It’s reflex, really, that causes her to hit the red X on her screen even as the name on the caller ID finally registers in her brain. The moment she does, the regret is instantaneous. Yong chances a nervous glance at the other phone in front of her, the one that’s broadcasting on VLive with thousands of moomoos watching, and she doesn’t even hesitate.

“Omo, can you call Byulyi for me?” She half whispers to her manager, already sliding her phone over, “She called me, but I hung up.” The last part she adds a bit sheepishly, and Yong chooses to ignore the -eating grin her manager is giving her while trying and failing to hold back a laugh.

When the phone is passed back to her, it doesn’t take Byul two seconds before she answers.

“What are you doing?” The other girl asks immediately. Before she can help herself, Yong smiles.

“VLive,” she says, staring down at the phone in her hand. It isn’t hard to imagine what Byul could be doing during their call. It’s pretty quiet on the other end so she can easily imagine Byul in the car, probably travelling between schedules. She’s probably got her feet up on the seat the way she does when she’s hunkering in for a longer drive, her favorite car pillow either nestled on her lap or positioned just at her nape. 

As they talk, she realizes that it’s been a while since they’ve hung out, just the two of them. Even though it was nice having the whole group together the other day, she still can’t help but miss quiet nights with just Byul and her in each other’s apartments. Just watching Netflix or eating or talking. No work, no schedules. Just them being them So much so that when she asks her next question, it’s more wishful thinking than anything.

“Are you coming?” She fully expects Byul to say no, braces herself for the disappointment.

“Yeah, I’m almost there.”

That takes her by surprise. She looks up at her personal manager, then at their team manager, both of whom are eyeing with her something like glee but also something a little too knowing for her liking. “Really?” She’s asking Byul but the question is for them too.

“Yeah, uh--” Byul’s voice goes muffled, like she has a hand over her phone’s speaker. Yong hears her talk to her own manager, who’s probably in the car with her.

In front of her, both the team manager and her own manager are sniggering into their hands and it makes Yong feel a little self conscious. “What!?” She whines just a little. On the other end of the line, Byul huffs out a chuckle, low enough that she’s sure her VLive audience doesn’t catch it but also at just the exact timber that makes a pool of warmth curl low and deep in her gut.

“I’ll be there in 10 minutes!” Byul says. 

“Come, come!” Yong says, and she cant help the way her lips curl up into a soft smile. She thinks she couldn’t help it even if she tried. 

When she and Byul finally end the call, Yong is feeling a little giddy with excitement. The moment is short lived however, when she remembers why she’s in the office to begin with.

“I have to leave when Byul gets here,” she says, staring at the phone that’s still broadcasting to her live audience, “because of my schedules.”

She does her level best at holding in a sigh. Just when it felt like she could finally take some time for herself, the real world reminds her how busy she’s been for the last several weeks. How busy they’ve both been, really. She suddenly remembers the last text Byul sent her, earlier that morning when she had asked what Byul’s plans were for the day. The memory has her frowning.

“Why is she coming here? I thought--” she begins, staring at their team manager.

“She ended early and had some free time left,” is the reply at the same time that their manager pulls out her phone to show a text from Byul’s own manager, reporting that Byul had wanted to be driven to wherever Yong was before she has to get ready for her radio show. Their team manager had replied with a series of kekekes and one winking emoji.

 In front of her, the VLive chat is going wild, darting at speeds too fast for her to read. 

Yong works hard at keeping her expression clear, fully aware that she’s still broadcasting live even though a part of her feels like she’s floating. She answers a few more questions as best she can, and she thinks about staying on the broadcast just long enough for Byul to show up and make an appearance. She knows the fans would probably want nothing more. 

But she also thinks about how she’ll probably only get a few seconds with Byul before she has to rush off. In the end it isn’t a very hard decision to make. When she sees her manager’s phone light up with another message, she smiles for the broadcast and starts waving. 

“Everyone, thank you for taking the time to chat with me! I’ll be leaving now! Bye!”

The moment it ends, Yong immediately swipes down on her screen to check the time. About seven minutes until Byul is supposed to arrive. In front of her, both managers chuckle.

“She’ll be here soon enough,” her personal manager says, checking the time on his own phone. Yong smirks but doesn’t reply. Willing the minutes to fly by faster anyway. 

Soon enough, she hears the muffled sound of footsteps outside, partnered with a familiar deep voice laughing through the company hallways. She feels her heart jackhammer around her ribs. When the door opens, Moon Byulyi enters the room with as much pomp and circumstance as is physically possible, booming a loud “hello!” as she does so. 

Yong laughs, Byul takes a few more steps inside and pauses, “I thought you were on Live?”

“I knew that’s why you entered so loudly,” Yong teases. She holds up her phone to explicitly show that the broadcast has long since ended.

“What the--!” Byul whines, dumping her bag on a nearby chair and walking over anyway, her frown is accusatory but her eyes are twinkling with glee anyway. Yong briefly wonders if she’s the only one who can see these microexpressions of hers. “I went to all the trouble of rushing here to be in the live and you end it?” Byul says, poking at her arm.

Yong shrugs, “It’s my Live, I can end it whenever I want.”

Byul puts up the token amount of pouting before she breaks out into a smile and plops into the chair right next to Yong’s. “Missed you today.” Byul says, honestly, simply. Yong feels jealous of how easily she can share her affection like that. She wants to be able to do the same.

Instead she says, “We just saw each other the other day.”

Byul shrugs, “You know what I mean.”

Yong does, but she won’t say that out loud. What she does, however, is scoot her chair closer to Byul’s to rest her head on Byul’s shoulder. 

“How soon before you have to leave?” Byul asks, her voice soft. Yong looks to their management team, all of them smiling knowingly at the two of them.

“I think you can afford to be five minutes late,” Yong’s manager says. Behind him, their team manager winks. 

Underneath the table, where their managers can’t see, Byul laces their fingers together. Yong feels the other girl turn her head just a fraction, nose burying into her hair. “Someone washed their hair,” Byul’s tone is teasing, but there’s a softness there too that makes Yong smile. She nudges Byul in the ribs with her elbow. 

They stay just like that and Yong wishes it could last for much longer than just the five extra minutes they have. She closes her eyes and focuses on the gentle rise and fall of Byul’s shoulders as the other girl breathes. Not for the first time she finds herself marvelling at how it feels just to be with Byul. They aren’t even doing anything yet she already knows that this moment has become the best part of her day

Much too soon, Yong’s manager rises from his seat and taps a finger to the top of his wrist. His eyes are apologetic. Beneath her head, she feels Byul straighten a bit, and Yong sighs but she does too. She moves away from the warmth of Byul’s shoulder and rises from her own seat.

“I guess I’ll see you,” Yong says, and the disappointment in her tone is as clear as day. Byul smiles up at her, their fingers are still laced together, hands clasped between them.

“Purposefully leaving late for a meeting. So unprofessional.” Byul winks. 

Yong huffs out a laugh, and tightens her grip before letting go of Byul’s hand. “Be nice, I ended my Live early for you.”

She watches Byul’s smile turn warm, something in her eyes going soft when she says, “You did what now?”

Yong rolls her eyes playfully, but she knows the smile hasn’t left her lips since Byul walked in. She  also knows that their managers are watching, and that she’s already running late, but she takes the extra time anyway to wrap an arm around Byul’s shoulders and bend down to press a kiss at the top of her head.

“You know what I mean.”