...Hwang Eunbi?

That's definitely her. 

She was smiling so bright, Yerin swears she had a spotlight in the dark club. 

"Is something wrong?" the woman dancing with her asks.

Yerin blinks after turning back to the woman in her arms. "Ah." She leans in to avoid yelling over the music. "I have to go back to my friends." When the woman protests, Yerin shrugs and mouths an apology as she walks away. 

She finds her friends in the same place, still talking about whatever. They were fine. They focused more on talking than drinking, so Yerin takes the chance to try and approach Eunbi.

Circling the dance floor, she makes sure, for the third time, that it really is the girl she saved months ago. Eunbi wasn't with Eunha or Yewon, but a taller girl with a handsome face. Steeling her nerves, she weaves through the crowd and ends up right in front of the pair.

Yerin watches as Eunbi's face goes from judgement, to realization, then to surprise. "Jung Yerin?! You're here!" Eunbi gives her a hug, unexpectedly. She pulls away but still keeps her hands on the older. "What are you doing here?"

"This is where I grew up! I'm visiting my parents for the weekend."

Eunbi stares at her lips, brows furrowing. She looks up, confused. "What?!" Yerin repeats what she said, but to no avail. Eunbi gestures to her friend, then pulls Yerin out of the crowd and off to the side. Further away from the speakers, they could hear each other better now. 

"Oh cool! The girl I'm with, Juyeon, lives here. I came to visit too." Yerin wanted to know if they were just friends or more, but she didn't want to ask. Yerin instead asks if the other wants a drink, to which she accepted.

They have a few shots at the bar before settling on a cold glass. "Until when are you here?" 

"I was planning on tomorrow. But I could also do Sunday." Eunbi fixes her cat ears that fell forward a tad. "You?"

"Same. Might even stay until Monday. What else are you going to do while you're here?" the older asks, curious.

"Juyeon has work tomorrow, so I'll probably go on a walk. See a few neighborhoods." Eunbi's finger runs up and down her glass, tracing shapes on the condensation. "I spent the whole day with her yesterday and today. I told her she doesn't have to feel guilty."

"She has work tomorrow? I'm guessing she's going to power through a hangover?" she chuckles.

"She's the designated driver tonight, so no drinks for her." Eunbi raises a brow at the other. "Please tell me you guys have a designated driver." 

"Oh! We walked here. One of my friends lives down the street. Thank you for the concern though." Yerin gives a big grin and clinks her glass with Eunbi's.

"You said you grew up here? How was that like?" she asks before taking a long sip from her drink.

With a shrug, Yerin answers, "It was good. I was born and raised here. I met the friends I'm with tonight in middle school here. My grandparents live here. This was all I knew for many years." 

"What made you leave?"

Yerin knew what to answer to that, but at the same time she didn't. Her usual answer would be just there's no beach here, but she feels inclined to give Eunbi an answer closer to the truth. "There's no beach here. I started drawing comfort from the ocean more and more when I was twelve."

"Did something happen?" Eunbi's brows furrow in worry.

Yerin releases a heavy sigh. "It's a story for another time." She notices how their faces were flushed red because of the alcohol. "You look so cute with your cat ears and makeup."

"Are you flirting with me, Jung Yerin?" Eunbi teases. "What happened to not being interested in a relationship?" 

"I'm not flirting, I'm telling the truth. You look cute." She takes another sip of her drink. "You're never gonna let that go, are you?"

"It's not everyday I get my intentions mistaken. And it's funny seeing your reaction."

The shamelessness from both of them is only possible because of the drinks. They nearly forget who they came here with as they listen and laugh to each other's mundane stories that flowed one after another. They don't even notice their fingers grazing on the marble counter top.

Yerin feels a touch on her back and turns to see Sooyoung and Hayoung. "Yerin, we should go."

"Oh." There's a loss of warmth at her fingers, and she's disappointed (again) that she and Eunbi have to part ways (again). "Eunbi..."

"Go with your friends. I have to check on Juyeon too." Eunbi gives her a small smile before pulling her into a hug. Their bodies pressed, and it lasted long enough for Yerin to feel her warmth. With the feeling lingering, Eunbi disappears into the crowd.

"Who was that?" Sooyoung asks once they're outside.

"Who?"

"That girl you were with. That hug was a little too intimate for her to be a stranger."

Yerin chuckles dryly. "What are you talking about? It was a regular hug."

"Who is she then?" Hayoung pushes with a snicker.

"Just a girl I met at work. I pulled her out of a riptide."

"Did she ask you out like everybody does?"

"She did, but she wanted to be friends from the get go. I was the one that assumed." Yerin purses her lips and puts her hands in her pockets when she feels a slight breeze.

Sooyoung and Hayoung give each other looks. "Is she single?"

"I don't know." Yerin starts to feel sensitive due to fatigue. "Can we stop talking about her now?"

Arriving at Hayoung's apartment, they chug water and prepare for bed. Yerin offers to take the couch. They say their goodnights, and in just a few minutes, the place was quiet. 

Something was bothering Yerin. She really wanted to know who that Juyeon girl is to Eunbi. Before she knew it, she was on Eunbi's Instagram profile. She looked through her posts from the past two years and found Juyeon's account. In Juyeon's stories, she posted a picture of her and Eunbi cheek to cheek, with the club in the background.

Yerin figures they're just best friends. Yeah. Just friends. 

Going back to Eunbi's profile, Yerin's eyes widen when she notices she had liked a picture from last winter. Quickly unliking it, she hopes the notification undoes itself. Yerin obviously doesn't know how the app works.

She puts her phone down and groans into her pillow. This Hwang Eunbi is stressing her for no reason. Yerin tells herself she's not going to see Eunbi again for a while. Heck, she might not see her ever again. 

Looking at Eunbi's latest picture on her feed, Yerin imagines they could be something in another life.

Hours later, Yerin wakes with her phone in her hand, figuring she fell asleep while scrolling. She doesn't really remember when or how they got home, but she remembers Eunbi.

"Sleep well?" Hayoung asks as she walks out of the bathroom with wet hair. She opens the fridge and takes out eggs, kimchi, and leftover rice.

"What time did we leave the club?" Yerin asks while rubbing her eye.

"I don't know, like 2? Why?"

"Just wondering." Yerin also wonders if Eunbi was able to get home safely.

The smell of the kimchi friend rice starts to fill the apartment. "Sooyoung left a few minutes ago. Something about an online meeting."

While waiting for the food to finish, Yerin plugs in her dying phone and opens her social media. She's greeted by a photo of Eunbi in her costume, with Juyeon tagged in the corner. The caption read, "night with jagi-yah".

Yerin scratches her head. Is that jagi in an actual girlfriend way, or is that jagi in a best friend way? She can't help being nosey. 

She suddenly remembers the drinks they shared, the static between their almost touching hands, and the warmth of Eunbi's hug. The memories hit her like a truck, causing her head to ache. 

"You okay?" she hears Hayoung say. "How much did you drink last night?"

Yerin groans. "Enough to not feel good right now."

-

Neither her friends nor her parents wanted to accompany her, so Yerin goes shopping alone. The stores here are better than the ones around her place. Since winter is approaching fast, she needs some new thermal wear and a nice dress coat. Yerin was in no rush, so she takes a look at the displays of other stores that are on the way.

A shoe store catches her eye, so she stands in front of the glass display and looks at the featured shoes. She could get a pair of heel boots. Yerin's always thought some of her outfits could use a better shoe. Looking up and into the store, she sees more shoes on shelves and tables that interest her. 

Before she could take a step into the store, a customer inside turns around, giving Yerin a clear view of her face.

To Yerin's surprise, or no surprise, it's Hwang Eunbi. The lifeguard has never turned around so fast in her life. However, she doesn't walk away. She just stands t