If someone asked Byul what’s interesting in Bucheon, she would have a hard time explaining it. 

It’s a city, for a starter.

Actually, it’s a place full of tall buildings and in a broad sense, it could be seen as a smaller replica of Seoul. She couldn’t even remember a moment where she went to someplace without an asphalt ground on it. Unless it’s designated as a park or some recreation place where the owner promoted it with a ‘Back to Nature’ slogan. 

The only difference that she could think of is how people in Bucheon still act like a small-town society, where people know who their neighbors are on a personal level. 

Other than that, whatever you could find in Seoul, you could get in Bucheon.

But, it’s actually a general answer for an ordinary question, because if the person asked what Bucheon means for Byul, then she could portray it more sentimentally. 

For Byul, Bucheon means familiarity. 

It’s a place where she grew up with her weird- family in a two-level house, and where she met with her closest friends that she sees as her own siblings, where she realized her dream as a film director, where she discovered her ual orientation, where she had her first love, and also her first heartbroken. 

But most importantly, Bucheon is the one that shaped her as Byul. 

“Umma! I told you to stop smoking!”

She approached her pretending-not-to-hear mom at the bench that is located on the corner of their backyard’s house. The curly short-haired woman that just threw away her lit cigarette in panic is now avoiding Byul’s judging eyes and pretending to take a look at the small plant beside her right feet. The younger one rolls her eyes and stretches out her hand in front of the woman’s face, “Give me the box.”

“What box, kid?”

Byul raised her eyebrows in disbelief, “Do not act like you don’t know what I talk about, Umma.” She repeated her words one more time, and in a more demanding tone, “Give me the box.”

Her mother clicked her tongue in distaste, “You and your demanding act.”, but still, she took out her cigarette box from her jeans’ pocket and put it on Byul’s hand.

The younger one continued her demands, “And the lighter too, please.”

She pointed her index finger to her first daughter, “Remember, I’m still your Umma. It should be me that scolded you, not the other way around.”

Byul doesn’t change her flat expression, “It’s because you’re my Umma, that I need to save you from your bad habit.”, still waiting with her palm being opened, “Lighter, please.”

The older woman curled her lips but decided to fulfill Byul’s demands. As the younger one put those two things inside her short pant’s pocket, the other one asked, “Why did you wake up so early, kid?”

“To help you buy groceries.” as Byul sits on the empty space beside her mom, ”I checked the refrigerator last night, it’s almost empty.”

Her mom chuckled, “Are you really my daughter, Kid? I used to talk about this with your father, like all the time. Because, we really do not understand how could we raise such a responsible and strict human being, when both of us are-”

“Too carefree?”

“Hip parent.”

She laughed at her mom’s sudden brag. “That’s exactly the reason why I should step in.”

Unable to accept being mocked by her own kid, the older woman punched Byul’s shoulder, “Brat.”. 

She gets up from the bench and walks towards a small alley beside the house, “Let’s go, Kid.”

Byul smiles and follows her mother. 

---

They decided to walk to the traditional market near their house. Just like Byul expected, the fifteen minutes walk to the place is full of greetings from people that know her since she was a baby to welcome her home. Suddenly, Hyejin, who’s actually on her duty to water plants with her father, jumped on Byul’s back, “Unnie!”

Byul turned around to stop Hyejin from gripping her body harsh, “Yah, your long nails hurt me!”

A man with kind eyes stepped out from the same house and joined her daughter to hug Byul too. The curly short-haired woman smiled at the scene in front of her, “Mr. Ahn, let us borrow Hyejin for a while, okay?”

He nodded while still laughing at the purple-haired girl that kept asking him and his daughter to stop breaking her bones. 

---

It’s still the same, the traditional market. 

Every mom is still having the same hair-style, just like Byul’s mom, and how their kids, whether being forced or not, are following their own mother while carrying the groceries. The sellers kept waving towards Byul, to ask her to get closer, so they could give her and Hyejin free food. Being nostalgic, even though she only left this place just for three months, Byul can’t help but feel touched.

Suddenly, Hyejin slipped her hands on Byul’s arm, to ask Byul to lower her body, so she could whisper on her ear while still chewing some food, “How’s Ywongsun Unniee?”

Byul snorted at Hyejin’s failed attempt at talking like an adult she is, “Eat first, .”

Her two years younger friend is losing her grip and glaring at her, but actually tried her best to swallow the rest of the food on , and once again, repeated her question, “How’s Yongsun Unnie?”

The future director gives her phone to Hyejin, “Ask the girl herself.”

“Really?”

“Um.”

Hyejin called Yongsun through Byul’s phone. She looked at Byul who’s giving her a poker face while waiting for the person at the other side of the phone to pick the call. Three rings later, Yongsun picked up the phone, “Byul-ah… I miss you.”

When Byul sees Hyejin’s shocked expression, she knows her best friend has known the news. 

“Yong-Yongsun Unnie, this is Hyejin-ah.”

“Ah, Hyejin! How are you?”

“Good, Unnie!” Byul, still in her flat expression, looking at Hyejin’s effort to act casual, “So, you’re dating Byul Unnie now?”

Hyejin waits for the reply, as the person on the other side of the phone stopped talking, she can’t help but feel nervous. Of course, for Byul’s sake, because there is still a possibility that Kim Yongsun friend-zoned her or something. But, a sudden ‘yes’ in a small voice made her sighed in relief.

“Yah, Unnie! Don’t be shy!”

“Well, it’s my first time to be asked like that. People just kinda notice it in here. But, yeah, we’re dating now.”

The curly-haired woman smiles in amusement when Byul jokingly shrugged her shoulder to say an unspoken statement of ‘I’m Moon Byul Yi. Of course, I got the girl’. Hyejin rolls her eyes and tells Yongsun that she will give the phone to Byul.

Byul takes the phone and puts it on her ear, “Hi.”

Both she and Hyejin start to walk again, so they could catch up with Byul’s mother who has stepped into the vegetable market part.

“Hi. My face is red, Byul-ah.” in a whining voice. 

To hear, the always in control Kim Yongsun to act so cute, made Byul want to squirm her body in excitement. But it's a public place, so she settled with biting her lips, “Why did you say to Hyejin before? She picked the news quite quickly.”

“Um, I said I miss you.”

The younger girl smiles to hear Yongsun’s honesty, “I miss you too, Yong.”

Being immersed in her conversation with Yongsun, it took someone pulling her shirt to stop her from walking. When she turned around, it’s Hani, her best friend since middle school. Unable to stop her excitement to see the girl, she kinda ignored Yongsun’s question to hug the already complaining girl, “What the , ?! You don’t even tell me you’re here!”

“Byul-ah? Yah, Byul-ah?” in a worried tone.  

The small sounds from her phone made her remember Yongsun once again. She answered her girlfriend quickly, “I’m sorry, Yong. I’ve just met Hani, my other best friend!”

Hani is staring at her with her suspicious eyes, and as soon as Byul notices it, she gives her phone to the bob-haired girl, who’s still dumbfounded with the situation. Byul is wording out silence ‘my girlfriend’ while pointing her index finger at her phone that is already in Hani’s hand. 

Her best friend takes the hint, “Hi, I’m Hani, Moon Byul Yi's best friend! What’s your name, Byul’s girlfriend?”

“Yongsun…”

To fix the awkward situation, Hani decides to tease the girl, “Yongsun-ssi, as Byulyi’s best friend, I just want to ask you one thing.” She purposefully stopped talking to create some tension which also made Byul tense, “Are you sure you’re fine being Byulyi’s girlfriend? I advised you to save yourself before it’s too late.”

“Yah, what the !” Byul complained as she tried her best to snatch her phone back, but Hani turned around to ignore the girl, concentrating at Yongsun’s laughing voice. Hani ended the call after saying that she will wait for Yongsun to come to Bucheon, so she could tell her more about Byul’s stupid dark days. 

The bob-haired girl turned her body around to find the already annoyed Byul is glaring at her, “What? I made your girlfriend laugh. You know, it’s our kind of joke.”

Byul rolls her eyes and finally succeeds at taking her phone back from Hani’s hand, “Whatever. Where’s your mom?”

Her best friend shook her head, “I’m alone. She forgot to buy carrots and chilies yesterday, so it’s a short shopping for me.” as she showed her just bought items, ”Where’s your mom? Ah, nevermind, she’s approaching us now with Hyejin.”

Byul turned around and found her mom with a mocking smile, “So much for helping me to buy groceries, kid.” 

Suddenly, Hani runs towards her mother, and hugs her tight, “Umma Moon! Our Byulyi is dating now! And we thought, after that dramatic break-up she had with Yoaa, she will remain single for at least 10 years!”

When Byul explained how Bucheon’s people still act like a small-town society, this is exactly what she meant. No privacy, indeed, as everyone knows everything about everyone. From the good to the bad one. 

Hyejin, who’s behind them, laughs at the remarks, and reacting at Byul's words on her break up in an exaggerated tone, “I’m sorry, Yoaa. I can’t be with you anymore, because I need time for myself.”

Her mom snorted, “Well, she is no Moon Byul Yi if she’s not dramatic.”

The purple-haired girl scratched her head with frustration, “God, you guys are the worst.” which triggered the three women to bully her more. 

---

After realizing that they are actually talking loudly in the center of the market main street, and somehow bothers other buyers, the four of them decided to continue their reunion slash mocking Byul mission to a local restaurant inside the market. 

Without any small talk, Hani asked the future director, “So, is it Ji-Eun situation, or Yoaa situation?”

To receive such a silly question, Byul complained, “What does th-”

But it cut off with the other two women, who are answering it at the same time, “Totally Ji-Eun one.” 

Hani’s eyes got bigger at hearing the answer, while Byul massaged her temple to stop the new-emerging headache that definitely will come, and whispered, “There is no Ji-Eun or Yoaa’s situation. Both of them made me happy in different ways.”

Hyejin gives her a ‘no-no’ gesture with her finger, “You loved Ji-Eun, but you liked Yoaa.” She paused, but added her statement more, “I’m sorry. Yoaa was totally your rebound from Ji-Eun, Unnie.”

“She was not!”

Three pairs of eyes are judging her, and it somehow shut . 

But Hani broke the silence, “But Byulyi, it will be different, right?” in a serious expression.

Byul looked up to see Hani’s worried stares, and couldn't help but remember her first love, Lee Ji-Eun.

The first time she met Ji-Eun, Byul was fourteen, while the new kid in town was sixteen. Despite their two years , after Hani introduced Ji-Eun as her new neighbour, Byul easily formed a special bond with the older girl. Just like any classical story of another best friend turned to lovers, they thought they would be forever. 

But one event ruined it all. 

It happened when Ji-Eun, who had just turned 18, had to prepare for her university’s entrance in England. Byul, who at first seemed to take the news calmly, started to show a change of attitude when Ji-Eun got into some language school to improve her English. Being a senior in high school and on top of that, working on her English, made Ji-Eun spend less time with Byul.

Despite knowing the situation, rather than acted like an understanding girlfriend, Byul chose to think the older girl had changed. That she didn’t love her anymore. 

What started with cute bickering got worse with two months' time. Nothing felt like happiness anymore as whenever they met each other, they fought. Byul accused Ji-Eun of having some sort of relationship with a boy from the language school, while Ji-Eun, who’s tired with everything, found the presence of Byul as a threat. 

No one seemed to think that talking heart-to-heart could be a solution. So, Ji-Eun left for England with her parents without words. Aside from their bad break up, the two of them had finally talked through video-calls one day. Byul was already with Yoaa, back then. Byul told her that she was scared of losing Ji-Eun, while her ex-girlfriend felt like Byul didn’t trust her enough. Both ended the video-call with tears but decided to stay as friends. 

In short, her first relationship had taught her one thing: she hated changes, which then made her into a control freak. 

“I’m working on it.” as the future director has no better answer to the question, but at the same time, finding the answer as something close to the truth. Because she is working on it. 

Hyejin broke the tension by laughing at it, “She was sixteen, back then! Of course, she has matured!” while tilting her head towards Byul to get her affirmation, “Right, Unnie?”

Surrounded by people that she trusted the most, the purple-haired girl doesn’t see a reason why she should lie, so she shares her worry, “I don’t know, Hyejin-ah. After Ji-Eun, I always see myself as a ticking bomb. Sweet at first, bitter at last.” She hesitates to say the next words, but she does it anyway,” It scares me how I could rewrite the same story with Yong. And I hate the fact that I know myself too much. I can’t help but hating myself too.”

Her two best friends looked at her with worry, while her mom just casually sipped her tea. 

---

After walking Hyejin home, Byul is finally alone again with her mother. She walked in front of her mother, without thinking too much about their recent serious conversation before. But maybe, it wasn’t enough for her mother.

“Kid, you got taller.”

Byul chuckled, “Am I? Getting prettier, too?”

“You’re my kid, of course, you’re pretty. Stop asking a stupid question.”

The younger one snorted, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Umma.”

Another beat of silence and her mother started to speak again, “I think it’s me and your dad’s fault.”

“Huh?”

“You, being like that.”

She stopped walking, and saw her mother’s sad face, “Of course not, Umma...”

“No, Kid. We put you through many bad s since your younger years. Unlike the twins.”

The future director knows what the bad s are referring to her grandfather’s sudden heart attack when she was just five, her mom’s critical condition when she labored her little twin’s sister five years ago, and most recently, her father’s death.  

“Yeah, but it was God’s doing. Nothing was really on you, or Appa.”

“But we could prevent you from experiencing it directly. Just like any parents would do. But no, we thought we should let you see how real life works and it seems a failed strategy, after all.”

She put both of her hands on her mother’s shoulder, “Umma, I’m the one that treats it wrongly. But, I’m really working on it. You were right, I should stop being paranoid all the time and just-”

“Just what?”

“Just accepting that I can’t control everything.” She tried to lessen the situation by joking, “Well, at least, I have Bucheon that will never change.”

“Are you sure?”

“Huh?”

“Just last week, Hyejin got her new boyfriend from Seoul and Hani? Hani decided to live with Ji-Eun to transfer school in England in just two months.” She completed her statement, “And do you know that the twins have never worn the same clothes anymore because they hated it now.”

“Impossible, I played with the twins for three days straight, Umma.”

She shrugged her shoulders, “You only want to see what you want to see, Kid.”

Byul gasped at the news. Her mother smiles, “See. Nothing ever remains the same. So, don’t hate yourself, and stop mapping your future based on your past, Kid.”

The older woman took the groceries’ bag from Byul’s hand and left her daughter to think her words. 

---

Stop mapping your future based on your past.

Byul keeps repeating her mother’s words, even after she had a late-breakfast with her family. Now, she isolated herself in her room, as nothing felt right anymore.

Bucheon should be her safety net. Aside from one or two spontaneous events, Byul has some faith that she has some kind of control over it. But, it’s actually not? And how could she save her relationship with Yongsun when one thing that she is sure of is suddenly out of her reach?

Unable to think rationally anymore, Byul decides to video-call Yongsun.

Unexpectedly, the other girl welcomed her with a shaky video of Yongsun from a low angle with panic steps, “Byul-ah~”

“Hi, Yong. What’s wrong?”

Yongsun, still in a shaky image, answered abruptly, “Ah, Mino Oppa waited for me in the car. He invited me to his film club’s screening. Byul-ah, can you believe it? Finally, Kim Yongsun will have a film club friends. I don’t know if it will turn out okay or not, but I’m soooooo excited!”

Okay. What was that? First, her mother’s words, and now this. 

Yongsun gets closer to her classmate is something that totally makes sense. But, Yongsun, on her own, wanted to make friends with strangers is seriously out of character. To say she’s panicking is such an understatement, but still, she should act unbothered, right?

“Wow, how- I mean- why-”

The older girl chuckled, “I don’t know too, Byul-ah. Mino Oppa called me and he said he had some sort of responsibility to you to make me less lonely and stuff.”

Ah. 

“Okay. Just have fun and try your best. And stop talking about rare films, Yong! People hated film snob!”

Yongsun replied to her with a giggle, “Ne, Ne! I’ll talk to you later, Byul-ah!”

“Okay, bye!” with a fake smile. 

As her phone screen turned back to her wallpaper’s phone: the photo of her and Yongsun on their first date. She’s staring at it long as she processes everything, and Byul is back with her frustration self. 

Mother was right, she shouldn’t map her future with her past. 

But no matter how good the advice is, Byul can’t help but feel helpless as she knows that she’s not ready for it. 

She’s covering herself inside the blanket while seeing her girlfriend’s smile on her phone, “Yong, stick with me always, would you?” 

____

Author's note:

It might be a boring chapter, but i think it's important. So, the next chapter will be Yong's individual chapter. 

Thank you for the upvote, subscribes and comments! <3