Takeuchi Miyu. 18. Heart Too Big, Body Too Small.

Heo Yunjin, Jennifer. 18. Confuses The Butterflies In Her Stomach For Indigestion.

Miyawaki Sakura. 19. Signed Up For A Girlfriend, Ends Up Getting A 22 Year-Old Clingy Baby.

Lee Kaeun. 22. Realises That Being In Love Really Ain't That Bad.

________________________________________________________________________________________

"It's just like magic. When I count to three,you will fall for me."

“Why is it that if you were to accidentally knock something down while you’re in the bathroom, said object will miraculously manage to fall into your toilet bowl? No matter where you are in the bathroom? I could knock over a bottle of shampoo in the shower and it’ll land in the toilet.”

Miyu casually looks up from her book, having already gotten used to Yunjin’s early morning rants in the two weeks she’s known the giraffe. Yunjin had made the one-sided decision after saving Miyu from Nako & Co that two of them would now be Best Buds™, tackling the world like the cheesiest buddy cop movie and Miyu didn’t have any say in the matter.

She didn’t really have much to say to be honest. 

Actually, she kind of enjoyed listening to Yunjin complaining about every single problem she had in life. There was something endearing about the way the taller girl animatedly rehashed stories to her, making them sound even more impossibly dramatic than they probably were.

Not that she would ever let Yunjin know though. She’d hate to encourage the girl to be even more obnoxious than she currently was. Personal space wasn’t really a thing anymore between them.

“...and a very good morning to you too.” Miyu nods, eyes following Yunjin as the Korean plops down onto a seat directly opposite her.

“I’m upset.” Yunjin pouted, as if Miyu couldn’t already tell.

“At your shampoo falling into your toilet?”

“...It was my toothbrush.”

Miyu scrunched her face in disgust.

“Furthermore, I was supposed to go out for pizza today, but that grandma decided to blow me off for her new girlfriend instead! Urgh. Can you believe that?!”

Miyu raised an eyebrow at Yunjin. “Your grandma...has a girlfriend?”

“Okay fine she’s more like my sister.” Yunjin casually brushed off Miyu’s skepticism while rolling her eyes, continuing her rant as if she wasn’t confusing the hell out of her Japanese friend. “She blew me off to go feed pigeons in the park with her girlfriend or something so she gets bumped up a few years. She’s a grandma to me now.”

Ahh. She must be talking about Kaeun-san. Miyu has heard stories of Kaeun from Yunjin, each told with starry-eyed wonder making Miyu believe that this Kaeun must be an impressive person. Yunjin at least thinks the world of this older girl, and Miyu trusts the girl’s taste in role models.

Although the girl in question was pouting across the table from her, arms crossed in front of her like a grumpy 5-year old on timeout. Yunjin was really griping about Kaeun missing pizza-time for her girlfriend. Miyu wasn’t an expert on the matter, but last she checked it was romantic partner > fattening Italian food.

“You are a child.” Miyu concluded out loud, and Yunjin looked so taken aback she nearly fell out of her chair.

“Woah. Cool it with the playground-level insults eh? Someone could get hurt!”

“It was an observation, not meant as an insult.” Miyu states simply before returning to her book, leaving Yunjin to sputter in disbelief across from her.

“Oh yeah? Well....Well your hair stinks! Hah! How about that?!”

Miyu looks up from her book again, only to give her friend an unimpressed look. “I don’t believe that to be true.”

“You’re right. I lied. What is that anyways? You smell insanely good.”

Yunjin took a huge whiff of the air separating them, and leaned across the table so that she could take in more of that “insanely good” smell that’s apparently originating from Miyu herself. Personal space really doesn’t seem to be a thing that exists between them.

“I’m uncomfortable.” Miyu squeaks, which seemed to make Yunjin come to her senses.

“Sorry, sorry.” The giraffe laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment when she realised just how far across the table she was leaning. She gets carried away sometimes. She learns her people skills from watching Kaeun, although that might be the only occasion where she’s a bad student.

“Man, y’all rich folk sure take care of yourselves well eh? You even smell rich. You should figure out a way to bottle that scent up for us common folk.”

“We did.” Miyu replies simply. “This scent is from our latest shampoo. Not available for purchase yet though, it’s still in it’s trial run. Judging from your response, it seems to be satisfactory.”

“You own a shampoo shop?” Yujin asked, sounding mildly surprised. 

“Something of the like. Does the name AutumnFresh mean anything to you at all?”

Miyu waits for Yunjin to connect the dots in her head. It was like waiting for a letter to arrive by post, and not the express kind. More like the “prepackaged cheapest option” kind of post. Yunjin was probably the smartest person in their grade but Miyu swears that sometimes the processors driving the giraffe’s brain was still running on Windows XP.

It takes a few seconds, but Miyu knows Yunjin’s finally gotten there by the way the latter’s eyes widen into dinner plates and her jaw hits the floor in shock.

“Holy! You own a shampoo EMPIRE!”

Miyu shrugs awkwardly, not really wanting to make a big deal of her family’s background. It is what it is. She wasn’t the wealthiest person in this school, but she didn’t really like the attention that money brought anyways. She just figured that Yunjin should know what her family does for a living, and judging by the awestruck look on her friend’s face....

....the giraffe was taking it quite swimmingly.

“Takeuchi Miyu. The shampoo queen. What on Earth. I don’t even know what to say. This is a revelation.”

Miyu laughed weakly at Yunjin’s description of her. “You’re over-exaggerating, Yunjin-san.” 

A back and forth began between them, where Yunjin kept throwing all these fantastic and grand nicknames her way, while Miyu politely and swiftly shot them down. She wasn’t a queen or a princess or whatever else Yunjin was calling her. Heck she even managed to flunk out of finishing school, but she had to admit Yunjin’s interest in her was...flattering.

Despite what she felt about gaining attention due to wealth, it felt nice to have someone look at her in awe for once instead of ignoring her like a piece of furniture.

“Would the shampoo queen like to join me for some pizza after school?”

Miyu snaps to attention when she realises there was a pregnant pause in the air, as if Yunjin was waiting for her to say something. Miyu definitely heard what the giraffe had said, and it sounded like an invitation, but Miyu couldn’t really be sure. The concept of being invited to something that wasn’t family related was a foreign one for her.

“Like...hanging out?” Miyu timidly asked, seeking confirmation.

“Yeah. Why do you look so confused?”

“I don’t really get to do much of that. Hanging out.”

The confession left Miyu’s lips barely above a whisper. It was shameful to her that she didn’t have many friends. She was awkward and always hesitant to approach people, but Yunjin came into her life like a storm and kicked the door down. A part of her was actually scared that Yunjin would leave if she found out just how lacking in the friend department Miyu was. One of those “Oh she doesn’t have friends, so there must be something wrong with her” kind of situati—

“We’re hangout buddies from now on then. I need a new friend anyways since my Kaeunnie is always too busy boning her waitress.”

Miyu’s eyes snap upwards to meet Yunjin’s and she tries not to tear up because of the sincerity looking back at her. Yunjin genuinely, wholeheartedly wanted to spend time with her without asking for anything in return. A loser like her.

Heo Yunjin is a beautiful person. That much Miyu was sure. A beautiful soul. So beautiful, Miyu could probably get over the fact that the taller girl would always bring the weirdest topics into their conversations, such as how she was now describing in unneeded detail how she accidentally walked in on Kaeun and her girlfriend being intimate the other day.

*****************************

Sunlight filters it’s way into Kaeun’s bedroom through the gaps in her blinds, signalling that she’s spent yet another night without a sufficient amount of sleep.

Usually it’s attributed to her university coursework. Being a fashion design student was horrendous for her sleeping pattern. She was a night owl, meaning her brain only seemed to work when the sun has long sunken into the horizon, meaning late nights and a LOT of caffeine in her veins.

Recently though, her reason for staying up late have been...pleasant. Far more pleasant than brainstorming material choices for that one frilly dress that she herself would never wear but the assignment called for her to design one regardless.

Her new reason for staying up also seemed to creep into her life as a whole. The groaning mess of a human in her arms morphed from just being a pleasant way to kill time, to becoming the sole reason why she even bothers to wake up early on the weekends.

Pleasant.

Waking up next to Miyawaki Sakura was pleasant.

“Wow.”

Kaeun’s eyes flick upwards at her girlfriend’s breathless exclamation. She was holding the smaller Japanese girl tightly, face pressed against Sakura’s bare chest and just smiling because was there any other physical form of Heaven asides from where she was right at this very second?

“Mmm.” Kaeun acknowledged, not bothering to move.

“You...uh...really know what you’re doing.” Sakura continued, voice raspy and her breath haggard. She sounded dumb. Like their entire lovemaking session had just killed a few of her braincells. Kaeun would gladly take responsibility for that if that were the case.

Kaeun closed her eyes and just basked in the warmth her girlfriend provided. “I’ve never received any complaints before.” 

Sakura smelled like flowers. As if it wasn’t just a namesake. Actual, living flowers.

Sakura chuckled weakly, and Kaeun could hear it come from deep inside the chest the older girl currently had her face smushed against. It created butterflies in Kaeun’s own.

“I can’t move.”

“Why do you need to?” Kaeun replied. She would much rather Sakura didn’t. She was comfortable like this, using Sakura as a human bolster. The smaller girl should stop wriggling about and just resign to her fate.

“I have work. In like, 45 minutes.”

“Mmm. Call in sick.”

“Kaeun-chan...you’re supposed to be the responsible one in the relationship aren’t you? You shouldn’t be encouraging that.” 

“I don’t want to be responsible anymore. I want to stay in bed and continue making love to my adorable girlfriend.” 

As if to further enforce that, Kaeun wrapped her arms even tighter around Sakura and hooked their legs together, preventing the smaller cherry blossom from going anywhere. She was being a child. A clingy child, but she didn’t care. She wanted her Sakura to stay for the whole day, and the rest of forever if that was an option. 

“You sound like me. I’m a bad influence.” Sakura sighed in defeat. Kaeun smiled triumphantly, loosening her grip on the younger girl just so that she could move her body up and look her girlfriend in the eyes.

She didn’t know who was the first to lean in, but the next moment they were kissing each other again. Soft, tender. As if they couldn’t quite embed into their memory the taste of the other’s lips, so they keep coming back for more. 

“You’re a pretty bad influence, Miyawaki.” Kaeun accused between planting kisses all along Sakura’s jawline, mapping a trail down towards the younger girl’s collarbone. “This is all your fault. Take responsibility, why don’t you?”

Kaeun nuzzled her nose into the crook of the cherry blossom’s neck, drawing out a melodic giggle that caused Kaeun’s heart to flip and summersault like a luchador in a ring. She could feel Sakura’s breath fanning against her scalp. Feel the beautiful angel’s bare skin press against her own. 

She’s never felt more connected to another soul in her life. It was alarming, but also comforting. Sakura was the one. They have only known each other for maybe half a year, but Kaeun was sure. She has never felt this strongly for anyone else in her life.

“How am I so in love with you?” Kaeun breathed, confessing out loud for the first time. 

She could feel the smaller girl stiffen underneath her, no doubt processing the implication of Kaeun’s words in her own beautiful little head.

“You are?” Sakura asked in return, propping herself up on her elbows so she could look down at her girlfriend questioningly.

Kaeun nodded. Making eye contact with the Japanese girl and breaking into a smile that rivalled Sakura’s own. “I am.”

“First I’ve heard of it.”

Kaeun laughed, pushing Sakura back down so that she could climb over the smaller girl.

“I am madly in love with you, Miyawaki Sakura. You are a dream come true.”

It was one of Kaeun’s many new favourite pastimes, looking into her girlfriend’s eyes and just getting lost in them. The colour of Sakura’s eyes keep changing due to the younger’s fondness for coloured contact lenses, but Kaeun learns that the cherry blossom’s natural hue was her favourite. A deep shade of brown, but with specks of green appearing when the light hits it just right.

“I’m equally as madly in love with you.” Sakura replies, not breaking eye contact. It was like a game now.

They smiled at each other. Dumb smiles. Happiness radiating from their every pore as they closed the distance and began kissing each other again. They rolled around in bed, a mess of limbs and tangled sheets as their bodies flailed about with as much grace as they could afford in the throes of passion.

Eventually Sakura ends up on top, and they had to separate to breathe because oxygen was a thing that they still required. Sakura had Kaeun pinned to the bed, arms on either side of the taller girl’s head as the latter stared up at her girlfriend, an unspoken dare written all over her mature features.

“Yup. Definitely, madly in love with you.” Sakura said in between pants, and Kaeun laughed again. 

“We should be locked up in an asylum. Together. That way we can love each other madly all day and you don’t have to go to work.”

Sakura laughed, lightly hitting her girlfriend’s shoulder before her body stiffened and her eyes went as wide as saucers.

“WORK! I HAVE WORK!” 

Sakura shrieked as she shot off the bed like a bullet in all her glory, bolting into the bathroom to shower as Kaeun sniggered after her. 

This arrangement of theirs was oddly domestic. Kaeun could get used to that idea really. Living with the younger Japanese girl. Maybe she could move out of this family home she’s in and start a new life with this girl.

....That was a story for another time though. For now, she’ll busy herself with jumping into the shower with Sakura and continue her mission to make the girl as late to work as possible.

**********************************

Yunjin wasn’t a natural born genius.

Oh no. Far from it actually. In fact, there was a point in the girl’s life when she and her family were convinced that she was just a complete idiot at things. A right mess. She was that kid at the sandpit that used to eat sand instead of making castles. She would then try to eat her friend’s castles before throwing it all up on little Timothy from 2nd grade.

She wasn’t very bright.

So she had to compensate for that by studying her off. Her nose was almost always pressed into a book, and she paid utmost concentration in classes. Her attentiveness earned her the adoration of her teachers and the ire of her peers, which was where the bullying comes in.

Or maybe they just didn’t like her face. Who knows really.

Point is, today Yunjin found it extremely difficult to concentrate in class. The reason behind why that is so is....pizza.

She and Miyu had agreed to get pizza together after school, and she could NOT WAIT. It’s been ages since she’s eaten pizza! Kaeunnie was supposed to take her ages ago but she’s known better at this point than to depend on the older girl for anything. She wasn’t Kaeun’s priority anymore.

At times the thought does sting a little, but she couldn’t be selfish. She had to understand her unnie’s feelings and learn to share a little. Anyways, today was pizza day and Yunjin found herself staring at the large clock on the wall just waiting for school to end. The large clock was even starting to resemble a pizza. 

Yunjin was hungry.

Which was why the very second the final bell of the day rang, Yunjin was out of the door like a bullet, navigating through the mess of students so that she could wait for Miyu by the school gates. She waited impatiently, fidgeting in place and tapping her feet to a broken rhythm during all of the 11 minutes it took for Miyu to reach her.

“So what kind of pizza you after? Pepperoni? Barbeque with chicken strips? Oh my god I’m droooling!” Yunjin rattled on as soon as Miyu arrived, naming off the entire meat section of Gino’s pizza menu from memory alone as the pair of them began walking out the school gates.

If Yunjin were to hazard a guess, she would assume that Miyu liked pineapples on her pizza—which wasn’t wrong at all! Yunjin doesn’t judge people! Personally she wasn’t too fond of it herself but hey if Miyu liked pineapples then Miyu can order that all to herself or something—but the New Yorker couldn’t begin to guess what sort of meat the Japanese would like. Beef? Chicken? 

....Crab filament?

“How about one without any meat on it?”

What.

Yunjin blinked as she stared at Miyu, believing that she must have misheard her friend. She must have right? Of course she did! How preposterous was the notion of ordering pizza without any form of meat as a topping? Really all the late night cramming sessions must be getting to her because her ears were—why was Miyu nodding at her? W-Why?!

“No meat? Why no meat? Meat good! Best meat!” Yunjin sputtered out with the eloquence of a 6-year old. She stared dumbly at Miyu, who rubbed the back of her neck looking completely sheepish.

“I’m...kinda vegan.”

“....Oh.”

“Oh” was right. Yunjin wasn’t expecting that. She wonders if she should have asked first before setting this whole pizza thing up. In all honesty, she doesn’t think she’s ever actually asked someone if they were a vegan before bringing them out to eat. The thought has never even crossed her carnivorous brain. What the heck. Her first actual friend outside of Kaeun was a vegan?!

“Kinda vegan?” Yunjin repeats, trying to clarify what Miyu meant because how can anyone not eat meat. In THIS country, where EVERYTHING you eat was breathing and probably traipsing around in some pasture somewhere at some stage in it’s life.

“Fine.” Miyu sighs, looking guilty for some reason. “...I’m completely vegan.”

Ah. Okay. Okay. Alright. Okay.

Yunjin has no idea how to handle this turn of events. Her brain was dying.

On one hand, this was admittedly a MAJOR letdown. On the other, Miyu actually looked like she had said something wrong. There was this weird tension in the air, as if the Japanese girl was waiting for her to say something. The situation kinda reminded her of when she witnessed Kaeunnie come out to her parents as being…well, not straight. It was almost as if Miyu was looking for acceptance.

Acceptance for being vegan? Heck being a vegan ain’t even that bad! ...Probably. Yunjin never gave veganism much thought. But she knew it was perfectly normal, and definitely not something that warrants this much tension in the air. She actually feels sorry for Miyu for feeling guilty about such a trivial thing. What has this girl gone through in the past, she wonders?

“We...we can eat something else if you’d like? I don’t even know what to recommend though....” Yunjin tries. She really does. It’s not even about the pizza anymore. She just wants to let Miyu know it’s okay to be herself around her. Yunjin want’s Miyu to be comfortable.

Miyu smiles warmly at Yunjin’s suggestion, the taller girl’s intentions not lost on her. “No, no we can still eat pizza. Have you had a vegan pizza before?”

Yunjin does a quick double-take at the question. She never even knew that was a thing!

“What the heck is a vegan pizza? They have vegan pizza? No meat and cheese? That’s the best part about a pizza!”

“Yes, vegan pizza is a thing.” Miyu laughs, seeing the dumbstruck expression on the taller girl’s face. “Try it. Come on. I know a place. I promise you’ll like it. If you don’t, I’ll spring for the whole thing myself.”

Yunjin deliberated it for a moment. For a carnivore like her, the prospect of a VEGAN pizza was...daunting. Admittedly she has a very active imagination so she couldn’t shake the image of a pizza pie just covered in green stuff out of her brain so that didn’t exactly help matters. Broccoli....lettuce....cucumber? Is there a cucumber pizza?

She could say no. Miyu was obviously giving her the option to, but she can also see the hopeful look in her friend’s eyes. Yunjin sighed, already regretting her next few words.

“Well...I guess it won’t hurt to try...?”

It took a moment for Miyu to register in her head that Yunjin had agreed to follow her. When it finally clicked though, the Japanese girl broke into a smile so incredibly wide that it was almost literally stretching from ear to ear. It was...sorta cute. Miyu was cute.

Yunjin didn’t even realise they had stopped walking during their little exchange until Miyu reached out and grabbed her hand to lead her further down the road. Miyu was skipping. Joyfully traipsing as she brought Yunjin to whatever establishment that sold vegan pizzas. The giraffe just hoped it was nearby because she was starving.

They eventually ended up in a tiny restaurant, the name of which Yunjin couldn’t catch because Miyu had already pushed her into the store the minute they arrived. The shorter Japanese girl seemed to be very familiar with the place, navigating the shop and menu with the air of somebody who’s done so a hundred times before.

Yunjin decided to take a seat, leaving the ordering to Miyu and absolutely refusing to read the menu for fear of backing out. She would rather not know what manner of vegetation she would be consuming with her pizza, or all the ways this shop managed to change her beloved Italian dish into something unrecognisable.

Meat and cheese belonged on pizza. Yunjin was convinced of this. The only green thing she would normally accept on the pie would be bell peppers.

So when the pizza finally arrived, with Miyu grinning like the Cheshire Cat, Yunjin was surprised to discover that the pizza wasn’t green at all. There weren’t any extraordinary colours to it whatsoever. It looked like a normal cheese pizza. It was actually quite...boring.

Yunjin would never in her life had thought she would ever use the word “boring” to describe a pizza.

“....I think I have just been scammed. Where’s the rest of my pizza?” Yunjin asked, eyeing the large pizza in front of her suspiciously. She was sort of disappointed.

“That’s it. That’s the pizza.” Miyu replied, sensing Yunjin’s hesitance. “It’s delicious. Trust me.”

Yunjin picks up a slice and holds it up to eye level for close inspection. “It looks.....”

“Try ittt.” Miyu whined insistently, and Yunjin relented. At least there weren’t broccolis and cucumbers on it. What did she have to lose?

Yunjin takes a generous bite, and she could feel her world change the moment the flavours assault her tongue. What on earth....it wasn’t what Yunjin was expecting. She expected to hate it, but she found herself going in for a second bite, then a third, and she was already reaching out for her second slice when she catches the -eating grin spreading across her Japanese friend’s face.

“Good?” Miyu asked, looking smug and proud.

Heck Yunjin was going to let Miyu win this one. The latter can be as smug as she wants. The vegan pizza was amazing.

“It’s....what is that? The powdery bit at the top? Is that cheese?”

“It’s vegan mozzarella. So, fake cheese.”

“How are you even a vegan in Korea, probably the meatiest country in the world?”

“It’s not as hard as you’d think. For example, the pizza’s good, right?”

Yunjin pauses, stuffing the third slice into before giving her answer. 

“...It’s delicious.”

Miyu grins widely, and it was nice seeing her friend so happy and proud. It brings a smile to Yunjin’s face as well, and the pair sat there with a half eaten pizza in between them, smiling at each other like two idiots.

As if to enforce the fact that Yunjin couldn’t have nice things for long, her phone decides that now would be the perfect time to ring, blasting OhMyGirl’s music from out of her pocket and ruining the pleasant moment she was sharing with Miyu. 

Apologizing to her companion, Yunjin pulls her phone out and smiles when she sees the name on the screen.

“Hello unnie!”

“Hey, where’re you at?”

“I’m at...” Yunjin looks around for the name of the shop and she finds it printed on a used up napkin. “....The Green Room.”

“The what?” Kaeun sounded perplexed, and maybe even slightly betrayed. Yunjin wouldn’t normally try out a new eating place without Kaeun with her. It was sort of their thing, but serves the older girl right for leaving Yunjin alone for so long.

She’s been neglected for so long that she’s become vegan, apparently.

“It’s a vegan restaurant in Hongdae. I’m with a friend.” Yunjin informed smugly, emphasising the last word in hopes that it would set Kaeun off.

“What the heck. You’re in a vegan restaurant? What are you doing in a vegan restaurant? They allowed you in?”

“Unnie I’m not that bad!” Yunjin shouted into her phone in reply. Okay, it seems Kaeun didn’t care that she’s made other friends. To be honest the fact that Uber Carnivore Yunjin™ would consume anything even resembling a vegetable was pretty shocking. 

“I’m surprised you didn’t spontaneously combust the moment you walked in through the door from the sins of all the cows you’ve swallowed.”

“Unnie~” Yunjin pouted through the phone despite the fact that there was no way for Kaeun to see it but she knew. The older girl knew her well enough to know that she was currently pouting, if the manic laughter on the other end of the line was anything to go by.

Kaeun always laughed the loudest at her own jokes. Which was a good thing, because the older girl had a horrible sense of humour. Absolutely atrocious. Yunjin hates it. It’s not even that funny. Seriously Kaeun stop.

It takes Kaeun a good minute to stop laughing long enough for her to continue the conversation, which was a good thing because Yunjin was one “hahaha” away from hanging up the phone.

“So who’s this friend? Must be SPECIAL if she got you to eat green stuff.”

Okay the implication of that assumption was not lost on Yunjin, who immediately started blushing. “She’s...she’s a friend unnie! Shut up!”

“Riiight....anyways, I just called cause I was bored. Sakura’s taking a night shift again. Bummer. Have fun on your date Yunjin! Tell me all about it when you get the time!”

“It’s NOT a—hello? Hello?! Unnie?!”

She hung up! That stupid hag actually hung up on her! What the heck was the purpose of that phone call anyways?! Yunjin got absolutely nothing from that conversation asides from a splitting headache. This wasn’t a date! This was...just two friends eating pizza.

“Everything okay?”

Yunjin looks up and sees Miyu staring at her from across the table, wearing a small smile and a concerned look on her face. Her cute face. Her face that was cute. Miyu was kinda cute. This wasn’t a date, but Yunjin could definitely see herself going on a date with someone that looks as cute as Miyu. 

Where on earth was her head going with this...?

“Yeah. Yeah just...heads a bit messed up though. Kaeunnie always gives me a headache.” Yunjin replies weakly, hoping that the excuse was enough for Miyu to not push the subject.

“Would you care for dessert?” Miyu asks, completely changing the topic and sparing Yunjin further emotional turmoil.

Miyu has a look in her eyes that gives off the impression that she knows more than she’s letting on, and Yunjin does not doubt that one bit. She’s just grateful that Miyu was kind enough to not ask her any questions that she herself couldn’t answer right now.

Dessert, though. That was a question that Yunjin wasn’t sure she could answer either.

“Is dessert going to be a vegetable?” To be honest Yunjin has absolutely no idea what a vegan dessert would entail. This was a journey and a half.

To her surprise Miyu just giggles lightly at her question, waving her off like it was nothing. “You’re so funny Yunjin-san.”

Yunjin laughed along with Miyu, pretending to be in on the joke that she apparently just made, while trying to hide the fact that she was 100% serious.

Was her dessert going to be a frozen vegetable?

***Bonus Scene***

“....and then we went to a record shop and she pulled out IU from the shelves! IU!”

“Like, an entire IU? IU the human?”

“No, IU the album! Unnie are you even paying attention?”

Kaeun sighs exaggeratedly, lowering the magazine she had been reading so that she could give Yunjin the attention she wanted. It was all for show though. The magazine, the sighing, the feigned disinterest. She didn’t need Yunjin knowing that listening to the younger girl excitedly recount her “outing” with her new friend was the highlight of Kaeun’s lazy Saturday.

They were in Kaeun’s room. The older sitting on the couch as the younger lies down on the queen-sized bed, excitedly retelling her journey as a one-day vegan. One really shouldn’t be that proud of eating a single broccoli. It’s hardly an achievement.

“Of course I’m paying attention. I’m just confused why it’s so surprising that she listens to IU. Don’t you like IU too? Everybody in this country listens to IU. Even I listen to IU.”

Yunjin looks like she had just been slapped in the face with a tree-frog. Flabbergasted and perplexed, the younger girl racked her brains as to how to answer Kaeun’s question, before coming to the conclusion that she couldn’t. There really wasn’t anything special about Miyu listening to IU, but it was just...well, it was just something that Miyu did and anything Miyu does was worth telling stories about in Yunjin’s opinion.

Yunjin was fond of her new friend.

“...She’s cool. I’m just saying she’s cool.”

Kaeun raises an eyebrow at Yunjin’s weak reply. “Uh-huh. Okay.” And with that, Kaeun was back to flipping through her magazine, smiling internally as Yunjin whines from the bed.

“You’re a horrible older sister, you know that? Can’t you even pretend to care?”

“I’m giving you the same amount of care that I usually give you, I don’t know what else you’re asking for.”

Kaeun guesses she’s about two sentences away from getting a pillow thrown in her direction. It was one of her favourite games, annoying Yunjin until the younger girl gives up and throws a tantrum. 

Well, it’s not really much of a game, since Yunjin herself doesn’t seem to realise she’s an active participant in it. That’s what makes it so fun for Kaeun. Yunjin was so dense that she wouldn’t even realise that Kaeun was just saying things to rile her up sometimes.

“....does Sakura listen to IU?” Yunjin asks out of the blue. Probably because she figured Kaeun would be more invested in the conversation if the latter’s girlfriend was involved. It was a good call.

“God no.” Kaeun laughs brightly, her mood doing a complete 180 at the very mention of Sakura. “She only listens to Red Velvet and Jpop.”

“She does look like that girl from that one Japanese group, now that you mention it.”

Kaeun tilts her head in curiosity. “Which?”

“HKT48? Or something?”

“....Or something?”

“Hey I can’t remember all those group names! All I know is it’s three alphabets and it ends with a 48.”

Kaeun pulls out her phone and searches for HKT48, and she scrolls through several pictures in an attempt to find who Yunjin was talking about.

“...Huh. I don’t see it.”

Yunjin shrugs. “I must have gotten the wrong group then.”

“...Must have.”

“I’m more of a Matsui Jurina girl myself.”

Kaeun scratches her chin in thought, wondering why that name sounded so familiar.

“....I met a called Jurina the other day.”

“Unnie! Language! What did she ever do to you to deserve that?!” Yunjin sits up, looking appalled at Kaeun’s colourful vocabulary.

“She bit me.”

Yunjin’s eyes widen in shock. “Wow. Yeah okay that’s a pretty y thing to do.”

“Then she tried to put the moves on my Sakura.”

“Really?! Wow what did she do?” Yunjin excitedly leaned forward, already engrossed in Kaeun’s story.

The giraffe was like a kid sometimes. Always eager to hear her unnie’s tales of life.

“She asked Sakura to rub her belly and scratch her ears and stuff.”

Yunjin scrunched up her face.

“That’s....weird.”

“Yeah.”

“What did you do?”

“...I bit her.”

Yunjin blinked. “What.” 

“...Then we got kicked out of the cafe.”

“Unnie—”

“It was great.”

Yunjin watched from the bed as Kaeun stared off into the distance, a faraway look in her eyes and a goofy smile on her face as she got lost on memory lane. Why on earth would Kaeun bite—actually, it’s not really that surprising. Her unnie has always been responsible and sane but Kaeun’s undoubtedly lost a few marbles since she started dating that oddball Miyawaki Sakura. 

Not that it was a bad thing. Old Kaeun was always so uptight and moody. New Kaeun...well, new Kaeun was kind of an idiot. But the good kind of idiotic. The best kind of idiotic. Problem now was, if Yunjin was an idiot and Sakura was an airhead, one of the three of them had to be the voice of reason right? They couldn’t afford for Kaeun to lose her mind as well.

They wouldn’t be able to function in society. Heck they might just accidentally set this apartment on fire. They need adult supervision.

But Kaeun was happy. So maybe...maybe a little but of stupidity is good for the older girl.

“I like the new Kaeunnie. She’s great.”

“....There’s a new Kaeunnie?”

“Yeah. She’s like the old Kaeunnie, but a lot less Law & Order and a lot more Brooklyn Nine Nine.”

Kaeun narrowed her eyes at the younger girl. “Are those TV show references?”

“Yup.” Yunjin nodded happily. 

“...I don’t watch TV.”

“Would you like to start? We have nothing else on for the rest of the day.”

Kaeun was about to protest—because watching television shows was a pointless exercise that turns one’s brain to mush—but she sees the eager glint in Yunjin’s eyes and she gives in all too easily.

Maybe Yunjin was on to something with this whole “New Kaeun” thing.

______________________________________________________

That....might have been the shortest chapter I've ever written on this site. It sure FELT long while writing it though. It was too short so I added a little extra conversation at the end as a bonus hahahaha I'm sorry. A long wait and I give you guys...this. Hopefully it's still enjoyable though!

So from here on out, there'll be a biiit more Miyu/Yunjin than Sakukaeun just because there's nothing much I can do with that couple at this point. I'm trying to stay dedicated to making this fic feelgood fluff, and not have any angst in it because I write angst too often and I need to practice writing happy stuff. The original plot for this fic though, was completely different than this. It was supposed to be an actual long multi-chaptered fic with A LOT of angst.

Since I'm not gonna write it, I might as well reveal it here hahaha! I just don't have the time commitment to write long fics anymore.

So this fic was supposed to take a turn at this chapter. In the original draft, Kaeun and Sakura were supposed to be happily together for...a good few years. Then Kaeun would get caught up with work, leaving her with lesser and lesser time to spend with Sakura, and eventually they both just...fall out of love. The relationship ends when Sakura starts seeing Chaeyeon on the side (yeah Chaeyeon. I mean where was SHE in this whole fic eh?), essentially meaning Sakura cheats on Kaeun. They're both sad, but they also know that nothing could be done to save the relationship. Another time skip, maybe 2 years and we find out Kaeun has stayed single all this while whereas Sakura has been through several partners since leaving Chaeyeon (Hyewon, Eunbi...), but unable to find the magic she once had with Kaeun. They're both a mess, and they meet each other on Yunjin's wedding day (Yunjin moves back to New York to marry Miyu) and decide that maybe they should try again. 

Hence why the fic is called Forget You Never. 

All that sounds good, but I just don't have the time to constantly update a fic like that. That will be a 10 chapter fic AT LEAST, and it takes me a whole month to update this current fic as it is. So, yeah. Hope y'all are still happy with this fic though, after finding out what it could have been hahaha

This will sound super cliche, but the thing that drives me to finish this chapter during my busy schedules are the comments all of you leave. Thank you so much for reading, and I've already gotten started on the next chapter of this fic, so hopefully that gets done soon eh? Thank you for the upvotes and the comments! 

And THANK YOU FOR WAITING FOR THIS UPDATE!