When the local news network reported that there would be shooting stars for late that evening, Yongsun immediately decided she would go, their early dance practice tomorrow be damned. Now that she was here, sitting on one of the benches across from the Han River, she didn't regret her decision but she had wished she’d brought a thicker jacket. 

Yongsun shivered against another strong gust of wind and wondered if she’d miss the shooting stars if she ran back to the rooftop apartment to switch jackets. She had meant to invite Hyejin and Wheein to come with her, but the two had seemed so tuckered out after a full day of training that she didn’t have the heart to wake them.

She already had half a mind to head back when the first star streaked across the sky. Pretty soon, the night sky was full of them, bright streaks of light against an otherwise empty, blue-black night sky. 

It had been almost a year since she started idol training, and with just her, Wheein, and Hyejin left, it still didn’t feel like they were getting any closer to debuting. Their CEO kept insisting that their group was missing something, that they weren’t ready to debut. Everytime they asked, he was purposefully vague, only reminding them that they weren’t ready, and that if they wanted to make it, they had to work harder. 

She hadn’t wished on a shooting star since she was a little girl, but now, alone, cold, and bogged down by an unsure future of idol training, she closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and thought hard. 

When she opened them again, a brightness unlike anything she’d ever seen before filled her vision with white. It took her brain a few moments to realize that it was a shooting star, larger than all the others, darting past her line of sight. Yongsun closed her eyes again, the brightness shining past her eyelids for a blinding moment before fading back into blackness.

Yongsun blinked once, twice, trying to get rid of the spots in her vision. Unsure if what had happened was even real. When everything cleared, she looked to where the shooting star had gone and saw something large and glowing several meters away from her, just on the grassy part of the embankment.

The star!

“,” Yongsun said, pushing off from the bench and looking around to see if anyone was near. It was just a little past two in the morning, and with no one around, she approached the glowing figure cautiously. Wondering if she should be worried about radiation or something like that. 

When she was just a few steps away, the glowing faded away and Yongsun came face to face with a woman, lying down near the banks of the Han and clutching at her head in pain. 

“Uhm,” Yongsun said, approaching the woman slowly, “Miss? Are you alright? Do you need an ambulance?” She said, raising her voice.

“Nnngh,” Was all the woman said, looking around briefly before thudding her head back down on the ground. “Oh no,” she said.

Yongsun took a few steps closer, until the ends of her sneakers were near enough to brush against the woman’s hand. She leaned forward a bit more and realized that the woman’s hair was entirely silver, from root to tip, and even in the darkness of early morning, it glittered.

“Ma’am? Are you drunk or something?” Yongsun said, “I’d been sitting there for almost an hour and I didn’t see you until just now.”

The woman chuckled briefly before looking at Yongsun. “So what exactly was your plan when you got here?” she said.

Yongsun was at a loss for words. “I-- Thought I’d find a fallen star, make a wish, have my life be a little easier.”

From where she was lying down, the strange woman gave her smirk. “And what about now?”

Before she could talk herself out of it, Yongsun extended her hand, and helped the woman to her feet, “Now I’m thinking, I should help you to the nearest hospital.” she said.

The woman waved her statement away with a hand, “There’s no need for that, just walk with me for a bit while I get my bearings.” she said. Without warning, she grabbed Yongsun’s wrist and began walking.

“Hey! Let go!” Yongsun sputtered, trying to pull away while also keeping up with the woman’s quick strides. “If this is a kidnapping, I’ll have you know that I--” she tried to make her tone threatening, her free hand gripping her phone tightly.

Beside her, the woman just laughed, “Out of the two of us, I think I’m the one who should be worried about getting kidnapped.”

Yongsun looked at her curiously, “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

The woman simply smirked and pushed onward, “So, where on Earth am I?” she asked, looking around.

“Uhm, we’re at the Han River right now.” Yongsun said, gesturing to their left where the river was.

“Han River,” the woman said the words slowly, almost as if having a feel for them.

Yongsun nodded, “Yes, the Han River,” she found herself speaking slowly, as if to a child. She wondered how hard the woman must have hit her head when she collapsed, “in Seoul.”

The woman blinked owlishly at her before staring up at the sky, her lips pouting almost. Yongsun would have found the expression attractive if the whole situation wasn’t so strange. “Are you drunk?” She asked again, although she couldn’t smell any alcohol on the woman’s breath, “did the shooting stars--oh!”

Yongsun looked behind her to where the woman had been lying down a few moments ago. “Did the shooting star hit you in the head?” she said.

The woman laughed again, “You’re funny,” the woman said, smiling at Yongsun.

“No, I'm serious! Before I found you a large shooting star had--,” Yongsun looked back to where she had found the woman, then at the woman again, taking in her unnaturally glittery silver hair and dark grey eyes. She remembered how the glowing light from what she’d thought was a fallen star faded away to reveal the form of a woman lying down on the ground, clutching her head as if she’d been hurt.

As if she’d fallen.

“You!” Yongsun finally managed to pull away, pointing at the woman, eyes wide, “You’re the star? Oh my god, you’re the star! The one that fell!”

As if to drive the point home, the woman seemed to emit an ethereal glow all around. She winked at Yongsun and the celestial light was gone.

“How--?” Yongsun said. She was at a loss for words. Briefly, Yongsun wondered if this was a weird fever dream, and she’d wake up to Hyejin and Wheein back in their rooftop apartment.

Instead, the woman shook her head, linking their arms together again and continued to pull Yongsun along the empty streets. 

Yongsun tried to pull away again, “Where are you taking me exactly Miss--uhm...Shooting Star?” she said. Yongsun tried to remember if every star was supposed to have a name.

The star laughed again, relaxing her hold on Yongsun’s arm while still keeping her close, “Byul is fine. You can call me that.” she said, “What’s your name?”

“Kim Yongsun,” she said, rubbing at the spot on her wrist where skin had brushed with the star’s--Byul’s. It felt quite warm.

“Yong it is then!” Byul said. Her eyes and nose crinkled as she smiled, and despite herself, Yongsun found herself smiling back. 

“You shouldn’t just go around giving nicknames to people  you just met, you know.” Yong said, finally allowing herself to be pulled along. “That’s considered rude.” Yong wondered if she should try calling Wheein or Hyejin, or at least sending one of them a text. A part of her held off, the prospect of a sudden adventure with a celestial being was, at the very least, thrilling.  

 

—

 

“What’s this one called?”

They were both sitting outside a convenience store, a plastic bag of various snacks and drinks between them. Byul had expressed an interest in trying out food, and at almost three in the morning, this was the best Yongsun could come up with.

“Samgak Kimbap,” Yong said, helping Byul unwrap it from the plastic and showing her how to hold it properly. She watched her take a bite, eyes tracking how her cheeks puffed up slightly while she was chewing. Cute. “Do you like it?” she asked.

Byul nodded, taking another bite. “I’ve always been curious about this. Food.” she said, “I’ve watched humans consume things for centuries. Land, treasures, animals, each other.” Her tone had gone a bit somber, a stark contrast against how round her cheeks got whenever she took another full bite. “But I think food, by far, has been the most curious of them all,” she said.

Yong thought about that. About simply being detached from humanity. About only ever being able to watch people from afar and never getting to interact or form real relationships with them. She sighed, then reached into the bag, pulling out a cup of microwaved tteokbokki. “Try this next,” she said, “It’s my favorite snack. A far cry from the ones you can get in tteokbokki stands, but it’ll do for now.”

Byul swallowed the last of her kimbap and accepted the tteokbokki with a nod. Yong watched her struggle with the chopsticks for a bit before chuckling and taking back the cup. “Sorry, I forgot. Here, let me help you,” she said. 

Yong picked up a rice cake and held it out to Byul. Their eyes met as Byul leaned in to take a bite and Yong felt a blush creeping up her neck.

“It’s good!” Byul said, leaning forward for more. Yongsun was briefly reminded of a child discovering a new dish and the sight made her smile. She popped a rice cake into her own mouth first before picking one up and offering it to Byul.

“Why did you fall?” She asked softly, wondering if the question was rude. Beside her, Byul seemed to consider the question carefully while she chewed.

“Can I ask you something before I answer?” Byul said, sitting up straight and looking Yong in the eye. Yong belatedly realized that the other girl was just ever so slightly taller than her. Unfair. Yong nodded. “What were you doing out here tonight?” Byul said.

Yong looked back up at the sky. Hundreds of stars twinkled merrily back at her, a rare sight for Seoul. For a few moments, she said nothing at all, but simply stared upward into the dark sky and watched, with sad eyes, the slow dance of the infinite stars. “I told you I wanted to make a wish,” she finally said.

Byul grinned, “Well what if I’m here to grant all your wishes?” she said this with a smirk and a wink. Yong simply rolled her eyes and bumped their shoulders. Byul laughed.

 

—

 

After their convenience store meal, they had ambled around the city for a while, Yong pointing out random places she frequented or ate at, occasionally explaining what they meant or how they work. Byul was surprisingly easy to talk to. 

It didn’t take long before Yong noticed they were walking along the main road that led back to where she currently lived with Hyejin and Wheein. Yong wasn’t exactly sure what she would do once they got there. Invite the star--Byul--inside? Tell her to go home? Could stars go home? She was too busy worrying about it that she didn’t catch the question Byul was asking until she felt the downy hairs on her neck prickle. Byul was staring at her, head tilted and eyebrows raised.

“Sorry, did you say something?”

“Aish, are humans always so caught up in their own thoughts?”

Yong huffed, annoyed. “We can’t all afford to be detached celestial beings, you know, just watching from afar. Humans have real problems and worries and everyday they go through life not knowing what to do, just sort of hoping that if they do their best everything will work out. And sometimes it doesn’t work out and you find out everything was just a waste and–”

It took Yong a few seconds to realize that she had stopped talking because her face had grown warm and there was a lump in and tears  that were threatening to spill from her eyes. She tried to take a few breaths to try to calm herself but the dam had been breached and the only thing she could do to stem the flow was to stop walking and press the heels of her palms to her eyes.

It finally caught up to her. All the stress and pressure of the last few months of training, all the anxiety she’d been carrying about her age and this agency she’d joined and what her future might look like now that she had  definitively chosen this path for herself. All the worry and fear coalesced into tears that she couldn’t hold in anymore, so here she was, crying in the middle of the street, several meters away from the cheap rooftop apartment she shared with her roommates, in front of a star.

She wasn’t expecting Byul to understand why she was upset, after all, they had only just met. So she definitely wasn’t expecting the sudden hug she was pulled into. Yong stiffened, tears momentarily forgotten in the shock of being pressed up almost head to toe against the celestial being she had met earlier that evening. 

The position was awkward. Yongs arms were folded in front of her, hands still against her face while her elbows dug awkwardly into Byul’s ribs. Byul was also more or less the same height as her which meant that she felt the star’s face pressed up awkwardly against the side of her head, tickling her ears almost. 

However, it was warm. A soothing balm against brisk autumn evening. She felt Byul lift a hand to run through her hair, just like how her mother used to do for her whenever she cried as a child. The thought brought a fresh wave of tears, and this time, she lowered her head until it rested against Byul’s shoulders.

Byul didn’t say anything as she comforted her. She didn’t shower her with whispers of how it was going to be okay or offered empty words of advice. She just held her, which was exactly what Yong needed at the moment. So Yong let herself sink deeper into the hug, until her soft, shaky sobs petered out and her eyes finally ran dry. 

When she felt halfway normal again, Yong pulled away, fully ready to be embarrassed and apologize. Instead Byul’s expression made her breath hitch in . The star was looking at her with such an intensity that she felt the warmth from her face spread out to the rest of her. It was a little dizzying, having this much attention from a single person focused so intently on her. Yong had to blink a few times to clear her head, just enough to make herself take a few steps back.

She missed Byul’s warmth immediately.

They were silent for a beat, Byul looked as if she was waiting for her to say something. Which was why, at a complete loss for words, Yong pointed down a different side street that was headed in the opposite direction from her apartment.

“Have you ever been to a jjimjilbang?”

 

—

 

Byul hadn’t, which wasn’t surprising in the least, but it still took Yong a certain amount of effort to first explain to the star how bathhouses worked before then proceeding to guide her through the process of paying, depositing her shoes in the designated locker areas, guiding her to the ladies only floor, and then helping her remove the flowing, glittering mass of cloth–did stars wear normal clothes made of cloth?--that constituted her outfit. 

At this time of morning, the majority of the sauna rooms were closed, but luckily this bathhouse had a 24/7 bath area that was made up of a series of steaming hot pools. It was still dark enough that when they emerged from the changing area, only down to their bare skin, they could still see the twinkle of stars in the greying sky. Dawn was probably a few hours away.

Once Byul had settled into the hot water, steam rising all around them, Yong didn’t fail to notice how the star seemed to glow in contentment for a moment. Pure ethereal light shining out from every pore before fading slowly back down.

“Do you know that you do that?” She asked, gently settling into the water herself before hugging her knees to her chest. Byul tilted her head curiously, her long silvery hair was in a very loose bun that Yong had tied up for her, so a few tendrils that hung around her face were lightly skimming the surface of the water. 

Yong lifted a hand and gestured vaguely at Byul’s entire body, “That, uhm, that,” she said intelligently. There was a flush rising on her cheeks that she purposefully chose to attribute to the steam and the hot water. “You sort of, sparkle–uh, glow I mean.”

Byul laughed, it was a good-natured sound, sending a different kind of warmth through Yong’s veins. “Well let me ask you,” Byul fired back, “What do stars do?”

She saw the tease for what it was. Instead of replying, Yong leaned back, just enough that she could make out the stars in the sky past the clouds of steam. “I envy you,” she said. 

“Why is that?”

“Your life is so uncomplicated.” Yong said. “There are no expectations of you. All you have to do is simply be.”

Beside her, Byul stayed silent so Yong took the opportunity to tell her about idol training. About facing the sting of her parents’ disappointment but ultimately choosing to go down this path because it was the one she wanted. She told Byul about Wheein and Hyejin, and how much easier it was to go through the training with them by her side but also, as the oldest, the unique burden she felt of being their leader; always unwavering and steadfast.

She talked and talked and talked and Byul listened. Here in the hot water, Yong could easily imagine her worries evaporating with the steam. When she was done, she was pruny all over and a little dehydrated from all the steam and talking but she also felt lighter than she had in weeks.

The whole time, Byul had been quiet, nodding or humming at the right moments, but always listening and looking only at her. With a heady sort of realization, Yong thought that this must be what it’s like to be known . To let someone in all the way and see her for all that she is, all the mismatched ugly parts of her laid bare. She braced herself for some sort of disappointment. For Byul to push away or not understand in the way that celestial beings from some other dimension surely must.

Instead, just like earlier in the street, Byul seemed to know exactly what she needed. The star scooted a little closer, telegraphing her movements slowly so that Yong had time to move away if she wanted, until their arms were pressed together and Yong can rest her head on Byul’s shoulder. 

“You know, I envy you.” Byul said softly, mirroring her words back at her. “You get to live such a colorful life. Filled with emotion and people around you who care for you, always being instead of just watching from afar.”

Byul’s words make her sad, and for the second time that night Yong feels a few errant tears trickle down from her eyes and drop softly into the bathwater. 

 

—

 

Eventually they rose from the bathwater. They bathed in silence together and got dressed in silence together. They made the walk back to Yong’s rooftop apartment in silence too. Above them the sky was changing, from the velvety blue darkness to grey and lavender and the palest of pinks in the horizon. There were no stars left.

“Do you wish things could be easier?” Byul suddenly said, apropos of nothing. They were on Yong’s street and she could see the awning of the building where she lived just a few yards away. Around them parts of the city were waking up, old grandmothers with their carts and thick woolen coats were taking to the streets, making the early commute to the markets. 

Yong gave Byul’s question the time and amount of thought it deserved. She thought about everything she told her and she thought about how Byul had listened, really listened and took her problems and made the weight of them seem lighter. She felt at a loss for what to say. Ultimately, Yong deflected with a question of her own, “What would you wish for?”

Byul looped an arm through hers. “I spent so long watching mankind. Centuries and centuries of war and pain and lies and hate. It was almost too unbearable. There were times when I wanted to turn away and never look down again.”

It wasn’t what she expected, but Yong did Byul the courtesy of listening. It was her turn now.

“In all that time though, I was still jealous because I got to watch how humans love. When parents talk to their children, that’s love, or when friends share a crummy rooftop apartment together,” here, Byul’s eyes twinkled knowingly, and Yong smiled back, “that’s love too. Love is so beautiful, that for so long it was all I wanted. If I could ever make a wish, it would have been to feel love.”

Yong couldn’t remember when they stopped walking, only that they had. Her apartment building was just a few steps behind her. But in front of her Byul was so close, just a hand’s width away. 

“You gave me that, Yong.” Byul said.

She wasn’t sure if it was the simple yet honest declaration, or the entire evening and early morning they spent together, or the rush of having found someone who, for the first time, Yong felt she could really connect with. Perhaps a mixture of all three. Whatever the reason, she couldn’t stop the way she leaned in for a kiss, catching Byul’s mouth with her own. 

In the grand scheme of things, the kiss was simple. Nothing extravagant or earth-shattering. But it was warm and perfect and Yong felt it deep in the very marrows of her bones. In those scant few eternal seconds every atom of her could remember what it was like to be a star, bright and blazing before exploding into stardust, eventually settling unto earth to form the fiber of her being. 

When they parted, Yong was still caught up in the bliss of it, that she didn't really think about the next words that left . “I wished for you,” she said into the space of Byul’s lips.

What she felt next was the ghost of Byul’s smile against her own. And then she was blinded again, by a light so bright that she had to shield her eyes and press them into the crook of Byul’s neck. There was a heat so all-encompassing she was sure it would burn her away with it’s glow.

Then as quick as it came, it was gone. The heat was gone, replaced only by the sudden chill of the early autumn morning. The blinding light was gone, and in its place were spots in Yong’s vision that she had to blink away.

When she could see properly again, Byul was gone too.

 

—

 

The next day, at practice, Yong felt like a corpse. 

When she had gone back to their rooftop apartment that morning, after spending thirty minutes walking up and down their street in vain trying to look for Byul, Wheein and Hyejin were beside themselves with worry. Rightly so, she had a feeling she must have been quite the sight. Hair, a dishevelled mess since she hadn’t bothered to comb it after the bathhouse. Eyes, red and puffy from crying when it had sunk in that Byul was gone for real and she hadn’t even gotten the chance to say goodbye.

It had taken a while to talk the two younger girls down, even longer to convince them that she was fine and that she could go to practice and training.

She felt awful, but despite that, she couldn’t bring herself to regret a single second of the night before. Yong would do it all over again if she could. 

She’s a little depressed and a lot delirious with lack of sleep, so she thought she could be forgiven when she didn't notice right away that their CEO was calling for their attention.

Yong walked over to stand between Wheein and Hyejin, just one step ahead in case it’s another sermon and she needed to bear the brunt of itfor the kids. Luckily though, their CEO seemed to be smiling.

“I have good news for everyone today.” He began.

“We’re debuting next month!” Hyejin said, at the same time as Wheein’s “You’re finally going to pay for us to stay in a dorm that isn’t infested with cockroaches!”

“No, and no.” Their CEO replied with a wry grin, “the good news is we have a new trainee who’ll be joining your group and I feel she’s exactly what this group has been missing.”

There should be an award for how well Yong managed to hold in the disbelieving scoff that threatened to burst from her lips unfiltered.  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust their CEO’s overall vision for their group, but after getting the chance to train and bond with Hyejin and Wheein for over half a year, she was more than a little worried at how this newcomer would fit into their dynamic. 

“Everyone,” their CEO continued, walking over to the door and ushering in another girl, “this is Moon Byulyi.”

Moon Byulyi had long black hair that framed a perfectly oval face and a thick fringe that threatened to cover her eyes. She looked roughly the same height as the rest of them and her nose scrunched up a bit, in the cutest way, when she smiled and waved after being introduced.

All of that paled in comparison to the fact that: she looked exactly like Yong’s star.

Yong was stunned. She thought it was just a trick of the light, a cruel joke her mind was playing on her since it knew how much she missed Byul, but no matter how many times she blinked or turned her head just a fraction in a different direction, nothing changed. It was Byul, but it also wasn’t Byul.

Their CEO introduced them one-by-one, Moon Byulyi bowing after each name, when it was finally her turn Yong locked eyes with Moon Byulyi and waited. There was nothing. No spark of recognition in her eyes, or even a sign that she knew anything about the life-changing night Yong experienced.

The disparity left her feeling wrong-footed and lost. So much so, that when dance practice started and Yong had to give up her spare pair of heels for the newcomer, the only feeling she had left was irritation. It wasn’t her star and that fact left her rankled.

The feeling only grew and festered as the day wore on, and tripled when the new girl had the audacity to speak so informally to her and then steal her shoes after the fact.

The next day, her mood hadn’t improved at all, and she was mentally preparing to have a bad day when she saw Moon Byulyi walking towards her, a sheepish look in her eyes and the stolen pair of heels in her hands.

“Hello, Unnie.” Moon Byulyi said, carefully. Yong resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“Now it’s, Unnie, huh? What happened to ‘that girl over there’?” She said, more than a little acerbically.

Moon Byulyi had the temerity to wince. “Ah, yes. I’m really sorry about that, Wheein-ah told me you were older and–”

“And you always talk so informally to people older than you?” She shouldn’t be this mad. Deep down, Yong knew that it wasn’t Moon Byulyi’s fault that she somehow looked like Yong’s star. She also knew that Moon Byulyi didn’t deserve to be on the other end of Yong’s misplaced irritation. She clearly had no idea what Yong just went through. Still, Yong was only human and these feelings had to go somewhere.

“No, and I’m really sorry again,” Moon Byulyi bowed this time, when she straightened and they were eye to eye, her lips quirked up into the shadow of a smirk, “it’s just that you look so pretty, I thought for sure you were younger than me.”

The compliment took  Yong by surprise, but not as much as seeing that familiar expression on a face she had grown to miss. Already she felt the white-knuckled grip she had on her irritation fading away like so many fine grains of sand.

Despite herself she smiled, letting out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. 

Apropos of nothing, Yong suddenly said, “So what exactly was your plan when you got here?” 

Moon Byulyi’s returning smile was warm and there went the last of Yong’s anger, “I thought I’d finally find a company that can help me debut, become famous, get lots of money.” Came the reply. It was a cheeky response, full of life and a backstory that Yong was suddenly yearning to know. 

Yong’s smile grew a little wider, “And what about now?”

Byul smirked, “Now I’m thinking, if the apology didn’t work I could try and buy your friendship with tteokbokki after practice today.” 

In the bright lights of the practice room, Byul’s eyes twinkled in a way that was all too familiar, and Yong felt buoyed by the knowledge that perhaps her wish had come true after all.