.

Though distracted, her heart still failing to calm down after what happened, Yena still managed to notice the familiar figure who sat at the park near her apartment complex. She slowed to a stop, pushing her bike along until she was in front of the girl...

 

 

And the girl looked up.

 

 

"You went to Yuri's?" Chaewon questioned. "I saw your bike outside her house."

 

 

Yena gave her a sad smile. "I did. She asked me to come in."

 

 

"You want to talk about it?" Chaewon was quick to offer her ears. Yena usually refused her offer to talk but this time, placing her bike aside, Yena sat down next to Chaewon, nodding her head.

 

 

"Where do I start?" Yena let out a weak and awkward laugh. She did nothing but avoid talking about this to Chaewon that she didn't really plan how to tell her about it.

 

 

"...Well.. for starters, I'm in love with Yuri."

 

 

"I been knew, sis."

 

 

"W-What-" Yena stuttered at the response she received before letting out a giggle. "Okay.. Maybe it's not that surprising that you already knew."

 

 

"You were so obvious okay. I know you're a nice person but you weren't just being nice." Chaewon returned the giggle, elbowing Yena. "Also.. I mean.. Have you seen yourself recently? You've been acting like a zombie. You've been lifeless ever since you and Yuri started getting distant."

 

 

"Well.. I can't deny that..." Yena sighed as she remembered how much of a drag she was to the group. She was certain that Yujin and Wonyoung were worried sick about her too. "Seoeon was the one who helped me realize my feelings. He went out of his way to cheer me up and brought it up to me."

 

 

"That's.. when.. He asked you out for ice cream around a week or so ago?" Chaewon tried to recall the events in order the piece things together.

 

 

"...Seoeon he.. confessed to me that day." Yena looked down, fiddling with her hand.

 

 

"Wait-" Chaewon's eyes widened. "He already confessed to you?"

 

 

"Mhm." Yena nodded. "He confessed to me in order for me to realize my feelings.."

 

 

"All of these details that I'm missing..." Chaewon shook her head in disbelief. She was so behind on the information.

 

 

"I.. Yuri also asked to meet me later that night." Yena bit her lower lip. "Right here, in this park."

 

 

Chaewon couldn't help but feel disappointed that she was learning all of this late. She was more disappointed in herself because she wasn't able to help Yena through all of it. What a great best friend I am, she thought to herself.

 

 

Taking Chaewon's silence as a cue, Yena continued. "When Yuri and I were alone after what happened with Gyuri.. she.. she may have said some hurtful things to me.. and she apologized for that.. On the other hand.. I.. may have confessed to her.. Actually, I did."

 

 

"Okay.. Okay... What?" Chaewon blinked a few, a couple of times.

 

 

"I know.. I guess that was really quick for someone who just realized her feelings on the same day, huh?"

 

 

"...Somehow, I'm not actually surprised that you did that. Since it's you."

 

 

"Is.. Is that a good thing or?"

 

 

"Putting that aside," Chaewon shrugged it off. "What happened after that?"

 

 

"She rejected me, Chaewon." Yena looked Chaewon in the eye, a gentle and lonesome smile on her face. "She told me she wasn't ready for something like that.. And that she still needed to resolve her issues."

 

 

Receiving one blow to the brain after another, Chaewon pressed her lips together, processing everything. "She rejected you...? Wow.. the audacity."

 

 

"Chaewon?" Yena shot her a worried look. Yena knew that Chaewon was typically calm but could get slightly protective when she was provoked.

 

 

Chaewon was shaking her head. "This might be rude but.. She is pissing me off. I get it, she has issues. I get that she went through a lot and that she's broken in so many ways but that doesn't justify what she's doing to you..

I.. ugh.. I hate seeing you like this. Stop forcing yourself to smile. It's just you and me here. You need to let this out properly, Yena. Holding it in won't help you."

 

 

Yena's eyes softened, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Of course her smile wasn't fooling anyone. Specially not Chaewon. Yena scooted closer to Chaewon, leaning on the younger girl's shoulder.. at which point her tears were freely falling from her eyes.

 

 

"I know.. Even I think it's unfair, Chaewon." Yena admitted. "I wanted to think about things positively like I usually do but.. It's hard. She keeps on giving me mixed signals.. Sometimes.. I feel like she might feel the same way.. and that I'm special to her.. but on others.. I.. I don't even know what goes through her mind.."

 

 

Chaewon's chest ached at the sound Yena's voice. Her voice.. it was brittle.. weakened.. Yena's voice was shaking in an unpleasant rhythm. Chaewon never wanted a situation where Yena would be this weak.

 

 

"I'm.. I've decided to be honest with myself.. to be honest with her but-" Yena choked on her own words, her uneven breathing making it harder and harder to speak.

 

 

Placing an arm around Yena's shoulder, Chaewon started to caress the older girl's head in attempt to calm the girl's crying. Yena only burried her face against Chaewon's neck, shutting her eyes as she wept.

 

 

Footsteps approached them though it was only Chaewon who noticed. In front of them was Sungmin who was on his way home from a friend's house when he saw the two of them. He was going to greet them from afar but even at a distance, he could tell that the atmosphere wasn't very happy.

 

 

Sungmin sat on Yena's other side, casually leaning on the bench. This action finally got Yena to notice his presence as she slightly looks to her side to see him. Seeing her brother only made her cry harder as he took her hand in his, gripping it tightly.

 

 

 

....

 

 

 

She was surrounded by people that cared about her...

 

 

.

 

 

 

.

 

 

She isn't carrying this alone.

 

 

.

 

 

 

.

 

 

So why was she so focused the negative side?

 

 

 

Nothing will happen if she let's herself break.

 

 

 

 

 

.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She has to make the first move.

 

 

 

 

 

~ + ~

 

 

 

[A day or so after.. In school.]

 

 

The group hung out - the same as usual. But this time, the atmosphere was significantly lighter. Yujin and Wonyoung were relieved when Yena started regaining her cheerfulness for the past few days but even then, they couldn't help but notice the distance between Yuri and Yena.

 

 

Yena started to gain her cheerfulness after she convinced herself not be too affected by what Yuri does. She realized that thinking about things over and over did nothing but bring her down so she decided to look at the brighter side of things. She wanted to be hopeful. She didn't want to keep thinking negatively about the situation. 

 

 

What happened in Yuri's house was unclear and the younger girl didn't really state her intention for inviting Yena over that day. Even so, after putting her emotions aside for a moment and thinking about it deeply, Yena knew that she had a chance.

 

 

That day, when Yuri took her away from Seoeon and Jiyoung, it could only mean one thing:

 

 

Yuri was jealous.

 

 

The things Yuri said that day also supported this. It wasn't that Yuri was trying to save her from being bothered by Seoeon and Jiyoung.

 

 

"I didn't.. like the thought of you.. going somewhere alone with either of them." 

 

 

...Was what Yuri said. It was the thought of Yena being alone with either of the two that made Yuri uncomfortable and panicked enough that the shy and withdrawn Yuri would take initiative to take her away.

 

 

Certainly, Yuri still wasn't brave enough to actually speak out and she was somewhat carried away by emotions when she did that but still.. That's improvement. Considering it's Yuri, that's a big deal on it's own.

 

 

Whether Yuri was jealous as friend; you know those friends that get jealous when you hang out with other people or people that they dislike - or because Yuri had feelings for Yena too wasn't such an important detail at that moment. What mattered was that Yena definitely made a mark in Yuri's life and that she had even just the slightest chance.

 

 

Besides, she has the support of the important people in her life. After she cried that day, Sungmin and Chaewon encouraged her, telling her that if her feelings are real, she shouldn't give up so easily. Chaewon was specially helpful in lifting her spirits as the girl told her that Yuri definitely had some form of feelings for her.

 

 

Also, people always told her, 'Smiling suits you best'. Being cheerful is what she's good at! She can't let something like this change her.

 

 

....

 

 

In contrast to Yena who started to get better, after the events that took place in her house, Yuri was awkward. She was always awkward in a way but it was a different kind of awkward. The two of them were interacting with one another as they normally do: Yena being the cool yet cheery moodmaker who starts conversations and Yuri who would go along with it.

 

 

But what was the distance that the other three would notice?

 

 

Well, that's all on Yuri. She would put on extra effort just to make sure her eyes don't meet Yena's. She's quick to flinch away whenever Yena would get too close, whether Yena was doing it on purpose or not.

 

 

Yuri was staying close to Yena but was avoiding the girl at the same. Chaewon would wonder why she had to watch it. Watching how awkward Yuri was made her want to hit her head on any nearby solid object. Preferably a wall.

 

 

At first, Chaewon found it funny and adorable whenever Yuri would panic this way - kind of like that time when Chaewon caught Yuri staring at Yena - but now.. it was just embarrassing to watch.. not to mention frustrating.

 

 

Again, it was time for dismissal.

 

 

Yena realized just how much things actually happen during this time frame. The time when Jiyoung and her minions beat Yuri up, the time when Yuri cried after seeing her in the hospital, the time where Yuri and Gyuri were reunited and just recently when she ended up coming to Yuri's house.. All of those important moments happened in this particular time frame.

 

 

Joking around in her head, Yena thought to herself as she went to unchain her bike, I wonder if anything would happen today.

 

 

"Chaewonie~" A sweet and gentle voice caught their attention, "Let's go somewhere today~"

 

 

Yena turned to the source of the voice to see a girl, a second year judging by her ribbon's color. It was someone Yena has seen before. Actually, she remembered the girl as Chaewon's classmate. They've talked a fair amount of times before; they worked together on a school event. It was Kim Minjoo.

 

 

Ms. Choi Dense-When-It-Comes-To-Romance Yena had moments where she noticed things too. It wasn't a big secret that Minjoo liked Chaewon. In fact, Chaewon just recently confirmed Yena's hunch by telling her about Minjoo's confession.

 

 

She used to be uninterested with other people's love affairs but as her own feelings for Yuri grew, she developed a sense of interested towards these matters.

 

 

Yuri was also somewhat familiar with the girl. When she checked on Chaewon after their little confrontation in the cafeteria, she saw this girl seemingly trying to cool off the annoyed Chaewon.

 

 

"Ah, Minjoo." Chaewon turned to the girl after she finished unchaining her bike. "Where to?"

 

 

"Just anywhere~" The girl, Minjoo, gave an innocent and bright smile.

 

 

"Hmmmmm~?" Yena raised a brow, humming teasingly at Chaewon.

 

 

"What?" Chaewon eyed her.

 

 

"Nothing~" Yena giggled. "You're not walking home with us today?"

 

 

Chaewon looked at Minjoo and then back at Yena. "I guess not. We'll be going ahead?"

 

 

"Yay~" Minjoo cheered like a kid, causing the kids to laugh.

 

 

"Is she our unnie~?" Yujin teased.

 

 

"Isn't she a first year?" Wonyoung added.

 

 

"Yah!" Minjoo complained but her voice remained gentle. "I'm your unnie!"

 

 

"Right, right," Yujin laughed, "Go on with your date~"

 

 

"It's not a date," Chaewon shook her head.

 

 

"It's not?" Minjoo followed up.

 

 

"What?" Chaewon raised a brow.

 

 

"Okay, Okay~ Move along~" Yena shooed them.

 

 

Chaewon puffed her cheeks slightly, pushing her bike along as Minjoo walked beside her. The group just watched the two walk away, giggling to themselves.. except for Yuri. She didn't get it.

 

"Why doesn't she just go for Minjoo-unnie.." Yujin shook her head.

 

 

"I know right~" Wonyoung pouted, leaning against Yujin. "Eunbi-unnie is too complicated.."

 

 

"Yah, don't say that about people," Yena laughed. Yena scolded playfully but she actually agreed with Wonyoung. The entire thing with Eunbi was pretty complicated and she'd prefer if Chaewon didn't get herself dragged deeper into it considering it's already complicated enough with Chaeyeon and Sakura involved.

 

 

Well, Yena didn't have much time to concern herself with it either. She should be focusing on how she's going to get through Yuri.

 

 

Yuri was a coward in more ways than one. It took both Seoeon and Jiyoung to pressure her into making a move. Yuri herself was aware of this. She noticed just how awkward and on guard she was being around Yena.. but she couldn't help it.

 

 

It was an automatic response; she looks away whenever their eyes meet and she dodges whenever she's about to have any form of physical contact with Yena. Yuri was trying her hardest to convince herself to stop but she just couldn't.

 

 

Yena's presence alone was making her heart beat faster. The sound of Yena's voice was sending shivers down her spine. She could already imagine how much worse it would be if their eyes met or if their skin touches.

 

 

Oh my god, Jo Yuri.. Pull yourself together!

 

 

She mentally scolded.

 

 

"Yuri-unnie?" Wonyoung waved her hand in front of Yuri.

 

 

Yuri blinked a few times before it registered that she was spacing out. "Huh..? W-W-What?"

 

 

Wonyoung giggled. "You're staring into nothingness again, Unnie."

 

 

"What are you thinking about?" Yujin wiggled her brows.

 

 

"What- I wasn't really-" Yuri's cheeks begun to warm up, a cute shade of pink tainting her skin.

 

 

"Cute." Yena let out a soft laugh, not exactly calming Yuri's already rapid heartbeat.

 

 

"Ohohoho~" Yujin teased. Wonyoung elbowed Yujin but she didn't really stop her from teasing. In fact, the youngest was relieved. The atmosphere in the group was tense for quite some time. It started with Yuri avoiding Yena, Yena avoiding Yuri, and then there was Chaewon snapping at Yuri.

 

 

Yujin and Wonyoung didn't know what to do in those situations so they were happy that things were getting better enough for them to have some light-hearted teasing.

 

 

"Okay, we should really get going," Yena reminded, leading the way as the rest of the group followed. Yuri was particularly behind as they walked. Yena was in front, Yujin and Wonyoung were trailing after, while she was at the back, looking at the ground the entire time.

 

 

The kids would keep bothering Yena about random topics and their conversations just never ended. The end of one topic would always transition to the next but really, Yuri had no idea what they were talking about. She wasn't even paying attention.

 

 

She looked up from the ground, staring at Yena was they continued to walk, watching every single action and expression the older girl made. Whenever she would laugh at Yujin's jokes, soften her expression for Wonyoung... and smiled when she noticed that Yuri was staring..

 

 

Everything was wonderful to Yuri at that moment.. to the point that she forgot to look away. Yena showed questioning eyes, the smile still plastered on her face as she looked back at Yuri.

 

 

Yuri blinked, realized what she was doing, shook her head, and then looked back at the ground.

 

 

"Hm.. Can you two go on ahead?" Yena asked the kids.

 

 

"Ohohoho?" Yujin, again, let out her teasing laugh. Yena hit Yujin's arm lightly, smiling at the younger girl.

 

 

"I just need to talk to Yuri." Yena winked at Yujin.

 

 

"Oh~ I see~" Wonyoung had this childish smile on her face; she looked like a kid who was watching her favorite show. "Let's go, Yujinie~"

 

 

Wonyoung linked arms with Yujin, the two of them giggling as they walked on ahead. The kids were curious and really wanted to watch but they knew to give the two privacy. It was obvious that Yena and Yuri had things to talk about so the kids just left as they were asked.

 

 

.....

 

 

"Well? What are you all the way back there for?" Yena let out a laugh. "The kids were in between us earlier but now it's just us. Are we really going to walk a meter apart?"

 

 

"I- Um-" Yuri bit her lower lip.

 

 

"Hey." Yena called out.

 

 

"Y-Yes?" Yuri allowed their eyes to meet.

 

 

....

 

 

"Yuri.. I'm going to be honest with you.. So.. Can you be honest with me too?"

 

 

~ + ~

 

 

||a/n: Here's an update! As much as I like angst, being cheerful really suits Yena the best so have some of that~

Though Yuri doesn't doubt Yena anymore and has less issues about trusting her, Yuri is still a coward... They aren't avoiding each other but there's still something in their way: Yuri's gay panic.. But our duckie has decided to make the first move cause Yuri can't~ Go Yena!!

Anyways~ I hope you enjoyed the late update~||