“Meeting up with Yerin-ssi now?”

Eunbi pauses, bent halfway down to grab her backpack. She slowly sits up straight again to eye her sister. It’s a random Wednesday, and Chorong happened to have a long enough lunch break to come meet with her. It was a nice surprise, but the question immediately puts Eunbi on guard. 

For the last month, Eunbi and Chorong have been none too subtly poking each other about the women in their lives. 

After the second time they met up, Eunbi and Yerin started hanging out outside of working on their project. At Yerin’s insistence. She was convincing too because Eunbi soon found herself out with Yerin during her free afternoons when homework was light and on Saturdays when she didn’t have plans. Sometimes, they walked the mall or went to the park, but most often, Eunbi found herself trying out new restaurants with her. It’s been nice, Eunbi has to admit, getting to know the other woman. 

Except Chorong keeps pestering her about having a crush, which she does not. As if Chorong has any room to speak with how she and Eunji have been the past month. 

After their first visit to the humble coffee shop, Eunbi has it on good authority that her sister stops by there at least three times a week, if not more. She hears it straight from Eunji herself when she goes there to work on her project with Yerin. Whenever Eunbi mentions her sister, Eunji usually gets all flustered and tries to change the subject. She clearly likes her.

“Why don’t you just ask her out already?” Eunbi had pressed one afternoon. Since all her workers were there, Eunji was at their table with them, reading a book. “I mean, what are you waiting for?”

“It’s more complicated than that, kid,” Eunji said, not even looking up from her book. “Your sister isn’t the type to just say yes.”

“But she likes you!” Eunbi argued. 

Eunji had looked up from her book just long enough to give Eunbi a look that said the conversation was over. It was a strangely cold look on Eunji’s normally friendly and open face, so Eunbi had shut up and gone back to her homework. 

This doesn’t stop Eunbi from bothering her sister though. 

“Going to see Eunji-unnie after this?” Eunbi asks in response to Chorong’s earlier question. 

Predictably, Chorong’s face turns red as snaps shut. Her hand fiddles with the napkin left on the table. She shakes her head and sighs. Chorong gives her an exasperated smile and says, “Tell Yerin-ssi I say hi.”

“Tell Eunji-unnie I say hi,” Eunbi retorts. She shoulders her backpack and leaves the restaurant, pausing at the door to give her sister a pointed glare.

Chorong watches her sister go and rolls her eyes at her antics. She leaves a tip on the table and grabs her bag before she leaves too. A quick glance at her watch tells her she still has almost half an hour left of her lunch break. Chorong huffs a little, wondering why her team leader insisted on such a long break today, but decides to make use of the time. 

Winding her way through a few streets, Chorong enters the now familiar Meung’s with a slight smile. As she walks in, Chorong is surprised to see Yerin. She walks up to the counter where Yerin is arguing about something with Eunji, both of them wearing equally annoyed expressions. 

“It’s not that simple,” Eunji says as Chorong walks up. “She would never–” The sentence ends abruptly when Eunji notices her. For some reason, Eunji flushes and flashes her a nervous smile. “Hey, unnie,” Eunji greets her.

Chorong can still remember when she found out she’s older than Eunji by two years. It’d been one morning on her way to work. She stopped by for coffee and made small talk with Eunji as she made her drink.

“Eunbi makes you sound so old sometimes,” Eunji told her with a laugh. “Like she’s gonna have to check you into a nursing home at any moment.”

Chorong had rolled her eyes and said, “Just because I’m turning twenty-seven this year, she thinks the world is ending.”

“Ah, you’re turning twenty-seven?” Eunji had asked curiously.  Then she had grinned cheekily and admitted, “I thought you were younger than that.” 

“How old are you?” Chorong asked.

“Twenty-five,” Eunji had replied before tacking on, “unnie.”

Chorong remembers blushing so hard that Eunji had burst out laughing when she turned around to give her drink. She had to endure so much teasing until she finally left for work, but now every time after, Chorong catches the slightest hint of amusement every time Eunji calls her that.

“Hello,” Chorong replies as she stands next to Yerin at the counter. She gives the younger woman a smile and says, “I’m surprised to see you here, Yerin-ssi. I just left Eunbi-yah, and I had the impression she was going to meet you.”

Yerin’s eyes go wide. She checks the time on her phone and lets out a panicked squeak. “You’re right!” Yerin exclaims. “I have to go!” Despite her panic though, Yerin takes the time to give Eunji a strange look and say, “We’ll talk more later, Eunji-unnie.” Then she smiles brightly at Chorong and says good-bye, waving to them over her shoulder as she runs out.

“What was that about?” Chorong asks as the door closes after Yerin. 

Eunji shrugs, but Chorong knows she’s trying to be casual. She’s seen Eunbi do the same thing after breaking Chorong’s favorite mug. “We were just talking about some stuff,” Eunji tells her. “She thinks she knows better than me.”

“Don’t kids always?” Chorong rolls her eyes.

“Eunbi?” Eunji guesses with a grin. When Chorong just rolls her eyes again, Eunji laughs and shakes her head. She folds her arms on top of the counter and leans forward. “So, what kind of drink are you feeling today?” It’s become a kind of tradition between them for Chorong to explain what she’s craving and for Eunji to find something that fulfills that. 

“Something sweet,” Chorong replies. She gets out her wallet, only for Eunji to wave her off. “How come?”

“I heard it’s your birthday next week,” Eunji says with a sly smile, leaning in closer. “Consider it an early birthday gift. Some free coffee until it passes.”

“I guess I’ll have to come by more often and make the most of that offer then.”

Eunji’s smile turns into something more like a smirk as she says, “I guess so.” At some point, both of them started leaning in, and now they’re no more than a few inches apart from each other. Suddenly, Eunji jerks away, muttering something about making her drink and slinks away to make it. 

Chorong watches her go and feels a thread of annoyance. Her and Eunji have been having moments like this for a month now, and every time Chorong thinks Eunji might finally make a move on her, she runs away like just now. Does she not like her? Is she not supposed to take her flirting seriously? Eunbi certainly acts like she should be taking the flirting seriously, and she’s friends with Eunji.

“I was thinking,” Eunji says as she comes back with her drink. “We should go out or something for your birthday.”

“Go out?” Chorong repeats, surprised. Just when she’d been thinking Eunji wouldn’t make a move.

Eunji’s eyes widen as she quickly says, “We don’t have to. I just thought we’re kind of friends, and it’d be nice to–”

“I’d love to,” Chorong says, cutting her off. Eunji might’ve said friends, but Chorong will take what she can get. She takes her drink from Eunji and tries to ignore the brush of their hands. “I’m free next Friday.”

“I’ll make myself free then,” Eunji says. When she smiles this time, Chorong feels her heart flutter. When Eunji smiles like this, her face is so warm and open. It’s almost like getting a hug. “Want to call me later?” Eunji adds, tilting her head. “You know, so we can plan what we’re doing.”

Chorong blinks then says, “Oh, sure.” She’s had Eunji’s number since they first met, but they don’t text too much. Just every so often, Eunji will send her a funny story, and the two of them will talk for a little bit. Clearing , Chorong tries not to smile too widely and says, “I’ll call you later then.”

Eunji leans against the back counter, arms folded across her chest, as she says, “I’ll be waiting.” She grins.

Chorong mumbles something about needing to get back to work, and Eunji watches her leave. As soon as she’s gone, the bravado is gone, and she lets out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t outright rejected when she asked to see her outside of the coffee shop. That’s a good start.

Eunji goes around the shop, cleaning up dirty cups and dishes while also manning the register. It’s a slow afternoon, and Eunji takes the time to think. She knows she’s being cowardly with Chorong, but she’s never liked someone this much before. She doesn’t want to screw it up by moving too fast like she usually does. 

Not that Eunbi or Yerin are any help. They’ve been pushing her to ask Chorong out since day one. Such annoying kids. She glances at her watch. Speaking of…

Almost on schedule, Eunbi and Yerin enter the coffee shop around three, heads tucked close together as they talk about something. Eunji shakes her head. Eunbi is always telling her to ask Chorong out, but she just has to stand around and watch her not ask out Yerin? Talk about a double standard. 

“Hi, Eunji-unnie!” Yerin greets her cheerfully, walking up to the register while Eunbi sulks off to claim a table for them. She leans forward and asks in a conspiratorial whisper, “How did it go with Chorong-ssi earlier?”

“It went fine,” Eunji replies. “We’re going out next week for her birthday.”

Yerin practically beams at her. “You asked her?”

“Yeah,” Eunji says. She rubs the back of her neck and says, “I just sort of threw it out there, and she didn't seem disgusted by the idea, so…”

“Of course she wasn’t,” Yerin rolled her eyes. She reaches across the counter and punches Eunji’s arm lightly. “I keep telling you that you’re too hard on yourself. Chorong-ssi has been dying for you to ask her out.”

“And you’re dying for Eunbi-yah to ask you out,” Eunji can’t help but point out, turning the tables on her.

Yerin sighs and glances over her shoulder to where Eunbi is messing with her laptop. She turns back to Eunji with a slight frown and says, “She’s either really dense or she isn’t interested.”

“Oh, she’s definitely dense,” Eunji snickers. She laughs harder when Yerin reaches out and hits her arm again, this time harder. “Oh, come on. She likes you. I just don’t think she realizes she likes you yet.”

“Do you think…” Yerin hesitates. “Do you think she likes girls?”

Eunji pauses then tilts her head. She tries to remember if Eunbi or Chorong have ever mentioned anything about that while talking to her. She can’t think of anything substantial, so instead, Eunji says reassuringly, “Well, Eunbi-yah was willing to set me up with Chorong-unnie, so she definitely doesn’t have a problem with women dating women. I think your chances are good, Yerin-ah.”

“You’d think,” Yerin sighs. “I’ll take two iced americanos.”

Eunji gives her a sympathetic smile then goes about making the drinks. Yerin pays and thanks her before heading over to the table Eunbi claimed for the two of them. She hands Eunbi her drink, receiving a mumbled thanks as Eunbi intently stares at her computer screen.

“Whatcha looking at?” Yerin asks.

Eunbi sips from her drink absently as she looks up. She blinks a few times and says, “Hmm?”

“I asked what you’re looking at,” Yerin giggles.

“Oh, just our schedule for the project,” Eunbi replies. 

Normally, Yerin would love that her school partner is so dedicated to their work, just as determined to stay on top of things as her, but sometimes, Yerin wishes Eunbi would just stop bringing up their project all the time. Why can’t she talk about something else? Like Yerin’s new shirt or how she painstakingly curled her hair today?

Instead of saying any of this, Yerin smiles and asks, “How are we doing?”

“Good,” Eunbi nods her head a little, giving Yerin this half-smile that makes her heart jump. “We’re actually ahead of schedule.”

“Really?” Yerin says. She makes sure she sounds completely surprised. Of course, Yerin knows they’re ahead of schedule. She basically made the schedule. Given how often her and Eunbi meet up, it would’ve been harder for them to not be ahead of schedule. “Then I think we should treat ourselves to a day off!” Yerin proclaims brightly.

Eunbi perks up immediately, lips curling into a full smile around her straw. “A day off?” Eunbi repeats, trying and failing to keep down her excitement. 

“Yeah,” Yerin nods. “How about we go to the mall or something?”

“Sure,” Eunbi agrees, already closing her laptop and sliding it into her backpack. “Can we get one of those pretzels?”

“You mean the ones drenched in butter?” Yerin replies knowingly.

Eunbi gives her a toothy grin, “Of course.”

After they finish grabbing their things, they stop by the counter to say bye to Eunji. Eunbi leans in and says something, probably about Chorong. In reply, Eunji rolls her eyes and smacks Eunbi in the face with her cleaning rag. Eunbi sputters, looking mad enough to jump across the counter to tackle Eunji, so Yerin quickly grabs her arm and calls out the last of their good-byes. 

“Do the two of you ever not argue?” Yerin asks teasingly as she guides them in the direction of the mall. She still has her hand wrapped around Eunbi’s arm, but the other girl doesn’t shrug her off so she keeps it there. “I know you actually like her.”

“Pfft, she’s annoying,” Eunbi says.

Yerin presses her lips together and doesn’t point out the smile Eunbi wore as she said that. Instead, she asks Eunbi how her week has been and listens to Eunbi rant about some guy in her chemistry class. She can’t explain why she likes Eunbi so much. It’s just a bunch of little things. It’s stuff like how she’ll complain when Yerin asks her to do something, but she’ll do it anyways. Or how she’ll remember things Yerin says off-hand, like a candy she really likes, and show up with it the next time they hang out. There’s just something about Eunbi that makes it hard not to smile.

“So, there’s a party next Friday my friend invited me to,” Yerin tells Eunbi casually as they walk the mall. She looks at the other woman, but Eunbi is preoccupied with eating her pretzel to pay attention to her besides a glance and a small grunt to affirm she’s listening. “I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?” Yerin asks, trying to keep her tone as even and casual as before, even though her stomach feels like it’s in knots.

“Sure,” Eunbi says so easily that Yerin has to do a double take. The younger woman seems wholly unfazed though as she takes a big bite of her pretzel. She chews for a moment then says around the food in , “Is that why we’re here? Do you need new clothes or something?”

“Oh, not really,” Yerin says, blinking curiously at Eunbi. “I just wanted to walk around, but now that you mention it, it wouldn’t hurt to look, right?”

Eunbi shrugs as she finishes off her pretzel and says, “Whatever you want to do.”

“Let’s go look around then,” Yerin says. She tries not to smile too big as she grips Eunbi’s arm a little tighter to guide her to a different part of the mall. “You’re really okay with going to the party with me?” Yerin checks as they walk.

“Yeah?” Eunbi replies, giving her a confused look. “I mean, I haven’t gone to that many college parties, but you aren’t taking me anything, like, too crazy, right?”

Yerin giggles, “No, it’s just a normal house party.” Then she leans in and adds conspiratorially, “I can’t promise that there won’t be people stripping and dancing on tables at some point though.”

“Like you said, a normal house party,” Eunbi deadpans, making Yerin laugh. 

“I guess so,” Yerin agrees. She spots one of her favorite stores and says, “Oh, let’s go in here! Maybe I can find a cute dress.” 

Much to Yerin’s surprise, Eunbi doesn’t complain the way she thought she would. Eunbi doesn’t seem the type to have the patience for shopping, but instead of sulking or anything like that, she just quietly follows Yerin around the store and gives her opinion when Yerin asks for it. She doesn’t look bored either. If anything, she kind of looks content doing this, and something about that makes Yerin blush. 

After finding a few dresses, Yerin goes to the dressing room, and Eunbi agrees to sit in one of the chairs right outside to let her know what she thinks. The first two dresses receive lackluster responses from Eunbi, who just sort of shrugs and says they look nice. Clearly, they must not look that nice if that’s her only reaction. Yerin flicks through the dresses she picked out and settles on a sparkly black dress. She normally doesn’t go for something so form-fitting, but when she steps out of the dressing room, it’s worth it.

Eunbi, who’d been on her phone, looks up at her then almost drops her phone. Her ears turn red as she mutters, “.” She grips her phone tightly and stares at Yerin for a long moment, jaw working like she’s trying to remember how words look. After a pause, Eunbi clears and looks away, saying, “Looks nice.”

“Just nice?” Yerin teases.

“I said what I said,” Eunbi snaps, and Yerin grins when the blush reaches Eunbi’s cheeks. 

“Okay, I’ll get this one then,” Yerin says before stepping back into the dressing room.

When the door shuts behind her, Eunbi lets out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. She rubs at her forehead and internally berates herself. God, could she have been any less cool? Sure, Eunbi has only ever really seen Yerin in jeans or skirts with sweaters and blouses, but she didn’t expect herself to react like that to seeing Yerin in a dress like that. Eunbi rests her head against the wall behind her and mutters a string of curses under her breath.

Okay, fine, maybe… Just maybe, she has a thing for Yerin. A small thing. A very small thing. A thing that has become abundantly clear with that goddamn dress. Whatever. It’s fine. Eunbi knows now, so she’ll know how to play it cool. She won’t make it obvious and weird Yerin out or anything. 

Then Eunbi remembers that Yerin is wearing that dress to the party she said she’d go to. Eunbi curses again and just about throws her phone. It hadn’t seemed like such a big deal when she agreed to go earlier, but now what is Eunbi supposed to do? Hopefully, as long as she doesn’t drink too much, she won’t do anything stupid like try to kiss Yerin.

Kissing Yerin…

Eunbi is jolted out of her thoughts when Yerin walks back out in her own clothes. She quickly stands, fighting back the blush that her thoughts brought on. “All done?” Eunbi asks, praying her voice doesn’t sound as shaky as she thinks it does.

“All done,” Yerin nods happily. As she pays, she asks, “Do you want to go anywhere for clothes?”

“No,” Eunbi shakes her head. “I’ve got stuff at home I can wear.” And after her startling realization about Yerin, she doesn’t know if she wants to spend much more time with her. “Besides, I want to swing by Chorong’s for a bit after this.” If Chorong is even home yet.

“Oh, then we can go now,” Yerin says. 

She thanks the cashier and grabs Eunbi’s arm as they leave. She’s been doing that all day, Eunbi thinks. She didn’t really think much of it before. Yerin seems like the touchy type, but now Eunbi feels like her hand is going to burn a hole through her arm. She says nothing though and lets Yerin chatter about how she knows the person who’s throwing the party next week. 

Once they exit the mall, they say goodbye since Chorong’s apartment is in the opposite direction of the train station. Yerin gives her a quick hug that makes her guts feel all twisted, and Eunbi awkwardly returns it.

“I’ll text you the details about the party later,” Yerin tells her. “I’ll see you in class!”

Eunbi waves bye to her then starts walking in the direction of Chorong's place. She thinks about talking to Chorong about Yerin, but she really doesn’t want to admit that Chorong had been right about her liking her. Eunbi huffs and shoves her hands in her pockets. A part of her thinks about changing directions and heading to Meung’s, but Eunbi quickly dismisses the idea. Eunji will be awful about it. She’ll tease Eunbi about it until the day she dies once she finds out. Eunbi isn’t in a hurry for that to happen.

Before she can decide what to do, Eunbi finds herself at Chorong’s apartment. Shrugging, Eunbi heads up to Chorong’s. Even if she doesn’t mention Yerin, it’ll be fun to hang out with her sister. Eunbi knocks on the door, and when Chorong answers, she’s on the phone. She quirks an eyebrow at Eunbi but steps back to let her in.

“We are not doing that,” Chorong says into the phone as she closes the door behind Eunbi. Then she laughs and says, “Because it’s my birthday, and I have veto power.”

Eunbi eyes her sister curiously as she sets down her backpack, watching the way Chorong smiles widely and plays with her hair as she talks.

“We can’t do something normal like dinner?” Chorong says, walking into the kitchen. Eunbi follows after her, eager to continue eavesdropping. “It is not boring! There’s nothing wrong with a nice meal and maybe a movie.” There’s a pause while Chorong listens, her smile becoming soft and charmed. “Okay, fine. No movie. Nothing crazy though, promise? I’m trusting you.” Chorong laughs again, a light and airy sound. “Yeah, okay. See you then.” 

“Who were you talking to?” Eunbi asks as soon as Chorong hangs up.

Chorong gives her a look and says, “That’s none of your business.”

“Was it Eunji?” Eunbi continues like Chorong didn’t say anything. 

“And if it was?” Chorong replies, lifting her chin up as if she’s preparing herself for a fight.

Eunbi rolls her eyes and says, “So, you two are finally going on a date?”

Chorong narrows her eyes at her, but then she sighs and slumps her shoulders. “I’m not really sure,” Chorong admits.

“What do you mean?” Eunbi asks.

“She just asked to go out,” Chorong explains. “She said we’re friends, but she wanted to take me out for my birthday. She didn’t really say it isn’t a date, but she didn’t really say it is a date.”

Without thinking, Eunbi says, “I know what you mean.”

Chorong pauses then says, “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Eunbi grimaces, “I think I have a date with Yerin next Friday.”

When Chorong doesn’t say anything immediately, Eunbi peeks up and finds her back in the kitchen pulling a bottle of wine from her pantry. “Okay,” Chorong sighs. “Go sit on the couch. It’s a wine kind of night. We have a lot to talk about.”

a/n: ok i lied they didn't get together in this chapter, but it's because this one was already getting so long. they will get together in the next chapter when they have their dates!!