When Saehyun met her, she didn’t think much of the Chinese girl. In fact she quite disliked the other - as the moment Zixiao stepped into the room looking confused and afraid, hesitantly calling Minseon “noona”, the Chinese girl had stolen Saehyun’s spot as the youngest.

          Eventually, the maknae did grow to like the older girl, even if Zixiao was loud and unbelievably bubbly. Saehyun would find herself being drawn to the other girl, whether it was studying next to her or simply watching her from afar.

           They became friends soon after.

       Saehyun may look all serious and mature, but she still felt very much like the kid she had been when she met all her friends. And it made her incredibly uncomfortable. But being with Zixiao was calming, it made her feel her age - and sometimes, Saehyun would allow herself to be as childish and giggly as the Chinese girl, those were her favourite days.

        The dark-haired girl didn’t exactly know when her feelings of innocent friendship grew into something more. She had an idea but like most things related to Zixiao, she couldn’t be sure.

        It was on a Friday night, and Saehyun was exhausted after an awful day at school. All she wanted to do was sleep but that seemed to be avoiding her. The younger girl lay awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling trying to will herself to sleep when she heard a tiny whimper.

         She ignored it at first because Zixiao had a habit of talking in her sleep. But those whimpers started to come faster and suddenly Saehyun was listening to full on sobs. Quickly she got up from her bed and made her way to the older girl.

       “Eonnie?” She asked, kneeling down next to the other’s bed. Saehyun knew Zixiao was emotional but for her to cry like this, something must have been really wrong. “W-what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” She had never been good at dealing with people crying, it freaked her out but this was her - until then - best friend.

     “Saehyun-ah...” the blonde girl sobbed, turning to face her and Saehyun felt her heart breaking. Even in the weak and pale moonlight, she could see how bloodshot Zixiao’s eyes were. Without wasting anymore time, the young girl climbed into bed with the older, wrapping her arms around the slightly smaller girl.

        “Shh, it’ll be okay, Xiao. “ she mumbled, whispering sweet nothings into the blonde’s ear in an attempt to soothe her.

        The older girl kept sobbing, clinging to Saehyun’s shirt. “I miss them so much” she cried, nuzzling closer to the younger girl. The dark haired girl didn’t have to ask who “they” were. Zixiao was homesick. She missed her family. 

        “Oh, eonnie, I’m so sorry...” was all she could say to that. Saehyun couldn’t imagine what it was like for Zixiao and her other Chinese friends, not when she herself grew incredibly homesick sometimes even if her family was only a few hours away from her. 

        The taller girl let Zixiao cry into her, humming softly as she gathered the courage to run her fingers through the other’s blonde hair. Once Zixiao’s sobs had stopped and her breathing went back to its normal pattern, Saehyun decided to speak. 

        “I know you miss your home and your family, eonnie.” She began, still running her fingers through the other’s hair. “But you can always count on me and the other eonnies, even if we're a poor excuse of a family, you know that right?” 

          Zixiao looked up at her and smiled, her eyes turning into little crescent moons as she nodded. “I know, and thank you, Saehyun-ah” 

         That smile melted Saehyun to the core, those eyes still glistening with tears were no longer sad but now seemed happy and tired. And Saehyun finally realised that she had fallen for Zixiao, just like that. 

        She had fallen for her best friend and she didn’t even realise it until it was right in her face. After a few minutes, Saehyun looked down to see the blonde girl trying to keep her eyes open, and this was her chance - her chance to tell Zixiao how she felt because in the morning the older girl probably wouldn’t remember it. 

         “Eonnie, you know I-we love you, right?” She couldn’t do it, and she hoped Zixiao sleepiness would let her get away with backtracking like that. 

         The older girl let out a sleepy sigh, nuzzling closer to Saehyun before replying, her words slightly slurred.

         “I know...I love you too, Saehyunie”