"Open the damn door!" Sunny heard a loud scream that made her open her eyes.

The girl took a sitting position and felt a sharp attack of headache. In her palm was a diamond ring. Surprisingly, Sunny didn't even remember taking it out of the box yesterday. Thoughts were confused in the girl’s head, and she tried to understand what was happening around her. Suddenly reality hit her like a hammer. Sooyoung broke up with her. Yes, Sunny remembered this fact very well. The girl tried to get to her feet, but immediately fell back onto the sofa. Her whole body felt like cotton wool. Sunny glanced at the clock and found out that it was already three pm. Thank God it's Saturday. This means she won’t be fired from work for absenteeism. The girl made another attempt to get to her feet and this time she succeeded. She went straight to the front door, because there was a constant knocking from there.

"Lee Soonkyu, I know you're there! You better open the door right now, or I'll..."

“Can you stop yelling like that, Yoong?” Sunny opened the door and addressed the tall girl standing on the other side. This girl's name is Im Yoona. And she is one of Sunny's closest friends. "I'm surprised my neighbors haven't kicked you out of here yet."

"I don't care about your neighbors." A beautiful girl entered the apartment without waiting for an invitation. "I only care about you, Lee Soonkyu. What happened to you?"

"What are you talking about? I'm fine."

“Seriously? So you forgot that we were supposed to meet at the restaurant and celebrate your engagement with Sooyoung? We agreed on one pm, unnie! Do you know what time it is? It’s already three pm!”

“Oh, ...” Sunny ran her hand through her hair, massaging her scalp. "I'm sorry, Yoong. Things didn't go according to plan."

“Yes, I already understood that. Try to explain what happened. We’ve been calling you since one pm, Sunny-ah. But you didn’t answer the phone. Then I decided to go straight to you. I stood outside your door for an hour like an idiot! So you better give me a good reason."

"Sooyoung broke up with me."

After these words, a deafening silence hung in the room. It was obvious that Yoona was not immediately able to comprehend what was said. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Pardon?"

"You heard what I said."

“Yes, I heard. But... Sunny-ah, I hope this is not just some sick joke?”

"Oh, God. Do I really look like the person who would joke about such things?"

Yoona didn't say anything else. She walked up to the older girl and pulled her into a tight hug. Sunny grabbed onto her friend as if she was her lifeline and buried her face in Yoona's thick hair. The girl knew that she could start crying again at any moment.

"Unnie... I'm so sorry. I can't even put it into words."

“Don’t be, Yoong. I won’t be able to stand it if you start to pity me.” Sunny sobbed. "It was destined to happen like this. Sooyoung would have left me anyway.”

"Why are you saying this, Sunny-ah? What exactly happened between you two?"

"She... She got someone else."

“What? Has Sooyoung gone crazy or something? How could she trade you for another girl? There’s hardly a girl in this world better than you.”

"But it's a man. Sooyoung is straight, and always has been."

"I don't understand how this is possible? If she's straight, how could she date you for three years?"

"I don't know, Yoong, damn it! She said she was just confused. She said she never had true feelings for me. It was all a mistake for her."

"Damn, this is completely ed up."

"Yeah, it is." Sunny sighed heavily. "God, I don't even know what to do right now. I'm such a mess."

"You're not going through this alone! I'll get the girls here right now."

“What? No way, Yoong! Taeyeon and Tiffany are getting married in two weeks! They don’t need any extra worries right now.”

"Oh shut up, Lee Soonkyu. Who cares if they're having a wedding? Taeyeon is your best friend for 's sake! And she won't leave you alone when you're like this. None of us will. I'm calling them right now."

Yoona took out her phone and started calling at that very second.

"Taeyeon-ah, hi. Yes, I found her... Yes, this is serious. Come here quickly. See you later."

"They'll be here in half an hour, Sunny-ah." Yoona said after hanging up the phone.

"I feel bad about putting my problems on you girls."

"Stop it. That's what friends are for, isn't it?"

Sunny took a deep breath and smiled forcefully. Her friends have always been her support. They gave her strength and never left her in a difficult situation. Probably meeting these people is the best thing that has ever happened in her life.

 

~~♡~~

 

"What a ing she is!" Taeyeon shouted angrily as she paced back and forth in the living room. The girl's nostrils flared with indignation.

Sunny just looked at her best friend and didn't say anything. At the moment, there were five other people in her living room besides herself. Tiffany hugged her tightly. Yoona and her girlfriend Yuri walked behind Taeyeon, trying to calm her down, because the girl was shouting too loudly. Well, as for Seohyun, the youngest girl in their company, she just stood in the corner and silently cried. Although it was impossible to understand whether her tears were tears of sadness or tears of happiness.

"Sunny-ah, if you want, we can teach this a lesson." Taeyeon turned to her friend. "How dare she break my best friend's heart?!"

"Oh God... Please calm down, Taeyeon-ah." Sunny answered in a weak voice. She started to get a headache from all the noise. In addition, the night spent drinking began to take its toll. "You won't teach anyone a lesson. It won't change anything."

"Perhaps it won't. But we will at least fix her pretty face as revenge for your pain."

"Enough..."

“Please be quiet, Taeyeon-ah.” Tiffany said to her fiancee. "You're just annoying our Bunny."

After these words, the girl turned to Sunny.

"Unnie, you know we're always here for you, right?"

"Of course, Fany-ah."

"You are not alone. And you don't have to hold back your feelings in front of us. If you want to cry, let yourself cry. If you want to scream, let yourself scream. But don't keep it all inside, Sunny-ah. We will all support you at any time. And if necessary, any of us will give you a shoulder to cry on."

Sunny's heart melted at these words. She just nodded gratefully, and her eyes actually filled with tears. Only these were tears of gratitude.

“Taeyeon-ah, can we talk in private for five minutes?” Sunny turned directly to her best friend.

"Yeah, sure." Taeyeon knelt down in front of Sunny and took her hands in hers. The other four girls left the room.

"It hurts so much, Tae." Sunny finally said. The older girl immediately hugged her.

"I know, Bunny. I know."

"Why did she do this? On the very day when I wanted to ask her to spend eternity with me!"

“I don’t know the answer to this question. But I know how much it hurts you, Sunny-ah. You know, if the reason Sooyoung left was really what she told you, then it’s for the best. You wouldn't be able to start a family with a straight girl. I don’t make excuses for her. I will never do that. I still want to punch her in the face. But Sunny-ah, this situation means she's just not the one you need."

“But we lived together for three years! How can someone give up a three-year relationship in one second? As if it didn’t mean anything?”

"I won't lie and say I understand how you feel after something like that." Taeyeon began her friend's hair. "I guess this relationship really meant nothing to Sooyoung. But please, Sunny-ah, don't let this destroy you. Your life is not over. Your best moments are yet to come. Today you have to cry your heart out. But tomorrow you have to let Sooyoung go and move on. I promise I won't leave you on this whole path. None of us will. Like Fany said before, any of us will give you a shoulder to cry on. Just be yourself, Sunny-ah. That's the only advice I can give you. Be the same Lee Soonkyu we know and love. Don't let one failed relationship ruin your life."

"Oh, Tae... If only it were that easy. I thought she was the one."

“I know. But life has just shown you that she wasn't. So you will meet your the one someday. The main thing is not to give up.”

"What about your wedding?"

"Pardon?"

"Sooyoung will be there too. I'm afraid to meet her again. It will drag me back into the past. Even if I try to move on, she will still bring me back to herself."

"You think after what Sooyoung did to you, I'll let her come to my wedding? That girl is dead to me!"

"Don't say that, Tae. Think about your fiancee. Think about Tiffany. Sooyoung has been her best friend for as long as I've been yours."

"Tiffany will understand."

"It is not right."

“Okay. In that case, let Sooyoung come to Tiffany and I’s wedding. You will meet her face to face, Lee Soonkyu. You will show her that you are not broken and you don’t care about this breakup. Let her see what she has lost.”

"I don't think I can do that, Tae."

"Of course you can. Rely on us, Sunny-ah. You will definitely forget her. These two weeks before the wedding will be the best of your life."

A smug smile appeared on Taeyeon's lips. And Sunny knew for sure that the older girl was not joking. She wasn't sure what to expect. However, right now, for the first time during this terrible day, Sunny truly smiled.

 

~~♡~~

 

"Damn, what a day today." Sunny thought to herself as she crossed the road. Now she had a break at work, and the girl went to her favorite inexpensive cafe to have a snack.

By the way, Sunny works as a marketing specialist in a fairly large company in Seoul that specializes in the sale of video games. Sometimes the girl even allows herself to hope for a promotion to the position of head of a department. The chairman of the company had been promising her this for about two years. However, for some strange reason this never happens. But Sunny wasn't upset about it. She was quite happy with her current job. The girl loved it very much, to be honest. Sunny has been an avid gamer since early childhood. Therefore, it is not surprising that she decided to connect her whole life with this.

In any case, now Sunny was on a break, and there were incredibly many people on the street. The girl even began to worry that her favorite cafe would simply run out of space. Sunny sped up slightly. Suddenly something happened that the girl always tried to avoid. Some crazy idiot slammed into Sunny with all his might and just ran on without even paying attention. The girl lost her balance. She realized that she was falling. There was nothing Sunny could do to stop this. She closed her eyes, preparing for her back to hit the asphalt.

"Carefully!" Suddenly a loud female voice came from behind her. And the next second, Sunny felt someone’s arms grab her from behind. The fall did not happened, but Sunny's eyes still remained tightly closed.

"Are you okay?" Said the same voice. Sunny didn't know why, but this voice seemed to her the most pleasant sound she had ever heard in her life. The girl finally opened her eyes. Her whole world froze right after that. Even time froze in place, and Sunny felt like she was in heaven. Directly above her was a pair of gorgeous large round eyes that looked worriedly into her own eyes. More precisely, they looked straight into her soul. The eyes were only a small part of what Sunny was looking at now. Just ten centimeters from her, the perfect face of an angelic girl hovered. Sunny has never met such a gorgeous girl like her. She always thought that her friend Yoona was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. Well, Taeyeon has irresistible charms too. But at the moment, the images of both her best friends faded in Sunny's mind. All she could think about was this mysterious girl who had just saved her. Surprisingly, Sunny’s heart beat with such furious force that it could easily break her ribs. Well, the realization that she was still into this girl's embrace made Sunny’s face blush slightly. It was literally difficult for her to get her brain to work again and say some words.

"I... Yeah... I'm okay. Thank you so much."

"No problem. You clearly needed help."

The girl smiled and helped Sunny stand up properly. However, her smile made Sunny’s knees buckle on their own.

"Are you in a hurry now?" Without knowing why, Sunny suddenly asked. She didn’t understand where such courage came from in her. The words that seemed right to her at that moment simply came out of the girl’s mouth. And she couldn't stop them.

"Oh, not really." The other girl answered. "Why are you asking?"

"Maybe... Because you just saved me here, I could treat you lunch?"

The stranger’s smile became even wider, which made Sunny’s heart beat even faster.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I am. Why not?"

“Actually, I was just looking for a cafe to have lunch. I just arrived to Seoul and have absolutely no idea how things work here. So I would be grateful if you could help me with this.”

"Great!" Now Sunny herself was smiling from ear to ear. She even gave this girl one of her uncontrollable eye smiles. "Then let's go! This is a very good place and most importantly inexpensive."

"Okay, but... Oh God, you have such a beautiful eye smile. It's incredible."

"Oh, thank you." Sunny responded to the compliment a little shyly. She felt herself starting to blush again, so she quickly turned away. It's a pity that Sunny didn't notice that the other girl was also blushing slightly at that moment. In fact, Sunny is not used to receiving compliments for her eye smile. Because this doesn't always happen. Sunny herself could not understand at what specific moments she smiled like that. On the contrary, her friend Tiffany was very widely known for her eye smile. She smiled like that absolutely every time.

The two girls moved forward. There were literally two or three hundred meters left to the cafe, and therefore they got there very quickly.

"Welcome here." Sunny said, opening the door for the other girl, being a gentlewoman. "This place is quite simple and unpretentious. But the food here is very tasty."

"Great. I was just looking for something like that."

Surprisingly, there were still free tables inside the cafe. The girls sat by the window. At that very moment the waitress approached them.

"Hey, Sunny-ah!" She said cheerfully. "Do you want it as usual?"

"Hello, Hyomin-ah. No, bring me the menu, please. See, I'm not alone today."

“Oh, yeah, I see...” It was obvious that the waitress's mood had soured. She turned around and went to get the menu. However, Sunny didn't notice her dull expression. Hyomin quickly brought the menu and ran off to serve other customers.

"So your name is Sunny?" The stranger asked as the girls looked into each other's eyes again.

"Well, yeah. In a way, it is. It's not my real name. Actually, my name is Soonkyu. Lee Soonkyu. But my real name seems so old-fashioned to me. That's why everyone calls me Sunny."

"Okay, I got it. I like your real name though." The stranger admitted slightly shyly.

These words caused Sunny’s cheeks to turn pink for the third time in ten minutes.

"Well, what's your name, my mysterious savior?"

"Jessica. Jessica Jung."

"Jes-shi-ka? Are you a foreigner?"

The girl laughed at the unfortunate pronunciation of her name.

"I see no Korean can pronounce my name the first time. And yes, I'm from the USA."

"I'm just kidding, Jessica-ssi. Of course I can pronounce your name. I know English."

"Wow, you're cool, Sunny-ssi."

"But your Korean is so good. You're Korean-American, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Did you come to Seoul as a tourist?"

"Well, I actually came here to live permanently. I want to succeed in my career here."

"Sounds great." Surprisingly, at the thought that Jessica would not leave Korea, Sunny’s heart began to beat wildly again. "What is your job?"

"I'm a fashion designer." Jessica said proudly. It was obvious that she really loved her job.

"Seriously? I have very close friends who are also involved in the fashion world. One of them is the editor of a small fashion publishing house. And the other is a model."

"Wow, that's cool. It seems like it's your destiny to be surrounded by the fashion world."

"It seems so."

“Well, what is your job, Sunny-ssi?”

“Oh, actually, my profession is not as interesting as yours. I am a marketing specialist in an IT company. We sell video games.”

"Why do you say that your profession is not interesting? It sounds very interesting to me."

"Really? Wow, I'm really pleased to hear that. Thank you, Jessica-ssi."

"I'm just saying what I think. And by the way, if you feel more comfortable, you can call me by my Korean name. I actually have one. It's Sooyeon."

After Jessica said her Korean name, silence fell between the girls. Sunny's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. No, this simply cannot be true!

"Sunny-ssi? Is something wrong?" Jessica asked carefully. "You don't like my Korean name?"

"What? Oh, no, no! I'm sorry. It's just that I... I knew someone with a name very similar to yours. Although it's Sooyoung, not Sooyeon. I was just amazed at the first second."

“You said “knew”. But now you don't?”

"Now I don't. Our paths have parted."

"Was she someone special?"

“You can say that. Let’s not talk about it, Jessica-ssi. All this is already in the past.”

"Okay, if you say so." Jessica wasn't going to bother the other girl with explicit talk. After all, they just met today and aren't close enough for that. Jess smiled guiltily. “Then let’s continue asking formal questions, Sunny-ssi, to get to know each other better! So, how old are you?”

"Twenty seven." Sunny pushed away the unpleasant memories and joined the conversation. Surprisingly, next to Jessica, she basically couldn’t be sad for long. This girl seemed to give her a charge of positive energy, which would be enough to illuminate the entire city.

“No, it can’t be true. Did you turn twenty seven this year? Or are you twenty seven now, but will soon be twenty eight?”

"Yeah, I turned twenty seven this year. It was in the spring. What's so surprising about that?"

“It’s surprising because I’m also twenty seven. And I also have a birthday in the spring.”

"What? Are you kidding me? Wait, you were born in 1989?"

"Yes, that's right. I assume you too?"

"Yeah..."

"So, when is your birthday, Sunny-ssi?"

"May 15th. What about yours?"

“April 18th. It turns out that I’m less than a month older than you!”

"Yes, it turns out that way. However, you are still my unnie."

"Oh, I forgot that in Korea everyone is obsessed with age."

"Yes, that's true. So, can I call you Sica-unnie?"

"Sica?"

"Yes, Jessica, Sica. It's just a shortened version. Don't you like it?"

"Actually, I really like it. You know, my sister and everyone in my family call me that."

"Great, then..."

Suddenly a loud ringtone was heard, which did not allow Sunny to finish. Jessica took out her phone and answered the call.

"I'm listening... No, I haven't started developing a new concept yet... What? But I'm on a break now! Sorry, sir. Yes, I'll be there soon."

“Oh, ...” Jessica said desperately, running her hand through her hair. "Sunny, I'm sorry, but I have to leave now. My boss wants me to get back to my desk as quickly as possible."

"But you didn't even eat!"

“I know. Apparently, I’ll have to skip lunch today. But there’s nothing I can do. Work is work.”

"I understand. You should go if it's something serious. It was nice to meet you, Sica-ah."

"No, the pleasure is mine. I can say that you are my first friend in Seoul, Sunny-ah. I hope we meet again." After saying this, Jessica rose from her chair and put on her coat.

"I hope so too. Goodbye, Sica-ah."

"Goodbye, Sunny-ah."

Jessica gave Sunny her sweetest smile and then ran out of the cafe. Sunny watched her go for a very long time, being in real euphoria from this incredible smile. Sunny will never remember that she didn't even ask Jessica for her number.

 

~~♡~~

 

Well, well, well, here is the long-awaited first meeting!