's forehead.

“Minzy did not tell you anything, right?”

Sandara looked at her in confusion, “What was Minzy going to say?”

“I kind of thought you did not like me any more, I was considering you being straight and ...” Chaerin said awkwardly, but Sandara interrupted her with her wonderful laugh.

“Well, Minzy tried to tell me this, said you were talking too much bull.” The brunette's expression became serious, “But I can not believe you've gotten to the point of thinking that I do not love you. And the worst, to think I'm straight!”

“You forgive me?” Chaerin pouted.

“I'll think about it.” Sandara winked at her. Chaerin pulled Sandara by the waist for a kiss but Sandara placed her index finger in front of her lips, stopping it.

“Do not even think about it, not after the horrible things you've thought of me. I love you so much, Chaerin.”

“It's my birthday.” Chaerin said, it was not a request.

She closed her eyes and pulled her face against her, feeling the sweet taste of her wife's lips. Sandara will always be the best kiss for Chaerin.

“Happy Birthday.” Sandara said as she finished the kiss.

Chaerin liked to be right but this time was an exception. She never felt so happy to be wrong about that theory. In the end, she learned that Park Lee Sandara was her exception.