“Morning.”

 

“Good morning!”

 

Just like she does every Tuesday and Thursday morning at ten in the morning, Eunji sits in the fourth row of her English class, two seats from the end so that she is seated directly beside Bomi. 

 

“Here,” Bomi says, smiling brightly despite the time, as she hands Eunji a carefully wrapped muffin. “My roommate keeps baking. If I have to eat it, so do you.”

 

Eunji smiles as she accepts the food. She sniffs the muffin curiously then asks, “Isn’t your roommate a pretty good cook though?”

 

“She is,” Bomi says slowly. She looks away as she shrugs and says, “I just wanted you to have some too.”

 

The way Bomi says this makes Eunji’s heart flutter, and now she’s the one who has to look away. Eunji clears then forces herself to sound casual as she says, “Well, thank you. I’ve never been one to turn down good food from a pretty girl.”

 

The smile Bomi gives her makes up for how red Eunji is sure her cheeks are right now. 

 

Before the spring semester even began, Eunji dreaded this English class. She enjoys writing well enough, especially if it’s lyrics, but essays make her head hurt. She’s much better at arguing aloud than on paper. However, the class is required to graduate, so on the first day of the semester, Eunji dragged herself to class, sure she would hate every second of it. 

 

Except, when the professor told them to get to know the person sitting beside them, Eunji found herself sitting next to a very cute girl who matched her energy and wit easily. Eunji and Bomi got along so well that they ended up exchanging numbers before the end of their first class. It was the start of an easy friendship that suddenly became much less easy when Eunji realized that she has just a teeny tiny crush on Bomi. 

 

It happened without Eunji even realizing it. She remembers the day clearly when she figured out her feelings were more than platonic. Eunji sat next Bomi in class like she did every Tuesday and Thursday and listened to their professor explain the romantic novel they would be reading next. It wasn’t until they were leaving and Bomi was complaining about the book being a reminder of being single for too long that Eunji was hit with the sudden urge to kiss Bomi goodbye before they went about their schedules. 

 

It had been a simple desire that left Eunji unbalanced for days after. It came to the point where she skipped two classes and made up the worst excuses to Bomi about where she’d been. 

 

Now, after holing up in her apartment with Bomi for a week to study for midterms, Eunji decides she can’t avoid her crush on the other girl forever. She just needs to find the right time to ask her out. Make it seem totally casual. Like she isn’t basically dying to hold Bomi’s hand and kiss her whenever she’s being cute (which is just about always). Casual, Eunji reminds herself sternly. 

 

“Psst,” Bomi whispers halfway through class. Today, the professor is just going over their last essay, telling them how to improve for next time and what the final essay will require. Eunji wrote about two words down before tuning him out, so she welcomes the distraction Bomi offers. When Eunji leans closer, Bomi asks, “Are you free after class today?”

 

Eunji is pretty sure she almost snaps her neck with how fast she turns to look at Bomi. She tries not to gawk, but her mind is turning over Bomi’s words at a hundred miles per hour. Did she mean it the way it sounded?

 

her lips, Eunji waits for the professor to turn towards the board before replying, “Yeah, I have about an hour and a half before my next class.”

 

“Coffee?” Bomi suggests, and Eunji tries to keep the disappointment off her face as she nods. 

 

Eunji will take any time with Bomi she can, but they get coffee together all the time. It isn’t anything special, and it definitely isn’t any indication that Bomi might say yes to Eunji asking her out. 

 

Huffing silently to herself, Eunji slouches in her seat and doodles for the rest of class. 

 

When the professor dismisses the class, Eunji doesn’t even realize until Bomi is peering over at her messy drawings, head practically on Eunji’s shoulder. Eunji startles and turns to look at it and is taken aback by just how close she is to Bomi’s face.

 

“You’re pretty good at drawing,” Bomi comments with a soft smile.

 

Eunji tries not to blush as she shoves her papers in her backpack with a mumbled, “Thanks.”

 

Bomi leads the two of them to the coffee shop located in the central part of campus, hand comfortably tucked in the crook of Eunji’s arm. She tells Eunji all about the movie she watched with her roommate the night before, and Eunji nods along, listening but also watching Bomi’s lively expression as she waves her free hand for emphasis.

 

“My roommate said I wasn’t cute,” Bomi says suddenly as they walk into the coffee shop.

 

Eunji blinks at the nonsequitur then asks, “Like at all?”

 

“I believe the words she used were ‘vomit inducing’,” Bomi says, and Eunji can’t help but snort. At this, Bomi turns to Eunji, as they wait in line, with wide eyes and an unfairly cute pout. “You think I’m vomit inducing too?”

 

Eunji is still laughing as she says, “Of course not. You’re cute, Bomi.”

 

“I’m cute?” Bomi beams. 

 

“You’re cute,” Eunji nods. She absent-mindedly reaches out and fixes Bomi’s hair where a strand is sticking out, but as soon as she realizes what she’s doing, she snatches back her hand like she touched fire. Eunji ignores the odd look Bomi gives her and shoves her hands into her pockets, feigning to read the menu as she avoids looking at her to regain her wits. 

 

Bomi tugs on Eunji’s arm gently, pulling her attention away from the menu, as she points at the display of sweets near the cashier. “Don’t those cookies look delicious?” Bomi asks. She leans against Eunji as she says this, and Eunji feels like Bomi’s hand is about to burn a hole through her arm.

 

“Didn’t you just have a muffin in class?” Eunji teases. “Or was that the other girl who sits next to me?”

 

“It was a long class,” Bomi argues, her voice cute and babyish in a way that makes Eunji torn between cringing and melting. “Also, I was paying attention, unlike you, so I think I deserve a treat.”

 

“It’s not like he was saying anything important,” Eunji replies as they step up to order.

 

“Hi, one small white mocha and one iced americano,” Bomi tells the cashier.

 

Eunji tries not to focus too much on the fact that Bomi knows her (very simple) coffee order and chimes in, “Also one of those chocolate chip cookies you have on display.” She has her card out already and hands it over to the cashier before Bomi can even protest, flashing the other girl a grin.

 

When they stand off to the side to wait for their order, Bomi tells Eunji, “You didn’t have to buy me a cookie.”

 

“I wanted to,” Eunji shrugs. 

 

Bomi is uncharacteristically quiet at this and remains silent until a barista calls out their order. She pats Eunji’s shoulder then slips through the crowd to grab their drinks and her cookie. When she comes back she has already taken a bite from the cookie, which Eunji smiles at, but then Bomi is setting down the drinks and is holding the cookie out to her with an expectant look.

 

Eunji eyes her suspiciously and asks, “What?” 

 

“Have some,” Bomi tells her, moving the cookie closer. “You paid for it. You should have some.”

 

The mere thought of having Bomi feed her has Eunji’s cheeks flushing a dark red. Eunji shakes her head and says, “No, I’m fine.”

 

“Eunji,” Bomi whines, and dear god, she moves even closer. There’s less than a foot between them as Bomi tries to all but shove the cookie in Eunji’s mouth. After Eunji dodges a few times, she squeaks when Bomi grabs her shirt to keep her still. “Eunji,” Bomi says in a very serious voice that makes Eunji’s mind go blank, “eat the cookie.”

 

Obediently, Eunji takes a bite, even as her eyes are impossibly wide.

 

“Is it good?” Bomi asks.

 

Still reeling from the past five minutes, Eunji can only nod.

 

“Good,” Bomi says, suddenly smiling brightly as she moves away like she hadn’t just force fed Eunji in the hottest way possible. Eunji doesn’t even have the thinking capacity to say anything when Bomi grabs her hand and says, “Let’s go find somewhere outside to sit! It’s too crowded her.” Eunji merely follows, trying to piece together what the was happening. 

 

Bomi finds them an empty patch of grass in a shaded area and plops down onto the ground like she doesn’t have a care in the world. Eunji follows her much slower, deliberately putting a decent amount of space between them. It ends up being for nothing though because Bomi scoots closer anyways.

 

However, Eunji manages to relax after a few minutes because, besides her closeness, Bomi does not do anything else out of the normal. She talks to Eunji about classes and her roommate. She teases and jokes, playing along with Eunji like it’s as easy as breathing. Bomi acts like whatever happened at the coffee shop didn’t happen.

 

As the time for her next class gets closer, Eunji stretches her arms over her head and complains, “I hate math. Why does it have to be in the afternoon? I’m always so sleepy in the afternoon.” When Bomi doesn’t reply immediately, Eunji looks to her and finds Bomi’s eyes glued to the small strip of skin her stretching revealed. Smiling slightly, Eunji calls out playfully as she pokes Bomi’s forehead, “Hello, anyone home?”

 

Bomi blinks several times before her eyes snap up to Eunji’s and a dark blush covers her cheeks. She ducks her head and says, “Sorry, I was, uh, distracted.”

 

It takes every ounce of Eunji’s willpower not to give a cocky reply. Instead, she settles for an amused hum. Their coffee not-date was fun, and Eunji feels like this might be the right time to actually ask Bomi out. Especially after whatever happened at the coffee shop. Clearing , Eunji waits until Bomi looks at her to ask, “Are you free this weekend?”

 

“Hmm, maybe just some readings for class,” Bomi replies after thinking for a moment. “Why?”

 

Eunji hesitates for a moment before asking, “I was wondering if you’d want to go out. On a date. With me. This weekend.” As soon as the words leave , Eunji is berating herself for the stilted, awkward way she spoke and the way her voice shook ever so slightly. However, none of that matters because Bomi smiles like she’s been expecting this, and Eunji is struck by the realization that Yoon Bomi may be much slyer than she gave her credit for. 

 

“I’d like that,” Bomi tells her, all soft and sincere with twinkly eyes.

 

“Cool,” Eunji smiles, unable to keep back the exhale of relief. She glances at her watch, and if she didn’t hate her math class before, she definitely hates it now. “I have to go now, but I’ll text you?” It’s Thursday today, meaning Eunji will need to text her soon if they plan to go out this weekend. Not that Eunji really planned on taking a long time to text her anyways.

 

“I can’t wait,” Bomi says, and Eunji feels like she’s on cloud nine all the way to her math class.

 

The giddiness lasts all the way through Saturday afternoon as Eunji gets ready for the date. She tries on about six different outfits, sending each one to her old roommate Hayoung. She gets snide remarks and jokes, but nothing actually useful. After about three more outfits, Eunji settles on a pair of dark jeans that hug her figure and a black crop top. 

 

At a quarter to six, Eunji leaves her place and drives from campus to where Bomi lives. The spring weather still lingers, so it’s just cool enough for nice weather, and Eunji is thankful for the fact that she won’t show up at Bomi’s soaked with sweat.

 

It’s just after six when Eunji knocks on 4A, and when the door swings open, it isn’t Bomi. Instead, it’s a petite woman with dark hair and suspicious eyes.

 

“Hi, I’m looking for Bomi?” Eunji says cautiously, feeling like one wrong word might lead to her being pitched off the roof of the building. “Am I at the right place?”

 

“Jeong Eunji?”

 

“Yes…”

 

The woman holds out her hand. “I’m Chorong.”

 

“Oh, the roommate!” Eunji nods, realizing who’s standing in front of her. She takes her hand and gives it a firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”

 

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Chorong tells her. “Bomi will be out in a moment, if you want to come in.”

 

“No, I’m ready!” Bomi yells as she comes from the hallway. She comes bouncing out from a hallway, dressed in ripped jeans and a soft-looking shirt. Her hair falls in loose curls, swaying as she stands next to Chorong by the door, and Eunji tries (and fails) not to stare. “Hey, you.”

 

“Hey,” Eunji says weakly. When Chorong smiles at this, Eunji clears and repeats more confidently, “Hey.”

 

“You said that already,” Bomi teases. She turns to Chorong and says, “I’ll see you later.”

 

Chorong nods then says chidingly, “Don’t say out too late.”

 

“Yes, mom,” Bomi replies with a roll of her eyes.

 

Chorong rolls her eyes too and closes the door after giving Eunji a brief wave. With the Chorong gone, Bomi turns to Eunji with a bright smile, standing much closer than necessary. “Hey,” Bomi says.

 

“You said that already,” Eunji replies with a laugh, using Bomi’s words against her.

 

“Right,” Bomi nods so seriously that Eunji can’t help but smile. “Here, let me say something new then. I’m really happy you asked me out.”

 

“Yeah?” Eunji smiles even wider.

 

Bomi smiles back, “Yeah.”

 

Eunji feels bold now that she knows Bomi likes her too, and this is what she’ll blame her next action on. Without a second of hesitation, Eunji leans in and gives Bomi a quick kiss. When she pulls back, she’s pleased to see Bomi blushing. “Sorry,” Eunji says, not sounding sorry at all. “You look really pretty.”

 

“Thank you,” Bomi murmurs, and suddenly all her bravado from the coffee shop the other day is gone. She shyly tucks her hair behind her ear and looks at Eunji through dark lashes. “You look really pretty too.”

 

Eunji can’t help but kiss Bomi again, this time lingering just long enough that her lips sort of tingle when the kiss ends. She’s sure they’re both blushing now, but Eunji can only smile widely. “Come on,” Eunji says, holding Bomi’s hand. “We better get going before it’s really crowded.”

 

When they get to the amusement park, there are already plenty of families milling about. Eunji continues to hold Bomi’s hand, so they don’t lose each other, and walks them over to the gift shop. As soon as they walk in, Bomi is cooing over all the cute headbands. She drags Eunji around, playing with all of them before settling on a matching set of dog-eared headbands.

 

“Because you’re a puppy,” Bomi tells Eunji. 

 

Eunji blushes then reaches out to mess with Bomi’s headband too. “You’re a puppy too?” Eunji asks. 

 

“Of course,” Bomi nods solemnly, "because we're in puppy love.” Then she’s laughing and so is Eunji, and they’re still giggling at each other as they pay for their headbands. As soon as they walk out of the gift shop, Bomi is grabbing Eunji’s arm and pointing at the assortment of rides in front of them. “Oh, let’s go on this one!” Bomi exclaims excitedly.

 

Eunji lets Bomi pick whatever ride she wants, knowing she enjoys all of the rides here, even the intense ones. She’s content to watch the other woman ooh and ahh over everything (Bomi explained she hadn’t been to an amusement park in years), and when Bomi breaks out into a dorky dance in line because she recognizes the song they’re playing in line, Eunji joins her with a laugh. 

 

They make it through three rides before Bomi makes the mistake of choosing a ride that spins upside down. 

 

“Are you sure?” Eunji asks worriedly as they get in line. “You were pretty scared on the last one, and all it really did was spin us around kind of fast, and on that one, we were at least right side up.”

 

Bomi pouts at Eunji, and that’s kind of unfair because Bomi has a really irresistible pout. “I’m positive!” Bomi tells her, grabbing Eunij’s arm. “Please, just this ride and then we can go eat. I promise.”

 

“You’re going to get sick,” Eunji can’t help but say as she continues to eye Bomi suspiciously.

 

“I won’t!” Bomi insists.

 

Eunji sighs and lifts her free arm in surrender, saying, “Okay, sure. Whatever you want.”

 

Although Bomi beams at this victory, she slowly gets more tense the further along the line they get. With every step closer to the ride, Bomi clings tighter to Eunji’s arm and stands slightly closer. Eunji is both amused and endeared by Bomi’s cuteness, even when she’s afraid, but she also isn’t looking forward to Bomi’s reaction once they’re actually on the ride.

 

“You know, it’s not too late to back out,” Eunji tells Bomi as they get settled in the seats. She watches as Bomi shakes her head firmly and pulls the guard over he head. “Bomi,” Eunji tries again.

 

“It’ll be fun,” Bomi replies. “Fun,” she repeats stubbornly.

 

As the ride starts up, Eunji thinks she might’ve been wrong. Bomi screams happily along with her, waving her hands around like a little kid. However, things change when they get turned upside down. Bomi’s screams become less cheerful and more terrified. Bomi also blindly grabs Eunji’s hand and squeezes it so tight that Eunji thinks she really might break some bones before the ride is over. 

 

When the ride is over and they’re given the okay to get off, Eunji is out of her seat in an instant. She helps a shaky-legged Bomi off the ride, and Eunji can’t laugh but a little at Bomi’s tear-streaked face and embarrassed pout.

 

“Ah, Bomi,” Eunji giggles as she guides her out of the ride’s area, gently wiping away her tears. “Are you okay, baby?”

 

Bomi’s cheeks color at the pet name, but she nods nonetheless. She reaches out and holds Eunji’s hand, even though the ride is over and they’re walking among the crowd again. In a small voice, Bomi asks, “Can we go eat now?”

 

Still laughing, Eunji lets go of Bomi’s hand to comfortably wrap her arm around her shoulders. “Yes, we can go eat now.”

 

It takes them a while to get their food, not because they can’t decide on their food, but because they spend almost twenty minutes arguing over who gets to pay. Bomi wants to pay because Eunji paid for the ride tickets, but Eunji wants to pay because she’s the one who asked her out. Eventually, they grudgingly agree on splitting the costs.

 

They find an empty table easily enough and quickly eat, hungry from all the rides. Bomi tries the cheesy tteokbokki and makes a happy noise. She chews and swallows the food quickly before excitedly holding up a bite to Eunji’s mouth. “Eunji, you have to try this! It’s so good!” Bomi tells her.

 

Flushing slightly, Eunji accepts the food and hums. It’s actually a lot better than she expected. She takes a quick sip of her water then tries the fishcake. It’s just hot enough to warm them as the night chill settles in. “Here,” Eunji says, wanting to return the favor. She smiles at Bomi biting off a piece. She even does that cutely. 

 

When some of the broth drips onto Bomi’s face, Eunji unthinkingly uses her thumb to wipe it away then it off her thumb. She doesn’t even realize what she did, until she notices Bomi’s face reddening as she stares at her hand. 

 

“Ah, well, we should eat quickly before the food gets cold,” Eunji blurts out, embarrassed and unsure of what else to say. 

 

Bomi smiles and ducks her head. “Right.”

 

After they eat, the two of them agree on no more rides and walk around the rest of the park, hand-in-hand. They joke around a lot, posing with the random mascot statues around, taking silly pictures. As they’re walking, Bomi slows to a stop by one of the game booths, eyes glued to a giant stuffed gorilla.

 

Immediately, Eunji laughs and teases her, “Look, they’ve got your brother up there.”

 

It had only been a few weeks after class started that Bomi showed Eunji her gorilla impression, and she’d had Eunji rolling on the floor in seconds. It’s now become Bomi’s go-to thing to do when she thinks Eunji needs to be cheered up. 

 

“I’m gonna try and win it!” Bomi says, dragging Eunji over to the booth before she can reply. It’s a balloon popping game, and Eunji has to press her lips together to keep from laughing when Bomi misses every single one. Eunji finally laughs when Bomi turns to her with a look of pure frustration, looking about two seconds from a meltdown. “Help me,” Bomi whines.

 

Shaking her head even as she smiles, Eunji pays for another round and easily pops the necessary five balloons for the gorilla. She thanks the worker and proudly hands it over to Bomi who looks like she can’t decide if she wants to be annoyed or happy.

 

“Why are you so good at that?” Bomi asks as she holds the gorilla in one hand and Eunji’s hand in the other. “You’re scary good. Do you lurk in dive bars and play darts or something?”

 

“Hey, I only do that on every other Thursday,” Eunji replies playfully. When Bomi pouts, Eunji laughs and answers honestly, “I use to do archery in high school. I guess I got pretty good at aiming.” Bomi doesn’t say anything, only stares at Eunji differently with a smile on her lips. Eunji looks away from her stare and clears . “Anyways, we should find a place to sit. The fireworks will be starting soon.”

 

They eventually find an empty patch on one of the hills by the park. The hill is filled with other couples and families, but their spot is not too crowded thankfully. Eunji feels herself blush when Bomi sits close and leans against her as she hugs the stuffed gorilla she won for her to her chest. 

 

Bomi cheers when the first of the fireworks goes off then turns to Eunji with a bright smile. “Thank you for tonight,” Bomi says, voice quiet among the fireworks and chattering people around them. “I’ve liked you since you helped me with our first essay, but I was scared to ask you out. You always seemed so cool? Like you probably had a line of girls waiting for you.”

 

“That long?” Eunji asks in surprise. She wraps her arms around Bomi and pulls her closer until Bomi is all but sitting in her lap. “I don’t know when I started liking you, but I realized I did after that dumb romance novel.” 

 

“That long?” Bomi parrots back at her.

 

Eunji laughs and shyly presses her face into the crook of Bomi’s neck. When she looks back up, she finds Bomi looking at her rather than the fireworks going off around them. her lips, Eunji leans in and kisses Bomi gently. When she tries to pull away, Bomi’s hand is cupping her face and bringing her close again. They kiss once, twice, thrice more. It’s a languid kind of kissing, where Eunji could do it forever. Eventually though, they part when an especially loud firework startles them away from each other.

 

“So, what are you doing next Tuesday at ten?” Eunji asks teasingly.

 

Bomi giggles and kisses Eunji again. It’s a quick kiss before she replies, “Hmm, well I have this class where I sit next to this hot girl. I’m thinking about asking her out on a date for next Friday.”

 

“She must be pretty hot if you think so,” Eunji grins. “How do you think your odds are with her?”

 

“I’d say pretty good,” Bomi murmurs, and then she’s kissing Eunji again. “Scratch that, very good.”

 

Eunji presses a kiss to the corner of Bomi’s lips and says, “Yeah? I think your odds are pretty good too.”

 

Then in their English class the following Tuesday, Eunji greets Bomi with a kiss and hears their classmate say, “Finally! You owe me twenty bucks!”

 

It takes a ten minute lecture from their professor to get Eunji and Bomi to stop laughing, all while holding hands under their desks.