One day, Byulyi and Wheein were lounging in the living room of their shared apartment, sipping on tea and munching on butter cakes, watching their two other housemates trying their hardest not to fall into each other’s arms while working together to prepare dinner.

“Do you think they’re ing?”

Byulyi nearly choked on her tea when she heard those words. She wiped with the back of her hand and stared at Wheein with wide, questioning eyes.

Wheein just smirked at her. “What? I’m not a little girl anymore, unnie.”

Byulyi silently agreed. Not anymore.

***

Byulyi always thought that she would see Wheein as a little girl – the girl who would always have a witty comeback to her childish teasing; the one who would have at least one devious revenge prank up her sleeve.

Never did it cross her mind that one day she would see this.

Wheein was in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by the other students who were watching her with rapt interest.

The music echoing throughout the dance studio was very upbeat and Wheein moved her body to the rhythm – fluid and smooth one moment; sharp and precise in another. Her facial expressions were on point, switching effortlessly between devilishly cute and enchantingly y.

Byulyi was beyond mesmerized by this Wheein – her mischievous little girl was long gone, replaced by this confident and bewitching young woman who had everyone’s last bit of attention.

When the music finally stopped and Wheein was standing tall, breathless and flushed, with a big, satisfied smile on her face, Byulyi recalled what Wheein had said to her: “I’m not a little girl anymore, unnie.”

And once again, Byulyi agreed. Not anymore.

***

Byulyi was assigned by her vocal coach, in her very humble opinion, the hardest project ever: performing as a duet.

It wasn’t that Byulyi was short of friends who could sing (she knew plenty), she was just unsure of how she could fit with any of them; they were much better singers than she could ever dreamed to be.

While she was musing over this dilemma, an angel descended upon her.

“Why do you look so glum, unnie?”

Byulyi blinked, for a moment unsure of what her eyes were seeing. Wheein’s face hovered over hers, long hair curtaining her face as well as Byulyi’s. The gentle smile on the younger’s lips captured Byulyi’s attention while her questioning gaze brought a sigh to Byulyi’s lips.

“I need to do a duet for my finals,” Byulyi closed her eyes, feeling a headache coming, “but I don’t know who to ask…”

“What about Yongsun-unnie?”

“That’s not fair. Yong-unnie is an ex-student. Plus, she’s probably busy with work-”

“And ing Hyejin.”

Byulyi’s eyes snapped open and she glared at the giggling puppy. “Not funny,” she muttered. “If you’re not going to help me, then please let me drown in my misery.”

“Who said I’m not going to help?”

“Oh?”

Byulyi suddenly sat up, eyes bright with excitement, surprising Wheein with the closeness of their faces until she had to take a step back, a sudden shyness coming over her.

“Do you know someone, Wheein-ah?” Byulyi asked eagerly. Then, she frowned. “The project is due in two weeks though, so I really need to meet that person soon and determine if we-”

Wheein rolled her eyes and let out an angry grunt. “You’re such a dumdum, unnie.”

Seeing the pretty pout on the younger girl’s face, Byulyi was tempted to and make the pout even longer, but it was easy to see that Wheein was really upset. Byulyi reached out a hand and grabbed Wheein’s wrist, pulling the younger onto her lap.

“Unnie…”

Wheein started to whine, but she became still when Byulyi wrapped her arms around her petite body and buried her nose in the crook of her neck.

“I’m sorry,” Byulyi’s voice was soft and low in her ear, sending shivers down Wheein’s back, “did I say something to upset you?”

Wheein sighed and leaned into Byulyi. “You’re a known dumdum so that’s not your fault,” she said, a smirk playing on her lips when she heard the soft whine in her ear, “but it is upsetting when you don’t even remember that your roommate sings too.”

“I didn’t forget,” Byulyi murmured, tightening her hold around Wheein and nuzzled her nose against the younger’s neck, “I just don’t know if our voices match well…”

Wheein forcefully removed Byulyi’s arms around her so that she could turn around and face the older girl. “How would you know if you’ve never tried?” she asked quietly. “Give yourself a chance, unnie. Give us a chance.”

Byulyi was quiet.

Wheein was right, of course. She was just being a coward – afraid to disappoint herself and others. She doubted that would change in a blink of an eye, but she was willing to start…if she had someone to support her.

With that thought, her eyes fell on Wheein and unconsciously, a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. A thought crossed her mind that if that “someone” turned out to be Wheein, change wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“You said the project is due in two weeks, right? Let’s book a vocal room and start practicing, okay?”

Wheein’s soft voice invaded Byulyi’s thoughts and she found herself nodding absent-mindedly while she gazed into the younger’s dark eyes, marvelling at the beauty and the depth they had. Byulyi reached out to cup Wheein’s cheek and her heart thumped at how wide those dark eyes suddenly grew; Byulyi wondered if someone could actually drown in them.

“U-Unnie…?”

Byulyi blinked. “Yes?”

“I-Is something wrong?”

“No?”

“I-I see.” Wheein chewed on her bottom lip, eyes flickered between Byulyi’s piercing gaze and her slightly-parted lips. “You’ve been quiet since I suggested we pair up, unnie...did you, um, actually have someone else in mind for the duet? Because I-”

“No,” Byulyi interjected softly but firmly, highly aware that her nose was grazing Wheein’s and that it took just one move for their lips to touch, “now that I have you, Wheein-ah, I don’t need anyone else. Not anymore.”

Wheein’s lips trembled, her breath coming out ragged as her heartbeat quickened. For some reason, her eyes couldn’t seem to tear themselves away from Byulyi’s mouth. “A-Are you sure?” she asked breathlessly.

“Very.”

Wheein closed her eyes tight, knowing that she would regret her next move. She took a deep breath and pushed herself off of Byulyi’s lap. When she opened her eyes again, she was met with an adorably confused Byulyi.

“Um, I think it’s time for practice, unnie,” Wheein said, an innocent smile on her face as she grabbed Byulyi’s wrist and pulled her out of their shared bedroom, “let’s go!”