Life beyond the veil shouldn't feel foreign to Joohyun at this point but when she steps into Eden and feels the warm sunlight against her skin, it feels like she's a stranger to this world.

The vocalist finds herself standing in the middle of a small garden. It's been months since she's been outside during the day and all the sensations feel extremely foreign to her. The gentle breeze, the slight rustling of leaves, the warmth of the sun gracing her skin — she's glad that she chose to pass over.

Even if it's false, even if it's just an illusion, there's nothing stopping her from appreciating the beauty that lies behind it.

Drawing a deep breath into her lungs, she can't help but let a grin slip. Perhaps she loves living more than she thought, a fact that has become easier to accept with the help of her beloved companion.

And speaking of said companion, Joohyun is aching to see her. Though it’s been barely a few weeks since their argument, it feels like it’s been an eternity since they've last met. There's no way she would willingly traverse this world without Byulyi by her side.

She makes a guess of where the rapper would be and hopes that she'd get it right. It takes a few tries, but eventually, she finds her companion sitting at the pier where they bared their hearts out to each other so many months ago.

Byulyi sits with slouched shoulders on the edge of the rotting dock, seemingly in her own world. Joohyun dreads to imagine what her companion must be going through upon her absence and with how they left things? She highly doubts that an apology would suffice — but lucky for her, she has all the time in the world to make up for it.

Joohyun makes her way down the wooden platform and her companion registers her presence as soon as the wood begins to creak under her weight.

" I said I wanted to be alone. " the rapper calls out in irritation as she continues to stare blankly into the vast ocean before her.

It feels horrible to be the cause of someone's anguish, especially someone she cares about. No words feel appropriate for a situation like this, not like she’d need words to convey her feelings either. Joohyun makes her way closer and crouches behind her companion, hesitating for a moment before sneaking her arms around the rapper's back. 

" Yah! Wheein-ah, I don't want to– " Byulyi grumbles while she attempts to struggle out of Joohyun's grasp.

The leader only tightens her hold but the rapper manages to manoeuvre herself to face this unwanted presence.

Byulyi's eyes widen with disbelief as she takes in all of Joohyun, crouching in front of her, with her arms wrapped around her neck.

" I'm back. " Joohyun mumbles with a small smile.

The rapper goes through a huge range of emotions in a split second, shock, disbelief, skepticism. For a moment she wonders if this is a hologram or an AI that Wheein and Hyejin have conjured up to help her cope with her grief.

But her doubts disappear when Joohyun talks, Byulyi recognizes that she's real. The way her lips tug upwards into a slight smile when she speaks, the worry hidden behind her dark eyes, the warmth of her touch as her fingers find her way down her cheek — there's no way they could've faked this.

" Unnie? " the resident's lips tremble as she speaks, still trying to accept that this is real.

Joohyun nods as she kneels before Byulyi, cupping her face gently, " I finally died. " she mutters with a wry smile.

“ How are you here ..? “ the rapper could only manage a quiet gasp. She’s spent the last few weeks mourning over the loss of her companion only to have her appear as if nothing has happened, she’s been through a lot in her life but this was just plain cruel.

“ I passed over, “ Joohyun responds, “ I couldn’t leave you behind. “

Byulyi swallows her tears, the questions racing through her mind helps her hold herself together even though all she wants to do is fall apart in Joohyun’s arms.

“ Why? “ she mumbles weakly, “ I thought you would’ve left … “

The leader gazes upon her companion longingly, she's spent her last few lucid moments on soul-searching and coming to a conclusion. In her dying haze, it's hard for her mind to think about anything properly, yet her head was filled with worry, wondering how Byulyi is coping in Eden. That alone helped her to see what she truly wants.

" Because you make me want to live again, Byulyi. I don't know how long I'll stay, but for now, I want to live in this world with you. "

Hearing those words, seeing Joohyun alive again, it's all too much for her. A wave of relief washes over her and she lets herself crumble, tears pushing past her lashes as she seeks solace in the arms of her companion. Joohyun takes the broken rapper into her grasp and plants a soft kiss on the top of her head. They have a whole eternity to figure out what this relationship is, for now, all she wants to do is be here for Byulyi.

Maybe she could fall in love again, maybe she already has.

" So what is this? " 

" Us? "

" Mhm, what are we? "

" Friends? "

" Yah, are you kidding? After everything we’ve been through for the last few months? " Joohyun frowns as she looks up at the rapper.

They’ve spent the whole day in each other’s presence, doing the most mundane of things like cuddling because they finally have the luxury of time to do so.  Without the worry of the expiry of her life lingering at the back of her head, Byulyi can finally enjoy Joouhyun’s presence to the fullest. And there’s no other way Joohyun would rather spend her first day as an official resident. Even as the sun goes down, it doesn’t feel like they’ve made up for lost time just yet. 

So there they sit, on the Loser Crew's unbelievably comfy couch, wrapped up in each other's embrace after binging movies for the whole day. The clock has ticked past midnight and Joohyun snuggles closer to her companion, inhaling her scent and soaking in the warmth only the rapper can provide. It's hard for Byulyi to believe that she went from crying about Joohyun to having her all to herself in a span of a day.

" Best friends? "

" Moon Byulyi ... "

" Okay, okay. Best friends for life? I'll even pinky promise on it. "

Joohyun responds with a scoff and rolls her eyes in mock annoyance. " I didn't pass over so you could make a fool out of me. " she huffs as she buries her face in Byulyi's chest.

" More than friends but less than a couple? " Byulyi muses after thinking hard for a couple of minutes, resting her chin on the crown of Joohyun's head.

" So we're something, but also not quite? "

" Do we really need a label? "

" No … But when the rest of the members pass over too, they'll ask loads of questions. I can already hear Sooyoung and Yerim in my head. "

Snorting lightly, Byulyi responds with a shrug, " We'll figure it out then, provided if we figure our feelings out before then too. "

" Okay, best friend for life. " Joohyun sticks her tongue out as she breaks into a quiet giggle.

The rapper rolls her eyes and groans, " We're scraping that, you might as well call me by my full name. "

Joohyun smirks while her eyes linger on her companion's features, her gaze is drawn to her soft lips and she grins. " Don't regret this, Moon Byulyi. "

" I won't, Bae Joohyun. " Byulyi retorts as she cups the leader's cheeks and leans in for a quick kiss, leaving her stunned and stuttering.

To live a life with someone other than the significant others they vowed to love took a little adjusting. Granted, they’d still miss their lovers, Seulgi still pops up in Joohyun’s dreams every once in a while as did memories of Yongsun for Byulyi. 

But time eases everything and what was a could have been slowly grows into something more than mere companionship. It takes a few months for Joohyun to realise that she's capable of loving more than one person, even if she did pour all her love into Seulgi, she would come to love Byulyi just as much.

With Byulyi, it's easy to see how different Joohyun is from Yongsun. Yet none of it matters because they are two different people who appeared at two very different points of her life, it's hard to say where she'd be if neither of them had been there.

Footsteps interrupt her train of thought and she turns to see Joohyun sliding the glass door open with a warm smile.

" Why are you out here? " Joohyun finds her beloved companion standing at the balcony of their shared apartment, the weather is much too cold for her liking.

Byulyi shrugs lightly as Joohyun wraps her arms around her waist and she tries to warm her companion up, " It's a nice day out. "

" It's freezing out here, what were you thinking of? " the leader nudges her with a knowing look.

Joohyun slowly got better at reading Byulyi's expressions the longer they spent together, it's not a bad thing but she's scarily accurate at times.

" Us. "

The older woman hums softly as she joins the rapper in her idle gazing. " Are you ready for the rest of it? "

" I think I am. " Byulyi nods firmly as if she's never been more certain about anything in her life.

Joohyun murmurs as she leans against Byulyi, " So am I. "

" Guess we can tell everyone we're finally dating. " the rapper snickers, her heart is leaping for joy despite how casual she sounds.

" Did those three pressure you for an answer? " Joohyun exhales as she thinks of her members that have passed over recently, she suspects that they could've contributed to Byulyi's decision.

The younger woman cringes and raises her shoulders slightly, " Seungwan is much scarier than I remembered her. But either way, I wouldn't want to spend an eternity without you. "

" Glad we're on the same page. "

The rapper lets out a hearty chuckle while looking down at the small woman in her arms. If anyone told her a year ago that she'd be with someone other than Yongsun, she wouldn't have believed it — part of her had long resigned to the fate of having to navigate Eden with only Wheein and Hyejin.

But now, she couldn't be happier to have Joohyun with her for however long an eternity is. Maybe at some point, they would leave, but it's not something they'll think about any time soon.

For now, to be two lovers living out a semblance of a perfect forever is enough for them.