As expected, the train station was small. It didn’t make sense to make one bigger when it belonged to a town and a couple coffee places and shops were more than enough to keep every passenger happy. Still, it was busier than what Moonbyul thought it would be. She guessed a lot of people probably had jobs in neighboring towns and had to take trains or buses to get there.

A bit disoriented, she wasn’t very helpful on their goal to look for Yonghee. But Solar, clearly used to the place and also anxious about the incoming encounter, kept her head clear of any possible distraction.

But it wasn’t Solar who snapped Moonbyul out of her thoughts, but barks getting louder and closer by the second.

The pressure of Solar’s hand in hers disappeared suddenly and a moment later she realized she had been left alone with their suitcases while Solar ran forward and dropped to her knees just in time to meet the excited dog that came towards them.

Too concentrated on the dog-and-owner reunion happening, she failed to notice the person approaching them with a sweet smile, no doubt thanks to the scene in front of her.

Moonbyul recognized her easily. After all she had teased Solar about her sister’s beauty times enough to know her appearance by heart. Looking at her, she had to admit that Yonghee was even more stunning in person. Still, Moonbyul realized that at first sight she lacked that adorable charisma her little sister possessed naturally.

Smiling inwardly, Moonbyul took note of it and promised herself she would tell Solar whenever she had the chance.

Once Yonghee was close enough and amused thanks to Solar’s happy squeals, she shared a smile with Moonbyul. Reaching out to her, Yonghee offered her hand and Moonbyul shook it softly.

“Hi, I’m Yonghee, Yongsun’s older sister. You must be Byulyi, Yongsun has told me a lot about you.” She introduced herself with a sweet smile.

Moonbyul tried her best to ignore the feeling of butterflies in her stomach at the thought of Solar speaking about her to her sister, but she couldn’t avoid a small but happy grin.

“Good things I hope.” Moonbyul joked trying to sound nonchalant about it. She didn’t want to give away her feelings that soon, even if that was the plan.

“Of course.” Yonghee laughed. Her laugh was similar to Solar’s, except that Yonghee sounded a bit more mature and elegant, although Moonbyul suspected she could be as goofy as her younger sister given the circumstances.

After a small pause, she started looking around as if she was looking for something, or rather someone. Moonbyul noticed the slight uncertainty in her eyes and understood it immediately. Yonghee looked at Solar again, but seeing she still was busy playing around, she turned to Moonbyul.

“Where is Solar’s boyfriend? Is he buying something?” Yonghee asked curiously. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a problem nor a bother, but Solar only mentioned he would be coming with her.” She explained, not wanting to sound rude to Moonbyul. “I’m actually happy because I wanted to meet Solar’s new friends. Oh, and we got the guest room cleaned and ready the other day just in case we needed it during the wedding so you can stay there.” Yonghee finished excitedly.

When Solar had moved away to the city she had been worried. Solar had never been good at making friends as much as she disliked admitting it, so when she had told Yonghee about the new friends she had made she was ecstatic. She wanted the best for her sister.

Swallowing and rubbing the back of her neck nervously, Moonbyul’s eyes darted to where Solar was, wishing she would stop playing and get there already. She was unsure about how to tell Yonghee the truth. Or fake truth. Whatever.

“Yeah, about that…” Moonbyul faltered, trying to come up with an excuse to give herself some time.

“Wait. Don’t tell me he didn’t come.” Widening her eyes, Yonghee took a step closer and took Moonbyul by the shoulders. “Did… Did he ditch Yongsun?” She whispered worriedly, jumping to conclusions about the couple.

Shaking her head, Moonbyul quickly denied it, getting more nervous about the upcoming moment of truth. She wouldn’t be able to delay it for much more time.

Moonbyul opened to reply, but before she could stutter some words out, she was interrupted by the sound of Solar clearing . Just in time to be saved.

Solar stood next to Moonbyul while holding the dog in her arms. She smiled at her sister, clearly happy to see her, but Moonbyul noticed that she looked tense as well. She probably heard Yonghee’s questions.

“Hi Yonghee.” She greeted her sister warmly. It had been a while since the last time they saw each other properly.”

Forgetting about the missing boyfriend for a second, Yonghee beamed and hugged her sister, not caring about dog in the middle who was probably happy to be with her owners anyway.

“I missed you Yongdonnie, you have to visit us more often.”

Moonbyul observed the scene with a small but honest smile. She could feel how much Yonghee cared about Yongsun and it warmed her heart. That’s all she asked for, for Solar to be loved and cherished. It was what the girl deserved.

After exchanging a few words with her sister, Solar left the dog on the floor. Moonbyul crouched down and patted the dog on the head now, smiling when she her hand and wagged her tail at the sign of affection. Solar saw it and smiled as well.

“Looks like Jjing Jjing likes you.” Solar pointed out. It wasn’t like her dog was unfriendly, but she usually took her time to warm up to new people.

Moonbyul chuckled and stood up again. “I guess I’m pretty likeable.” She joked.

“I guess you are.” Solar agreed.

Against her wishes, Moonbyul felt her cheeks reddening at the sincere words. She really needed to learn how to accept compliments, especially those coming from Solar.

Still staring at Moonbyul, Solar felt Yonghee’s eyes on her and their interaction. She let out a deep sigh and then locked her eyes with Moonbyul’s. The latter understood the meaning of it and nodded softly. It was showtime.

“Yonghee…” Solar’s voice wavered slightly even though she had only said a word. Relying on the girl next to her to get all the courage she needed to finish her sentence, she took Moonbyul’s hand. She closed her eyes for a second when she felt Moonbyul interlace their fingers and squeeze her hand in support. She wasn’t alone. “…about my boyfriend…”

Yonghee paid attention to Solar with curious eyes. Moonbyul appreciated that even if Solar was taking her time to continue, Yonghee didn’t pressure her and waited patiently.

“There’s no boyfriend.”

Yonghee frowned confused. Solar gulped down.

“I’m dating Byulyi.”

Moonbyul didn’t remember feeling as uncomfortable as she was in that moment. They were in the car on their way to Solar’s home. The radio was off and the silence was starting to be suffocating. She had glanced at Solar a couple times but the girl was too focused looking through the window to notice. The only thing that could be heard was Jjing Jjing panting and sometimes whining for attention.

Both Solar and Moonbyul were on the backseat with Jjing Jjing in the middle of them. At first Moonbyul expected Solar to take the one next to Yonghee but after her reaction she couldn’t blame her for not wanting to sit there.

To be fair, Yonghee didn’t have a bad reaction. She just… didn’t react at all. And by the look on her face it seemed like she still was processing the news.

It took them around 20 minutes or so to reach the residential area where they had their house. By the looks of it, it was a pretty classy and wealthy neighborhood. It only made Moonbyul admire Solar more, because going from a place like that to live in a tiny flat in the city couldn’t be easy. What a brave girl.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt the car stop and the engine being turned off. They were outside the driveway of a pretty big-sized house. It wasn’t a mansion, but it was enough to assume that Solar’s family had a lot of money.

After what felt like hours, Yonghee took off her seatbelt and turned around to look at them.

“Mom and dad aren’t home right now. They had a meeting with some friends and won’t be back until tonight.” She explained softly. At least she didn’t sound angry. “Let’s go inside and we’ll talk there, okay?”

She took Jjing Jjing’s leash and left the car quietly, and before Solar could do the same Moonbyul took her hand to stop her.

“Are you okay?” Solar had been so quiet the entire time that she was scared of how the girl felt.

Solar bit her lip and thought about her reply for a few seconds before saying anything.

“I guess I expected a different reaction from her.” Solar admitted sadly.

It broke Moonbyul’s heart to see her like that. She cupped Solar’s face and caressed it with her thumb as tenderly as possible.

“Yonghee said your parents aren’t home. There’s still time to tell her the truth. I can go back to the city, or we can tell your parents that your boyfriend couldn’t make it. You are already here and they’ll have to deal with it.”

Solar closed her eyes and leaned into Moonbyul’s hand, but shook her head shortly after.

“I don’t want to do that. I want to continue this. Please.”

Moonbyul wanted to ask why, but she knew that it wasn’t the moment for questions. She would have to accept it and wait.

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