“You’re avoiding me.” Yewon breathes out as Yoobin, Yeji, Yewon and Jiho are returning to the dorms again. Ryujin is following them too but she doesn’t live at the dorms, she just comes to accompany her girlfriend and tell her goodnight. It’s been a while since Yoobin’s failed test. A week and two days actually. Yes, Yoobin counts the days. It’s like a breakup to her. It truly hurt her and made her depressed. She’s trying hard to get over it. She’s trying hard by trying to study even more and also… by pushing Yewon away. For… a lot of reasons. She blames herself for thinking over her situation with Yewon. She thinks that’s the reason she failed, cause that’s actually the reason. She also still doesn’t have answers for Yewon and… lastly, she’s hurting the girl every day by not giving her an answer and leaving her hanging so… she decided to start avoiding her. Which of course is stupid because Yewon would eventually realize it. And she does. Yoobin just wasn’t expecting her to mention it in front of other people, even though they’re their friends. So right now… she’s caught too off guard and she just… doesn’t know what to reply to her honestly.

 

“Yeah. I do.” She replies blatantly, after a few lingering seconds of awkward silence. There’s no reason for her to lie or try to avoid it either because Yewon already knows.

 

“Why? Have I done something wrong?” Yewon sounds hurt and even slightly annoyed. But most importantly, worried. Yoobin just shakes her head.

 

“Then? Why?” Yoobin doesn’t reply at first. Yewon sighs.

 

“You’re going to avoid answering that now too, right? I just… why so suddenly? What has happened? Aren’t we friends? It hurts you know!” Jiho smiles awkwardly at the two and walks faster, dragging the clueless Yeji along with Ryujin a bit, to leave the other two behind them and talk in peace.

 

“I deserve an answer unnie.” Yewon sounds hurt, tired and annoyed but she’s trying hard to be calm.

 

“I know… I know you do. I just… don’t have an answer.” Yoobin slowly replies.

 

“You don’t have an answer? So you avoid me just because?” Yewon asks her confused as her voice rises a bit and cracks at the end.

 

“No. I have a reason to avoid you. I just can’t tell you.” Yoobin answers calmly. She’s not a person to panic easily, but she feels too awful right now. She doesn’t really feel nervous, she just feels so bad that it hurts her whole body.

 

“What nonsense is this!? Why didn’t you avoid me when I confessed to you then!? It would have been more clear to me at least. Now I literally can’t understand a thing! You’re so mysterious, unnie. You keep everything to yourself, it’s always so hard to tell what you feel at the moment or what you think. I always think twice and thrice of my actions towards you because I don’t want to mess up! I can’t mess up! I can’t lose you…” Yewon starts blubbering as she gets more and more passionate with what she says. It all comes from her heart and mind, with no filter at all and Yoobin is amused.

 

“I always have to think so much and guess your actions. Why can’t you just tell me?” Yoobin lowers her head and looks at her feet as they dragged her towards their dorm. Yewon on the other hand has turned her head and looks at Yoobin and Yoobin only.

 

“You don’t have to do that.”

 

“Think of your actions. Or my own. Just be you.” Yoobin adds.

 

“I can’t. I care for you, unnie. And I don’t want to lose you. So I’m always careful because my actions might hurt you again and I don’t want that to happen. I really don’t!” Yoobin sighs. Her heart aches and swells so much it’s about to burst!

 

“Are you just going to act on your own? Without considering of my side too? I get it… you didn’t want to comment anything on my confession because you clearly felt uncomfortable. I get it! But now you’re going to avoid me without telling me why? And you expect me to be calm and accept it and still be your friend like I always do? It hurts, unnie! Why are you doing it? This… this is selfish and I really don’t believe you’re selfish!”

 

“Maybe I am.”

 

“No you’re not. You just want to look selfish because there’s an another reason there. I know there is.” Yoobin sighs. It starts to get too pressuring. She’s an , she knows it. But maybe she should start talking instead of keeping it to herself.

 

“I made you a promise. That I was going to make it to the trip. That’s what I’m trying to do. I try to get back to studying cause just to remind you, I failed a test. Which means I’m not studying enough.”

 

“I knew it. I knew it has to do with that stupid test again! So you’re avoiding me for a test? Wow! I didn’t know I had a competition with books now! Not even real people! This is so unfair!” Yewon is definitely annoyed and she has every right to be.

 

“Competition? And what’s the prize?” Yewon sighs.

 

“So you’re doing this so you can study more and make it to the trip?” Yoobin nods her head.

 

“It doesn’t look like it. Even at the cafeteria when we all hang out, you still avoid me. You prefer talking with Jiho and wasting your precious time of studying instead of talking to me! You’re leaving me hanging! Again! Is this your thing now? Toying me around? To test my patience? Or are you trying to get even for what I did in the past?” Yoobin clenches her fists and turns to look at Yewon intensely.

 

“I would never get revenge. Never.” She says seriously. She can’t believe Yewon went that far! But once again, she has every right to do so cause Yoobin isn’t giving her answers so she’s trying to guess on her own.

 

“Then what is-”

 

“You wanna know? Ok. You’ll get your answers. All of them.” Yoobin breathes out. She knows she’s acting carelessly right now and she’s going to spill up everything but she had enough and she knows Yewon is fed up as well. It’s just about time to face her problems once and for all. Whether Yewon likes it or not. And then, it’s up to Yewon to decide, not in her own hands anymore.

 

She walks towards a bench and sits down. Yewon sits next to her, her eyes never leaving Yoobin.

 

“I avoid you because I failed the test because of you. I’ve been thinking of giving you a real answer for your confession two months ago, a lot lately. It’s the only thing in my mind. That I left you hanging. That I hurt you everyday by leaving things unclear between us. By always letting you guessing. I’m awful. I know that. So it was my only concern. So of course I failed! I couldn’t even study! Which is something I can always manage to do! It’s what I can do best! I’ve been into a lot worse with you anyway and I still managed to study and always have perfect scores! But here I am, failing!” Yoobin says as she raises her voice slightly and glares at Yewon, as if it’s truly Yewon’s fault. Yewon feels bad now and wants to apologize but Yoobin doesn’t let her.

 

“I tried hard to search for answers; Yewon. Even if they’re in front of my eyes… it’s not as easy as you think it is. For you it might be, but for me it’s not. I know I like you. I still do. And it’s crystal clear to me. But it’s not that easy… I have doubts… worries… and trust issues. I’m still trying to heal my scars… And since it’s time to be fully honest with you, then, I don’t trust you still. It hurts you to hear that, I know. But I still don’t trust you. I don’t trust you as something more than a friend at least. I don’t trust love either. So even if I like you… I’m too hurt and afraid to try it out. Too afraid…” Yoobin mumbles at the end. Even though her whole body is on fire as she finally confesses… she feels lighter for finally letting it out. But she knows she’s making things worse than they already are now.

 

“So I tried to do the one thing I know best… to get over you. Avoid you until I’ll be over you. You’re better off without me anyway. I’m only hurting you, Yewon.”

 

“You don’t.”

 

“I do.”

 

“Fine you do. But I like you as well. So I’m always having fun around you. I always feel so nice no matter how sorrowful I feel for not knowing your side. It’s good being around you, I want to be around you. Don’t push me away please…” Yoobin shakes her head.

 

“It’s not up to me only. Now you know my side. You know my feelings, but you know my worries and issues too. That’s why I didn’t reply to your confession. Because I don’t know what to do. What do you want me to do with that confession?” Yoobin asks her as she looks at her. Yewon bites her lips.

 

“I can give you time. Time to to heal. Take as much time as you want and need.”

 

“But I might get over you. Or you’ll get over me.”

 

“Yeah. But I also might not. You just have to try, unnie. Life is all about taking risks and decisions. If you won’t face your problem with love and try and experience it… you’ll never know how it feels. Your life will be calm because you’ll be in your comfort zone forever but it’s going to be empty and always missing something.” Yewon sighs.

 

“I can’t promise you I’ll love you forever or that our relationship will last forever. I can’t promise you safety and comfortness forever. Cause future is unpredictable. And scary. And it’s better if we face reality and stop living in our own worlds. This isn’t how reality works anyway. I can promise you that I’ll try my best. And I can always make a promise, every day, to love you and take care of your fragile heart. Let’s live for today and not care about tomorrow. Or for the next month. Or year. Cause I can’t predict what I’ll feel towards you in a year from now. But I can promise you about tomorrow. And tomorrow I can promise you about the day after tomorrow, and the day after tomorr-”

 

“I get it.” Yoobin answers softly.

 

“Oh… And…?”

 

“I’ll think about it. I’ll take my time. But…”

 

“But?”

 

“You can’t keep waiting forever. You already waited for two months. I don’t want you to get hurt for more. So… I’ll give us some time limit. If I don’t come up with any answer until the day before the trip… then you can move on from me and find someone else.”

 

“What? No unnie you don’t have to pressure yourself it’s fin-”

 

“No it’s not. Please Yewon, keep this promise with me. Please… I had enough of getting hurt, just by knowing that I hurt you. It hurts me because I care for you too. And if I can’t come up with answers then it means I’m not capable to take care of you… so find someone else to take care of your heart and love you like how I won’t ever…”

 

“Don’t say that…” Yewon says and smiles sadly, her eyes almost getting glossy.

 

“No, I mean it, Yewon. Please let’s keep that promise. Keep that promise with me.” Yewon sighs sadly. She holds out her pinky and wraps with with Yoobin’s as a tear slips her eye. She loves Yoobin too much and even though she feels so happy and giddy to know that Yoobin likes her back… it’s too sad to make such a promise and it scares her as well since Yoobin hasn’t given her an answer for so long already. She’s too afraid and this promise hurts too much so her happiness that her feelings aren’t one sided fades away immediately as depression and uneasiness takes over. She mumbles a soft “Promise” as another tear rolls her eyes. Yoobin is sad too… but she’s determined to really think hard of it this time. To test every possibility and get over her traumas and trust issues.

 

___

 

After their talk, Yewon walks inside her dorm tiredly. She closes the door softly behind her and lets out a long sigh.

 

“What did you guys talk about?” Jiho asks her excitedly, sitting on her own bed and kicking her legs back and forth in excitement. Yewon is really not in the mood for that now though. She rests her body on the door and closes her eyes.

 

“Nothing you don’t know already.” She mumbles and takes off her shoes. She lets them next to the door and takes off her coat as well.

 

“I know I know a lot of stuff but I can’t guess what you guys talked about since I wasn’t there. You’ll have to tell me.”

 

“There’s no point.” Yewon groans. She places her coat on the hanger next to the door and walks towards her bed. Jiho stares at her, not being able to stop herself from smiling. Yoobin has already texted her that she confessed to Yewon so Jiho really can’t stop smiling. She’s way too happy for them, she’s shipping them so damn hard she’s sure she’s their No 1 fan!

 

“Why are you so sulky? What did she tell you? Should I go hit her dumb head?” Yewon glares at Jiho before plopping herself down on the bed, with her head straight onto the pillow.

 

“No.”

 

“Then should I go knock some sense into her pretty head?” Yewon shakes her head. She raises her head from her pillow slightly to face Jiho and finally says slowly and shyly,

 

“She… confessed…”

 

“Damn! No way!” Jiho screams in a high pitched voice as if she heard this news for the first time in her life.

 

“Stop acting like a high schooler unnie you already knew that for too long now to act so surprised!”

 

“Sorry I just feel like I need to act like those loud, energetic and super supportive friends from movies.” Jiho says and laughs.

 

“Truth to be told you’re exactly like them though. You don’t need to try much to act.” Jiho laughs harder.

 

“So… since she likes you, you should be happy right? You should be the excited one, not me. Why aren’t you?” Again, Jiho knows the answer already because Yoobin has already texted her everything that she and Yewon talked about earlier.

 

“Because… because she says she doesn’t trust me as a lover. Because she’s still afraid of love and getting hurt.” Yewon says and pouts, a whine almost escapes her lips.

 

“Oh… I see… so it’s that hard huh? To be with her I mean.”

 

“Exactly! While everyone else just has to wait for their loved ones to fully be in love with them, I, on the other hand, have to wait for Yoobin unnie to fix herself! Why is she always the difference in this world?”

 

“I dunno kid. You’re the one who likes her, not me.”

 

“Yes but you’re her best friend!” Yewon groans as she raises herself and sits on the bed instead of lying down.

 

“Ok you’re not wrong. Yoobin is definitely the difference in this world. She always does what everyone else doesn’t. She’s weird. But that’s why we’re besties I guess.” Yewon glares at her.

 

“Wow unnie thank you for your supporting words! I feel so comforted now!”

 

“Yeah, right. Sorry. So… what are you going to do then?”

 

“She told me to give her time. But only until the day before our trip. If she hasn’t chosen on what to do with me, she told me to move on from her…”

 

“Oh ! That’s in less than two weeks! Has she lost her mind!? She hasn’t made a decision for months now! How is she going to decide in only two weeks!?”

 

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about!” Yewon hasn’t stopped pouting and whining.

 

“And what will you do about it?”

 

“Huh?” Yewon looks at Jiho confused.

 

“Arin! Wake up you ! You only have two weeks! You need to do something! You’re not going to give up now, right?” Jiho says louder as she claps her hands to get Yewon’s attention.

 

“Uh… I was thinking of giving her time…? That’s what she asked for after all.”

 

“And you’ll just stand there and wait? And do nothing?”

 

“What do you want me to do?”

 

“To do something to affect her decision you idiot!”

 

“Why would I do that? That’s cheating you know! It won’t help her! It will confuse her more! And she won’t fix her issues that way!”

 

“Gosh Arin ah! You’re such an idiot.”

 

“Thanks I guess…” Yewon mumbles with a pout.

 

“She likes you.” Jiho says softly and Yewon smiles with a light blush on her cheeks. She likes hearing it.

 

“I know…”

 

“That’s your strongest card to play with. Unlike everyone else who has to wait for their partner to love them, all you have to do is convince her that you’re worth it. You are already feeling safe and at ease because you don’t have to worry about your feelings being one sided! Kid, this is the biggest worry of everyone out there. Even I am worried about that. But you’re not. You know she likes you back so…”

 

“So…?” Yewon mumbles, troubled.

 

“So you need to start working, !”

 

“But I’m working already! At the cafeteria, remember? Wait… how is this relevant with-” Jiho facepalms herself.

 

“You need to start working on fixing your relationship with Yoobin. It’s not bad at the moment, but she doesn’t trust you as a lover and you need to fix that. Show her what you really want to do with her if you guys were together, make her feel safe, show her how much you love her, show her how important she is to you, show her that you’re serious and that you’re not the old you that just tried to burst out somehow all the pressure she felt from her miserable life all those years! Jeez! I should be making real good money for being such a great matchmaker! Damn it man, what am I doing with my own life?” Yewon giggles at Jiho’s last words.

 

“Thank you unnie. You’re a lifesaver!” She says and hugs Jiho tightly.

 

“Why are you doing these though? Shouldn’t you be helping Yoobin unnie?”

 

“I think I helped her enough all this time by talking to her. I think our last talk helped her a lot as well or else she wouldn;t have confessed to you, you know.”

 

“Thank you. Again. You’re a really nice person, do you know that?” Jiho laughs.

 

“I know. I wish Hyejin could see that too.”

 

“She does. Just be a bit patient as I am.” Jiho sighs.

 

“Anyway! This isn’t about me here! It’s about you! Get your girl! I’m not your biggest shipper for nothing!” Yewon laughs hard.

 

___

 

“Stop staring at me.” Yoobin says as she tries to avoid looking at Yewon, her eyes now glued on her phone’s screen, finding, suddenly, Instagram way too interesting.

 

“Sorry… I just… you’re really pretty.” Yewon says and giggles softly. Jiho’s talk with her last night really helped her. She feels lighter now and wants to try, wants to believe in them. After all, she likes Yoobin and she doesn’t have to hide it anymore. Yoobin likes her too, so why should she suppress her feelings?

 

Yoobin grips her phone harder in her hands, but doesn’t reply.

 

“What are you looking at?” Yewon asks her as she steals a glance on Yoobin’s phone.

 

“You’ve already liked that post, unnie. About three times. Is Jinsoul unnie that pretty?” Yoobin grips her phone tighter and she swears it’s going to break if Yewon keeps on going. What’s so wrong with her today? They promised to give it time, to give Yoobin time. So what is Yewon doing? Why is she acting so weird now? Should Yoobin be afraid of her?

 

“Don’t you know that this is called personal information?” Yoobin asks her as she points at her phone and glares at Yewon who only smiles widely back at her.

 

“I don’t think it’s that personal if you let me see it as well. If you didn’t want me to see what you’re looking, you would have dragged your phone away from my view.” Yoobin groans and Yewon chuckles. She turns off her phone’s screen and lets it on the table. She tangles her fingers and looks back at Yewon, letting out a soft sigh.

 

“Don’t you have work today?” It’s true. The cafeteria is busy and now Yoobin starts to regret coming there because it looks like she’s distracting Yewon instead of helping her work. She’s sitting in front of the counter, as usual. And she even came alone today. She should have just brought Jiho and sat somewhere further, at a random table. Why did she even want to come here? Right… to see Yewon. After her confession last night… she felt exposed and scared but at the same lighter and… more in love than she already felt. She wanted to be more around Yewon and… after giving it a lot of thought, maybe it will help her make a decision. If she’s around the girl more.

 

“I do. But I think Soobin can manage. I want to spend more time with you. I don’t get to see you that often around here.” Yoobin tries her hardest to suppress her smile.

 

“I think you should really go help him. He looks like he really needs it. I won’t leave anyway. I’ll be here for… a while…” Yoobin says as she looks at Soobin from behind them who looks in such a rush and struggle, trying to make everyone’s orders by himself. Yewon pouts but goes to help Soobin anyway. But even if she returns back to work, she still doesn’t forget to glance over at Yoobin whenever she can and smile at her.

 

Yoobin can’t handle this situation so as soon as Jiho comes and plops herself next to her on the counter, she blurts out,

 

“This is your doing.” She glares at Jiho who only smirks and says,

 

“I have no idea of what you’re talking about.”

 

“Yes you do. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Jiho laughs.

 

“Ok fine. I might have talked to her.” She admits and looks back at Yoobin.

 

“What did you tell her?”

 

“I just gave her some advice on how to win you.” Yoobin groans.

 

“Wow! And I thought we were best friends!” Jiho laughs.

 

“Hey I always help you around but she’s so helpless when it comes to you. I just can’t sit there and watch my favorite ship sinking!” Yoobin rolls her eyes.

 

“You made her like you though!”

 

“I wouldn’t exactly say it like that, but I suppose that’s a way to put it.”

 

“Seriously what did you tell her!?”

 

“I just tried to boost her confidence. Relax Yoobin. I didn’t make her like me. And she’s not acting anything different than who she is and the person you know either. She’s just feeling ok with herself, confident and shows her love to you, and as she should! You didn’t tell her to stop showing her love to you so there’s no reason for her to not show it. Damn do you know how scared and sad she came to me the night you two talked? She has almost given up! So don’t, don’t tell me what did I do to her, Yoobin, please. I helped her because you’re obviously giving her a hard time.” Yoobin now looks at her hands and feels bad once again. Bad for giving Yewon such a hard time, of always giving her a hard time.

 

“I think she’s doing fine. I’m proud of her. No matter your final decision, I truly am proud of her.” Jiho says as she looks at Yewon who’s talking with a customer, a happy smile on her lips.

 

“She looks happy. Genuinely happy. I’ve seen her at her worsts, at her so so… at… every moment of her life actually. Trust me that smile on her lips wasn’t there before. All her smiles that she tried to form here at work, were always empty or fake. Or at least something was missing, even if she was ok. Now… it’s the first time I see her so happy. Like… real happy, truly happy, completely happy.” Yoobin looks at Yewon too. A faint smile forms on her lips. Maybe she’s not that expressive or talkative herself but… she’s happy seeing Yewon like this. She truly is.

 

“What if I’ll reject her? Will she still be this happy?”

 

“At first? No. Everyone’s hurt from rejections and you know it. But she’ll get over it. She’s strong and… she learnt a lot of things from us, from you. So she’ll be fine. She’ll get over you.” Yoobin hums in response but it hurts… the last comment hurts. Now she can’t stop thinking of Yewon slowly stop liking her and then maybe even liking someone else. It hurts but that’s the damn truth and… it’s possibly how it’s going to go. She should her used to that idea.

 

“Do you want her to get over you?” Jiho asks Yoobin as she looks at her. Yoobin keeps looking at Yewon and sighs.

 

“I haven’t made my decision yet, Jiho.”

 

“I know. But I feel like you’ll reject her. So I’ll play with my last card. Imagine her broken heart and sad expressions when you’ll reject her! How much she will cry and how depressed she will be! Come on Bin, she’s such a nice girl! You can finally be happy please don’t re-”

 

“Enough-”

 

“You guys are my favorite ship! Don’t ruin this Yoobin or else I swear to god Jiho, who’s me by the way, that I’ll haunt you forever!”

 

“Jiho stop.” She deadpans.

 

“Fine! I just wanted to give it a shot. Now I’ll be off, before she sees me.” Yoobin rolls her eyes again.

 

“You’re unbelievable. Are you going to spy on us on our dates too?” Jiho smirks and Yoobin glares at her.

 

“Don’t”

 

“...”

 

“Don’t.”

 

“...”

 

“Stop what you’re thinking-”

 

“I didn’t say anything girl! You said it yourself!”

 

“I-”

 

“Bye Bins!” Jiho says in a hurry and leaves the cafeteria. Yoobin groans.

 

“What?” She asks Soobin who’s looking at her with a smile.

 

“I’m with her. All the way.”

 

“Knew you were gonna say that.”

 

“I’m on Arin’s side but I’m going to speak for your side now too. Give her a chance. I think… after everything, you deserve to be happy too. And I’m sure she’ll make you really happy.” Yoobin squints her eyes.

 

“What do you know?”

 

“Oh I don’t know much about your situation. Arin hasn’t told me much but from the little I know, and mostly because of that eventful night at YooA noona’s brother’s party I can tell that you don’t have a nice experience with love.”

 

“Trust me… all I’ve been doing is thinking.”

 

“Then don’t. Just feel it. We all have our doubts about our partners, noona. I have my doubts about Beomgyu too. He’s too clueless sometimes, but he’s also really sensitive too. Really clingy too. And… sometimes I feel like he’s living in his own world which isn’t helping at all whenever he doesn’t seem to understand my issues.”

 

“Yeah now that you mentioned it he looked like he was in his own world the last time I saw him too.”

 

“He always is! Point is… we have our issues too, and sometimes, when I’m at my worst, I feel like I made the wrong choice… but then, I remember how much I love him, how much he loves me and cares for me and would do anything for me. We have gone through so much, and we’ve been together into everything we did. I can’t imagine my life without him at this point, so even if we have our issues, we try to find ways to solve them. Relationships can’t be perfect. You can try to search the whole world but you’ll never find the perfect partner. Or even if you will, I don’t think you’re perfect yourself. Or even if you are, there will always be problems. Either one of you will cause them or someone or something else, outer from your relationship that can still affect it though. We’re not living in a perfect world Yoobin noona.” Yoobin sighs.

 

“You’re not wrong.”

 

“I thought I saw Jiho earlier.” Yewon says as she reaches the counter.

 

“Yeah she passed by to say hello and left. She was in a rush.” Soobin answers.

 

“What were you guys talking about? It looked like something interesting.”

 

“We were saying that I want to go for a walk with you before we go home. You were grumbling about how you don't get to see me because of work earlier, right?” Yoobin says and Soobin gives her a small thumbs up.

 

“Oh really?” Yewon asks her excitedly. Yoobin nods her head.

 

___

 

Well, their words truly helped Yoobin. But she’s still not as expressive or clear to Yewon. And unfortunately time is running short. She still has a lot of studying to do so she can be able to come to the trip, but she’s not fully entirely avoiding Yewon either. She’s just truly busy with studying. So they don’t hang out often. But whenever they meet with their group of friends, they talk and interact like how they always do. But… they ran out of time…

 

Today is the last day. It’s Friday and it’s the last day at college before the break fully starts. The girls are planning to go on their trip tomorrow and Yoobin… still hasn’t given Yewon a proper answer. She hasn’t changed her behavior to somehow help Yewon understand or give her a sign either though. So Yewon is really nervous and slightly sad as the time passes by. She met with Yoobin earlier today and they bought coffee together, along with everyone else. Yoobin looked tired, as she always did lately because she’s studying really hard, but she looked calm, like she always does. Nothing too suspicious yet again not a sign either. And the fact that their schedules are so booked today doesn’t help Yewon see Yoobin more to understand what’s going on or give Yoobin some more time to give Yewon an answer. Did Yoobin choose this day on purpose?

 

“Stop pouting.” Seunghee deadpans, already tired of Yewon pouting so much today. Yewon sighs.

 

“Stop sighing!”

 

“What do you want me to do then?” Yewon grumbles.

 

“Stop grumbling too!”

 

“Unnie!”

 

“I think you’re too harsh on her now.”

 

“She’s annoying though! We all get it! She’s nervous and sad because Yoobin hasn’t given her an answer but hey! The girl has a lot on her mind!”

 

“I know…” Yewon says and pouts.

 

“She said she will give her an answer today though. When will she man up and do so? Yewon should have been her first priority no matter what else is going on in her life. If she truly likes her at least.” Mihyun says.

 

“Yeah. But she also said she will give her an answer, if she has one. So maybe she just doesn’t have an answer. Again.” Shiah says.

 

“Guys! You’re not helping!” Hyojung scolds them in her own cute yet motherly way as she sees Yewon looking at them all shocked and sad.

 

“She said she will give you answers today. She didn’t give you an exact time, so maybe she will do it later, when we will all be off from classes.” Hyejin tries to reassure Yewon and pats her back softly. Yewon sighs and mumbles a low “thank you” to her. But truth to be told, no matter how her friends try to help her, she’s getting more and more discouraged as time passes by. Yoobin is gone all day, busy studying or having classes. She probably doesn’t even remember her promise to Yewon, right?

 

As they all try to comfort her, Jiho enters the campus’ cafeteria and walks towards their table, a bright smile on her lips as she holds a can of soda in her hands. She plops herself next to them and sips from her soda loudly.

 

“You’re being so loud!” Seunghee groans and glares at her.

 

“So? No one told me I have to be quiet.”

 

“Well we do that now. Shut your pretty mouth up now!”

 

“Why?” Jiho smirks.

 

“Because we’re thinking!”

 

“All of you?”

 

“Yes!” Seunghee, Shiah and even Yewon answer her with a glare.

 

“Gosh guys… it’s not like that.” Hyejin says.

 

“Yewon is just sulky and nervous because it’s the day Yoobin has to tell her about her decision. And she hasn’t done anything so far. So we all try to comfort her. That’s all.” Jiho smiles and hums in response, her attention returning back to her drink as she keeps on sipping annoyingly to Seunghee’s liking.

 

“Where is Yoobin unnie?” Yewon asks Jiho slowly.

 

“The hell would I know…?”

 

“Hey! Language! She just asked you a question!” Seunghee grumbles.

 

“Gosh why are you so upset?”

 

“Because I’m also nervous about Yewon ok? Where is Yoobin really? Huh? You’re her best friend you’re supposed to know!”

 

“Well I don’t.” Jiho says and shrugs her shoulders.

 

“You’re very suspicious today. And really weird too. I bet you know Yoobin’s decision but you’re not saying a single thing! You brat!” Jiho just laughs.

 

Meanwhile, Yewon’s eyes are locked on Yoobin who now enters the cafeteria. She is holding a pack of books in her hands and she is walking slowly, talking with Dami and Yoohyeon. She looks at them and smiles at them as she feels light and the conversation is really interesting to her. She glances over at her friends for a second as they’re close to their table and stops on her tracks. The other two do the same and they keep on talking for a few minutes before she bids them goodbye and takes a seat next to Jiho. She lets her books on the table and rests her head on Jiho’s shoulder who smiles warmly.

 

“You’re tired.” Yoobin nods her head. She likes how well Jiho knows her so she doesn’t even have to talk sometimes. Jiho just knows.

 

“How many hours did you sleep last night?”

 

“Four…” Yoobin mumbles and closes her eyes. She can really use a couple of minutes of nap right now. She badly needs it anyway. Yewon’s eyes and ears are on them as concern is written all over her face.

 

“Studying again…?” Yoobin hums in response.

 

“Do you think you can make it to the trip tomorrow?” Jiho asks the last question carefully, knowing too well that it’s one of the main questions that has been running on Yewon’s mind all this time. Yoobin doesn’t answer for a while and for a while, they can only hear at the faded talking around the cafeteria and the girls’ talking. They have skillfully found another topic to talk about but they can actually multitask, and hear what these two are saying as well.

 

“I think I’ll sleep on your shoulder for a while. I badly need it.” Yoobin mumbles tiredly, her voice sounds faint and she forms a faint smile on her lips. Jiho hums in response and brushes her hair away from her face a little.

 

“Sleep for as long as you want. I’ll wake you up later when your next class starts.” Yewon fiddles with her fingers for a while, thinking of something to say but she’s hesitant, so when she does, she’s not sure if Yoobin is actually awake or not.

 

“Isn’t she hungry? Can we buy her something?” Jiho looks at Yewon, then back at Yoobin and then back at Yewon as she says,

 

“Yeah. Buy her a croissant.” Yewon nods her head, stands up and heads to the canteen. Jiho looks at her as she walks off and then she looks back at Yoobin as she caresses her hair softly, knowing damn well that Yoobin likes it when people do that to her hair and head and actually makes her even more sleepy.

 

“She’s the only one I trust to be with you.” She mumbles softly and kisses Yoobin’s head. Yoobin hums softly, still half awake as she has totally heard what Jiho just said. She just hopes she’s going to make the best decision possible.

 

___

 

The whole day passed by too slowly for Yewon’s liking. Yubin disappeared again and as soon as her classes were over, she was off to her dorm. Yewon didn’t want to bother her, plus she still has some preparation to do for their trip tomorrow. She has most stuff ready for days now but there are still a little stuff left. So she gets herself busy by cleaning her room and getting her suitcases ready. So, without her realizing it, it’s night time now. She’s glad that the whole afternoon passed sooner than the morning did but… now that she thinks about it… she’s not as glad. She’s nervous all over again, and sad too. Depressed and hurt. Yubin hasn’t shown up and most probably she won’t tomorrow at the trip as well. Yewon doesn’t know how’s Yubin’s studying going, if she has made any progress or anything. Yubin hasn’t told her much. So she’s just left in the dark, once again, trying to fill the emptiness by herself, by her own thoughts and guesses.

 

She looks around her now tidy room and at her closed suitcases in the middle of the room. She lets out a huff.

 

“She won’t come, right?” She asks Jiho, who’s lying down on her bed, her suitcases somehow already ready even though the girl didn’t do much all afternoon. Jiho’s busy texting to Hyejin on her phone. Again. She just shrugs her shoulders at Yewon’s question and Yewon only sighs once again. She’s tired and her eyes are now filled with tears. She doesn’t want to cry. It’s stupid to cry. Really stupid. Yubin just can’t be with her, for various reasons. And Yewon understands, she truly does. And she’s more than ok, by just being Yubin’s friend. So why does it hurt so much really?

 

She wipes furiously her eyes with her long loose sleeves of her pajama and bites her lips.

 

“This is stupid. I’m stupid for hoping…” She mumbles between her silent cries. It looks like her eyes weren’t communicating with her brain though and they only keep on watering and filling with tears that roll down her eyes like waterfalls. Stupid eyes! Stop crying!

 

“Hey… it’s… ok to cry. And it’s also ok to hope.” Jiho answers softly as she lets her phone to her nightstand and sits more properly, fully facing Yewon. Yewon just keeps standing still, in the middle of the room, crying by herself.

 

“It’s useless… I won’t try again… I’m tired, unnie. I messed up so bad and now she doesn’t even want to give me a proper answer. I think I’ll just stick to my studies like how she does.” She mumbles with a pout as she keeps on wiping her eyes.

 

“Gosh why does it hurt so bad?” She grumbles.

 

“Why can’t I stop crying!” She whines. Jiho stands up and hugs her. She caresses her head and back soothingly, trying to comfort the crying girl somehow. She looks and sounds like she’s about to burst. Yewon keeps on crying though so she doesn’t really hear that someone knocked on their door. Jiho sighs.

 

“I’ll go open the door. Hyejin said she wanted to grab something she forgot here.” Jiho says and heads to the door. She opens the door and walks back to Yewon who keeps on sniffing.

 

“Can I come in?