Jiho assumed the hardest step would be asking her out.

But after being together for 6 months, Jiho realized that some things were way harder than a simple ‘Will you be my girlfriend?’.

The first kiss was an awkward mess where they both ended up laughing Jiho’s attempt away, uncomfortable, after their noses bumped together when the older girl tried to lean in.

But somehow Jiho persevered and kisses became a normal thing between them. She was gifted a peck in the morning and a peck before saying goodbye after school or after going out during the weekend, and while other people would complain that it wasn’t much, Jiho would only push the thoughts away and smile, because it was more than enough to make her happy. She woke up early and easily got out of bed, hurrying to school to wait for her girlfriend. She counted down the minutes during class, only waiting for the end of the day. Jiho was an optimist, and she wouldn’t let anyone tell her they were taking it too slow when they had been together for a month.

On their second anniversary, Jiho invited Yewon home. The younger girl was very stressed, but everything ended up going well. Jiho’s parents were the friendly kind and having their children later than most parents helped them be the kind of parents other kids were jealous of.

But going to Yewon’s family hadn’t been such a nice experience for Jiho. They were serious people who barely smiled and talked formally to each other, as if they weren’t more than strangers. The stiff atmosphere made Jiho uncomfortable, but she would’ve done it all over again if it meant seeing her girlfriend in that pretty white dress once more.

Since Jiho had been the one to ask Yewon out, and since she had been the one to kiss her first and hold her hand first, and invite her home first, it seemed that she became the one who took all the decisions somehow. She couldn’t say it made her very happy, since she kept stressing out about how long she had to wait for every thing. Yewon wasn’t one to talk about how she felt much, and it left Jiho to figure everything out on her own. Whether Jiho could slip her hands under Yewon’s shirt when they kissed on the couch in Jiho’s basement or whether she could kiss her in front of other people was something she had to guess and taking risks had never been something she enjoyed. Maybe that was the reason their relationship had been going at a torturously slow pace.

She figured she could invite Yewon to sleep over on their 3^rd monthly anniversary. They slept in the same bed, but Jiho was so scared of Yewon pushing her away or being uncomfortable that she didn’t even touch her. She wanted to hold her hand or put her arm around her waist but she lacked the courage, and Yewon didn’t seem to want to make any move towards the older girl, so Jiho just let it go.

It took her another month to gather up the courage to ask if it was fine if she held Yewon as they slept. It was worth it since after that moment they always seemed to be touching each other.

Jiho held Yewon’s hand all the time. Whether they were walking somewhere, or just in the movie theater or at the aquarium. If they weren’t holding hands, like when they were doing homework, their legs were tangled together under the table. It just became a habit to reach for the other as soon as they were together. And hugs were definitely the best, according to Jiho. She liked walking up to Yewon when she was cooking and hug her from behind, resting her chin on her girlfriend’s shoulder. She was so comfortable.

Slowly but surely, they became more comfortable around each other. Jiho wore her old pyjamas and wore her hair up around the younger girl and Yewon talked more and smiled more, making jokes when they watched movies or snorting when Jiho acted like an idiot. They started telling each other deeper things too, about their feelings and it made things a lot easier for Jiho when she needed to take a new step, to turn a new page of their relationship.

But the hardest thing for Jiho had to be deciding whether or not to tell Yewon she loved her, and how. For 6 months they got to know each other, and Jiho knew for sure she liked the younger girl after a mere 2 months, but the feeling she always got when she was with Yewon was that she was the one who liked the other more. Jiho liked showing Yewon she liked her, whether she just touched her to get her attention and smiled at her or writing her little notes, goodnight texts or good morning texts. Apparently, in all relationships someone had to like the other more. Jiho was positive she was that person.

They were watching another romantic comedy on a Friday night, the day before their 6^th month anniversary. Yewon almost always spent the night at Jiho’s house on Fridays and the girls watched movies. Yewon’s head was on Jiho’s lap and the other ran her fingers through the younger girl’s hair with one hand and held her hand with the other. It was the part in the movie where the lead actor confessed his love to lead actress, and Jiho watched attentively.

«Is that how I should say it too?» she whispered softly, hoping Yewon wouldn’t hear. The younger girl did hear, sitting up to face Jiho.

«No. Stop. Shhh» said Yewon and Jiho’s eyes widened, wondering why she wasn’t supposed to say anything. Was it too early? Did Yewon really understand what she meant?

For the rest of the evening, Yewon seemed to tense up whenever Jiho opened . It confused the older girl profoundly, and she tried to find a reason for Yewon not wanting Jiho to tell her she loved her, but she couldn’t find any.

It was only on the next morning that she confronted her about it after Yewon looked stressed from Jiho talking so much as they were eating breakfast. Jiho’s parents were out, as they always were on Saturday morning since they woke up much earlier than their daughter.

«What’s wrong with you? If you can’t deal with me telling you I l-» started Jiho, but she was cute by Yewon.

«I love you» blurted out Yewon, and Jiho’s eyes widened at the girl sitting on the other side of table.

«Then why didn’t you let me say it?» asked Jiho, and Yewon sighed, getting up and grabbing Jiho’s arm to make her stand up as well.

«I wanted to be the one saying it first, and I wanted to say it tonight since we’re going on a date. You’ve pretty much done everything for our relationship while I just patiently waited for you and I felt like I owed you this» said Yewon softly, and she put her arms around Jiho’s waist to hug her, which surprised the older girl since she was expecting something a lot scarier than a hug, from how strongly Yewon had pulled her up from her chair. She hugged her back.

«Well, I love you too» said Jiho with a small laugh.

«I know» said Yewon and it earned her a pinch of her ticklish waist. She pushed Jiho away with a laugh.

Jiho grabbed her waist again, but this time gently to bring her closer and place her lips on Yewon’s softly.

Jiho wasn’t the cheesy type, but it would be lying to say her whole body didn’t tingle whenever they touched. It would be a lie if she said she couldn’t feel her heart beating way too fast in her chest, and it would be even more of a lie if she said she wasn’t happy, because she was.

Jiho was happy, because the prettiest girl in the world was kissing her, because the most wonderful girl in the world told her she loved her, and because the most amazing girl in the world was hers.

«Let’s go karaoke tonight!» proposed Yewon later that day.

«Will you sing Troublemaker with me then?» asked Jiho with a pout, asking for the same thing she had been requesting every time they had gone to the karaoke room, hoping Yewon would agree for once.

And the younger girl sighed softly.

«Okay» she muttered.

And most of all Jiho was happy because she finally got to pretend she was Hyuna.