Byul found herself standing in front of her closet, unsure of what to wear. She had gone from excited to down right freaking out in a matter of a few hours. It was only Tuesday night. She had made her way home after her shift, it was now three in the morning and she could think of nothing but what she was going to wear. It was not a date, she thinks, just a friendly dinner for helping YongSun out that night, so then why did she feel like this. She wasn’t sure why she was freaking out so much, YongSun had seen her in her ratty old hat, dirty sweater and wearing no makeup. Still, she should dress like she was trying, but not trying… Byul rubbed a hand over her face, this was getting way to complicated. She even considered calling HyeJin and asking her advice but she knew the girl was going to tell her to wear something revealing. Byul had made the mistake of letting HyeJin pick her clothes once, she ended up wearing her coat for the whole night because you could see her bra through the shirt. 
It took Byul another hour to finally decide what she was going to wear, and if she was being honest, it wasn’t much different from what she wore everyday to school. She was going with her black ripped jeans and a plain white shirt under a plaid one. It was nothing special but it was all she could come up with. She looked over at the clock, it was just past four in the morning. She groaned and dragged herself into her bed, she still had to go to class tomorrow. Lucky for her she only had one class and it was early, so she had a lot of time to not sleep and worry until she met up with YongSun. They had made more in depth plans since. The decided to meet at the store where Byul worked and walk to a local restaurant that YongSun swears has the best food in town. Byul agreed and they set the time for five that night so YongSun had time to go home a change before they had to meet. Byul looked at her phone again before she closed her eyes, wondering in YongSun was having just as much trouble as she was or if it was all in Byul’s head. She rolled over but didn’t sleep. 

YongSun did not want to get out of bed. The night had brought nothing but worry for her. Instead of doing her homework due later that week, she made WheeIn sit with her and go through everything she owned until they found something that the both thought was an appropriate outfit to wear for her “Not a Date” as YongSun had to remind WheeIn over a dozen times. The younger girl just nodded her head, humoring YongSun, who also knew she was treating this like it was a date, God did she hope it wa a date.  
After an hour and a half she settled on some nice light blue skinny jeans and a pink sweater-shirt. She had originally wanted to wear a dress, nothing fancy, something like a sundress, but WheeIn pointed out that Byul had mentioned the arcade near the restaurant and a dress might look nice but limited her movements. Finally they had her outfit picked, line up the type of makeup she was going to wear, but then it was time for WheeIn to go home for the night, leaving YongSun to panic alone. She ended up staying up most of the night trying to get over her nerves, eventually falling asleep at about three in the morning, which didn’t help the fact she had an eight AM class to go to. So when YongSun’s alarm started going off in the morning she almost threw it across the room. 
She finally managed to pull herself out of bed and into the bathroom. She needed a shower to wake her up, and to wash her hair, it had been a few days since she did. It took her another hour of preparations before she was ready to leave, so when she did get home she would only need to do touch ups and change her clothes. For now, it was time for class. 

YongSun didn’t know if she was more excited or nervous as she made her way to the convenience store. She had barely been able to concentrate the entire day, she was also secretly hoping to run into ByulYi at school but it never happened. Now she was almost at the store and there was a part of her brain that was telling her to high tail it back to her house and text ByulYi sorry, but she steeled her nerves and continued walking. 
ByulYi beat her to the store. She was leaning on the wall outside, casually looking at the traffic and if it was an average day for her. Her hair was down and she was not wearing a hat for the first time since YongSun had known her. She was wearing some back jeans and what looked like a plaid shirt under her jacket. YongSun had contemplated not wearing a jacket for the sake of her outfit but it was barely spring and the evenings were still chilly. ByulYi must have heard her coming because she looked in YongSun’s direction. She looked blank face for a second, making YongSun pause in panic, but a second later her face broke in a very large smile, so much that it made her nose crinkle, which YongSun noted as very adorable. She waved to YongSun as she approached and YongSun waved back as she finally came to a stop beside her. 
“Long time no see Kim YongSun ssi.” She said as she pushed herself off of the wall. 
YongSun gave her a small smile. “Long time no see Moon ByulYi ssi.” 
ByulYi made a face and shook her head. “That sounded awkward.” She made as a general comment to their greeting. “No one calls me ByulYi, I forgot to tell you that. I usually just go by Byul.” 
YongSun nodded, mouth open slightly as if she was saying “ah”. She smiled again. “So should I call you Byul-Ah ssi, or Moon Byul ssi?” 
Byul contemplated this. “How old are you?” 
“I was born in 1991.” She replied. 
“Oh,” She pointed at YongSun. “That makes you my Unnie, I was born in 1992.” When YongSun didn’t respond right away she added, “It is okay if I call you Unnie?” 
YongSun nodded quickly. “Of course.” She honestly just didn’t expect Byul to be younger than her, she seemed very mature for her age and acted kind of like she was older. The girls waited in momentary silence before YongSun gestured with her hands. “Shall we go?” 
“Yes, yes.” Byul said, changing direction so they were side by side, heading toward the restaurant that YongSun had picked. YongSun was trying very hard not to look like she was trying not to touch Byul as they walked. Neither of them really knew what to say, it was odd that she could talk to her while she was working, or over text message but now that they were face to face on an even playing field, they were at a loss for words.

They ended up making casual conversation for the second half of the trip to the restaurant, asking each other how their week was going, how work was for Byul, how class was for them both. Finally they reached the restaurant that YongSun had picked out. Though she did make sure it was okay of they ate here, she was having second thoughts, perhaps instead of bringing her to a traditional Korean restaurant, she should have thought of something more trendy. 
They picked a table in the back and started going over their menus while the Ajumma went to get them some water and utensils. “What is good here?” Byul asked as she flipped the on paged menu over. 
YongSun thought about it. “I usually come here for their naejang tang, it is very good but it not everyone’s favourite food.” She made the mistake of getting one of her classmates to try it once and she said she would never let YongSun pick the meal again. 
“Naejang tang?” Byul said sounding shocked. “I love naejang tang.” YongSun tried to hide the heat that was beginning to creep up on her face. 
The Ajumma came back and took their order. Both girls got the soup and a few other dishes to share. YongSun thought about ordering some Soju as well but figured it would not help her with the nerves, and any alcohol turned her the colour of a beat. 
“What are you taking in school?” Byul’s question made her look up again. “We see each other a lot but we never really talked about that.” 
Byul was right, they both knew they went to school but neither ever expanded on it. Besides the fact that YongSun knew Byul was in her Friday lectures. “Business Management.” Byul made a face at that, like it was not what she would have expected, which was true. “When it was time to apply for school I wanted to do something practical, it seemed like a good idea at the time.” 
The ajumma delivered their food and the girls dug in. “Any particular reason you chose Business Management? There are a lot of practical jobs out there.” YongSun shrugged as she slurped back some broth. “Some really cool Unnie came to my high school to talk about it, she made it seem like a good choice.” She took a bite of kimchi, they got a double order because both girls really wanted it. “What are you taking in school?”  
Byul swallowed her mouthful. “Web Design but I am applying for Mechanical Engineering next year..” 
“Whoa, you must be really smart.” YongSun was in awe. Byul only shrugged it off. “I am barely floating in my program, except for my Gender and uality elective, it is really interesting.” 
“How weird, I am taking that elective as well.” 
YongSun could feel her face going red again as she said the next sentence. “I know, I was you last Friday leaving the class.” 
“We are in the same class? Why didn’t you come say hi?” She thought for a second. “Oh that was before we saw each other again after that night, it was probably awkward.” YongSun nodded along, not mentioning how she chased after Byul when she left the class but failed to find her. “Well maybe you can save me a seat this week, I never make friends in my electives.” YongSun agreed to save her a seat. 
They finished their meals, each giving a few more details about their life as they did. YongSun told her that she still lived at home with her parents and that her older sister just returned from abroad. Byul told her about her family back home, her mother and two younger sisters, that explained why she acted older, she lived on a farm and her father passed away when she was young. They decided it was time for fun, they paid for their meal and headed to the arcade that Byul chose for them. 

Byul was regretting her decision about the arcade. It was one she had spent a lot of time at and she was very good at a lot of the games, but there was the problem. She didn’t want to pretend to be bad at games that she rocked at but she didn’t want to act like a show off to YongSun and make her not have a good time. She was already having regrets before they met up, she had got to the store early so she could talk to her boss before YongSun showed up, that and she couldn’t wait around her house any longer. She ended up waiting outside the store, watching the traffic, counting the number of blue cars that passed, trying to occupy her mind from going into full on panic mode before YongSun even showed up. 
When YongSun did show up, Byul was floored. She was only slightly more dressed up than normal, in jeans and a pink sweater, a light brown jacket over that. But even the subtle difference in her makeup had Byul’s mind blanking for a moment, she was too pretty. 
Dinner did pass fine, though she was trying not to eat like a slob. Asking YongSun more about herself so she didn’t have as much of a puzzle to fill in as to who Kim YongSun was. Each piece Byul uncovered was even better than the last. 

They got to the arcade and Byul went to the owner and changed in some paper for coins. They spent a few moments catching up, she had not been there in a long time, not since school had become increasingly hard with the semester coming to a close. 
When she finally got back to YongSun the girl looked from Byul to the owner. “You must come here a lot.” 
Byul handed her a handful of coins. “Occasionally.” 
“You must bring all of the girls here.” Byul almost did a double take, was it just her or was Kim YongSun flirting with her, she could see the pink that grew on her face. 
Byul winked at her. “Only the pretty ones.” 
YongSun made a face. “That was greasy.” She slapped Byul’s arm and Byul laughed. 
She ignored her and steered her in the direction of the games she liked the most. 

After a few rounds of Byul winning and YongSun falling very short, YongSun started to look like she was not enjoying herself which is what Byul was afraid of. “Must have been a lot of pretty girls.” YongSun said under her breath but Byul caught it, yet another reason to be angry with herself tonight, why did she made a dumb comment like that, there were barely any girls and none that she brought here. 
Byul stood beside YongSun and picked up the gun she was about to abandon. “Here,” She opened an arm for YongSun to step into, the girl looked unsure but did so anyway. Byul moved both of her hands so they were positioned correctly on the gun, she kicked one on YongSun’s feet so she was in the right stance. “You need to aim like this.” She mimed the movement while still holding on to her. She stepped away and put another coin in the machine, game coming to life. 
She gave YongSun some general comments while she played, helping her with the game. YongSun shrieked in joy as she completed the level and shot Byul a huge smile when the cleared. “I did it!” Her face was all red and Byul had to laugh. 
She pointed at the screen, to the top of the leaderboard, the name MoonStar was at the top. “When I first moved to Seoul I didn’t want to go home to my empty house.” She said now beside YongSun again so no one could hear her. “I was so use to lots of noise and people that my place just seemed so lonely. I use to come here every night after class and play for hours by myself so I didn’t have to go home. I ended up winning the top spot on the game” She said pointing again to her name. 
YongSun looked more serious now. “That sounds sad.” 
Byul shrugged. “I got over it eventually. I don’t get to come here often anymore so I am glad we did.” She smiled at YongSun and she returned it. 
She stepped in and patted Byul on the arm. “I am glad we did this too.” 
They played a few more games before they left. YongSun schooling Byul on the piano tiles game, even earning her a spot on the leaderboard. 

The girls now walked down the dark street. The sun had set over an hour ago while they were still playing in the arcade. They hadn’t really said much of anything since they left, not so much awkward now but just enjoying each other’s company. 
YongSun was swinging her arms around as they walked. “I don’t think I am ready to go home.” She said with a sigh. 
“Then we don’t go home.” Byul said as smooth as she could. YongSun looked at her, wondering if she had actually meant it, which she did. “What do you want to do?” 
YongSun thought about it for a few minutes, both girls standing on the sidewalk not moving. “I have an idea.” She said with a sly smile that made Byul unsure, wondering what the girl had in mind. 

Twenty minutes later Byul and YongSun were standing on a bridge in the middle of the city. Byul was shooting YongSun glances like she had lost it, perhaps she had but she wanted to share this with Byul. Byul had revealed something very personal about herself when they were at the arcade and YongSun wanted to return the favor. 
YongSun touched the edge of the bridge and look out to the water that laid beyond it. “I didn’t want to go into Business.” She said softly enough for it to almost be a whisper. She noticed Byul had moved in closer, arms resting on the edge of the bridge as well. “I wanted to be a stewardess.” She shot a shy look over at Byul, expecting her to be laughing but she looked serious. 
“So why didn’t you?” Her voice had gotten deeper with the night. 
YongSun took a deep breath. “Until recently my older sister was studying abroad.” She patted her hands on the bridge while thinking. “Two years ago as I was graduating from school my mom got sick. My sister couldn’t leave school because she would lose out on all the money my parents paid to send her there. My father had to start working more to afford the medical bills, so it was up to me to take care of her.” She looked at Byul for a moment, her face so serious as she listened. “I didn’t mind, and she got better very fast. When the time came to apply for school however I could not bring myself to apply to a school far away from home, I felt like I couldn’t leave, so I ended up picking something that I could do and stay at home.” YongSun shook the sadness from her voice and cleared . “When I was feeling sad or troubled, I’d come here and I’d yell my problems off the bridge. It always made me feel better, like a weight was lifted off me.” 
Now Byul was looking sceptical. “That doesn't seem like something I would do.” 
YongSun shook her head. “Don’t knock it until you try it.” She turned to the water and called at the top of her lungs, “Eomma! I hope you stay healthy!” She paused. “I hope I pass all my test!” She turned back to Byul and they both started laughing. 
Byul shook her head but she turned to the water. “Eomma, SeulGi, YeSol, I miss you!” She turned back and they both picked up laughing again, YongSun feeling lighter. 
“Shut UP!” A voice called from somewhere below the bridge, YongSun had been known to annoy the local homeless people. 
YongSun giggled and grabbed onto Byul’s wrist “Run!” She said as she pulled Byul behind her. Soon they were both running off into the night.

Byul felt like she could fly. She had so far had the perfect night with YongSun, better than she could have ever imagined. They were making their way back from the bridge, headed toward home. YongSun started to rub her arms against the cold, the jacket she was wearing wasn’t very thick, it was more of a wind breaker. Byul stripped her jacket and threw it over YongSun’s shoulders. 
YongSun touched the sides and looked over at her. “I am too hot from all that running, you only have yourself to blame so you have to carry my coat.” She said trying to play it off casually. YongSun looked like she was suppressing a smile as she tugged it tighter. 
Byul insisted on walking YongSun home, telling her it was no use arguing because she was just follow her to make sure she made it safe, sayong anyone could send a text from her phone, but both girls knew it was just an excuse. 
Too soon they were standing outside of YongSun’s house. It actually wasn’t that far from Byul’s, it was only a few blocks away and about a few financial levels above. 
YongSun handed her back her jacket with a thanks. “I had a lot of fun tonight.” She added as she dug her keys out. “We should do it again sometime.” Byul nodded in agreement. “Yes we should. Now go to bed, and I don’t want to see you at the store eating ramen anytime soon, eat a proper meal.” She meant it mainly as a joke but YongSun’s face seem to drop a bit. “I will see you in class on Friday, be sure to save me a seat.” That earned her another smile. “Goodnight Byul-Ah.” 
“Goodnight YongSun-Ah” She didn’t add the Unnie part. 
YongSun waved at her until she reached her front door, Byul mirroring her. Finally she disappeared into the house, leaving Byul with nothing to do but go home. Usually Byul’s walk home is quiet and normal but tonight her face was plastered with a smile. Thinking of chubby cheeks, dolphin shrieks, and a very kid like Unnie. It was the first time in a long time Byul was not lonely, and it was something she could get use to.