The room was dark, save for the dim light coming from the moonlight lamp on their bedside table. The air conditioner was running smoothly, droning soft sound. The weather had got much cooler these days, so now it was set to blow breeze wind instead of freezing cold air. A thin blanket was perfect, enough to keep them warm and safe but not make them sweat.

Everything was exact with the ideal sleep environment that would help Yongsun drift to dreamland within a minute. To Yongsun, sleep always came easily.

Every day, but not today.

 

Yongsun opened her eyes with a soft sigh.

It doesn’t work.

She had counted up to 1000 sheep, even having them take part in a hurdle, but the sleep still did not come to her.

Yongsun turned over, face down with her head turned to the side toward the door. She laid there quietly on her stomach, her eyes wandered the room before they stopped at the electronic clock.

2 a.m.

It was not good, she must sleep soon. Yongsun closed her eyes and tried to relax, but soon enough she once again found herself staring blankly at the closed door.

What’s wrong with me?

Yongsun put herself up slightly, just enough for her to turn her head to the other side. Byulyi was already fast asleep, back facing her. They had got in bed at the same time, but why the sleep only came to the younger girl?

 

A few minutes passed, but to her sleepless mind, each one feeling as though it took hours to tick away. Yongsun then found it become more and more uncomfortable and hard to breathe to lay there in the position she was in. She turned over. The sudden movement caused their shared-blanket to slip off, revealing the younger girl’s .  In a second, Yongsun’s cheeks grew pink.

Why do I feel shy? Yongsun chuckled at herself. It was not our first time tho.

As Yongsun shifted closer, her lips curved up. She could clearly see the marks she had left on the younger girl’s milky skin. Yongsun could not help but putting a soft kiss there, she was proud at that. They got in bed at past 9 last night. It was way too earlier than normal. They both found it hard to sleep at first, so they had decided to “workout” a little.

Suddenly, Byulyi stirred. Yongsun froze at that sight, she had forgot that the younger girl was a light sleeper.

She watched Byulyi turning over to lay on her back with nervous eyes while holding her breath, praying inside that she did not wake the younger girl up. It was not until when she saw Byulyi’s still closed-eyes with her chest moving up and down in a steady rhythm that Yongsun finally let out a relieved sigh. She quickly pulled the blanket up to Byulyi’s neck, afraid that the younger girl might catch a cold. A smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

 

Yongsun spent the next minutes staring at the sleeping girl, temporarily forgetting that time was still ticking and she needed to sleep soon.

Her eyes captured the way Byulyi’s eyelashes fluttered slightly with each calm breath, then shifted to Byulyi’s perfect nose. Yongsun once said that her finger might bleed if she touched the younger girl’s nose. She did not think it was exaggerated. When her eyes stopped at Byulyi’s slightly parted lips, Yongsun had to try her best to hold herself back. She unconsciously her lips while recalling her favorite sweet taste.

Yongsun never got tired of looking at Byulyi.  Whenever she looked at Byulyi, Yongsun wished time could freeze.

Yongsun suddenly realized the reason why she could not sleep while fixing Byulyi’s messy bangs.

She was excited.

She was nervous.

Above all, she was afraid.

She was afraid that if she closed her eyes and woke up the next morning, everything was just a dream.

She was afraid that when she woke up, Byulyi was not by her side.

Since the day Byulyi came into her life, Yongsun never could imagine how her life would be without Byulyi.

Since the day Byulyi came into her life, her world had changed a lot without her knowing. 

 

 

 

 

Yongsun used to think mono-eyelids were not attractive.

 

“Unnie, look! Isn’t it pretty?”

“Uh-hum”

“Look! That one is pretty too!”

“So pretty.”

“Unnie, are you looking?”

“Uh- Yes?” Yongsun startled as if she was caught doing something bad. “I’m looking now.”

“Unnie, if you don’t like it we can go back.” Byulyi said cheerlessly, her face looked like a lost puppy.

“No no, I love it!” Yongsun waved her hands to protest. “The cherry blossoms are so beautiful. How could you find this place?”

The younger girl’s face brightened up right away.

“Wheein told me. She found this place with Hyejin when they skipped the choreography practice last time.” 

Yongsun frowned.

Byulyi soon realized that she had accidentally spit out the two young girls’ secret. Hyejin was gonna kill her for this, Byulyi thought while scratching the back of her head awkwardly.

 

“Unnie, is there something on my face?” Byulyi suddenly asked.

“Huh? No.” Yongsun shook her head.

“Then why you keep staring at my face? Tell me unnie, there must be something stained on my face right?” Byulyi touched her face here and there.

“Your eyes-”

“My eyes? Argh, I forgot to put on make-up today.” Byulyi groaned. “They must look bad right?” The younger girl brought her hands up to cover her eyes.

“No.” Yongsun immediately caught her hands to stop them.

“Your eyes are beautiful.”

 

 

 

 

Deep voice was not her thing.

 

“Unnie”

“Yongsun-unnie!”

“YONGSUN-UNNIE!!”

Yongsun felt her heart almost jump off her chest when Wheein suddenly appeared in front of her.

 “Unnie, we are asking what you want to eat for lunch.” Wheein said curiously. “What are you listening to so attentively?”

Wheein reached out to take one of the earphones and brought it to her ear before Yongsun could react.

“Oh?”

Yongsun felt her face hotter.

“Isn’t it Byulie-unnie’s voice?”

Yongsun wished there was a hole so she could jump in.

“What?” Byulyi, who was joking with Hyejin at the other side of the room, also ran to them when hearing her own name.   

“This record, how did you get it unnie? Didn’t I delete it already?” Byulyi looked at her with a surprised face after listening to her own voice from Yongsun’s earphone.

“I- I need to go to the toilet now.” Yongsun excused and dashed out of the room with her head down, trying to hide her burning hot face.

 

 

 

 

Yongsun hated sharing beds with others. She would rather sleep on a small mattress on the ground than sleeping with her sister on the king-size bed.

 

*ping pong*

Yongsun shifted a bit. She glanced at the clock, it was already past 11.

*ping pong*

“Yong, open the door!” She called out.

*ping pong*

“Ah right, unnie’s not home today.” Yongsun groaned lowly. She sighed and reached for her coat hanging on the headboard. With all of her efforts, Yongsun kicked off her fluffy and warm blanket and got out of her bed.

*ping pong*

“Coming.” Yongsun announced lazily and put on her Squirtle slippers, heading to the main door. She hugged herself tighter as she shivered slightly. Why was it so cold today?

“Unnie~”

“Byulie?”

Yongsun was surprised to find Byulyi stand outside her house. The younger girl was in her pajamas, carrying a pillow and a blanket in her hands. A chill wind blew over, making both of them shake violently. Yongsun immediately grabbed Byulyi’s hand and dragged her inside.

“What’s wrong Byul-ah?”

“Unnie, can I sleepover tonight?” Byulyi looked at her with pleading eyes. “The heating system in our house is down, and they said they could not come to fix this late. It’s so cold~”

“Sure,” Yongsun replied without hesitation. “Let’s go into my room. It’s cold here.”

 

“Can I turn off the light?” Yongsun asked when they had settled down in her bed. Byulyi nodded and snuggled closer into her own blanket. She smiled at that and reached out for the switch.

“How about Seulgi?”

“She’s not home today.”

It did not take long until Yongsun noticed the younger girl seemed restless.

“Byul, are you uncomfortable somewhere?” She asked in worry. As the light was again, she could see Byulyi shiver under her blanket.

“It’s still cold~” Byulyi mumbled pitifully.

“Why did you bring such a thin blanket?” Yongsun scolded softly. “Come here.” She spread her blanket widely. Byulyi did not waste a second to snuggle in.

“Better now?”

“Uh-hum” Byulyi hummed happily, her head rubbing on Yongsun’s arm like a puppy.

“Sleep now.” Yongsun chuckled.   

That night was the coldest day in the year, but to Yongsun, it was the warmest day.

 

 

However, the next few days Byulyi still showed up outside her house at the same time and with the same reason.

“When will they come to fix it?” Yongsun once asked when they were lying on her bed.

“Next week, I guess.” Byulyi answer half-heartedly before snuggling to her body.

Yongsun did not think much, until one day she ran into Byulyi's younger sister.

 “Oh, Seulgi?”

“Yongsun-unnie! You’re taking out the trash too?”

“Right, it’s my turn today.” Yongsun replied with a smile, it’d been a while since she last met Seulgi. “Seulgi-ah, where have you been these days?”

“Me? I’m staying at Byulie-unnie’s house all the time.”

“Huh?” Yongsun was surprised to hear that. “But the heating system is not working. Aren’t you cold?”

 “It’s been fixed for a week unnie.”

 

*ping pong*

“The heating system is still not working?” Yongsun asked when she opened the door to find Byulyi with her pillow and blanket like usual.

Byulyi nodded. “They haven’t come yet.”

Yongsun’s lips curved up.

“Come in.”

 

 

 

 

Yongsun did not like sharing clothes, even with her sister.

 

“Byul-ah”

“Byul, wake up.”

Byulyi stirred. But instead of waking up, the younger girl turned around and buried her face into Yongsun’s belly. 

“Byul, wake up. It ended.” Yongsun shook her body lightly. Byulyi was the one who suggested watching a horror movie together. But the movie was not halfway through when the younger girl fell asleep on her lap. “It’s late. You should go home.”

Byulyi groaned, not knowing whether it was because of being woken up or because of what Yongsun just said.

“Yongsun-unnie~” Byulyi whined out loud. Her husky voice made Yongsun’s heart flutter.

“Unnie, can I sleep here tonight?” Her lips protruded into a pitiful pout. “Seulgi is staying at her friend’s house so I’m home alone tonight.”

“I’m scared~”

Yongsun swore to god Byulyi was born to be an actress. Her tearing eyes confirmed that.

“But you barely watched anything. You fell asleep even before the ghost appeared.”

“Unnie~~”

Yongsun sighed. There was no way she could win those puppy eyes.

“Alright”

No sooner had she finished her words, Byulyi got up and ran to her room happily.

Yongsun chuckled. She did not hate it though.

To be honest, the movie was quite scary. 

 

“Byul, come on.”

Yongsun came back to her room after brushing her teeth to find Byulyi had already dozed off again on her bed.

“You need to change your clothes before you sleep.”

“But I don’t have new clothes.” Byulyi mumbled with her sleepy voice.

“Here.” Yongsun took out a pair of pajamas from her closet and gave it to the younger girl. Byulyi got up reluctantly and walked to the bathroom with her half-opened eyes.

 

“Unnie, can I hug you?” Byulyi begged once she had turned off the light. “It’s dark. I’m scared~”

There was no way that Yongsun could reject that request. 

 

 

“Unnie, I will come after I finish the record. I will buy chickens.” Byulyi said excitedly while getting ready to leave her house the next morning.

“See you then.” Yongsun bid her goodbye with a smile and closed the door.

“Byulie slept over last night?” A voice from behind startled her.

“Unnie, when did you get home?”

“Around 1 a.m.” Her sister answered with a long yawn. “Yongsun-ah, do you have dirty clothes? I’m gonna do the laundry.”

“Oh, wait for me.”

Yongsun went in her room and started collecting her clothes. She did it quickly, in case her sister would change her mind. Her movement only stopped when she saw the neatly folded pajamas placed at the end of the bed.

 

 

*ping pong*

“Unnie, look!” Byulyi showed her the box of chickens with a proud smile as soon as she opened the door.

“Come in first. It’s cold outside.”

“Is Yonghee-unnie home?” Byulyi asked while taking off her shoes. “Oh-”

The younger girl scanned her carefully from top to toes. Yongsun felt her heartbeat start pounding crazily.

“Those pajamas-”

“I accidentally bought two identical sets.” Yongsun explained before the younger girl could say it.   

 “Ah~” Byulyi nodded in understanding. “Where did you buy them unnie? They’re really comfortable, I want to buy too.”

“I don’t quite remember.” She answered awkwardly. “Let’s eat first, unnie is inside.” She tried to change the topic.

“Yonghee-unnie, I bought chickens!!”

Yongsun sighed in relief once the younger girl was out of her sight. She then brought the sleeve to her nose, inhaling the remaining scent on it.

Yongsun smiled in satisfaction, it was still there.

 

 

 

 

Yongsun found eating someone else’s leftovers dis