Vacation’s almost over and all of the girls are back from their summer getaways with their families. As for me, I’m sitting at our doorstep once again and thinking about the same thing.

I grabbed the beer beside me. I know it’s strange but beer makes me think clearly. Something’s definitely wrong with my sentence. Oh well. 

I chugged about a quarter of it down and sighed. I stared at it for a few seconds.

“Bière.”

That’s “beer” in French. In Spanish it’s cerveza. In German, it’s bier and in Italian it’s birra.

I think it’s essential to know how to say “beer” in different languages. I might go to Paris one day and I might get lost but at least, I know how to say “beer” in French. Since beer could make me think straight, I could think of ways to get back to wherever I’m supposed to be at.

Well, I could ask for directions but where’s the fun in that?

I know what you guys are thinking. What if I get lost at some country where people don’t speak English and I don’t kow how to say “beer” in their language? Like, let’s say, Zimbabwe. Wait, I’m not sure if Zimbab…wegians…don’t speak English. I’m not even sure if that’s what people in Zimbabwe are called. I have to look those things up. But as I was saying, if I get lost there, I could just say Heineken or Budweiser. I’m sure they’ll understand what I mean. Right? 

“Fany-unnie?”

Thank goodness someone disturbed my thoughts about beer. I looked to my right and saw Yoona sitting beside me.

“Hi, Yoong.”

“You like hanging out here, too?”

“You could say that.”

“Yuri-unnie likes sitting here, too. She does it in the morning though. There’s this one time…”

Yuri. That name has been bothering me for a week now. I looked at Yoona and tried to listen to the poor girl who kept on talking, oblivious that i was momentarily thinking about something else.

“…Sica-unnie is having trouble with Taeyeon-unnie and I. The other night, I thought she was going to tie both of us to our beds to prevent us from sleepwalking.”

I simply nodded. I didn’t know how she ended up talking about her sleeping habit. I stared at her and couldn’t help but think about Yuri again. Jessie’s right, Yoong and Yuri kind of look the same. I’m gonna have to disagree on this kid being the prettier one though. I personally think Yuri’s facial features are…nicer.

“Unnie, why are you looking at me like that?”

I’m not sure if I should really share my thoughts to this kid but since I can’t share it to Jessie right now I might as well tell Yoong.

“Yoong, have you ever had that feeling of falling for someone while you’re still committed to someone else?”

Yoona immediately shook her head and said, “Nope. I’m only in love with Hyunnie.”

“How sure are you tha—“

“I just am.” She stared at me and reached into her pocket. I saw her holding two coins.

“Pretend that this concrete floor is your heart, Fany-unnie,” she said as she drew an invisible circle on the ground.

She placed one coin on the ground. “I might seem stupid at times but I know some stuff, too. Well, I actually learned it from Seohyun. She told me about the Law of Impenetrability. It states that no two things can occupy the same space at the same time.”

I giggled inwardly. I know what it is. Unlike her, I didn’t need to learn it from someone who’s younger than me. I have a very short attention span but I could still manage to listen to the teacher’s lecture.

She placed another coin on top of the other coin that’s on the ground.

“See? Coin…Sooyoung-unnie can’t occupy the same space coin X is occupying.” She looked at me as if trying to confirm if I could still follow.

“Go on.”

She switched the coins’ places. She placed coin X on top of “coin Soo.”

“Let’s say you love them both. You could say that you love them equally but that’s not possible for there’s only one person that could occupy this part, the invisible circle, wholly. Don’t even try making them share that circle. I’m pretty sure ‘coin Sooyoung-unnie’ wouldn’t want that and it will be unfair to coin X.”

Damn it! She read my mind. How did she know that I was going to do that?

“Okay. You said earlier that I should pretend that this whole concrete floor is my heart. What if I put coin X here? It would mean that is I still love coin X since coin X is still placed in my heart,” I said as I took the coin and placed it a few inches away from “coin Soo.”

“Then you wouldn’t have that dilemma of falling in love with someone else while you’re still with Sooyoung-unnie.”

“What?”

“See, the part outside the imaginary circle that I drew earlier is the family and friends’ zone. This part,” she picked up the coin and pointed to where it was originally placed, “is the part wherein your significant other resides in. This part is where my Hyunnie and only Hyunnie will forever be.”

She picked up the other coin and held both coins in front of me. “You have to choose which one of these two coins you’ll place in that imaginary circle. Is it ‘coin Sooyoung-unnie’ or coin X? By the way, who is coin X?”

“Yuri.” I replied not even having the slightest worry that Yoong might tell Soo about it. I looked at her and couldn’t help but chuckle at her dumbfounded face. At the same time, I kind of feel guilty for telling her something that she knows she wouldn’t be able to tell anyone else.

“Yuri-unnie?!”

“Yes.”

“You’re in love with Yuri-unnie?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Unnie,” she whined. “You shouldn’t have told me that.”

“You asked me who it was. It’s your fault. You should’ve known the repercussions of your actions. You shouldn’t have asked me.”

“But you…it’s your fault unnie! Now I’ll always feel guilty everytime I see Sooyoung-unnie. I don’t want to tell her that you’re in love with someone else. Even worse is that you’re in love with Yuri-unnie who’s your roommate.”

“I said I’m not sure yet. Are you telling me that you would rather not know who it is?”

“YES!” she answered, sounding confident that she’d rather not know.

I raised a brow and her expression drastically changed.

“Fine. I would’ve died of curiosity.”

“I know you would.”

“So you’re in love with Yuri-unnie, huh?”

“For the nth time, I’m not sure yet.”

I heard her sigh. “I know you have a history of being quite the player when you were still in high school, unnie. I’ve heard it from Sica-unnie. Just please choose one. Sooyoung-unnie loves you a lot and we all know that you love her too. Please don’t ruin your relationship with her just because you think you’re falling for Yuri-unnie.”

I nodded for I didn’t know what else to say. What will I tell her? I love Soo but I think I’m falling for Yul? I would sound like a total jerk to this kid.

“I’ll go inside now, unnie.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Yoong. For listening.”

She gave me a smile and left. I was supposed to take another gulp of the beer but stopped when I realized that I’ve already finished it. I didn’t even notice.

“I need another one.”


---


While Yoona and Tiffany were talking outside, the other girls were in the living room. Some were talking about something random while others were playing video games.

“Sica,” Taeyeon called.

Jessica moved her gaze from the TV screen to Taeyeon. “Yeah?”

“Your beauty is like a cassowary’s kick. It’s stunning…sometimes deadly.”

Yuri who was sitting next to Seohyun nudged the girl and asked, “Seohyun-ah, what’s a cassowary and why the heck is Taeyeon using it in a…pathetic pick-up line?”

“It’s a flightless bird, smaller than an ostrich and an emu. It’s the world’s most dangerous bird and I think I know where she got it from.” She saw Yoona entering the room and said, “I apologize in behalf of Yoona if it made you cringe, Yuri-unnie.”

“Hi, Yuri-unnie. Can I borrow Hyunnie for a sec?” She took Seohyun’s hand and took the younger girl upstairs.

Yuri stood up and sat next to Taeyeon. “You stole Yoona’s line? That’s just pathetic, Taeng. Why can’t you think of your own line?”

“Yah, she told me to say it to Sica.”

Before Yuri could even respond, Jessica decided to speak. “You’re like a koala, Taengoo. You’re small.”

Yuri giggled.

Taeyeon arched an eyebrow and retorted, “You’re like a koala, too. Koala’s sleeping time is about twenty hours a day and they spend the rest of their day eating and moving slow. You’re not even that tall either.”

It’s like the time stood still inside the house. Sooyoung and Sunny stopped playing while Hyoyeon almost dropped her bowl of cheese balls.

“Ugh!” Jessica stood up and went upstairs, leaving Taeyeon with a horrified look on her face and Yuri who was stifling her laughter.

“You’re doomed, Taengoo,” said Sunny.

“You didn’t think of it first before saying it, did you?” asked Hyoyeon.

She glared at Yuri. “This is your fault Kwon Yuri.”

Yuri laughed heartily, “How is it my fault, dummy?”

“Taengoo, just apologize to her,” Sooyoung said.

“Wait, wait, wait. She called me short. Why would I a—“

“Everyone calls you short. it up. Would you rather not talk to her?”

Taeyeon stood up and left them. She didn’t need to give them an answer for everyone already knows that the answer would be a big fat “No.”


---


“Hyunnie, I know I’m not supposed to tell you this but Fany-unnie said she thinks she’s falling for for Yuri-unnie. What should I do? Should I tell Sooyoung-unnie so she could do something about it? Can she even do something about it? I’m so confused.”

“Can you sit down first?” Seohyun tapped her bed telling the older girl to sit beside her in her bed. “Try not to be so frantic.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. You really shouldn’t have told me that, Yoong.”

“But I cannot keep that secret all by myself. It’s too much information for me to handle alone.”

“I’ll tell you something but you have to promise me that you will not tell anyone about it, okay?”

“More secrets? NO! Please spare me, Hyun.”

“Fine. I won’t tell you then.”

Yoona just sat there and stared at Seohyun. It’s like she doesn’t even know me. She knows that I tend to be really curious and although I said no, what I really meant was ‘Of course, I’d gladly know what that secret is.’

“Hyunnie~”

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this. Got it?” Yoona nodded. “I overheard Sica-unnie, Taeyeon-unnie and Yuri-unnie talking one morning and I found out that Yuri-unnie is in love with Fany-unnie.”

Yoona gasped. “When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“A few months ago, I think. Why would I tell you? You shouldn’t even have told me about the thing that Fany-unnie told you.”

“As far as I can remember, she didn’t say anything about not telling it to anyone.” Yoona crossed her arms. “So what do we do now, Hyunnie? Do we tell—“

“We won’t tell anyone about this. We’re not gonna meddle on our unnies’ love problems.”

Yoona looked down. I think I said something to Fany-unnie that I shouldn’t have said.


---


“Sica?” Taeyeon called as she knocked at the door of their bedroom. She twisted the door knob and opened the door. She saw Jessica sitting on the edge of her bed, playing with her phone.

She walked towards where the younger girl was and sat beside her, “Sic—“

“Get off my bed,” Jessica said and sent Taeyeon a glare.

The older girl quickly got off the bed and sat on the floor. “Sica, I’m really sorry about what I’ve said.”

“You called me slow.”

“You called me short.”

“I always say that you’re short! This is the first time you complained about me eating like Sooyoung and being slow! Sure you’ve said things about it but you’ve never said it like that. It’s like you hate me for it.”

Taeyeon knelt in front of Jessica. She understands where her girlfriend was coming from. The tone of her voice was kind of rude now that she thinks about it.

“Sica, I’m sorry. I really am. I don’t hate you for it and I know it sounded like I did and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” She took Jessica’s hand and kissed it. “I’m sorry, Sica. I don’t hate you. I love you. I love you a lot.”

She then sat beside Jessica and wrapped her arms around the latter. Jessica hugged her back and buried her face in the crook of the older girl’s neck.

“You forgive me, right, Sica?”

“Yes,” Jessica mumbled.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The two continued to hug each other tightly unaware that someone was inside their room, watching them and feeling nauseous from witnessing a cheesy moment.

Yuri cleared and said, “Taeng, Shinyoung-unnie’s downstairs and she’s looking for you.”

“Tell her I’ll be right there.”

“Do you want me to hire you a secretary to do that for you, Miss Kim?” Yuri asked sarcastically. “I’m not your personal assistant, midget.”

“Yul, please tell Shinyoung-unnie that Taengoo will be there shortly,” Jessica requested.

“Fine,” Yuri answered and left.

“What the heck? How come she listens to you?”

“You just have to know how to make a request. I’ve been giving orders to my sister so I know the difference between the two.”

Taeyeon squinted her eyes. “What if she’s really in love with you and not your sister and she’s just pretending to love your sister to be close to you.”

Jessica could only chuckle. “Stop watching too much dramas.”

Taeyeon pulled back from the hug and stared at Jessica. “What if it’s true? What if—“

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll tell her straight up that I only love you. But seriously stop coming up with absurd conclusions.”

“Just saying.”


---


Today is the start of their second term and everyone has left to attend their first period except for Yuri, Tiffany, Taeyeon and Jessica who were all in the same class. Tiffany managed to convince the registrar to revise her schedule earlier than other students.

The four of them decided to eat breakfast before going to their first period which starts at ten o’clock. When they finished their meals, they put the dirty dishes in the sink and left it there for Shinyoung to wash. Shinyoung has been living with them for a week now. She got fired from her job of being the head chef in a well-known restaurant. She didn’t disclose any information to the girls as to why she got fired. All she said was that she needed a place to say for the time being and in return, she’ll do all the girls’ chores for them. When Taeyeon asked her why she didn’t just stay at the Kim’s house, Shinyoung shrugged and said that she didn’t want to bother Taeyeon’s parents.

The four girls were now inside their classroom and they noticed that the size of the class was bigger than that of last term. There were about twenty five students there.

Tiffany and Yuri sat in the second row and Taeyeon and Jessica sat at the seat behind them. Tiffany was looking around and spotted a girl that she never wanted to be in the same class with. Krystal Jung.

“Why is she in this class?” she asked Taeyeon.

“I don’t know. She must’ve synced her schedule with Yuri’s,” Taeyeon answered in a hushed tone.

Their professor walked in and everyone recognized her for she was also their Algebra professor last term. Everyone recognized her face and yet no one in the classroom knows her name. They were all used to calling her “Professor” or “Miss Uhm…”

“Good morning,” she greeted. “Familiar faces. No need for introductions then. This is Discrete Mathematics. I’m not saying you guys shouldn’t take this subject too seriously but it’s relatively easy, if you ask me. We’re going to be counting arcs and lines, multiplying and adding matrices and doing all those other fun stuff. This is a prerequisite of other subjects that you may or may not have to take up in the future. Just like in Algebra, everything is easy if you just listen. For those who have the attention span of a goldfish namely, you,” she pointed at Tiffany, Taeyeon and Siwon, “crescent moon, Snow White’s missing dwarf and goldfish, try to focus.”

She looked around and asked, “Any questions?”

Some who was sitting in the back raised his hand.

“Yes, Mr. Girly Voice?”

“Park Jeabeom, Miss…uhm… You never told any of us your name. Can we know what it is?”

“No,” she answered flatly but chuckled when she saw the dumbfounded faces of her students. “I’m just kidding. Now that you’re still with me and you guys didn’t fail my subject last term, I think I should give you the privilege to know my name. It’s Kwon BoA.” With that Professor Kwon BoA proceeded on her first topic for the second term.

When the bell rang, the students and even the professors packed their things hastily to go out and eat lunch.

Tiffany and Yuri were the first ones to get out. Jessica and Taeyeon were following behind. On the couple’s way out, the guy named Park Jaebeom accidentally bumped into Jessica.

“Sorry,” said Jaebeom.

“Watch where you’re going. Sica, are you okay?” Taeyeon said while checking if Jessica was hurt.

“Taengoo, I’m fine.”

“I’m really sorry. I’m Park Jae—“

“Girly voice. Yeah, I heard Professor Kwon earlier.” She held Taeyeon’s hand and the couple walked out of the classroom.

Siwon chuckled at how easy Jessica turned Jaebeom down. “Girly voice fail.”

“Shut up, goldfish.”

He walked out of the classroom and looked at the retreating back of Jessica.

So Sica’s her name.