The magic trio was always together during recess. They had that specific name because it seemed magical for the three to come together in that year, and in that specific school. Also, they were kinda like magic, if magic was what you called being quite popular and attractive.

 

"I don't know, that just seems like too much drama to me," Sooyoung trailed while shaking her head. "don't you guys think?"

 

"What do you know about drama, Ha Sooyoung? They could honestly in the bathroom and I wouldn't care." Jinsol had a nonchalant expression on her face. She was just trying to be optimistic about the situation.

 

"What are we even talking about right now? You guys change subjects so fast, I can't keep up." Hyunjin fiddled with her chopsticks, the food in her plate untouched. She would never get used to the disgustingly bland food they served in that bloody school.

 

"You can't even remember how you got here this morning, Hyunjin. Why are you so distracted? Is it because of a certain… girl?" Sooyoung teased Hyunjin openly, moving her eyebrows in a suggestive, annoying way.

 

"We were just talking about that sitch with Teacher Park and Director Kim. They were caught making out in the bathroom - just ing golden." Jinsol did the chef's kiss with her fingers, laughing. "And Sooyoung, leave Hyunjin be. It's not like she's the only one in this table with an unrequited crush." The blonde circled with her hands, mimicking a megaphone. "Jiwooooooo~” she teased, earning a death stare her way.

 

"It's not a crush. I just wanna know why she's alone every recess with only a strawberry Nesquik keeping her company. It's… stupid." Hyunjin took a deep breath, trying to mask her real interest for the girl.

 

"You've ever heard of self-preservation? She seems to be partaking in it, just saying." Jinsol laughed to herself with that weird laughter of hers, but the overall mood on the table didn't change. "Hyunjin, if you really wanna know what's up with the girl, why don't you just go ahead and ask? It's not that hard."

 

Hyunjin preferred to stay quiet, just sighing and continuing to observe the mysterious figure that was Jeon Heejin.

 

[...]

 

 

"Alright guys, your designs today were really awesome. Remember, the school design program is limited, so please send your portfolios ASAP if you want your models showcased on the gallery. You're dismissed."

 

Jeon Heejin stored her materials back on her backpack, sighing heavily. Her inspiration bursts just weren't coming as frequently as she would like, and it was making her legitimately nervous.

 

"Heejin, can we chat for a bit?" The design teacher called on the girl after she was the only student remaining inside the room.

 

Heejin just nodded, walking slowly toward the teacher.

 

"I felt you weren't as focused today as you were in other classes. Is there anything going on?"

 

She just shrugged in resignation, her line of sight falling to the floor. "I don't know, teach."

 

"I know your ideas haven't been as strong - that worries me a lot. You were my biggest expectation for the project; you're a brilliant student. You know that, right?"

 

Heejin just awkwardly nodded, not really having enough energy for that conversation.

 

"I know you can do it. Just… step out of your comfort zone for a bit. I know it's hard and you don't know many people here, but just try and talk to someone your age. I'm sure someone will like you."

 

"Thanks, teacher. I'll try." Heejin adjusted the shoulder strap on her backpack, forcing a half-smile, but really just feeling down.

 

She waddled away slowly, distributing the weight on one foot at a time.

 

"Heejin!" The teacher summoned her again, and when Heejin turned to face her, a box of strawberry milk was placed in her hand. "You forgot this."

 

This time, Heejin had a genuine smile on her face.

 

[...]

 

 

Every time Hyunjin arrived home, the first thing she would do was turn on her notebook and look for Jeon Heejin on twitter, the place where she would usually post her clothing designs.

 

Hyunjin didn't care if her behaviour would come across weird, even disturbing, she didn't care; nothing was going to stop her clicking almost automatically on Heejin's profile. She liked appreciating the girl's designs, even if she hadn't been posting them as often the past few days.

 

Was the girl out of inspiration? Hyunjin didn't like to think that option was correct, even though it was the most probable one. She was getting worried about her, even without knowing her, and that was odd for Hyunjin. Was she starting to like Heejin?

 

No, that was impossible. How would she like Heejin if she had never even said a word to the girl?

 

But the possibility was also growing stronger in her mind the longer she would scroll down Heejin's twitter account. The comments she would make in her head about Heejin's designs (and Heejin herself, sometimes) ranged from saying it was one of her favorites to talking about details only a savvy observer would notice.

 

"Yeah, I'm being weird," Hyunjin muttered to herself, but she couldn't just bring herself to close the tab. "." She bit her lip, furrowing her eyebrows and trying to make sense of whatever the hell she was doing.

 

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by her ringing phone, incessantly playing Woo ah, woo ah, woo ah, yeah…

 

"Hey, Hyunjin."

 

"Sooyoung? Why are you calling me?" Hyunjin allowed herself to chill, at least a little, hearing her friend's voice.

 

"I had an idea that will help us both."

 

"Okay, now you're starting to scare me with that tone."

 

"Come on, don't be an . Okay, so Heejin's in design class, right?"

 

"Yeah. She's one of the best." Hyunjin's gaze returned to the tab open on her notebook.

 

"So, that reminds me that the dance project presentation is happening soon. So, I talked to my choreographer, and she agreed to let you join my performance."

 

"Alright..." Hyunjin sounded confused, to say the least. "But I don't get how that helps me." Hyunjin had a nervous smile on her face, hoping that Sooyoung wasn't secret under some hard ing drugs and just tripping balls right now.

 

"So. We do the presentation… Jiwoo finally notices me because I heard she loves girls who dance… and you become Heejin's new muse, or whatever."

 

"Wow, you thought of everything." Hyunjin remarked, sarcastically.

 

"Right? It's gonna be perf-"

 

"Are you out of your ing mind? How do you even know Heejin is gonna be there?"

 

"Because she always is! I heard she even based some of her designs on last year's presentations. You know you can trust me and my sources."

 

"Do I?" Hyunjin sighed. "Look… fine. I'll do the performance with you. But if you're bullting me, you won't live to see twenty-four, or any of Sunmi's concerts for that matter."

 

"You can't threaten me with Sunmi. She's been protecting me from years of bull."

 

"Shut up. Just because she said gay rights doesn't mean she meant yours."

 

"Love you too, baby..."

 

" you." And Hyunjin hung up, not wanting to hear another second of that voice. ", why the did I agree to do this..." She shook her head, questioning her ability to make good choices.

 

Hyunjin looked back at her notebook, and hoped what she was going to do was worth it, a smile slowly creeping up on her face as she continued to scroll down Heejin's profile.

 

[...]

 

 

Jinsol liked to think that she was free of all the romantic drama that surrounded that school each and every day like Silent Hill fog, but like every other human being, she was a liar. But it was okay, because only one person knew about that lie, and that person, was Kim Jungeun.

 

"No one saw you?" Jinsol muttered, wrapping her arms around the girl and losing herself to her eyes.

 

"No one. Jinsol..." Jungeun smiled at her, slowly brushing away strands of blonde so she could see her face properly, so she could stare at how beautiful Jinsol was.

 

Jinsol could only smile back before kissing Jungeun, who was closing the stall door with the hand that wasn't deeply intertwined in her hair. Jungeun tried not to moan when her lower lip was bitten and she was pushed to Jinsol's lap like the good girl she was.

 

"You're so beautiful," Jinsol breathed against the skin on Jungeun's neck, spreading kisses all over it, the spot she knew would drive Jungeun crazy, as her own stomach was filled with butterflies.

 

"You're… so c-cheesy..." Jungeun spoke in a tone that was more air than voice, pulling the girl back to her lips and taking dominance of the kiss.

 

The door to the girl's bathroom was opened and Haseul, Kahei and Yerim walked in, cheerily talking amongst themselves.

 

"Jiwoo just won't shut up about Sooyoung. Like, half an hour of the reunion is just Sooyoung this, Sooyoung that… you would think she would realise, right?" Haseul laughed.

 

"Useless lesbian hour is every hour for her… I just know she's not going to take the first step. I just ing know." Kahei rolled her eyes, tying her hair up in a bun.

 

"You wanna bet?" Haseul had a spiffy smile on her lips and a glimmer in her eyes. "Twenty bucks, Jiwoo takes the first step. If I win, you take me on a date to The Red Lobster."

 

"You guys are already dating..." Yerim trailed, a nervous smile on her face

 

"Deal. Sooyoung takes the first step. If I win, you take me on a date on the beach."

 

"I thought the penalty was just paying twenty bucks…?" Yerim was just getting more confused by the second.

 

"Deal." Haseul took Kahei's hand and shook it.

 

While that was taking place, Jinsol and Jungeun were trying to calm their breaths so they wouldn't get caught red handed by the cheerleaders. Jinsol now knew that Sooyoung did have a chance and wasn't just grasping at straws, which was great and she was happy for her, but Jinsol definitely was not ready to face questioning about her relationship with Jungeun, worse coming from that trio, and even worse because it wasn't a relationship just yet.

 

"Guys, did you hear that?" Yerim turned her head, facing the stalls instead of the mirror.

 

The hearts of the two extremely quiet girls started racing like crazy on the same rhythm, with the only thing going through Jinsol's head being Patrick going WEE WOO WEE WOO and an ambulance on the background, for some reason.

 

"It's the sound of me getting the out because y'all are weird!" Yerim ran out the bathroom and Haseul and Kahei quickly followed, looking really confused.

 

Jinsol waited until she could no longer hear steps, and breathed a sigh of relief, finally resting her lungs which were exhausted.

 

", that was a close call."

 

Jungeun laughed at her expression, wiping sweat from Jinsol's eyebrow. "That really got you good, huh?"

 

Jinsol looked back at her, falling all over again for that sweet smile. , Jungeun was just so beautiful. She took her chin between her fingers and kissed her again, this time slower, not wanting to rush that moment in the slightest.

 

They backed away from each other's lips slowly, but in every other way, were still connected. Their gazes crossed and they exchanged a single thought.

 

We're good, for now.

 

For now.

 

[...]

 

 

The room echoed the sound of one of Heejin's favorite bands (The , of course, they just have a really cool aesthetic and awesome sound…) while she spun the pencil between her fingers, trying to think of how she would get this thing going. But her head simply couldn't enough creativity to get a design started on paper, no matter how loud Reptilia was playing, no matter how much she needed this to work out.

 

The teacher's words kept crossing her head. Step out of your comfort zone for a bit. But just the thought of doing that got her shivering in fear, shrinking into a pod. The anxiety she felt along with the perspective of just talking to someone grew and grew, and when she realised what she was doing, the pencil was already broken between her fingers.

 

Heejin sighed, frustrated to no end, and threw away the pieces of what used to be a really good pencil. She ducked down toward her minibar and grabbed a box of strawberry Nesquik, hurrying to stab the box with the straw and drink.

 

"My only hopes are the dance performances. My only hope..." she muttered to herself, thinking of the soon approaching day where the Musical Arts Committee reunited with the dance team to have a collection of performances. Some of her best clothing designs came from inspirations from the choreographies. Heejin just thought the art of moving with your body was fascinating, and the visual aspect was a big part of it.

 

Usually her inspiration stemmed from odd places. Statement pieces in her designs surged from random objects that caught her attention, or the weather would influence whether the piece was long or short. Heejin wondered what would happen if she ever stepped out a little bit over the picket line; what would become of her designs.

 

She just felt comfortable, and her designs here usually did just fine. She didn't have a true reason to walk over that scary threshold. Insecurity and terror wouldn't really have a chance to rule over her.

 

But now, she had nothing else to turn to. The picket line had turned limiting; suffocating. She hated it, but there was nowhere to hide now, nowhere that felt comforting and creativity inducing at the same time.

 

Heejin finished the strawberry Nesquik, and turned to her computer, opening up twitter.

 

jeonheejin: hey moots, can yall give me tips on socializing with locals? i really at it lol

 

capromsae: @jeonheejin just approach them and ask for their stan list

 

"That sounds… counterintuitive..." Heejin shook her head.

 

ryujinss: @jeonheejin oh god heejin please be careful, they might be straight

 

"Uh… she has a point..."

 

aeongie: @jeonheejin idk you might just get lucky and they say hi to you first

 

"That sounds really unlikely. How..."

 

jeonheejin: @aeongie how do you know? you seem so sure lol

 

She waited for a reply with baited breath.

 

aeongie: @jeonheejin lol i just think anything might happen. you never know hah

 

"Really…?" Heejin still couldn't be sure, no matter how much the stranger's words made sense. It didn't matter anyway, as Heejin would have to just wait and see.

 

She pressed her lips together in what seemed to her like a straight line full of uncertainty, and closed her notebook, thinking about the future.

 

[...]

 

 

Hyunjin didn't expect to just go ahead and reply to Heejin on twitter, not in a million years. But something inside her just clicked in that moment, and something told her that just one reply wouldn't hurt; on the contrary, it might even do good. It also was just cute how Heejin translated on social media - edging on an adorable show of ingenuity. It was just… lovely.

 

Just the idea of that interaction left Hyunjin on her tiptoes, and she knew this wasn't a ballet routine she used to learn as a kid, or a soccer match where the tips of her toes ached in anticipation. The nerves were so extreme that she wasn't able to fall asleep and when she finally managed to close her eyes, it was so early that there was no more space for a wink of sleep.

 

She headed to school in a zombie state, but her intuition helped with something at least, as Hyunjin didn't forget to pick up a box of strawberry Nesquik from the store.

 

"Look at her. What the happened? Did you guys practice too hard for the performance?" Jinsol asked, staring at the girl whose eyes were closing every two seconds, performing every action in a state of semi conscience.

 

"I don't know, dude." Sooyoung shrugged, joining Jinsol in wondering what happened to Hyunjin. "We didn't really practice that hard. The performance is this weekend. I'm a little worried, to be honest. She looks trashed."

 

And Sooyoung was right, Hyunjin was trashed.

 

"Hey, I'm still right here, with working ears..." Hyunjin looked up from the table with half-lidded eyes, wanting to punch them for mocking her this obviously.

 

"The point stands, raccoon. Get it, because they're trash animals?" Jinsol had a wide smile while explaining the joke.

 

"You're the most disappointing person I have ever been friends with." Hyunjin muttered, lowering her hoodie to cover her whole face.

 

"Hyunjin, come on. What's going on?" Sooyoung asked, and it was honestly the first time she was this worried about the girl.

 

"I just lost a full night of sleep, that's all. Geez, don't get your buns up in a hunch..."

 

That got a full laugh out of Jinsol.

 

"Can you two just do me a favor? Put this in Heejin's bag." Hyunjin fished the strawberry Nesquik from her pocket. It had a Post-It attached to it:

 

this is me saying hi btw

- aeongie

 

"How much are you paying me?" Sooyoung had an outraged expression on her face. The audacity of this …

 

"I'm paying you zilch. Just do what I asked, please."

 

Sooyoung and Jinsol exchanged looks.

 

She's not gonna ask twice.

 

I noticed.

 

Let's just go…

 

Sooyoung sighed. Fine.

 

"Fine."

 

Jinsol grabbed the box and read the note, smiling at what it said. It just was so… cheesy. She didn't think her daughter, er, Hyunjin had the ability to do that.

 

The two started walking toward the Art Department Block, knowing that was where the design rooms were housed.

 

"Aww, she wants to stay anonymous."

 

"I don't blame her. It's easier to flirt when they don't know your face." Sooyoung had a sullen expression, almost regretful of something.

 

"Is that you referencing your situation with Jiwoo?" When Sooyoung didn't respond, Jinsol bumped her with her shoulder, trying to coax an answer out of her. "Come on, talk to me buddy."

 

Sooyoung seemed hesitant, but then she sighed, and relented the regret in her expression. "I don't know what else to do. Nothing I say seems to change her attitude toward me. What if she really just wants to stay friends? What if whatever I do just comes off wrong and too… forward?"

 

"Whatever you do, Sooyoung..." Jinsol trailed with a smug smile on her face. "someone's getting twenty dollars and a date."

 

Sooyoung furrowed her eyebrows. "What the does that mean?"

 

"Nothing..." Jinsol mimicked zipping shut as they found the design room.

 

Looking inside, they found it empty of students, but all the bags were there. Luckily for them, the seats always had names, and it didn't take long for Jinsol to find Jeon Heejin while Sooyoung kept watch outside the room, just in case.

 

It was also pure luck that she did, because while Jinsol was placing the box inside Heejin's bag, the design teacher arrived.

 

"Hey… teach!" Sooyoung tried not to panic as she maintained eye contact with the teacher, desperately begging telepathically for Jinsol to hurry the up.

 

"Ha Sooyoung! I heard you're performing this weekend?" The teacher seemed to be oblivious to the ruse happening right then and there.

 

"Oh, yeah! It's going to be really… exciting, and… energetic..." Sooyoung shook her hands while speaking, trying not to look behind the teacher too much in case she would notice.

 

"Hahah, I hope you're a better dancer than a speaker!" The teacher tried to turn, but the girl grabbed her and turned her back to the first position.

 

"Wait, teacher! Have you… have you ever heard of Sunmi?"

 

Sooyoung finally noticed Jinsol leaving the room, the blonde raising a thumbs-up to warn her she was done.

 

"Oh, of course. Her songs are quite catchy. I would talk to you more about it but I have some projects to review, so if you would excuse me..."

 

The girl had an awkward smile on her face as the teacher left her, and even if their mission was complete with no major setbacks, Sooyoung regretted not being able to converse about the holy word of Sunmi with the design teacher.

 

"Maybe another day..."

 

[...]

 

 

Jeon Heejin still hadn't decided whether or not she would even try to communicate with any human being inside that institution, even while she wandered through the halls with her sketch notebook and pencil. She was still blaming herself for having forgotten her favorite beverage; Heejin really wasn't in an ideal state of mind that came along the roadblock in her creativity.

 

She really felt small in that moment. Her hands were sweaty and she kept dropping the notebook on the floor; the heat on her whole body was deeply irritating her. She decided to head to the cafeteria to grab something to drink - unfortunately, the school didn't sell strawberry Nesquik, which was disappointing. Really, do better.

 

The cafeteria wasn't as packed as it usually was during lunch, since most of the students were doing their extracurriculars during these periods. There was a tiny amount of students spread out by the tables, sprawled over notes and computers.

 

Heejin paid for a box of grape juice and sat at one of the tables, resting her arms and taking away messy strands of hair from her face. She started observing the scenario, the calm and clarity of the environment which was so different from the tense and focused mood of most classes.

 

It wasn't for nothing that she was scanning the cafeteria, but one girl in particular - apparently sleeping soundly in one of the tables, caught her attention.

 

Heejin could only see one of her closed eyes because of the girl's position and the dark hair pooling on her face, but it was still easy to see that she was quite pretty. The dark color went well with her facial structure. Her rosy lips and cute, perky nose looked peaceful as she slept. And when Heejin really woke up from the trance to realise what she was doing, she had already drawn the girl, with as much detail as her ability would allow her.

 

She smoothed her fingers over the drawing's traces, returning her gaze to the girl as she did. Just seeing that one girl made her inspiration come back? Heejin just could not be sure, since it was one drawing of a random girl and not a design, like she wanted. But it was still something.

 

Heejin signed the drawing and rushed out of the cafeteria, not bothering to finish the grape juice. There were more important things to be done, like going back to her classroom, grabbing her stuff, and heading home as quick as possible.

 

When she arrived at the classroom, breathing heavily because of the run, she noticed her backpack was not fully closed. Someone had messed with it.

 

"Oh, no," Heejin muttered, nervous. "please nothing be missing, please nothing..." she opened her backpack wide, searching with her hands to see if everything was there. Everything seemed to be in order. But there was also something extra.

 

She grabbed the strawberry Nesquik, feeling really confused. Heejin was sure she had forgotten to bring one to school. Was she just… mistaken? But when she looked at the back of the box, it really clicked.

 

This wasn't hers.

 

She ripped the Post-It out, and read it.

 

"This is me saying hi by the way..." she read out loud.

 

aeongie.

 

Heejin furrowed her eyebrows. She had seen that name before, somewhere.

 

Twitter.

 

She put everything back in her backpack in a hurry, and rushed home.

 

[...]

 

 

Hyunjin didn't know in what dimension she was currently in when she woke up in school, raising her heavy brain to see Jinsol and Sooyoung staring at her deeply.

 

"What time it is?" It was the first thing she asked while she scratched her tired eyes awake.

 

"Late. Everyone else is gone, we just waited for you because we're good friends." Jinsol smiled, and Sooyoung nodded her head.

 

"We even got your bag."

 

"Let's go then. And… uh, did you guys do what I asked?" Hyunjin was quick on the gun; she wasn't going to forget about it that easy, not even after what seemed like a ten-hour nap.

 

"Who do you take us for?" Sooyoung muttered, clearly distressed. "Of course we did."

 

"Jinsol?"

 

"Yeah. It was E Z. Chill out, Hyunjin, everything's gonna work out fine."

 

Hyunjin got up from the table, still feeling the side-effects of the nap. The magic trio finally left the hellscape that was that school, and even though all of them really wanted to arrive home, Hyunjin was the one who wanted it the most.

 

The girl was so anxious about it that when she opened the door to her bedroom, she ended up throwing her bag under the bed accidentally; jumping to her notebook, and turning it on as fast as she could.

 

The same tab was there, opened. The timeline was having a collective heart attack over some comeback teasers, but all Hyunjin wanted to know was why were her notifications suddenly popping?

 

She clicked the bell, hoping for spam or random retweets or whatever else could rattle the notifications, but what she saw really spun her world upside down.

 

jeonheejin: @aeongie who are you?

 

"Oh, . Oh, . Oh ." Was all she could mutter while she tried to make her hands stop shaking. "Do I answer…?"

 

hasoomi: @jeonheejin @aeongie u should pay attention to the last performance if u really wanna know. see u there.

 

"ing Sooyoung! I swear to god..." Hyunjin felt she was at the edge of a heart attack.

 

Hyunjin let herself fall to the floor, reaching for the phone in her pocket and calling Jinsol.

 

"Hey, hi, hello, what's up dog? Or cat?" Jinsol, of course, answered the phone like a weirdo.

 

"Jinsol." Hyunjin felt like the floor was crumbling under her feet, and she just couldn't reason it.

 

"What? Is everything okay?"

 

"No, I don't think everything's okay." She could feel her fingers tapping the laminate flooring, trying to calm down.

 

"Tell me! Please, tell me what I can do- hey, give that back!"

 

Hyunjin could hear through the phone that there was a mild struggle going on.

 

"Jinsol… what's- what's that? Where are you?"

 

"Oh, what? Nothing, that was nothing." That was obviously a lie.

 

"Jinsol."

 

"It's me!" That wasn't Jinsol's voice. "My name's Jungeun. Are you Hyunjin? Or Sooyoung?"

 

"The former. Can you put Jinsol back on the phone, please?" Hyunjin rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming.

 

"Alright. I will."

 

Hyunjin heard another little quarrel before Jinsol got back to the line.

 

"So what's that about?"

 

"I'll explain it later. So, what's up?"

 

"Uh, I just wanted to ask you if you can beat up Sooyoung for me. I would myself but I'm way too exhausted."

 

"What do you say, Jungeun? Up for a bangarang?"

 

"Oh, yeah, sure."

 

"So you didn't go home? Jinsol, you're too old to sneak out."

 

"Oof." Hyunjin heard Jungeun say, and she held the urge to laugh.

 

So Jinsol's counterpart was the funny one. That made sense.

 

"Look, don't go telling, okay? I wanna do that myself."

 

"Alright. But only because you're my friend and I like you."

 

"Aww. That's the sweetest thing she has ever said to me." Jinsol sounded touched.

 

"Okay. Thanks for picking up, Jinsol. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

 

"See ya, Hyunjin."

 

Hyunjin put the phone down, and sighed. Her hands weren't shaking anymore. Her breathing was stable. She didn't feel like she belonged in a Grey's Anatomy episode.

 

She closed her eyes, and crossed her fingers, hoping the day after wouldn't be too chaotic.

 

[...]

 

 

The dance performances would happen in an hour and Heejin couldn't be more nervous. Alright, fair point; she wouldn't be one of the people up on the stage dancing for art and applause, but she still had a fair amount of nerves compared to them, knowing the interactions on twitter yesterday.

 

Heejin was sure she wouldn't like to be in aeongie's spot. But she definitely wanted to meet her. Knowing now that she was the one replying to her on twitter, and also the one who gave her a strawberry Nesquik which she loved so much… she seemed like such an interesting, unreachable person. But then again, Heejin was so ing awkward with others, and there was nothing else to do but try to talk to her and fail miserably.

 

"." Heejin muttered under her breath. At least, there was something else occupying her mind, sharing space with the worries and anxiety. She closed her eyes and remembered the girl sleeping in the cafeteria. She was so cute… just, unaware of everything else happening around her; Heejin wished she could feel that.

 

She waited and waited, sitting in the third row of the theater, her notebook and pencil safely cradled on her lap, and fingers nervously tapping the side of her thighs, waiting and waiting and waiting more with that deep set nervousness in her stomach.

 

While she waited, on the other side of the stage were Hyunjin and Sooyoung, just right behind the curtains. Yes, Sooyoung was chewed up for her antics on twitter the other day - she deserved that fully. But after that talk, they rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed some more with the time they had left.

 

"." Hyunjin muttered under her breath. She usually was able to keep her calm in situations like this, but not right now, apparently.

 

"We're gonna pull it off, Hyunjin. You nailed the moves when we were practicing. Just bring your mind back to that. Take a deep breath." Sooyoung tapped her on the shoulder, one, two, three times. Hyunjin closed her eyes and remembered the steps, one by one. The tips of her fingers were shaking again. She tried to slow her breathing down; it was erratic, just like her heart.

 

"I can do this. We can do this." She opened her eyes and nodded to the staff, who were just waiting for a sign to start the performance.

 

Hyunjin and Sooyoung walked into the stage. The music started playing, slow at first, then picking up pace with every beat. Heejin felt shivers down her spine as they started dancing, mimicking each other's moves with a few key differences.

 

Heejin soon recognized one of them. It was the girl from the cafeteria, awake and aware this time. She hit the moves sharply, her facial expressions so cohesive with the theme of the song, it surprised Heejin. But she couldn't look away as they continued moving, interacting with each other on the stage in a haunting way; seemingly hurting and holding each other all the same.

 

When the performance ended and the red lights shining down the stage went out, Heejin finally remembered how to breathe. Her chest was so constricted it hurt, and she felt like she was the one just performing up on that stage, with how tired she felt.

 

The two girls were now side by side on the stage, receiving the applause, and all Heejin could do was observe them, in particular the one she already knew from before. Her hand worked involuntarily, opening the notebook and starting to draw them, sketching their dark outfits with zero trouble as they stood breathless under the studio lights.

 

For some reason, the other girl kept pointing at her, and then at her partner in dance, who just looked like she wanted to disappear from Earth. It started clicking in her head.

 

They were the ones from twitter.

 

The sleeping girl from the table was aeongie.

 

It seemed too strong to be a coincidence.

 

The duo disappeared behind the curtains before Heejin could discourse further about their identities. Heejin looked down at her sketch after the crowds had dispersed, thinking about how cohesive it became with the theme of the performance she had just watched. She lowered her head into the page and closed her eyes, wanting to somehow express all existing emotions at once, but holding it in.

 

A tap in her shoulder made her look back up, and there was one of the girls from the performance.

 

"Hey. You're Heejin, right? I'm Sooyoung." The girl had a bright smile although her make up was already messy from the performance. "I'm the one who mentioned the performance on twitter."

 

"Yeah… I remember." Heejin nodded her head, taking the girl's hand and shaking it.

 

"Hyunjin is backstage, if you wanna go talk to her. I think she wants to talk to you too." Sooyoung pointed to the backstage entrance, which made Heejin a little nervous. After all, things were starting to click into place.

 

"I'll see you later." Sooyoung tapped her in the shoulder one last time, and headed out.

 

Heejin closed her eyes for a moment, trying to psych herself into believing this wasn't going to be hard at all, breathing in and out to anticipate just how nervous she would become when seeing the girl. She started walking toward the backstage entrance, heading inside and marveling at all the technical equipment in every corner. She had never been behind the scenes, after all; always in front of them.

 

Hyunjin spotted her first. "Hey. Uh, did Sooyoung introduce us?"

 

Heejin had a nervous smile on her face. "Yeah. She did."

 

"Sorry for being cryptic on twitter. I didn't… know how else to do it." Hyunjin seemed embarrassed, which was relatable to say the least.

 

"How did- how did you know I like strawberry Nesquik?" The question just came out of Heejin's mouth before she could think about it. And she was, indeed, curious about it.

 

Hyunjin looked down, not knowing how to respond to that without seeming creepy about it.

 

I might as well just tell the truth. I'm doomed either way.

 

"Uh… I always see you carrying one of those, so… I thought you would like it. I- I didn't mean to be weird, I-"

 

Heejin rushed to, well, to shut her up. "Hey, it's fine. I know I'm weird and quiet, and whatever."

 

The girl shook her head, a small smile adorning her face. It was cute.

 

"No, not at all. You're fine, Heejin."

 

"And you're cute."

 

Their faces were both red.

 

Hyunjin cleared , looking around for something to distract her enough from Heejin's decidedly fearless gaze. "So… did you like the performance?"

 

"I thought it was awesome. You're a really good dancer, too."

 

"Thanks." Hyunjin tried to search in her head for other topics to bring up, but it was like the inside of her mind was one of those Wild West scenarios with absolutely nothing but dust and desert. "Oh, uh… hey, how about you give me your phone number? I could call you, or send you a message."

 

Heejin lit up like a pine tree on Christmas. She was so, so glad that she wasn't the one to have to ask, because it would have been a disaster, to say the least.

 

"Sure!"

 

The girl handed her phone to Heejin, who typed in her digits, feeling a little shy under the circumstances. She handed the phone back to Hyunjin, whose reaction was to mutter nice under her breath, not aware that Heejin had heard it.

 

"So, uh, I'll… see you around?" Heejin asked tentatively, hoping their next interaction wouldn't take a blue moon to happen.

 

"Yeah!" Hyunjin smiled, her eyes lighting up in adorable half-moons that heavily contrasted her overall look, and the only thought crossing Heejin's mind was wow, the duality. "Wait! Let's take a pic. To remember this day."

 

Heejin's quick reaction was to nod, trying to do a quick peace sign as the girl raised her phone and took a picture. It came out nicer than Heejin expected, too, but that was just because Hyunjin looked really attractive in her outfit and Heejin didn't have to force a smile like she usually did.

 

And later, when Hyunjin asked if she could post the picture on twitter, Heejin didn't quite understand why she was so quick to say yes, but she thought it had something to do with the way the girl made her laugh by captioning it with I met the legend today guys, she's as pretty as she is nice.

 

Just as quickly, Heejin started to wonder whether she could deny the crush she was developing for Hyunjin or if it was too late for that.

 

[...]

 

 

Ha Sooyoung's usually stone cold heart was beating heavily inside her chest while she walked toward the exit to the theater, looking for a certain someone. She hoped the glitter dust in her face wouldn't start bothering her sight; it was really important for Sooyoung to be able to see properly because Jiwoo was kind of a visual experience once you looked at her.

 

She finally spotted the girl, walking over as she talked to one of the cheerleaders excitedly about something. Well, Jiwoo was the president of every single club in that school, so it made sense that she would mingle with every single living human being inside that school.

 

Admittedly, it made Sooyoung a little jealous. Just a tiny bit, nothing major to worry about; but enough to set Ha Sooyoung into unease at the prospect of losing Jiwoo to someone else.

 

She hoped the messy hair wasn't going to condemn her too much as Haseul finally noticed her approaching and mentioned it to Jiwoo. It caused the girl to look back and explode into a beaming smile that could outshine the sun. And you know the sun is pretty bright. Sooyoung hid her hands behind her back when she noticed they started shaking, but dismissed them as just post-performance nerves.

 

"Hey." Sooyoung said simply.

 

"What's up Sooyoung, great performance. Who's your choreographer?" Haseul inquired, the sharpness in her eyes trying to decipher Sooyoung at all costs. 

 

"It's a secret." She smiled, hoping the short-haired girl wouldn't see the cunningness behind it.

 

"Oh, well. There was an attempt. I'll just go ask Hyunjin, then." Haseul stepped away with a smile of her own, crossing her fingers that Jiwoo would respond to her heavy suggestion of do something bold for a change. After all, she wanted those twenty bucks, and most importantly, the date.

 

"Good luck with that." Sooyoung laughed, knowing the only two people who knew that information were herself and the choreographer.

 

"The performance was great, Sooyoungie! It was really captivating." Jiwoo finally remarked, with the same beaming smile on her face. "What was the inspiration for it?"

 

"Hm..."

 

Well, maybe it's the conflict of me loving you and being happy with it despite not knowing whether you feel the same, or maybe it's the fear of what might happen when school is over, because as much as I hope we stay near each other, what is more likely is that we'll just grow apart as the years go by and nothing I do will change that, because you'll be away in a city like New York and I'll be broke and alone and probably unhappy too.

 

Suddenly, Sooyoung wasn't nervous any more.

 

"I don't know for sure. It just came to me while I was listening to the song."

 

"Well, believe me when I say I clapped the hardest!"

 

"I believe you." Sooyoung took her time to brush away an almost invisible strand of hair from Jiwoo's face, looking deep into her eyes as she did. For the two, in that moment, there was nothing else. Their hearts were racing but they would not do anything about it; they were laser-focused on each other, and hey, hearts are supposed to do that.

 

"Do you-"

 

"Can I-"

 

They muttered at the same time, leaned in from laughter at the same time, and ended up hitting their heads together. It was comical, really, except for the pain, which was annoying.

 

"OH MY GOD! Ugh..." Haseul protested to herself in the background, earning looks of curiosity from others, but she didn't care. "So ing close..." she sighed. Sorry, Haseul. I know you must be disappointed.

 

She was.

 

"You can go first, it's alright." Sooyoung nodded, urging Jiwoo to say what she was going to say.

 

"It's, uh, I wanted to- I wanted to ask you if want to come watch this movie with me..."

 

"Oh!" Sooyoung lit up.

 

Wait. Does that mean…

 

"It's not a date or anything..." Jiwoo scratched the back of her neck, looking down.

 

No. No, I can't take that.

 

"But I want it to be." Sooyoung responded, a bit more serious than she intended to. Right there and then, it seemed like the only proper way to get her message across.

 

She tried reading the girl's expressions, seeing what her reaction would be. To her credit, Sooyoung didn't think it would work as well as it did.

 

Jiwoo's entire face brightened to the point where you couldn't see her eyes anymore. She leaned forward and hugged Sooyoung as hard as she could, and Sooyoung hugged back just as quick.

 

"Send me a message with the details, okay?" She muttered, oddly close to Jiwoo's ear, and the girl's face heated up immediately.

 

Sooyoung backed away from the hug, giving Jiwoo a last poke on the cheek before walking away until she was out of sight.

 

She hoped it wouldn't be too weird to watch as she jumped up and down with her eyes closed, taking deep breaths and trying hard to not dismiss what had just happened as a dream. Because, well, she couldn't believe what had happened was real.

 

Sooyoung finally started questioning whether hearts were supposed to keep doing that for so long.

 

[...]

 

 

Hyunjin wasn't the type of person to lose her perception of time while thinking about something, or, well, someone. But, apparently, there was always an exception to the rule, sooner or later, to change whatever she thought of herself.

 

And who else to be that exception than Jeon Heejin? It's not like Hyunjin had stopped thinking about her in any given moment. That feeling, like fire, was just getting stronger instead of whittling out.

 

Hyunjin was, once again, spread out on the floor; her favorite thing to do when she needed to think. It reminded her of her childhood, when she would splay herself on the green grass after playing for way too long and feel the blades poking her. It was strangely calming, except for the ants; those weren't calming at all.

 

The light of her phone shone down on her face when she unlocked it and opened the contact list. She just couldn't stop thinking about Heejin, no matter how much she tried. For a couple of seconds her finger hovered over the green call button. Why was she so hesitant? It was just a phone call. They weren't getting married or anything.

 

Hyunjin clicked the button, and placed the phone on her ear, trying to control her breaths. After all, she wouldn't want Heejin hearing her sound like an asthmatic maniac on the line.

 

"Uh, hello?"

 

"Heejin? It's Hyunjin."

 

"Oh, Hyunjin! I wanted to call you first, but then I remembered I didn't have your number."

 

"Ah! Sorry, I should have given you my number too - guess I just forgot."

 

"Yeah… well, my teacher said I should step out of my comfort zone, so… this is fine."

 

Hyunjin couldn't help but smile hearing Heejin's voice. It seemed like yesterday where she would just obsess over her twitter account and now they were practically friends.

 

"Well, I guess it's a teacher's job to encourage us like that."

 

Heejin laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. But this is not as hard as I imagined it would be. It's… pretty chill, actually."

 

"So I'm not so bad, huh?" Hyunjin played around, feeling a little more comfortable to tease Heejin. She didn't know where that sudden courage was coming from, but she wasn't about to let it go to waste.

 

"Hah, that's what I wanna find out. So far, the impressions are good."

 

Hyunjin smiled, raising a fist in the air and thinking success!

 

"So, what are you up to right now?" She asked, curious about whether or not Heejin's inspiration had returned.

 

"Well, it's funny… I was trying out some ideas for a design, and I think I finally have something going. I'm not sure about it yet, but it might be my saving grace."

 

"I hope it works out alright for you, Heejin. I'm cheering you on, whatever happens."

 

"Thanks, Hyunjin. That means a lot. You know, the performance you guys did actually helped a lot, too."

 

"I hope I didn't scare you too much with my facial expressions."

 

"Hm… I don't know if scared is the right word?"

 

Hyunjin sat up now, resting her back against the side of her bed. "What then? Suspicious? Curious?"

 

"I… I-I don't know if I should say it..."

 

"It's okay, Heejin. Nothing you say will change my mind about you."

 

Well, depending on how you say it, she thought, but didn't verbalize.

 

"I kinda felt… hypnotized. You kinda- kinda put me on a trance. Like I was stuck in time."

 

Hyunjin stayed quiet on the line for what seemed like a minute. The image she was picturing was nothing short of dreamy as she brought herself back to the stage.

 

Except she was the only one up on the stage. She was dancing that mystifying choreography alone, and the only person there being able to see it was Heejin; with galaxies in her eyes, locked on Hyunjin and nothing else.

 

She was having difficulty breathing, but this feeling of out-of-breathness was euphoric instead of suffocating. The emptiness in her lungs was almost getting her high. It was a feeling she couldn't describe accurately with words.

 

"Hyunjin? Are you okay?"

 

"O-oh, yeah- yeah… I'm fine. Sorry, Heejin, I gotta- gotta go, I just heard my mom call me to dinner."

 

She was still breathless as she put the phone down.

 

[...]

 

 

After hearing her phone beep with the sound of an ended call, Heejin put the phone away. She brushed her hands through her hair, sighing deeply.

 

"I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have..." Heejin muttered under her breath, kicking back to her pens and sketches. Some were practically finished and just needed a few adjustments. Others were halfway there and she was pretty sure she was going to be able to finish them within the next day or so.

 

Maybe Hyunjin is gonna like this one.

 

She was looking at the sketch like it was already finished. Well, in her head, it was finished; a velvet long sleeve dress with shiny stones adorning it across the chest and waist, highlighting the fabric from top to bottom. If anyone would look good wearing it, it would be Hyunjin.

 

Heejin unlocked her phone and opened the picture she had saved, the one they had taken together. She wondered if Hyunjin got as much please date and have babies as she did. Heejin also wondered if it was as embarrassing for Hyunjin as it was for her. Well, she guessed it was their fault stan twitter wouldn't leave them alone.

 

She checked the hour on her watch. It was almost eight, and a violent gust of wind was breaking inside her room. She reached the window and closed it, but not before letting some of the cold wind hit her warm face. Heejin remembered something else, and sat back down on her desk, opening the sketch notebook atop and browsing through until she had found what she wanted.

 

It was on one of the last pages; the drawing of an asleep Hyunjin. Her fingers traced the main lines, remaking the paths her hands had drawn before, smoothing down her fingers over the sleeping portrait of her, making Heejin relive the moment in her mind.

 

It reminded her of the dream. The one where the vision of Hyunjin's closed eyes wasn't that far away. Actually, it was right in front of her, as real as her own life. Heejin was sitting right in front of her instead of a few tables back, her hand not hesitant to brush through her hair even if in real life, she wouldn't have considered the action in a million years.

 

Her subconscious got frightened when Hyunjin's eyelids opened slowly, but the dream kept happening. Her eyebrows and eyes scrunched in an attempt to shake off sleep, a low grunt escaping her lips.

 

The Heejin in dream let out a small laugh, smiling. She traced Hyunjin's eyebrows, getting another grunt and a hand in her wrist, which pulled it to use as a pillow. The girl got comfortable, closing her eyes again, the corners of going up slightly in a smile, but nothing Heejin wouldn't notice.

 

She shook the memory out of her brain to make it disappear. People would usually say we forget dreams quite quickly, but Heejin was under the impression that this one would be an exception, because it did not matter how much she tried to fade it out of her head; it would not go away.

 

Heejin still didn't know what it meant, if it actually meant anything. What she indeed knew, was that it was difficult to keep everything she was feeling wrapped up and secret.

 

[...]

 

 

Jungeun, although she was new and weirded out by school, fortunately didn't take long to adapt. Maybe it was because a lot of people there thought she was attractive; but she didn't care if they would have taken her as their own or not. The one person she really cared about in that school when it came to opinions of her was already pretty familiar from the get go.

 

She remembered the moment when she had met Jinsol. Jungeun had just arrived at the school, not knowing exactly what she had to do, trying to find the administration so she could locate herself inside that scary, large building.

 

Jungeun ran into her accidentally, shooting excuses like she knew no other words but I'm so sorry, and immediately got starstruck by the blonde's smile, who didn't look like she cared to be bumped into.

 

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry..." Jungeun begged, getting back her things which had been scattered on the floor because of the collision.

 

"It's okay, it's okay!" The girl laughed while she helped, and it didn't take long to realise that the blonde was a senior at the school. "Are you alright?"

 

"Ah, yeah… sorry again." Jungeun refused to look her in the eyes for more than three seconds, embarrassed to no end.

 

"Like I said, it's okay. No need to apologize. Do you need any help? You're new here, right? I don't remember seeing you."

 

"Ah, yeah… I'm fine- really." Jungeun felt overwhelmed with the girl's questions. This was only her first day, after all.

 

"Come on. Let me help you. I'm not gonna let a pretty girl like you go around the halls alone. What if you just barrel into someone who's not nice? That wouldn't be good. Come, take my hand."

 

It didn't take long for Jungeun to be convinced by that smile; the casual, flirty nature of the blonde won her over way too quickly. She took her hand and let the blonde guide her through the school - it was a pretty good thing, now knowing most of the school by memory.

 

Since that day, they started developing an odd relationship. Where physical touch was king, but actual relationship labeling and discussion were not. Jungeun did want an actual, public relationship, but she was too afraid to say it for the fear it would ruin what they had now. And what they had now was good; it was easy (apart from the constant fright Jinsol would just get tired of her, because Jungeun didn't think she was special).

 

Fortunately, Jungeun had been saving her courage for months now, waiting for an opportunity to change things. And the opportunity presented itself an odd way - Jinsol's birthday party.

 

Jungeun wasn't going to let that opportunity go to waste.

 

Suffice to say, she was silently looking forward to it.

 

[...]

 

 

The magic trio was, once again, reunited.

 

"Are you guys excited for the party?" Jinsol asked, b with energy herself.

 

"I'm going to be fashionably late, so don't be mad." Sooyoung had an anxious vibe to her, which was a first, but of course there was a reason.

 

"Oh, yeah, your date with Jiwoo! Don't come to my party unless you're holding hands." The blonde lectured, which earned an eye-roll.

 

Hyunjin, meanwhile, was quiet and thoughtful, a reoccurring mood for her. "A party… I don't know if I'm up for it, honestly." 

 

I would prefer to lie in bed, wrapped in blankets, and watch Good Omens.

 

Jinsol stared at her, confused. "What? But you were super excited when I told you about it? Come on, Hyunjin! I was counting on you to be there!"

 

"Why don't you invite Heejin?"

 

It was such a simple question coming from Sooyoung, Hyunjin got surprised she didn't think about it first.

 

"Is that a good idea?" She wondered out loud.

 

"I don't know, you tell me. You're the one who's been talking to the girl for a week now."

 

"Oh yeah! How is it going with Heejin?" Jinsol brightened back up, smiling at Hyunjin and waiting for an answer.

 

Hyunjin asked herself the same question. How is it going with Heejin? I honestly don't know.

 

"I think we're friends," she chose to say, carefully picking her words because of the fear they would be easily twisted. "but I don't know much else. Her teacher told her to step out of her comfort zone."

 

"That's a good thing for you, isn't it?" The blonde inquired, her eyebrows doing that funny thing. "If she really wants to step out of her comfort zone, my party is the best place."

 

Hyunjin wasn't sure if she liked that kind of assumption, particularly following it to its logical conclusion. She wasn't totally sold on the idea of forcing Heejin into a mayhem just for her own personal gain.

 

She was fine with taking things slow, for now.

 

"I'll think about it." Hyunjin muttered, taking a sip of her water. "Besides, don't you think you're the one getting comfortable, Jinsol?" She was the one to tease this time, and the way the blonde's expression changed was stupidly amusing to her.

 

"What are you guys talking about?" Sooyoung leaned in, staring at them intermittently with curiosity. She wasn't in on the gossip, yet.

 

"Soon, all will be revealed, Sooyoung." Hyunjin chose to word the sentence as ominously as possible, watching with glee as the two exchanged glances of defy toward each other.

 

The only thing Jinsol was able to do was mutter you'll know when you do. The tease by Hyunjin reminded her of how much was chaos inside her head. There was nothing but chaos there; all her brain cells were gone.

 

Since the day Jinsol knew herself, she was the one who would help others with no hesitation. That included all the lost kids in Bio, ahjummas carrying their groceries, and even people who needed help with confessions; Jinsol was their go-to girl whenever they needed a hand.

 

And that way of handling things hadn't changed when she met Jungeun, but she couldn't deny there was something different about her - something that made Jinsol want to protect her from all the evil in the universe, something that made her hold onto Jungeun and never let go, not for a measly second.

 

These feelings were starting to scare Jinsol, because before Jungeun, there was absolutely nothing holding her down; she was floating in the galaxy until the girl grounded her with no warning.

 

She could not even remember how long they were "together". Three months? Four? The only thing Jinsol knew, was that she was starting to miss her.

 

After recess was over and class was back, the first thing she did was ask professor Park for a bathroom break. But she wasn't going to the bathroom.

 

Jinsol walked down the halls in a mix of quick steps and long strides, determined to see the girl she was falling so deeply for. She knocked on the door, and professor Kim opened it, glasses sliding down her nose.

 

"Jinsol! Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

 

"It's okay, teacher. Uh… the principal is calling Jungeun in his office. Can I take her?"

 

"Jinsol..." The professor furrowed her eyebrows, doubting that Jinsol was telling the truth, but she nodded her head anyway. "Kim Jungeun, would you please come to the front."

 

"What is it?" She approached the door, feeling apprehensive.

 

"Apparently the principal is calling you to his office."

 

Jungeun looked panicked as hearing those words; after all, why would the principal call her to his office unless she was in some deep ?

 

She looked at Jinsol, starting to question things. "Okay..."

 

The two left for the halls, but not before receiving a suspicious glare from professor Kim.

 

Jinsol took the girl's hand, quickening the pace, feeling extremely happy.

 

"What does the principal want with me?" Jungeun asked, still confused as all hell.

 

"Nothing." Jinsol giggled, practically pulling the girl up the stairs to the second floor.

 

Jungeun looked at her with concerned eyes, silently judging the blonde. "Jinsol. Did you really get me out of class for your personal needs?"

 

But even if she was lecturing her, Jungeun couldn't help but feel her heart start beating faster.

 

"Shh."

 

And Jinsol dragged inside the single use bathroom this time, taking into consideration the last time they had met in a bathroom.

 

Jungeun laughed when the blonde pulled her into her lap, her hand automatically reaching for her face and caressing it. She did not deny loving these moments where it was just the two of them and no one else. Moments where she could get lost in Jinsol's eyes just as easily as she would get lost in a maze.

 

They started a slow kiss, Jinsol's lips fitting into hers, hand slipping into the back of her neck and making her shiver. There was something in the way the blonde would kiss her that was just… different. Like she never wanted to back away from her. Jungeun just… loved that.

 

"I should've told you sooner." Jinsol whispered, her forehead against hers, their noses brushing.

 

"What is it?" Jungeun asked, still breathless.

 

"I love you." Jinsol stared deep into her eyes, trying to be honest with the truth her heart was telling her, and she realised Jungeun felt the same way when the girl smiled, her eyes gleaming and her hand sliding to hold her chin between her fingers, keeping her eyes on her.

 

"You don't know how much I've waited." Jungeun whispered back, leaning in again and pecking her lips, once, twice, three times, smiling against Jinsol's mouth.

 

"Actually, I do. I've- I've just been a coward, Jungeun. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

 

Jinsol stared down, feeling embarrassed. Her heart was running a mile.

 

"Hey. Hey, look at me. You're not a coward. It's okay, Jinsol." The girl smiled, fighting against the urge to pinch her cheeks.

 

"Okay. I… I think I should take you back."

 

And Jinsol got up after Jungeun, intertwining her fingers with hers, guiding her along the school like she had done months ago, but now with a lot more confidence in what she was feeling.

 

[...]

 

 

After a period of time, Hyunjin actually started considering inviting Heejin to Jinsol's birthday party. Not just because she really wanted to see her again, but also because Hyunjin was starting to sense something major would happen in that party. Maybe even more than just major.

 

Hyunjin would not say she was a person who believed in destiny. But there was something drawing her to that party, and probably Heejin too.

 

She fished her phone from her pocket, heading directly to Heejin's saved number in her phone and calling her with no hesitation whatsoever. They still hadn't talked much, but Hyunjin felt like she could talk about anything with the girl.

 

"Hello?"

 

"Hey, Heejin."

 

"Hyunjin? Hey. What's up?"

 

"I'm good. Uh… I was- I was thinking if you want to..."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"If you wanna come to Jinsol's party with me. It seems like it's gonna be fun, and we could hang out."

 

Hyunjin didn't know why the thought of being near Heejin again made her ears warm up so much.

 

"It sounds cool, but… I don't know. I'm not very good at crowds..."

 

"Sure… if you really can't, well… what if I stay by your side? At all times?"

 

"At all times?" Heejin sounded doubtful. "Are you sure? You know I'm gonna hold you to that promise."

 

Hyunjin laughed, finding Heejin's tone adorable. For a girl who wasn't much of a speaker, she really did know how to get into her head.

 

"You should. Because it's a promise. But then, you have to promise to never leave my side, too."

 

There was a wait of a few seconds before Heejin answered. "I promise."

 

"I'll send you the details. See you there." Hyunjin was smiling like an idiot.

 

"I'll see you there."

 

When Hyunjin put down the phone, she was a grinning mess. "I'm such an idiot..." she muttered.

 

An idiot in love.

 

But she felt strangely protective of Heejin too, for some reason. Hyunjin didn't know if it was because she was a pro in doing general sweeps of the girl's tweets, but Heejin just seemed so… alone. Yeah, she was generally popular on twitter, but being popular on social media wasn't a good measure of in real life popularity, as much as people wanted it to be.

 

And in other ways, Hyunjin thought Heejin was pretty similar to her. Just, someone trying to put herself out there in the best ways she could. Someone with good intentions, with a good heart and a good head on her shoulders.

 

Once again, Hyunjin's phone rang, breaking her train of thought.

 

"Hey."

 

"Hey, Hyunjin. So, you were able to invite her after all." Sooyoung remarked in a nonchalant way, but she seemed glad all the same.

 

"Wait. How do you know?"

 

"Heejin is asking on twitter what are you supposed to do at parties. I don't think you should answer that one, don't want to embarrass her."

 

Hyunjin laughed to herself, picturing a confused-looking Heejin reading all sort of meme replies and getting even more confused.

 

"Can she get any cuter?"

 

"I hope not, I don't want to lose you to a heart attack. So, how the hell did you convince her, anyway?"

 

She wondered if it would be good for her sanity to tell Sooyoung, and then decided, hey, why the not?

 

"I… promised not to leave her side."

 

"Wow. You're dedicated, I'll give you that."

 

Hyunjin rolled her eyes. "Okay, shut up. To be honest, I'm kinda worried about this party. I hate not knowing what's gonna happen."

 

"Don't worry, Hyunjin. Everything's gonna turn out fine."

 

Yeah, she sure hoped so.

 

[...]

 

 

The day of the party arrived in the blink of an eye. Every small worry that could spark inside the school was easily dismissed by the thought of the party soon happening… unless that worry was about the party itself.

 

Boys and girls openly commented on the hallways about their expectations, and the people who knew Jinsol were wishing her a happy birthday and promising to try and arrive at the party early (although no one really expected them to fulfill that promise). After class, Sooyoung would go out with Jiwoo to watch "the movie", which most people theorized to be Booksmart, rightfully so.

 

Haseul and Kahei already had their outfits ready and matching; they were going dressed as the M.I.B in hono