The sound of footsteps shuffling towards the door and a subsequent jingle of keys broke the steely silence shrouding the apartment, making a figure on the couch stir.

 

At a creeping pace, the door was pushed open, creaking slightly towards the end. A pair of heel-clad feet tiptoed their way in, dull clicks contributing further to the disrupted silence. The owner released an exhausted sigh as she kicked the six-inch monsters off, allowing her poor toes to garner some comfort from the cold marble floor.

 

After shutting the door softly and making sure the shoes were in place, the woman headed for the bedroom, still walking on her toes. She stopped midway when she noticed the sleeping figure on the sofa, and another sigh left her lips – an affective one this time. Feet padding towards the silhouette gently, she reached out to caress the slumbering girl’s soft hair, a smile spreading across her features at the adorable sight.

 

Just then, the figure jerked lightly, hands automatically moving upwards to rub her eyes, “J-Jessica?”

 

“Baby, I told you not to wait up.”

 

“You forgot about movie night. Again. I thought you promised me last Friday that you wouldn’t miss it again.”

 

“I’m sorry… it got busy in the office.” The woman answered, her voice barely audible. She was drained from a hard day’s work. Not to mention, it was too late at night to be speaking too loudly, two in the morning, to be exact.

 

Sitting up, the girl hugged her knees to her chest, “Did the same guy send you home again?” It was not clear whether or not she was fuming because it was not bright enough.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Couldn’t you have gotten Taeyeon to give you a lift instead? She’s your best friend for a reason.”

 

“She lives an hour away from us, Yoongie. You know that. Look, I get it. You’re mad at me because you stayed up waiting and you’re tired. Let’s go to bed, okay?” The woman named Jessica locked their fingers together, leading the reluctant girl off.

 

When climbing into bed, another question came, “Why didn’t you answer any of my calls?”

 

“I told you I was occupied.” The answer was accompanied by a somewhat disinterested yawn as the woman turned the bedside lamp off, “Night, baby. I love you.”

 

Getting no response, Jessica nudged the girl beside her, “Yah.”

 

“What?”

 

“You know what. I can’t go to sleep without hearing you say goodnight.”

 

“Night.” Yoona muttered halfheartedly, turning her back towards the woman and pulling the sheets over her head.

 

“Yah.” Jessica tugged them off at once.

 

“What?”

 

“You forgot something else.”

 

“I’m sorry, I’m too busy to say it.”

 

Realizing what it was about, Jessica promptly switched the lamp back on and sat up, dragging the girl along with her. It took a few moments for her to get Yoona to face her directly.

 

“Jagi, I’m sorry…” She reached out to frame the girl’s delicate face with her hands, brushing her cheeks gently, “Like I said, work’s getting a little hectic these days… I’m sorry if you felt neglected because of that.”

 

The look in her eyes softened the girl up almost instantly, like how it always did whenever they got into an argument. Yoona could never stay angry at her girlfriend for too long. Taking the woman’s hands into hers, she held them warmly, “I know… I might’ve been a little too sensitive… it’s not your fault.”

 

“It kinda is… you’re my girlfriend. I should make time for you. Work’s a terrible excuse.” Jessica sighed, caressing the fingers in her hands. Times like this made her feel like a pathetic girlfriend. A relationship was supposed to be about two people putting in the relevant effort to make things work. It seemed Yoona was doing everything and she wasn’t pulling her weight. She really shouldn’t be taking the girl for granted.

 

“No. You’re my girlfriend, too. I should put myself in your shoes. You’re working hard for us. I shouldn’t be complaining. Let’s drop this and never bring it up again. It’s stupid. And you must be beat. We should sleep.” Yoona leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her girlfriend’s forehead, another on her nose, and finally one on her lips. Gently laying the girl onto her back, she joined their lips again, kissing her slowly, passionately. Feeling Jessica’s lips parting, she took it as a sign and went on to deepen the kiss.

 

“Mm, baby, not now. It wouldn’t be nice if I dozed off in the middle of this.” The woman chuckled, turning her head to the side.

 

Nodding, Yoona rolled off of her, pulling the sheets over their bodies and tucking her girlfriend in.

 

“I love you.” She heard Jessica mumble.

 

“Love you, too.”

 

“Hold me to sleep?”

 

“Mhm.”

 

**

 

Weeks passed and everything went back to normal. Movie night resumed its regularity and Yoona thought things were good once more.

 

Then one fateful day, she eavesdropped upon a rather peculiar conversation that made all those doubts about her three-year relationship resurface.

 

The woman was lying belly down on their bed, twirling her curls around her finger, phone pressed between her shoulder and ear. Yoona, on the other hand, was concealed behind the wall, leaning in as close as possible so she might listen better.

 

“No, it’s not like that at all.”

 

She could hear Jessica giggling. An extra feminine giggle, might she add. The kind she heard whenever the woman was shy or tickled.

 

“That sounds like a lot of fun! No, I’ve never been… no…”

 

Who could she be talking to?

 

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it but there’s too much to handle in my life right now…”

 

Maybe it was Taeyeon.

 

“I live with somebody. It’s more than enough for me.”

 

Nope, definitely not Taeyeon. She would know who Jessica was cohabitating with.

 

“It’s a secret!”

 

Another giggle.

 

At this point, Yoona’s pulse was racing. The suspicion was killing her. She needed to know who it was.

 

“Yah, oppa… do I seem like such a person?”

 

Oppa?!

 

“You’re so bad, oppa.”

 

Did she just use her aegyo voice? She hardly ever used that around Yoona, claiming it was too embarrassing.

 

“I’m ignoring you!”

 

The girl could feel her blood boiling. Was Jessica actually flirting with some guy over the phone behind her? Ridiculous.

 

Unable to take it anymore, Yoona stormed into the room, clearing loudly.

 

“Ah, I gotta go. Talk to you soon.” The woman hung up and turned around, a grin still sitting on her lips, “Jagi…”

 

“Who was that?”

 

“A colleague.”

 

“Which one?”

 

“Oh, you don’t know him, Yoongie.”

 

“The one who gave you rides home the last time?”

 

Detecting some sort of jealousy, Jessica hastened to explain herself, “Jagi, he’s just a friend. Don’t get so worked up.”

 

“A friend? You don’t even speak to me like that.” Yoona tried her best not to explode. She had no idea why the woman was refusing to admit whatever the heck was going on. After all, she had already heard everything with her own ears.

 

“I speak differently with different people…”

 

“Sica-yah, will you please just tell me straight if you’re seeing someone else? I’d rather know the truth.”

 

Barely smiling anymore, the woman retorted, “Yah, Im Yoona, don’t you ever entertain such nonsensical ideas. We’ve been together for so long… I thought you would’ve known me by now… I would never cheat on you.”

 

“Then what was that about? You were being all flirty with that oppa.” The girl felt herself cringing at the word.

 

“I’m like that when it comes to guys, okay? It doesn’t mean anything.”

 

A scornful look registered on Yoona’s face immediately, “I’m sure it doesn’t,” She reached the bed in a few strides and sat herself down, “Sica, be honest. You’re not happy with me, are you?”

 

Here the woman’s brows met in confusion, “That’s absurd. Why would you say that?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you sometimes get a little too envious about girls having a boyfriend to call their oppa. Maybe it was how infatuated you sounded on the phone with goodness-knows-who a minute ago.”

 

“Yoongie, he’s just like an older brother I never had, that’s all.” Jessica loathed where the entire conversation was going. Yes, perhaps it was because she had never been with a guy before. It just felt strangely nice to be able to call somebody ‘oppa’. The term of endearment just seemed to roll off her tongue. Oppa.

 

But all that certainly did not mean she was unhappy with her current girlfriend.

 

“Are you sure? Maybe there’s some reevaluation to be done. I mean, I’m a hundred percent sure which team I’m playing for but are you? I don’t want to ignore the possibility that you might actually have a thing for boys as well, Sica.”

 

When the woman momentarily paused, deep in thought, Yoona felt her heart sink a little. Exhaling heavily, she asked, “It’s about that, isn’t it?”

 

Meeting her eyes, Jessica narrowed hers, “What’s that?”

 

“The, uh… I don’t even know how to say this.”

 

“Just say it.”

 

“That thing he has. That baby maker.” Yoona’s eyes fel