Joy leans over, pressing her cheek against the soft condensation of the cloud and sighs. Pretty. Bae Joohyun is totally the prettiest girl- prettiest anything- that she's ever seen. And "ever" for her has been a really long time.

    “Are you staring at her again?” Joy looks up to see Seulgi, hands on her hips and concern in her warm eyes. “Joy,” Seulgi scolds not unkindly. “You need to stop. You know as well as I do that falling in love with a human won’t end well.”

    “I know,” Joy replies indignantly. And she does. She really does. “But I’m not in love her. I mean, I don’t even know her.”

    “Good. Now get back to work,” Seulgi reminds her. Joy nods and returns back to her box of stars. She cradles one in her hand, dim and nothing more than a feeling of gentle warmth cupped in her palm, and presses it against the soft darkness of the night sky. She twists the hazy brightness into the black backdrop until it becomes less hazy and brighter and brighter. (But never bright enough because the darkness still envelopes the edges of the light, though that’s okay because Joy still has 2,387 more stars to hang up and until the sun seeps fully behind the horizon to do so.)

.

    “Are you done?” Seulgi asks once the sun has set and darkness has blanketed the sky. Joy stretches, yawning, and nods blearily. “Okay, let’s go,” Seulgi says wrapping an arm around Joy. “Jeez, when did you get so tall?”

    “What are you talking about? I’ve been this tall for the past two centuries,” Joy replies. The two leisurely walk on a path of moonlight back to their home, back to the moon.

._.

    Joy waits anxiously at the bus stop, teetering back and forth on her feet. She feels a presence step beside her and grins to herself. Bae Joohyun is here right on time. Like always. Joy surreptitiously sneaks a look to her side and smiles dopily on the inside. Pretty. But more than pretty, Bae Joohyun is bright- brighter than the stars Joy works with, brighter than the path of moonlight that she walks every night. It’s a soft brightness that seems to glow in Bae Joohyun’s bright eyes and seep out of her every pore, and Joy is absolutely drawn to it.

    The bus arrives and they get on. As always, there are two seats open and as always, Joy takes the window seat and Bae Joohyun sits down next to her. Joy leans her head against the window and closes her eyes, enjoying Bae Joohyun’s radiance next to her as the bus rattles down the street. Exactly eight stops later, Bae Joohyun gets off and Joy opens her eye to catch a glance of her back as she leaves. And that’s that. That’s all Joy allows herself and it’s enough; she’s content. But secretly, she knows that statement had started to slowly hollow itself out weeks ago. (She wonders until how much longer can she swallow this emptiness, can she stop herself from glimpsing at the sun after living too long under the moonlight.)

._.

    The sky is bright as Joy waits at the bus stop, but she’s draped in a thick raincoat and is quietly thumbing an umbrella in her coat pocket. One of the perks of working for the heavens for an eternity other than fashionable clothing that always fit just right whenever she’s on Earth, is that it tends to give warnings for its temperament. And the rumbling rain she feels in her lungs is most definitely a warning. Bae Joohyun didn’t seem to have the same advantages as she walks up to the bus stop in a sunny dress.

    They step onto the bus. Eight stops come and pass, and Bae Joohyun steps off. Joy stares at her back until the storm thundering inside her chest overtakes the emptiness and she follows Bae Joohyun off the bus. The first few droplets of rain manages to catch Bae Joohyun’s attention before Joy is able to open her umbrella, shielding her from the greying sky.

    “Hi,” Joy greets, grinning brightly. Bae Joohyun looks at her in surprise, wide eyes blinking rapidly. Looks like Joy can add “cute” to the list of things she knows about Bae Joohyun. The bus drives off, and the woman stares on as it goes before looking back at Joy with a forlorn look on her face. Joy seems to understand the unasked question and waves it off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just catch the next one; I’m not in much of a hurry.” Irene nods slowly but Joy can still see a hint of guilt in her gleaming eyes, and shoots her a reassuring smile. “I’m Joy, by the way,” the girl announces, sticking out her hand in greeting.

    Bae Joohyun starts blinking rapidly again before gently placing her warm hand in Joy’s grip. “I’m Irene.”

    And now it’s Joy’s turn to falter. “Huh? I thought your name was Bae Joohyun.” As Bae Joo- no, Irene- looks at her in confusion, Joy catches herself and grins sheepishly. “Your name,” she points out, “it’s written on the back of your shoes. I saw it once when you were heading off the bus.”

    Irene blushes and mumbles that, “My mom wrote my name on all of my shoes in case I lose them.” Joy laughs jubilantly and mentally adds “klutz” and “Irene” to the list as well.”I should go,” Irene mumbles out. “I’m going to be late for work.”

    “Hey,” Joy calls out as Irene starts to leave. “Take it.” She places the green umbrella in Irene’s hand.

    “B-but,” Irene stutters out, eyes wide once again. “What about you?”

    Joy points to her raincoat and grins cheekily. “The perks of being prepared.” Irene ducks her head and mutters about how the weather forecast didn’t say anything about the heavy rain. Joy shrugs. “Meh. I have a psychic grandmother.” Named the Universe. But that’s an awkward topic to bring up when it’s only their first time speaking to each other. “So just take the umbrella. It looks like you need it more than I do.” Joy then leaves, putting up the hood of her raincoat and keeps walking in a random direction until she can no longer feel the weight of Irene’s bright stare on her shoulders. “Now where am I again?”

._.

    The following days afterwards, Joy tries to stay away. She really does. But after avoiding the sun for too long and finally directly facing Irene’s brightness- it’s like a crippling addiction and a salvation at the same time. And she can’t let go of it. So she stands at the bus stop in the cold of the early morning.

    A light touch grazes the tips of her fingers and Joy turns around with a haggard expression on her face. “Hey,” Irene mumbles out hesitantly, an unsure, shy smile on her face. “I’ve been looking for you, but you haven’t been around lately.” A pause. “It wasn’t because of me. . . was it?”

    Joy falters as the sunniness usually found in Irene’s eyes dim before she starts shaking her head profusely. “Not at all!” she lies through her teeth and tries to think of a reasonably ridiculous excuse to distract Irene. “It’s just. . . I’ve been sleeping through my alarms the past couple of days.” Irene lets out a relieved laugh and Joy tries to memorize the way her eyes light up.

    “So, um, here,” Irene murmurs as she pulls Joy’s green umbrella out of her purse. But Joy can taste the rain on her tongue and feel the weight of a second umbrella in her coat pocket, so she refuses it with a soft smile.

“Keep it,” Joy declares with a mischievous grin. “My psychic grandmother said she can practically feel a storm approaching in her fake teeth.” The sky rumbles and the two look up. Guess the universe feels offended at the thought of having fake teeth. Joy doesn’t blame it; she probably would as well.

Irene bites her bottom lip in concentration, obviously in conflict. “Well, can I at least treat you to coffee? I feel guilty for not doing anything in return.”

“Now?” Irene nods. “Don’t you have work?”

Irene shakes her head. “I work at an elementary school,” she explains. “It’s a non-student day.” Joy makes a sound of comprehension and grins, flashing the ‘ok’ sign. Irene smiles back at her.

._.

    She should’ve said no; she should’ve kept away. But she couldn’t. Not when Irene stares at the menu with laser focus yet orders her coffee like she’s had it memorized since she was 12. Not when the sleeves of Irene’s sweater are a bit frayed at the ends and leave only the tips of her fingers peeking through. Not when Irene’s eyebrows furrow when she’s laughing like she’s not sure if she should laugh but she is? And definitely not when Irene radiates so much unfamiliar warmth that it’s actually suffocating and Joy wants to drown in it. She couldn’t stay away, not for a second longer, and it’s probably the biggest mistake anyone could make. (Joy can’t bring herself to care.)

._.

    “Joy,” Seulgi reprimands her gently, “you need to stop seeing her before this gets too far.”

    Joy nods morosely in agreement before mussing up her hair, clearly frustrated. “It’s harder than it looks,”  she grumbles. “I look at her and I see how bright she is and it’s like I can’t let her go.”

    “I know,” Seulgi says neutrally. Joy knows that she knows. She also knows that Seulgi is only trying to look out for her. But above all, Joy knows about the times before Joy- back when Seulgi still worked in the western hemisphere- and about a girl in the roaring twenties with too-bright eyes and a too-powerful voice, who made Seulgi too-in-love and eventually too-heartbroken as the brightness in her eyes dimmed to black. And for once, the silence of the night sky is stifling.

._.

    It’s inevitable that Joy breaks her promise to Seulgi. She had always told herself that she’s not in love with Irene- that she can leave and never come back anytime she wants- but those lies got lost somewhere in the midst of the wild gestures Irene’s arms make when she talks about the kindergarten and the curve of her smile. So Joy decides to abandon all the false promises and shallow assurances. She decides to fall in love.

._.

    “Hey,” Irene calls out softly, tightening her grip on Joy’s hand as the taller girl leads her on a trail. “Where are we going?” Joy had dragged her away from the bus stop that morning and put the both of them on another bus heading out of the city, all without an explanation.

    Joy grins at her and gives a sly wink. “You’ll see,” she says cheerfully. The trail leads up to a clearing overlooking the lapping waves of the ocean and Joy spreads her arms out. “Ta-da!”

Irene looks up at the sight in amazement and Joy giggles to herself as she nudges the woman’s jaw closed. “I wanted to see the stars. You don’t really see them in the city; too many lights,” Joy explains, leaning back on the railing. “People don’t seem to appreciate them too much nowadays.” Irene hums in agreement, gazing up at the sky in awe. (She wonders when was the last time she saw stars- real stars and not a stray airplane in the night sky.) Joy glances over at her. “Do you like it?”

    “Yeah,” Irene sighs, never taking her eyes off of the sky.

    Joy grins, crossing her arms. “Look closer.” Irene tears her eyes away from the stars and looks at Joy, confusion coloring her face. Joy gestures back up to the stars. “Look closer,” she repeats.

When Irene looks up again, she finally sees it. The stars seem to glow and connect like constellations until they formed the words ‘Bae Joohyun, I like you.’ “Wha-” She turns to Joy, an expression of shock apparent on her face. “How?” she gasps.

“Ah, looks like you finally saw it.”

“B-but how?” Irene stutters. “Is it, like, street magic? A slight of the hand or whatever?”

Joy throws her head back and laughs loudly. “My hands are right here, Irene,” she grins, putting up her hands. “It’s kind of hard to pull a slight of hand when the stars are millions of light years away.” Irene blushes and Joy laughs again. Her laughter dies out and she smiles at Irene anxiously. “I like you,” she confesses, rubbing the back of her neck bashfully. “I really like you, so will you go out on a date with me?” Irene stares blankly and Joy fidgets under her gaze. Before the taller girl can say anything, a soft kiss is placed on the corner of her lips.

Joy’s eyes widen and she looks at the other girl with a grin she can barely contain. Irene glances away, a light pink dusting her cheeks. “I like you, too,” she mumbles. Joy lets out a cheer before kissing Irene firmly. Irene smiles into the kiss.

._.

    “You never told me how you got the stars like that,” Irene comments as they head back to the bus stop. Their tightly clasped hands swing in between them and Joy smiles wistfully at the sight.

    “It’s my job,” she replies simply. Irene stops in her steps and tilts her head at Joy in confusion. Their hands stop swinging. “My job,” Joy elaborates, anxiety rising up in like bile, “is to string up the stars in the sky.” Irene’s stare is unchanging as the confusion remains pooled in her eyes. The warmth Joy had received from the kiss earlier is dropping exponentially, leaving her feeling cold and uncomfortable. Irene slowly starts to walk away and Joy’s heart breaks. The stars she hung up in the northern sky starts to dim darker and darker until Irene turns back with a playful grin on her face.

    “Then prove it to me tomorrow night,” Irene declares before she continues walking. Joy remains frozen before she breaks out of her stupor with a relieved laugh and jogs to catch up with the other woman.

._.

    As Irene’s bus drives by on the outskirts of the city the following night, she looks up at the sky. The stars glow brightly to connect the words ‘Bae Joohyun’s lips are softer than the clouds in the night sky.’ Irene laughs softly to herself and makes sure to remind Joy of that fact tomorrow morning.

._.

She knows she should’ve stopped a long time ago; should’ve stopped before this had ever started. Though looking into Irene’s eyes, Joy realizes that while they might not have an everlasting love, they have a love that lasts for now and that’s good enough for her. So she figures that Irene’s still young and that she has a good couple of decades. And after that- well- Joy has a good couple of millenniums to get over the subsequent heartbreak.